Greater Than Solomon Is Here

Let us remain standing now for a few moments as we bow our heads. I wonder, while we have our heads bowed and our hearts, that if there's any special request tonight that you would require of God, a special something, you'd let it be known by your uplifted hand? He knows just what you have need of now. In your heart just think of what it is.

Our heavenly Father, we are so glad tonight that we have that grand privilege of saying “Father” to the Creator of heavens and earth. And we're so happy to know that we're assembled here tonight in heavenly places in Christ, thy Son; and He promised that if we would ask anything in His Name it would be granted. Lord, You seen every hand that went up. You know what was behind that hand. There was a request for something, and I'm offering my prayer along with theirs. By faith now we're coming up to the great ivory throne of God. There, as we see the Blood of the Lord Jesus laying there upon the altar to make sure that our request is answered, only one thing left: if we will believe that we receive what we ask for, then it will be granted. Help our unbelief.

And Father, we pray tonight that as we open the Word that You will reveal It to us. You are the one who wrote It, and we pray that You'll make It known to us. And then come among us and live It out and prove Yourself, that in this hour of great scientific achievement, and when the church is getting cold and going off into forms and creeds, that You remain the same to those who believe You to be the same; that You're the same God that poured out the power at Pentecost. You're the same God that walked with the disciples, the One that was with Moses in the wilderness, and You're the same tonight. Bless us together now as we fellowship around the Word. In Jesus Christ's Name we ask it. Amen. Be seated.

Always deeming it a great privilege to be where the people of God are assembled together, for I'm sure that Christ is in the midst of us. And we are grateful to the Lord God for hearing the good report of last evening, and still shows that God heals the sick and the afflicted. And now there's; If we can just keep our minds settled on Christ and know His presence is here, and that He has already secured for you every redemptive blessing that He died for, It's yours. All you have to do is believe It.

And now we trust that you had good rest today and you ... try to get you out tonight just as soon as possible. And then tomorrow night being Thursday night, and then Friday night, and then Saturday morning the breakfast.

I want to ask the congregation tonight a request from Brother Carl Williams at the Phoenix chapter, the president of the Phoenix chapter. His eighty-five year old father had a stroke this afternoon. And he was to be here tonight, and he had to fly up north somewhere to see his father. And I went to prayer for the old fellow right away. A few weeks ago I was with him. He was more, livelier than his son, over at Albuquerque where we had a convention. And tonight he lays, stroke, eighty-five years old. But I'm believing with all my heart that God is going to take the stroke off of him. Now, I believe it, for when I was in prayer I could just see him moving, and I.... You're not stroke when you can move, you know. So I know he's going to get better, if not well.

And we're thankful for the faith, the evidence, the something with us that tells us, and we know. There's no more guess work then. We've had for years the Word of God; now we got the God of the Word, see, and right here living His Word out. So it's true—one of the last great signs that's promised to the Church before the coming of the Lord.

Not long ago my son and I was ... went into Bombay, India, where I think we had the greatest altar call I ever had the Lord to do in our meetings. Was, we couldn't estimate how many come to Christ, because it was estimated around a half-a-million in one gathering—about five hundred thousand. And there was a great strenuous time on. And there was the Hindus, the holy men, and, Oh, my! Talk about religion, India's got it. That afternoon I was entertained by seventeen different religions of India, and every one of them denied Jesus Christ: every one of them—Mohammedan, Buddha, Sikhs, Jains, oh so many of them. And I never said nothing. I just listened to them, as we had to take our shoes off to go into the temple of the Jains.

That night, before a host that I couldn't see the end of them, and when the people began to come up, the militia had to let the people come one at a time. The first come was a leper, had no arms, and ears was eat off. Anyone knowed what his trouble was, of course. And then after two or three passed by, why, there was, the Holy Spirit revealing. 'Course when the anointing comes on, then you can tell what the people's thinking, see—you pick it up. And they were thinking it was a something like a telepathy. And anyone that knows what telepathy is, it would be a; if you thought that such as the Holy Spirit discerning would be telepathy, why, then you don't know much about telepathy.

So then these holy men, and Rajahs, and so forth, on their pillows and.... So they were piled on top of one another. Two or three smothered to death in the meeting, just trying to pile in. And I only had two days to stay. And I couldn't get protection 'cause I had to have it in the city was the only way we could get protection. Outside of the city there'd been a lady come through that had caused a little trouble, and two or three got stabbed to death. And they wouldn't give me protection outside the city. And it certainly was an awful thing to see.

But about the fourth man came by, was fourth or fifth, was a man blind, and he was a beggar, of course. India has four hundred and seventy million people, and it looked to me like about four hundred million of them were beggars. I never seen so many beggars. And it's such a pitiful thing, When we don't know how well off we are, till you have to take a trip like that, once.

Here's a mother laying in the street, her little baby starving. Its little gums is down against its lips, its little, it can't cry no more. The mother starving too. She wants to give you the baby to keep it from dying. Anything to keep it from dying. And here, well, you take it, here's another one. Here's another one, another one. Oh, you just, there's no end to it. And there they are, and so pitiful. And they're human beings that Christ died for.

And there that night, standing there, and this blind man came up. The Holy Spirit said, “Now, he's a beggar, and he's a worshipper of the sun. He's been blind twenty years.” Well, as soon as that was said, you could pick up, you know, they have....

When you go to a place like that you better know what you're talking about, 'cause they'll challenge you to it just at any time. And you better be sure that God sent you. You don't play church there; you have to really have what you're talking about. It's all right here in America, but don't never try to hit the field 'less you're really positive. And then in Africa and those witch doctors, and so. They're spiritualists. They don't just fool with some psychology; they're demon-possessed and they have power, and it takes; Only the power of God can override it. And I've never seen a time, though, but what our great and glorious Lord Jesus rode over the top of all of it, and won the victory every time. I say that as His servant, in His Name.

This night there there was , I remember, this man had said, “You're blind.” Said, “You're a beggar, and you worship the sun.” And they believe if they look at the sun until they go blind that they'll go to heaven. So, there's a heaven for them, and they'll go by, they worship the creation. And listen, you could feel it coming in, that they, those, especially, what they call holy men. Then they grease themselves over with olive oil. It's a sight to see. Kill a goat and worship.

So then, the next, it said, “You are a married man and you have two children, and they're two boys. And one of them's about six years old and the other one about nine.” And when the interpreter told him that, that was correct. And still they wouldn't listen. They thought it was psychology.

And I thought, “Lord, if You'd just show me something that they could see done.” And you have to watch what the Holy Spirit's saying. That's what He's telling you. Stay there long enough till you hear what He says back again, see. Listen to what He tells you, because it's not me, I know nothing about it; it's Him. And I don't even know what I'm saying myself, and don't know it till I hear the tape. And then, so then, it's wonderful to see what He did.

And then I noticed, and I seen the man like a vision, standing above and he could see. He had his sight. I thought, “This'll be a wonderful time right now.” And I said, “Today I was entertained in the temple of the Jains, where many of you different leaders here was present. And you were telling me about how little Christianity was, and how great your religion was. I had not a chance to take up for the Lord Jesus, but,” I said, “tonight here is a man standing here that's blind. Well, now if I'd ask the Mohammedan priest, or the Buddha priest, or whoever it might be, what caused him to do that, you'd say he was wrong because he worshipped the creation instead of the creator. I'd say 'Amen' to that. That's true; the creation instead of the Creator.

“Well, now, if this man has just said that he would serve the God that give him back his sight. Now he finds out he's wrong. Now, what would you do to him? You Buddhists would make him forsake his God and come and join Buddhism. Mohammedans would make him be a Mohammedan. And different ones. What is it? You'd only change his thoughts. You'd only, it's psychology.” I said, “America is full of the same thing. All the Methodists wants to change the Baptists, and the Baptists wants to change the Pentecostals, and the Oneness wants to change the Twoness, the Twoness wants to change. Oh My, I never heard such! But one thankful thing, we all worship the same God. But there it's different.

But,“ I said, ”it's psychology. Surely there's a Creator somewhere that made his eyes.“

Now I wouldn't have said this if I hadn't seen the vision first, 'cause I'm fifty-four years old, seen visions since I was eighteen months old. Never one, I'll ask anybody if they ever seen one fail. No, sir. It never will. It never did and it never will. It's always right, because it's God. And then, I knew the man was going to get his sight, but I was trying to set a little trap to catch some of them unbelievers.

And I said, “Now if the Mohammedan religion, which is the predominant religion here in India; let the Mohammedan priest there come here and restore the sight to this man and I'll become a Mohammedan.” I said, “If the Buddha is such a great religion, let the Buddha priest come. Or anyone.” I said, “Surely, if the man wants to get right with the right God. Surely the great Creator who made his eyes the first time can make him eyes the second time, if He wants to use them to the glory of Him.” That was the quietest audience I ever heard.

I said, “Now the platform's open, and let the man that can come here and give him his sight, Let the God that the true God, the one that made him in the first place, that created his eyes, let him come and restore his sight, and I'm ready to be a follower of that religion.”

Nobody said a word. I said, “I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm using telepathy to understand what's the matter with those people, and so forth, and telling them what they are, who they are. Can't even read their name, have to spell it out. Can't pronounce it, can't even speak their language. You call that psychology. If it is, I don't know one thing about psychology and you're masters of it. Let that master of psychology come and give the man his sight then. See if psychology can restore the sight to a blind man.” It was still a quiet audience. Nobody said a word.

I said, “Why ain't you saying something? Surely there's a God somewhere. All of this, everything going on, it proves there's a God somewhere. Who is He?” I said, “The reason that you're not saying nothing, because you can't do it; and neither can I. But the God of heaven, who raised up His Son, Jesus Christ, who I am His witness, has showed me a vision that this man is going to receive his sight. Now if He doesn't do it, then I'm a false prophet run me out of India. But if He does do it. Right here, you people who are Mohammedans, here's your priest standing, with a robe. Here's the Buddha, and different ones. You see your leaders, how still they are? They say nothing; but I speak. I saw a vision of the man's going to receive his sight, and he's going to do it now. And if he doesn't, then there's something wrong. I'm a false witness of the Bible and of Christ.”

Everybody.

I said, “How many of you here will receive Him as your Saviour if God will restore the sight to this blind man?” And everywhere you could see just black hands up, as far as you could see. Well, it was estimated five hundred thousand people, and that's a half-a-million. So that's many, many times more than, probably, that's in Tucson. So there they was setting in one place.

I drawed, asked the man to come near me. I put my arms around him. They don't interpret the prayer. I said, “Lord God, this is a challenge to my own faith. But right here, in the time where all these heathens are around here, aren't You still the same God that You always was?” And I said, “Now, it's your reputation at stake. I'm only saying what You said. And since a child, You've showed me visions, and I've never seen one fail. Now You showed me the man would receive his sight. I call for his sight in the Name of Jesus Christ.”

And the man let out a great big scream. And the mayor of the city was sitting there, run, grabbed him and hugged him. The man could see as good as I can, or anyone else. Then I seen thousands times thousands.

Friends, I don't want to say this critically, but we have failed to carry out the program that Christ sent for us to do, see. He said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.” Now He didn't say build schools, He didn't say build churches, which, they are all fine. But we've put all of our time to building schools and churches and denominations, which has played a part. But that isn't what He said. “Preach the Gospel, and these signs shall follow them that believe.” In other words to preach the Gospel would be to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit, and there's where we have failed.

The church needs tonight not a soft hybrid something, soft and flabby like the church is, just make a confession, be baptized, and you're a Christian. To be a Christian is self-denial. “Deny yourself, take up your cross, follow me daily.” Today it's so soft, and people call themselves Christians, when it used to mean death to confess Christ, and you had to depend on Him daily for everything you had need of.

That same God lives today. I know that that's true, and He's just as great today as He was then. If He ever was God, He's still God; but if He isn't God, then He never was God, because He's a God of the whole human race. What good does it do to talk about a God of Abraham if He isn't the same God today? What good would it do to talk about a God who could open up the Red Sea if He couldn't, for his children to escape, if He couldn't do the same thing today? What about a God that could raise a dead man out of the grave if He can't do the same thing today?

What good does it do to give your canary bird fine seeds and vitamins to grow good strong bones, and wings, and feathers, then keep him in a cage? How's he going to use them? What good does it do to teach a Bible of some great God? How can a man that's freezing get, can he get warm by a painted fire? a man that's freezing to death, and you paint him a fire and say, “There's what was.”? That ain't; it's got to be some heat coming from it to do him some good.

And there's got to be a reality in the new birth of being borned again, filled with the Spirit, and knowing the presence of God is here, and see Him carrying out His Word and his promise just as He did. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up from the earth I'll draw all men unto Me.”

May the Lord help us. I didn't aim to get off on that, but just talking.

The Lord bless you now, and one of these nights, maybe, before it's over, I'm going to, maybe, preach one night for you. I'm just going to, I'm talking about divine healing now because I want to see, waiting for the Lord, maybe, to do something that'll.

You know, about eighty-six percent of Jesus' ministry was divine healing. And we don't use divine healing for a major. You can't major on a minor. We know that. This great art of divine healing.

I have just completed a study, the last four or five years, of the early church. I started off with the Foxe “Book of Martyrs,” come down through Hislop's “Two Babylons,” and so forth, and on down through the Nicaea, the post-Nicaea and the Nicaea fathers and Nicaea council; and finding out that after the death of Jesus Christ, down through Polycarp and Irenaeus and Martin and many of those great saints, for hundreds of years after the death of Jesus Christ, contended for that faith of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and speaking with tongues, and raising the dead and healing the sick. It was in the dark age this Thing was lost.

But, oh, God said, “I will restore,” saith the Lord, “all the years the locust eaten, the caterpillar.” He promised to do it, and this is the hour of restoration. The Tree shall bloom again. I believe it.

Lord bless you now. And in the Scripture I want to take a familiar little text tonight, just to get you acquainted with what we're trying to do. You see, if you can. If I could get this audience with one accord to see and know exactly that Jesus Christ is alive and here among you. Oh, you psychically, or mentally believe it. But when it can go beyond the mind till you know it, then something will happen, see. When you can realize the only thing is is to see Christ in our presence.

You know, in Durban, South Africa, where there was estimated of twenty five thousand wheelchairs, old box and carts, and they pulled the people out of the jungles weeks and weeks coming through there, at one prayer, just a few words of prayer, and up off of there they went. And the next morning Sidney Smith. You can send him a telegram, write him a letter. He's the mayor of Durban, about twice, three times the size of Tucson. Yes, many times bigger than that. And we was at a race track where he had two hundred and fifty thousand people gathered.

And he called me, said, “Brother Branham, go to your window that faces the coast, that's the Indian Ocean there. You'll see something you've never seen.” And there come about ten of those great big English trucks, maybe forty, fifty feet long, just piled full of old crutches and wheelchairs and things, that they had hobbled out of the wilderness on the day before, and was healed. And here they were and the people that was in those chairs and things, for city blocks coming behind, all of them in one accord, walking past my hotel singing, “Only Believe. All things are possible,” in their native language. Where we had recorded thirty thousand blanket natives received Christ as their Saviour at one time.

No disregards to our sisters, but here's what I can't understand when I come home. Every year, when I go away and come back, I find our women of America getting more clothes off of themselves. And yet calling themselves Christians, singing in choirs. And them women standing there, many of them nothing but a small four inch clout on, and the minute they received Jesus Christ as Saviour no one had to tell them they were naked. They folded their arms, like this, to walk away from the presence of where men was standing.

If the presence of Jesus Christ will bring that knowledge to a woman that never knowed nothing about Him and just received Him as Saviour, and make her recognize she's naked, what ought it to do to a people here that's supposed to be civilized, and supposed to have the baptism of the Holy Spirit? and every year continually stripping themselves to the? I believe there's something wrong somewhere. It may be with me. If it is, there's something wrong with the Word. I believe that the Holy Spirit will make a person put on clothes instead of take them off.

Now turn with me to Matthew the 12th chapter, the 38th and to the 42nd verse, just a little familiar scripture as we read. Listen closely now.

If I should call it a text I'd like to take that last five words: “Greater Than Solomon is Here.”

We find Jesus here had been upbraiding, He had been rebuking those places that He had been and had proven to the people that He was the Messiah, just as He was showing to us last night. And all their teaching had been to believe that that would be the Messiahic sign. And even to this little woman that we spoke of last night, the woman at the well, how she in her adulterous condition. And yet she knowed more about God and recognized Him more than the scribes and Pharisees did, for when they seen this done they declared it to be some kind of a spirit. Said, “It is Beelzebub.” Beelzebub was the chief of the devils, a spirit, a devil. And said that He was doing that through some spiritualist, like a fortune-teller, and anybody knows that fortune-telling is of the devil. And so they accused our Lord of doing that.

And He said, “If you call me Beelzebub it will be forgiven, but when you speak against the Holy Spirit when It shall come, then there's no forgiveness for it,” because you're calling the Spirit of God, which is doing the work, an unclean spirit. That's blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

My mother used to tell me that when I was a little boy that blaspheming the Holy Ghost was to take your own life. Well, that isn't so, see. The Bible teaches it that the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is to speak against the Holy Spirit. To blaspheme is to talk about. And when you see the Holy Spirit doing something and you make fun of it, you've crossed the line that you'll never cross back again. It'll never be forgiven you.

So Jesus had told them, and was telling of how that He had been confirming the Word, that He was the Messiah. And they should have known that, because their leader, Moses, told them, “The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet liken unto me.” And now when they seen those things take place they still did not believe Him. Not because; I believe they believed Him, but they did not want to confess it because of their traditions; because the Pharisees had said any man or woman that would accept Him would immediately be put out of the synagogue, and they loved their traditions more than they loved the vindicated Word of God.

And time hasn't changed too much. You know, God takes His man but never his spirit. Satan takes his man but never the spirit. It comes right back on someone else, and goes right on down. And now we find it in every generation about the same. And Jesus had clearly made Himself known. He said, “If I do not the works of God, then don't believe me; but if I do the works of God, then believe the works.”

And then we find out all this, and still they did not believe. And they come to Him, after seeing all of those things, and then said, “Master, we would seek a sign from heaven.”

Now we find that same class of people that wants to say, “Well, there's no such a thing as a miracle. Let me see it done; let me look at it in my eyes. Let me examine it.” Well, that person is absolutely hopeless, for if you're ever saved it's a miracle. You can only, you have to believe God. You cannot explain a miracle.

What if Moses would have said, “I believe I'll take a few of these leaves off that's on fire, and take them over at the laboratory and let them be examined, and find out what, why they don't burn.” God would have never talked to him. But he was recognized that it was a miracle that the leaves, the tree, wasn't consumed. So he drew near to talk to It, and to take off his shoes and humble himself before it; and God talked back to him.

Now if we'll do the same thing, God will talk back to us. But you have to recognize it to be God. And the only way you'll ever get anything from God is to believe Him. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is.”

Now if we were seeing things done that was not scriptural, then you'd have a place to question. But when it's thoroughly proved by the Scripture, and then identified by the God who wrote the Scripture and made the promise, then we should take off our shoes, as it was, and say, “Lord God, here am I.” That's what we should do.

And that's what they. Instead of that, they come and said, “We would see a miracle.” Now, everybody is miracle seekers. We find out that even the devil, when he seen Jesus in that hungered condition, he said, “If thou be the Son of God command these stones to be bread.” See, “If thou be.” He wasn't sure. But he wanted Him to do a miracle so he could see it. Now that's just the way. See, you believe a miracle. You believe to see a miracle.

Then we find out in the courtyard, when we know that He discerned and could tell their thoughts, and know who touched Him, And all His whole life was a form of miracles, and He didn't take credit for it. He said, “It's not me that doeth the works; it's My Father. He dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works. And verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself but what He sees the Father doing; that doeth the Son likewise,” see. He give all credit to the Father. And here He was going about doing these works.

And then, after all of that, when they caught Him up in the courtyard, and they put a rag around His face, like this, and took a stick; and these drunken soldiers stood there hitting Him on the head, and then passing the stick one to another, and said, “If you are a prophet now, prophesy and tell us which one hit you. We'll believe you.” He knowed which it was. But you see, a man of God, or servant of God, don't clown for the devil, see. They're not obligated to do that.

You've heard them say, “Well, if there's such a thing, you people believe in divine healing. I know where somebody's sick. Go over here at the hospital, a whole group of them.”

That would probably be like that same group when blind Bartimaeus come out, when they was making fun of Him, perhaps said, “Hey, we heard you healed, you raised the dead. We got a graveyard full of them up here of saints. Go up and raise them, if you raise the dead.” See that same old critical devil? When He was hanging on the cross he said, “If you're the Son of God come down from there and we'll believe you.” See?

He could've done it. They gave a comment to Him and didn't know they did it. They said, “He saved others; Himself he cannot save.” Certainly not. If He saved Himself, He couldn't save others. So He gave Hisself to save others, I'm glad that He did it. Certainly, see.

Now, we find Him there, you see,

but that same old spirit. “You do something here; let me see it done.” Why, God couldn't work where such a thing as that was. Jesus went into a multitude of people one time and said a dead girl was only asleep, and they laughed Him to scorn. And He put them every one out of the house before He raised her up, see. He had to do it. One time He took a blind man and led him out of the city and spit on his eyes, in order to let him, get him away from the crowd. Where there's unbelief, God can't work.

You've got to have belief. And if we could get ourselves in that condition tonight, to doubt every doubt and believe every Word of God; and to know that Jesus Christ is alive and it's Him showing Himself, then I'll tell you the newspapers will write headlines in Tucson in the morning, what would take place in the building, if you could just get in that accord.

But these men who had seen all these things done, and heard about it, and the thing and they had to answer their congregation. They had to say it was something, it was done. And they said, “It's Beelzebub.” And so they come over and said, “Now, we would seek a miracle. We would seek a sign from heaven, seek a sign from You.” He'd already done so many signs! So He never, there's no scripture that said He did any signs.

Now God in all ages has never been without a witness. God has sometimes got down to only one man. But He's always had a witness, somebody who believed Him, somebody who could believe in the supernatural, somebody who could believe God just the way It's written and just what He is. And He referred to them here, as we find out. In all ages He had His witness everywhere.

Now, He referred here in one place to Jonas, called here, but we call it Jonah. And many people criticize Jonah, and said, “Oh, old Jonah.” You've heard that name, but I want to take up for Jonah a little while. Jonah wasn't out of the will of the Lord; Jonah was in the will of the Lord. He was a prophet. He's referred to, and called in the Bible the prophet Jonah, and he was not out of the will of the Lord. I read a little, some comments on it, like a history, some time ago.

And now Jonah truly was told by the Lord to go down to Nineveh, a city four or five times the size of this city here. And it was the great commercial city of the world, Nineveh was in that day, very much backslidden, and they fished at the sea. And they'd got away from the true and living Word of God and began to worship animals, and sea monsters and so forth. They were in a polluted and awful condition.

And God told him, “Go down to Nineveh.” And we find out that he came down to the seashore and took a ship to Tarshish. Now someone would believe there that he did just what God told him not to do. Let's find out if the footsteps of the righteous isn't ordered of the Lord. And if we're trusting Him with all our heart, though we make a mistake God will make it work around to His glory.

Jonah, we find out, out on the sea that the storms began to rage, and the ship began to toss back and forth, and all hopes that they could be saved was gone. And Jonah had probably been preaching a few nights before that and was tired. And he was down in the hull of the ship taking a little siesta, kind of napping a little bit. And they come down and told him, “Wake, O sluggard, and call upon your God!”

And Jonah said, “Now, I'll tell you what I want you to do. I want you to tie my hands behind me, and my feet, and throw me out of the ship.” And said, “Then the ship will cease the tossing, the waves, the ship, will quit tossing the ship, in otherwise, if you'll just throw me out.” So, you see, when they did that and throwed him out, God had a great fish prepared that we believe to be a whale.

And now that's disputed by science. Here a few years ago I was in Louisville, Kentucky, just across from my home city of Jeffersonville, Indiana. Just the Ohio River separates the two cities. And they had a whale, the skeleton of a whale, on a flat car. And there was a man standing there who was giving a lecture on this whale, and he said. Now, he come up, I thought, “Wonder if he, what's he going to say?”

He was talking about the size of its mouth, how that a man could walk into its mouth easy, and said, “You know that Bible story they tell,” and a great big possum grin over his face. And he said, “You know, they said about the whale swallowing Jonah,” said, “I want you to know that that could not be so.” He said, “Because if you'll notice the whale's throat,” said, “even, it could not even pass no more than a four-inch ball through its esophagus, down through its throat.” Said, “That was not so. That's just a mythical story.”

That was too much for my Irish temper to stand that. I said, “I beg your pardon! It is so.”

He said, “Sir,” he said. “Here is a whale,” he said, “and it's a large type of whale.” He called what it was. Said, “Go back there, if you want to satisfy yourself, and measure the swallow that he would have to go through. And tell me if a grown man could go through that swallow.”

I said, “It's just because you're an unbeliever.” I said, “This was a special-made whale. God said He prepared a fish. He was a special prepared. He could prepare one to throw the whole flat car in if He wanted to. He's God.” So that's right. God does what He wants to. And I believe that the whale swallowed Jonah.

As the little girl was coming one day from the Tabernacle. She was a little, about like this little sickle-fritz last night, or tonight, with her hair combed back here, you know,her little, I thought she was cute, the little singer. I don't guess, she's bound to hear. I hope I don't hurt her feelings. But she was real cute. And this little girl had just got saved, and she had a Bible over her heart, just singing. There was an old infidel lived up the road there, in a little city called Utica, Indiana, and he said, “What you so happy about this morning?”

She said, “Well, I just found Jesus.”

Said, “How do you know you found Him?” He said, “What's that you got in your hand? a prayer book?”

She said, “No, it's a Bible.”

Said, “I guess you believe it.”

Said, “I believe every bit of it.”

And said, “You believe that story in there about Jonah and the whale?”

She said, “Yes, sir! I believe every word of it.”

He said, “Aw, it's not so, honey. Don't you believe that.”

She said, “But I believe it is so.”

“Well, now,” said, “how you going to prove that it's so outside of faith, as you call it?”

“Well,” she said, “when I get to heaven I'm going to ask Jonah.”

And the infidel said to the little girl, said, “What if Jonah isn't there?”

Said, “Then you'll have to ask him.” That's just about the way it is. If he wasn't there, they'd know where he was at.

So it's just like it said, if the Bible said that Jonah swallowed the whale, I'd believe it, if the Bible said so. So I believe that all those things are true, every Word of it, every phase of the Bible.

And many people bawling out Jonah: now, let's as Christians, being that we're talking about him as one of the fellows here that Jesus referred to, back many years before Christ. He was a sign to that generation, and let's just think of him a minute. There he was with his hands tied behind him, and his feet, and the whale was prowling through the waters to find something to eat.

Well, when a fish eats we know he goes right down to the bottom, and rests them swimmers on the bottom of the ocean. Feed your little gold fish and watch him. He gets his little belly full, he'll go right down to the bottom of the jar and rest awhile. He's fed. Just like any other animal. The African lion, when he, he prowls till he finds something to eat. He'll kill anything. He'd just as soon have missionary chops as anything, so, But when he eats, he'll go over and lay down; and you could walk right over him, he wouldn't bother you. He might get up and roar, a young lion, or run you away, but he's eaten. That's all. He uses great strength just to kill to eat.

And the fish, when he'd eaten, he'd went down to the bottom now. And he was pretty well filled up, I guess, in his stomach, he had this prophet down there in his belly.

And I always kind of felt sorry for him, because. People's always talking about, “Well, Brother Branham, I had a crippled hand, and I was prayed for a week ago. Brother So-and-so, my pastor, prayed for me, and really I'm no better.” You'll never get no better as long as you look at the hand. You can't look at the hand; you got to look at the Promise.

You always look and say, “Well, I've been having a ulcer in my stomach, and it still burns.” That don't have one thing to do with it. You've got to believe. That's the thing that does the healing, is your faith, see.

Now, look, talk about symptoms, Jonah had a real case of symptoms. Looky here. Let's think he was backslid, and he's in the belly of the whale, maybe forty fathoms deep in the ocean, in a storm on the ocean, and laying in vomit up to his neck, looking around sea weeds wrapped around him everywhere. And he looked this way, it was whale's belly; that way was whale's belly; this way was whale's belly; everywhere he could see was whale's belly. Now, he had a good case of symptoms. There's nobody in here that bad off tonight, I'm sure.

But you know what Jonah said? He said, “They're lying vanities. I won't look to them, but once more will I look to Your holy temple.” There you are!

He refused to see the whale's belly. He refused to see the symptoms. Why? He knowed that when Solomon dedicated that temple to God, when the great Pillar of Fire and cloud hung out there, that the prayer of Solomon passed over and went down and took its resting place with the ark of the covenant. And when Solomon prayed, he prayed, “Lord, if thy people anywhere be in trouble and look towards this holy mountain, this holy place, and pray, then hear from heaven.” And Jonah had confidence that God heard the prayer of Solomon because he was a servant of God.

And if he could have that much faith upon the prayer of a man that was dedicating an earthly temple, and a man praying the prayer that finally in his life backslid, and under them circumstances with them kind of symptoms, could have that much confidence that God would hear his prayer; how much more ought we tonight who, sitting in the presence of the resurrected Jesus Christ, look away from our symptoms to the heaven itself where Jesus sits at the right hand of God, with His own Blood to make intercessions upon our confession.

When thousands around us and around the world where the great healing and revivals are striking now. Right at this very hour there's people being healed all around the world. The hour is here.

Now we look at our symptoms. Shame on us! when Jonah in, under them circumstances could look away from his symptoms. He said he refused to look at them. He said, “They're lying vanities. I'll look towards your holy temple.”

O God, give us men and women with rugged faith, who will not look to symptoms or look at anything the devil hands you. Hand it back to him! Say, “I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; I believe in His all-sufficient power; I believe that His presence is here now to set me free from any bondage that Satan put upon me; and I look to the, where He sits at the right hand of God, ever living to make intercession for me with His own Blood.” As a High Priest he sits there. How much more ought we to look to the holy place of God where Jesus Himself, our mediator, the only one between God and man, stands with His own Blood to make intercessions on our confession. Amen. Don't get, “Amen” means “so be it.” I believe it with all my heart.

Notice.

You know what God did? This is a baffle to scientists. I don't know whether He put a oxygen tank down there or what He did, but that man stayed alive for three days and nights in the belly of that whale. I don't know what He done, but He took him a free ride all the way from Tarshish back over to Nineveh.

And you know the commercial men of that city, their occupation mainly was fishing. And one day as they worshipped, the whale being the god of the sea, the greatest monster in the sea. When all the men was out, about eleven o'clock one day, pulling their nets in, up come the god of the sea that they had worshipped. He run up to the bank, stuck his tongue out, and the prophet walked right out of his mouth. Their own god spit the prophet out, no wonder they believed him. God had produced it for them. And no wonder they repented, and put sackcloth on the animals. They believed his message. God knows how to do things.

Look what Jesus said here about Jonah. Say about him. He said, “A wicked and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.” I might stress your faith a little bit here, but I believe that He was referring to this generation, and I'm going to tell you why. For we know that this is a wicked and an adulterous generation. There's never been a time since Sodom that homosexuals and perversion was on the march as it is now. You ought to go in my office and read the mail of mothers from California and around, about their boys living. Oh, it's terrible. And I picked up a paper here a couple years ago, flying over Los Angeles, where it said that the great sin of Sodom was on such an increase there till it had increased twenty percent over the year before. And all out through, even to government officials, and it's everywhere; sin.

It's because that women has made themselves so cheap they have brought it upon themselves. And it's a cheap affair. Used to be you took off your hat to a woman on the street; and now you'd do it, she'd laugh in your face. We've made ourself a bunch of corruption, so degrading ourselves.

Now, we notice that we find that Jesus said that “a wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be a sign given unto it; for as Jonas was in the belly of the whale three days and nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and nights.” What was He speaking of? A wicked and adulterous generation would receive a sign of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that's what we're doing! We know tonight that He is not dead, but He's alive forevermore, and He's with us.

In this time of church world and church joining, and formalism, and things that we have in the world today, and lukewarm church members, scoffers, making fun, having a form of godliness and denying the power of the Holy Spirit which we're commanded to turn from in that very hour of that wicked and adulterous generation Jesus Christ rises, and in the power of His resurrection, to prove that He's alive forevermore, the same yesterday, today, and forever. A wicked and adulterous generation will seek after a sign, and it will get it. There'll be this sign given them of the resurrection. I think we're living to see it today.

Then he goes to refer to Solomon's generation, when Solomon came on the scene. Now we all know, as minister brothers and readers, that that was the millennium, almost, for Israel. That was a golden age of Israel. They built the temple in that age. They had no wars. Solomon was a gifted man. God had give him a great gift of discernment; and everybody in the land, with one heart and one accord, believed in that gift. It was the talk of the world everywhere. Everybody feared them because that they knowed that there was a living God among them.

Wouldn't it be nice tonight if all of the United States, if all America, would accept the gift that God has given us, the Holy Ghost and with one accord we would agree upon it and support it, and just like they did in that day? Oh, what a golden age it would be! The great gift, “the Greater than Solomon” is here. But we don't give it the respect that they did in the day of Solomon. When they seen this great gift working in Solomon everybody believed with one heart and one accord. The tribe of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, and all the other tribes, there was no difference in them. They was with one heart and one accord. They'd get together, and they'd say, “Just think of our great Jehovah. He sent us a gift, and it dwells within a man.”

And the great things, why, the fame of Solomon went all over the world, and the other nations paid him tributes sent him oxen, camels, and great gifts of gold, and helped him with the stone and everything to build the temple. That's what America needs tonight. It's not a new addition to politics, it's not a new denomination in the church, it's not something of that sort. They need to come together in one accord, and believe and accept the gift of the Holy Ghost that God has sent to us in this last days, where this great latter day miracle revivals has broke out across the land.

But any age when God sends a gift to a nation and that nation turns that gift down, that nation goes into chaos. Did you know about fifty years ago that Russia, the Pentecostal blessing broke out in Russia about fifty or seventy-five years ago, before it ever come here? That's right. And they turned it down. And you see what they got? Any nation—look at England today, when the great Wesley revival.... Those great reform.... Look at the nations that ... where the great revival struck, and when they turned it down what happened to them.

And any nation that will receive a blessing that God sent, that nation prospers. I tell you, I believe tonight that our safety is not in building bomb shelters or something like that. I believe our protection is made out of feathers: under His wings we'll rest. Oh, yes. How you going to get in a bomb shelter? One of them bombs will blow a hundred and fifty miles square and five hundred foot deep in the earth. Why, it'd shake every bone in you loose if you was plumb down to the lava.

But there is a safety place, and that's in Jesus Christ. “Upon this rock I'll build my Church and the gates of hell can't prevail against it.” That's the believer's protection, just under His wings safely abiding. Certainly.

Notice. This great time, if people would just believe what God sent them; But to turn it down is to go in chaos, and that's what we've done as a nation—have turned down the blessings of God and swapped it for tradition. But God has sent a witness, and the people have failed to see it. Now I think that the Pentecostal people, as many things as God has sent you and yet our churches sit half empty.

The pastor can't do it himself; the laity's got to help in this. We're all a partner. That's what started the chaos at the first time, at the Nicaea council. They wanted, when the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, “Nico” means to conquer, and “laity” means to take away from the laity, make a holy man. That's not a holy man, holy hill; It's a holy God—a holy God amongst people. The laity has part of it. We're children. There's no great ones among us. How can you have faith when you desire respects one from another? We're all one in Christ Jesus. There's no big men and little men; we're all the same. We're children of one Father, and we're His children.

Now, we notice God's done great things for this nation. He sent a Tommy Osborn, a Oral Roberts, and many great men across the country, dangled every little gift in front of the people. But it's just like, an old sailor one time going to the sea, and a man said to him, this old salt, He'd never.... This man, a poet, had wrote about the sea and talked about it, but he'd never seen it. So he was coming down to the sea, and, oh, he said.... Met the old salt, and he said, “Where goest thou, my good man?”

He said, “Down to the sea, to hear the gulls, and to see its briny waves, and to see the blue sky reflect itself into the water.”

The old salt puffed his pipe four or five times, and said, “I don't see nothing so exciting about it. I was borned on it fifty years ago.” Sure. He'd seen so much of it till it become common to him.

And that's what's the matter with the Pentecostal people today. There'll come a time when this privilege will be taken from us. Then you'll cry for it but won't find it, see. You've seen so much.

A woman here not long ago in Louisville, Kentucky, she had a little baby, and she was going around, a little boy about two years old, it was. She had him in her arms, and she'd pick up little things. She'd say, “Look, honey, look.” The little kid would just sit and stare. She'd walk over to something else, and say, “Darling, look at this.” And the people in the store began to watch her. She began to get hysterical. And so she picked up a little rattle, which ought to attract a little boy like that. Said, “Look, honey. Look, look, look, honey! Look, darling, look.” And the little boy just stared.

And she fell over on the counter. The people come over to her and picked her up, to find out what was the matter. She said, “My little boy,” she said, “he just started staring in space.” And said, “I took him to the doctor, and the doctor says he's better. But the things that should attract a little boy like him doesn't attract him anymore. He just seems to be blind to it.”

That's something like the church today. God has shook every kind of gift before the church that He promised to shake, and still we stare in space! “Sirs, we would, Sir, Master, we would desire a sign from thee.” See? “Master, we would desire this;” when He's done everything in the Bible He promised to do. We're at the end-time.

And the first thing you know you're going to find out.... You say, “Well, isn't it written that we should have a rapture?” And it'll be like it was with John the Baptist. They said, “Isn't it written in the Scripture that there should be, first there would be Elias come?”

He said, “Elias has already come and you didn't know it.”

One of these days when tribulation sets in you'll say, “Wasn't there to be a rapture first?”, and it'll be, It's already past and you knew nothing about it, see. It'll come like a thief in the night. I tell you it's time for believers to trim their lamps, get on their toes. The calling time is at hand. We should remember that.

Solomon, they believed him, all the people with one heart and one accord. No wonder the message went everywhere. But today, if God sends something, if it strikes a certain denomination church, the others won't have nothing to do with it. No, sir. If it strikes the Baptists, don't look for the Methodists to do anything. If it strikes the Pentecosts, look for both of them to stay out, 'cause they'll sure do it. So there you are. Depends on where it's from. It's got to come through their circle or it is no good.

That's the same thing they thought when God sent Jesus, that He'd have to send Him through the Pharisees, or the Sadducees, or some of them. And He sent Him to all of them through none of them. That's the way God does. He just, see. He never come to any of them. He come and called them a bunch of snakes in the grass. That's right.

And so we find out that God does things in His own way, and we can't cut and dry anything and say, “This is my part and you have no business, you don't see through my glasses, you're not looking.”

No. God's got the glass for us to see through, and that's the Holy Spirit. Then it sees the Word of God and believes it, and loves, and fellowships; and the blanket's far enough for the neighbor, and you know what I mean. The world's dying for a little love, and somebody to care for them. That's right. You've seen so much of this cold, stiff, starchy stuff. But I tell you, this old-time case of salvation will make a calico dress and a silk dress put their arms around one another. It'll make a tuxedo and a pair of overalls call one another “brother.” It sure will. It'll take the starch right out of you when you really get Christ in your life in the right way. Certainly will.

Now we find out that Solomon, the great age, his fame went everywhere, throughout all the lands, and the passers-by heard of it. They taken it into other countries. And the only way they had then was not television and things that they have today, and newspapers; it was from lip-to-ear. And their caravans would come through and passing through, and pick up trade, and take it to the other nations. And finally his fame reached way down across the Sahara desert into a place called Sheba. Was called here “the queen of the south.”

Let's talk about her a few minutes. She was a little heathen queen. She'd been raised to worship idols. But you know, “Faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word of God.” And way down in there the Word got, that God, a living God was living among his people, and her little heart began to jump for joy.

And every time a traveler would pass through into her kingdom and make trade of spice, and whatever they had to swap, and so forth, and jewels, why, she would call them to the castle, and say, “Have you passed through Palestine?

“Yes.”

“You went through Israel. Say, I want to ask something. Is it true that their God is among them?”

“Oh, I seen it. You should, why, you never seen anything like it. Their God has come down and anointed one of their brethren, and they have made him the king. And, oh, you ought to see the unity of the people. They're all with one heart and one accord, and that God is just raining down blessings. And he has a great, powerful, gift of discernment. And he just, when you come before him, it's beyond human; it's supernatural how he can know things.”

Her little heart began to beat. There was something real, she wanted to see that. Well, it went on and on. First thing you know. You know, “Faith cometh by hearing.” And when God goes to dealing with the human heart, there's something takes place inside that you just can't account for. Every day she began to thirst. She wanted to see it. You know the Bible said, “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Now we find out. Let's just dramatize it a little, so the children will catch it. I can think of one day she'd made up her mind that she was going to find out whether it was the truth or not. That's a good thing. Well, like we said about Phillip last night: “Come see for yourself.” She'd begin to, maybe purchased a Bible, the Old Testament by the parchment, the scrolls; and she begin to read to see what this God was that they were talking about. She seen how He worked in His nature. And then she finds out that the very nature and life of that God was being manifested through a man, making Hisself known to his people through the people, what He promised to do.

Well, her heart began to hunger to see it. So now she, one day she took a notion that she was going to go see it for herself. Now that's a good idea, go find out for yourself. Don't take what somebody else says; go find out. “Search the scriptures,” Jesus said, “for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me.” This is what He said.

Notice, now, the little lady to do this, had a lot of hindrances. Now the first thing she had to do, she. First she'd have to go to her pagan priest and get permission, because she was a queen, a woman of honor. And the state church, you know, there, they had to give consideration, because she was going to have to leave her own religion to go find out about another one that she knowed nothing about, but was hungry to know about it.

So I can imagine she walks up to the holy father of the pagan temple, and she said, “Holy Father, I desire, I hear that over in Israel they've got a great God over there that's making Hisself known to His people. They're doing great signs, and wonders, and miracles.”

I can hear the priest say, “Now, my daughter, that's nothing but a bunch of holy rollers. Don't you listen to that. Now, if there was anything going on it would be right here in our own group. You see the great god Dagon, and all these others here? You see these great gods we have here?

The little queen walked a few minutes.

You know, if God goes to dealing with the human heart it's hard to talk anybody away from it. She said, “But look, sir,” she said, “they tell me that the actual results happen. There's something takes place, that God uses human lips with such wisdom that's supreme to any known person. It's beyond finding out, the power that God has given among His people. And they're all in one accord. I want to go see it.”

“Why,” he said, “you would lower your prestige, dear, if you left this church. You cannot attend that revival, so. We're not sponsoring that.” But, you know, somehow, if a human heart goes to hungering for God, sponsor or no sponsor, you're going anyhow, see. When God goes to dealing with a human being (and I hope you don't think I'm critical, but I'm just making a point, see).

Now, notice, the first thing you know, why, she said, “Look. Now look. I have been in this temple since I was dedicated here as a little girl. My mother was dedicated here. My grandmother was dedicated here. You've told me all about the power of that god. You've told me all the books you've read about him and he hasn't made one move. All I've seen some reading on a paper, just a dead bunch of creeds. But they tell me there's something up there that's alive!” Amen. Bless that little queen's heart.

“All I know is some creed that I said here; I haven't seen a move of supernatural or nothing else. Surely, through some of our generation, there'd been a move somewhere, only just a little emotion to get us all to come in and worship. But they tell me that This is a living God that's living in His people; and that's a statue.”

“Now looky here, dear. I'll have you excommunicated. Your name will be taken right off the book if you cooperate up there.”

But it made no difference to her. You know, she had a lot of hindrances, but her faith didn't have any. Your faith don't have no hindrances. I don't care where it's at, what it is, no matter who says not. If God begins to deal with that human heart, begins to pulsate in there that it's the truth and you find it to be the truth, there's nothing going to keep you from Jesus Christ. That's right. You're going anyhow.

So, no matter how many creeds he could recite, and how well educated he was, and how he could bow, and how he could prostrate himself before the idol, that didn't make one bit of difference to her. She was thirsting for God. She wanted to find out, and she wasn't going to be satisfied until she found out herself. She'd seen the Scripture that's what He was supposed to be, but now will it work? That's the next thing. You can talk about anything; but will it work? You can tell all the mathematics of it; but will it work, is the next thing.

Now we find out.

Now, another thing she had to confront.

Now, she thought if she went up there. Remember, the desert was full of Ishmael's children, and they are fleet-footed riders and robbers. The whole desert was full of robbers in them days. Well, the little lady, she thought this: “I'm going up to find out if it's true. Now I'm going to take some offering, and if it's right, I'll support it. If it isn't right, I can bring my offering back.” Pentecostal people ought to listen to that woman. Support things that make fun of you, let your own radio program go down, and everything else of your own people. All right.

She had some common sense. She said, “If I find it's the truth, it's worth everything to me; but if it isn't the truth, then I'll know it isn't the truth. Now, I'll go and see for myself. And I'll take.” She loaded camels with frankincense, and myrrh, and gold, and silver, and costly spices, and things that were values. She loaded camels. And now remember, she didn't go off on a air-conditioned Cadillac. She had to go on the back of a camel through the Sahara desert. No wonder Jesus said, “she'll stand in the generation and condemn this generation.” And some people here can know the same thing going on, and won't walk across the street.

Measure how far it is from Palestine, from Jerusalem, down to where she was. You know how long it taken them? Three months on the back of a camel through a burning hot desert. And what did she have? Just a few eunuchs and her maids with her. Probably had to travel by night. The direct heat of that Sahara desert is terrible, scorch you right down. And she had to travel by night.

But you know, there's something about it that if your heart begins to hunger and thirst for God you don't pay any attention to dangers or some such. Doctor might say you're going to die with a cancer. But if your heart ever strikes faith in God, you know, you forget what the doctor said. Your heart knows no fear as long as it's filled with faith.

On she went, traveling by night, day in and out, day in and out, reading those scrolls. “Now let's see what Jehovah is, what He was, what He promised, and so forth, what He'll be. And I'll find out whether that's Him in this man. I know what men are, and I believe I'll know what the God is because I've read what He was.” And let me say this to Tucson tonight, “He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.” That's right. He cannot change.

People changes, times changes; but He's a unchangeable God with a unchangeable Message. It cannot be swapped for creeds. It cannot be swapped to denominational standings. It's got to be the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in new birth by the Holy Ghost. That's God's requirement, and there's nothing less or nothing more but that.

Now we find out, finally, after all of her troubles and so forth, her heart thirsting. And as she began to near the city of Jerusalem I can see her eyes brighten up. And she put the scrolls away, and she pitched camp right outside, maybe at the palace gate somewhere, getting ready for the meeting. Now maybe arrived in the evening time.

The next morning early she went to the church where the pastor was going to speak. And while she come to the church she seen all the people taking their places, and the music began to play. And after awhile Pastor Solomon walked out. Maybe she had a seat way back in the back of the church, but she was willing to stay to see what was to be said.

She wasn't like people of today. You say one thing that somebody don't agree with, they haven't got the patience as long as a second, see. So that's the reason they get nowhere. But she wanted to be satisfied.

Now she didn't come to say, “I'll just go up there (like people do today), and the first word that evangelist says that's a little contrary to what I believe, I'll get up and walk out.” Well, maybe they do that, see, but it shows poor raising in the first place, and it shows poor manners. But anyhow people do that today, because they feel they don't have to do it. They don't. But you have to meet God, and you'll have to answer.

Now we find out that this woman, she's got, come not just to stay for one message; she come to stay till she was convinced whether it was right or wrong. And she'd taken her place and she waited. And then the first one come up before Solomon, she noticed that the wisdom of that discernment told that person just exactly all the secrets of the heart. Her heart began to jump. She knowed that there was something real. And the next case come by was the same thing. Then she began to thirst herself.

She had many problems, the Scriptures tells us, that she wanted to know about, and as she come, finally, maybe she got her a prayer card. Maybe her number was called (we'd say it, just for saying it), but when she got before Solomon, however way it was, when she got before Solomon, the Bible said that there was nothing that wasn't made known to Solomon that he didn't reveal to her. All the things that she had hidden in her heart Solomon revealed it by the Spirit of God. And when she seen this happen, all the life almost was gone out of the little queen.

She stood up among the people and she said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Blessed be the Lord God who has chosen Israel for His people, and has put His Spirit upon his king and has showed this wisdom.” Said, “Blessed are the men that's with you all the time, that see this great gift operate. Blessed are you, and to see.” She wanted even to take some of the dirt from up in Israel down to her country. She was thoroughly convinced that it was God, and she said, “All that I've been told about it, I didn't hardly know whether to believe it or not. But now I've seen it work on others, and now it's worked on me, and I know that it's right.”

No wonder Jesus said, “She'll rise in the day of the judgment and condemn this generation; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Solomon was a man with a gift of discernment. Now, Jesus Christ is here in the form of the Holy Ghost with all the divine gifts in the whole body of Christ being made manifest. All the things that He promised to the Church is being shown unto us. And some of us care so little, Some of us are so,

We keep looking ahead. As long as Satan can make you look ahead for something over yonder, you're passing over the very thing that God's given you. Listen to this remark: man is constantly praising God for what He has done, and looking forward to what He will do, and ignoring what He's doing. That's the status of mankind. He's always did that, and the same thing is tonight. Men look over, and look back, and see what God does, and talk about a great God back yonder at Pentecost; and looking for a great day of a millennium when He will come again; and ignoring His very being in the presence of His people, making ready for that millennium. They ignore it. It's just the nature of people to do that. Satan gets among them to hide their eyes from the very thing that God sent to them. That's all he has to do. You go to church as much as you want to, do whatever you wish to; but to ignore the very things that God sends to us, why, we're turned down.

What made that little woman say that? She seen something real. She seen something that wasn't just a bunch of creeds. She seen something was manifested and was genuine. To me, anything that's proven to be genuine, is genuine. I think today that the whole world should be interested. If we believe that we're living in the end-time, and we believe that the coming of the Lord Jesus is at hand, we ought to be exactly interested in the things that's going on of this day. We ought to examine it by the Word of God, because we'll drop right by and it'll be past and we'll know nothing about it. That's the way it's always been.

The people never knowed the saints until they were dead. They never recognized the prophets until they were dead. Jesus said, “You hypocrites.” Said, “How you garnish the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers put them in there.” They never recognized St. Patrick until he was dead.

Joan of Arc; they never recognized her to be a saint. The Catholic church burned her to a stake for a witch because she seen visions. They called her a witch and burnt that woman to a stake, crying for mercy. Couple of hundred years later they found out that she was a saint. 'Course they done penance: they dug up them priests' body and throwed it in the river. Penance. Certainly. It goes right over the top of their head and they don't know it. God does it that way to get out his elected children, and to bring condemnation upon the world, who rejects His Word and rejects His presence.

Look at all those ministers in that day looking upon the gift of God in Jesus Christ, and said it was a devil. “We don't have to hear to him. Our priests disagrees with that.” Where're they at tonight? And look at that little old ill-famed woman, that little predestinated Seed of God burning in her heart. And as soon as that flashed across, she said, “Sir, I perceive that you're a Prophet, and I know Messiah is coming to do this.” See, as soon as the first thing flashed, that little predestinated Seed in her heart. Her name was put on the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world. And so was yours if it'd ever be there, see. That's right.

And as soon as that flash come there. And she knowed that that was the hour they were looking for a Messiah, and that's what He was to do. And when she seen it happen she knowed it was the Messiah then, and she never questioned Him any more. She run into the city and said, “Come see a Man that told me the things that I've done. Isn't that the very sign of the Messiah?” She seen something real. This little queen seen something real. It changes the heart of people.

Reminds me. As all of you know, I like to hunt. I used to hunt up in the mountains in the East. In closing now I just want to tell you this. A little incident happened. Oh, I love the sunsets, I love nature, I love to hear the call. They're killing off all the coyotes and things. How I love to hear them holler! There's something about it, I love it. And I love outdoors, the deep calling into the deep. It's God to me. Hear the whispering of the pines, and the call of the birds, there's God in it that me.

Now, notice. I used to go up there to hunt with a fellow called Burt. He was a good hunter. You didn't have to worry about him. He was a crack shot and a good hunter, and you didn't have to worry about him being lost. He knowed where he was at.

I got up there late one year to hunt with him. There's only one fault I found to Burt. He was a good hunter, but he was the meanest man I ever met in my life. He had eyes like a lizard, them kind of like, slanted eyes, you know, like some women paint their eyes today over, kind of like a cat. And she had them kind of eyes, you know, kind of funny looking eyes. And he used to be so cruel. He used to shoot fawns just to make me feel bad. And he used to say to me, “Aw, you preachers are a chicken-hearted bunch,” see.

And I said, “Burt, if the law says you can kill a fawn, that's all right, 'cause the size or the sex of the animal doesn't matter if the law says you can do it,” see. I said, “There's nothing about killing a lamb. Abraham killed a lamb and fed it to God. That's right.” I said, “It's nothing about killing a fawn. But, Burt, you do it just to be mean! You shoot one, then shoot another, then shoot another. That's mean! That's not right to do that. That's murder.”

He said, “Aw, Billy, get next to yourself. You're chicken-hearted like the rest of the preachers.” Oh, he was cruel.

But that day when I went up there my wife was with me, and we went to the little cabin, lodge, there. And the women folks getting ready ... and Burt and I left that morning. We always carried a thermos bottle full of hot chocolate and a sandwich, and we'd hunt up till about noon and then we'd separate, going up over the Presidential Range, and Mt. Wilson, Mt. Adams, and so forth. And then we'd separate and come back and get in the camp that night. We hunted the white-tail deer, really fine deer.

So that year he said to me, when we left that morning, said, “Hey, Billy, I got a surprise for you. I'm going to get them this year!”

I said, “What's that, Burt?” Reached down in his pocket and pulled out a little whistle that he had made, sounded just like a little baby deer calling for its mammy. You know, the little fawn calling, a little “whee” noise it made.

I said, “Burt, you wouldn't use something like that!”

He said, “Aw, there you are. You're still chicken-hearted, aren't you?”

And so we went on,

kind of late in the season. Them white-tail deer, when they are shot at a few times, oh, my. You talk about hiding! Houdini was a amateur. So, how they can hide. And so then we went to eleven o'clock. It was about six inches of snow on the ground. Didn't even see a track. They were really hid good. So along about eleven, twelve o'clock there was kind of a drift of snow, and an open place something the size of this room here, and Burt just was in front of me.

He just stooped down like this and started reaching back in his coat here. And I thought we'd eat our sandwich, and then we would separate and go back to the camp, get back that night. And he was feeling back. I thought he was going to get his bottle out, you know, with his hot chocolate, so I reached back to get mine. And when I did, he come out with this little whistle.

He looked up at me with them lizard eyes, you know, and put that little whistle in his mouth like that, and he blowed it, just like a little fawn, or little fellow calling for its mother.

And when he blowed that whistle, just across that clearing a big mother deer, a doe, stood up. That's the mother deer. She jumped up. She heard that call of the baby. I seen him look up at me like that and grin. I thought, “Burt, you won't do that, surely you won't.” And he'd duck his head down. He blowed again. I can just see her big ears, them big brown eyes. She walked right out in that open. Now, that's strange for a deer to do that, especially that time of day, and right out when hunting season's in, to walk out like that. But she walked right out into that opening, a little clearing, a little meadow. That's very unusual for her to do that.

But why did she do it? She was a mother. She was actually born a mother, and that call of her baby. She didn't think about danger; she was thinking about her baby. And when I seen her turn broadsided, Burt. I heard him let the bolt down on that thirty-o-six, and he was a dead shot. I seen him raise around and put the cross hair of that scope right across her loyal heart.

I thought, “Burt, how can you do it? How can you do it? Surely you won't do it.” I thought, “That mother walking out there to take up for her baby, and then you'd blow that loyal heart out of her. How can you do it, Burt?” And I stood there. I seen him quieting himself down, leveling down like that,

and I thought, “Oh, my! I can't watch it.” I thought, “That mother, she can't help it. She's not acting smart. She's not putting on a show. She's a mother. In her, her part in her, she's a mother. And that was a baby calling in trouble, and she's hunting for it.”

And when the bolt fell, the deer turned and looked to the hunter, 'cause he'd raised up. That still didn't excite her. She was ready to die. She. Oh, if people could just be like that. I turned my head. I couldn't watch him shoot her. I turned my head. I started praying silently 'cause I knowed he'd bawl me out if I tried to run her away. And I turned my head like that, and I said, “Father God, help him. Help him. Don't let him kill that mother trying to hunt for her baby, and it crying like that. Don't, don't let him kill her.” And I was turning like this, and I noticed.

I was listening to hear the gun go off any minute, but the gun never went off. I waited and I waited, and when I turned around to see, he was holding like this, the gun going like this. He turned around, looked up to me, and out of them cruel-looking, lizard eyes the tears was dropping off his cheeks. He throwed the gun on the ground, he grabbed me around the trouser leg, he said, “Billy, lead me to that Jesus that you know.” Right there on that snow bank I led that cruel hunter to Jesus. He's a deacon in a Baptist church up there now.

Why? What was it? It wasn't a preaching. It wasn't the songs that he heard. But he seen something that wasn't a put-on, something that wasn't a front. He seen something that was genuine. “If they hold their peace, the rocks will cry out.” He saw that there was something somewhere that could send a person in the face of death, a love that could send that mother deer in the face of death, and yet not fear to die because the love of her fawn calling. He wanted to know if there was a God that could give him that kind of love, and he found it that day.

Friends, a greater than Solomon is here. Jesus said one time, it was written in the Bible, rather, “Can a mother forget her suckling babe?” Said, “She might do that, but I can't forget you. Your names are engraved on the palms of my hands.” And they are, by nail prints in his hands. We're looking, surely men and women who believe in Him are looking to see something genuine. Wouldn't you like tonight to be as much Christian as that deer was a mother? See, she wasn't just an artificial mother; she was borned a mother. There was something in her that she feared nothing, because it called her out. If we could just be that much Christian as she was a mother. How many would like to have that experience?

“God, let me be ready, with loyalty to Jesus Christ, to walk in the face of criticism, to walk in the face of anything and display my love of God. No matter if my people turn me down, if everybody laughs at me, if everybody calls me old-fashioned, or whatever they do, let me display the love of Jesus Christ in my heart as loyal as that deer could display motherhood.” Do you want that in your heart? Now bow your head and let's pray.

Heavenly Father, a greater than Solomon is here. A greater love is here than the love that that, little story there of that mother deer that day; how she was ready to face that hunter, face that rifle, when she knowed at any minute her heart would be blowed from her. But, O God, when a man or woman or even a beast is ready to display a love. I pray, Father, that every person in here will tonight receive that type of love, even greater love than this. May they not be ashamed to accept Jesus as their Saviour. May they not be ashamed of what He's done for them. May they never be ashamed to confess Him as Lord and Saviour. May they never be ashamed to accept Him as their healer, for it is written “by His stripes we were healed.”

God, may You come tonight and be such a reality to us that we will see the display of God among us in such a way that we will know that Jesus Christ, the crucified Lord, has risen from the dead and standing among us. Father, I believe if You'll do it once more before the people tonight, and show Yourself alive in a greater gift than Solomon had (it's the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church), then men and women in here, Father, will be drawn to You. I commit it all to You now, Father, with this simple little story of the Bible, and of the little hunting trip that November day up there in the White Mountains. It's all Yours now, Father, and You take over from here. I commit myself to You, and this congregation, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now, Christian friends, if our Lord Jesus will show His love to you, that He loves you and will come among us tonight, and will prove that He's here, it's Him. Now anyone knows, As we have said, how would you know it was Jesus? See, how would you know that,. This certain tree looked like it was a sycamore tree; and if it was bearing peaches, what kind of a tree would it be? It'd be a peach tree. The life in it would bear peaches. And if you are a Christian, the life of Jesus Christ is in you, because it is the Holy Spirit. You believe that? And then the Holy Spirit.

If I told you that the spirit of John Dillinger was in me tonight, you'd expect me to have guns out here and be a robber, like he was. If I told you the spirit of some great artist was in me, you'd expect me to be able to paint these mountains here just like they look, 'cause the spirit of that artist is in me. And if I tell you that the Spirit of Christ is in me, He said Hisself you'll do the works of Christ. St. John 14:12 said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; greater works than this do.”

I quoted that once and a man said, “Sure, we do greater works. We preach the gospel to all the world. He didn't do it in his day.”

I said, “Just show me the works that He did first, and then we'll talk about the greater,” see. Ninety percent of the world hardly knows nothing about Jesus Christ. Millions dying every year that never heard His Name. More. it's less evangelized today than it ever was. Hearing them talk about greater works, preaching the gospel, certainly not.

Now, there's prayer cards, I guess, was given out today? I guess they give out prayer cards? And, all right, Billy? Maybe he stepped out. Well, have they got any prayer cards from yesterday? Raise up your hands, some that was give out yesterday. You got? Well, we'll start with them. Let's see, where did we start? Where did we start from yesterday? Number one, was it? Number one to about ten or fifteen? All right, let's change it around and get somewhere else then. We want to get every one of them, but let's change somewhere else. Let's take from ... let's take the last fifteen of them, from eighty-five to a hundred.

Who has prayer card eighty-five? Raise up your hand. Wait, there might be two eighty-five's. What was them first ones? A's, wasn't it? A-eighty-five. It's got a A on the card and a eighty-five—A-eighty-five. Raise up your hand, prayer card A-eighty-five. Is the lady here? All right, come over here. Eighty-six, raise up your hand. eighty-seven. Now if you can't get up, we'll see the ushers will bring you right up here when your number is called. eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety (let's see now, there'll be one, two, three, four, five), ninety, ninety-one, 'two, 'three, 'four, 'five, up to one-hundred, line up on this side over here, up to a hundred. Now, if they all are not there, and somebody's got a card. Now just hold your card. Just keep it. By and by. I'm trying to get you.

While you're looking this way now, watch real close now. I want you to pay close attention to what I'm saying. Your prayer card has nothing to do with it, only to line you up here. That don't mean you're going to be healed. You're only healed, not by a prayer card, but by faith. That's right. How many has ever been in the meetings and know that there's ten to one healed out there in the audience than what's healed here, up here on the platform? Sure it is. It's your faith. Your faith. This is just to get the prayer line started. That's all, get the prayer line.

Now look. Everyone has been taught this tradition (now I say it to my brothers, and which is all right, it's Scripture), but we want to lay hands on one another. Did you notice that? But that wasn't given to the Gentiles. That wasn't the way the Gentiles accepted it. The Jews. Remember Jairus said, “Come lay your hands upon my daughter and she'll live.” That was a Jewish tradition. Is that right? “Lay your hands upon my daughter and she'll.”

But the Gentile said, “I'm not worthy that you'd come under my roof. Just say the Word, that's all. My servant will live.”

And Jesus turned around and said, “I never saw faith like that in Israel.”

He said, “I'm a man under authority. When I.” And what did he recognize? That every disease was under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ. All He had to do was speak the Word; and He's already spoke it, see. And that's what I'm trying to get you people to recognize.

Now many people think that you have to wait till some great evangelist like, oh, Brother Osborn (and Brother Osborn is a great evangelist), Brother Oral Roberts, another great evangelist, and Brother Tommy Hicks, and so many of these great evangelists that's in the land today, you think you have to wait till they come by to be healed. That's not so. Not so. Your pastor has the same authority that any of them does. Yes, sir!

There's no great men among us. If there is, then that person excommunicated himself from the fellowship. We're all one in Christ Jesus. That's right. We are one. There's no great people among us. When you get great you done took yourself out of the way from God. We're not. And if your pastor's not there, the only thing you have to do is to believe the Word that you've heard him preach about Jesus Christ. That's all, see. Great things is done.

Now look. Let's think of that little woman we referred to last night. One time Jesus was crossing the ocean. Wish we had time, a few weeks here in Tucson, where. You see, the thing if it is, it's hard. You get into a place it's all new to the people. They just see something once, say, “My, that's kind of strange, but I don't know.” See, I'm not here long enough for you to get acquainted, to see it.

Listen, I've seen tens of thousands of visions that the Lord God has given to me, and I know there's people here that's followed the meetings, perhaps many places. How many's ever been in other meetings? Let's see your hands. Now I want to ask you something. There never has been one Word spoke but what is exactly the Truth. Is that right? If it is, say “Amen.” No one can say. If there's anyone can say they ever seen one of them visions fail, you're at liberty to stand and tell me so. And I can say that around the world. Ten times millions of people. Little did they know what That was.

Now the people from the Tabernacle, just remember (There's some people here that's come in. I see two of my friends here, Mr. and Mrs. Dauch sitting here, Mrs. Brown from up in Ohio.), that thing of that being up there, and that noise that went off like that, that sent back for the Seven Seals was foretold, every bit of it, weeks and weeks and weeks before it come to pass. How many in here is a witness of that? was in the meetings and heard it told? Raise up your hands, was in the building. There you are.

And scientists are struggling through it. Like when George J. Lacy examined that, I told him, I said, “It's just like an amber light. It burns there.”

And they said, “Oh, it's psychology.”

Mr. Lacy said, “I thought it was psychology too, but,” said, “the mechanical eye of this camera won't take psychology.” No. It was there. What is it?

See, now watch. In the wilderness, when God led Israel through wilderness, He led the people through the wilderness by Christ. How many knows that? How many knows that the Angel of the c\Covenant was that Pillar of Fire, was Jesus Christ? Certainly it was. He said. He told them there in St. John 6. They said He didn't look over fifty years old, and said, “before Abraham.?”

He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He was the I AM that was in the bush. And He said, “I.”

They said, “We drank in water from the Rock,” and He said He was that rock. Amen.

See, not “I was”; “I am.” He said, “I come from God and I go to God.” Now that same Pillar of Fire that was in the wilderness with the children of Israel was made flesh, incarnate God among us, in a form of being the Son of God, that overshadowed the virgin and brought Him, so God could become human to die to pay the price of His Own law, see. It's the Gospel.

And then He said, now, “I come from God, and I go to God.”

And immediately after His death, burial, and resurrection, there was a little Jew that was high tempered and trying to put everybody in jail; and he was on his road down to Damascus with orders from the high priest to arrest everybody. And right about noontime he was struck down in the road. And when he did, he looked up and there was a great light that put his eyes out. How many knows that? The same Pillar of Fire, see. And he said, “Lord....” Being a Jew, he knew that was the same Pillar of Fire that was in the wilderness. He said, “Lord, who are you?”

He said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It's hard for you to kick against the pricks.”

He said, “Lord, who are you?” Now wait, it's the same Pillar of Fire.

He said, “I am Jesus.” Is that right?

Remember one night when Peter was in prison? The same thing come into the jail, opened up the doors before him, and took him out. What is it? Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, if that wasn't, if that was something else, it would do some other kind of a work. But if that is the same Holy Spirit that was in the wilderness with Israel, and also was in Jesus Christ, it's now in the Church. It does the same works because it's the same Light, see. It's the same Spirit. If you could just believe that, friends. Not me; Him, see. He's the High Priest.

A little woman one day. She believed that He was the Son of God. She had a blood issue, and she said within her heart, “If I could just touch His garment.” I think she got that from, 'course, Elijah and taking the staff; and that's where I think Paul got laying handkerchiefs and so forth, that's what somebody else had done. And she said, “If I can just touch his garment, I believe I'll be made whole.” And she pressed through the crowd until she touched His garment.

Now, the Palestinian garment hangs free, and it had an underneath garment. And so she went off and sat down. Physically He could not have felt it, see, because the garment is a robe that hangs free. But He stopped. And everybody had their arms around Him. “Hello, Rabbi, Prophet of Israel. We're glad to have you over here with us,” and so forth.

Who touched me?“

“Why,” Peter said, “Lord.” He rebuked Him. In other words, said something like, “Lord, don't say nothing like that. The people'll be wondering about you. Who touched you? Everybody's got their arms around you. Everybody's patting you. Don't say, 'Who touched me?' ”

He said, “But this was a different kind of touch, see. I perceive that virtue has gone from Me.” He looked out over the audience. And the little woman, may have been standing, she may be sitting, or wherever she was, there was something that had happened. And He saw her. She couldn't hide herself. See, she had touched God through that Man. Virtue, strength, had went from Him. He told her about her blood issue and it had stopped.

Now that same Jesus is the same High Priest today. The Bible said so (is that right, minister brothers?), see, that, “He is now a High Priest sitting at the right hand of God, the Father, sitting there ever living to make intercession, a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities.”

Now, you don't have a prayer card, you won't be up here in the line. But if you want to know whether it is the truth or not, you just say to God tonight, “Heavenly Father, I'm sick. I must have help. And I'm using all the faith I've got. I know it's not that man standing there. That's just a man like I am [or my husband, or my brother, see]. But I believe the man told the Truth because it's Scripture. And I believe that You're a High Priest now. The thing, let me touch you, Lord, and You be the same yesterday. You, that brother doesn't know me, but you turn around and use his lips and speak to me, and say like you did to the woman.”

I challenge you, in Jesus Christ's name, to have that kind of faith and watch what takes place. See if it's right or not. It's the Truth; you just believe it. And if you can do that, well, God will bless you.

Now is there anybody here that never was in one of the meetings before? Raise up your hand. Oh. We're glad to have you here tonight. God bless you. It's just a little meeting, a time of fellowship, and just run in here nervously for two or three nights, and take off. Maybe sometime, God willing, the ministers willing, we could come back here sometime and have a good meeting, where we can stay two or three weeks, and the sick.

People, sometimes they'll have a growth-like in them, they don't even know what the growth is. Now it's a life, like a malignancy, or whatever it is. It's a life. It's a life that doesn't. Say, on my hand there's no cancer there now. Maybe there will be someday. Usually cancer, it comes from. It's a wild cell and. Like some of you sisters going through the time of menopause, and they give you this hormone shot. Don't you do it. You just trust God. Hormone's a wild cell, and you're just putting cancer right in you, see. I'm not, Doctor, don't think I'm trying to take your place here, but I've done met too much of it in the prayer line, see.

So the thing to do, you just put your faith in God. And your real good, honest physician, your doctor at home, will tell you that's the Truth. You just have faith in God and trust Him. He'll take you through the shadows. He's always there to help you. That's right.

Notice, we find. What if that growth, it starts growing? What is it? It's a multiplication of cells, one cell piling on top of another. That's what you are, too, a multiplication of cells. Well, you know where you come from, holy wedlock between father and mother, one little teeny cell. If I was going to tear your body down tonight, take it cell by cell, it'd come down to that one little life. Inside of that life, 'course there's a chemistry of the blood, and inside the blood is the life, and that life is you. Now, it began to multiply cells, and so everything of its kind, the bird after bird, dog after dog, human after human, and it makes.

But you see, a devil has no form. Cancer. it's called cancer, comes from the word “crab,” which means legs spread out. Go to sucking, it's drawing your blood out. It's another life. It's a life living in you. So there's a human life, and there is another life, and that's what I'm talking to is that life. Now, when you say.... Now, you call it, doctor calls it “cancer”; and some of them calls it “cataract” and some may, calls it different things, medical terms. But Jesus called it a devil, and that's what it is. “Devil” means tormentor, and it's there to take your life.

Now, sometimes the doctor can cut around and get it all out. That's wonderful. But what if it's got such a hold he can't? Now, we're not dealing with the lump itself; we're dealing with the life that's in that lump. Now, when you say, “Satan, come out!.” And I can prove it to you. Let the person lay their hands on my hand, and prove, show you, the effects it takes. You've seen it done, many of you. Is that right?

Notice, now, if that life goes out of there, what happens? You go back the next day, it shrinks. Anything knows, after anything, anybody knows when anything dies, it shrinks. You kill a deer, then weigh it and tell the brethren how much it weighs; and throw it on the scales in the morning, it's going to be pounds lighter. When a person dies that has false teeth they take them out, artificial eye, 'cause they'll, they shrink, they'll come out.

Well, then, after it lays there so long, like a little animal, dog, being run over on the street, laying in the sun—it begins to swell. Then it gets bigger than it was in the first place. The patient, then, will begin to get sick after about seventy-two hours, when corruption sets in. They'll begin to say, “Oh, I'm worse than I was. I've lost my healing.” And, “when the unclean spirit's gone out of a man he walks in dry places, returns back again,” see. And if you don't really believe, no matter how much is took off of you, if you don't know how to accept it and believe it (when it returns back, you still know it's gone). And if you accept it, then there's nothing but death.

But what's the matter? You put a. What if you had a snake in you about that long and it'd die? Well, what is it? Your heart beats, and purifies the blood stream. And that's what causes fever, is infection. And then when that growth, laying in the human body and it's dead, and infection sets in or it begins to swell, and the heart has to beat that out, purifying the blood, why, of course you'd get worse. But people there that don't have faith, just run in, and they actually get a relief. I see people.

One night a man with cataracts over his eyes run down and played the piano, and could see. Come up and took this same Bible and read from it. And about four nights later couldn't even see his hand before him. He come back, said, “I lost my healing. It was just a good thing to be there.”

I said, “Brother, that's wrong! You've done, you disbelieve.”

He said, “Well, Brother Branham, I got healed, but.”

I said, “No, it's the cataract swelling, sir. Just keep on believing. Don't you doubt! If you do, it will come back! You just keep on believing. You said you believed; then you're taking back on what you said! Don't say it unless you believe it.” Encouraged him and told him. Stayed there, was there for two weeks, and at the end of the two weeks he could read the Bible as good as anybody else could, see.

Now, if he hadn't had instructions on what to do.

And that's what you get. Run in like this, and the first thing you know, then it all falls back on the pastor. And they say, “Well, they wasn't.” See, it's because the congregation's not trained. They don't understand how to, what they must do, and they don't have altogether faith; they have a lot of hope.

But now, what I'm trying to do is not for you to say, “You know what? Brother Branham laid hands on me and, brother, I got well.” I don't want to even touch you; I want you to touch Him, see. I ain't got nothing to do with it. But in the gift that God has give me, if I can manifest Christ to show Him and bring Him to a reality here before you, the Word itself made flesh among us and show that it is God, then you just touch Him and see what happens. You see what I mean, friends?

You don't want something big. If you do, you can't go to little places. I was on the field years ago. I've never permitted my meetings to grow to a place. I don't have any televisions, I don't have anything selling, I don't have nothing just Christ. I go to them little bitty places where some of the brothers who's got these great big programs couldn't go to, because they got to have thousands of dollars every day to keep their program. I don't have to have nothing, just more of God, see. And I can go wherever He sends me, see?

And that's where, I can go to. I preached a revival here not long ago in a church that held twenty. It was pitiful but we held it anyhow, because the Lord told me to go there, see. And then I go and preach to a crowd of five hundred thousand. Somebody sponsors it and takes me over. I don't worry about nothing. I just worry about keeping right before Him, see. He sends me wherever He wants to send me.

Now tonight, as far as I know, in this line people are strangers to me. How many's out there is strange to me? Raise your. And knows that I don't know nothing about you, raise up your hand, you need Christ. You just believe. Now I think it was a hundred percent. Now, while this prayer line's going up here, you begin to pray down there for God to. And if He will do that, you'll believe, will you? Say “Amen.”

Now, how many knows that that's exactly the way He identified Himself as the Messiah of God? How many knows that from.? See, exactly. It's exactly. And He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. “I do nothing until I see, what I see the Father doing.”

Now I want to take every spirit in here under my control, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the glory of God. Keep your seats, sit still, don't move around. When you move. See, each one is a spirit. You know that? If you wouldn't, you'd be dead, see. And your unbelief. When I say, “Bow your head,” do it; when I say. they cause you to get up, get up; and whatever It says do, you do, just what It is, because It's not me; It's Him. Now, start your prayer line, wherever it is.

Heavenly Father, it won't be long till time is going to run out. Standing behind me here tonight is shepherds, ministers who's foretold and claimed that the hour would come when this would be done. Some old veterans, many years ago standing on the corner with a guitar in their hand, claiming that there'd come a day and here's some of them here tonight, and their sons are here. Father, they only paved the way to make it real. Now may we receive it, Lord. Grant it. May together we fellowship around this great gift that God has sent to us, Jesus Christ. Grant it, Father.

Now, Lord, Thou knowest that I don't know one of these people. I know nothing of them. Thou knowest them all. And I'm trying to let the people see, Lord, that it isn't great men, great church; It's a great God in Jesus Christ. I pray that You'll let Him be known tonight to us, humbly. Now I've challenged the audience, Lord, to look to You.

And let some of them out there, Lord, somebody. I pray that You'll let the Holy Spirit search out some faith there tonight that'll cause the audience to get enthused, to see that there is something going on. And may they understand, and each and every one be healed. May there not be a sick person in our midst tonight when the service is closed. May every unsaved person be saved, when they feel and know that they're in the Presence of the very God that will judge them one day. We commit it all to You now, and I commit myself to You. Use me, Lord, as You see fit, in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.

Now, I ask you to be real quiet, and be in prayer. Now just imagine. Now, if anybody does not think that This comes from God, then in the Name of Jesus Christ I challenge you to come here and do the same thing. And then if you can't, don't say nothing about It. Search it in the Scriptures, you see.

Now as far as I know, with God's Bible here before me, and this bunch of men sitting here looking at me, and in the presence of this people, this woman is a stranger to me. I don't know her. She's just a woman standing there. I know nothing of her.

If she's sick and I had any way to heal her, I'd sure do it. You believe that, don't you? I would do it if I could, but I can't. Nobody else can. Healing comes from God and He's already done it. But if God could do something to make you understand that He's still here, and He's here to keep His Promise. If He keeps this Promise, then He'll keep. He keeps the Promise of healing, of course, see.

And then if Jesus was standing here tonight with this suit that He gave me, and you walked up to Him and say, “My Lord, I'm sick. I want You to heal me,” I believe it'd be something like this.

He'd say, “Child, do you not believe the Holy Scriptures? I died for that purpose. I purchased your healing at Calvary when I suffered for you.”

“But, who, do I know who you are? Are you my Lord?”

“Well, what did I do when I was here on earth before to make Myself known to the people, to both Jews and Samaritans?”

Not one time was that miracle performed before a Gentile, 'cause Gentiles wasn't looking for it. Now is the day of the Gentiles, when they're getting theirs now. And this is the day that He said, “a word against the Holy Ghost, be called an evil spirit, would never be forgiven people.”

Now, the woman, both of us here before God and under the Bible, we absolutely. You see we know not one another, never seen each other, and I don't know, have not one idea what she's standing there for. I've never seen her in my life, and this is the Bible in my hands. And as a minister what good would it do me to say that when it was wrong, condemning myself?

I don't have to be here doing this. I come because I feel I'm in the Will of God. I've come because that I know that the day of judgment will strike Tucson some day, and God is trying to get a Message to you, and I must be His witness. Nothing to me. I'm the least among you. I'm just your brother. It's Jesus Christ. But He has to have someone to work through. He does that choosing Himself. He predestinated that to be.

Now, if the Holy Spirit will tell me what that woman is, or what she's done, or what, something about her, she knows, she'll know whether it's the truth on not. Won't you? Sure. You'd know whether it's the truth. And if it isn't the truth, then it isn't God; but if it is the truth then it is God. How many of you will believe now with all your heart and accept it?[Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] Now here we are under oath, under the Bible, before His witnesses, before the witnesses here, and the Bible laying here that promised that the things that was done just before Sodom burnt will be done before the Gentiles before they're destroyed, the last call to Abraham's seed, the Royal Seed.

Now anyone knows. The woman's standing with her eyes closed, is repeating a word of prayer. She is a Christian, because when she first come up. You find once in a while an impersonator slip by and try to act like a Christian. How many's ever seen that done? You see what happens to them too. They either drop right there, or paralyzed and they pack them out, and that's it. We're not playing church. You remember Phoenix a few years ago on that.

Now, the lady, really, she's burdened about something. Now if you could see, between she and I there's a Light. She begins to fade out, but it seems like her spirit is troubled. She has spiritual problems that she's worried about. That is true. If that's true, raise up your hand.

Invariably, every time, I feel that come in, “He's reading that woman's mind.” I'm not. I'll find that one of these nights, and I'll call it out, too. Just a minute. We'll see if we are, see if we're guessing at this. I don't know what it said first. There was something, it seemed like there was trouble or something. Oh, here it is. I see now. It's spiritual problems.

Another thing, you have sick spells. You have gallstone trouble. That's right. Is that right? Yes, sir. Kind of a strong man. Notice, another thing, you're burdened about somebody. That's some children. It's your children, their salvation. That's true. It's about somebody, too, that's here. I can feel it. It's your husband and it's his salvation. That's right. He's sitting present now. [“That's right.”] Hum.

You're not from here. I see you walking somewhere where there's high green hills and a lot of water. It's away from here. It's north from here. You're from the state of Oregon, [“That's right.”]. You're from somewhere near Grant's Pass, or somewhere around in there where them hills are. Your first name is Lena; your last name is Stovell [“That's right.”]. That's right. Jesus Christ honors your request tonight. Go home. Your husband's saved! your children also, and you receive your healing. Blessed be the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Whatever It was, I don't know, It'll only ... have to be on the tape, but I know it was a woman that had faith, that believed. You believe Him now? Is He the same yesterday, today, and forever? You know that has to be Spirit; now it depends on what you think It was.

How do you do, lady? We're strangers to each other. I don't know you, and you're a lot younger than I am, but do you believe Jesus can tell me what your trouble is or something about you? Would it give you faith to believe? Do you believe me to be his servant? You know I wouldn't know. It'd be impossible for me to know. It'd have to be from Him, Spirit. And you're conscious at this time that there's something going on. It's His presence.

You're not exactly standing for yourself. You've got a lot of trouble. You've got a spiritual, a lot of spiritual problems that you're wondering about, that you're going to get the answer to them. And just to let you know that I know what I'm speaking of, some of it is about something going on in your church. That's right. That is right. It's a business deal. It's going on in your church that you don't think is going on right. That's “Thus saith the Lord.” That is true.

And another thing, I see a person appearing that's almost dead. It's a cancer case. You're praying for cancer, someone in your country. And you're also from Oregon, because it's the same country the lady was here before. That's right. You receive what you ask for. Return home. Your faith grant it to you. I never touched the woman, but God did for her. You just believe.

How do you do, lady. We are strangers to each other. The Lord Jesus knows us both. Now just a moment. Something happened in the audience. Be real reverent. There was a man appeared before the woman here, somebody with faith. Just keep praying. Ever who it was, I missed it. Just keep praying.

Again, see, to talk to you. Everybody has a spirit, see, and the people are beginning to believe. You see, it makes it. See, everybody's faith pulling every way, you see. That's the reason I have to get somebody here just before me. There's even ministers sitting here sick that's praying right now, see. But I've called you, you with the prayer card.

I don't know you, but God does know you. Then if the Lord Jesus will tell me something in your life that you've done, ought to have done, or something that's wrong with you, if you're sick, might be domestic trouble, or might be financial trouble. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, you'll know whether it's true or not if He says it. Will you believe? And believe that you are now in His presence? Not my presence, or these men's presence, that wouldn't make you feel the way you're feeling now. It's His presence.

There's a man keeps standing by this woman. It's a heavy-set man. It's something. I see it! You are a friend to a man that I know, Paul Keen, a minister. You know him. That's right, 'cause there he is. That's right. He's prayed for you, this man. And your trouble, you have a rupture, and the rupture is in the diaphragm. That is right. And it caused complications, and all kinds of sickness. You're not from here. You're from, you're west of here. You're from California. You believe Jesus Christ? Will you accept Him? Miss Moss, you want to go back home and be well? Return and believe it. Have faith in God. Now don't doubt, and it will be brought to pass.

You believing on the Lord Jesus? How do you do? We are strangers one to another, I suppose. The Lord Jesus knows both of us. I do not know you, but the Lord Jesus does know you. It's a Light, and it just keeps leaving the platform. You all keep believing like that. Just go ahead, just keep believing, keep praying. You are suffering with a growth. Do you believe that the Lord Jesus can tell me where the growth is? It's on your right breast, lung. That is right.

You're not from here. There was somebody sent you here. Say, you've been in the prayer line before. That was in. You're from Chicago and you were healed once in the meeting. That was told to you by being a trouble in your side or leg or something like that, and you were healed in the meeting. And a man that's gray-headed and got a gray mus.. it's Pastor Mattsson-Boze, that used to be your pastor at the Philadelphia Church (that's where you're from), sent you here tonight. That's right. Jesus Christ makes you whole. Return back to Chicago rejoicing. Jesus Christ makes you whole. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible.”

How do you do? We are strangers to each other. I don't know you, but Jesus Christ knows you. Do you believe that He's able to give me His Spirit? Which, I'm not sufficient as a minister, you know, but by a gift in the Bible that's promised in the last days, to, “restore the faith of the children back to the fathers.” Do you believe the hour has arrived for that? and that ministry is in operation in the Church today?

You, too, come from Chicago, 'cause I see you going on a street ... looks like Clark Street to me. That's right. And you suffer with arthritis, different afflictions in your body. You can go back now. Your faith makes you whole. God bless you. Go believing with all your heart.

Do you believe God heals arthritis? Then go back to your seat and thank Him for it. Be healed, be well.

Would you come forward lady? Would you like to go eat and feel good again, that old stomach trouble be gone? Go eat. Christ make you well.

Lady, the lady there with the little one, do you believe God'll heal that child? I can tell you the trouble with the child, but I can't heal it. Look here, sweetheart. I got a little girl out there just about like you. I leave her many times crying like you are now, to go see little girls. Do you believe Jesus can heal heart trouble and make you well? Come here. Come to me. Heavenly Father, let the power of the Holy Spirit now present save the life of this child in the Name of Jesus Christ. Don't doubt it. Go believing, and it'll be all right. Believe now with all your heart.

Come, lady. Do you believe God can heal that lady's trouble, female trouble, the drainage will stop? [The sister says, “Yes, sir.”—Ed.]Return. Believe it with all your heart, and be made well.

Like to breath again good and free, and get rid of that old asthma and stuff? Go home and believe it with all your heart and you can be healed and be made well. Believe with all your heart.

God heals heart trouble too. That's right. Do you believe that? Just return and say, “Thank you, Lord Jesus,” and praise his name, and you'll get well. In Jesus Christ's name.

Do you believe?[Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] How many believe?[Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.]

What about you over there in that stretcher? Do you believe? You believe me to be his prophet, I mean, His servant? (That stumbles people.) I don't know you. You're just a woman laying there. I see you're on a stretcher. Do you believe me to be his servant? If God can reveal to me what your trouble is, will you accept Him as your Healer?

You're shadowed for death. There's a dark shadow over you. If you lay there you'll die, 'cause do no good to go to the doctor. It's all over as far as he is concerned. The disease that's killing you is cancer. Why don't you accept Jesus Christ as your healer, rise up from your stretcher, and take it and go home and be made well? Will you believe that? Accept It and go home, then. Rise up and believe.

What about you with your hand up there and that white coat on? Do you believe me to be God's servant? You believe God can tell me what your trouble is, sir? You have some kind of spells, it's epilepsy. If that's right, raise up your other hand. Now believe Him with all your heart and you'll never have another spell. I challenge you to believe it.

This man sitting here looking at me, with a shirt. Looking right up here. You're suffering with heart trouble. I don't know you, but that's the truth. Is that right? Let me tell you again. You're a minister. You have churches you visit. Looks like it's kind of a dark race of, it's Mexico. That is right. You're all interested in somebody. That's the wife sitting there by you. You believe God can tell me what her trouble is? I can't heal her, but if I can tell you her trouble, will you believe for her healing? She's deaf in her ears. Put your hands upon her ears and believe with all your heart, and she can be healed.

How many'll believe the same thing?[Congregation rejoices—Ed.] Amen! Put your hands up in the air and accept Jesus as your healer. You who believe Him that's never been saved, why not come up to the altar just now? You said you wanted to have a feeling in your heart like you did, like that mother deer did. Do you want to accept Him as your Saviour? Will you come up here now and stand around the altar, and let me pray with you while you're in His Presence? Many of you here should come and stand here. If you want to accept Christ as your Saviour, come right now. Will you do it? God bless you, sir. God bless you. That's good.

Someone else wants to accept Him? In His Presence, how you ever going to get any closer to Him? If He could tell me what your trouble is, He tells me you need Him. Come up right now. You who's without Him come now and receive Him as your personal Saviour. Stand here in His Presence. Whoever you are, if you're a church member, no matter what you are, if you're not yet right with God, I ask you and challenge in Jesus Christ's name, come forward now before we finish this healing line, right while the Holy Spirit's here, where I can pray the prayer of faith.

If He'll hear me to heal the sick, surely He'll hear me to save the lost. You who want Him as your Saviour, come forward now in Jesus' name. Walk forward now and stand up around the altar here for prayer just at this time. The Lord bless you. I like that, men and women under conviction, the Holy Spirit, Himself, bringing them right out and bringing them down to the altar.

You who believe this to be the witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in this last days, that the Bible promised this very thing, that it can't be me. I'm a man; It's your Saviour. I tell you, it's Jesus Christ. With my hand on the Word, it's Jesus Christ, the Son of God. His coming is so close until He's manifesting Himself in the fullness of His power among His people.

If you've had doubts and flusterations, just a lukewarm church member, come tonight and be filled with the Holy Spirit while the Holy Spirit, Himself, is here, showing the infallible proofs by the Scripture that He is here. It's Him! Come now, every soul that wants Jesus Christ in your life. Come forward now and accept Him. Come now.

[While we sing it, won't you come now?]

Only believe what? Only believe the Bible truth what's been told you. Here He is proving It. Why did He tell me right in the middle of that healing service? Why did He tell me in that healing service, “Call the people to the altar.” It may be somebody's last chance. I don't know. Only thing I know is obey the Spirit.

All right, minister brethren, come right down here. Right down....

Go right down. Let the personal workers gather around now. We're going to pray for these people.

“Is it possible for me to receive the Holy Ghost like they did on the day of Pentecost?” Certainly, if you believe it.

Do you want a real experience of the love of God, like that old mother deer had for the baby? If your experience isn't like that, you're short. Come on. If you want to manifest Jesus Christ in your life, come on. Don't play church no more.

The hour is here we mustn't trifle with this great thing that God has given us, the infallible proofs of Jesus Christ alive today, after two thousand years' space. Won't you come? The church is receiving its last gift. This is the last thing that will come to the Church before the coming of Christ, according to the Word of God. Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of God.” Here we are.

Come, won't you, every soul that don't know Him? every soul that's in doubt tonight? Don't let this grand opportunity pass you. Won't you come now, and stand for prayer while we gather around this place. That's right. Just keep on coming. We want to see you, everybody who's. We're waiting just a moment because I truly feel there's more here should come.

No matter what church you're affiliated with, we're not asking you for membership of church; we're asking you to come and receive Christ. Would you like to receive the God that knows the secrets of the heart, that can reveal it right here like He did, that knows the very thoughts you're thinking, and can describe them to you as He did in the days gone by?

Now the Lord bless.

Now, while these are around the altar, and while the others are coming, let the ones in the audience stand up just a moment now while we're going to pray. Now you that's sick out there that maybe wasn't in the prayer line, you lay your hands on one another. Let all the personal workers and the ministers lay hands upon these people here.

Are you ready? Have you seen something that's real? Has something stirred your heart? Has something become a reality to you, quickly, to know that Jesus Christ is alive tonight?

Now let us bow our heads and every man pray in your own way. Remember, there's millions of prayers going up around the world right now. God hears every one of them because He's infinite. Pray now as you do in your own church. Pray for God to forgive your sins. Pray for Him to fill you with the Holy Ghost. Pray for God to heal you. That's right, the Holy Spirit fall among you like that and give you great victory and liberty.

Heavenly Father, we bring this audience to you just now. Let the great power that raised up Jesus Christ out of the grave, may it quicken the church just now. May the healing power, may every sick person be delivered from the powers of Satan. May every lost soul be saved, and every saved person filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Grant it, Lord.

Pray like you never prayed before. Pray like you were dying, like it's your last time!