The Trial

... for a Scripture reading this afternoon, out of the book of Mark, the 16th chapter of Mark. And I want you to stand with your Bibles as we read God's Word, Mark 16, beginning with the 9th verse.

Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first unto Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

After that he appeared unto other forms, (pardon me), After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they....

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

[Isn't that a picture of today? They don't believe you're a witness of such.]

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. [That just makes a line—one side or the other.]

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands on the sick, ... they shall recover.

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

And they went forth, ... preaching every where, the Lord working with them, ... confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Let us bow our heads.

Lord, we believe this to be the last commission to the church. We believe that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we believe that any man is no better than his word. Therefore we believe that this Word is You, and we believe that it is You which is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Come today, O Father God, in the form of the Word to us, and let the people see that Thou art the risen Christ, raised in this last day in the form that You said You would be in—the manifested Word.

When You were on earth You were the prophesied Word manifested in a human form. And the word is prophesied for this day. Come, Lord Jesus, and bring it to us today, the Word. Do your interpretation of the Word that we might have joy unspeakable and full of glory, insomuch that we have found You pleasant, and found your words true, and confirmed in our hearts that we have passed from death unto life.

We all who are borned of that one tree in the garden of Eden that was forbidden to be touched—the woman, for in her there is no life.... She only is an egg. The life come from the man, which was Christ. And we have been borned of woman, and the Bible tells us, of few days and full of sorrow and trouble.

Father, we have also been born of the life-giving from the man. The male comes to the female, and the germ is from the male, as your Spirit overshadowed the virgin. And in her womb was created the blood cell—the blood cell not Jewish, not Gentile, but God-created blood. In that blood we have our hopes. It was not of a woman, neither of a man—it was of God.

So we pray today, Lord, as we see ourselves partakers of the woman tree, and we all must die because there's no life in the woman. Now also, Father, we've been given the privilege to partake of the man tree, which was Christ. And now through Him we have life—life, the Word being made life among us. Grant, Lord, that these things will become such a reality to the church that they will see and will understand the hour we're living.

Heal the sick and the afflicted. May there not be a feeble person among us this afternoon when this service closes. May it be so long remembered amongst the people, may your servants—the pastors, the shepherds—may they just be so inspired until their churches will be revolutionized; and the great services take place that'd start an old-fashioned revival, right here in this city among them, that will sweep state, and nation, and even world-wide. Grant it, Lord. You hold the keys of this prayer in your hand. Help us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. May be seated.

God must bring judgment upon the earth. And God has to have something here—a standard—to judge the world by, because it would be unjust in God to judge the world, and the world knowing no standard to go by. How many believes that's true? If the church is the standard, which one is it? The Word. God said He would judge the world by Jesus Christ. He is the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us ... the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Now, I want to speak to you this afternoon on a very strange subject. It might be to you. But in this subject I'm going to give my Lord a just trial. I don't think He got the right kind of a trial before Pilate's court. I don't believe He had the right trial. Therefore, they found fault with Him, and condemned Him, and crucified Him. But we're going to act this afternoon, as in this trial....

And you say, “Could you give Him a trial? If He remains the Word we can give Him a trial, because He is the Word yet. And we can give Him a trial. And I want to see that in this court this afternoon, as we take this building to represent the court, that we want to see that He gets a just trial. Whether it's for Him or against Him, we want to give both sides. And then, in this case, I want to try Him which is the Word.

Now, this scripture that I have just read—Mark, the 16th chapter —even Dr. Scofield here says from the 9th verse on is not found in two of the oldest manuscripts. It's commonly believed among people that—or teachers today who want to believe it that way—that it's been injected in there by the Vatican. But I find that Irenaeus and many of the early writers referred to Mark 16. As you other people who study history, Bible history, know, that them early apostles, and even after Jesus' death.... And when Polycarp, and Irenaeus, and St. Martin, and St. Columba and all of those, referred back to this Mark 16, so it must have been authentic or they would have never referred to it. And St. John was the one who set the epistles together, and Polycarp was a bosom friend and helped him to do it, according to the history.

Now we find out that today they don't believe that. They are trying to get away from the reality of God being real, instead just as a decoration or a creed—the real God. This chapter would prove it to be, and every proof that they can get....

Like a certain great teacher, president of the Sudan Missions. My little wife over there was present when he came to my place—Perris Reedhead. And he said, “Brother Branham, I understand that you was a Baptist.”

I said, “Yes, sir. That's right.”

And he said, “Well,” said, “I want to ask you something.” He said, “When I was a little boy,” he said, “I had an experience. And my mother washed, and everything, to send me to school. And I thought surely that when I got my BA that I would find Christ.” He said, “When that was given to me, I didn't find it. When I got my Doctor's degree I thought I would find it. When I got my LLD, I thought I would find it.” He said, “Brother Branham, I've got enough degrees, both literal and also honorary, that I could plaster your walls with them. But where is the God of the Bible?” He said, “Was the teachers wrong?”

I said, “Who am I to say that the teachers was wrong?”

He said, “Well, here's what I understand—that you turned Pentecostal.”

And I said, “Well, I don't say.... I believe when I was borned in the kingdom of God I automatically was Pentecostal,” I said, “because Pentecost is not an organization. They tried to make it, but it isn't. God will fill a Presbyterian, Lutheran, or whoever you are, see. So it's an experience and not a organization. You can't organize it. It's an experience.”

And he said, “Well, I want to tell you what happened.” He said, “From India, in these days, they're sending people here for their education.” Said, “In our school there was a fine Indian boy that come over here, and he got his education. And when he went back.... I think he was to be a ... I think electrical engineer or something.” He said, “But when we....”

They got a school, just like Brother Oral Roberts has up there. They teach engineering and whatever.

So he said, “On the way back I, with another minister, said to him, 'Now, going back to India [and you know the Indians worship Mohammed]....' And he said, 'Why don't you forsake your old dead prophet, and receive a resurrected Lord Jesus, and take a real God back to India with you to tell your people?'

“He said, 'Sir,' he said, 'what could your Lord Jesus do for me any more than what my prophet can do?'

“And he said, 'Well, my Lord Jesus can give you eternal life. It's a promise in the Word.'

“He said, 'My prophet Mohammed promised the same thing in his word.'

“And he said, 'Well, you see,' he said, 'my Lord Jesus is raised from the dead. Your prophet's in the grave.'

“He said, 'Did He raise from the dead?' Said, 'You've had two thousand years to prove it, and 80 percent of the world has never heard about it.' He said, 'Let Mohammed raise from the dead and the whole world will know it in twenty-four hours.'”

Mmm. “He said, 'Well, look.' He said, 'Jesus is raised from the dead.' Said, 'I can prove it, because He lives within my heart,' said the Christian.

“And the Mohammedan said, 'And sir, Mohammed lives in my heart.'

“He said, 'But you see, we got power and joy.'

“He said, 'Sir, the Mohammedan religion can produce just as much psychology as Christianity can.'”

And that's truth. I've seen them lay in the street and holler “Allah,” and get in such a condition they could take.... Billy and I stood and watched a man run a sword right under his heart, and a doctor got up there and poured water through it, and it come out. Pulled it out and never hurt him. See them take splinters, and take under their fingernails and run them through; and run hooks up through their nose and never even feel it, or bleed a drop. They can produce more psychology than Christianity can.

And Mr. Reedhead said to me, said, “I knowed I wasn't talking to some overnight boy.

“And he said, 'We Mohammedans are waiting....'”

Like they did to our gallant brother, Billy Graham. You read it in the paper, when the Mohammedan come to Mr. Graham and said, “You take thirty sick people, and I'll take thirty sick people. And you heal your thirty, and I'll heal my thirty by Mohammed,” see. Mr. Graham run from the scene—he wouldn't answer him. I don't believe I would have done that. I'd have been like the Hebrew children. “Our God's able to deliver us from this.” Why didn't he send and get Oral Roberts, or somebody? If he didn't believe that, send to get somebody that did believe it. But you see, by denominational.... Oh, they'd throwed him out right then. Got a work to do.

However....

Then he said, “When we over in India see you Christians produce what Jesus said that you would do,” said, “then we will believe you.” He said, “He said He raised from the dead, and the people would know it because you would do the same works that He did.”

“Well,” he said, “we do greater works.”

He said, “I never said the greater. I just want to see the works that He did first.”

Well, you talk.... You're not talking to some little fellow down on the corner when you talk to one of those—them in their theology. So he said, “We want to see the works that He did.”

“Oh,” he said, “perhaps you're referring to Mark 16.”

He said, “Yes, sir. That's one of them—his last commission to the church.”

He said, “Well, now, you see,” said, “a lot of people fanatically believe that chapter.” He said, “But we learned—better scholars in school—that Mark 16, from the 9th verse on, is not really inspired.”

He said, “Why, Mr. Reedhead.” He said, “What part is inspired, then?” He said, “Maybe the rest of it isn't inspired. All the Koran is inspired. What kind of a book are you reading, called the Bible?”

He said, “I made in my heart I was coming to talk to you. I was going to talk to you.”

There you are. If this is not inspired, then what about the rest of it?

It reminds me of a lady in Chicago. Her boy went away to a seminary to learn to be a minister—some Bible school and seminary. And while he was away the old mother took real seriously sick. And so they sent word for the boy to stand by. His mother was such a high fever, she had pneumonia, and said that she ... it might be an emergency call. So the boy packed his clothes and got ready, finally. And the next day—he'd never heard no word through the night—and the next day said, “All is well.”

So about a year later he returned from the school in the east, some great school of teaching. And he came home, and he greeted his precious mother. He said, after talking a little while, said, “Mother, I never did get the chance to ask you. What happened?” Said, “One night they told me to stand by and the next morning said you were well.” Said, “What drug did the doctor use?”

Said, “Honey, the doctor didn't use nothing.”

He said, “Well, how did you do it?”

Said, “You know where that little mission is down here on ... almost to the Loop, there at the square?”

“Yes.”

Said, “There was a lady that was having a prayer meeting down there one night in this little mission, that poor, little, humble bunch of people.” And said, “One of them was inspired to come up here and see me. And two women came, and they asked me if they could bring their pastor up and pray for me, and anoint me with oil,” and said, “and lay their hands upon me, that I'd be well.” And said, “You know, I told them, 'Sure.'

“And they brought the pastor up, and he laid his hands upon me and prayed.” And said, “Honey, he read it right out of the Bible—Mark, the 16th chapter. And said, 'These signs will follow them that believe.'” And said, “You know what? The next morning, the doctor was so puzzled he didn't know what to do. There was no fever in me.”

“Oh,” he said, “Mother, you didn't associate with that group, did you?” Said, “See,” he said, “we in the school, we learned that Mark 16, from the 9th verse on is not inspired.”

She said, “Glory to God!”

“Why,” he said, “Mother, you're beginning to act like those people.”

She said, “I was just thinking something.” Said, “I've been reading the Bible, all the way through, and other promises and other places, too, similar to that.” And said, “I was just thinking: if God could heal me with the uninspired, what would He do with that really is inspired?” That's right. To me, it's all inspired. God give me faith to believe it and confirm it.

Now, we're going to change now, for just a few minutes of a court case. Now remember, we're going into a courtroom to bring Jesus, God, on the scene here, and give Him a fair trial. He's still the Word, even of this day. Do you believe it? Just the same as He was the Word then. Now, this case, the cause of it is the Word of God's promises versus the world. Now, get the set real right, or you'll never catch it. The cause for this indictment is breach of promise—God not keeping his word. It's a breach of promise. You know what it is.

Now, always we find out that the prosecuting attorney has to represent the state. I think that's right. The prosecuting attorney (if there's a lawyer sitting here, I hope I got this right), the prosecuting attorney has to represent the state. So the prosecuting attorney in this case is the Devil, prosecuting God's Word. The defendant of this Word is God Himself, because He is the Word. The defense witness in this case is the Holy Ghost. And the prosecutor has some witnesses here this afternoon, and these witnesses ... one of them is Mr. Unbeliever, the next one is Mr. Skeptic, and the next is Mr. Impatient. They'll be brought to the platform, and sworn in, and tried.

Now you got the setting of the court.

God is indicted by the world because He don't keep his Word. And the prosecuting attorney represents the state, which represents the world. And the prosecuting attorney is the Devil, that denies that the Word is right. And the prosecuting attorney, for his witnesses, brings three witnesses against the Word of God. And to prove it ... He's going to prove it to you this afternoon that God doesn't keep his word, and is not ... it's not to be tampered with—it's just not true, there's nothing of it true. And the defendant is God, which is the author and the Word for this day the same as that day, or any other day. And the prosecuting attorney has his witnesses.

Now, you say, “Where is the jury?” I'm speaking to them. You are the jury, and also you are the judge. Now bear that in mind—you're both jury and judge on the case. I'm just a spokesman. Now, we got the court set.

Now, order is now called by the prosecutor. Order is called in the courtroom this afternoon to bring this case to a showdown. Now, many people has told you that the Word of God isn't reliable, you cannot depend on it, and so forth. And you've heard all this. Now let's bring it to a true trial. How many is willing? Raise your hands. Say, “I'd like to hear it and Jesus Christ, which is the Word, get a fair trial.” And in our court this afternoon we're going to give Him a fair trial. Just let the enemy ... take the enemy's words, whatever he's got to say, and see if it's right. Let's dig it down and give Jesus Christ, the Word, a fair trial this afternoon.

Now, court called to order. The first witness that the prosecutor wants to bring to the stand is ... to the stand is Mr. Unbeliever. He takes the stand to testify. Now, remember, Mr. Unbeliever—don't miss these characters now or you'll miss something ... you might miss your healing. Mr. Unbeliever comes to the stand to testify. His complaint is that all God's word of promise is not true. It isn't true.

He claims that in Mark 16 ... was ministered to him in a so-called Holy Ghost meeting. And he'd been having stomach trouble for some years, and he went to a place where there's, what they call it, a Holy Ghost meeting, and was believing that this promise of Mark 16 was true.

He had hands laid upon him according to God's promise.

He has nothing to say against the minister. He read it right out of the Word. He isn't prosecuting the minister. He's prosecuting God, because it isn't the minister's fault—the minister is only reading what God said do. And God truly said in Mark 16, “These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover.”

And he says he is a believer, and he come to such a meeting, as where they was preaching Mark 16 to be true. And the minister—with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which claimed to be a believer, and a minister sent for the business—he laid his hands upon him. And that's been two months ago and his stomach is just as bad as it ever was. Therefore he claims that God is not just to put such a thing as that in the Word when it isn't true. Now let him get down—he testified.

Next to the stand is Mr. Skeptic. He wants to give a testimony. Mr. Skeptic says that he had been bothered with TB for about fifteen years, but he wasn't retired yet. It just kept breaking out, just kept going on. He'd get just a little better, and then go on. And he heard of a place in the city where there was supposed to be a godly preacher preaching. And people were claiming to be healed according to a promise out of God found in James 5:14, where in the Word of God it says, “If any is sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church, and let them anoint him in oil and pray over him. The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and God shall raise them up.”

And him being sick, and a believer, he goes to this meeting where all these people claim that they were being healed by this godly pastor, and he was ministered to according to James 5:14. And the pastor ministered just according to the Word: anointed him with oil, and prayed for him a prayer, of what the pastor said was a prayer of faith, that he believed. And that has been almost a year ago, and he's never had one results from it. Therefore, that Mr. Skeptic claims that God is unjust to put such a promise as that in the Bible and then not stand behind it. Now remember, I'm reading full gospel promises here.

The next witness will come to the stand now. The prosecutor calls his next witness to where he nails the case down. His next witness is Mr. Impatient. Now these are supernatural characters that dwell in characters, see. Now, they do. So Mr. Impatient comes, and he claims that he one day was reading in the Bible. He didn't go to churches, but he was a believer. So, one of them went to an evangelist, the other one went to a pastor, and this fellow was just a secret believer and stayed home.

And he went and was reading in Mark the 11th chapter, the 22nd and 23rd verse (if you're writing those scriptures down), where Jesus Himself, claiming to be God Emmanuel, made this statement with his own lips: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you have said will come to pass, you can have what you have said.” And He said also that when you pray, believe that you receive what you ask for, and it shall be given to you.

He says he's been lame in his feet for about twenty-five years. And five years ago while sitting in the room, feeling that he was inspired to read the Word, which he claims that he believes, and with all of his heart he believed it. And he then said, with his own voice, “Crippleness in my legs, in the name of Jesus Christ, leave me,” he said. And that's been five years ago, and he's just as crippled as he ever was.

So therefore Mr. Impatient wants to put his testimony against the Word being the infallible, wants to put it against the Bible being the inspired Word, and says that this promise is not true. He's tested it, and it wasn't true. Mr. Skeptic said he tested it and it wasn't true. Mr. Unbeliever said he tested it and it wasn't true. All these three witnesses give scriptural readings, scriptural promises, and says that this promise reads this—you can read it out of the Bible—and they are a witness that it is not the truth.

Therefore the Bible is to be throwed away, because if one part of it, one verse of it cannot be trusted, I couldn't trust any of it. It's got to all be the truth, or none of it's the truth. A chain is only its best at its weakest link. You know what I mean.

Now, the prosecutor comes up now to bring the prosecution, and to nail the case down. He wants to nail.... Now watch what he says. God is not justified in putting such rashal promises in his Word for his believing children to test their faith by, because they are not true. He has witnesses here to prove that this word that God has promised in his Word to be the truth.... He's got witnesses sitting here, that can show by doctor's proof and by testimony that they've been sick, they've been this, they've been that. And they have accepted these divine, supposed to be inspired, scriptures and put them to the test, and they are not true. Got witnesses to prove it, that these words are not true, for He failed each one of them then.

Now, notice again. And He failed, God failed, to make these believers that believed in his Word—took it just exactly, went through the routine exactly what He said—and then God never moved a finger towards doing anything towards his promise. Years and years has passed. Then he said, “What if the other scriptures, like being baptized, 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,' then there's nobody saved? What of these scriptures that promised that He would return? There's none of them right, because these are not right, and that's not right. It's just a book of fiction.

“And these men are believers, yet He, God, promises all things are possible to believers, and these are believers.

Yet again, He claims to be alive after his crucifixion. The Bible says that He has raised up from the dead and remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. And no one has seen this man with nail scars in his hands walking amongst the church, and so forth.

“And Hebrews 13:8 is not so. He isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever 'cause He never was no more than a man. He cannot keep his promise. He's proved by these witnesses He doesn't keep his promise. Therefore the book should be throwed into the trash can and forgot about. No such a thing.”

Now remember, I'm using the voice of the prosecutor nailing his case. All right.

He said at Luke 17:30—where He said in the last days the Son of man would be revealed—God would reveal Himself to the seed of Abraham, as He heard a fanatic preacher preach one time. And said that He would reveal Himself again in human beings, called the Son of man. Revelations 10, he says that He claimed the last angel's messenger, according to the church age of Laodicea, which was to be the lukewarm, that Jesus would be—which was the Word—put out of the church. He claimed that in these dispensations that there'd been things that hadn't been revealed to the reformers in the early days; but in the last days that in the seventh angel's, seventh messenger's, message, that all these scriptures would be made real, and made manifest. There is no such person on earth, never was, and never will be, he claims

He claims that in ... that God claims in his Bible that the church would get formal, and get away from itself; that in Malachi 4 He would send again a prophet which He has sent already twice—Elijah and John the Baptist. He would send a prophet by the ... that he would be in the power of Elijah and his ministry, his actions, everything would be Elijah. And then in his ministry he would be calling the people from this formal condition back to the real genuine faith of the apostolic fathers. And there's no such thing going on.

And He also claims that both heaven and earth will fail, but his Word will never fail. And he says he's got proof here this afternoon to show that it fails. And who is this Jesus that raised from the dead? You're all worked up in a bunch of mental psychology, and there is no such a thing. You're trusting in a false hope.

Now I think that's about enough for him to say. I think he's took the whole Bible in. Now let him sit down, the prosecutor. Now let the prosecutor's witness step down also. They step down off of the stand.

And on the platform now we will call the defense witness, the Holy Spirit. He comes to speak. I hope you see the way the prosecutor's got his case nailed down with the scripture. Now, the defense witness, which is the Holy Spirit, comes to defend the defendant, the Word. I think they couldn't have got a better one.

The first, He calls the attention to this court that the interpreter of God's Word to the people—the prosecutor—is the same interpreter that interpreted God's Word to Eve. He wants the court to understand that—that the interpreter is Eve's interpreter, which says every bit of it was all right but just one word. And He wants you to know also—He was the one, remember, who wrote the Bible—He also wants you to know that in the beginning that one word away from God's word caused all death, and sorrow, and sickness.

And He wants you to know that God also said in his Word, at the last chapter the same as the first, that anybody that will take anything out of here, or put anything else to it, his part will be taken from the book of life. It must be the Word and that alone. He wants the court to know who done all this hard nailing down now. It's Eve's interpreter.

He wants to call this court's attention again (that is, the defense witness), He wants to call to this court and show you that the promises is only to believers—not make-believers, impatient or skeptics. Changes the picture, doesn't it? It's only ... not to what people that call themselves believers; it is to believers only, not to who say they are believers. Satan says he's a believer too, you know. It's not to them; it's only to real believers.

And this defense witness ought to know whether these men are believers or not, because after all the defense witness is the quickener of the Word itself. He knows whether you believe it or not. He's the one that's been given by God to make it come to pass. Hallelujah! He's the one that proves that. He's the one that makes it come to pass. He's the one who knows whether it's fell in the right place or not, this defense witness for the Word. Notice, He wants to call again to the believers. The defense witness knows whether it is or not. He is the quickener of the Word.

And again He calls this court's attention to the Word of promise that's in question. He never set any certain time for these things to happen. See how they can misread the Word to you? Now these guys that say, “Let me see this happen,” you see, they don't even read the Word right. That is, if the man is a true believer, He still never set any time limit.

He also wants the court to remember that this Word is written. And Jesus Christ, the Word manifested, said, “The Word is a seed that a sower sows.” And the seed can only produce itself, produce its promise, if it's in the right kind of a ground that will quicken the seed. Amen! Kind of changing the case, aren't we? It's got to be in the right place.

A grain of seed, laying on this desk, will never grow a harvest. A grain of corn on here, on bluestone, will do nothing. A grain of corn has got to fall into the ground that's been fertilized for that grain of corn, or it will not grow.

And God said that his Word is a seed that a sower sowed, and it must fall in the right kind of soil. That soil is faith. It's a seed, and it must fall into this ground or it cannot be quickened. In other words, the Holy Spirit, defense witness here, says that He can't even come to it until it falls in the right kind of soil. He's the quickener of it.

The defense witness calls his first witness.

I think if the prosecutor could call witnesses here on earth that'd prove that the Word was wrong, I think the defense witness has a right to call witnesses who can prove it is right, because the question now is between believers and unbelievers with the Word [unclear word] the Word grow.

The defense witness wants to introduce to this court this afternoon, the first witness is Noah. Noah said that he lived in a very scientific age. Noah wants to testify. And he said he lived in a day when people had got away from miracles and things. And then he heard the word of God tell him that He was going to destroy the world by water, and the water would come down from above. It would rain, which it ... never had did it before. But he says that the Word of God, him being a prophet, the Word came to him. And he went to preaching that the Word was going to come to pass, because it was God.

And he wants to also let this court know that Mr. Unbeliever, Mr. Skeptic, and Mr. Impatient tempted him all along. But being a prophet, knowing that God could not lie, he held onto the Word, regardless.

They come to him and said, “Now, Noah....” Mr. Unbeliever said, “How you going to prove there's any rain up there?”

“I don't know where it's at, but if God said so, that settles it.”

“How is it going to rain when there's no rain up there?”

“I don't know. But God said so, and that settles it.”

Mr. Skeptic come around, and said, “If it would be such a thing as rain come down there, then He's going to have to come down here and get rain, and take it up there. How's He going to do that?”

“I don't know.”

“And after I built the ark....”

First, he wants to say that when he made this statement, being a prophet among the people, everybody laughed at him, and said, “I don't see any rain.”

Well, when he went to work on the ark, they said, “Maybe after the ark....” Mr. Impatient tried to tell him, “Maybe after the ark is built, then it'll come a rain.” But when the ark was completed, it still didn't rain. It never rained the next day, it never rained the next week, it never rained ... it never rained the next month, the next year. And when he completed the ark, it still didn't rain.

And then he said one day the voice of God come back to him and told him that he'd see a supernatural sign amongst nature, that the birds and animals would be going into this. And then Mr. Unbeliever laughed at him and said, “It's become a habitation of birds. He made a roost, instead.” And all laughed and made fun of him.

But one day God spoke to him and said, “Go in the ark.” And Noah stood in the door and said, “You're getting your last call! Come in!” And nobody come in but his own family. So, he says he went in the ark, and he said to his lovely little family (now, this is prophet Noah), “Oh, in another hour no doubt the rain will be falling.” And when he went in, the door supernaturally closed behind him. He said, “You see, now, honey,” to his wife, to his daughter-in-laws, and his sons, “we are locked in with God.

Now we got a window up here. Run up the steps real quick. Don't miss it! Run up real quick, and go up here now. It's fixing to rain, no doubt.“

And some of the people out there that heard him preach said, “I wonder if that old fanatic could be right?” Mr. Unbeliever, Mr. Skeptic, Mr. Impatient—they all come around. Said, “We'll find out.” Said, “Noah, are you in there?”

“Yes.”

“Open up. We'd like to look around.”

“God has closed the door. I can't open it. There's no latch in here to open it with.”

“Now,” he said, “the old crank! He went in there and closed that door, and tried to make us think.... It's a hoax. He's trying to scare us.”

There's the witnesses of the prosecutor sitting there listening to all this, for they're guilty of doing it! The Bible said so. Scoffers!

“And they scoffed at me, made fun of me. And even myself, I was looking for the rain. All day long, there was no rain. The next day there was no rain. The next day there was no rain. Four days, no rain. Five days, no rain. Six days, no rain. But God didn't tell me when it was going to rain; He just said, 'It's going to rain.' He never set any time limit. He just said, 'It's going to rain.'

“He never said, 'As soon as you lay hands on the sick they're going to jump up and run around the floor,' like the skeptic wants to make you think. He said, 'They shall recover.' He never said when, how; they will. He said, 'The prayer of faith shall save the sick,' in James 5:14. 'God shall raise him up.' When, He didn't say; He just said He would. Mark 16, He said, 'Say to this mountain be moved, and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you have said will come to pass.' He didn't say when; He said it would. Hallelujah!”

See that false interpreter of the Word there? These say, “Well now, let me see you make this man.... He's been in a wheel chair a long time. Let me see.... He says he's got faith.” That devil! See who he is? Jesus never said they'd jump right up and get at it right then. Lot of Pentecostal people's thought the same thing, but the Bible never said that. He said if they believed it they'd get well.

And He's got his witnesses here to prove it. Noah said, “After 120 years, then it rained. But it did rain.” Noah knowed that he was going to see it in his generation because he built the ark. He was ready to go in. Now. Now we find out that that was true. Now, that's Noah, the first witness.

Now the second witness we'll call up. Let's call up Abraham. He said, “I was a prophet, and I prophesied under the inspiration of God. And He told me that—my wife being sixty-five years old, and me seventy-five at the age, at the time—that I was going to have a baby by Sarah. Yet she was ... I was sterile. She was ... her womb was dead. She was twenty years or more past menopause. I'd lived with her all these years and there'd been no sign of children. She was ... her womb was dead, and.... But God told me I was going to have a baby by her.

“And you know Mr. Unbeliever, Mr. Skeptic, and Mr. Impatient—after the first twenty-eight days when nothing happened to Sarah—they laughed at me and made fun of me. The first year they come to me and said, 'How many children do you have now?'

But after twenty-five years the baby come on the scene. It happened. God didn't say, 'You're going to have a baby next week by Sarah.'“ He never designated any time; He just said he would have a baby by Sarah. He never said when; He just said he would.

So Abraham said, “I staggered not at the promise through unbelief, but as it lingered on I got stronger all the time. And seeing as I got weaker in physical (which was a hindrance of the baby coming) instead of getting weaker in faith, I got stronger in faith, for I knowed that God was able to keep his Word.

“So one day I was sitting talking with Sarah, and the angel of the Lord came up—three men. Two of them went to Sodom; one stood by me and talked to me and told me the things that was going to happen. And I was old and stooped in my shoulders, and Sarah could hardly get around. And you know, the very next day I began to see that hump come out of my back, and my hair begin to turn black, and Sarah's cheeks become red.”

Now, you say, “Radical, Brother Branham.” Just a minute, see if he did. Notice, they turned back to a young man and woman. Now you say, “Oh, Brother Branham!” Now, God hides his message between the lines. The seminary will never know it. That's right. No, no—it's a love story.

My wife over there, she writes me a letter. And she says one thing upon the letter, but I can read between the lines. I know what she's talking about because I love her. I know just her nature. I know what she means. “I'm sitting here tonight, Billy. The children's in bed. I'm thinking of you.” Oh, I know what she's meaning, see. See, because I love her. And if you're in love with God, and God's Spirit's in you.... The Holy Spirit Himself is the interpreter of this Word.

Notice, they were well stricken in age now. The Bible said so. (Quickly now, we come to an end.) Then he said, “I turned back to a young man. She turned back to a young woman.”

You say, “Oh, Brother Branham!” Listen, in order to get that baby.... Her womb was dead. His life stream was dead. Now to get ... He'd have to make her another womb. Would He have to do it? And then they didn't have these bottles they stick in the baby's mouth so the Mother can run around everywhere. Them days it had to be a wet mother. So in order to do that ... the milk veins was dried up. So you'd have to make new milk veins, and so forth, to feed the baby. And another thing, a woman a hundred years old going into labor? You'd have to make her a new heart, see. So He just didn't patch it up; He showed in him what He was going to do to all of Abraham's seed that'll turn back new, get a new body for to receive the coming Son that we're looking for. I still believe the promise.

You say, “Radical!”

All right, just a minute, watch. They took a trip three hundred miles from where they was at, down in the land of the Philistines, to Gerar. And down there was a young man by the name of Abimelech. He was king, and he was looking for a sweetheart, and all those beautiful Philistine girls.... Here come little grandma, Sarah, now, with her shawl on, and Abraham.

And Abraham said, “Dear, I want you to do me a favor.” Said, “You're so fair to look upon. When that king sees you he'll take you for wife.” And when the people saw her, she was so pretty (grandma!), she was so pretty until Abimelech took her to be wife.

Then He appeared to Abimelech in a dream and said, “Her husband is my prophet. Don't you touch her. You're as good as a dead man.” That right? He's showing there what He's going to do to all of Abraham's children.

Said, “He didn't say when He would do it, but He said He would do it.” That's all right, friend, just move on—He'll do it anyhow. He promised it. Now, but twenty-five years later, Sarah had the baby—from the time of the promise. The Word never said when she would have it; but said she would have it.

Let's hurry up with these witnesses now—third witness, Moses. He said God gave him a sign to do, to prove that that was the Word for that age. He took the Word, with a sign and a voice, and went down before Pastor Pharaoh. And Pastor Pharaoh said, “Ha, ha. That's a cheap magician trick. I got men here who can do the same thing.” And they did it! Impersonators.

He said, “If I wouldn't have been a prophet and knowed that that was the promised Word, I would have said there's nothing to it, 'cause these impersonators out here is doing the same thing I'm doing.” But he knowed it come from God, so he held steady. God said he would deliver the people and they'd come to a mountain. He expected maybe they'd come back that day, but it was years later—but they come back. They got to the mountain. God fulfilled his Word. He'd taken them to the promised land, as He said. He had believed God's Word.

Now, right quick I'm going to get another witness. The fourth witness is Joshua. He said, “When God give us the promise, and we went over to the ... it's only about forty something miles. And when we got to Kadesh-barnea, Moses sent out witnesses to find out whether we could take it or not. And, oh, the Amalekites, and those great giants, and high walls!” Said, “We couldn't take it at all, it looked like. But somebody went over and brought back some evidence that the land was good.” So he said, “All the rest of the tribes said, 'Oh, we can't take it!'” He said, “I stood up, and stilled the people, and let them know it wasn't the size of that thing out there; it was the promise of God, and God would do it.” He said, “After I got the people quietened.... He never took us over the next day, the next week. Forty years later He took us over. But He didn't say when He was going to take us over; He said He'd take us over. So we went over.”

I'd like to have Isaiah to come, just for a moment. Watch Isaiah. He said, “I was a vindicated prophet amongst the people. Everybody believed me, from the king, Uzziah, all down. They believed me. I was a vindicated prophet. What I said, God made come to pass. He made my words that I said come to pass, because I spoke them in his name, Jehovah.”

He said, “One day Jehovah spoke to me and said, 'I'm going to give them a sign: a virgin shall conceive.' And I just spoke it like Jehovah said.” Said, “I want you to know that (this court), that every Hebrew girl got the bootees and everything ready to have this baby. A virgin was going to conceive. And it went on months—it didn't happen. Weeks—it didn't happen. About eight hundred years later it happened—but a virgin did conceive and bear forth a child.”

Jehovah never told him it was going to happen tomorrow, “some virgin in your age.” He just said, “A virgin shall conceive,” and that settled it. He didn't say when; He just said she would.

Now, if it pleases the court, may I be his next witness? I'd like to witness for Him. Next witness—a promise of the Word for this day is what I witness to. At birth, as a little boy in Kentucky (you see it on the prayer cards and everything), that light stood there. I told my mama, my papa, all down through the age.... Hope this don't sound personally, but I'm just standing for a witness before Him. This is Him in Word form.

I didn't know what it meant. No one knew back there in those mountains. The little old ... didn't even have a window glass like you all got now. They had a little old door you pushed open for a window. And that morning a light came in. I'd tell the people, tell Mama.... Things I'd tell, it always happened that way. They didn't believe it. They said, “It isn't so.” But about thirty years later God proved it by scientific proof that it was so. It was so, 'cause it's a promise.

At the tree, at seven years old, where the voice spoke to me and said, “Don't never smoke, chew, or drink, or defile your body....” And me in a bootlegger's home! Didn't even know what a Bible was, no more that just the word. We might have been able to find a almanac, but not a Bible in our house. Nothing but a bunch of.... Not talking against my people, but ... God knows all about it. There was no way at all.

My people before me, back behind that, were Catholic. They'd all married away from the church and gone away, and there was no religion at all. We didn't even pay attention to it. But He told me what was going to happen, that I was to not to smoke, or drink, or defile my body in any way—there would be a work for me to do when I got older.

Well, it was years and years after that. How did I know I'd be a minister? I hated the thought of a preacher! But it happened anyhow. It goes to show He keeps his Word. Seventeen years after He appeared to me there in the bush.... We find out next day after that He showed me a bridge crossing the river, spanning it. Showed sixteen men drop off of it. I told Mama. I was sitting against the tree looked at it. She said, “You went to sleep, honey.”

I said, “No I never, Mama. I watched it.” Exactly seventeen years from that day the Municipal Bridge at Jeffersonville spanned over to Kentucky, and the seven, and the sixteen men lost their life on it, just exactly like it said.

Oh, so did.... Mr. Unbeliever has tempted me all along.

And may I just call the attention to this blind prosecutor about Jesus being here with nail scars in his hand. He never said such a thing as that. He said when He returns from heaven that it would ... every knee should bow and every eye would see Him, and every tongue would confess. He only promised to return in the power of the Spirit, and vindicate his Word, of Mark, see, what He would do. He just don't.... They just don't get it.

Now, upon the basis of this discussion this afternoon, and us living ... (which, I'm going to have to omit. You seen me turning these pages of texts and things I've got to bring it out. But I think we're close enough now to get it.) Now, still they won't believe it. Jesus promised that as it was in the days of Noah, and as it was in the days of Lot, it would be in the last day. We've got it. It's here. It's already vindicated. Just how many scriptures....

In the Sodom age, what happened to Abraham would return back again to Abraham's royal seed, which is in Christ; Christ returning in the form of the Word, working in human beings, and showing the signs that He promised it would (sign), it would do. He promised that He would do it. God promised it, and God will keep his promise.

And now, a few years ago I told you that He spoke to me, and said there would be three stages of this ministry. And one of them would be by taking the people by the hand, and would know what their troubles was. How many remembers that? Sure. Did not I tell you, if I be sincere, that He told me it would come to pass that I would know even the secret that was in their heart? Did I tell you that? How many remembers that? Did it happen? It never happened the next day; it was years later. But it happened!

And He spoke down on the river. He said, “As John the Baptist was sent forth to proclaim the coming of Christ—at the end of his ministry, Jesus came—and as John was sent so will your ministry forerun the second coming of Christ.” And there's been a universal revival amongst the people of God throughout the world in the last fifteen years. The longest revival.... Any historian knows that no revival lasts over three years, and this is fifteen years. And look at the church today! It's cooled off. We're waiting for his coming. He's a-vindicating himself, showing.

Now, all these things has happened, He promised in there that, “You'd know the secret of the heart.” Now the third stage is just breaking in in the ministry, now. I won't take time to go in there, 'cause I think I oughtn't, but many of you here know about it, see, of what's taken place.

Now, when I told you—when I first come to Kansas City down here, and down in Arkansas—that these things would happen, and here they are: we are living witnesses that they have happened. God has said, “... will come to pass”; it didn't say it would happen right then. He said it would come to pass.

Mark 16 said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” If I'm not a believer, then why has this Word been vindicated the truth? If you're not believers, then why did God give you the Holy Ghost? You might have all kinds of demonstrations. You might run, speak in tongues, and do things like people that does have the Holy Ghost; but if that's not a genuine something in your heart, it'll never bring that Word to life. But if it's a genuine thing in there, heavens and earth will pass away, but that Word can't fail.

“These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover.” And you see others recovering. He didn't say they would recover right then; He said they would recover if they believed it.

How many hears that's the truth? How many believes that still the Word of God is right? It's just misinterpreted to the people. Don't you believe that? It's just misinterpreted.

Now, not back in the days of Luther, not back in the days of Paul, not back in the days of Noah and these other witnesses, not fifteen years ago, when I told you these things would come to pass; but today, in Topeka, Kansas—this day, this hour, this minute—let's call the Word of God to a showdown.

He promised this would happen in the last days. Now, do you believe He keeps his Word? He must keep his Word in order to be God. He has to do it. He must keep his Word.

Now, did He promise as it was in the days of Sodom, it would be the same thing in the coming of the Son of man? That He would be revealed in the last days like He was to Abraham and his seed at Sodom? Did He promise that? Luke, the 17th chapter, 30th verse, if you read it.

Now, He promised that. He said it would happen. Jesus said all scriptures must be fulfilled, all He promised. Did He promise in Malachi 4 what He would do in this last day? And immediately after this would come fire and burn up the unbeliever, and the righteous would walk out upon the ashes of the unbeliever. That's right. Well, we're right here at the door.

Now, just before the great flood came in, what did He promise? Just before coming out of Noah, or Moses, coming to bring the children of Israel out, what happened? Just before the coming of Jesus, what happened?

John—we didn't bring him to witness. We had him down here, but not to a witness. How that he was called away from all the theology of that day to go into the wilderness, because he was to identify.... He had to identify the Messiah. Well, if we went out to the school, to his father, and said, “Now, I'm a great friend of your Dad. Oh, he was a great old man, I love him, and I know ... now isn't Brother Jones that Messiah? Now you know, John, he is.” See? He separated himself. At the age of nine years old he went into the wilderness because he was a wilderness lover. The spirit of Elijah was upon him. And the spirit of Elijah wasn't Elijah—he was a man. It was the spirit of God, with that Word in that day.

And he went into the wilderness, and when he come out he had to identify the Christ. Not the good man, but “upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending.” Not the man was the best teacher, not the man was the best, most precious person in the land in that day, but upon whom the Holy Ghost Himself identified as the Word. The very Word itself identified the Word.

Now He promised that in the last days. Jesus would do ... be the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe it?

Now, let us bow our heads just a moment. Have faith, don't doubt, believe. (Someone in the audience prophesies.) Thank the Lord. All right. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe it?

Now what did He promise? To a-vindicate Himself in a man, a human flesh like He did to Abraham. When the Son of man ... it would be the Son of man; not the Son of God, now—the Son of God in a son of man.

In Ezekiel, the 1st chapter, the 2nd verse, Jehovah called Ezekiel the son of man, exactly what Jesus called Himself. You understand that, through the teaching of the week. Now, see, what is the son of man? Prophetic. What was Malachi 4 to be? A prophet. What was these things to happen in the last days? Now He never said when; He said they would happen. They did.

Now, you ... if He's still the Son of God, the Son of man, ready to be revealed in the last days on the throne of David as Son of David.... Watch. Then, if that's right, He promised that, He's obligated to that Word. He's obligated to that Word. Now you touch the border of his garment with your faith. And I made these claims. If it's of God, it will come to pass. If it isn't of God, it won't come to pass. That's only what's true. See if this is ... we're among believers or not. Now you have to be a believer, the same as I'm a believer. You have to believe this to be the truth. If you believe it, it will happen. Now pray. Each one of you believe in your own way.

Let's start from one side, just concentrate on one side, and just.... I want this side over here against the wall, somewhere, you believe. Have faith. Don't doubt; just believe. Say, “Lord....” Don't look at me, now, see. You can look at me, but look ... let your faith look beyond that. You can look at me with physical eyes; but look at Him with your eyes of faith—that He is that Word. And He's just changed his mask, see, from what could not be seen to what is absolutely declared—the Word made flesh. Have faith.

Don't move around now. Be real quiet, reverent. You can move around in a moment, but be real quiet and reverent. Now what is it? It's a gift. A gift ain't to take, like a sword, and go punch, and jab, and pull. That isn't it. A gift is just getting yourself out of the way, so the Holy Spirit can work in a human body. Don't try to say, “Glory to God, I got a gift, I got a gift, hallelujah!” You'll never get it. If you just know how to let yourself go.... It's like pulling a gear, see. Change yourself into faith from unbelief. Just jerk a little gear back there. Say, “Well, I've always kind of been skeptic, but really, now, I believe now.” Now watch what happens then. Just do it once and see what happens. Just pray.

I try to get myself from the message into a gift, a gift to ... that the Word might make itself known by—as Hebrews 4:12 says—discern, know the thoughts in the heart. Pray for whatever's wrong with you. Pray. Just say, “God, I'm needy. The man don't know me, but I'm needy. I....”

In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the glory of God and according to the Word of God that I've just got through preaching, I take every spirit in here under my control. Now no matter what happens.... There might be something happen just in a minute. There's a critic sitting here, and I'm just thinking something's fixing to happen, see. So, just be real reverent. If anything gets disturbed, you just sit still. You sit real still. Let that person do what they're going to do. Watch what happens. Let them make the move and see what happens. You'll see whether He's God or not. You ought to see Him in battle. You've seen Him in healing; watch Him in battle. Satan's trying his best to do it. Just let him do it once; see what happens.

Here's another person sitting over here that's been suffering, sitting right down here—a man and his wife. And she's praying. He's praying for her. It's a nervous condition, nerves in the face. She's kind of a heavy-set woman. Her husband has a white shirt on. She's laying his hands upon her. That is true. Raise up your hand if that be true. If that's what you're praying about, don't worry. It'll stop. It's a promise, if you'd believe. You touched his garment.

There's a lady sitting right back here on this side. She's suffering with a female trouble. I hope her.... (O God) Mrs. Reid, you know I don't know you, but that's true, isn't it? You were praying, “Lord, be merciful to me.” He has. It's going to leave you now. You just believe with all your heart. Don't you doubt. You have faith.

Here. Here's a lady sitting right here at the end, little dark-looking hat on. She's praying about ... it's trouble. She's got trouble. Don't you see that light hanging over her there? She's got her head down. She's got trouble with her knees. She hurt her knees. She fell and it hurt her knees, see. I don't know her. God knows that. But that's true, isn't it, lady?

Here, lay your hand over on that next lady sitting to you. It come right straight to her. She's suffering from a nervous condition, and that nervous condition has.... She's got eye trouble, and the eyes was operated on, which caused it. That's right, isn't it? Raise your hand. “If thou canst believe....”

This other lady that put her hand up, right there by the side of her, it kind of thrilled her. But the reason, if you'll.... You believe that God can tell me what your trouble is? It's in your ankles. If that's right, wave your hand like that. All right. What did He say He would do? He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe that?

Here's a man sitting in front of me. He's suffering with arthritis. He really.... I don't know whether he's going to get it or not. He's kind of a man about my age. He suffers with arthritis. He's not from here. He's from Kansas City. Do you believe that God will heal you? Do you believe God can tell me what your name is? Mr. Frances. You believe with all your heart. He's trying to rob you from it, sir, and you was thinking I was meaning another man, but it was you. And when I said that, a real funny feeling come over you, real sweet and warm. If that's right, wave your hand like this.

Also, your wife sitting there, she's Mrs. Frances. She suffers also with arthritis, and she's got trouble with her eyes, and trouble with her ears. Is that right? That's right.

The lady sitting next to her, right next to her there, she's suffering with varicose veins. Right. She has something wrong inwardly, some kind of ... it's a bladder trouble. She has bladder trouble. She's also from Kansas City. Miss Gregg, that's right.

If I'm a total stranger to you people, raise up your hands like that. I mean to these people here that's just called. Raise up your hands, you people that just called then, if I'm a stranger.

What is it? The same God who came down in human flesh, and eat meat, and drank milk. And Jesus said, and Abraham said, rather, that He was Elohim—God manifested in flesh. Jesus said, as it was in that day, that Jehovah—the Son of man again in the form of prophetic, like He was—would return again at the last days, just before your bodies was going to be changed. We couldn't.... See, Sarah couldn't receive that baby in that body, could she? Abraham couldn't in his body. His body had to be changed. So does ours to receive the Son—take the Word that He is the Son. It is the Word. Do you believe it?

Now bow your heads just a moment.

Thoroughly, with all your heart: is God justified in making these promises? Do you believe his Word is the truth? Do you believe that these witnesses are only false witnesses, that they didn't have the faith to believe it in the beginning? You are the jury, and you are the judge. Every jury has to make up its mind. The judge has to pass the verdict. Have you made up your mind that God's word of Mark 16 is the truth? If you have, raise up your hand.

I've brought witnesses on the scene that come the same way as this, in the last days, and proved that God's Word was right. And God's Word promises this in the last days. And I'm here—and you're here—before you to prove the rest of them. Every one of you, each one of you can be called, one by one, like that—if you believe it. Ask these people. Talk to them, where the Holy Spirit's called.

“What are you doing now, Brother Branham?” Trying to get it away from it. It just keeps happening, everywhere in the building. You can see it flashing. See, but I'm trying to get you to believe it. Have faith in God. Believe it. He's justified in writing this. He's confirmed it and proved that it's the truth. He prophesied it thirty years ago, and proved it today. He said it two thousand years ago, and proved it today. His Word is the truth, and every word of God is inspired, and all of it's the truth. And Mark 16 said, “They shall lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Jury, what is your verdict in this court this afternoon? Is Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever? Raise your hands. Are you fully convinced that Mark 16 is the truth, the Word of Jesus Christ, “If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover”? Raise your hands. Then Satan, you've got to go. Mr. Unbeliever, you have no business among us any longer. Mr. Skeptic or Mr. Impatient, I don't care how long it takes it, it's going to happen!

Do you call me a believer? Raise up your hand if you do. I'm a believer. I'm going to pray for you, lay hands on you. Do you believe that your pastors here are believers? Raise up your hands. How many believing ministers are out there? Raise up your hands. I'm going to ask the believing ministers to come here just a minute. Is that all right, Pastor?

I want every minister in this building that's a believer, come here and stand with me just a moment. I want genuine believers, now. Remember, we don't want make-believers; we want genuine believers. Come here and stand on the platform. Going to see something happen now. I believe you told me the truth.

Now remember, real quiet just a minute, as these ministers are coming. I want to say something to you. Now what? What'll happen? Your action, your action (Somebody slipped. Sorry.), your action from this on will be your verdict. How many believes that? Raise up your hand.

Now everybody that's got a prayer card stand up over on the right-hand side here. Get over on this side. You ... each one of your aisles, stand out in the right-hand side of your aisle, in the right-hand side of your aisle. Now them on the other end over there will have to come out this way. All right. All these on this side with prayer cards stand up in this aisle, like this, on the right-hand side. That'd be the left-hand side, I'm sorry. This side over here would be your right-hand side; that's on your left-hand side. Now come right around like that. Form your line.

Now all you ministers come here and make a double line right across this way, two lines right this way. Right around here, right around here, each one of you.

Now how many of you believe? Raise your hands. Say now again, “I want to show God that I absolutely believe that Mark 16 is the truth.” Raise up your hand. “I now accept it.” How many out there that won't be in the prayer line, will be praying for these that's in the prayer line, and the whole group of us together will be praying as believers? Raise up your hand. Now let's pray.

Lord Jesus, Thou art God. Thou art the great I AM; not the I was, or I will be. You are I AM, present tense. There is no power that can stand in your way. You are God, and there's none like You. You make your words to be confirmed. You proved it to us through the witnesses this afternoon in this trial. This jury, and also this court, and the judges that will be, we have give the trial fair.

We've taken what the enemy said, we've taken what the prosecutor said, we've taken what his witnesses said. We brought it back with the witness of the defense witness, and He's proved that God is justified in making these statements because He does bring it to pass to a believer, by many more witnesses than the unbeliever can produce witnesses. Now we know that it's true. It only lays if the people has judged it to be right, the Word of God to be the truth.

Grant Lord, that everyone passing through these lines here....

Father, these men standing here.... After I'm gone someone might say, “Brother Branham laid hands on them,” but I want the people to know that these pastors has just as much right to lay hands on the sick as anybody does. They don't have to wait till some special time an evangelist comes through, but their own pastor has the right to lay hands on them. God grant that every person that passes through this line of hands here today, that's been called and ordained of God to lay hands on the sick....

We know we have no holy hands, but we don't look at ourselves; we look at our sacrifice, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever, who's bleeding before the throne of God now to cleanse us, to carry out his commission. Grant, Lord, that every man, woman, boy or girl that passes through here will go off of this platform rejoicing just the same as if they were normally, and well, and sound. Grant it.

May this jury's verdict, as they claim (it was He was justified) and may now the judgment that they pass will be their action from hereafter. Help us God, in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

Brother Roy Borders, or some song leader, if you'll come here just a moment, and lead now. With your eyes closed.... Now just fall right in line as your line comes along. Come through here. We've prayed. Each one of these men, why I put them up here, was this.... Now you over here will have to come down this way and fall right in line with these, with these here as they come out, see. Now just wait till they go away. Wait till this line comes out. Then you, lady, right here, sister, wait right there, see, wait right there, see. The ushers, some of you help them there, see. See, you've got to let this line come out, these lines come out, and this line follow them, see, coming through.

Now if you're coming through here just presuming, just guessing, stay out of the line. It might make you worse. But if you come through here believing, there's nothing going to take it out of you. How many knows that from this, this is the settling time? You that's in the line say, “This is it. I believe it. No more to complain about it. It's over right now. I've accepted the Word of God.” If you don't, don't come in the line now.

You believe with all your heart and come.

God's vindicated Himself by Word and the witness in trial—present right now, the same yesterday, today, and forever. There's nothing left but to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Here's your pastors. You know they're believers. They're your shepherds. Now I don't want you to get the impression that me, Oral Roberts, or somebody else, is the only person that's ordained to do this. Every minister's ordained to do it. Every believer, whether he's a minister or not, is ordained to do it. Every person that believes has a right to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

I don't say your pastor or anybody would be.... Take the gift of discernment. They don't have to do that—that's not their calling. That's not their calling to do that. That's to be one in an age. But we find out that you're called as a believer. These signs shall follow them. It don't point out any person—them that believe. You believe it with all your heart now. Brother Roy, you lead the song, “Only Believe,” everybody in prayer.

Ministers, as they pass by, lay hands on them. And laity and friends, when you pass by here, don't you have one doubt in your mind. Just pass right through the line going out here. Say, “It's settled.”

Now, remember, you have been the jury on this case. You raised up your hand that you had your verdict. Everybody understand? Say, “Amen.” You've had your verdict. Now what you do hereafter will prove whether you told the truth or not. Your judgment will be passed by what you do from hereafter. That'll be ... you'll be the judge and jury. If you truly believe it, it's got to happen. If you're make-believing, it won't happen, 'cause it's proved by the Word, by the presence of God, by everything that there is.

Is anything left to be done? If He'd come right here this afternoon could He heal you? No, no. He's already done it, see. He's all.... There ain't a thing left to be done now. He's vindicated Himself here by the Word, proved everything. The only thing you have to do.... You've made up your mind and you heard the trial. You've passed the verdict. Now come and show your judgment. Amen. God bless you.

Only believe, only believe,

All things are possible, only believe;

Only believe, only believe,

All things are possible, only believe.

Now can you sing it this way?

Now I believe................

Right now I believe it. Raise your hands. Say, “I really believe it. These signs shall follow them that believe.”

All things are possible, now I believe;

Oh, now I believe, now I believe,

All things are possible, now I believe.

Some time ago, about fifteen years ago, I remember one night being called to a hospital to a boy dying with black diptheria. There was ... his heart had went bad on him. And the father kept coming to the meeting to get me to go pray for the boy. And the boy was about fifteen, sixteen years old. And I was just so busy I couldn't do it. And finally.... If you take it to one, then it's the other, you know. So the father just kept holding on, waiting till the time. Finally, one night after service I went to the hospital. Well, the doctor told me that I could not go in. He said, “Because the boy has got diptheria on him, and you're a married man. You can't go in, take that germ.”

Well, I asked him, “Just please, let me go in.” The man was Catholic. And I said, “Are you a Christian?”

He said, “I'm Catholic.”

I said, “If a priest was standing here and trying to bring the last rites of the church to the boy, would you accept it?”

He said, “That's different. That's a priest. You're a married man.”

I said, “If I sign a paper, take all responsibility?”

He said, “I can't do that, sir.”

And I said, “Please.” I said, “I'm just as much to them people as a priest would be to you.” Finally he dressed me up like a Ku Klux Klan with all that white stuff and taken me in. And I went to the boy. He had been unconscious two or three days. His heart was just barely beating. I forget what the respiration was—very small, just barely beating. And the old father and mother were standing there.

And I just knelt down, and just a simple little prayer, laid hands upon him. I said, “Lord Jesus [I used this scripture], You said these signs shall follow them that believe. Here's Father and Mother. They wouldn't be persistent, and holding on for me to lay hands upon that boy, if it hadn't have been that they believed it. And, Lord, I wouldn't have come here as a mock. I believe that what I've said and taught is the truth.” And I said, “I bless the little boy. In the name of Jesus Christ, let him live.”

And when I raised up, the old father and mother began to hug one another and say, “Isn't it wonderful, Mother? Isn't it wonderful?” The boy hadn't changed one bit—just lay there.

And I looked at them, and the little nurse standing there. She was a special nurse, a graduate, and she was over, watching the boy. And she said to the mother, she said, “How can you act like that, and know your boy is dying?”

The old father (like, he was about, oh, I guess he was fifty-eight, sixty years old), he laid his hand over on her shoulder, as an old Dad would. He said, “Child,” he said, “that boy's not dying.”

She said, “Mister,” said (I don't know what this was, some kind of a cardiogram or something), said, “his respiration's went so low, and with this disease it's not known in history, if it ever gets in that condition, for it to ever come back again.”

And the old patriarch brushed off his eyes and looked at her. I'll never forget this. He said, “Honey, you're looking at a chart. That's what you're trained to look at. I'm looking at a promise that God made. 'They lay hands on the sick, they shall recover.'” The boy's married and got three children—a missionary in Africa. It depends on what you're looking at.

Now there might be some here that got here that didn't get a prayer card. I asked the son down there. He said, “There's no doubt but what there's plenty back there, Daddy, that didn't get a prayer card.” How many believers are here then? Raise up your hand. Will you do this, while we sing, “Now I believe”? Now God was good to you. Won't you, as a believer.... It doesn't make any difference whose hands it is, as long as it's a believer, see. Will you just lay hands on one another and we'll sing this song together. “Now I believe,” and until I meet you, God be with you.

Now I believe..............

That's right. Lay your hands over on somebody near you.

...............now I believe,

All things (no matter what's wrong),

All things are possible (in Jesus' name);

Now I believe; now I believe;

(I'm not kidding. No. Now I do.)

All things are possible, Oh, now I believe.

Now all that believe it, raise up your hands like this. “I now believe it.” God bless you.

Till we meet, till we meet,

Till we meet at Jesus' feet [till we meet];

Till we meet, till we meet,

God be with you till we meet again!

Now with our heads bowed. May God be with you truly, smite death's threatening ways before you, take you from victory to victory. Some day may our bodies be changed, made like unto his own glorious body where we'll pray no more for the sick. Until then may God be with you, till we meet.

.................till we meet,

God be with you till we meet again!

Now let's bow our heads for the closing prayer. Who's going to pray? Brother Gibson, now, while we have our heads bowed.