¹ Let us remain standing just a moment as we bow our heads now and look to the Lord. If there's any requests to be known to God, would you just now at this time, raise your hand to Him like that and hold on your heart what you want.
Our heavenly Father, we are grateful for another day. And now it's begin to mark up; it'll be history. The services of this morning is already past. The words that's been said is in the air, on the tape, and we'll have to meet it someday. It'll either have to be right or wrong. And we're--we believe that It's right, because that It's Your Word.
Now, we pray that You'll grant to us tonight the requests that we're asking. With our hands we raise, asking for requests that Thou did know what we had need of and what we're asking for. So we pray that You'll answer us, Lord, and give us the desires of our heart; that is, if we can use it to honor You. Grant it, Lord.
Heal the sickness in the midst of us. Take away all sin and unbelief. Give us of Thy--a portion of Thy blessings again tonight, Lord, as we meditate upon the Word and the time that we're living. We have assembled together, Father, for no other purpose but to try to learn how to live better and to live closer to You. For we see the day approaching, and we must assemble ourselves together oft and take instructions from You. Grant it, Father, in Jesus' Name. Amen. (You can be seated.)

⁵ I know it's awfully warm and place all packed out the way it is; and so we're sorry we don't have the--any air-conditioning. And I... Maybe that'll be... There's two things that I want to do for the church as soon as I can get back in the way I want to, if I can get back in the meetings properly. I want a--a piano, where it sets this way, so the pianist will be looking towards the congregation. I want a organ over on this side and a air conditioner, then I feel like I--that'd be it. And so we are... We'll trust the Lord and know that He will grant it to us.

⁶ I believe they told me Brother Hickerson just took this out of the magazine. He put it on my desk back there. That is that constellation of Angels that's in the--the magazine that was spoke of. See the pyramid shape? Look at this one on this side, the pointed wing coming with his chest out like that on my right-hand side, as I spoke from this same pulpit months and months and months ago. See? There it is. And "Look" magazine--or "Life" magazine has it, the--the May issue, May the 17th, I believe it is (Is that right?), May the 17th issue. Mrs. Wood was telling me today that many called her and asked... That's in the May issue, May the 17th.
It's a mysterious cloud. The cloud is twenty-six miles high and thirty miles across. And that's what we were speaking of here. And that's where the Angel of the Lord came down and shook the place, and the whole... It sound louder...

⁸ I know there's one man if... I think Brother Sothmann--I seen him awhile ago somewhere--he's here--he was standing (yeah, right back here)--he was standing near when it happened. I guess I wasn't too far from him; I just seen him, tried to wave to him (only I had his binoculars), that the--the animals in which we were hunting had--wasn't on this hill. Now, it went on the other hill. I'd found them the day before and told them where to go to. And I went over here where if they come this way, I'd just shoot up in the air and run them back that way, so that they could get their--their--their animal. So... Javelina is what it was.

⁹ And so, I went over on this side, and they wasn't--they wasn't on either side. I seen Brother Fred walk out, and they wasn't there. He went back, and Brother Norman went over the hill. And I turned, went down in a little chasm and come up, just by myself, about a mile and a half through some real, rugged country. And I was set down and was just looking around. It was getting up in the day, and I was picking those, what we call there, goat-headers, something like a burr, picking them off of my trouser leg, just exactly the same kind that I saw myself doing when I was here telling you about the vision six months about, before it happened. And I said, "That's strange. And look how perfect north I am of Tucson, kinda northeast, makes..." Tucson, you remember I said a little southwest. And I said, "That's strange." And I was looking at the--at the burr like this, picking them off of my--many of them--off of my trouser legs. If you've never been there, that's a desert country. It isn't like this at all. About twenty times brighter, and no trees and things like there is here, just cactus and sand.
So I--I was just looking at it like that. I just raised my eyes up; at about, I'd say, half a mile from me I saw a whole head--herd of javelina, laying--coming out on the end where they was eating some fileree. And I thought, "Now, if I can just get Brother Fred and Brother Norman to there, that's just the place.

¹¹ And the evening before the Holy Spirit was so tremendous in the camp, that He was telling me things that had happened and taken place, I had to get up and walk away from the camp. And then that next morning I'd went up there, and I started... I said, "Now, if I can get to Brother Fred, I'll get him around this mountain," which was about a mile this way. I'd had to go about a--about two mile or better to pick him up, maybe three, back this way, down this what we call hogback, come up like this, up top these rugged, jagged mountains and run down this way, cut across and come over and go down in this direction and pick him up. And then he'd have to go plumb to the bottom of the hill to get Brother Norman, which would probably been four or five miles, then get back. And I was going to put a--a little piece of kleenex, that I was going to hang on a piece of--of the mesquite there, so I could point myself to which ridge to go out when I come back.

¹² And I--I just come over a little ridge where there was a lot of jagged rock, and there's a--a deer trail come down the other side about, oh, forty, fifty yards beneath the cliff. And it was about, oh, it was up in the day. I'd say 8:00 o'clock or 9:00, wouldn't you think something like that, Brother Fred? Maybe 9:00 o'clock, something? I run over on this side quickly to keep the javelinas from seeing me. They're wild boar, you know, and they're pretty scary.
So I--I went over the hill this way and cut--and started to run up the hill, and I just run along in a little--what we call a dog trot; and all of a sudden the whole country just rung out. I never heard such a terrific blast. Just shook, and the rocks rolled. And I felt like I--I must've jumped five feet off the ground, looked like. It just--just scared me. And I thought, "Oh, my..." I thought I'd gotten shot, that somebody... I had on a black hat. I thought they might've thought it was a javelina running up the mountain, somebody had shot me. It went so loud right on me like that. Then all at once something said, "Look up." There it was. Then He told me, "It's the opening of those Seven Seals; turn home." So here I come.

¹⁴ I met Brother Fred and Brother Norman about a hour later when I found them, and they were excited and talking about it. And there it is. And science says that it's impossible for--for any kind of a--a mist or anything get that high, fog, vapor. See, it'll only go just... I wouldn't know.
I--I--we--when we go overseas, we travel nine thousand feet; that's above the storms. That's approximately about four miles. And say, let's say maybe it's fifteen miles till you can't get no more vapor. But this was twenty-six miles, and she hung there all day. See? They don't know what it is. But thank the Lord, we do. Thank you, Brother Hickerson. I'll keep it on my desk in there, and when they write the book, why, then we can have it.

¹⁶ I got a little note here was give me... I believe there's been a increase in our number since I was here last. I think his name is--is... Least his father's named David West. And got a little fellow here that they want to dedicate to the Lord. Is that right? Was it tonight or was it Wednesday night. I don't know, it's got... Tonight? That's fine. Well, what about... You're David, aren't you? That's what I thought you was. All right, how about bringing the little fellow up, if our sister will come over here to this piano and give us the song of "Bring Them In." The pastor, if he will, will come up here, and we'll dedicate this little boy to the Lord.

¹⁷ Now, we try to keep it Scripturally. This is your grandson, Brother West... Don't seem possible does it? Sister west, what do you think about that, didn't that... You know what I think though? You know, I'm grandpa too. It reminds me of Brother Demas Shakarian. He was standing before a great crowd of people. And he gets everything mixed up like I do, you know. He was standing there; he said, "You know," said, "I--I told Rose I felt (That's his wife.)," said, "felt lots older since I was grandma." He said, "Oh, I meant grandpa."
You know, I... You're not alone, Brother West; there's a lot of them in here. And it's all right. I think we can really appreciate our grandchildren. This don't--hope this don't sound bad, but we can have more time with them, I believe, than we did with our--our children. And I asked the wife that the other day, said, "Sure, you love them a little while, and turn them back over to their mother and go on." Well...

¹⁹ I've got a little grandson back there. He says, "Pappaw preach, Pappaw preach." And they took up the offering last Sunday night and had it laying on the table, and they brought him in back there. And--and he heard me through the microphone; he said, "Pappaw preach, Pappaw preach."
And Billy said, "Yes, up there."
And he said, "No." And the offering went all over the floor. He--he wanted to come out here, you know. And he's always hollering at me, you know. See me at any convention and he'll holler, "Pappaw preach."...?... So I know they're cute.

^19a Say, I wonder if I could borrow some of that hair? See, he don't need right now; I do.
What's his name? David Jonathan, isn't that a beautiful name? Well, I hope his life takes after the ones that he's named after, David, the king David, who Christ is to set on his throne, and also Jonathan, the beloved friend.
I--I tell you, they're lovely little fellows. We appreciate them very much.
Now, he's waking up, and he can--he can holler "Amen" as good as the rest of them, you know, so we just don't let it bother us. We're dedicating him to the Lord.
I think it's mighty sweet, have a young couple that God has placed in their care a little fellow like this and come to give him to the Lord. And when you do that, it shows that you are not--that you are giving back to God that what God give to you. God bless him.

^19b Now, if you want to hold him... I believe maybe the mother could hold him a little better than I could. And how about us just laying hands on him. Would you rather do that? 'Cause I'm afraid if I drop him--not drop him, break him or something another, you know. I always afraid of breaking them, you know. My--my... Meda set back there. I think this is one job at the platform, she kinda envies me, you know. She likes to hold the... Well, looky here, he's going to look at me. He's a fine fellow. Yes, sir. Maybe I could hold him. I wonder? Oh, sister, don't--I hope he don't fall. You're... Isn't that cute? Thank you. How do you do? Well, how sweet.

^19c Let us bow our heads. Lord Jesus, many years ago when Christianity was borned in the form of a Man called Christ, the anointed Messiah, Jesus was His Name... The people brought their little infants to Him that He might lay His hands upon them and bless them. And He said, "Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for such is the Kingdom of heaven." This lovely little couple, their grandparents and them have been true followers of the Word.
Lord Jesus, I bring and hold to You tonight, the pastor and I, this lovely little David Jonathan West. I give him to You. From the mother and daddy, I present him to You, Lord, for health, strength, a long life of service to honor God Almighty Who brought him into this world.
May the blessings of God rest upon him. May the Holy Spirit rest upon this child; and if there is a tomorrow, may he carry the Gospel that his parents and grandparents so cherish today.
Grant it, Lord. Now, in the Name of Jesus Christ I give You this child in a dedication of its life. Amen.

^19d I believe they want to take a picture of the little fellow. I jumped too.
God bless you, sister. May you ever love and cherish the Lord Jesus, and the little fellow be raised in the admonition of God, and have a wonderful little boy, I'm sure. God be with you.
I believe he dropped his little pacifier. Did--did they get it?
Oh, my. Now, let's sing that little song, "Bring Them In." Everybody together now for the little fellow. (All right, sister.)

²¹ Now, I know it's hot out there. And I want to say to the janitor, my brother, Doc, or other them that takes care of it, some of the sisters are ruining their skirts on the--on the grease that's on the chair. How many got some of it on them? I know there's my wife, my two daughters, little Betty Collins, Mrs. Beeler, some of them... It's something, grease on there. If you'd take a look at it, Doc, when you can. It's... I believe it's where they... It's grease or paint or something right where they work up-and-down, the seats. And it isn't? Well, I--I don't know what it is then. Something, I just... It was mentioned to me, and I said I'll just mention it to--to Doc. All right.
Now, Wednesday night prayer meeting... [Brother Branham speaks to Brother Neville--Ed.] Is any there other... You announced--got your announcement in, Brother Neville? The announcement's all in.

²² Now, if the Lord willing, next Sunday morning I want to speak on the subject of indicting this generation for crucifying Christ. And you say, "This generation couldn't have done it." We'll find out whether they did or not according to the Word.
Now, next Sunday morning, if the Lord is willing. If not... If--if--if something occurs... I'm supposed to be in Houston this week also in a convention, and that'd take me through Sunday. So I don't know whether I'll be able or not. But we got a couple more Sundays to play on before it anyhow, and then I--we go to Chicago for the convention, or meeting in Chicago the last week in this month. And then I have to take the family back to Arizona, for--for their vacation's over, and the kiddies has to go back to school.

²⁴ Now, how many enjoyed the reading of the Word and the blessings of the Lord. We all do so greatly.
Now, it's hot, and I know some of you here that goes back home tonight. I knowed Brother Rodney and Charlie and them has to drive a long ways. And wait a minute, you're on vacation, aren't you? Well, I hear you're going fishing. The Lord don't 'lot time to the man when he's fishing; you don't get any older while you're fishing. So now, you girls go with them. See? And--and I'll come down and join you if I can. And you know, the good Lord, they said, don't 'lot time to a man when he's out fishing. Do lot of it when you--when you feel all twisted up. It's the best thing to relax on I ever found in my life, is to go fishing.

²⁶ I had a little card one time from Mr. Troutman. Anybody ever remember Mr. Troutman, the ice company in New Albany? He had a little card; on there it said, "Out fishing." He went ahead and say, "A man that has... Every man, his brother's out fishing. With a helping hand, they'll always lend out fishing." Had about eight or ten different things, then when he got down to the bottom, said, "Man is closer to God when he's out fishing." So I think that's about right. "The rich and poor are all the same out fishing. (See?) A helping hand, they'll always lend, out fishing." And everything was about, "out fishing."
Well, I'll tell you another fishing I've been doing for the--about the last thirty-three years, has been fishing for the souls of men. May the Lord help us to win every one that we can find.

²⁸ Now, tonight, this is taping... Now, this morning, if Jim is here, or taping, I--I think on the tape, somebody called my attention to it, I said, "The second exodus." I didn't mean second; it's Third Exodus. The Holy Spirit in the form of a Pillar of Fire, God coming down in manifestation brought out the first exodus and--and back in--brought Israel out of Egypt. The second exodus was Christ bringing the church out of Judaism. And the third exodus is when the same Pillar of Fire takes the Bride from the church. See? Out of the natural, out of the spiritual, and the spiritual out of the spiritual, the three. See? The spiritual out of the church, rather, and then we get the three--the three ages of it.
Now, tonight I wanted to make another tape, and that was called: "Is Your Life Worthy of the Gospel?" Probably wouldn't take very long, with just some Scriptures and notes I got here. But first we want to read God's Word. Before we do that, we just bow our hearts to Him just a moment.

³⁰ Lord Jesus, any man physically, or woman, or child, can move back the pages of this Bible, but there's no one that can reveal It but You. I pray, Lord--of taking this text as it's placed upon my heart to send out across the nations for the people, that they might know what type of life is required of them to live, for so many has asked me: "Is a Christian life a life of church service? Is it helping the poor, the needy? Or is it a constant member? Is it a loyal--a loyalty to the church?" and such questions. And, Father, may it--the correct answer come tonight through these words as we make a endeavorance to--to bring them to the people. In the Name of Jesus Christ we ask it. Amen.

³¹ Now, turn in your Bibles to the--the Book of St. Luke, and we'll start at the 14th chapter and the 16th verse to read some Scripture for a basis, for a background for this that we're going to try to 'lot about thirty to forty minutes on. Now, the 16th verse of the 14th chapter of St. Luke...

³² Now, did you notice, there was three pulls or three turns of it when they went out first and called to them that were bidden to come, and they didn't do it. So there went out a healing campaign, went out to get the blind and halt. And still there were room, so he went out and compelled the good, bad, and indifferent that they should come in.
Now, you read another parable of this, something on the order of it, in Matthew 22:1-10, if you'd like to read it later on. But I--I drew this subject from there: "Is Your Life Worthy of the Gospel?"

³⁴ Now, Jesus here is saying, man has always tried to make excuses not to receive God's Word of His invitation. Though it be firmly proven to them that it's--that it's His supper and His invitation, but man is constantly making excuses. And if you read St. Matthew 22, you'll find that the excuses were made there also.
And--and they try... It went back into all ages. Went back into the age, and said a man bid them and--and had a vineyard, and we find that parable--and how he sent his servants to collect from this vineyard. First servant come, what did they do? They run him off. The next servant come, they also stoned him. And they run servant after servant off, the cruel men. The king sent finally his son. And when his son came, we find out that they said, "This is an heir; we'll kill him, then we'll have all things." Then Jesus said to them, "The king sent forth and slew those murders and burnt their city."

³⁶ Now, we see when God gives a man an invitation and--to do something or to receive the invitation that He's given him, and he returns it down, then there's nothing left after mercy is spurned but judgment. If you step over the boundaries of mercy, then there's only one thing left, and that is judgment. And we find that man has done that in all ages. It's happened in most every age in the Bible.
When God sent Noah, His servant, and made an--a way of an escape for all of the people who wanted to--to be saved... But the people only laughed and scorned at Noah. But God made the way, but they had an excuse. It wasn't according to their--to their modern thinking. It didn't--it wasn't the way they wanted it. So they made excuses in the days of Noah.

³⁸ They made excuses in the days of Moses. They made excuses in the days of Elijah. They made excuses in the days of Christ, and they make excuses today.
Now, Him speaking directly to Israel, the ones that was called to the feast, that I would also apply today to men, the church, who has been bidden to come to the feast and won't do it, the spiritual feast of the Lord... And they won't do it; they don't want to do it. They've got other things to do. They find excuses.
Now, if Israel two thousand years ago would accepted the invitation that they were given, they wouldn't be as they are today. Two thousand years ago Israel turned down the invitation to come to the wedding supper. And they turned it down and went into judgment. But as Jesus said, they stoned and killed the prophets that was sent to them by making excuses.

⁴¹ Now, the excuses they made in each day... We find in the days of Jesus that He didn't--He didn't affiliate with any of them. They said, "When did this man get this learning? What school is he from? Is not this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary? Isn't his brothers Jonas and James, so forth? And isn't his sisters with us? Then where did this man get this authority to do this?" See? In other words, He didn't affiliate with them. So they said, "He's Beelzebub; he's a Samaritan. He's got a devil, and he's mad. He's a--he's a--he's a man that's got a evil spirit on the line of religion and has drove him crazy. And that's what, he's out there like a wild man. Don't pay any attention to him." And we know what happened to Israel. And they--they screamed out. They was so sure that that Man was wrong until on... When they condemned Him, He said--He said... "Let His Blood be upon us and upon our children," and it's been there ever since.

⁴² Jesus was trying to tell them that their excuses was what killed the prophets and what killed the righteous that come. They accepted their creeds that man had given them instead of taking the Word of God, and by doing so, had made the Word of God of no effect.
Now, you've either got to say in this, that this is God's will and God's desire, or either something else that you can crop up that's better than what this is. Now, you have to take one or the other. You can't serve God and mammon. And you've got to say, "This is the Truth," or, "That's part of the Truth," or, "It isn't all the Truth," or, "It isn't put together right," or "It isn't interpreted right," And the Bible said that the Word of God is no private interpretation. No one else is supposed to put an interpretation to It; It's written just the way God wants It interpreted. Just what It says, that--that's what It's supposed to be. Just take It the way it's said, way It's wrote down here.
Now, they accept their creeds. They make God's promises of no effect to them. They bypass that, just skip away from it.

⁴⁵ Now, if Russia had accepted the Pentecostal blessing seventy-five years ago when the Holy Ghost fell in Russia, they wouldn't have been Communists today. Now, seventy-five years ago they had a great revival in Russia. God come among them, and they had great revivals way into Siberia. And what did they do? They rejected it, and today the country is gone and the churches can't have church only under permission. And they are doomed into judgment and is gone off on this wild tantrum of Communism, sold out to the devil.
Fifty years ago the Holy Ghost fell in England. Just after that come George Jefferies, and F. F. Bosworth, and Charles Price, Smith Wigglesworth, those great warriors of the faith, fifty years ago, and offered England the Holy Ghost revival. But what did they do? They laughed at them, put them in jail, called them crazy, thought they'd lost their minds. The churches refused the people to come hear them. And they healed the sick, and cast out devils, and done great works. And because that England as a nation rejected the Gospel, her--her sins is knowed throughout all the world. There's hardly a--a more of an apostate nation in all the world, even including Rome and France, than England. She's a mother of apostasy. Right where Finney and many of the great men preached in the--the Haymarket, and Charles G. Finney and Wesley, and on down... And she turned it down.

⁴⁷ And now, even last week or two in the papers, you find out where their great men has so weakened to the--to the sex of woman until spies come in. And their head men found some more of them. The magazines has packed it. Their sin of scandal right in their government has sowed their disgraceful name across the world. Why? She rejected the Truth. She had her excuse, and she's finished. England is all washed up with God a long time ago.
If America fifteen years ago, when the great healing revival continued on from Pentecost broke out in the nation, and there was a--revivals on the capital, Washington, D.C... The presidents, vice presidents, great people, governors, great things taking place... Governors and--and men were healed. Like Congressman Upshaw, had been a cripple for--for sixty-six years, and they could not turn their face and say it wasn't so. It was right before them, but they turned it down.

⁴⁹ And tonight that's the reason this nation stays... She's doomed; there's no hope for it at all. She's crossed the line between judgment and mercy. And she's elected in what she has here to control the nation; and she's rotten to the core. Her politics is rotten. The morals of this nation is lower than anything I could think of. And the religious system is rottener than the morals. She becomes... In doing this she has now joined herself, all these churches and of the nation, into the federation of churches and has taken the mark of the beast. What a thing. Why? Christ give them the opportunity, "Come to My feast," the Feast of Pentecost which means "fifty."

⁵⁰ When the Holy Spirit poured out on Russia, they was called to a Feast of Pentecost, Spiritual feast, and they turned It down. England, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them, and they turned It down. America the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them, and they've turned It down.
He bid three times. Three times He sent out, and they did not listen to the feast. Then He sent again, and He said, "Go and compel those people to come." The table's got to be set. The table's ready; there's still room. And I believe that maybe--maybe within the next few months or something, or year, or whatever it is, God's going to send another shaking across the country, for there's somebody still out there somewhere that's a predestinated seed, that the Light has to fall on somewhere, somewhere in the world. The nation itself is gone.

⁵² I was looking in this week's "Life" magazine down at the--where--down at Little Rock there the other day, or--or rather, Hot Springs; and there I seen--I believe it was--a governor of the State of New York with some kind of a striptease over in Honolulu dancing with her. Now... And here below that was another renowned man. Oh, what a disgrace.
Look at our nation today. Look at the condition of our--of our nation. Look where she's went to, how low she's sunk. Look at our religious system today. How can it be that the churches can ever get into the condition that they are now? Is because they have rejected and refused the Message of God, the invitation to come to the feast. Could you call a life like that worthy of the Gospel? Could you call a life that could set and permit their--their people to do the things, to smoke cigarettes...

⁵⁴ The other day down here, a certain church... A little league team was playing down here at the park, and my brother-in-law's little boy is a pitcher for one of the teams. And so he was out there pitching, and there was a church league playing. And there was the pastor with these little fellows out there on the ground playing, and the pastor smoked cigarette after cigarette, of a real neighborly church right here by us. And could you imagine a man... And even people setting in the audience noticed it. But it's getting so that they don't even pay any attention to it.
A certain great church, a Baptist church, that I know of, lets the church out from Sunday school fifteen extra minutes, so that the pastor and all of them can stand outside and smoke before they come back in to serve the duty of the Lord. John Smith, the founder of that church, prayed so hard that God send a revival till his eyes swole shut at night, and his wife had to lead him to the table and feed him with a spoon. If... That man would turn over in his grave if he knowed that church had got in that condition. What is it? They were bidden to come and turned it down. That's the only thing. And you remember, Jesus said in here that those that were bidden and turned it down would not taste His supper.

⁵⁶ When God sends the Holy Ghost and knocks at a man's door, and he deliberately turns It down, sometime he's going to turn It for his last time. And then you won't be a privileged character. You can set in a church and listen to the Gospel and agree with the Gospel. You might do so much as say, "I know it's right," but never put a finger on it to help it yourself. See? You just listen to it, 'cause you say, "I believe it's right." That's just sympathizing with it. I could say, "I believe that's a-ten thousand dollars." That don't mean I got it. See? I could say, "That's good cold water," but refuse to drink it. You know what I mean? And this is Eternal Life. And to refuse to do it, one day you'll cross the line between judgment and mercy, and then you won't be--have the privilege to come and receive it.
To you people who come here... I'm not responsible for those who are--are--other ministers are speaking to. But if it's right, you owe your life to it. What more could you ever find that would be more of a benefit to you than to know that you can have Eternal Life?

⁵⁸ What if I was giving away capsules here that scientifically proven--scientifically proven, that this capsule would make you live a thousand years? Well, I'd--I'd have to get a militia out here and--and swarm them away from the place. You wouldn't have to make an altar call for it, you'd just have to beat them away from it. To live a thousand years... And yet scientifically proven that the eternal God, all of His power of His resurrections, which promised you Eternal Life, and Satan will put his legions out there and keep you away from It. See? Yet you can look, and sensible enough to look in the face of it and see it's right, but then turn it down. See?
Something--some kind of an excuse: "It's too hot. I'm too tired. I will tomorrow." Just some kind of an excuse, that's all they do. By rejecting the day of visitation, it separates you from God.

⁶⁰ Now, we notice. And in the Old Testament, they had what they called the Jubilee year. That was when all the people that was slaves could go free, when the Jubilee sounded. And then if the man did not go out, if there was some excuse that he could give that he didn't want to return to his land, then he had to be marked in the ear with an awl by the post in the temple. And then no matter how many Jubilees come along, that man was sold out. He could never no more come back as a citizen in Israel no more. What did he do? He rejected his invitation. He didn't have to pay nothing. The debt of his slavery was over. His family was free. He could go right back to his homeland and get his own possession. But if he refused to do it, then he wasn't allotted no more with Israel, and his possession was give to another.
Now, the same thing in the natural applies to the spiritual, that if we as inheritants of Eternal Life, and we hear the Gospel, and know that it's true, and we reject it, and refuse to do it or to listen to it, we take on the mark of the beast.

⁶² Now, somebody said, "Now, there's going to be a--a mark of the beast; it's going to come someday." Let me tell you; it's already come. See? As soon as the Holy Ghost begin to fall, the mark of the beast begin to take place.
See, you only have two things: One of them is, accept It, takes the Seal of God; to reject It, takes the mark of the beast. To reject the Seal of God is to take the mark of the beast. Everybody understand? To reject the Seal of God is to take the mark of the beast, for the Bible said all that was not sealed by the Seal of God took the mark of the beast.
When the trumpet sounded and all wanted to go free could go, them that didn't was marked. Now, you see, the mark of the beast, if we talk about it in the future, is when it's going to be made manifest, when you realize it's what you've already done. See? And so is the Holy Spirit; It's to be manifested when we see the Lord Jesus coming in glory, and feel that transforming power, and see the dead rising out of the grave, and know that in a second longer we'll be changed and have a body like His. It'll be made manifest. Then to see those who rejected it, will be left down--out--out.

⁶⁵ Didn't Jesus said the virgins went out to meet Christ? Some of them fell asleep the first watch, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, to the seventh watch. But in the seventh watch, then came forth the sound, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him." And the ones that was sleeping, awakened; all the age back to Pentecost woke up. See, from the seventh age, the seventh church age, all the way back through woke up; and these that were in this church age a-living, they were changed, and they went in. And at the very time they went in, the sleeping virgin come and said, "We want to buy some of your oil."
But they said, "We just got enough for ourself. Go to them that sell it." And while they were trying to receive this oil, the Bridegroom came. There has never been a time in the history of the world that the Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians... The papers are full; the religious papers are praising God that those sleeping virgins are now trying to receive Pentecost, trying to receive the Holy Ghost. And don't the people realize that it will not happen, according to the Word of God?
While they were trying to come back, the Bridegroom come and took away the Bride, and they were cast into outer darkness for judgment because they rejected their invitation. All peoples are bidden to come. God in every age has sent out His Light, and It's been rejected. And now, today is no different from any other day.

⁶⁸ To reject the day of the visitation... When God is making a visit to the church and to the people, receive it then. Don't put it off till next year or the next revival; that's the hour: "Today is the day of salvation."
And remember, God has never sent a message in any day but what He vindicated it with the supernatural. Jesus said Hisself, "If I do not the works of My Father, then believe Me not. But if I do the works, you believe the works if you can't believe Me." And when you see it clearly cut and--and made manifest...
Now, the time has come that she rejects it, then she's bored in the ear with an awl, then she'll never hear it. Now, she takes herself to the confederation of churches to go right in to take the mark of the beast.

⁷¹ One of the great ambitions (Somebody give me the paper in just now.) the--this new pope has said, is to unite the churches together. They'll do it just as certain as I'm standing here, and the Protestants fall for it (See?), because the church... The Bible said, Paul, the prophet of the Lord said, "That day will not come except there come a falling away first, and then the man--before the man of sin will be revealed--he that setteth in the temple of God upholding himself, all that's above God, he as God, forgiving sins on the earth and so forth..." How that this thing happened, but it couldn't happen until the falling away, until the church begin to get away from the spiritual feast, draw itself back and organize itself. And then the revelation didn't stay with the church.

⁷² Remember, Israel walked day and night by the Pillar of Fire. When that Pillar of Fire moved, they moved with It. And remember, It was a fire at night and a cloud at day. So It might come day or night, anytime. But wherever It was, there was a propitiation made that they would not fail to see It. It was a Light at night and a Cloud in the daytime, and they followed It. Yes, sir.
The same thing... Martin Luther saw It. What did he do? He come out of Catholicism, but what did they do? They built a little fence around, said, "We're Lutherans. This is it."
Then Wesley saw It moving away from there. He went. What'd they do? Built a little fence around it, said, "This is it." What did the Light do? Moved right on again.
Pentecost saw It. What'd they do? Moved out of the Wesleyan, and Nazarenes, and so forth. What did they do? They built a little fence around called, "We're oneness." and; "We're trinity." and; "We're the United." and all this. What did He do? God moved right on out of it.
See, we cannot do that. We've got to follow every day, every hour of the day, every step of the way. We've got to be led by the Lord Jesus Christ. If we don't, we take an organizational life. And a life that doesn't follow Christ daily is not worthy.

⁷⁷ A man that's a Christian on Sunday and goes to church, sets back there and thinks he owns the church because he does this, that, or the other, and on Monday will steal and lie... And women that'll go out on the public beaches and--and out upon the streets with immoral clothes on...
I thought of--of--of the first lady, wouldn't even put on makeup to go before the pope and come back and set a water-head haircut spree for the women in the nation. And all these dresses that when she's become mother, every woman in the country wants to wear one of them mother type dresses now. That's right. It's examples, and they know that those people will do that. They take on a spirit of the world, and that don't belong in the church of the living God.
Women ought to look to Jesus Christ. You ought to look to Sarah and them of the Old Testament.

⁸⁰ Now, they got so that... I was preaching the other night, somewhere, about women to obey their husband. Obey? Yeah. That went out of the marriage ritual a long time ago. But... They ain't going to do that. No, sir. They live in America, and they'll let you know so. They're not going to obey. But as long as you don't do it, don't never try to call yourself a Christian, 'cause you're not. I don't care how much you dance and speak with tongues, if you don't obey your husband, you're out of the will of God.
And a woman that wears shorts and does these things that she does on the street, don't call yourself a Christian. You want to have the world and still hold your testimony. You cannot do that in the Presence of God when you know better than to do it.

⁸² Notice. Bored in the ear, marked away, then you'll never hear. Remember, that's a sign of closing the ears. You won't hear it no more. You won't listen; you'll never be able to get--do it again.
Oh, she don't believe that. Oh, my. Don't tell her she believes it. No. She'd tell you right... She don't know it. How could a--a lady (just ask you)--how could a lady... As I spoke Sunday--last Sunday night, a week ago tonight on a Red Flashing Light, how that the--the--the run of women has become prettier than it ever was in... Now, that's nothing--nothing against the woman now, that's just... but how she controls that... See, the... She's got that way to put her in a temptation, like Eve was put before the tree.

⁸⁴ Every man, every son that comes to God has got to go through that hour of testing. This is the age of women, this nation is, where she has to go through that testing. if she can be a pretty woman and act like a sister, the Lord's blessing's upon her. But when she can get herself to--to know this and display herself, absolutely shows that she's got a--a bad spirit on her. She don't mean to be that way, I don't think; many of them don't, but they don't realize that...
Could you tell me that a decent, thinking woman could put herself on these little clothes that they wear out here on the street?
I've got two young girls setting here. I don't know what the outcome of them kids will be; I just pray for them. Kids today, I don't--you can't tell. I don't know. They're not immune from that. They've got to stand on their own two feet before Jesus Christ and give an answer. They can't go in on what--on--on what I believe, on what their mother believes. I don't know what they do, but I actually believe at this hour, if them girls went out on the street with them kind of clothes on and a man insulted them in them kind of clothes, I don't believe if I had the opportunity, I could even condemn the man. That's right. I'd condemn the girls. They had no business doing that.

⁸⁷ Listen. If man thinks, and they teach that man's no more than an animal, he come from the animal race. And look then... And you put him out there like...
You take the dog to the little female at certain times... Through the fences and everything else because a little female is in that condition, hogs, cows, every other animal... And if we are animal life, which we are, the physical part... And then when a woman displays herself like that, she proves that's she's the same thing the little dog is at--the same thing. That's exactly. For she wouldn't be doing that. She knows; nature teaches her that man's going to look at her. And the Bible said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart."

⁸⁹ That's puts a testing time. And the devil pretties them women, and strips them down, and set them out there to give you a test. Men turn your heads; be sons of God. Women you dress like daughters of God; don't answer for adultery yonder at the day.
If that woman, no matter how innocent... She might've never done nothing wrong, never even had in her mind to do wrong, but when that sinner who looked upon that graceful form of that woman, knowing he's a male and female sex, in--in one (glands in one and male in the other one), and that sinner's going to have to answer for it at the day of the judgment, who did it? Who's guilty? Not him, you. There you are. Immoral...

⁹¹ And look at this nation. It used to be when we--they had the knee high dresses that the woman wore, we had to send to Paris to get them. Today Paris sends here to get them. It's got so filthy till Paris can't keep up with it. That's right. It's a whole... Why? Rejecting the Gospel. Why? Paris didn't have it; it's one hundred percent Catholicism. The Protestants can't even get in there. Look at Billy Graham. I think there's only six hundred Christians in all Paris out of the millions, six hundred Christians, Protestants. That's not Holy Ghost filled; that's just absolutely Protestants. Six hundred of them out of the millions times millions. They didn't get the opportunity to reject it.
But these people has the Gospel, and when they get away from the Message and the Gospel that they've seen demonstrated, make fun of it because some old prostitute doctrine has weaved them around, and some pastor's standing in the pulpit thinking more of a dollar and a meal ticket than he does of the soul of the people that he's preaching to... That's right. That's what's done it. And now she leads the world.

⁹³ You remember not long ago in this Tabernacle, I preached on a subject about twenty years ago, "I'll show you the goddess of America" and had the little flapper here setting there with us. That's what it is. Now, they're even get it... They're getting what they've asked for, and they're going to get it; that's all.
No, they won't believe it. No, sir. They'll let you know they are American citizens, and they got a right to--to function any way they want to. I just wish...
Let me tell you. I'll tell you now. No, sir, politics will never work. No, sir, democracy will never work. Democracy's rotten to the bone. If it could be run amongst a bunch of Christians, it would be fine; but when you put it out there in the world, it become all sails and no anchor. That's exactly right.
Looky here today, anything can take place and they'll be just... And if they pull a few politics, and they'll get by with murder.

⁹⁷ When I preached down there that night to try to save them two kid's life. They're as guilty as guilty could be. Even that attorney got up behind me there, and he said, "It's right." He said, "I don't believe in taking the people's life." He said, "If you'll notice on your criminal records, who is it that gets killed in electric chairs and things? It's not the rich; he can afford to get him a lawyer and some--pull some dirty tricks, and some wheels here, and something over here, and bribe the thing." He said, "It's poor kids like that, that ain't got enough money to buy them a decent meal; that's the kind that gets it. There's the kind they electrocute, somebody that's a-like they call a bunch of ignorant people, and they just hold up their name of capital punishment."
I said, "The first murder was ever committed in the world, one brother killed another, and God did not take his life for it. He put a mark on him that nobody should take his life." That's right. That's the Supreme Judge. And I see they took the sentence off of them. Now, they're going to get another trial. 'Course, they'll get life now, which will be eleven years and maybe stand for parole. They're guilty. Certainly, they're guilty. They ought to be sent to penitentiary for lifetime, but not they're life taken. No man has a right to take another man's life. No, sir. I don't believe in it. No, indeed.

⁹⁹ Oh, they say... Why, they don't believe that they're out of the will of the Lord, because that's all they know about and all they want to hear about. They turned their ear against the truth and they're...
Neither did Egypt want to know that that bunch of holy-rollers down there was the will of the Lord. How'd they want to know that some crazy man come in there from the wilderness with whiskers hanging down like this, and said, "Pharaoh, I come in the Name of the Lord; turn them children loose."
Pharaoh would say, "Who, me? Throw him out." See? "Me?"
"If you don't do it, the Lord's--God's going to smite this nation."
"The old--the old crank, turn him out somewhere; let him go; the sun's kinda baked his mind." See? But it brought judgment, because the man was a prophet and had THUS SAITH THE LORD. Exactly right. They didn't want to believe it. Rome didn't want to believe it either, but it happened just the same.

¹⁰² Israel didn't want to believe that that was the Messiah. How could they bunch of--bunch of Galileans... Said, "Aren't not all these Galileans? Where did they come from? What kind of a crowd does he go with, the very poorest that can be got together. That's the crowd he associates with. That's who comes to hear him, is the poor people, them people that don't know nothing. They're not elected. They're not--they're not the intellectual type that we are. They're a poor bunch." You hear it say about the revival in this day. "What kind of crowd hears them? What kind goes to these meetings? What kind of a people are they?"

¹⁰³ I heard a fellow say not long ago... Well, he was kind of a... He was Hope's stepfather, and I was telling him about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He said, "Now, who would believe a thing like that, 'less some kind of a bunch like you got up there?" He said, "You let So-and-so (a businessman here in the town, a wicked as all... ), let him say that he received the Holy Ghost, then I'd believe it."
I said, "Don't worry, he'll never say it." The man died instantly without God. See? You be careful what you're doing; be careful what you're saying. You want a life worthy of the Gospel. That's right.

¹⁰⁵ Israel didn't believe that that bunch of people, that mad Man by the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, born--they thought--a illegitimate birth... And the people believed it, because they said that wasn't His... "Why, his father is Joseph, and Mary was to have this baby before he was even born. Why, it's illegitimate. And what is he, just a mad man. He's one of them funny sort of a guys. Don't go to hear him." What did they do? They were sending their souls to hell. They took...
Jesus said, "Let them alone. If the blind leads the blind, don't they both fall in the ditch?" That's right. They didn't know it. They wouldn't believe it. They could not.
They could not see how that a simple people with a simple Message to be rejected, could cause a great nation to fall to ruins. Now, listen! They could not understand that a simple, ordinary, common bunch of people... You know, the Bible said that the common people heard Jesus gladly.

¹⁰⁸ I had a little something to happen in Mexico not long ago, General Valdena, elected of God, the Light shined across his path once in one of the meetings. That great Catholic warrior, one of the highest generals in Mexico, come humbly to the altar and received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He went back down into Mexico; he kept crying for me to come down there. Finally I decided to go down; the Lord led me--had a vision, told my wife. Went down there, and when he did, him being one of their chief generals--four star general he went to the headquarters, to the government. And they--they're hard against Protestants down there, you know. So they knowed this was going to be a terrific meeting, so he went down there and got a militia guard. And when they did, they got the big arena. And they was going to bring me in like that. The government was bringing me in. So when they did, the--the bishop, one of the great bishops of the Catholic church went up to him--to the governor and said, "Sir, I understand that you're bringing in a non Catholic."
Said, "Yes, what about it?"
"Why," he said, "you can't have a man like that in here. This government has never knowed of doing a thing like that."

¹⁰⁹ But said, "we've done it now." He said, "Why," said, "the man's a reputable man. I understand that thousands of people comes out to hear him. General Valdena, he's my bosom friend," he said... And had the... The president himself's Protestant, you know, Methodist. So he said--he said, "The--the man's a reputable man as far as I know." Said, "General Valdena here, he's converted under this man." Said, "Why, he's a--as far as I know a reputable person." Said, Thousands of people, they claim, will come hear him."
And this bishop said, "What kind of a people is it, sir? Just the ignorant, that's the ones that goes hear a person like that."
The President said, "Sir, you've had them for five hundred years, why are they ignorant?" That was enough. That settled it. Oh, my. That dehorned them. Yes, sir. Yes.

¹¹¹ Then when that little baby was raised from the dead, I sent a runner behind the man. The lady was saying in Spanish, "The baby died this morning at nine o'clock." And it was pouring down rain, having about ten thousand converts to Christ each night. The night before an old blind man had received his sight on the platform. Oh, three or four times the size of this tabernacle and about that high of old shawls and hats laying, and I just... They let me down on ropes in the ring to get me in.
I just walked out there and started preaching by faith. Billy come, said, "Daddy, you're going to have to do something with that woman." Said, "I got three hundred ushers standing there, and they can't stop a little bitty woman weigh a hundred pounds nearly." And pretty little lady about so high about, oh, maybe her first baby. I'd say she's twenty-three or twenty-five years old.

¹¹³ And she was standing there and her hair hanging down and holding a little baby. And she'd make a lunge for that line, the men would push her back. And she'd climb up over the top of them, that baby on her hip, any way--go between their legs or anything. They'd get her up there and have to kick her off the platform. And they didn't have no prayer card to give her.
He said, "If I let her come in there, daddy, with that dead baby with no prayer card," and said, "them others standing there that's been standing here two or three days in that rain and sun--and let her get ahead of them," said, "it'll cause a--a fuss down there. "
I said, "That's all right." Brother Moore was there, and he's kinda baldheaded like me. And I said, "She don't know who's who, so many people." I said, "Send..." And--and a couple of the brethren... One of the brethren from here at the tabernacle, that... He's gone to glory now. I can't think of his name just at this time. But he was standing back there. So I said, "Brother Moore, go down, and pray for the baby; and she'll never know who, whether it's me or you, just go on down--and not able to speak English."
And so Brother Moore said, "All right, Brother Branham."

¹¹⁶ He started to walk down. And I said, "As I was saying, fai..." And I seen a little baby, little Mexican baby setting in front of me just laughing; I said, "Wait a minute." And I said, "Let the little lady through."
Billy said, "I can't do that, daddy, she..."
I said, "I saw a vision, Billy."
Said, "Oh, that's different."
So we opened up the crowd like that and brought her through. Here she come falling on her knees with the prayer beads in her hand. I said, "Get up." So I said, "Heavenly Father, now I don't know what You're going to do; I don't know whether You just want me to satisfy the woman by praying for the baby or what," but I said, "I lay my hands upon the little baby in the Name of the Lord Jesus." Just the same thing as I did to Brother Way, laying there on the floor dead the other day, and the blanket kicked, and that little baby started screaming, and it was to it's life.

¹¹⁸ When I sent a runner, Brother Espinosa, to go with her to the doctor and get a sworn affidavit from the doctor that that baby died (that was about ten o'clock that night)--died that morning at nine o'clock in his office with pneumonia. He got a sworn statement from the doctor. And the papers couldn't keep that still, you know, so they had to come over. And they interviewed me, and they said to me; he said, "Do you think that our saints could do that too?"
I said, "If they're living."
"Oh," he said, "you can't be a saint until you're dead." That was... There you are. See? And the people...

¹¹⁹ You see the other day where they had this nun they played up in the paper so? A new saint died, oh, a hundred years ago or something like that, and they made a--canonized her now and made a saint out of her. And they said that--that she come back from the dead and prayed for some sick person that had leukemia, wasn't it? It was in one of the magazines. Just think how they'd try to play that up, and when there's hundreds and hundreds of cases right under the nose of the people here. What's that thing? For a thing to play the Protestant church right into it (See?), make it think something. And then the real works of the Lord where it's perfectly a-vindicated, proved, they are daresn't to touch the paper with it. There you are. They received an invitation and turned it down. Yes, sir.
They can't understand how a simple Message, a simple people, to reject a thing like that would cause them to go into chaos.

¹²¹ A woman said to me, Grants Pass, Oregon, some time ago, Catholic girl come out there to condemn and write up... She was a newspaper reporter, pack of cigarettes in her hand. And she said, "I want to talk to you."
I said, "What is it you want to say?"
She said, "I want to ask you some questions about this religion of yours."
And I said, "What is it you want to ask?"
And she said, "By what authority do you do this?"
I said, "In the Name of Jesus Christ by a Divine call." And she went ahead smarting off. I said, "Just a minute."
She said, "If I had to associate with that bunch of ignoramuses up there," she said, "I wouldn't even want to be a Christian." She said, "And if them... They say that them people will rule the earth someday." She said, "I hope I'm not here."
I said, "Don't worry, you won't be." I said; "You don't have to worry about that."
"Why," she said, "all that there carrying on and screaming..."
I said, "And you claim to be a Catholic?"
She said, "I am."
I said, "Did you know the blessed virgin Mary had to receive the Holy Ghost, and speak in tongues, and dance in the Spirit the same way they did, before God would receive her? You call her the mother of God."
She said, "That's nonsense."
I thought, "Just a minute, I..."
"I'm not supposed to look at the Bible."
I said, "Then how you going to know what's Truth or not?"
She said, "I take my church's word."
I said, "This is God's Word. Here It is right here. I challenge you to look at It. And Mary was with them up there in the upper room and received the baptism of the Holy Ghost like the rest of them did, and you call her the mother of God." I said, "Then call that a bunch of trash, backwash." I said, "Don't worry you won't be there; you don't have much to worry about; if that's all you got to worry about. You better worry about your own sinful soul, girl." And I let her go.

¹²⁶ Now, think of all this. A simple... God makes it so simple. How could Ahab, how could Jezebel, how could those people who thought that Elijah was a witch, thought he was a spiritualist... Even Ahab said, "Here's the one that's caused all this trouble to Israel."
He said, "You're the one's troubled Israel."
How could that nation think that to reject the message of a fuzzy-faced man like that, no priestly garments on and so forth, would be the condemnation of it? How could Egypt, that ruled the world, Pharaohs in it's class and dignity (The world has never come to that place again in science and so forth.), how could they think to reject an old prophet of eighty years old with whiskers hanging down, gray hair, stomping out of there, a fugitive, and come out there with a message, "You'll either let them go or God will destroy the nation." How could Pharaoh? "You'll obey me, Pharaoh."
Pharaoh said, "Obey?" Him, Pharaoh, and an old man, some old crank, they thought, "Turn a guy down like that and destroy a nation?" but it did it. Oh, my.

¹²⁸ Let's stop, pause a few minutes, and have a prayer, and think. What day are we living in? Where are we at? In another modern, scientific age. We better think. Maybe if you stop--people stop and pray a little while and think a little bit, you feel better after you get through doing it. That's right.
A Christian is not a tool or some kind of a mechanical wrench to a great big religious regime. That's right. A Christian's not some kind of a tool that keeps a religious organization moving. A Christian... That is not a Christian. A Christian is to be Christlike. And a Christian cannot be a Christian until Christ comes into the man, the Life of Christ in him. Then it produces the Life that Christ lived, and you do the things that Christ did.
What am I talking about? Personal relationship to Christ. What is it? Is your life worthy of the Gospel? Now, I'm trying to lay that background there to show you that men and women who were renowned women...

¹³¹ Men... The Bible said... Did you notice last Sunday night, something I forgot to put in, Genesis the 6th chapter and the 4th verse? Those men who taken to them women for wives were men of old, renowned, renowned men, predicted to come again. Like it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of man--renowned men taking women, not wives, women, going after strange flesh.
Look in England a couple weeks ago. Look in the United... Look everywhere; it's full of prostitution. Great men, great, high offices, bringing disgrace upon the nations, running after women. That great man there in England, some kind of a warlord like, why, did you notice, he had a pretty wife. Her picture was there along. And look at that Russian prostitute, but she was all sexy dressed and throwed herself out there to display her female flesh, and the man fell for it.
What we need today is sons of God. We need men in government that's sons of God. That's right. Therefore, a good godly king would stop all this nonsense. There wouldn't be no strings to pull. Like David did, he put a stop to it. Certainly did, 'cause he was a king, and there was only...

¹³⁴ The real way is God being the King, and God sends the prophets. Didn't the--Samuel tell them before they ever got a king, he said, "God's your King. Have I ever told you anything in the Name of the Lord but what come to pass?"
They said, "No, that's right."
"Have I ever bummed you for your living?"
"No, you never did bum us for a living."
"And I've never told you nothing but what was right before the Lord." Said, "God is your King."
"Oh, we realize that, and we know you're a good man, Samuel. We believe the Word of the Lord comes to you, but we want a king anyhow." See? That's what they get.
Pentecost wanted a organization anyhow. It got it. That's right. Wanted to be like the rest the churches. You are. Go ahead, that--that's just what it takes, but God is our King. God is our King. Yes, sir.

¹³⁷ What is it? Is because that the people like they did in the days of Christ, like they have in every age, they find an excuse. They have their own creeds. You might not want to say, "I--I bought a cow, and I got to go to see whether she--she will work or not, or give milk, or--or what stock she is." You might not have that excuse, but here's the kind of excuse the people make, say, "I'm a Presbyterian. We don't believe in that." "I'm Baptist. We don't believe in no such stuff as that." Or, "I'm a Lutheran." Well, that don't have anything to do with it. That don't mean you're a Christian. That means that you belong to a bunch of people that's organized. And you belong to the Lutheran lodge, the Baptist lodge, the Pentecostal lodge. There is no such a thing as Pentecostal church. There is no such a thing as Baptist church; it's Baptist lodge, Pentecostal lodge, Presbyterian lodge. But there's only one Church, and there's only one way you can get into it, and that's by birth. You're born into the Church of Jesus Christ and a member of His Body, of the spiritual delegation of heaven. And then the signs that Christ is with you, lives through you.

¹³⁸ Christians, oh, you must have a personal relationship to God. In order to be a son of God, you must become relation to God. He must be your Father in order for you to be a son. And only His sons and daughters are saved, not the members of a church, but sons and daughters. There's only thing--one thing that will produce that; that's the new birth. The new birth is the only thing that will produce relationship to God. Is that right? Sons and daughters...
Then when this takes place, then the man (Here's the question I want to get to you.)--the man said, "What do we do then after we've been born again?" So many ask me that question. "What should I do then, Brother Branham?" If you are borned again, your entire nature is changed. You are dead to the things you once thought.

¹⁴⁰ "Well," you say, "Brother Branham, when I join church, I got that." Well, then when God said Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever; He still heals the sick; He still shows visions... "But, Brother Branham, my church..." Now, you're not born again. See? You can't be, for if the very God, if His Life is in you, like the--you're in the life of your father, and if the very Life of God is in you and the very Spirit that was in Christ in you, how can the Spirit live in Jesus Christ and write this and then come back down in you and deny that? See? Can't do it. It'll punctuate every word to be so.
Then if you say, "Well, I'm a good member of the church." That don't have one thing to do with it. I know the heathens... Down in Africa amongst my dark brethren down there, I find the morals of them people higher than--than ninety percent of the American people. Why, in some of the tribes there, if a young girl is not married till she's a certain age, or when she's a certain size, and no one has taken her yet, they know there's something wrong. They excommunicate her. She take off tribal paint, and she goes to the city, and then she just becomes a renegade. And when she's married, she's tested for her virgincy. If the little virgin veil is broke, then she has to tell who done it. And they kill them both together. Wouldn't there be a lot of killing in America if that taken place? See? Then you call them heathens. Oh, my. They can come teach people that call themselves church members how to live clean. That's right.
Never found one case of venereal in the whole trip through South Africa. They don't have such a thing. There you are. See, it's just our own dirty filthy ways as white people. That's right. Got away from God.

¹⁴³ When this takes place, the thing you'll do then, you'll find out that the Spirit that comes in you from the new birth, you will believe and do everything that God says in His Word's for you to do. And everything that the Bible quotes for you to do, you'll punctuate it with a "Amen." And you'll not stop day and night until you receive it. That's right. That's right. And in all this time, you'll certainly above everything bear the fruit of the Spirit.
You say "Will I speak with tongues?" You might do that, and you might not. "Will I shout?" You might do that; you might not. But there's one sure thing you will do. You will bear the fruit of the Spirit; and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, faith, long-suffering, meekness, gentleness, patience. Your temper will not be...?... [Brother Branham illustrates--Ed.] Just remember, when you got that, that poisons the Holy Spirit away from you. See? When you get to a place that you want to fuss with everybody you come along to, there's something wrong. When you get a place where the--a minister will read from the Bible that it's wrong to do a certain thing, and you [Brother Branham illustrates a bad attitude--Ed.], just remember, there's no Christianity there at all. That's... Now, that... "By their fruits you shall know them," it's what Jesus said. See?

¹⁴⁵ If it's the Word and God said so, that Spirit in you will cope with that Word every time, 'cause genuine Holy Spirit will cope with the Word, 'cause the Word is Life and Spirit. Jesus said, "My Words are Life." And if you've got Eternal Life, and He is the Word, how can the Word deny the Word? See? What kind of a person would you make God? That's one thing to know that you're a Christian, when you can fully agree upon every Word of God, and you find yourself in love with your enemies.
Somebody said, "Well, he's nothing but a holy-roller." And you start to get... Oh, be careful; be careful... But when you really find yourself that you love him, regardless of what they do, you still love them (See?), then you've begin to find...

¹⁴⁷ And your patience gets from about that long till it just don't have no end. Anybody just keeps saying things about you, "Well, I don't care what you say..." Don't get stirred up. If you get stirred up, you better go pray first 'fore you talk to them again. See? Yeah. Don't get in fusses. Don't like to get and fuss. If you like to see somebody raise up in church and say, "You know what? I tell you So-and-so did so-and-so," you say, "Now, Brother shame on you."
And if you say, "Oh, is that so?" Listen to that scandal? Watch out, the Holy Spirit's not a cesspool. See? No, no, no, no. The heart that's occupied by the Holy Spirit is full of holiness, purity, thinketh no evil, doeth no evil, believeth all things, endureth, long-suffering. See?

¹⁴⁹ Don't fuss. When the family gets in a fuss, don't fuss with them. Your mother said, "I ain't having you go up there to that old church anymore. What are you... All you're thinking about now, you're letting your hair grow out; you look like some old grandma." Don't fuss with her. Say, "Okay, mother. That's all right, I love you just the same, and I'll be praying for you as long as I live." See?
Now, don't fuss. See? Temper breeds temper. First thing you know you grieve the Holy Spirit away from you and you'll be fussing back. Then the Holy Spirit takes Its flight. That's right. Temper breeds temper, and love breeds love. Be full of love. Jesus said, "This will all men know you're My disciples when you have love one for another." That's the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love.

¹⁵¹ And did you know, you are a little creator yourself? Did you know that? Certainly. You've seen people that you just love to be around; you don't know why, just that loving type of person. Haven't you seen that? Just as kind they're... You like to be around them. That's... They create that atmosphere by the life they live, the way they talk, their conversation. Then you've seen those that every time you--you shun them. All the time they want to talk about something evil, and talk about somebody, and say, "Oh, my, there they come, they're going to criticize somebody. They're... He's in here now; he's going to talk about this man. All they're going to do is tell dirty jokes, or something about women, or--or something like that." You just hate to get around them. See? They create. Seemingly pretty nice people, but they create that atmosphere. And the things that you think on, the things that you do, the actions, the things you talk about creates an atmosphere...

¹⁵² I went into a man's office here in this city, and the man is a trustee--or deacon it is in a fine church. And I went in there to see that man about some business, and there was a radio over there with that rock-and-roll or twist, ever what it was, just as hard as it could go, and I guess there was forty pinups in his office of nude women. Now, you can't tell me how much deacon or how much more... You let me see what you look at, what you read, and the kind of music you listen to, the crowd you associate with, and I'll tell you what kind of a spirit's in you. See? Yeah.
You hear a guy say, "Me, do so-and-so? That bunch of..." Just remember, I don't care what he says; his word speaks louder--his action speaks louder than what anything he could say. He could testify, say he's a Christian (Sure.), and maybe do anything, but you just watch the kind of a life he lives. That tells what he is.

¹⁵⁴ Now, could you imagine that a man with a life that would say, "To believe in Divine healing, that's something for the birds. That was back in years ago; there's no such a thing today." Is that a life worthy of the Gospel that Christ was wounded for our transgressions and with His stripes we were healed?
You say, "But I'm a deacon." I don't care; you might be a bishop.
When I heard Bishop Sheen say about two years ago coming down... Never did turn him on again when he said, "A man that would believe and try to live by the Bible is like somebody trying to walk through muddy waters..."--Bishop Sheen. Then turn around, said, "When I get to heaven... You know what? When I meet Jesus, I'm going to tell him, 'I'm Bishop Sheen,' and He'd say, 'Oh, yes, I heard my mother speak of you.'" Paganism, men that would blaspheme that Word, God be merciful. I ain't the judge. See? That Word's the Truth. That's right. And the Spirit of God will recognize His own writing. He's identified by His writing. It--It--It speaks of Him. And you're identified by believing It. That gives you your credentials of identification.
Don't fuss with others and don't--and don't have these family fusses, as I said. Love breeds love, and temper breeds temper.

¹⁵⁷ Now, now, let's watch. Look at Jesus just for a minute. He was your Example. (I hope you're not getting too tired.) Look. Let's look at Jesus just a minute. He was our Example. He said so. "For I have given you an example, that you should do to others as I've done to you."
Now, watch. When He came into the world, when there was more or as much unbelief in the world right then as there ever was, it didn't even slow Him up. He went right on preaching just the same and healing just the same: never bothered Him. There was critics. The Man was criticized from the time He was a Baby until He died on the cross. Did it stop Him? No, sir. What was His goal? "Always do that which the Father has written, always do what's pleasing."

¹⁵⁹ Look at Jesus. Talk about us humbling ourselves, when God Himself became a Baby, instead of coming in a--a little crib somewhere in a decent home, was borned out there over a manure pile in a stable amongst bawling calves. They wrapped Him in swaddling clothes was off the neck of the yoke of an ox. The poorest of the poorest, and yet the Creator of the heavens and earth...
One cold rainy night, they said, "Master, we'll go home with You."
He said, "The foxes has holes, and the birds has nests, but I don't even have a place to lay My head." God, Jehovah humbled Himself and become a Man, represented in sinful flesh to redeem you and me. Who are we then? He was our Example. Who am I? Nothing.

¹⁶² I was telling someone this afternoon in a little meeting; I said, "Every son that's borned of God has to be tried first, chastened." And I remember when I had mine. On my greatest hour... When a--when a man's borned again, there's a little spot like the size of his fingernail that God injects into his system, and it falls into his heart and there anchors. Then Satan makes him prove it. And if that ain't there, you're gone.
I remember there in the hospital; I was about twenty-two years old, twenty-three maybe along, was a young man. And my father, dying in my arms and me talking that God is a Healer... And my own father in a heart attack laid his head in my arm and me praying for him, and see him turn those eyes, and look at me, and fall off to go to meet God. I took him over and buried him by the side of my brother, and the flowers was still fresh on his grave, and me preaching a God that heals the sick, working for the Public Service Company for twenty cents a hour, and my wife working out yonder at the shirt factory to help us make a living for a little eighteen months old boy, Billy Paul, and a eight-months old child that she was packing.
I seen Sister Wilson nod her head. She remembers that. Roy Slaughter and some of the old-timers...

¹⁶⁴ What did I do? Walked the streets with a sandwich in my hand, come down off the pole, and testifying to everybody that come by about the love of Jesus Christ. Go to the garage and ask them if I could use it--talk to the mechanics, go in there and say, "Men, have you ever been saved yet? I found something in my heart." Go into the grocery stores at nighttime, come home at two or three o'clock in the morning from making sick calls all night long. Couldn't it... Just set down, change and put on my work clothes, and set there in the chair and rest till daylight, get up and go and... So thin from fasting and praying till I'd have to pray to put my spurs on to get up a pole. Preaching, and preaching God was great, God was mercy, God was love, to the people, and here my daddy dying on my arms and my brother died, was killed while I was standing in the pulpit down here at this little colored Pentecostal church, preaching. Come told me, "Your brother was killed up on the highway. A car hit him and killed him." His own brother's blood dripping off his shirt where he picked him up on the highway. Right after I buried him, my daddy died. Then there laid my wife out there.

¹⁶⁵ And I went to come over here to this Tabernacle. From off this, where this platform stands, told the people six months before it happened, there'll come a flood. And I seen an Angel take a rod and measure twenty-two feet over Spring Street.
Sandy Davis and them, setting here, laughed, said, "It was only about eight or ten inches in 1884, boy, what's talking with you."
I said, "It'll be, because I seen one of them trances. And it told me so, and it'll be there." And there's a mark on Spring Street today of twenty-two feet of water. I said, "I rode over the top of this tabernacle in a boat," and I did."
During that time, my wife got sick. I prayed for her, and I come to the tabernacle, there was... People was waiting on me. I said, "The--she's dying."
"Oh, it's just your wife that..."
I said, "She's dying." I went over there and prayed and prayed and prayed. And I'd hold my hands out; and she took hold of my hand, she said, "Billy, I'll meet you in the morning, standing over there." Said, "Get the kiddies together and meet me at the gate."
I said, "Just start hollering, 'Bill', I'll be there." See? And she went out. I laid her down there in the morgue, went up home to lay down; and when I did... Little Billy Paul staying with Mrs. Broy and them, so sick the doctor expecting him to die at any time. Me praying for Billy, and here come Brother Frank and got me, said, "You're baby's dying," the little girl.

¹⁷⁰ And I went out to the hospital. Doctor Adair wouldn't let me go in, said, "You... She's got meningitis; you'll take it back to Billy Paul." Had the nurse give me some kind of a red stuff to take, for some kind of an anesthetic of something to quieten me. And I had them to leave the room, throwed it out the window, and slipped out the back door, and went down in the basement. There laid the baby there--before the hospital, the isolated ward, flies all in her little eyes like that. And I just took the old mosquito bar, shooed them away and put it over it. I got down; I said, "God, there lays my daddy and brother yonder, and the flowers on their grave. There lays Hope laying yonder, and here's my baby dying. Don't take her, Lord."
And He just pulled down the curtain as if to say, "Shut up; I don't want to hear you at all." He wouldn't even talk to me.
And then if He wouldn't talk to me, it was Satan's time. He said, "Now, I thought you said he was a good God. What's all this you're hollering about. You're just a boy. Look around over the city; every girl and every boy you ever associated with think you've lost your mind. You have." Now, he couldn't tell me there was no God, 'cause I'd already seen It. But he told me He didn't care for me.

¹⁷³ Set all night long, all day long, I said this to God. "What have I done? Show me, Lord. Don't let the innocent have to suffer for me if I've done wrong." I didn't know He was trying me. But every son that comes to God's got to be tried. I said, "Tell me what I've done; I'll make it right. What have I done but preach all day long and all night long and just giving my life constantly. What have I done?"
Satan said, "That's right. And you see, now when it comes to you, and you've told all of them that you believe that he's a great healer and there lays your baby laying there dying, he refused to even hear. Your wife died with tuberculous pneumonia. You said He could heal cancers, and there he is. Now, you talk about him being good and how good he is to people. What about you?"
Then I begin to listen to him. That's reasoning. I thought, "That's right."
Said, "He could tell... He don't have to speak the word, just look to your baby and it'd live."
I said, "That's right."
"And as much as you've done for Him and yet that's what He does for you."
I said, "That's right." I begin to think, "Well, what..." See, everything begin to break away when it come to reasonings. But when it come to that, that hung. It stayed there. I was just about ready to say, "Then I'll quit." But when it got down till all the reasoning powers had broke away, then it come to that Eternal Life, that new birth. What if it hadn't have been there. What if it hadn't have? We wouldn't have knowed one another the way we do now. This church would've not been here like this. The thousands and millions around the world... But thank God it was there.

¹⁷⁶ Then when I thought, "What... Who am I anyhow? Who am I to question His majesty? Who am I to question the Creator that give me my very life here on earth? Where did I get that baby; Who give it to me? It's not mine anyhow. He just loaned her to me for awhile." I said, "Satan, get away from me. I went over and laid my hand on the baby. I said, "God bless you, sweetheart. In a minute daddy will take you down and put you on mommy's arms. The Angels will pack your little soul away, and I'll meet you in that morning." I said, "Lord, You give her to me; You're taking her away; and though You slay me, like Job said, yet I love You and I believe You. If You send me to hell, I'll love You anyhow. I can't get away from that." There you are. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]

¹⁷⁷ No such a thing as these things, they've never been on that sacred ground as I was speaking this morning; they know nothing of it. How can they say that they're children of God and deny the Word of God? How can you do it, denying the very Holy Spirit that bought you.
Oh, just remember; Jesus humbled Himself to death for you. He was not fussy. When they spit in His face, He didn't spit back. When they pulled His beard out, He didn't pull at theirs. When they slapped Him on one side of the face, the other one, He never slapped them; He prayed for them, walked on humbly. He was an example of humility.
He was full of faith. Why? He knowed His words couldn't fail. He so lived by the Word till He became the Word. Oh, God, let me hold my both hands to God before this audience, let me live like that. Let this Word so become that me and this Word's the same thing. Let my words be this Word. Let the meditation of my heart... Let Him be in my heart, on my mind. Tie His commandments upon the post of my intelligence, tie them upon the post of my heart. Let me just see Him. When temptation rises, let me see Christ. When things goes wrong, let me just see Him. When I get ready, and the enemy try to make me get angry, let me see Jesus, what would He do?

¹⁸⁰ He was so much in the Word till Him and the Word became the selfsame thing. Watch.
He didn't have to fuss. He knew He and the Word was the same. He knowed that He was God's Word made manifest, and that God's command would finally conquer the world. He knowed that His Word... He had faith; He knowed where He was at. He didn't have to discuss and say, "Here, you can come over here."
Devil said, "Now, look, you can perform miracles. You know you got great faith. You can perform miracles. I'll built you a building twice the size of Oral Roberts, 'cause the people will all give. The only thing you have to do... Show them, jump off this building here and just go right down, because it's written, 'Give the angels bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'" See? He knowed He had power. He knowed that He could do it. He knew it was in Him, but He didn't want to use it till God told Him to. See, He wanted to be God and Him be the Word and all... And He knowed that when He spoke anything, that it was God's Word; and though heavens and earth pass away, that Word would someday conquer.

¹⁸³ He wasn't fussy and stewy. He spoke just the words of God. Every Word that come from His lips was God's anointed Word. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could say that? "My Word and God's Word is the same. What I say, He honors it, because I do nothing till He tells Me first." Oh, there's your Example. There's a Life worthy of the Gospel.
Not those priests that was so educated and polished, and having all those great dignities, and stand and make long prayers, and devour widow houses, and divide the high seats in the--in the congregation, and all these things that, they was--that wasn't a life worthy of the Gospel. But He was worthy of the Gospel, so much that God said, "This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye Him. My Word is He; He is My Word. He and I are the same."

¹⁸⁵ No. Watch this now. He knowed that His Word would finally conquer the world. He knew where His Word came from. He knew It could never fail; that's the reason He said, "Both heavens and earth will pass away but My Word will never fail." See? He could say that. That was a Man Who Him and God's Word become the same. He said to them...
"You ought to do this and that."
He said, "Who can condemn Me of sin? Who can accuse Me? (Sin is unbelief.) And if I by the finger of God cast out devils, who does your sons cast them out by?" See, it wasn't that, so it had to be something else. See? "If I..."
They said, "Well, we've cast out devils."
He said, "If I do it by the finger of God (a vindicated Word of God) then who does your sons cast them out by? Let you be the judge."
The people of His days or the people of--of--made fun of Him, talked about Him, but He... They humiliated Him every way they could. Told Him of--all kinds of evil against Him, but He went on.

¹⁸⁹ Now, I want to close in a minute by saying this: The people of this days are a bunch of neurotics. The people of this day are a bunch of neurotics. They are afraid to take the promises of God. Churchmen, church organizations, church organizations are afraid to take the challenge of God's Scripture for the--this day. They realize--they realize that their modern conditions and their social gospel that they preach will not meet the challenge of this hour, no more than Samson could meet it in his condition. It took God, and here's the program that promised it. (I'll get to that just in a minute. I want to hold that Word a minute.)
Though they call themselves Christians, they adopt creeds, manmade creeds, to take the place of God's Word. So they can take the creed, because the man made it, but they're afraid to lay their faith out there in the God that they claim that they love. That's right. And then you say that life's worthy of the Gospel? Can't be.

¹⁹¹ Though they be church members, but that's not worthy of the Gospel. No indeedy. The Gospel... Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; these signs shall follow the believers." And when you deny that to follow the believers, how can you have a life... No matter, you might not never say a bad word. You might keep all the Ten Commandments. That won't have one thing to do with it; it's still not worthy of the Gospel. See, it couldn't be. Those priests kept that and still was not worthy. He said, "You're of your father the devil." Who could lay a finger on one of them men? One guilty mark and they was stoned without mercy. Holy men, and Jesus said, "You're of your father the devil." When the Gospel came into...
Though they call themselves Christians, they love to hold to the creeds. Their creeds... Oh. The creeds institutes and fulfills the thinking of the modern people of this day. And a man that's going to be a success in this day, has to go with the modern trend of thinking. Let me say that good and clear. See? A man, if you're going to be a success, you have to go with the modern thinking of this day. It... They go down and say, "Oh, isn't he a darling. Isn't he wonderful. He can just stay there so straight, and he never keeps us over fifteen minutes. And our pastor don't always bawl us out about these things." Shame on that pastor. Any man that can stand in the pulpit and look upon the sin of this day and not cry out, there's something wrong with that man. He's not worthy of the Gospel that he claims to be preaching. That's right.
So by doing so, they make themselves excuses by saying, "Now, look, my congregation..."

¹⁹³ A--a man come here not long ago to a certain great church, and he was writing a thesis; and he said, "I'm writing on Divine healing." Said "Brother Branham, we love you in our denomination." One of the greatest denominations, one of the greats of the nation, or the world. And he said, "We love you in this denomination." He was right here at the Jefferson Villa. But said, "I come to find out about this Divine healing." He said, "There's only one fault that my church really finds." See? He said, "You associate around too many Pentecostals."
I said, "Well now, you know, that is right." I said, "That's true. You know, I've always wanted a opportunity to get away from them." I said, "I'll tell you what; I'll come to your town; you get your church to sponsor me."
"Oh," he said, "They wouldn't..."
I said, "That's what I thought; that's what I thought."
Said, "You see, my denomination won't stand for that." That's as much excuse as "I've married a wife, or bought a yoke of ox." I don't care how many doctors degrees you've got, and how much you're looked up to by your denomination; that sort of a ministry is not worthy of the Gospel that's wrote in this Book. That's right.

¹⁹⁵ Any church member that'll side in with such stuff as that and call themselves a Christian, and go out here and live... And the women bobbing their hair and wearing clothes that the Bible says for them not to; men carrying on the way they're doing now with form of godliness, taking drinks, and smoking cigars, and married several times, and becoming deacons in the church, and even pastors and so forth; and the people that put up with such as that, that sort of life is not worthy of the Gospel.
A woman that'll walk, and get on the telephone and tattle and start fusses in the church and things like that, that isn't a life worthy of the Gospel that we're trying to represent. Any person that'll break up a church and start a feud between the people and things like that, is not worthy of the Gospel that we preach. That's exactly. It's a form of godliness, denying the power thereof, the power of God that keeps you from such.

¹⁹⁷ Notice. Now, they don't do it; they just won't do it. They have the excuse that their church don't believe in it. They... Why... But Jesus would say--say to a man tonight, speak to his heart and say, "I want you to go preach the full Gospel."
"My church doesn't stand for it, Lord. You excuse me if You will. I've got a fine charge. I--I--I... You know, I'm a pastor of one of the greatest churches in this city, Lord. Oh, we praise Your Name down there. Yes, sir, we sure do. I can't do it." The same excuse, same thing. So they don't come to the spiritual feast of His promised, vindicated Word.
Did not Jesus say where the carcase is the eagles will gather, eagles, not buzzards now, eagles. Where the slop is and the--and the carrion, then the buzzards gather. But where the fresh, clean meat is, the eagles will gather. See? Certainly. Where the Word, Eagle Food, they'll gather.
So they don't come to the spiritual feast that they're invited to. Do you believe that God has give America an invitation the last fifteen years to a great revival, to a spiritual feast? Did they come? No, sir, no, sir. Then to reject to come, is that life worthy of the Gospel, though they call themselves that?

²⁰⁰ When a man come to me not long ago and set at a table and said, "Brother Branham, I want to reach across the table (a great man); I want to take ahold of your hand. I love you (I was in a church and heard him preaching.)" Said, "I love you. I believe you're God's servant."
I said, "Thank you, doctor. I love you too."
He said, "I want to tell you how much I love you as a brother." And said, "You see my little queen setting here, my wife, you remember her?"
I said, "I do."
Said, "The doctor give her two weeks to live with sarcomas cancer; and you come to the city and you prayed for her, and looked up, and saw a vision, and looked back and told me 'THUS SAITH THE LORD she'll be healed.': great spot in her back sunk in like that, looked like a great big--like the--a part of a woman's breast pulled inwardly in her back, right on her spine. There's not even a spot of it today." Said, "There sets my queen a-living today." Said, "How could I do anything but love you for praying that prayer of faith. How could I keep from believing you to be a--a servant of the Lord when you saw me and told just exactly what would happen." He said, "Now, I've got something for you, Brother Branham." He said, "I belong to the greatest Pentecostal league there is.
I said, "Yes, sir. I know that."
He said, "I talked with the brethren not long ago, and they told me to get in contact with you and tell you that it was a shame that you took that God-given ministry to a bunch of people off the river and around like that."
I said, "That right?"
Said, "Yes." Said, "God sent that ministry to hit the nerve spots, the big spots, the highlights."

²⁰¹ I seen the devil talking right then. I thought, "Yeah, jump down off this mountain and show, you know, off this building." See, see? I thought I'd just lead him on a little farther." My mother used to say, "Give the cow enough rope; she'll hang her ownself." I said, "Is that right?"
"Yes," said, "it's a shame. But what you do..." Said, "What are you? Today you can hardly buy yourself a meal." And said, "Look at Oral Roberts and them stepped in and got out there with the--one hundredth of the ministry you got, and look what they go."
I said, "Yeah, that's right." See?
And he said, "My group will take you. We'll take you right in as--as one of our brethren. They'll all give you the right hand of fellowship, and we'll charter a plane and give you your wages of five hundred a week or more if you want it, and we'll send you to every major city in the country." This happened right in Phoenix, Arizona, right across the table. And he said, "And we'll pay your..." Said, "Then let the world, the outside world, let the dignitaries, the big guys, the up-and-up..." Said, "You're always talking about the down-and-out; we got the up-and-outs." Said, "Let them see the hand of the Lord. Then I'll let them take my wife along, and others can prove that those things that you say comes to pass."

²⁰² I said, "Yes, sir, that'd be great." Now, see, the man in the position of a D.L., L.L.D., a writer of books (See?), Doctor of Literature, fine writer, fine man... See, he didn't know the Scripture. Did you know that Angel that performed them kind of works never did go to Sodom? He stayed with the called-out group, Abraham. He just didn't know it. I just let him alone, just set there a little bit. And I just wanted to see what the catch was. And I said, "Well, what would I have to do?"
Said, "Well, Brother Branham, just--the only thing they said, we discussed it: a few things, little petty things