| Oneness (62-0211) |
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1 Thank you, Brother Orman, the Lord bless you. Good morning, friends. It's nice to be here in the Tabernacle again this morning. And was just standing back there listening as I come in, and hearing the prophecy go forth in the way of speaking with tongues, with the interpretation. And I said to the folks that that room is full also, so I said, "I don't know; I haven't spoke to this man." That was Brother Higginbotham, if I've got the man right, for a long time; it's been months since I've even shook his hand. But that's exactly what I'm speaking on, what he said this morning, exactly what I'm speaking on. He didn't know it. I didn't know it myself till just awhile ago, what I was going to speak on. And that's just it, what he said right then. So we are happy to know that we are assembled in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and under His protecting wings.
2
Now, I see many are standing up, place filled and jammed, and we just
hate to see this. And as soon as we can, we're going to make it
different here, a bigger tabernacle. Now, I want to report from Phoenix
just quickly.
5
This morning's message I'm speaking on the subject of "Oneness." And
I--I want to take my time and try to make it just as... lay it out just
as perfectly as I know how. And I desire your prayers as you have
gathered.
8
Now, let's bow our heads just a moment as we pray. And I'm sure that
there's many requests in the audience of this size, so perhaps we just
raise up our hand to God, who has a request, and let him by this make
it known that we have something that we want prayer for. God grant to
each one of you. 11 Father, I pray that You'll give strength to those who are standing in the rooms and around the walls, and in the vestibule and around. I pray that You give them strength. And knowing this going on tape that'll go to many different nations out into the lands and the tribes of the earth, God, we are trusting wholly in Thee. Just give us the strength and the--the Word and the anointing, that it might be just the way You would have it for this hour. We commit ourselves to Thee now, our listening, our voice, our attention, all that we are we commit to Thee, that Thou would move in us. Work through us and manifest Your great Presence with us. For we ask it in Jesus' Name, Thy Son. Amen.
12
The word "oneness" means "to be one with: oneness, united," And now,
this is quite a subject, and it--it deserves a lot more attention than
I'm able to give it, and more than most any person on earth could be
able to give. But I would like to express to you my opinion of it, and
with what God will give us. Now, in this it's teaching doctrine. And to
the brethren who may hear this tape, I trust that it will not be an
offense, but it will be to cause you to take this very considerably,
under consideration, rather, that you would study it prayerfully,
carefully, and weigh it out in the balance of God's Word to see whether
it be of God or not.
14
Now, the first man and first woman in the garden of Eden was in perfect
harmony with God, so much that God could come down at any time He
desired and talk lip-to-ear with Adam and Eve. Now, that is perfect
oneness: God and His creation, God speaking lip-to-ear with Adam and
Eve. And they were so perfect in harmony with God till they were one
with God. God and His family was one. 16 That's God's purpose. And His purpose as Father supreme, was to be one with His family, earthly family, Adam and Eve. And the only way that they could be one with the family, or with God, was because God's nature was in them. So that made them with God's nature in them, then with each other and God, they become all one. Isn't that a beautiful picture, God in His family, Father over all, supreme, no death, no sorrow, no heartaches, no nothing, just joy unspeakable: never to be sick, never to have a heartache, just one with God. What a picture. Because the very nature of God was in these people. And therefore, what they did, they followed just in line with God, and God with them made them one. 17 Now, Jesus prayed in John the 17th chapter and the 11th verse, to you who put down these Sunday school texts. I have many of them this morning. John 17:11, Jesus prayed that the church and He would be one like He and the Father were one. That the church, we as members of the Body of Christ, would be one together just like He and the Father are one. And at that day we would know that He was in the Father--or Father in Him, and He in us, that together we were one. What a union, a oneness that would be to see God in His church, till every member is just perfectly in harmony with each other and God. That's the church that Jesus is coming for. That's when His prayer will be answered, that we will be one. 18 And it is the only grounds of fellowship that God has ever laid down for Himself and His church, is the oneness of Himself in the people. That's the only grounds of fellowship. And the only way that you can have those grounds is by a union to be united with Him forever. Just like when you unite with your husband, the woman to unite with her husband, it is a vow until death. Now, then when you unite with God, it's the same thing that the church united with Christ, it's until death we part. And then if you never sin or do anything wrong, you'll be eternally united with God. And only death can take you away from God, and not physical death, but the sin of death. Sin is death, and that takes you away from God. So to be united with Him in the Spirit of His power is Eternal Life; you're eternally united with God. Oh, I want to get to that after a bit. United eternally with the eternal God, perfectly in harmony with Him, perfectly united together, a church that all, both God and His church is one, united together. 19 And if you'll notice how that Eve was united with Adam; she become part of him. God, did you notice in Genesis 1:27, He created man male and female, created He them. Now, the man was a--a--both male and female when it come to being in the spirit of feminish and masculine. Then God took from his side a--a rib. Did you notice, the body part was a byproduct, but not the spirit? The body part of the woman was a byproduct; after the creation had been finished, God took from the side of Adam a rib and made a woman. But not the spirit, the spirit was part of Adam, for he was both man and woman, fem--spiritually speaking both masculine and feminish. 20 Now, don't you see the great picture? We in flesh are different. We're like a byproduct, a created being by holy wedlock. But in Spirit we are sons and daughters, not some other spirit, but the Spirit of the living God. We are in His likeness, in His unity, in the perfect image of the living God, because we become sons and daughters; not separated, but the same Spirit, the same God, the same Person, joined in wedlock to the eternal. See how God planned it that we should be, not a different, but Him, not some other being of some other tribe, but a real union and offspring of the Almighty done by a holy union. Now, the body comes from mother and father, but the Spirit come from God, God separating Himself as Adam was separated.
21
On the day of Pentecost we find the Holy Spirit, the Pillar of Fire,
separating Itself and setting upon each member of that church: God
putting Hisself together. Then with that group of people together, what
does it do? Brings back the unified Body of the Lord Jesus. Coming
together... 23 Joined in heavenly wedlock to the eternal God, part of Him, part of God... In flesh I become Branham because of my father, Branham. You become part of your father and mother, but in spirit we become... When union with God is part of God... That's the reason that the spirit cannot die. "He that believeth on Me has Everlasting Life. And in the image that he is here on earth, and in his likeness, I'll raise him up in the last days." Not a spirit being, for we'll have a body like God's glorious Body, the glorified Body of the Lord Jesus, raised up in that Image.
24
Jesus said, going to the grave of Lazarus, "I am the Resurrection and
Life. He that believeth in Me, though he be dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die." "Believeth
in Me, not on Me, but in Me." Being in Him, believing. "If ye abide in
Me and My Words in you." In Him, believing... Oh, my. I hope the Holy
Spirit gets that right down to you.
26
Now, the Word of God is a Sword. Hebrews the 4th chapter says so,
Hebrews 4:12. Now, It is a Sword. And a sword is perfect dormant if it
isn't yielded by a hand or a power. And it... But it takes a hand to
hold the Sword. And the--take... The hand that holds this Sword is the
hand of faith.
28
And the Sword is plenty sharp. Hebrews 4 said, "It's sharper than a
two-edged sword that cuts both coming and going, and even goes to
the--the marrow of the bone, and in the joints, and a Discerner of the
thoughts of the heart." Goes beyond the physical; it goes into the
spiritual realm and picks up the thoughts of the heart and reveals
them. The Spirit of God, the Word of God... 30 Adam was a part of--or Eve was a part of Adam; she was flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. And that's what the correct union is. That's what the correct union of the church is: Spirit of His Spirit, Word of His Words, never deviating from the Word. The real true believer will not compromise on any Word. Remember, it was just one Word that Eve compromised on: one Word. But the true believer won't compromise on any Word. It'll hold the Sword of the Faith with--in faith, rather, the Sword of the Word, and claim every Divine promise God made. That's it.
31
They were God's examples to us, what we should be, then ever present,
never failing. When they spoke, God answered. He watched them daily.
Night, when they'd lay down to sleep, He watched over them. In the
daytime He guided them, fed them, loved them, communed with them
constantly all the time. They were in God's image, and God was in them.
That's what makes a fellowship. That's what makes the union is God in
His church. That's the union. Much could be said, got many places to go. 32 Now, Eve was united until she broke one Word, or, doubted one Word being true. That separated her. Every Word, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word." So we can be in God, united, because Adam and Eve, before the fall, afore the disbelieving of the Word, was an example of what we could be in Him. To be united with Him is Life; to be separated from Him is death. Now, if we follow His commandments... 33 We know we make mistakes, but you mustn't look at that. It's not your mistakes, because you're always going to have them. But, you see, it's following His rules, following what He said do. Stumble and falling doesn't have one thing to do with It. A real true servant, if he'll stumble, he'll get up again. If he wobbles, God pulls him right back in the path, as long as he's in the path of duty. But if he's off of the path of duty, God's not obligated to him. But as long as he's in the path of duty, God's obligated to him, knowing that he's just a man or a woman. He's obligated to that person as long as they're in the path of duty. 34 Now, the church now is engaged to Christ for the wedding. The wedding has never been performed yet; it will be at the wedding supper of the Lamb. So we see that the church is now engaged, like a man engaged to his wife. What does he do while they're engaged? He's just bestowing all kinds of things, sending her presents, making her feel good. Well, that's what Christ is doing to His church. He's sending us gifts of the Spirit. How can you be engaged then when you're denying these gifts exist? It's the very love tokens. It's God's token to the church. Jesus said so, "These signs shall follow them that believe." 35 Now, keep those things in mind. The church must believe every Word, every promise, every iota, and claim It for themselves, and exercise themselves in It. If I was engaged to a girl, and I was a single man, and I'd send her something, an engagement ring, and she wouldn't wear it, then that shows she doesn't believe me. She--she--she doesn't want to be my bride. And if Christ sends His church the gifts that He promised, and they refuse them and say they're not so, they don't want to be the Bride of Christ. They are espoused to some other lover and not to Christ, the Bridegroom. So the real church keeps the promise, and keeps all, and accepts the gifts that God sends. All right.
36
Now, the first human beings disfellowshipped themself from believing
God by disbelieving His Word and listening to a lie of the Devil. Now,
that's the first thing that disfellowshipped this wonderful union. Now
look, Adam and Eve in a position to never die, in a position to never
be old, to never be sick, to never have a worry...
38
What was the agreement? "If you'll keep My Word. If, My Word, if you'll
keep It, believe It and act upon It..." But the very first time that
Eve disbelieved took one Word away from what God said, it broke off
fellowship with that great union. And the minute that the church
disbelieves any one Word of God's Bible, and places It somewhere else,
then they break off that wonderful fellowship that's offered to them,
and to be separated. As soon as she did that, death set in her mortal
being, not only her mortal, but her spiritual being. She broke off
relationship with God the minute she disbelieved. And no man can
believe...
39
Now, let's think seriously, because we never be able to think anymore
after this, after this mortal life is over. Your thinking is now. You
cannot choose after this; you must choose now, for this is the day of
choosing, making your choice. Now she... One Word, not a whole
Decalogue, just one Word, she questioned God, because it was presented
to her in that light that that Word was questionable. God's Word cannot
be questioned; He meant just what He said. But she questioned it
because it was presented to her, "Oh, God surely didn't mean that." But
He did mean that. God means every Word He says. And It doesn't need any
private interpretation. It's just the way He said It. 41 Let me make that again. Do not disbelieve any Word of God's Bible. But just don't say, "Yes, I believe It," say, "but..." No, there's nothing about that. You believe It; you'll accept it. If you lay It aside, say, "Well, my church don't believe It that way," then you do not believe It's God's Word, and you'll walk away under the same condemnation that Eve went away under. You separated yourself from the Eternal when you had a chance to be united with Him. Now, remember, that cannot be questioned, because it was one Word that--in God's Word... 42 And now, if God had just a--a few Words there that people must obey, and in them few Words one of them was misrepresented, caused death, look at the Words we got today. See? We must receive every one of them, hold onto them, and enter into them as promises from God. And a true wife of God will do that, true engaged espoused one. Now, I hope these little things go down deep now so we can catch them.
43
What was the first thing that caused Eve to disbelieve God's Word? It
was because Satan promised her more wisdom, "You will be wise." Now,
you see, the human race is always reaching after something. And Eve was
reaching after more wisdom.
46
Today... (It's too bad to think this.) But the churches try to lean
upon their own understanding just exactly like Eve did. She thought,
because it was presented to her, it looked so real... Oh, don't fail to
get this. It looked so real, something that could be added to what God
said. It looked like that she'd have something that God hadn't told her
just how far she could go. God hadn't give her the boundary line like
He set the sea and it cannot pass because the moon watches it. He
thought... She thought that Satan had something on the ball, as we say,
that she could still be in union with God, and yet be smarter, she
would have a better education. But God had 'lotted her just exactly
what she had need of.
48
I'm just got to wait here a minute. The whole world's based on that.
The whole economy of this nation is based upon false conception. Tell
you a little joke on myself; it isn't a joke. But you know all of us
love our wives, or, we should. And I was looking at a program here
sometime ago out west, been a long time ago, about three years. And in
my room one morning I got up, and there was a television setting in the
room. And I thought, "Look like bad weather." And I thought, "Well, at
eight o'clock they ought to have the news." And I got the little
manual; it said news at a certain time. 52 You see, why does the nation, why does these--this nation let the people be deceived? That oughtn't to be allowed to be said like that. That ought to be against the law. About the modern cigarette advertisement, what a disgrace, "Not a cough in a carload," all kind of... Well, that oughtn't to be allowed. What is it doing? It's deceiving. There's death in every one of them. There's death in the drinking of whiskey: rape, murder, insanity in the bottle. But yet we're allowed to put it on our programs and advertise it as "The kind that grandfather drank. More joy out of life," certain kinds of beverages of beer and alcohol. What is it? It's deceiving. It's placing something before the public to kill themselves with. And we're allowed to do it.
53
And let me turn that right back over. And the churches through manmade
dogma, manmade creeds is presenting a great front to the people, and
they're falling for it, which is death. No church will clean your soul.
No creed can clean your soul. Only the Blood of Jesus Christ can
cleanse your soul, God's remedy. It's backed up. 54 You say, "Oughtn't the council of men be able to say more about it than one person?" Not if that one person says the Word of God. There was four hundred prophets one time come up before two kings, and they leaned upon their own understanding. But there was one who stayed with the Word of God, and it proved out he was right: Micaiah. It depends on whether it's the Word of God. Anything contrary to the Word is wrong, comes in death. No wisdom can surpass God's wisdom. He's the smartest of all smarts. He's the--He's the Fountain. He's the only resource of wisdom. Every man's word is foolishness and a lie, but God's. If it's contrary to God... Now, if the person's saying God's Word, then it--it's not the man's word no more; it's God's Word. See, it isn't the man's understanding.
55
Satan will make you all kind of promises, but he has nothing to give
you, because he don't have nothing. He don't have no salvation. What is
Satan? Anything contrary to the Word. He doesn't have salvation. He
doesn't have Light. His kingdom is darkness; the end thereof is death.
Darkness and death is Satan's kingdom. "Brother Branham, repeat it
again. What is Satan's kingdom?" Anything contrary to the Word of God.
58
Now, let's look at it. The only way to stay in Divine fellowship was
keep that Word. God said, "Thou shalt do this. Thou shalt not do this.
Thou shalt do this, and you can do this and do this. But don't do
this." Now, just one little piece of a commandment that she disobeyed,
and started the whole thing... Because she did that, made every hungry
child that was ever in the world, every pain of death, every sorrow,
every heartache. She did it right then. What a horrible thing to
disbelieve God's Word. Every person that groans in pains of every death
that ever was or ever will be, she did it right then. Every little
unwedded child, she did it right then, every child born under--out of
wedlock. Every sin that was ever committed, she caused it right there
by keeping every Word right down; but one little place here she--she
reasoned. She just... She didn't know it... She knowed it, but she
just--she was enticed to do something better, because she was promised
a better class of people, better wisdom, know more about it if she'd do
this. "Our ministers are better educated. We have a better class."
60
His kingdom can promise nothing but death. That's all he has. He's the
author of death. He can promise lies because he's the father of lies.
He can't give you Life. He can't give you heaven, he has no heaven to
give you. 62 Now, when Adam and Eve listened to the lie of the Devil, the holy image of God left them; and their--their fellowship was broken with God. Their fellowship of oneness with God was broken. The very minute they listened to the lie of the Devil, that broke their fellowship. And the very minute that you listen to the lie of the Devil, it'll break your fellowship. That's the very minute that you go out from the Presence of God, like she did, is when you failed to take God's Word just as It is.
63
Now look, I want to ask you something. We all know there's a God. And
if God is so correct with His Word, and so determined that He'll judge
the people by His Word, then He's got to preserve a Word somewhere to
judge the people by. This Bible's It. Don't you forget that. It's the
Bible that God will judge the people by, for it said in Revelations 22,
"He that'll take one Word away from It or add one word to It..." 65 But it just takes one word; that breaks the fellowship right there. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. The more your weakness is on disbelieving God's Word; there's where you want to put a new link, strong with the rest of it. If you believe Jesus Christ saves; then you must put a link in there that believes He heals. If you believe He was, you must believe He is. Hallelujah. If you believe He was, and wondering whether He is, that link will break, then you're lost. See what I mean? It's stern it's hard, but it's the Truth. You must believe Him, every Word, everything that He said.
66
Now, you say, "Well, now, Brother Branham, what about these
denominations?" Well, now listen. If they are with this Word, all
right. But if they deny that Word, then it's not right; it's the Devil
again. See? 69 "Well, there's a better class of people goes here. It's a bigger building. They're smarter men." That don't have one thing to do with it. Satan was much smarter than Eve. She didn't--wasn't even in the picture. But she wasn't supposed to be smart; she was supposed to be obedient. We're not supposed to be smart. Jesus said the children of this world, or, the kingdom of this world is much smarter, the children of darkness than the children of Light. We are likened to sheep. Sheep can't even lead themselves; they've got to have a shepherd. God don't want us smart, He wants us to lean on His understanding (Amen.), just where He leads. Amen. You see the picture? Don't lean upon your own understanding. Proverbs 5, 3. Don't lean upon your own understanding, lean upon His understanding. No matter how contrary it seems, and how big the bright lights look out here, don't pay no attention to it. Just lean on His understanding, what He said is the Truth.
70
Now, the oneness in fellowship was broke between God and His children
the minute she disbelieved one little paragraph, one little Word of
God. Everybody get that, say "amen." [Congregation says, "Amen!"--Ed.] Not a Bible; say, "I don't believe the Bible at all. I believe half of It." She had to believe all of It, every bit.
72
Well, you say, "I know men and women that didn't teach their children
that, and wasn't Christians." The very thing of not leading them to
Christ was the wrongest thing they could ever do besides the other: not
to lead them to Christ. See? So you can't have a correct union without
it. The fellowship broken...
75
What? Her thinking changed. Oh, yeah, her thinking changed. Her
fellowship with her husband wasn't right. They begin to pass the buck.
See? Her thinking was actually changed. Why? She had the life of the
Devil in her. It's exactly. As soon as she disbelieved God's Word, she
accepted the life of the Devil, because she accepted his teaching. 78 I ain't going to hold this. I'm going to let It come anyhow. Just can't... The other day in California; I mean in Arizona, I was teaching in a church. I've never said nothing under inspiration that I ever had to take back. So many of the ministers got after me about the seed of Satan, the serpent's seed. "The woman, it was eating an apple." Huh. That... Why, Cain thought the same thing; he brought the fruits of the field in. You see? It wasn't no apple. How'd she realize she was naked? We've been through that. It was actually a sexual affair. Certainly it was; she realized she was naked. And she had a child by the serpent, which was not a reptile; he was the most subtle of all the beasts. He was the next thing to a man. Man can find monkeys and chimpanzee--chimpanzees, and so forth, but they can't find that link that connects man and beast together. There he is. God cursed him so far he can't come back again (That's right.), for this evil act that he did. He was the only seed that would mix.
79
Now, the other day, standing preaching, there was a bunch of Catholic
people in my audience, and I said, "You Catholic people that call
Jesus, or call Mary, rather, the mother of God, how can God have a
mother when He's eternal? He can't have a mother. Jesus was not even
anything to Mary, but He was just... She was an incubator that hatched
Him."
81
Well then, if this woman produced the egg, then how could David say,
"I'll not leave My Holy One see corruption, neither will I leave His
soul in hell"? Then if the woman egg was in Christ, then the person's
got something to do with His part in the resurrection, when it's wholly
complete with God. Why did God raise up a sexual part of a person? In
the resurrection, why didn't He leave His body see corruption? Because
He was holy. And how could He be holy if He'd have had a conception
with Mary, and the pollen had come from Mary, the egg down through the
tube into the womb? There'd a-had to be some sensation to bring the egg
down. Then the woman would be...
83
Just like you take the eagle and let it lay an egg, and put it under
the hen; the hen will hatch the egg; she's only the incubator. But
there isn't one speck about it, the eagle, that's a chicken. No, sir.
The hen was the... You could tie a little pup down over the top of a--a
bird egg, and it would hatch a bird, the pup would. It's the warmth of
the body that hatched the egg.
85
When I come out, of course, you know the brethren waiting for me. They
said, "Brother Branham, I want to ask you something. You made a
mistake. Now, we got you caught." 88 Now, here it is. The Holy Spirit moved over. I believe the same One that could overshadow Mary, that could create, He can also put a Word in their mouth. I depend on Him daily. And it's always His Word. He can't say the--something contrary to His Word. Then if you say you're anointed and preach against the Truths of God, then it's not the anointing of the Holy Ghost. 'Cause when the Holy Ghost overshadows you, He brings the same thing, 'cause It is the Word.
89
Listen. What happened? I said, "All right, I want to ask you something.
The woman has no egg. She has no seed. He said now, He said not an egg;
He said, 'thy seed.' And she had no seed." 92 Now, notice this now. The--the woman was not a seed. Therefore, He said, "I will put enmity between thy seed and the serpent's seed." Telling her that He was going, Himself, to give her a seed, not through a intercourse, sexually. He was going to create in her a seed. Well, you say, "Would that be His seed?" Yes. It would belong to Mary then after He give it to her. This is my eye; He give me this. It's my eye, but He give it to me. This is my hand; He gave it to me. This is my voice, but He give it to me. See? And the seed that was in Mary had nothing to do with Mary. It was something God did Himself.
93
So the seed that was in her then was a union of a unlawful act, which
was death. She was already pregnated with the serpent's seed, 'cause
she had lived with the... And she turned and said, herself, "The
serpent beguiled me." That's right. And immediately, Cain come on.
96
That's the reason you've got to be in union with God. That's the reason
that Peter said on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus said, "Baptize
them in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost" Peter turned around
and said, "Baptize them in the Name of Jesus Christ," because the Name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is the Lord Jesus Christ. See that?
It takes a union.
100
Now, watch how she--she--her union between her and her husband was
broken. See, quickly, as soon as God said, "Adam, how'd you do this?"
Instead of taking up for his wife, he passed it on to his wife. "The
woman Thou givest me." Union broke. See? 102 That's the same thing they try to do today. See, the husband, wife, the union broken. Husband and wife, fellowship was broken between them; the oneness of them was broken; the oneness between them and God was broken. The whole thing was marred. Why? Because one Word was disbelieved. Oh, brother, my. Yeah, she should've told the Truth. The oneness with her and her husband was gone, and the oneness with them and God was gone. And every church that doesn't take the whole of God's Word, the same thing happens. I love It, don't you? 103 Watch her firstborn Cain, a murderer, a lie, a deceiver, jealous, jealous of his brother. His brother kept the commandments of God; God had made an atonement by killing an offering and offering it for them. Watch the ignorance of that now, of Satan, trying to substitute something. God, the Bible said went and made them aprons out of skins; to get skins, something died. Adam tried to make hisself some aprons out of fig leaves. It wouldn't work, botany life. Life, moving life had to die. So He killed a lower form of life, and saying in there that "Someday My Own Life will be give for you, the real Life that'll draw in this union again." Now, we'll get to it in a few minutes, God willing. "See, here's a lamb's life. Now, you put this around you and hide your nakedness." "You mustn't eat apples!" Nonsense. See? "Put these skins around you." He had to kill something.
104
And Satan's son, they didn't come the way he wanted it--he did. Anyway
you want to say it, but it was Satan's son, 'cause that purity of Adam
to God could not have brought that kind of a thing. Notice, then
Satan's son, trying to make an atonement, come back with the same thing
that most of the people say today, a bunch of apples and fruits of the
land to offer for an atonement, an antidote. 107 But Cain in his stupid ways, not so stupid, but in his cunning ways, deceived, and brought in fruit. Adam kept the... Abel kept the Word of God; he brought in a lamb. God said, "That's right, Adam, you've kept--or, Abel, you've kept My Word." "Cain, you knowed it wasn't... Where'd I... did I take some fig leaves like your daddy tried to do? You got a bunch of figs, or grapes, or apples, or whatever you got here. And now your daddy took the leaves off the tree to try to make an atonement, and here you try to bring the fruit off the tree." It wasn't that. It was blood from life.
108
Oh, God brought it down, said, "Here it is." And Abel offered the right
one. Then he--his brother was jealous at him. Look what he did; he
killed his brother. God raised up another one; like death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ. Watch. God then, His... What did He tell Adam
and Eve? "Go on and multiply and replenish the earth." Scattered the
human race all over the earth, so He could deal with them individually
till He could bring them back together. Dealing with the people,
individuals, each person. But they didn't want it that way.
110
See, it wasn't that; God don't deal with a person in a group. God don't
deal with you in an organization. He deals with you as an individual,
an individual. Individually we are baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Collectively we are baptized into the body when we're baptized with the
Holy Ghost, individually, each one baptized with the Holy Ghost, God
dealing with each one. That was His purpose, scatter them across the
earth so He could deal individually with them.
113
Now, Cain was Eve's son; she said, "I have gotten a son." But Seth was
Adam's son. And God separated them, because he couldn't let... Why,
they'd corrupt one another. Cain's evil children would corrupt Seth's
good children. That's right. 115 Same thing today. Here you are, brethren. You Pentecostal weaklings, who God separated you and sent you out to be an interdenomination. You can't denominate Pentecost. Sent you out to be His people. But you seen the big fine churches and the theology; you got yourselves a lot of big schools and things. And what did you do? You've united God's people again with organization, which the very foundation of it is Catholicism. Pretty, big churches, fine-dressed people, the mayor of the city and all the rest of them comes, best dressed, best educated, high theologians, knows how to come to a place where everybody wears the very fanciest of clothes, and the pastor stands just so perfect in place. What is it? You're looking at the things that God condemned. And you've took the Pentecostal church (God, let it hit the tape.) and have united it into an organization. God never did want it united; He wanted it separated, never united with the world. 116 The same old Devil that caused Eve to disbelieve the Word of God and done her evil, come right back around and took the children of Seth and let them see these pretty women of Cain, and they united again. And they was not infidels. They were not communists. No, no. They were believers. They said, "Now, perhaps maybe the Lord might do something." Or, oh, all this like that. They--they were... They thought that they were doing what was right. And what did God have to do? Wipe the whole thing off, had to wipe the whole thing off. Under false union... He had to send a flood and destroy the whole bunch. Judgment come on for that false union. Judgment struck Eden because of a false union. Now, did the serpent has a seed? Shame on you.
117
A false union brought judgment on the earth to Eve and Adam in Eden.
And a false union brought the floods of God's judgment on the earth
because that the daughters of Cain flirted with the sons of God, and
they fell for it and united together again. There you are. False union,
"Nothing could happen." What did God do? He destroyed the whole thing,
all but precious old Noah and his family. He... They got together. 119 And they said, "I'll tell you what we can do. You know we're smart." Where'd they get that wisdom? From the Devil. That's exactly. They got it from the Devil like--like Eve did. Got it from the Devil. So they said, "We'll build ourself an organization; we'll please God. And I'll tell you what we'll do; we'll have little stair steps. We'll run up and sing and enjoy with the angels, and come back down here and live the way we want to." That devil's still living. See? It was against the commandments of God. They didn't keep His commandments. What did God do? Well, they built a tower of Babel, false again, so God confused them and separated them.
120
God separated again and He sent out good old righteous Abraham, said,
"I'll just take you and make a nation out of you." God separated him.
"Come out from among them, Abraham, leave everything behind." And God
never blessed him till he left everything behind; Lot was the last.
"Come out, Abraham, separate yourself from them unbelievers. And I'm
going to take you and make a nation out of you. I'll make a people
that'll keep My commandments. I'm going to give them another chance." 123 Abraham called anything contrary, wrong. Romans, the 4th chapter, if you're putting it down. Abraham called anything contrary to God's Word, as though it wasn't. That's right. He believed in God, was strong, no matter how weak his body got, how impossible it seemed that it wasn't going to happen, Abraham kept on believing it. Now, he didn't have to get down at the altar and say, "If don't come right now, I'm going to do... I don't know whether to believe it or not." Abraham stayed with it for twenty-five years before it come, but it got there. It always does. 124 Abraham, come Isaac; Isaac, come Jacob; out of Jacob come the patriarchs; out of the patriarchs, went into Egypt, in Egypt, growed a nation. Then when He got His nation growed up, His achievement, what did He do? God separated them again. Unbelief and faith can't go together. No, sir. He separated them again for His Own. What did He do to them to be sure that they was led right? Listen close now; we haven't got too much more time now, maybe another fifteen minutes. He led them close. Watch, He raised up a nation, put them under tutors and things. They were beat and crying, and crying and going on. But God was looking down; He remembered every promise He give Abraham. One day He--He thought... What did He do to them? What did He do when He separated them? He give them a law and He give them a prophet; He give them a Pillar of Fire. What did He do? (Oh, God.) He set His church in order: a Pillar of Fire, Spirit to lead them, a prophet who would tell them the truth of His Word. They were ready for the journey then. Isn't that wonderful?
125
Out into the wilderness they went, performing signs and wonders,
opening up the Red Sea, calling the plagues of hell down on Pharaoh.
Oh, my. A Pillar of Fire moving before them (Amen.), led them by the
night and by the day. Hallelujah. A prophet, true to that Word,
standing there keeping them lined up. Amen. He was ready to take His
children then. That was the first time they was ever called a church.
It was a type of what He's going to do in the last days. We'll get to
that again just in a minute. He called them out, give them a law, give
them His Word; He give them a prophet; He give them a sign; and He sent
them into the wilderness, separated them from the rest of the world.
127
I got a prophecy laying at home, one of these days I'm going to read
it. And you wonder why I rap at women the way I do. Thirty years ago...
I've got THUS SAITH THE LORD. Thirty years ago when I entered the
ministry, He told me that the strain of women would come so immoral and
imputed, in the last days they'd be the most defiled thing on the
earth. Right. She started it at the beginning and Satan use her at the
end. And look what is happening, look down through the years, Said,
"She'll continue to strip herself." And said, "There'll just be a
little tiny group, of the very elected that's predestinated will escape
that."
129
A woman wrote me a question the other day; she said, "Brother
Branham..." Or, no, it was a man, a minister. He may be standing here
this morning. He's just from Ohio. And he said, "We want to say the
same thing you do, but we found something on your tapes that's not
right." So Billy brought the letter to me. Said, "Something on your
tapes," says, "is very contradictory, Brother Branham, to the Word of
God. And we want to--we want to say the same thing." Said, "One
question I want to say to you; that's I Corinthians the 11th chapter,
and it says that about the head covering for the women, and the men not
to have covering." Said, "We believe that. The women should wear hats
in the church, and the men should take their hats off in the church."
Said, "We believe them head coverings, and so forth." And said, "Then
another question is that the people come to us and say the Angel of the
Lord speaks everything to you. Every word that you speak is from the
Angel of the Lord. And, Brother Branham, it's so hard to fight against
something like that," said, "in my church." Said, "We want to say the
same thing. Now, Brother Branham, don't you believe that you was a
little in error there?"
131
And look, and then the question come back, somebody asked me sometime
ago... I'll explain it while I'm at it. He said, "Well, the Bible said
that she should have long hair because of the angels. What's the angels
got to do with a woman?"
133
But I imagine these pretty Moabite women were very beautiful; they
might have been fixed up some like some of the modern Jezebels of
today. But however, not all women. I think a woman that's genuine is a
jewel. Praise God for a real woman. They're God's handsmaids. But a
real woman is like a real man; they'll follow the Word of God
regardless of what the Devil says or any false thing.
135
Oh, how we could go on down and see God separating them. We're going to
have to stop just a minute. I got some Scriptures here I want to just
bypass it to get a--hurry up to get to the end. Then when... What
happened when He taken place there, when the Moabite women? God had to
separate them again. What did He do?
137
I think of Stephen on that day when he stood, said, "You uncircumcised
in heart and ears, you stiffnecks, you always resist the Holy Ghost;
like your fathers did, so do you." Said, "Solomon built Him a house,
but howbeit the Most High don't live in houses made with hands, but a
body has Thou prepared Me."
139
He didn't have to say, "Mary, you loan Me a egg; I want to make a body
so I can dwell in it." God the Creator spoke, and she was a mother
right then. She wasn't a mother; she was just a woman bearing His Seed.
That's right. Remember, she was not Jesus' mother. The world said so.
Find me one place in Scripture ever He called her mother. Now, come
back to the Word. "Mother of God," shame on you. See? 144 All their towers of Babel and all their other things back there didn't work. All their fruits of the gardens and everything else displeased God. So God came down and was conceived in the womb of a woman, by His Ownself made Hisself a body, and become Immanuel, God with us: neither Jew nor Gentile, but God. He wasn't Jew; He wasn't Gentile; He was God. And the Gentiles was just as much to Him at anytime, only He tried to separate a Jew for a nation. He tried to do everything to get it back, and the only way He could establish it was come back to an individual like He was at the beginning. That's the way it is today to an individual: not to a denomination, not to an organization, not to a group of people; but to an individual. Notice, to re-establish oneness between God and man...
145
He was a real sin-offering. Sheep, goats, and so forth, could never
take away sin. But the life... Because when the sacrifice is killed and
the life of a lamb, the most innocent thing, could not come back, that
life, upon the believer, because he was a human being with a soul, and
the sheep has no soul.
147
Now, notice. But now, in this, Jesus came and He was God. Not only the
life of another man could come back on another man, but the very Life
of God, making him a child of God, putting him back into the same union
he was before the fall. Now, we're getting to real oneness.
150
Now, what could re-establish? When God's commandment is fulfilled.
Could an Angel fulfill it? He has no blood. Could God have fulfilled
it? He had no blood. And God became flesh and blood in order that He
could pay the debt correctly and take away sin, because that's the only
way. Towers of Babel separating them across the earth, everything else,
organizations and things had failed in every way; they get mixed up
together, the world and everything else; but this was going to be a
total separation. Glory. 152 See, that's the only way that man could be back in his original state again, is for that penalty of sin to be paid. The penalty of sin is what? Death. "Wages of sin is death." And God said, "The day you eat thereof, the day that you have this affair, that's the day you'll die." And when it did, it broke his relationship, fellowship and everything from man, and could not come back anymore until that penalty was paid. And nobody was worthy to pay it, because everyone fell with the human being, 'cause every creature's under the human being, and he was fallen. Glory, Oh, brother.
153
Brother Mac, I didn't see you setting there, God bless you. We believe
this, Brother Mac. "Come under the penalty of death..." Brother Mac
here used to be pastor here at the Tabernacle when I left. Yeah. Now...
Another good old Baptist, Missionary Baptist down there that got the
Holy Ghost... See?
154
Now, when we see this... See, the penalty must be paid, and no... The
highest form of animal life is a human being, and the human being fell
itself. So how can one human save another? It taken God. And God, in
Spirit, could not die. So, "God had to bring Hisself a little lower
than the Angels," Hebrews the 1st chapter, the 1st verse. Had to make
Hisself lower than the Angels in order to take death to pay the penalty
to bring the oneness between man and God again, so the Holy Ghost could
come back. 156 The penalty's paid. It's over. We are redeemed, not by a Catholic church, although we are the correct catholics, the apostolic catholic. Yes, sir. Not Roman Catholic with their dogmas, they deny this Word with their dogma; everything's your dogma, not the Word. Methodists, Baptists, shame on you, lovers of iniquity more than lovers of God. Lovers of pleasure, world seekers, pleasures, slaughtered pigs for the pen. The Devil's sending his instruments out there choking that stuff down you like Satan did in the garden of Eden. "Well, all our ministers have got an education. They got the Ph.D., LL.D." That don't mean a thing. If you deny that Word, it's still the trick of the Devil. I've proved it to you by the Word this morning; it'd be up to you from now on.
157
The disciples, even walking with Jesus, they didn't have no oneness.
They didn't have any unity. No, they argued, "Who's going to be bishop
after this. Who's the greatest among us?" They couldn't even believe
Jesus. They couldn't understand Him. "Thou speakest in riddles. Tell us
plainly what You mean." There was no unity between Jesus and the
disciples, or disciples to Jesus, and the disciples among one another.
159
The disciples who walked hand and hand with Jesus, slept with Him, eat
with Him, watched His miracles, and associated with Him, close as any
brother could be, and yet they didn't have it. They wasn't fit to
preach the Gospel. Jesus said, "Don't you preach anymore; don't you
even try. You wait up there at the city of Jerusalem. I'm going to send
the promise, that's been given you, upon you. That'll unify you then."
163
Yes, disciples had no unity. They could not understand Jesus. They
said, "Aw, who can understand these things?" See, God wasn't in them
yet. They were just associated in fellowship. They just associated with
Him. That's many a good man today. They didn't drink, lie, steal,
nothing, but they didn't have that oneness of God. They wasn't one with
God yet. See, they couldn't be. Oh, they done miracles. They cast out
devils. That ain't a--that ain't a...
165
Now, then came Pentecost; God made them one again. Oh, my. Then they
had oneness with God. God was in them. Now, Acts, if you're putting it
down, Acts 4:32, the Bible said that they were with one heart, one
soul, and one mind. Oh, brother. Why? They had been restored back to
the original again. The only thing that they had left to be disposed of
was an old city, or they lived in here, an old body called a city or a
temple, that they lived in here, that had to rot, because it has to die
and corrupt. But in spirit, and life, and in purpose, and in vision,
and everything, they were one with God.
167
I was talking on the Name of Jesus Christ baptism. That's right, a
revelation of that come. That's the Truth. But what did a bunch of
people do? Gathered it right out here and put a denomination out of it,
made another tower of Babel, same thing, throwed it right into it.
Certainly. Luther done the same thing. Wesley done the same thing; John
Smith done the same thing, Alexander Campbell done the same thing.
Pentecost done the same thing. God deals with individuals keeping His
Word. God's only plan to bring believers to Himself in a true oneness
is receiving the Holy Ghost. Then here's how...
169
Can... How can the very God that wrote the Bible turn around and
substitute something else for His Word? You Catholic people who said
that Peter was buried in your church, and his spirit gives you the
rights to remit sins and things, how could Peter, a Jew, ever stand to
have idols in the church? How could Peter ever refuse to say that the
baptism of the Holy Ghost come, and he spoke in tongues, and all those
powerful things he done, and turn back around and says take a little
wafer, and God's in that wafer? Oh, it's ignorance, spiritual ignorance.
171
We're coming down to the end now. Watch. God sent the Holy Ghost, and
the Holy Ghost is God Himself. He's the One that'll make the oneness
between God and man. Let's find out. Now, let's... Now, I want your
undivided attention for the next five minutes or so. Watch. 175 Men under the Devil's plan try to denominate people to oneness. "All you come join the Assemblies of God. Join the oneness. Join the Church of God. Join the Methodist. We're all one." You bunch of hypocrites, having a form of godliness and deny the power thereof. And the Word of God shook right before you, and you're scared to attack It. Why don't God show Hisself then, if you be with God? Why don't you do the works of God? How can you have that form and go around, and denying Him, and call the real works of God a Beelzebub? It shows, you educated bunch of church members. Jesus said, "You're of your father the Devil." Right. I'm sure you understand what I mean. Certainly. Why don't somebody attack it? You know God's behind it. God will move with His Word. 176 Man does that. It builds another tower of Babel. What does he do? They try to show... Look in this World Council of Churches now. The Anglican, the Roman Catholic, the Methodist, the Presbyterian, the Pentecostals, and all of them united together, Christian Science, and many of the cults that even deny the virgin birth, that deny the Deity of Jesus, make Him three people, try to worship a three gods, deny the virgin birth. Some of them deny the Blood. Some of them deny His miracles. All of them do, nearly. And then--then try to unite such as that together, how can you do it? It's a manmade tower. It'll fall like Babel did. 177 But God said, "Not by power, not by might. By My Spirit, saith the Lord, that's how I unite My church. Not by organization, not by education, not by theologians; but by My Spirit, saith the Lord, I'll bring My sheep together." Oh, my. And when He does, what happens? And His signs will bear record of the same. That's how Israel could say, before they got mixed up with Moab. There was a Pillar of Fire over them. Yes, sir. What will He do? He'll bear record, the same kind of a record. But after they got disassociated and so with God, separated their oneness between them and God, and got in with Moab and them, the victory all failed. They stayed in the wilderness for forty more years, till God raised up another group to go over and complete His plan. That's exactly what they did.
178
Now, look. But when God brings a church together with His Spirit,
they'll have His signs of the living God among them. What kind of a
sign? When God separated Israel from Egypt, God gave Moses and Israel a
sign of a Pillar of Fire (That right?), a prophet. When He separated
Abraham from Lot, there was an Angel came to him, that could discern
the thoughts and the intents of the heart: sign. Hallelujah.
182
Now, the coming is so imminent, the second coming of Jesus, He's
gathering His elected together. I believe that. Oh, they'll come from
the east and west. Where the carcass is, the eagles will gather. Oh,
my, what is it? He's got His oneness, His true oneness, showing Hisself
among us; out of every denomination, bringing His elect together from
all kinds of churches, from everywhere, bringing out His children,
falling right in line with His Word. What?
184
What has He done? He has placed with them a true teacher, true prophets
who stay with His Word, the Bible. "My sheep hear My Voice," said
Jesus. If that was His Voice then, it's His Voice now. Anything
contrary to that Voice, it's not sheep food. They won't follow it. Oh,
brother. From east, from west, out of every denomination, out of every
organization, they've come from the east and west, gathering together. 185 What is it? With God-sent teacher that'll stay right with the Word to the real church, not move one iota no matter what an organization says; they're not connected with it. Prophets; not make-belief, so-called, but a genuine prophet has THUS SAITH THE LORD, and right on the dot every time. That's what He's sent in His church. That's what He said He would do. Believes the Word; not the creed, not the dogma, but the Word... And by doing this, He shows Himself in them by confirming His Word, making the same life that He lived once, live over again, bringing His Word to pass. Oh, my.
186
Listen closely. I Corinthians 4:20 says the Kingdom of God is His Word
made power. If you want to put that down, I Corinthians 4:20. The
Kingdom of God is God's Word made power. What is the Kingdom of God? Is
within you. The Kingdom's in you. And when the Word comes in there,
what does this Word begin? It turns Itself into power, making It say
just exactly what It said. 189 What is it? You've got to get with the Word, get yourself killed out. I'm persuaded that many of us, friends, have received the Holy Ghost, but we just receive enough Holy Ghost in us to make us to a place where we don't want to lie, we don't want to steal, we don't want to do anything. But God wants to fill every fiber of His church; He wants to fill your thinking; He wants to fill your mind. He wants to fill every bit of you, just make you completely, totally dead to yourself or to your thinking, just so surrendered in God till His Word's just living right through you. You don't know nothing else but God's Word; just stay right with His Word; It is Life. "My Words are Life," said Jesus. He's placed with them, teachers believing the Bible, prophets that say the truth, that say, show the same prophecy that they've always did down through the age. What's He done? He's showing Himself alive among them, confirming His Word. His Word, the Kingdom of God is God's Word made power.
190
While these denominations rely on human reasoning, upon human
reasonings... Listen close now. They... We are not to rely upon human
reasonings. Proverbs the 3rd chapter, the 5th verse, said, "Rely not
upon thy own understanding." See? Don't do it, no matter what God's
Word seems like.
194
Like in past times, in past times when man done this, it brought God's
judgment to the world. The tower of Babel, the union of Cain's children
with Seth's children brought judgment. It always brings God's judgment
to the world. See? Oh, the true oneness with Him will rise in the
judgment, above it, like Noah did in that judgment with his family.
Righteous Noah and his family went above the judgments. What did they
do? They went... 197 This thing of this Council of Churches is nothing else in the world but a--a stir of the foolish virgin, to be left here on the earth for a picking for the antichrist. But the real church of God will float like old Noah did, and go on into glory just as sure as I'm standing here. That's why He's gathering them together. That's what the Voice is speaking forward today. That's what God's a-doing, is gathering one from Los Angeles, and one from Philadelphia, and one from Georgia, and so forth, gathering them together, His people that's willing to believe the Word of the living God. "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of man, wherein the few was saved, just a very few." All right, our Holy Ghost ark will float right above the judgments of God, 'cause we're already judged, as we've confessed Jesus, and He took our judgment. 198 These denominations, though, are so headstrong, they're like Eve: she wanted her wisdom regardless of what God's Word was. Nimrod wanted his tower, regardless, Scriptural or not. They were headstrong. Eve knowed better. Seth knew better than to fall for them beautiful women. Israel knowed better than to get out there in that adultery. So do you. But some are so headstrong, Scripture or not Scripture. "Bless God, my mother was Presbyterian. I'm going to be too." Go on, go on is the only thing you can do then. God be merciful to your sinful soul. How are you going to escape it, when you know it's the truth? And if you see God's Word, and still don't think It's the Truth, then there's something wrong with your spiritual discernment. That's exactly right. Look across the nation and see where these things are happening. We're at the end time, friends. Have we just got through the church ages and know what's going to happen in the Laodicean church age? Haven't we just come through that? You see what I mean? We're at the end time.
199
God's gathering the elect from the four winds of the earth. He said
He'd send angels and gather them. Is that right? Gather them together,
separate them from the tares. Amen. The tares will be burnt, not the
wheat. That's right. | ||||||