God Identified By Characteristics #03

Shall we pray.

Heavenly Father, we’re again very grateful to You that You’ve given us the strength and the desire to come to Your House, Lord, to participate in the joy of worship and the wine of revelation of understanding the things of God, to know the hour in which we live, and be fortified with might therein, Lord.

Knowing that as Paul said in this hour we are not unaware of the time that we should be taken by surprise, unaware that evil should befall us, but we’re above all that. And by Your grace, Lord, we trust we’ll soon be above it all in the physical sense, when mortality puts on immortality.

So, Father, bless us in our study tonight, may it be You that is seen, Lord, I have nothing to present of myself, it wouldn’t do anybody any good anyway, but, Lord, I can present You in this hour, hopefully I can, Your ways and how You do things, Lord, based upon the most accurate account of a vindicated prophet.

Trusting, Lord, that we’ll be blessed together, we ask these mercies in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

You may be seated.

Now I guess Brother Bell didn’t quite understand what dates I had in mind, and if I’d have known he was willing to come up this weekend that would have been great, I’d have said fine.

But I wanted to give him time, and so he was looking around to come this weekend when I said next weekend, and he’s booked up.

So he’ll be coming a little later on, perhaps the end of this month or some time we’ll make arrangements. So you just keep that in mind, and it will work out very well, I’m sure.

Now in this message of Brother Branham preaching, God Identified By His Characteristics, the theme of the sermon of course is that God, though Spirit, and unseeable, the unseen God, can be identified unmistakably as the living God to His people.

Now we’re dealing with Spirit that cannot be seen, God cannot be seen, no man can see God and live, no man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten hath declared Him, drawn Him forth by the exegetical manner of describing Him, showing Him.

But this unseen God can be identified unmistakably as the living God to His people. Now this is not talking of creation.

Like the fool that said in his heart, “There is no God.” Well he’s a fool; God just dismisses it.

And if you can’t tell by creation there’s a God, you know something’s out there anyway. You know you’re not out there. Creation keeps going on, you die, molder away, and generation comes up, and you know.

So we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about the living God, though Spirit unseen, has a way of being identified unmistakably to His people.

He has certain ways or characteristics of making Himself known through what He does consistently among the people, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.

And just thought of it, so might as well read it over here in Ecclesiastes 3:14, because it’s worth reading. It says,

So he tells you right there that God is very consistent in what He does. And in Brother Branham bringing the thought out of God identifying Himself, he takes Heb 13:8, that God never changes and His way of identifying Himself never changes.

Now this formula, or this principle, of course is going to fall like a lead balloon over everybody except the believers, because we’re going to go right back to Deuteronomy 18.

And we’re going to see the method that God uses, because though He cannot be seen, then He must have some contact somewhere that brings Him into view. What makes it unmistakable that He is on the scene.

All right?

Now that’s the premise, they shut the gate, they put a lock on it, and they said, “This is what we want,” and God says, “Amen, this is it.”

Now I know people say, “Well I think I’d like to have that changed.”

Wonderful. Hop to it, be my guest; I mean I’m not at all unhappy with what you do, I’m going to stick with this. This is the way it is. You can no more change God than nothing.

Now remember Ecclesiastes I read is a long time after this. Wisest man ever lived was Solomon, wrote Ecclesiastes, and he’s telling you about this. So let’s get the understanding.

In other words, whenever this phenomenon takes place, you’re under not duress, although that’s there, you’re under obligation and responsibility. So they can’t say, “Well now hey, we just didn’t know.”

You know, look, I’m going to tell you something, we’re the greatest liars under God’s high heaven. You know why? Excuses, excuses, excuses. Excuses are nothing but lies.

And boy you’re looking at one of the biggest liars in America right here, you might as well… let’s lay it on the line kid. Because this is no time to mince words.

I may speak in a light manner, but these words are life and death what I’m preaching up here, I just use this method to get across to you, to keep you wide awake as much as I can, in understanding. All right.

Now you better know the Name of your God, which will have to be vindicated and understood or you’re stuck. Now this will require a previous revelation.

And it will be so common, as common as dirt. Yeah. That doesn’t sound nice preaching that way, but I mean just what I say. Like as common as creation out here.

And Brother Branham said, “You try…” Or the man told Brother Branham, “You try to cut God in three pieces and sell Him to a Jew.”

You try to cut Him in two pieces. You try to cut Him at all. And you better come up with a name.

So you see, already there is a revelation here that’s ironclad, through a demonstration, a manifestation, a proof, a witness, the whole thing that cannot be gainsaid. So you could pick that man up in a hurry. You come right now, find him right now.

Now what is a prophet? A prophet is a revealer and a forth-teller of the Word of God. So therefore what he does is merely the sign that precedes the Voice.

Now the sign has a Voice which attracts you. So that hear with your eyes. Then later you begin to hear with your heart, because it’s going to discern the heart. Going to get right down in the soul.

Okay, now this is what God has laid forth, and frankly as I stand here as an individual, I don’t think much of it. Now you say, “Brother Vayle, you must be a very crass person.” I never said I wasn’t.

But I’m going to be honest, where maybe some guys aren’t honest; they’re going to make a big hip-hurrah. I’ll not make a big hip-hurrah about this, because this would not be my way of doing it.

And it never has been any man’s way of doing it. It’s God’s way of doing it. And if it weren’t for the fact of election, I wouldn’t be interested. But this is right, and I’m happy it’s right.

I’m not at all unhappy I’m stuck with it, and I’m glad it’s stuck on me. You know, if you got a little velcro, and the Word of God’s a velcro, you got a bonding principle there that’s not going to get off you. Like the burr in a sheep’s wool.

See, this is the thing here, what I’m trying to get across to you, and I think you’re understanding this, is the simplicity of it. It goes over people’s heads, it’s too simple. See?

Like Brother Branham said, he should have come down the golden stairs with the red carpet, and said, “Oh great Caiaphas, I admire your great knowledge. Where’s great Gamaliel, we can trade, you know, puns, or you know, just some wisdom, and bond mos. You know, we can illuminate the world.”

Born in a stinkin’ stable. Tried to kill him.

No, no, see, listen there’s a simplicity here and we’re coming full circle to simplicity. And I believe when we come full circle the dead are going to come out of the ground.

You say, “Are you making yourself a sign?” No, I’m not making myself any sign; I’m talking about the Word. That’s got nothing to do with me; I’ve got nothing to do with it. We’re supposed to just preach It.

Now Brother Branham makes much of the fact that Messiah was to be Emmanuel, which was to be a Prophet! Now that’s a very simple statement but I want you to never forget it.

Brother Branham makes much of the prophetic aspect of God in human flesh. Jesus, Emmanuel, Prophet. On the other hand, Israel tried to play down the Prophet!

Well they said, “We don’t need a revealer, we’ve got the revelation, we’ve got Moses. Why there’s nothing we lack.” Who’s saying that today?

Bunch of Nicolaitans, Laodiceans. Okay, Israel tried to play down and did play down the Prophet in favor of the King David aspect. Yet the elect looked for that Prophet. Who would of course be Prophet King. Many offices in one.

Now Brother Branham talks of a few of the elect who recognized Messiah in the Prophetic office, though it seems no one could begin to believe in a sacrificial Redeemer Prophet King at that time.

Now they didn’t, they took it, they said, “That’s got to be the one. That’s the prophet, that’s Messiah, hallelujah.”

But the minute He came up with, “Eat My flesh, drink My blood,” and said, “I’ve got to die for the sins of the world,” they say, “Oh come on, now, come on, King David doesn’t do that. Why David just takes the world over. And we can see You’ve got what it takes to take the world over.”

So you see they played down the aspect. Now what am I trying to get to you? I’m trying to get you the same thing. It is intrinsic within us!

A part of our essentiality as human beings to play down the prophet! That’s why they missed entirely the revelation that Brother Branham brought, the Revelation of the Son of man! Nobody understands Son of man, Son of God, Son of man, Son of David. Except us.

I don’t say we understand it; we believe It. And we’re with It. See, Scripture was full of it! But they couldn’t put the Scripture together!

Why you’d almost have to have an army on this earth if you’re not going to put the Scripture together and see how it all blends in one man, Christ Jesus.

Why, what did they say in Isaiah alone? “The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the Counselor, and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and dominion,” and so on.

All right, now we’re going to go to page 14, for the illustration where Brother Branham is talking of Simon and Peter and their father and so on.

[91]  Now, there was a fisherman, two of them, sons of a man, and one of them, his name was Andrew, the other one was Simon. They had been told by their father that how to watch in the days; and there had been lots of false things raised up.

The old man… I read a little book on this one time, where, it might have been fiction, I don’t know, that he said, “Sons, now just before the coming Messiah, as we’re all looking for Him, there will be a time where there’ll be all kinds of things happening.

But the way that you’ll know this Messiah, He will be according to the Scripture. He will be a Prophet, [now that’s a voice crying in the wilderness against the other voices,] because the Word of God said He is a Prophet.”

But the Word of God said He’s a King! And they couldn’t put it together. The Word of God says He’s a Lamb of God to die for the sins of the people. “Far be it from Thee.”

[92]  Andrew heard John. Well, one thing John was doing, was just prophesying. [He was preaching.] You know, Jesus said, “You did walk in John’s light, but [I’ve got] a greater Light than John. I’ve got a greater identification than John, for, the works the Father gave Me to do, they testify of Me.”

Now you notice that they did, because Nicodemus came and said, “No man can do the works that You do, except God be with him.”

In other words, God giving him the ability to say it and to do it. Or to do it after it was said. Or to bring the words into creative effect, because that’s what it amounts to.

John just preached, he just foreran, he didn’t do any miracles or any characteristics of God for the promise.

Now notice, he’s laying the characteristics of God in the lap of a prophet! See, that’s why it’s like a lead balloon.

You know after all, thief on the cross, “Why if you’re what you say you are, get off the cross and get us down too. Come on, put on a show. Raise the dead out of the graveyard. Fap, what’s this about a prophet? We’ve heard enough gassing off around here for years, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.”

They were down to the nitty-gritty. Prophet’s a lead balloon. Because everybody believes there’s no prophets anymore. Oh, they’ll conjure up their own, after their denominational glory. And you know how Brother Branham said about that, he said he glared, didn’t glow.

John just preached, he just forerun, he didn’t do any miracles or any characteristics of God for the promise. [So therefore the characteristics of God would have to lie in the prophet, and that’s exactly why God was in the prophets and through the prophets.] But here comes Jesus with that characteristic!

Then what about today? That’s my question. God once more in a human role. That doesn’t make the man anything and doesn’t denigrate God.

People get so scared they’re going to take away something from Jesus Christ. How are you going to take away from Jesus Christ when He’s the whole thing you’re talking about? You know what I mean. All right.

[93]  Simon went out to hear Him one day, and as soon as… Simon maybe went with Andrew. Andrew had been attending all along. But, Simon, when he came into the Presence!

Now listen, as closing. When he came into the Presence of Jesus, Jesus looked at him, He said, “Your name is Simon, and you’re the son of Jonas.” See, the characteristic of what was promised was identified in Him.

Now notice, God identified the seed, notice God identified the seed, the seed was waiting to be identified, and therefore believe. What’s it say in paragraph 70?

[70]  That’s the genuine identification of God in any hour, is His identification. [In other words, what’s set forth in Scripture. That’s the genuine one you look for.]

That’s what it is, the Scriptures that’s promised, made identified by the characteristic of the promise which is God, and God is the Word. And the characteristic of the promise being identified, that makes the believer.

Now if you can’t identify when there’s something to identify, and believe that which is identified, you can believe everything you want – and you’re a believer, but you’re not the right kind of believer.

Because everybody believes something. There are those who still think the moon’s made of green cheese, for all I know.

Now what is the characteristic? The characteristic is God at the tent door down there, on the plains of Mamre, just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Where Abraham stands outside the tent, with his back to the tent door, Sarah’s inside, and He said, “This time of year now, I’ll visit you, you’ll have a son.”

And Sarah laughed in her heart, and said, “Why how can this thing be? It’s impossible, we’re both dead sexually and no longer able to bear.”

And God said, “Why did Sarah laugh?”

And she said, “Nay, but I did not laugh.”

And you notice right there, what was it? It was a Man discerning the thoughts of another person. Standing right there. Now that again is your lead balloon. See?

[94]  That man could not sign his name, [he’s talking about Andrew and Simon and the old fellow, see, Jonas.] the Bible said he was both ignorant and unlearned.

But it was such an identification, that he quickly renounced all of his unbelief, and he said, “That’s the Messiah we’ve looked for!” All right, he believed It.

[95]  There was one standing there by the name of Philip, [here’s another illustration] who ran around the city, the hill, [that is he was from around the hill,] the country, about fifteen miles, and got a friend,… [he ran back there,]

…came back the next day with him, and the fellow’s name was Nathanael. He found him under a tree, praying. And he said, “Come, see Who we found, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph.”

[96]  He said, “Now, now, now! Could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth, out of that bunch of low-class people down there?” Well he said, “Come on down and see!”

[97]  [And he said,] That’s the best, that’s the best remark a man could make. Don’t stay home and criticize. Come and find out, search the Scriptures! Come, and see!

Now you notice that that’s the same today. When Brother Branham did that, they said, “Well that’s a familiar spirit.” And those were people supposed to be full of the Holy Ghost. You know?

Not some overripe individual that was, you know, should have been incarcerated a long time ago for a mental disease. We’re talking about men who filled pulpits, supposed to be full of the Holy Ghost, spoke in tongues and everything else.

And mighty fine preachers amongst them. In fact I don’t think you can – it’s pretty hard to beat some of the Pentecostal preachers because they combine a lot of smartness with a lot of zeal.

[98]  On the road around, they walked, talking about what had been taking place, how he told him about Simon being made known by Him, and his father and so forth. [That’s Nathanael and Philip talking along.]

[99]  Then when he came into the line, might have been a prayer line, [now you notice, Brother Branham’s identifying himself, because there’s no record where Jesus had a prayer line! And yet there’s no record where He didn’t have a prayer line! See?] might have been out in the audience,

[Well now we know He called them out of the audience, so did Brother Branham. So,] I don’t know. But wherever he come, and Jesus laid eyes on him the first time, He said, “Behold an Israelite, in whom there is no guile!” [What was He doing? Hebrews 4:12, reading the heart.]

Now you know how my sister, I keep telling you, how she read his handwriting and didn’t realize Brother Branham. She said, “Man this fellow’s different,” she said, “he’s got no deceit in his handwriting.”

The only person, and she’d read a lot of them. And I was privy to some of the things she told me about some people; I’m not going to mention names. I’d be part of the gang though, don’t worry.

No guile. You know that was a trait of Christ? There was no guile and no deceit and no guile was found in his mouth No deceit in Brother Branham.

He said, “Rabbi, when did You ever know me?”

[100]  He said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you.” That was identification of the characteristics of the anointed God.

Now you see there’s where it falls flat. Because if that’s what you’re relying on, that can be humbugged by a familiar spirit, unless God shut it off. Mental telepathy.

How often did Brother Branham say, “You might have thought that’s mental telepathy”? See? No, the simplicity and the vulnerability is appalling.

And I want to tell you, when you believe this you become very vulnerable. But that’s the way God wants you. He wants you full of holes so the Spirit can flow through you. See? He wants you out of the way.

…“Before Philip called you, …under the tree, I saw you.”

Brother Branham said, “Just a minute,” he said, “you were yesterday in the doctor’s office. The nurse was taking your blood pressure.” Right down the line.

[101]  He said, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God!”

That wouldn’t happen today. “Hey what makes with this bird?” It wasn’t that way with me, it wasn’t that way with you. See, God was identifying the elect of the hour.

The seed was just waiting to be identified. Who are we? What are we? What’s going on anyway? When this broke on the horizon.

You have to know something in an hour when people are rich and deaf and dumb and blind and God knows what, and think they’re wealthy and, you know, and they’re poverty stricken rather, and they’re just empty, void, but they have all the wealth of the world.

He said, “Rabbi, You’re the Son of God!” What was it? His characteristics identified Him. He knew by the Scripture that that was that anointed Man, God anointed in flesh. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. [That’s exactly true.] He said, “Rabbi, You’re the Son of God. You’re the King of Israel.”

Now you notice this one here, he was able to recognize and not separate the two. But for the rest of the Israel, they couldn’t take it.

They couldn’t take Son of God, Prophet and King of Israel, they couldn’t do it, put them together. Except in their own thinking, their own way.

[102]  Jesus said, “Because I said that, you believe Me? You’ll see greater than this.”

What does that mean? It means that the true seed recognizes what others miss, or dismiss, and then go on to greater things with God.

People come in a meeting and simply dismiss it. Or they miss it. There’s both, both takes place. They miss and dismiss.

The Baptists missed it and the Pentecostals dismissed it. That’s sort of facetious remark because I don’t know that’s actually true, but that’s an illustration.

[103]  Now, there was those who stood by, who didn’t believe. [And] they said, “This Man is Beelzebub, He’s a fortuneteller.”

And well they could say it because Beelzebub could do it. Mind reading, those things can tell you. But you let him try in the Name of the Lord and see what happens.

See, these people are surface people. They don’t have the revelation that He had to be a Prophet. That’s why He’s the Judge.

You couldn’t have a Son of man ministry and the Judge being in that ring, that making a Judge, the face of Christ with the ring of angels making the Judge wig.

Now who’d want to believe that except a bunch of, you know, people like us. And we’re kind of bunchy, but not very big.

[104]  Jesus said, “I forgive you for that. But when the Holy Ghost is come to do the same thing, one word against Him will never be forgiven in this world or the world to come.” [And He came back as the Holy Ghost, remember? Because you don’t spit on the atonement.]

[105]  See, the atonement wasn’t made yet. See, there couldn’t be, you… You can’t be cast into hell before you come to judgment. This nation wouldn’t do that, God won’t either.

See, you’re in a place, waiting in chains of prison until you receive judgment. And, you see, He could not send them away, because the atonement wasn’t made yet.

[106]  But after His death, burial, and the Token came forth from the Blood, the Holy Ghost, then, to speak against That, is the unpardonable sin. Just one word is all you have to say against It, then there’s never forgiveness nowhere. One word against It, see, what a great thing it is.

In other words that gives you a terrible room for thought. Now watch how paragraph 107 follows.

[107]  Now, so then we find out again, this identified Him as the anointed Messiah. God in Christ… [That very simple thing that He did.]

Now watch,

God in Christ, the Atonement for the last days, Christ making the atonement for the last days.

Now Brother Branham used the term ‘last days’ meaning the last two thousand years, or two days out of six days or six thousand years, but in another place he also used ‘last days’ as these closing hours. So let’s understand that.

So therefore the atonement is in full view and proven in this hour as it was in that hour or Alpha would not be Omega! Because “Whatsoever He doeth, He doeth forever and no man can take from or no man add to it. And that which hath been shall be.”

There’s your Alpha and Omega principle, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, the essentiality of God and the way that God does things are coincidental, they can never vary, or be separated, they run in continuity at all time. And there’s a simplicity there.

Now so the atonement’s in full view.

Now, to Nathanael, he believed It and recognized It.

Now you’ll notice there that this was an identification of the atonement through the great Atoner. So the great Atoner is here in the form of the Holy Spirit, proving His atonement.

Which gives Him the right as the Prophet Messiah, Redeemer, to be the Judge in the last hour.

All right, he goes another illustration, paragraph 108.

[108]  The little woman came out to the well one time up at Sychar… [To me she kind of represents the Gentiles, we’ll say anyway.] Jesus had need to go by there when He was on His road down, right down the hill from Jerusalem, right to Jericho, but He went over by Samaria.

He said, “We need to go,” the Father led Him over there.

Now notice what we’re looking at. We’re looking at a Prophet. We’re looking at God in the Prophet and we’re looking at the Prophet being led by God. We’re talking of literally two distinct personalities in one, blended in one, “I and my Father are one.”

Because Jesus was born as a human being, different from you and me, that is true. But when He stood in the River Jordan, that is when God came down and filled Him bodily. So He’s being led.

He said, “We need go,” the Father led Him. When He goes over there, He sent the disciples away. And He sat down, wondering, I guess, what it was.

Now you’ll notice Brother Branham makes Jesus very human as a Prophet. Everybody makes him very superhuman, because they want to make Him a part of a trinity! One out of three gods.

Well if that’s not idolatry, I’ve never heard of it. Now I might not understand the mystery of the Godhead, but this much I do know, there simply aren’t three of them. And I can get downright sarcastic about that, but I don’t choose to.

[109]  Now remember, Saint John 5:19, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing.”

Now remember, He never did one miracle, not when He heard it, while He “saw” it. “The Son does nothing until He sees the Father doing it.”

Brother Branham said that Jesus saw visions. And he simply followed out the vision. What he saw in the vision – and Brother Branham said he had a gift.

And in this gift he had two things which nobody else had. He could tell it exactly as he heard it and he could tell it exactly as he saw. Nobody else can do that. That lets you know infallibility stood there. He had the ability.

Now this paragraph makes Him a man, a Prophet, in perfect control by God in Him. God was in Christ. All right?

[110]  See, that showed what He was, that Prophet, [having visions, right from God, then doing what the vision said.] God-Prophet. [He hyphenated the words, capitalized.] More than a Prophet, He was God! [Well God-Prophet, that’s what He was. He said it.]

All that the prophets were, was in Him, plus. The prophets just had a portion of the Word.

They had a part; they played a part of a role. I believe Brother Branham’s role at this time was Son of man.

He was a prophet Son of man, played a Son of man role, because he said, “The Pillar of Fire is not the Son of man, I am not the Son of man, It’s in the form of the Holy Spirit.”

What was the Holy Spirit doing? Manifesting through a prophet. What is the revealing of the Son of man? The Word living Itself amongst us and the prophet is the living Word of God made manifest.

Some of those expressions are very difficult. I don’t pretend to understand them, but I can parade them right off. I’ll stay with the prophet; he said it, I’ll say it.

And whether I know what it all means or not, that’s beside the point, but it makes good sense, what I said, it adds up, I think you can follow.

See, what he said was, he said, it’s the Son of man being revealed. He said, “I am not the Son of man, the Pillar of Fire is not the Son of man, It’s in the form of the Holy Spirit.”

He said, “The Son of man revealed is the Word living Itself amongst the people.” Well where was It doing it? Where did you see it? In the man! So what have we got? We got a role being played out. All right.

[110]  …they had a portion… He had all the Word, He was the Word in Its fulness. But notice, “God in sundry times spoke in divers manners, through little portions. In this last day, the fulness of the Word has come in His Son Christ Jesus, God made flesh among us.”

Now people want to say, “Well He did that, so He doesn’t do it anymore.” Then where did Paul get his revelation? Then Paul was Jesus Christ! Fap. They cut his head off. Oh wisdom. Brother.

[111]  This little woman, ill-famed, we call her, sometimes, a prostitute. Maybe the child had been turned out on the street. Sometimes like now, it ain’t altogether juvenile delinquents, it’s parent delinquents, let the little lady get out and act like that.

[Well the way the twig is bent, that’s the way the tree grows, you know.] Maybe a beautiful little woman, she walked up there to get a bucket of water, about eleven o’clock.

[112]  Now remember, if you was ever in the orient, they haven’t changed one bit, it’s still the same customs. When the women go out, the virgins go early to the well and get their water, a prostitute or an ill-famed cannot go with them. They won’t mix together.

Well that’s true. The Bride’s going to walk plumb out of here, brother/sister, and she’s virgin. She hasn’t got herself prostituted with all these husbands, you know, and ill-famed doctrines and what have you.

[113]  She had come out after the rest of them got through. [That’s drawing the water, see?] She come, maybe weary, [now listen to this carefully,] maybe she had that new boy friend, her husband that night.

Now you got two ways to go on this. A man that sleeps with a woman should marry her. If he doesn’t, he’s nevertheless charged with either adultery or fornication.

But notice where the prophet put it, put it down very serious. The direct language. He didn’t say they’d gotten married. He said she was her husband that night. Showing that sex belongs in a Christian union where it becomes a righteous act.

Sexual intercourse apart from marriage is wrong, but the Word of God says that if any person, two people being able to marry and have sexual intercourse before marriage, the minute they marry then it’s all over, they’re forgiven, the whole thing is cleared up.

God doesn’t labor you with a telephone post or a fence post to beat your head in.

But you notice how Brother Branham puts it, just right down the line. See, where does this come from? He tells you about marriage and divorce, here’s where the whole sin comes from. Came right back in the garden.

No child is born apart from the desire for sexual intercourse. People can say what they want, “Oh I love this child, I planned this child, we wanted this child.”

Did you? How’d he get born. Pshew. Erection and the rest depends upon passion. [Inaudible]. I’m a very blunt preacher, very blunt speaker. Let’s put it down where it is.

See, Brother Branham doesn’t miss a trick on any of this preaching, just lays it right in here flat, but people can almost take any one sermon and take every other sermon and place it with it. In fact you can, that’s how the Bible’s done.

She came out, she had a waterpot, she set it down. She put the windle down…

Well a windle is a windlass. Do you know what a windlass is? Well it’s a round thing like a log and they make a crank, and they put a rope on it.

So by the law of the lever or the crank, it’s easier to bring the bucket of water up. And when you want the bucket to go down, you let go of the lever, pbbt, dives in the water, when you hear it, when it gurgles full, you take the old windless and you crank it, he called it a windle, it’s a windlass.

It’s the law of the lever isn’t it, in the fulcrum or something. I don’t know, I forget my physics anymore, but phooey, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, make yourself a windle, a windlass.

[114]  She looked over and she saw a middle-aged Man standing there, kind of gray in His beard. He was only about thirty years old, the Bible said He looked fifty.

Well that’s logical, there’s no beauty we should desire him. “Who’s that looking old bird down there?”

You know I read a book and I was really enamored by it. They said he’s six-foot-two or four, handsome, chestnut red hair like Sallmans’ picture, head of Christ. That’s not what the Bible teaches.

Even if he was good looking, they’d have hated him. A good looking man come in the temple there and whip those nice old boys out? Why the elite of the city, the money boys, the savings and loan boys? Man! You’d better think a little different, brother/sister.

“Thou art a man not over fifty years old of age, and You say You saw Abraham?”

[115]  He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” See? See, they didn’t understand. He was shaking those parasites off of Him.

What’s a parasite? Well a parasite is a little bug that lives on somebody, that lives on a host. This is the equivalent to the branch living off the vine when it shouldn’t live off the vine. It’s your parasites, your wrong vine, your wrong branches.

[116]  Today we have to beg and plead, and pat and beg, and persuade and promise Christians, to come to church, “If they come to church, we’ll do so-and-so.”

[117]  Jesus, when He was on earth, He had too many with Him. He looked around and saw the congregation, He wanted to get rid of them, He said, “Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you got no Life in you.”

[118]  Could you imagine doctors sitting out there? “Why,” said, “this Man wants us to be a human vampire. Drink His Blood? Nonsense! All you people walk away and leave that crazy Man alone.” They walked away.

They’d said Paul was mad. They called Jesus mad. They kind of looked at him like an Alice in Wonderland sort of deal. Never could get it.

[119]  He never explained It. He didn’t have to explain It. He shakes your faith sometimes to see what you’ll do. And He’s doing the same thing in this day, yes, lets it seem spooky to you a little bit, to see where you stand, whether you really believe.

Little spooky such as we start thinking about somebody you dearly love, a sweet person that’s a Christian gone on before, and the room gets full of sweetness. It’s that spirit being present.

Looking over the balustrades of heaven, looking. Man. You talk about spooky. It doesn’t bother me any, because nothing has bothered me, I just do what I want to do; it’s the same as you do.

That’s the trouble with it, nothing bothers us. It should. Be more serious.

[120]  Remember, those disciples, foreordained by God, never moved. They couldn’t explain It, either, but they didn’t want to move. Then He comes again… All the congregation walked away, thousands of them.

See, faith is really simpler than we make it to be. Faith really is one thing. Did we recognize the characteristics of God when they’re presented in the manner in which they’re presented and say, “That’s God,” that made you the believer you are.

But I know we want to puff it up and it’s this way, that way, the other thing, but that’s not it.

You say, “I’ll go back and…”

He said,

[70]  And the characteristics of the promise being identified, that makes the believer. Jesus said so, that settles it. Amen.

All right.

[121]  And He said to the seventy sitting there, His ministers He had ordained to go out and preach before Him, and He said, “I’ll give them a shake and see where they’re at.”

So He said, “Well, what will you say when you see the Son of man ascending up into Heaven from whence He came?” [That’s when the invisible One visibly now going into heaven. Because He wouldn’t be visible having come from heaven, to begin with.]

[122]  “The Son of man ascending into Heaven? Why we fished with Him, lay on the river banks with Him. We ate with Him. We saw the manger He was born in. We know His mother, His brothers. And this Son of man ascending up from where He came from?

He came from Nazareth! This is a hard saying.” So they walked away, too. They said, “We can’t see This.” You see? What happened? (Never moved the disciples. They couldn’t explain It.) All walked away. He never explained It. He didn’t have to. [Of course the disciples didn’t.]

[123]  Today we got hotbed plants, called Christians, somebody you have to spray and baby and humor…

Like my rose bed, the winter killed, I lost about thirty of them. They’re going to be dead, they’re dead. I’ll put a few more in, but that’s the end of my rose bed. And trying to worry about the blue boy and the blue girl and the blue this and the blue that. God doesn’t want hotbed Christians.

…you have to… baby and humor them, “And will you give me fellowship, will you cooperate, will you do this.” [And so on. We’ll do that for you, see?] Oh, you bunch of hotbed plants! We need genuine Christianity, borned of the Spirit of God. That takes no cooperation, no nothing else, they don’t want nothing.

[124]  Jesus turned, looked at those disciples, and said, “Will you go, too? Do you want to go, also?” He said, “I’ve chose twelve of you, and one of you is a devil. [Really is the devil, is diabolos.] Why don’t you go, also?”

[125]  Then Peter said those memorial words,

Now I got corrected, it’s memorable words. And yet it’s memorial words. Because a memorial is really something that’s not words, but it’s something made out of a substance and it’s in memoriam and memory of, like a tombstone. You see a memoriam.

But what would be a greater memoriam to Jesus than giving back the right words to Him? So I like Brother Branham’s wrong words. So I wanted to explain to you, even his English is, though poor, is very, very wonderful. So memorial words are just fine. They’re memorable also.

[125]  “Lord, where would we go? We’re persuaded, we know that You are the identified Fountain of Life. You have the Word, and It only. We’re persuaded.” So this little woman [said… or He said to her rather,] “Bring Me a drink.” [Now he’s still talking about the well and the incident, see?]

[126]  She said, “It’s not customary, we got segregation, we don’t have any such a thing here.”

[127]  He let her know right quick that there’s no difference between Jew or whatever it was. [See Jew and Gentile, see?] He was God. [Or Samaritan or anything else, or Ham, Shem and Japheth.] He said, “Go get your husband and come here.” She said, “I don’t have a husband.”

[128]  He said, “You sure told the truth. You’ve had five of your boyfriends, and the one you’re living with now is not your husband.”

[129]  Now watch that woman.

She could have said, “Who have you been talking to?” You know? Little sister suspicious. She belonged to the SS troops, sister suspicious. No, that one didn’t.

Now watch that woman. Something happened, that little predestinated Seed down in her heart!

See he identified the predestinated seed that was waiting to be identified! In every age it’s the same thing, this age is different! We’re not been Wesley’s age and Pentecostal age and this age and that age.

[130]  When He said That to those Pharisees, look at them, they just blacked out what they professed. They professed to be Christians,

They professed to be Christians,

You say, “Hey, they weren’t Christians.”

Yes they were. Yes they were, because Christos is only the Greek for Messiah. They were Messiahites. So they were Christians. Now let that be a lesson in this hour.

…they professed to be followers, [of Messiah, of the Christ.]

That’s just simply the Greek. I agree with the students. The word ‘Christ’ should not be in the Bible, it should be ‘Messiah’. Carry it all the way through. They boobooed. But that doesn’t hinder the Spirit of God.

But when the Truth came, It blacked them out.

All right, the truth is what? John 3. We’ve gone over this many times, because this to me is the thrilling, thrilling, thrilling, thrilling thing of the atonement, why it’s not a universal salvation when you come to the age of accountability.

For It says, in verse 19:

That’s the whole story. It’s the same thing right now. Light comes into the world and men turn it down, so where’s the atonement? It’s gone. And they blaspheme the Holy Ghost.

[130]  …when Truth came, It blacked out.

[131]  But when this came, It brought Life, It took the blackness out and made it all white.

Now he’s talking about the woman, they had a little black, a little bit of white, she was a little tiny seed living in terrible adulterous sin, she was a mess, but as soon as the Light struck – boom – went the blackness, all white.

Old Simon the Pharisee, he was all white with a little bit of blackness. Oh he lived up to the law under Moses, he was just the finest fellow you ever saw. And when the Light struck – bam – went all black.

You know what a surge of power will do? Blow every bulb in this building. Do you think we got Light tonight? Let God reveal something else in a greater revelation; turn it down, where does your light go?

Just surge apart, just blow you right out, because you haven’t got a safety fuse, brother/sister, we’re going to be showed who we are. Look, it’s manifesting time.

I mean I sit up here, or stand up here, and I’m not trying to fool you and you’re not trying to fool me. There’s one thing I want. If I got to face God or got to hell, at least I want to know I’ve had a pretty honest tongue in my head when it came to the gospel.

And I haven’t shilly-shallied. See, I don’t know, maybe I have. Maybe I’m all messed up and don’t know it, but I hope not.

Now this made it all white.

[132]  She said, “Sir, I perceive that You are a Prophet. Now, we haven’t had one for four hundred years, see. I perceive You are a Prophet. Now, we know when Messiah comes, His identification will be that kind of a characteristic, He’ll tell us these things.”

And He said, “I am the One that’s speaking to you.”

[133]  …upon that, she dropped the waterpot, went to the city… [They’re made of clay, I understand too. Well, who needs an old water pot?]

“Come, see a Man who told me all the things that I’ve done. Isn’t this the very characteristic of the anointed Messiah which is the Word, that knows the thoughts that’s in the heart? Isn’t this the Messiah?” Oh, my! [See?]

Now, simplicity instantly, instant recognition. Or we’ll see simple instant recognition, witnesses to the Spirit of Truth.

They up here profess they loved Him, when Truth came, and He’s the Spirit of Truth, “I’m the Way, the Truth and the Life,” and the Spirit of Truth is come, they blacked out.

Now right down here, simple instant recognition of the witnessing to the Spirit of Truth, not just Spirit!

Now Pentecost, they witness to the Spirit. I got in hot water, I know this tape of mine got out, they caught who I meant and it wasn’t meant to be that way.

I said a sweet little sister came to our church one day, and she said that down there it’s like people were playing church. And I got angry.

I maybe should have gone to the girl, but I said it up in Saskatchewan, I said, “Now that sweet little girl didn’t understand one thing. We were not playing church, but you don’t judge the Word by the spirit, you judge the spirit by the Word, and if the Word is right, the spirit is a hundred percent.”

And you can go to a meeting and look as just as dead as anything under high heaven and be one hundred percent with God.

What kind of a Holy Ghost spiritual, beautiful, serene, marvelous meeting was it when He, the Holy Ghost in flesh, whipped up the money changers?

What meeting was it like when He let a woman, a prostitute wash His feet with her tears and wipe with the hair of her head. Now they’d have been in the Word, they’d have caught something.

So therefore we’re not worrying about spirit now, we’re worrying about Spirit of Truth! Because those that are anointed are anointed truly with the Spirit, manifesting gifts, but the truth isn’t in them because they’re false!

You can’t be true and false at the same time for land’s sake. You can’t be both straight-eyed and cross-eyed at the same time. There’s no such thing as a black/white bird or a drunk sober man, quoting the prophet.

So we got the truth now. Simple instant recognition, witnessing of the Spirit of Truth in this woman, when the rest said, “Well that’s Beelzebub.”

How come we can sit there, the first time we saw Brother Branham, and say, “Hey, that’s it”?

Well I tell you, when I heard of Brother Branham, you know, discerning, I told my wife, I said, “Why,” I said, “a familiar spirit could do that, I’m not interested.”

I’d seen a man named Professor Gladstone. Now he’d come down the aisle, he said, “I’ll pick you out as you concentrate.” He could pick the ones out he could get their minds, see? He said, “Concentrate and ask me a question.” Tell them what their question was; tell them their name and anything else they want to know.

The great Myrus was on TV from West Palm Beach. Oh man, you talk about a first class show. They threw the questions in a fishbowl and he would just pick the paper up, not even read it, tell you what’s on the paper, tell what’s going to happen. The great Myrus.

Now I saw him years later, of course after I saw Professor Gladstone at the age of sixteen, back in Canada.

So I said to my wife, I said, “Well I’m not too interested.” Because I was backslidden. I didn’t say he was the devil, I said, “The devil can do those things.”

So finally my preacher friend came by, and my wife talked, and our little girl that worked for us, because we both worked, she talked and everybody talked, and I grudgingly got talked into going down where Brother Branham was and they snuck me up on a seat.

The minute he hit the platform, brother/sister, I never said… I said, “That’s God.” Wept for two hours.

Well look, I’ve been up against familiar spirits. That didn’t make me wise to the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit of God that made me wise to the Spirit of God. So you see Brother Branham’s bringing out something here very simple, very crucial.

Now,

[134]  Look, the woman with the blood issue, He was identified to her, by His characteristics, that He was the Messiah. The woman with the blood issue identified Him, the Word.

[135]  Hebrews 4:12, the Bible said, “The Word of God is more powerful than a two-edged sword, and a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” (how many knows that?) “in the mind.”

[He reads your mind, you see? Because the spirit’s in the mind, gets right down and gets the whole thing revealed, even tells you why you do it.] That’s what the Word is. You believe He was the Word? Do you believe He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever? That settles it, if you believe That.

Because He’s going to do it. That was the second thing God told him he’d have. Sign in the hand, then read the hearts. Read the minds.

So therefore when you talk about the heart in the Bible, it’s also mind, because the prophet said so.

He said, “Do you believe it? That settles it.” Can you accept that sign? Now hold it, a lot of people accept the sign, but can they accept it as That sign? See?

God in simplicity, whole thing shebang, just burns everybody out.

Let’s go back to the first chapter of 1 Corinthians; let’s read a little bit. Verse 26:

So there you are, that settles them, that settles the encyclopedia people.

[136]  Notice, this little woman said, “If I can touch Him! I don’t care how much they [talk about Him], say about Him. I believe that He’s just what He said He was.

Now he’s nailing her down here, brother/sister. Who he’s talking through? A prophet. What was Jesus? He was a Prophet. He was a Lamb, but He was only potential Lamb, He was Prophet.

He was King, only potential King. He’s still waiting for it, sitting on His Father’s throne, waiting to take over.

I believe that He’s just what He said He was. If I can touch Him, I’ll be made well.” She slipped through and touched Him. Went back in the audience.

Notice, it is God speaking in the prophet. In Brother Branham’s meetings. He got touched many times, he felt a pull, look around, “Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?”

Have you ever seen him deal with two spirits at one time? Here’s a woman sitting here with cancer, and suddenly he stops.

“Oh,” he said, “it’s over there.” He said, “That spirit of cancer’s in that person, and he’s scared, he’s trying to help this one out over here.”

Both people have cancer. I’ll say this one thing. Maybe more cancers do more good trying to help each other than a lot of people. Oh, that was a foul remark, but I’ll stick with it.

As Brother Branham said, “You see heathens throw their babies to crocodiles, they’ve got more devotion than Christians so-called.”

I’ll tell you, may be a wrong purpose those devils had, maybe it was. Well, somebody said there’s no honor amongst thieves, but there could be loyalty.

All right. …she slipped through and touched Him. Went back to the audience. Jesus stopped, and said, “Who touched Me?”

[137]  And Peter tried to make Him out like He was a neurotic, [how many times did Brother Branham say that about himself?] “Why, everybody!

Don’t say things like that, why, they won’t know what to think about You. A Man of Your status, and then say, ‘Who touched Me?’ Everybody is touching You.” [Not that way of course.]

[138]  He said, “But I perceive I’ve gotten weak, virtue is gone from Me.” He knew something had happened!

[139]  Now look, look what comes, the next great shock. He looked around till He found her…

How many times did Brother Branham do that? He couldn’t get it maybe, turned back to the person. Start talking, turn back again. Then place it. See one pull was stronger than another pull.

When he came to West Palm Beach, I was so anxious to have him tell me everything, never mind anybody else, I’d just concentrate on him, just zero in on him.

And I found out later on why he didn’t want anybody to stand behind him. See, he’d turn around and look at me, recognize who it was, turn around and look back.

I didn’t get what I wanted, or maybe I got what I wanted, didn’t know it. I wanted him to more than look at me. So then later on we cleared the platform, nobody else, nobody stood there. Then I would never… then just roll with the punches so to speak.

He looked till He found her, He told her her condition, and her faith saved her. He was identified as the Word of God, knowing the secrets of the heart.

Now that’s God identified amongst us, but it’s a prophet doing it. But when was He doing it before? When was God speaking face to face with a man?

Not since the time of Paul. When did the Pillar of Fire come and bring the Word to reveal It? Not since the time of Paul.

See, I’ll bend over backwards to do good to my brethren and deal with them who don’t believe as we believe, or at least, you know, we say we believe here, on the Presence of Jesus Christ.

But I want some questions answered. I don’t want anybody telling me, “Oh we had this in Pentecost.”

Woman came to me years ago, and I was preaching a Faith series. Oh she said she heard that in Pentecost. I’ll rob a bank for a million dollars, and give her the million dollars if she can tell me the preacher that preached it.

Nobody in Pentecost ever preached those series. Maybe preached some of them, part of it.

But I plagiarized and I got everything from the Word of God on top of it. I took everything back, Claude Bristol and all the rest of them ever wrote, Dale Carnegie and the whole bunch and took it right back to the Word of God and found it. You can do it, you know.

But it wasn’t in Pentecost. Maybe somebody said a few things; I know they got a lot better than they used to be. Like men like Tommy Osborne became absolutely fantastic, but he listened to Doctor Bosworth.

There’s no sin against that, I’m just saying that the real revealed Word was not in Pentecost, brother/sister. They had some, but they only had a portion. This is the revealed Word today.

He was identified as the Word of God, knowing the secrets of the heart. Oh, my! The Word discerns the body, discerns the heart.

Brother Branham did this many times, talks about himself. That was Brother Branham’s second sign, remember? Okay, Brother Branham had many visions just like this.

[140]  Now just a moment, in closing. Now, here as in Hebrews 13:8 is true, “He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever,” do you believe That? [Now he’s letting you know look, “The principle holds, the characteristic holds, you’re seeing the same thing, then this is identifying.” God is doing it.]

I’m omitting a lot here… Then, His character will identify Him now in this present time, if He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever, just like He was then. Is that right? He’s promised it. And, remember, His characteristic is His identification. How many understands that…

See, now why is this so? See? Is it needed when people already have the Word? Now this is the stumbling block. We’ve been taught this all of our lives. In Pentecost, it was 1906. Brought up in it.

We don’t need this. All we need it for is to give us a fresh start. Another impetus. More healing, more power. The characteristic of God.

Now this is John the Baptist of course, but however,

In other words, the Elect had to get ready. It’s for the election’s sake. This is Laodicea. Rich, but lukewarm. Naked, miserable, wretched, blind. And it’s a stumbling block! It’s the stumbling block.

Why should this be in this hour when we’ve got the Bible, we’ve got this, we’ve got that, we’ve got everything. Why should it be? You got it, but you got it all wrong.

You know the funniest thing in the world is that people don’t realize that this is just a textbook, God in a letter form, textbook form, until the Holy Spirit reveals It.

And if you don’t have the ability, which is not given to anyone but a singular person, which would be a prophet, you can delve in this and come out wrong, the same as a book in mathematics.

Or geometry, where you’ve applied the wrong formula. Or trigonometry, any one of those. Physics, any of them. See?

Now He promised this identification. As it was in Sodom. And everybody takes the one sign, sodomite, and forgets Abraham and the tent, and God reading Sarah’s heart.

[141]  Like those who came from Emmaus, as I say this. Jesus had been crucified. All of them were sad. He was in the grave, now and they said, “He was there, but somebody came and stole Him.” One day He walked out of some bushes and walked along with them, went to Emmaus. “Why are you so sad?” “You must be a stranger here.”

[142]  …He got them inside, He did something like He did before His crucifixion. It was His characteristic way of doing it that way. They quickly recognized, by His characteristic, that this same Jesus that had been crucified. [He was the same One.]

Notice, after His resurrection. There is no change. What He did then, He did back as a theophany, not mortal, but as a mortal theophany now, and He does it through the prophet, though He is here as a Pillar of Fire; He doesn’t change.

Amen. [He said.]

[143]  God has raised Him up from the dead, and today His characteristic, as it, same as it was then! And the returning of the days of Sodom, as Jesus prophesied, the same thing is to take place “when the Son of man is being revealed to the people.”

It’s identification of His characteristic. Hebrews 4:14 and 15, “He is now our High Priest [see that’s just one of the views,] that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities…

That came into full view because He was touched. Brother Branham stood there, the people cried out, and God said, “Here, Mrs. Jones over there, deal with her.”

“You’re not from this city, you didn’t come from Beaumont, you’re over from Louisiana.” See? …He can be touched by our feelings, just like He was then.”

As the woman touched Him, they were touching Him right then, drawing virtue. He’s the same yesterday, it’s His characteristic, that’s what He did, that’s how He’s doing it, that’s why we know He’s here.

We’ve turned a corner, something is happening, something is going on.

Do you believe that? Our infirmities touch Him. Well, if it would touch Him, how would He act if He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever? His characteristic would be the same. Then He’d act like He did when the woman touched His garment.

He’d seek her out and say she’s well, remember?

Do you believe that? He ever lives, He ever lives, He’s ever alive, and His characteristics still identify Him today as He was then. Do you believe it with all your heart? God, identified by His characteristic, identifies Him.

See? A real true healing revival is always followed by a Message. See? Touched by the feeling of our infirmities.

Notice, a little woman said, “If I can just touch Him, I don’t care how much they say about Him, I believe, He’s just what He said He was.”

And Brother Branham said one time, “If you only knew who I was, you’d all be healed.” Then he said,

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

So I’m closing on that note. Next week we may take the prayer, and the rest follows, because there’s certain amount of information in there.

In the meantime, Sunday morning, ten o’clock, Brian will be preaching, as far as I know.

Let’s rise and be dismissed.

‘Take the Name of Jesus with you’.