God Identified By Characteristics #04

Let us just pray.

Heavenly Father, we’re so glad that we can honestly say that Jesus is here, and now that He’s here, all things are possible, and we know that that’s not concerning You Lord, we know that, and You know that concerning Yourself, that You’re the Creator, all things are possible.

For this is that hour we believe Lord is possible, that wasn’t possible back there in the Garden of Eden, where man could stretch forth his hand and take of the Tree of Life and live forever.

And we believe that’s possible now, that’s the great step; it was held back from him and now that step is here, and [if] we’re not going to make it, somebody is, O God.

We can say with the prophet, if we’re not Bride, there’s a Bride out there somewhere, and by the grace of God we won’t stand in her way.

Help us to be serious and solemn tonight Lord, to get rid of every care, every thought, be fully crucified with Jesus Christ, so that we do not live, but He lives, and the life we live in the flesh we live by the faith of the Son of God Himself.

We know Lord these aren’t just high sounding words, there’s reality, they saw it in the days of Paul, and we saw it in the days of William Branham, it’s been through every age, there’s somebody that’s been able to be led by You, the Dove leading the Lamb, and we pray Lord that that will be our lot too.

We’re looking forward Lord shortly, and if it’s not going on right now, my God, for that sweet Spirit coming into the church, the sick healed amongst us, and wonderful things happening – not that we’re looking for any greater things, but it’s just the natural course taking place, giving the witness to the resurrection from amongst the dead.

And so Father, we just trust tonight we’ll learn from Your Word, we’ll be blessed by It, O God, we’ll build up in the most holy faith, we’ll be different after Foot Washing and Communion than we’ve been before Lord, not from the ordinances, but from the Life that’s behind the ordinances, what it all means.

We ask these mercies, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

You may be seated.

Now it’s certainly nice to see the different folk out tonight. I see Peter and Diane made it, and as I told Alison, “Well they’ll be here,” and they’re here.

That’s good, and I didn’t know Brother Green and Sister Green would make it, I know he’s had a real battle, but the battle is the Lord’s, that’s not just a matter of platitude, that’s a fact, the battle is the Lord’s.

I wish we could all realize that, it would do us so much good to just lay all our burdens upon Him, and as Brother Branham said, “May the people never forget that God made an atonement for sickness.”

And remember the angel of the Lord told him to take a gift of healing to the world, and healing is very, very important. He said, “The minister of God has a right to a healthy body.”

I can say amen and amen, but you know everybody’s a minister of the Lord, so that doesn’t let anybody out that’s sitting down there, because I’m standing up here, not for one minute.

And we’re just also glad to… haven’t seen some for a long time. Haven’t seen Mitch and Rose for awhile, and also I see Oscar and Kathy, and that’s great to see the different ones, and wish us all more too, I mean I’m certainly not against seeing more people, whether I know them or not, or they know me.

They can get to know me; the big thing is to get to know the Lord. Glad to see Joe got back, and every once in awhile we thought of and prayed for you, don’t say it was too often, but it was enough, wasn’t it?

I’m not going to stand up here and pretend I did something, Joe, I didn’t do. More likely heap a lot of problems on you now that you’re back. But you’re able to take care of those things.

Now we’ve been into the little sermon Brother Branham preached in Beaumont back in ’64, God Identified By His Characteristics. And in this message Brother Branham first of all points out that there is nothing that is not identified by its characteristics.

And those characteristics may be in the description of the thing, the actions, if any, like you know, you don’t see rocks, unless they roll around, they’re doing anything special, or reactions as well as actions, or their fiber, which is actually how they’re constituted and made.

For instance, you know there’s soft wood and hard wood, there’s hard coal and there’s soft coal, and there’s different types of mineral and steel.

So in his message, Brother Branham says here that everything can be detected or identified by its characteristics.

And that’s infallibly so because God made everything to run in continuity, and I don’t know what your biologists and your criminal theologists are going to do with that, who believe in evolution, because you don’t see any mutations.

Even Joseph Sabin, who was taught so much of evolution in school, he accepted it, until one day as he got older he smartened up and said, “Hey, where’s the mutations?”

See, there’s no change, the characteristics positively identify. And even the unseen God, Who is Spirit, can be exactly, exactly identified by His characteristics, which of course are supernatural.

Now you know many characteristics of substances can be so close; Brother Branham just gave an offhand illustration of two birds flying, I even forget what they were now at this point, a sapsucker, I guess he said one was, and one was a jay bird or something.

And he said, “You’ll notice one goes more in a straight line, the other goes flapping up and down.”

Well it’s the same thing, the magpie flaps up and down, the crow goes more straight, but they’re not much looking alike. But the other two birds do look alike.

Now if you could take two substances that might be absolutely identical to the naked eye, and then you might put them under a microscope, but when you use the device which can pick up the vibrations, you may find the vibrations are different.

Positively identifying and saying, “Look, this has got to be this, because there’s the identification.”

Now you apply that to God, and that seems as though, hey, we’re kind of getting out of the realm of reality here, because after all God’s a Spirit and no man can see God and live, and no man can see spirit, so what about God?

Well the fact of the matter is that God can be identified unmistakably by His characteristics, and of course they are supernatural.

Now the first chapter of the Bible gives us the key to this, which is His never failing and never changing characteristic of identification.

And all you got to is read it, and say, “God said ‘Let there be light’, there was light.” God creating. See?

Then people were put on the earth later on, after creation, and of course seeing all these things, they knew there was… how did all these things get here?

If Adam had not been talked to by God, let’s just say God put Adam in the Garden of Eden, plunked him down there, and Adam began looking around and say, “Hey, look at this, look at this, look at this.”

And everything, the animals come up and lick his hand, and he said, “Why this is great.”

And he say, “Now, just a minute, I wasn’t here five minutes ago. I don’t know anything about. What’s going on here?”

I’m just stretching you, because it could have been something in the knowledge back there, you know, that we’re not privy to, but we don’t have to.

But you’d know right away that God actually identifies Himself by something which He has to do, because He is not sensate to us. You might think you feel Him, but you could be feeling something else, you know.

But there is a way He can be identified, He’s got to be. So now we see what He does from Genesis, He brings Himself into manifestation by what He does.

In other words, He brings something out there that’s in the realm of the sensate, and you can see it, and you can say from that, “That’s God.”

Now look it; that sounds like an oversimplification, but believe me, it’s not. Now you can do what you want with it, but that’s the way it is.

Now He brings Himself into manifestation by what He does. And what He does is unceasingly chained to Deuteronomy 18.

Now what He does is unceasingly chained, c-h-a-i-n-e-d, it’s chained to Deuteronomy 18, which we’ll read here.

Now right off the bat, It says, “The Lord is going to raise up a Prophet.” So the manifestation of God to the people, whatever He manifests, whatever He says, wherever He brings Himself into view, there’s going to be a prophet.

Number one: prophet. Lead balloon. “Why,” says Caiaphas, “won’t he roll down the golden stairs and the red carpet, and come and say, “Hello great Caiaphas.” Come on to our great colleges, our great institutions.” Some man of education, some great pedigree. You know?

No, no, come on now. Come on, let’s stick with the Bible, brother/sister, and you look; I’m going to tell you something, let’s go to hell believing God. We’re doing our best.

If we got to go to hell believing God, at least we got a better chance of getting exterminated quicker.

At least we got a better chance of being foolish virgin. But if you go all the way you are wise virgin. Because you see right here Israel turned this down flat.

They believed in God when Moses went up in the mountain. They believed in God when Moses came down from the mountain. But they didn’t believe Moses. Then they didn’t believe God. Now look it, that’s the Scripture.

Now you’re going to hear from God, how? By a prophet. “Well now, look Lord now hold it. I happen to know that prophet. And I don’t think he’s got a thing for me.” Well naturally not. He’s got nothing for you. You don’t want it.

Now look it, come on, let’s go over this again.

Now listen, that prophet’s in a pretty rough spot. Because he’s going to come with the Word of God. The Word of God’s going to be in his mouth, not in his head, but in his mouth.

And he’s going to have a peculiar gift. And that is, he’ll be able to say exactly what God told him to say. He’ll be able to tell exactly what God showed him, and nobody else can do it!

Now how are you going to feel like when they make a fool out of you? Now come on. Let’s get right down where the nitty-gritty is. They made a fool out of every prophet!

They sawed Isaiah to pieces! Jeremiah had to lie there. One had to marry a prostitute. Oh boy, if that’s not a slap in the face. Shee. The poor prophet.

Yet in Pentecost everybody wants to be a prophet. Forget it. P-r-o-f-i-t is a whole lot better than p-r-o-p-h-e-t. Make a little money and live a little better.

But if you think a prophet’s life is good, here’s this man right here. “A virgin is going to bear a child.”

Wasn’t explained, but Jesus comes, “Eat my flesh, drink my blood.” We’ll talk about that later maybe.

That prophet’s in a tough place. How are you going to come and say, “I’ve got the Word of the Lord for you, and you haven’t got the Word of the Lord, but I have got the Word of the Lord.”

“Ah shut-up and sit down.”

I wouldn’t want to be a prophet for nothing. Prophet warned me even this tiny little gift of teaching I got, they wouldn’t want it, so who’d want my prophesies?

Oh thank God for no prophesies. Thank God I’m no prophet. Bad enough to try to do what I’m doing, I’m not doing that too well.

Now notice, he’s got an audience already handpicked by God, he’s going to speak to them. And they’re supposed to listen to him. And that’s God bringing Himself into manifestation, whether you want to believe it or not!

You say, “Well I want to see something, Brother Vayle.”

Well you’ll be able to see plenty, He does that too. But you got to see what He wants you to see. Or you’re a wicked and adulterous generation. Not just wicked, adulterous! You talk about rotten to the core.

When the Lord descends with a Shout, who’s going to talk for Him? Better calm down and not as well as they can. I’ll play out of here in a hurry.

Yet I’m a whole lot better than some of you guys think I am then. I had a couple of good days, so be very careful here. I’d be just mean as I always was, and I can’t afford to be mean, unless the Lord knock me down again.

Other gods? Three of them! Father, Son, Holy Ghost! They’re idolaters, they’re in witchcraft. Now come on, hard words.

I’m not responsible for my words, I’m quoting the prophet, whether you know it or not. I can’t tell you the tapes, but I can tell you what he said.

Now:

And He doesn’t condemn them. It must mean somebody else could be turned loose to do something pretty wonderful, to catch their eye, to catch their attention, and say, “This is the power of God, this is God speaking, this is the way of God.”

Well:

Now it tells you right there, that man’s going to say something. And if it demands a creative act, that creation will appear! Well say, “I just can’t believe that Brother Vayle.”

Then you’d better rip the first four Books out of your Bible, or five Books out of your Bible, because Moses, the Creator God was in Moses and he created by the Word of God in him.

I didn’t see William Branham create squirrels, I don’t have to, but when you can stand there and see a man wrap a cord around him three times and you watch unblinkingly, and suddenly that cord is by his feet, you don’t need to look at any creation, you done saw something uncreated and recreated!

I saw what resurrection is, hallelujah! Who worries about creation? I’m not worried about a creation, I’m already here! Get me in the new creation! So who cares? I’m not going to fool with their nonsense.

Now He’s unceasingly chained to the prophet! Say, “I want to hear from God, I want to see from God.” You bet there’s got to be a prophet on the scene.

And that goes over just like a lead balloon. Now never forget Jesus the Christ Himself was a Prophet. Not just a prophet, the Prophet.

Not just the Prophet but the God Prophet. Now that was the earmarks of Jesus the great One! To come on the scene and say a thing and it come to pass. Then you listen to that man!

Nicodemus came one day, and he said, “We know thou Rabbi, we know You’re a teacher sent from God, because no man can do the things Thou doest except God be with him.”

That man understood that Jesus was just like Moses. He was within a hairbreadth of catching on! He did catch on. Nicodemus got born again. Wonderful.

Now Jesus Christ Himself was the God Prophet. Now watch how He was to be accepted as Messiah Prophet, and in some cases He was accepted, wherein others denied and even blasphemed Him!

So we go to page 14, and we start reading. This is to catch up everybody and wind this message up if we can. Beginning at paragraph 93.

God Is Identified By His Characteristics, 03/11/64

[93]  Simon went out one day to hear Him, and… 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, and said, “Your name is Simon, you are the son of Jonas.” See, the characteristic of what was promised was identified in Him.

You say, “That?” Yeah, that. Yeah that. A stumbling block. A curve. Something too simple, too easy. See?

Now listen, here’s what happened, God identified the seed. The seed was waiting to be identified. And therefore believed.

How many times do you say, “Well I wish I really could know, I wish I could really know.” You thought you couldn’t know. Well I don’t know that that’s exactly right… Where do I find that one? All right.

[70]  That’s the genuine identification of God in any hour, is His identification. 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 that promise being identified, that makes the believer. Jesus said so, that settled it. Amen.

Do you want to be a believer? Too simple. Give me some great thing to do. Make me matchless. You’re already matchless, nobody can match you, forget it. The One to match with is Jesus Christ.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me. Find rest unto your souls.” All right.

[93]  See, the characteristic of what was promised was identified in Him.

God at the tent door, see? Jesus came and did the same thing; we’ll get into that in a little while.

[94]  That man could not sign his name, 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.

God identified and the seed identified! And both happy! But a whole bunch out there gnashing their teeth and grumping and grumbling. They couldn’t take it. Too simple! See?

[95]  There was one standing there by the name of Philip, who ran around the city, the hill, the country, fifteen miles about, and got a friend, come back the next day with him, by the name of Nathanael. He found him under a tree, praying. He said, “Come, see Who we found, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph.”

[96]  Oh 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?” He said, “Well come and see!”

[97]  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 Scripture! Come, and see!

It’s the same today. The same thing goes on today, but they say a familiar spirit. Yeah. Well I trust my spirit and his Spirit are very familiar, they’ve got together.

I had no trouble at all when I saw Brother Branham, I said, “That’s God.” Messed me up, really entirely, I’d happily backslidden, down to the hog trough. But crying two solid hours, I knew it was all over. I thought, “Well that’s terrible to get mixed up with this, but there’s no way out.”

[98]  On the road around, they walked around, talking about what had been taking place, how he told him about Simon being made known by Him, [that’s Simon being made known by Jesus,] and Simon’s father and so on.

[99]  Then when he come into the line,

Notice how he identifies Christ’s ministry with his ministry, calls it a line.

Then when he come into the line, might have been a prayer line, might have been out in the audience, [how he picked them out in discernment] 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’s no guile!”

Now that was an example Brother Branham was giving in Christ’s ministry of his own ministry! When he said, “He had more success with His ministry in my life than He had in His Own”!

Well you say, “That prophet’s got to be a big mouth.” Certainly, God’s got a big mouth; prophet’s got a big mouth. And a prophet can back up what he says, because God’s right behind the prophet’s mouth.

I’m sure glad the Lord descended with the Shout. And that the Greek says it is not the Voice of the One that descended. “I was only a voice.” Of the One that stood there.

He said, “You might have thought I was talking about myself, seeing I’m packing this Message, I’ve got no more to do with it than nothing. I was just one standing by when He appeared.”

That’s a real prophet. That’s prophet talk. That’s real prophet talk. That’s a p-r-o-p-h-e-t with a p-r-o-f-i-t.

Because “What shall it profit a man if he loses his soul by not listening to the prophet?” That’s not coining a phrase, that’s throwing Scripture together, and I’m perfectly able to do it.

[99]  …“Behold an Israelite, in whom there’s no guile!”

What was he doing? Hebrews 4:12, reading a man’s heart. Like my sister read Brother Branham’s handwriting, absolutely no deceit. She didn’t say that about mine.

She said, “Ah, there it is again, the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau.”

[99]  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 the identification of the characteristics of the anointed God.

In other words a vision! “Oh we got ESP! We got familiar spirits! We got mind reading. We got these machines.” That’s great. We got God.

You say, “Well then why doesn’t God do something different?” Because God doesn’t change. If anybody’s going to change, you’re going to change.

I wasn’t nice one day, but… I’m not going to blame my wife; I don’t even know what happened. But I said, “Look, one of us is going to change, ain’t going to me.” I was boss, that was it.

Now, God says the same thing, “One of us is going to change, it ain’t going to be Me.”

And you know what this man said?

[101]  …”Rabbi, You are the Son of God!”

You say, “Could that fellow get that worked up and say, “You are the Son of God” from that? That?! Yes, that. Yes, that. Which some people miss or dismiss. And call a familiar spirit.

…“Rabbi, You are 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. He said, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”

[102]  He said, “Because I said that, you believe Me? You’ll see greater things than this yet.” [So will the seed.]

Let’s pass on to page 17. […] All right, paragraph 125 to 123.

[125]  Then Peter said those [memorable] [Brother Branham calls them memorial words and it is a great memorial in words to Jesus Christ. Those memorable] words, “Lord, where could we go?

We are persuaded, we know that You are the identified Fountain of Life. You have the Word, and It only. We are persuaded.” This little woman standing there. [He] said, “Bring Me a drink.”

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

[127]  He let her know right quick there’s no difference between the Jew or whatever it was. He was God. He said, “Go get your husband and come here.” [And] she said, “I don’t have a husband.”

[128]  He said, “You’ve told the truth. You’ve had five, and you’re living with one now that’s not yours.” [You see now, there again reading the heart.]

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

[130]  When He said That to those Pharisees, look at them, they just blacked out what they professed. [You see they went back on the very thing they professed.] They professed to be Christians…

Now that would stumble some people. […]

Now:

They professed to be Christians…

Now people would say, “Now look it, those were not Christians.”

They were too, because Christos should always be translated Messiah, because Christ is Messiah in the Greek! So they had a Messianic prophecy for them.

And they would be Messianic believers. And what do they do? They crucified the very One they said they believed in. All right.

[130]  They professed to be Christians, they professed to be followers, they professed to love Him. But when the Truth came, It blacked them out.

Certainly does, the Truth always blacks out. I don’t care if the Blood does stand there. The Blood on the Mercy Seat. What if the Blood is on the Mercy Seat if you turn down the Light?

All the argument for pro and con concerning Blood or on the Mercy Seat or off the Mercy Seat, the whole thing boils down to one thing: do you believe the Word of God?

If you don’t believe the Word of God, the Blood cannot avail. Because if you believe the Word of God, you’re full of the Holy Ghost. You’re identified seed. All right.

But when the Truth came, It blacked them out.

[131]  But when this came, It brought to Life, It took the blackness out and made it all white. [He’s talking about that prostitute.]

[132]  She said, “Sir, I perceive 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 cometh, His identification will be that kind of a characteristic, He’ll tell us these things.” [Now here’s this little woman, speaking right up from out of her heart. What made her different? She was a seed.] He said, “I am He that speaks to you.”

[133]  And, upon that, she dropped the waterpot, went into the city and said, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I’ve done.

Isn’t this the very characteristic of the anointed Messiah which is the Word, who knows the thoughts that’s in the heart? Isn’t this the Messiah?” Oh, my! [Certainly was the Messiah. See?]

You know the simple instant recognition, the witness of the Spirit of Truth, not just Spirit, but the Spirit of Truth! People come into Brother Branham’s meeting and they’d recognize a Spirit!

And they’d love it because it proved evolution wrong! It proved that God could come into a supernatural manifestation through healings and miracles and signs and even by a photograph.

Oh yes, my, my. It was wonderful to acknowledge the Spirit! But they turned down flat the Spirit of Truth! Now there’s a big difference. A mighty big difference.

You can be going with a nice girl and she says, “You’re a wonderful boyfriend.”

“Well how about marrying me?”

“Hogwash, get out of my sight. Nice boyfriend, but you’re sure no husband.”

All right, you can do the same thing with the Spirit of God. Absolutely disbelieve Him, make Him a liar, make Him Beelzebub. Absolutely, and be absolutely anointed! So you see where this thing is going.

All right. Let’s go to page 18, 134. I was on page 18, 134 already, but I didn’t get down to that part.

[134]  Look, the woman with the blood issue, [that’s another example,] He was identified to her, by His characteristic, that He was the Messiah. The woman with the blood issue identified Him, the Word.

[135]  Hebrews 4:12, …”The Word of God is more powerful than a sharp two-edged sword, discerns the thoughts that’s in the heart,” (how many knows that?) “in the mind.” 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.

Now there you are, he said, if you understand the promise for the hour, and God identifies Himself in simplicity, and you say, “That’s it,” you’re a believer!

Now then it’s settled, the amens’ put to it, because every time you see it, “That’s right.” You get more and more confirmed, even though you don’t need to see it any more than once. That’s God in simplicity.

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

What about when Brother Branham said on more than one occasion, “If you only knew who I was, you’d all be healed”? I missed that down in Florida, my wife caught it.

She said, “It’s on a tape down there.” We went through all the tapes, couldn’t find the tape. One day, we played a tape, it was on the tape. “If you only know who I was, you’d all be healed.” Oh brother.

You say, “That was in the first person.” I don’t care if it was the first person or the second person, it was the Person Who’d have to do the healing.

And you’d have to recognize that prophet is the reflector of the very Word of Almighty God, the Word of God made flesh for the hour. Oh people don’t like that, but I don’t care what they like.

I’m willing to go just as far as I’m supposed to go. And look it here, if you’re going to get hung, you might as well use twenty feet of rope as just one.

In other words, stand with the whole Scripture. Everything he said, just stick with it. And as he rolls it off, just believe him. See?

Now it is God speaking in the prophet, that’s what the Bible says. God spake to the fathers in the prophets, the only way He can do it.

Absolutely, irrevocably chained to a prophet. People say, “Well I can find on my own.” That’s true, you can find on your own many things; that is true! But when it comes to the Word of the hour or the Word, there is no way, outside of a prophet.

But people say, “Well you see, the Bible is already written. Don’t need any more prophets.” Then what was Paul? What about Hebrews 12?

Where God’s got to speak one more time from heaven and everything falls down? Who’s going to open the Seals? Try a theological can openers and see what happens.

Come up with a nest of angleworms, a bulging can of tomatoes will spit in your face, eat it, and you’ll die. Full of botulism. Couldn’t take a prophet.

Oh my, the Word of God’s plumb full of it. We went through the Rapture tape, you know that… get those tapes when I read you out of 1 and 2 Peter, took the two books for you.

All right.

[136]  …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. And 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 he was a neurotic? Why this whole sermon is pleading for Brother Branham’s own ministry, that it’s right, listen to it and get somewhere!

How clearly could the man present himself and do his best for people? But they weren’t about to listen.

[136]  And Jesus stopped, and said, “Who touched Me?”

[137]  So Peter tried to make Him… a neurotic, “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.” [And he said,] Everybody is touching You.”

Well let’s just stop there for a second, I’m going to hit page twenty-three for a minute down in the prayer line, and let’s just see this operate out here. Paragraph 165.

Now, Brother Branham says,

[165]  …the Holy Spirit identify Himself in the Name of Jesus Christ. [He’s making that prayer.] Now, I’ve got no idea what you’re here for. You just look like a nice-looking, motherly-like woman standing there, that’s all I know about you.

But the Holy Spirit can reveal what you’re here for, what your trouble is, or something. You’ll know whether it’s the truth or not. Now, you’re, what it is you want prayer for, is something like the muscles in your face.

It’s neurology, [it’s Neuralgia is what he meant to say,] like, in your face. Now, if that’s right, raise up your hand. Do you believe? Now, you might say, “He guessed that.”

[166]  Now, she’s a fine person. Now, look this way a minute, sister. I don’t know what He told you. But whatever it was, it was true. [How about that?] You’re a witness of that now, aren’t you? [Sister says, “That’s right.”] That’s right. [“Twenty years of it.”]

My! You believe that God will heal you for that? Now, you know It’s His Presence, there’s Something here that knows you, Something. Like Jesus said to the woman, He knew where her trouble was, now he knowed where your trouble was.

So there you see what’s happening. She reaches through with the touch. All right? I’ll get down to 139 here.

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

[139]  Now look, look what comes, the next great shock. He looked around till He found her, and He told her her condition, and her faith had saved her. He was identified as the Word of God, knowing the secrets of the heart. Oh, my! The Word discerns the body, discerns the heart.

Now what Brother Branham is saying here, “Look at my own ministry, I’ve done that many times!”

He’d stop and look around, look around, and say, “Ah, there it is over there. That woman was praying, her name is so-and-so, praying for her husband or child,” and so on, you see.

Now remember, Brother Branham had two signs, the sign in his hand first of all, then he could read the heart. And the sign in the hand was the fooler.

Because he’d look at his hand and say, “Oh you have cancer.” Well fine, where is it? Hand doesn’t tell him anything, something inside tells him. So why’d he need what was in his hand? Nothing.

I spotted that right away. And I’m not smart. I fell for it, like everybody else did, you know, look for this and look for that, and I wasn’t that smart.

I only came with the question, why did he need that here if something had to tell him where it was? Why can’t the thing that told him where it was tell him what it was in the first place?

Somebody say to me, “You lost your gumboots.” Hah, now I lost my gumboots, tell me where they are.” And if you can tell me where they are, you can tell me what I lost.

So you see it was a sign to fool the people. Everybody began smelling devils and seeing devils and hearing this and that and the other thing and they got way out there… well talk about left field, they’re out of the ballpark. The Voice of the sign. All right?

Now these illustrations which I have read from this sermon, which Brother Branham gave, are all based on the time Elohim stood at the tent door with Abraham. We go back to page 12, paragraph 78.

Now:

[78]  Notice, the Elect was coming on, sitting outside up here, Abraham and his group. And when this Man that stayed with Abraham, watch Him, He displayed the characteristic of God, for He said, “Where is Sarah?”

Her name was Sarai, the day before; but now it’s Sarah, S-a-r-a-h. Said “Abraham,” not Abram, “Abraham, where is thy wife, Sarah?” He said, “She’s in the tent behind You.”

[79]  “I’m going to visit you.” Then Abraham listened to that speech. “I’m going to visit you according to the time of life.”

[80]  And Sarah laughed, as it was, up her sleeve, to herself, and she said, “Me old, and my lord old, shall we have pleasure again like young men and women? As far as human relationship, perhaps, been gone many years. Me?” And she laughed.

[81]  But the Man, looking at Abraham, Sarah in the tent behind Him, said, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying at these sayings, ‘How can these things be?'” He identified Himself.

[82]  And Abraham called Him “Elohim.” Now, any of you Bible readers know that. …meat of a calf…

Brother Branham liked hot Mexican food. Well if God had appetite for a veal sandwich, He could have an appetite for Mexican food. I’m not saying that exactly facetiously, I’m wanting to know relationship. Because Messiah was a Prophet.

First and foremost He was a Prophet. He was only the Lamb potentially, the Redeemer potentially. Number one, He was a Prophet.

Prophets don’t die for people’s sins ordinarily, they just get bumped off by the people with the sins. Because their sins are called out.

But they didn’t know when they were killing this One, they were shedding the Blood, that the Life would return back upon the believer.

And bringing redemption. For the corn and wheat must fall in the ground and die.

[82]  Elohim identified the characteristics of God, and Abraham called Him “God.” What? He was identified, Elohim!

Now, notice. What Brother Branham was doing is what everybody misses. In the Word of God It says, “As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the day of the coming of the Son of man.”

And everybody therefore then runs and talks about the evil of Sodom, which was homosexuality. But Brother Branham set the record straight.

He said, “I could not preach His Coming based on one facet alone, which is immorality or a sodomite condition.” Nor could he.

The other condition had to be there, which they left out, which was the positive condition, where God met face to face with Abraham! See? They didn’t want that.

Now the Church and the Bride, their sign of Sodom, I’m talking of true Church, true Bride, their sign of Sodom is God manifest in human flesh with the Word of the hour! Prophet with the Word.

All right. Let’s go back to page 9. See, I’ve got to go back to get this. Paragraph 62.

[62]  Now Jesus said, “If I do not the works of My Father,” or other words, “if I don’t have the characteristics of My Father, don’t believe it. They identify My character, Who I am. If you can’t believe Me, then believe the identification that God has given.

Now remember, identification goes ahead of Word! He’s got to do something which attracts your attention and then you believe what He says! “Jesus both began to do and to teach”!

And that’s been paraphrased by the nice people, and I’m not against nice people, who simply say, “See, my brother, my sister, you’ve got to live a life before you can tell anybody the truth of God.” That is true.

But that’s not what that Scripture’s talking about, I’m sorry. That’s a little illustration, that’s an application. Jesus began to do before he began to teach because he was a Prophet!

He had to prove by his works that he spoke for God and that God spoke through him! And when he was able to do that, then the people were able to listen!

And they should have listened! But like in the days of Moses, when Moses went up the mountain, they believed God. When he came down the mountain, they still believed God, but they didn’t believe Moses.

These people still believed in God. They still believe in God. You can’t chop Him up in three pieces either and make them idolaters. They didn’t understand the atonement. But this funny thing, they knew about the prophets.

All right, we’re reading, we were reading 62.

Now,

[62]  …if My character doesn’t identify My position, then don’t believe My claims.” [In other words, “If I can’t do what’s supposed to be done by Me, then don’t believe what I’m saying to you.”] See? Do you get it tonight? How many understand it, raise your hand. See? “If My character…

And that’s perfectly good word. You say, “Why didn’t he use ‘characteristic’?” Because character is made up of characteristics!

Precisely, go to your dictionary. See, I did my homework. Don’t come before these smart educating people sitting in front of you without doing some homework.

…if My character doesn’t identify My position, then don’t believe My claims.” See? You get it tonight? How many understands it, raise your hand. “If My character does not identify Who I claim to be,” said Jesus, “then you… If you can’t believe Me, why, just believe the identification of the character that I am.”

In other words you say, “I don’t know that He’s the Messiah, but I sure know what’s going on is true. That’s got to be God.”

Somebody come along and say, “Well that’s the devil.” Well I tell you that person’s sure mixed up.

Now we got to page 10, reading at 68:

[68]  Today, Luther said, “When you believe, you’ve got It.” Methodist said, “When you shout, you got It.” The Pentecostal said, “When you spoke in tongues, you had It.” We find that all wrong!

Some said, “The fruit of the Spirit’s got It.” That’s wrong! The only evidence is, the vindication, when God Himself identifies Himself in the promised Word of the hour. There it is.

That would take a prophet. That would take a prophet. That’s why Brother Branham said Luther potentially had the Holy Ghost, that’s the Lutherans, they had their baptism but they didn’t have the Holy Ghost.

Now, next verse.

[69]  Who had any more fruit of the Spirit than the kind old priests, circumcised the children and blessed them, and everything else?

And here this guy Jesus was, come around, kicked over their sacrifice blocks, looked upon them with anger, beat them, run them out, no identification no nothing.

The Scripture is His identification! He had no fellowship card, belonged to no organization. But God spoke of Him, that was His identification!

Sure, God spoke of him and he did what he was supposed to do. He was a prophet, but it was too tame. Do you know why it was too tame? Actually he was too wild, he didn’t agree with them.

That pussycat, stroke the fur right nice, [Brother Vayle makes a spitting sound] like that, they spit at you and claw your hands. Good old pussycats, never trust a cat. Some people got cat religion, when you shouldn’t have. All right.

[70]  That’s the genuine identification of God in any hour, is His identification. 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 that promise being identified, that makes the believer. Jesus said so, that settled it. Amen.

Now you sitting here tonight and me standing here know if we’re believers or not. Say, “Well just a minute.” I just a minute nothing. You say, “I believe the Blood was shed.” So do I. Got no problem there.

Say, “I believe the Holy Ghost came.” No problem there. But what do you believe about now? What’s this phenomenon that’s on the earth? Now either you got to go one of two ways, one of three ways actually.

It’s number one: it’s got to be God or it’s got to be devil, or it’s got to be a supernatural phenomenon that takes place once every two thousand years. Now you’re into spiritism, ascended masters.

Now it comes to us, this brings it of course to Matthew 12, where Brother Branham categorically said that Jesus was obligated to appear in the Spirit, in the form of the Holy Ghost, and do for the Gentiles, identifying Himself what He did to Israel when He was there in the flesh.

All right, so now we go to page 19, to where we were at in this book. And that’s three quarter hours gone by now, so time just flies. 140:

[140]  Now just a moment, in closing. Now, as in Hebrews 13:8 it is true, “He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever,” do you believe That? Now I’m omitting a lot here I should say.

Then, His character will identify Him now in this present time, [that’s His characteristic, see? Whatever He did.] if He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever, like He was then.

In other words, what He did in the form of a Man, a theophany, back at the tent door in the plains up there with Abraham, just before Sodom burned, doing the same thing, identifying in the days of His flesh, He’ll do it right now again through a prophet! Because He was a Prophet back there.

Now that’s got to be your satisfaction. Because He can’t change.

Now people say, “I believe God doesn’t change, but that’s not really the essence of He doesn’t change.”

See how they wiggle around it? Well let’s see, let them wiggle out of this one. I sure enjoyed this Scripture when I found it.

I’ve used it ever since. I can even turn right to it, and that’s something very unusual for this fellow here.

All right,

So whatever’s going to come is going to blueprint exactly number one step, number two step, your number three step! Elohim, Emmanuel, Jehovah! You’re back to Elohim.

And what’s the Name of Elohim? Jesus, so just call Him Jesus. See?

Now what’s He’s talking about? He’s talking about Himself. And He’s talking that He requires of you and me what He’s already done in the past, so that you and I will know this is it.

What makes one person sit there and cry over the simple thing, the next person laugh and walk around and get out? One person glorify God, the next would blaspheme Him. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. That’s the way it is.

All right.

[141]  Like those who came from Emmaus, as I say this. Jesus had been crucified. All of them were sad. They was in the grave, now they said, [I think he means that they said He was in the grave.] “Somebody come and stole Him.”

One day He walked out of some bushes and walked along with them, He went over to Emmaus. He said, “Why are you so sad?” [They] said, “Well, You must be just a stranger here.”

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

Now that’s after His resurrection! That didn’t change Him one bit! He had merely gone through a phase, which was a phase of redemption.

Now He’s in the Priesthood. But now He’s got to appear to the Gentiles as it was in the days of Sodom, the Appearing of the Son of man.

All right.

[143]  God has raised Him up from the dead, and today His characteristic, is the 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.” [Now that’s wonderful, but more offices than that came into view.] It’s identification of His characteristics.

Hebrews 4:14 and 15, “He is now our High Priest that can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, just like He was then.” [The woman we see that touched Him, His garment.] Do you believe that? Our infirmities touch Him. [Certainly they do.]

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 that woman touched His garment.

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

Now Brother Branham said a true healing revival has to have a Message. And you’d never get a healing revival any truer than Brother Branham’s, because it was an exact replica of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe as Brother Branham said, every prophet plays a role, a part of a role in this Bible. I believe Brother Branham was ordained to play the role of the Son of man, though he himself was not the Son of man, he had the role of it.

Because they said, “Brother Branham, somebody said you’re the Son of man. We thought that the Pillar of Fire was the Son of man.”

He said, “I am not the Son of man, the Pillar of Fire is not He. It’s in the form of the Holy Spirit.” [And then he said in the Harvest Time, he said,] “The Son of man revealed, the Son of man is the Word living Itself again amongst the people.”

In other words, the manifestation of what was in the creative mind of Almighty God, coming right here, a prophet saying it, coming to pass. God identified Himself. Then if God identified Himself, brother/sister, we know God! Because we could…

Well look it. Let’s say there’s something out here that’s identified. Was it, Tory Peterson, the great ornithologist? Is that what he is, an ornithologist? Bird lover or something?

Don’t blink your eyes, Joe, you’re a smarter man than I am. We’ll get Greg, he’s an agronomist. That’s right? Ornithologist?

Sure, ornithologist, bird watcher, yeah, bird lover. He was out here in Grand Canyon or somewhere, and a fellow… and so… the fellow out there in the park area, this Peterson walked up to.

And of course he didn’t know it was Peterson. And Peterson said, “Hey, there’s a tremendous bird out here I’ve never seen before.” He said, “My, what a bird,” and described it.

And the fellow said, “Well,” he said, “I can’t tell you, but,” he said, “we got a book inside by Tory Peterson and he’ll identify it.”

He said, “No, he won’t,” he said. “I’m Tory Peterson; I don’t know the bird myself.”

Now there’s lots of things out there that are so close you might look and you say, “Hey, is that hummingbird a ruby-throated or that other kind that’s so close like it?”

Well you got to look, but there’s a way to know its characteristic.

Now at the end time, the two spirits are so close; there’s a way to know. And I’ll tell you, one of them won’t stay with the Word. Because the prophet is meant to bring the Word.

And Brother Branham said, “If a revival of healing comes out of a denomination and preaches the same old stuff,” he said, “that was no genuine healing revival.” What was it? It was Mark 16. I’m not against that.

But brother/sister, we’re dealing something which is different. That’s why I say, look it, people can get so angry with me because I say He came down, I believe He did come down. I believe He’s here.

I’ve got no doubt, He set Himself at the head of the Church in order to raise the dead and put the Church in order, that’s 1 Corinthians 15. That’s not just 1 Corinthians 12, and 13 and 14. That’s just part of it. That’s the mechanical part.

What if you do get your gifts all in order and everybody speaks just right and holds their mouth just right and according to Scripture and that’s just right? What if you’re not in order when every man is in his place according to the Word of God?

The hand’s a hand, the foot the foot, the corpuscles here and that other corpuscle just right. Everything in subjection. And that’s the word the Kalusma comes from, the Shout.

Everybody a part of the Message and knows it! Amen to every word, full of the Holy Ghost in faith, getting ready for the last step of love permeating everybody, going to get out of here.

Well somebody’s getting out of here, might as well be you. What are we sitting here for? You think you’re preaching something down there that’s perverted and full of angle worms, not angle words, but what is it? little mealy bugs that Brother Branham said, in their manna?

Oh brother/sister, we got fresh loaf tonight. The atonement’s in full view. All right, let’s understand these things.

Now he said,

[143]  …bow your heads.

[144] Heavenly Father, we’re just men and women sitting here tonight. But we are, as it were, handling God…

What does the Roman Catholic think of that? Le Bon Dieu? Old Father Chiniquy, he great… oh what a scholar, what a tremendous man of God, one of the greatest books ever written, they used to call it ‘Fifty Years in Hell’. ‘Fifty Years in the Church of Rome’.

But they thought that was hell, wait till hell comes. Hell’s moved upon earth right now, just getting ready for the great showdown, you bet your life, you wait and see.

I’ll tell you what, he walked in one day, and this poor old priest was just crying, “Oh le Bon Dieu, le Bon Dieu.”

That’s, you know, the good Father. Yeah, le Bon Dieu, yeah. The Bon Dieu, the good, yeah that’s it, yeah. The good God, that’s it, the good God.

“What’s the matter, what’s the matter, Father, Father?”

He said, “I forget last night, I left the Bon Dieu out here on the sacrificial altar and the mice came and ate it. Oh le Bon Dieu, the poor Bon Dieu.” The mice ate God. It’s like Puss in Boots.

But you know what, there’s a moral to it. The Protestants aren’t nearly as reverent as the Catholics are. There’s something deeper than just coming and taking it and going on your way.

So we did it, we did it. We did… what did you do? There’s a spiritual significance. God didn’t ask us to do something that wasn’t in line with Him.

Well you say, “I’m going to drink it anew when we come to the Kingdom.”

Now it’s not the body of God and it’s not the blood of God, we know they’re symbols. But to us, we look at reality.

And we’re just as reverent as though it was. What if it really were? By transubstantiation. What prayer of any man could do it? Come on. No. Handling God, he said.

[144]  But we are, as it were, handling God when we handle the Word. And, Father, I’d be afraid to try to say something that wasn’t in here. I’d be afraid to try to put my own interpretation on It, because it might be wrong.

And You said, “Whosoever shall take one Word out of It, or add one word to It, [take one Word out] his part will be taken out of the Book of Life.” What good would my life be then, Lord, if I did an evil thing like that? So I just speak It the way It is.

[145]  And, Father, You promised that You would identify It. [In other words if he said it just the way it was, God would come behind and identify It.]

I believe that You are risen from the dead, two thousand years ago, You’re alive tonight, calling a simple people just as You always did, [and You’re here,] one here and one there; no groups, no organizations, no great manners of what men have done. But You said You would take a people out of the Gentiles,

[now watch,] “Two in a field; I’ll leave one, take one. Two in a bed; Ill leave one, take one,” [Now that’s the 17th of Luke.] a people here and a people there, for Your Names sake, the Bride.

That’s the Rapture. The 24th of Matthew is taking them out of the church. Luke 17 is taking them out of the world. When that Spirit that’s in our midst becomes incarnate to us, we’ll crown Him King of kings and Lord of lords.

In the meantime God, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ descends, sets Himself head of the church in order to raise the dead.

Now the dead aren’t the church, because Paul is speaking of the fact of the time when the living are here and won’t die. Talking about you and me.

Set the Church in order, through the Word of God, we all become believers. One faith, one Word, one Lord, one this, one baptism, which is the Holy Ghost, one everything.

All one body, we. One in faith and charity, right down the line.

[146]  I believe that Your character identifies You.

Someone say, “Well Brother Branham, that’s pretty weak, that’s pretty weak soup, that’s something like the broth of a shadow of a chicken that starved to death.” Oh no it ain’t, it’s a real juicy one.

That’s your curve, that’s your stumbling block. Too simple. Why, a little old prostitute can figure it out. Some dumb goof fisherman. Why…

I’m going to tell you something. He takes the beggar off the dunghill. He smells like manure. Jesus smelt like manure.

William Branham skinned skunk, he smelled like a skunk. But I don’t think anything smells worse than fish. Oh brother. That’s what we’re looking at here. See? All right.

I believe Your character identifies You. “As it was in the days of Sodom,” so it will be in the day when You’re being revealed, the Word.

The Word Itself, of this hour, is supposed to reveal the Word Itself, like the Word came to the prophets.

Now let’s go over that one again.

[146]  I believe that Your character identifies You. [In other words, something’s going on that proves that He’s there. That it’s really You, whether You’re there or not, let’s put that to one side.]

You promised, “As it was in the days of Sodom,” so will it be in the day when You were being revealed, the Word.

Now right there you’ll notice he’s going right absolutely to the Seals. He’s going right to Ephesians 1, when the Spirit of wisdom comes into the church, the Revelation.

When that which was to be known of God had not yet been known. That Paul said, “I might know Him and the power of His Resurrection.”

He did not know it! He had the potential. This is where the knowledge has an influence on you, takes over! I showed you in the Greek back there in Quincey. See?

Now:

[146]  …so it will be in the day when You were being revealed, the Word. The Word Itself, of this hour, is supposed to reveal the Word Itself, like the Word came to the prophets.

In other word, the Word of this hour will reveal Itself to us, but It’s got to come by a prophet! Then the Seals have to be opened by a prophet! The Thunders have to come by a prophet!

The last thing that God says before the shaking down comes by a prophet! We’ve had a prophet. There like William Branham. I don’t care what anybody says. If they’re not his prophet, he’s my prophet.

I have no problem saying, “Oh Lord God of William Branham.” If I get wondering about myself if I’m on the right track, I praying to the right God, I say, “Oh God of William Branham.”

You say, “You say that?” Sure, I say it. “What grounds?”

Elisha struck the water, he said, “Let the Lord God of Elijah come into view.”

When you see somebody that great, what are you looking around at all pipsqueaks for? I’ll take that back. What are you looking at something not so great?

You know, I never have been too fussy about diamonds, I know they’re nice, I prefer rubies and emeralds. I guess they got more color. But diamonds have the facets where you get all the rainbow comes out of.

Maybe I’m just a peon. That’s all right. I can’t afford any of them. If I bought them, my wife wouldn’t wear them anyway. She’s not much for that anyway. All right.

[146]  …like the Word come to the prophets. And, Father, we see John standing here on earth, and there was the Word that he was revealing.

And the Bible said, “The Word always comes to the prophet.” And the Word was flesh then, so It walked right into the water, to John. The Word came to the prophet.

[147]  Father, God, come tonight, I pray, and help us. Help our unbelief. Forgive us our shortcomings. Heal the sick and afflicted. One Word from You, Lord, will mean more than anything any man could say.

Just You speak, Father, just one Word will mean so much. [How’s He going to do it? Hebrews 1:1, God in the prophets.] Now, You’re the same yesterday, today, and forever.

What did You do back there? He’ll do it again now. When Jesus came, He was the Prophet, God had to be in Him; all of God was in Him.

Now is it strange that a measure of God should be in a prophet or all of God be in a prophet if God wants it? What would be strange about it?

I don’t understand people’s thinking. I’ll tell you what it is: pride. Oh and it’s a false humility.

Oh they say, “Well of course now I’m nothing, you know, but neither is that man.” Oh, is that a fact?

How do so many people have heart attacks when they smarted off? How come he walked away from Billy Paul when he said he was going to get a mop and pretend he had a Beatle wig.

And his dad walked away, and he said, “No, son you didn’t hurt me,” he said, “I was afraid of what would happen to you.”

And brother/sister, don’t think that man couldn’t look a hole in you and know exactly where you stood, I had it happen to me. You know in a hurry. That’s God, not a man.

But God, they sing, “God should love a sinner such as I.” And you’re all smiles and chuckles.

But God should inhabit a man and make him a prophet, “Oh horrors. I’m not quite that ridiculous, you see.”

I don’t understand people. I don’t understand people. Where’s God ever change? Why shouldn’t He use a prophet? What made Balaam’s donkey speak one time?

I don’t know if it was ventriloquism or God really made his… I suppose God just made the donkey talk, what’s the difference? Bring it right down where it is. Simple. See?

[147]  You speak, Father, just one Word will mean so much. You’re the same yesterday, today, and forever. We commit ourselves to You now.

And we pray that when we leave and go to our homes tonight, we’ll say like those from Emmaus, when they saw Him do something to identify Himself to them that He was the risen Lord.

No matter how much they say, “They stole His body away, and they did this, that, or the other thing they did,” they knew themselves that He was raised from the dead.

Won’t You tonight show Yourself alive to us again, and call those in this fair city around about, that’s ordained to Life, to You. We ask it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Why does he keep on saying, “You died and You rose again”? How can God die? You know what it was? It was all those attributes that were in the form of a human flesh. God did it.

Remember the spirit was released? There went the attributes, there stayed the body. Simple… it was incarnation.

God always incarnated Himself, started back in the garden when He made Adam, breathed the Holy Ghost in him. Still incarnates Himself in portion, in a prophet it’s different.

[150]  Now, if I have spoke the Truth and told these things are supposed to be, and here it is in the Bible, that this is the hour. You might have been taught in another school something else. So were the Pharisees.

But the Bible said, in that day, “A virgin shall conceive,” She did. He said the characteristics of the Messiah would be thus. It was. They didn’t believe It. That didn’t stop Him from going right on just the same. Same as it is now. We’re living in the last hours of the last day.

[151]  Science says three minutes till midnight. I think it’s later than that, most any time. Communism has wormed the country, the preachers are gone after communism instead of Christ.

It just look like going out trying to condemn that, why not see the hour we’re living in? Communism… My! I ain’t afraid of communism. It’s the Coming of the Lord that’s going to catch you unprepared, is what it is, to the church.

Now let everybody, let all America turn to God, and watch what happens to communism. You have to find the disease, then get the cure.

[152]  …everybody be reverent, please don’t move around. Now, many out there do not have prayer cards, you want God to heal you, just raise your hand, say, “I’m believing.” [“I’m believing.” Now,] No matter where you are.

[154]  Now, one Word from God will mean more than I can say.

[155]  Now, as looking at from here, it’s hard… See, the lights are in your face, kind of hard to see out there and see the people.

[156]  I don’t know. I can’t see one person, actually, I can see that I know. How many of you is strangers to me, raise your hand, know that I don’t know nothing about you.

I guess it’s everywhere. How many in the prayer line knows I know nothing about them, raise your hands. All along the prayer line there, if you hear me, raise your hands [fine] if I’m a stranger. Every one.

[157]  Now what is He? He’s the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. [Hebrews 13:8, see? Then He was touched down there.] The woman that touched His garment, she might not a-had a prayer card, either…

Notice the parallel ministries, talking about himself. There it is, there’s the two of them right there. You ever thought such thing as that would happen?

Look at that, man look at that picture. That is a fantastic thing right there. Now if you wanted to go all whole hog, and you wanted to worship apart from God, a real worship, you just go ahead and worship that.

Now don’t do it, but if you’re superstitious and you want to be, you know, back in idolatry with paganism, which it would be, type of Catholicism, where it came from.

I’m going to tell you something, if Brother Branham had appeared to the Catholic church or the Morman church, which he’s named in the Morman church, the book of prophecy.

If he’d ever gone to the Catholic church, which his forbearers were, and he came and did those things, I’m going to tell you something, brother/sister, he’d have been sainted right now and he could have been a pope. But he couldn’t have been because he’s God’s man.

I’m just telling you of what potentials lie. Because I’m going to tell you, one day Lucifer sat up there with Michael and led in the worship of God. Look where he went. Look where a lot of people go. That thing called pride.

Bible says Satan by reason of pride fell. What was that pride? He simply wanted to do on his own and get better than what God would do, which you cannot get better than what God does. I mean, let’s face it.

[157]  Now what is He? The High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. That woman that touched His garments, she might not a-had a prayer card, either, but she touched Him and, when she did, something happened.

Now you touch the same way, touch Him. How many knows Hebrews, chapter 4, “…the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities”? How many know that? Well, would He display His same characteristic? If He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever…

What would He do? Why He’d search around and find her, and say, “Hey you got what you wanted.” Well did He do it in these meetings?

Now I’m going to tell you something. Back in ’57 I brought Brother Branham to Lima. There was no use going to Spencerville, because it was too small. And when I said Lima, that touched the right cord.

And God gave us the Allen County Memorial Hall, all brand new decorated, because a fire had got to it. The day it was completely done, that’s the day we moved in. The meetings were fantastic.

And usually in a meeting Brother Branham picked them out by the scores. He’d pick them out, pick them up, and nothing would happen. As far as I know, there wasn’t one person who was picked out that didn’t get perfect healing.

One night the gift of healing went through the prayer line, fifty miracles in fifty minutes, and people came afterward, many, and testified to being healed without even looking for it.

He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. If you believe it, if you’ll pray, if you’ll pay a price of prayer.

I can tell you something right now, you might not believe it, but if this church wants to get down to business, start praying, get yourself a prayer chain.

Get up like they did back home at five o’clock in the morning. One man says, “I go to work, I’ll start mine at five o’clock.” Then we went at nights and prayed every single night.

For about six solid weeks, and that was the last time, I believe, the gift of healing went into operation. You pray until you become deadly serious, you become… you don’t pray for gifts and things, I’m not saying that.

You’re not praying … you’re praying, “O God! There’s a time of drought, we saw what revival could be, but there’s a fruit on the road, want to be part of that fruit.”

You see what God will do for you. It’s up to you, it’s up to me. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. Don’t you think He isn’t brother/sister.

I’d hit that platform every night, and I believe before God, not to be facetious or stupid and crazy, which I certainly am, if I’d have said, “When Brother Branham sneezes, you’ll all be healed,” they would have believed it.

That was the meeting all right. What did it really do? I don’t know. I don’t have to know. I know it turned Bob Brown around. Turned others around. Are the people there today? I don’t believe knew one thing about it.

When Jesus was passing that way. What do they know today? Thank God they know plenty. But the hour of His visitation, when the prophet stood there, and they saw that prayer line, fifty miracles. That’s a lot of miracles. Not one miss. Not one in the audience missed.

The people went home not knowing, and I myself did not know who he was except he was a prophet. But it couldn’t stay that way. It wasn’t meant to.

Because the Bible said, “When let there be light, there’s going to be light.” If all hell is black and hanging around you, brother/sister, Light will still come through because He went to hell.

And He took His Light and Life with Him, and He brought them out. And they’re up there now in glorified forms somewhere; they could be passing through this room, because the glorified form goes faster than light.

Think on those things, when you think He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. Yes sir.

Now he says here,

[158]  Now, can you hear me?

[159]  A vision. Now, remember, I am no Messiah, I’m no Christ. But He is here. [Messiah Christ is here.] That’s what I’m trying to get you to see, He’s here, He’s keeping His Word.

What Word’s He keeping? Not keeping His Word that you can be born again. That’s been kept for seven solid ages.

He’s keeping the Word of the hour, the revealing of the Son of man, the Appearing, which is different from the Coming. He’s proving Himself, the Spirit of wisdom and Revelation amongst us.

So the power of the Resurrection can come on the scene, so the Rapture can take place. You’re going through eternity, which is the first chapter of Ephesians. He’s appearing.

[160]  Now, this woman is sick, I don’t know. I don’t know her. She’s older than I am. Probably born years apart, and miles apart, this is the first time we meet.

[161]  Now, just like …the woman, in Saint John 4. I’m trying to make it so clear you can’t help from seeing it, then, at the Judgment Bar, there’s no blood on my hands at that day.

What about that day? Prophet like unto Moses, duplicated now at the end time, coming to the Gentiles, all that won’t hear his Word, utterly destroyed.

It’s not the Word, brother/sister that’s used at the time of Jesus Christ, it’s the Word used in Malachi, utterly destroyed. Yeah, He comes with Elijah.

When He comes down to investigate, back in the days of Abraham He came by Himself, to Abraham. Now He comes to the church. Just the same as Jesus came with John. It’s really the same thing.

[161]  Now, Jesus promised in the last days the same thing would take place again.

Now that’s going to make them say, “When did Jesus promise that?” Matthew 4 and Matthew 12, two chapters, Matthew 12 was the better one in my books. Brother Branham just had to place it, that’s all, we teach it.

When He comes, He won’t raise His voice in the street, He won’t be heard, He won’t, you know, fuss or fight. Back there He kicked over the money changers table, raised His voice in the street, caused a brawl and a battle.

Well they say, “That’s just the Holy Spirit coming in people’s lives, making it nice and nice and nice.” Oh no, it’s not at all.

No way true, no way at all, because the Holy Spirit of Truth Himself, leading into all Truth, and remember all is all, there ain’t no more. Seven Seals, Seven Thunders.

[161]  As we go through the week, you’ll find out. It’s a promise. [But you see, only a prophet could bring it.]

[162]  Now, I do not know the lady, this is a man and a woman meeting for the first time. Now, if the Lord Jesus will reveal to me what you’re doing here, or somebody else, or what you’ve done, what’s wrong with you, or what you have done, if it’s finances, domestic, whatever it is, it’ll have to come from some supernatural Power, ’cause I don’t know you.

How many will witness to that, that it has to come through a supernatural Power? [See the characteristics of God are supernatural.] Now, if you can play like the Pharisee, …”It’s an evil spirit,” which many do.

That’s between you and God, then. You have your reward. And if you say, “It’s God,” then you have His reward. (Now, that’s better.) [See?]

Then what about it? You say, “Do I get a reward for recognizing God? Do I get a reward for saying that’s God when people say that isn’t God?”

Well if you don’t believe it, then you don’t believe the prophet. Why would you sit here tonight and listen to me talk about it?

Because I just elaborate on what he said and try to… not that I can punch it down harder, but perhaps open some lines of thinking that are in here that you might be interested in.

[163]  Now just look at me a minute. Jesus said… As Peter and John passed through the gate Beautiful, they said, “Look on me.” I—I do not know you.

Now if the Holy Spirit, Somebody besides me, will come and reveal what’s in your heart, then the Bible said, “The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, a Discerner of the thoughts, intents of the heart.” That’s exactly what the Bible says. [Now that of the heart. That’s exactly what the Bible says, right.]

Now, that reveals the secrets of the heart. Now, that would be the characteristic of God, the Word made manifest in this day. How many believes that?

Well it was back there, then it’s now. With Sarah. You say, “Well just a minute now, that’s just one isolated case.” Well there’s one isolated case when God said, “Let there be light.”

Well we got a watered down God, I suppose. He lost His punch somewhere, His veracity, His ability to make it stick. Brother Branham rightly said the world is full of people that are insane.

[164]  Now I’ve preached it, I told you, but is it true? That’s the next thing, see. Now, if it’s true, every one of you… If [it’s] true, she’ll know it. Certainly, she’ll know it. You’ll know it, too.

But if it isn’t true, then I’ve witnessed the wrong Christ. If it is True, each one of you should give your hearts to Him, should believe Him with all your heart, reach up and accept Him for whatever you have need of. That’s true.

Then I read what I would read now what I read awhile ago to fill in before. Now, after he goes through that first case I read, he says,

[169]  Now do you believe. Do you believe with all your heart? Jesus Christ identifying Himself in His resurrection! You see what I mean? Now, anybody that’s got normal mind, knows that no human being can do that.

[170]  Now, you out there, you say to God like this, “I—I know the man doesn’t know me, so I’m going to pray for something. Lord, can I touch Your garment? If it is You, then identify Yourself in Your resurrection. Turn, [that’s turn, Brother Branham, and] let me touch You,

[You see the Lord turns, deals through Brother Branham, and that person gets touched.] then You speak through [Brother Branham] to me.” [That would be the Son of man ministry.] See what happens. Just try it.

[171]  How do you do, sir? Would you come this way just a little closer? The people in the back can… see.

Then he says:

[172]  Everything, is in the spirit now, and it makes a throb.

[173]  Do you believe me to be His servant? Do you believe that Christ would reveal to me what you’re here for? Remember, we’re going to meet at the Judgment Bar someday and give an account for this night. You aware of that?

Your trouble, one of them, is your back. You have many troubles. You have a back trouble. Your eyes are going, you have eye trouble. If that’s right, raise your hand.

Also you’re doing something you want to get away from. Is it all right for me to say it? You want to quit smoking. Another thing, you’ve had… feel that this thing has hindered you from receiving the Holy Ghost.

Now you want to receive the Holy Ghost, that’s a desire in your heart. That’s right, wave your hands like this. Well, it’s left you, go, receive the Holy Ghost, be healed in Jesus’ Name.

[174]  You believe? Be reverent please. It’s getting late…

[176]  How many ever saw that Light, that Pillar of Light, that Fire? Taken in Texas right here, first time, second time. It was hanging by the woman, see, in this dimension now. I wish you could… just see. [You could just see it.]

[177]  When you start moving, that does it, see. Tomorrow night we’ll make the prayer line shorter…

[178]  You believe…?

And then he goes on and he finishes in two pages, which you could perhaps read for yourself. And then he ends by saying here, to the person who is very sick:

[191]  If He doesn’t heal you, you’ll die. You’re shadowed. But Jesus Christ makes you well. Do you believe it? All right, … go ahead believe now, and you’ll get well.

[192]  Come lady. Do you believe God will heal the TB and diabetes, make you well? All right, go, believe with all your heart…

[193]  Praying, are you praying one for another? Lay your hands on one another, let’s pray, all together. Everybody lay hands on one another. It’s getting late. Put your hands on one another, and let’s pray.

[194]  Lord Jesus, we are sure that God identifies Himself among His people. [Now that prayer could not be prayed at any other time.] His characteristics, as the same yesterday, today, and forever, manifest themselves. O Lord God, You Who made the promise of the Word, You said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.

Now that’s perfectly legitimate, that’s the 16th of the Book of Mark. Now this is where you have a straight healing service.

Before it was discernment. Took a Message. Three powerful signs brought a Message. This is just what’s been going on for ages.

[194]  …“These signs follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover.”

These people has confessed to be believers, the believers in the resurrected Christ Who is identifying Himself now by His same characteristics that He was when He was here on earth, making the Scriptures positive Truth, that He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Lord Jesus, with these believers with their hands on each other, in the Divine Presence of the resurrected, identified Son of God Who is made flesh among us again tonight in the flesh of His believers…

That’s your baptism, but the prophet’s different. No baptism gets you that. Now you got to have the baptism, of course, to be, but that’s not for the body, that’s for one man.

[194]  …any of His believers, I command every unclean spirit, every sickness and disease, to depart out of these people, as believers have their hands on one another. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may it be so.

[195]  All that will believe your healing now, that believes that right now, in the identified Presence of the resurrected Son of God, that you believe that you have your request given to you, will identify the same thing, stand on your feet and say, “I accept with all my heart.”

Stand up, everybody, please in the Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, that will believe. Praise Him! Give Him praise and glory. Just raise your hands and give Him thanks. God will confirm every promise He’s made.

Well, takes a little longer some time than usual, but let’s bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank You that we have had the privilege again being together, going over a message that Your great servant, Brother Branham gave.

And we know Lord that in himself he was not great, although people will look at him and say, “That is a great man truly,” on the grounds of his character and his submission and his desires and all that he has done.

And we would say, “Amen, that is true.” Because as David said, as You said to David, “I have given you a name amongst the great men.” So there are great men. We know that You recognize them. They’re in the 11th chapter of Hebrews.

And we believe that Brother Branham was truly a great man, but the greatness Lord, was the great God Who did it, Who gave the grace that whereby anything he did would be done Lord through Your strength.

And You’ve given us all the same grace, if we’d only take it, and the strength. Help us Lord tonight to be that way.

Cut down all our pride, O God, cut down all our ambition, our skepticism, our judgmental spirits, our attitudes, anything we have Lord, so that whatever You say, we’d be only too glad to do it; we could say with the prophet, “I always do what I want to do; I want to do His will.”

Lord, may we not just quote his words, but may we follow in his footsteps, because his footsteps fell into Your footsteps.

We know You walked and talked with him and he walked in the Light, and we saw that life which was manifested and it is certainly a pleasurable thing to be associated with.

And Lord we would pray somehow that You would help us all, that we might be the same people, just like he, so we will have pleasurable associations that we have never had before, growing deeper and deeper in Christ, until it becomes a brotherly, Christly love, a true brother love.

As Jesus said, “Who’s my mother, my brothers, and my sister?” They’re the believers. And Lord we can have that familial love, which will be an agape love, because it’s a family of God.

Set our love upon nothing higher than God Himself and because God so loved the world He gave His Own order, He loved, gave Himself for it, then we love You, we love that order, and the people of the order, so let it be O Lord, so let it be, so let it be amongst us, that people will finally say, “Notice how they love each other.”

Let everything else pass from us, O God, count nothing of our own, but count it others, and use the things of this world in a manner that’s glorifying You, even knowing that with the use of it perishes, laying up treasures in heaven.

And help us Lord to stop talking, and get on with the doing, because that is the great thing. That is the great thing Lord, and that’s the thing we need to do.

Catch up on all these little things that Brother Branham said, men will start and do great things every time, but they let the little things go.

No doubt we’re just as guilty as any man on the face of the earth Lord, so help us over our problems, over our debits, over our sins, and now come to the place of the Holy Ghost shed abroad in our hearts, that great love smile upon us, and we smile in turn upon each other, until it becomes one great cyclotron of reflection and all reflects Christ in His glory.

And we’re caught up with those who are caught out of the ground, to meet our Lord in the air at a Wedding Supper, at that thousand mile table that Brother Cecil King so often talked about or sang about.

Now unto Thee we give the praise and the glory, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Lord bless you.

Now tomorrow morning, Brother Brian will be with us ten o’clock, now you’ll have a good service I’m sure, and I thank you for your prayers, if any thing it’s doing anything it’s got to be prayer.

And I don’t mean that ‘if’ in the sense nothing’s being done. I still have problems once there, but the Lord just be kind to me and give me increasing each day now, I’ll be… I won’t be knowing what I knew awhile ago that was so miserable.

But I believe it’s going to be prayer to do it, I covet your prayers, appreciate them, intensely, immensely, and I just trust the Lord will bless us all together, open His Word to us, because that’s the purpose, the whole thing, open our characters, open our heart, open our minds, open us up to the Light and the love of our Christ.

That’s what it’s all about. There’s got to be an Omega, brother/sister, to the Alpha that was there at one time.

There’s got to be a Church without spot and wrinkle, there’s got to be a church that knows Him as they once knew Him. We have everything in potential; it’s just a matter of manifestation. I believe that.

It’s got to be, there’s no two ways about it. I still say with Brother Branham, if we’re not Bride, there’s a Bride out there somewhere.

There’s got to be, and I want to be a part of it, you want to be a part of it, by the grace of God, we’re not going to stand in its way. No way. Amen.

The Lord bless you, we’re ready now for the services to continue with the Communion Service and the Foot Washing.

[Brother Vayle continues with the Communion Service.]