The Angel of the Lord

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Thank you much. Good evening, friend. I'm happy to hear that testimony, always, of where our Lord has done something for some of His children. May God bless you, sister, whoever you are. And I guess I wouldn't know you if you was standing before me, because I don't get a chance... All right. God bless you. And what meeting was that in, sister? [Sister talks to Brother Branham.] Windsor? Are you a Canadian? Oh, you're from Cleveland. Yes, ma'am. I am happy that you're healed. I just trust that all that's in this meeting tonight will be as you are, shortly. God bless you, sis.

2 When I was speaking to you, or whatever happened, you believed what I said was the truth. Did it come out just the way I said it would? Just like I said. If that's true, raise up your hand so you can see. See? Now, what if you'd have doubted what I had told you the Lord had said? You'd have died, yes, ma'am, as your doctor said. You've got to believe one or the other. And God never can tell anything wrong; He always tells the truth. Well, God bless you, sister. And if I don't meet you no more in this life, I will at the other side, by God's grace. Amen.
I'd like to set down with all my friends on the other side, and just talk it over, where we have plenty of time to talk it over by it.

3 Now, tonight, I... It's awfully warm. Brother Baxter... Last evening it was just so hot, and we was... When I got home my coat was wringing all over, and after I kind of got to myself, after the service was over. I'm not in very good condition for a while. I'm getting awful weak, but I've just got two more meetings now, before a little rest, and going overseas, then we'll have about two or three nights in New York City at some big boxing place there, where they have them big fights. I... We got to appear there, for two or three nights, just before going to Southern Rhodesia, Africa, to begin.

4 If the good Lord willing, we hope to be in Jerusalem around Christmas. And those Jews has said to come up, many of them, as you've seen the Look Magazine. They said, "If this Jesus be the Christ..." They never knowed nothing about it, see. They were down in that--there for two thousand years. They still plow with old wooden plows, like they did two thousand years ago. Many of you read the article.
And the Norwegian church, and the Swedish church sent out a million Bibles, New Testaments, and those Jews reading the New Testament, said, "Let us see this Jesus do the sign of a prophet, and we'll accept Him as Messiah." Oh, I hope God let's me go down there and do something that they'll believe on the Lord Jesus, every one of them. I trust that He will. And you pray for me, when you know it's time for me to be there in October. We begin on October the 4th, at Johannesburg.

5 And now, being that it's so hot in the auditorium, and it's the time of year, it's the only thing we could get, and we're happy to have it. I'm only glad that we got this, or we couldn't have come to the city. But I trust that it'll prove to be a great blessing to all of you that's here. And may many of the sinners be saved, and the Christians have a closer walk with our Lord, is my desire. And may all the sick be healed, and all the cripples be healed, is my prayer.
I seen one time in my life, where every person in the building, or in the... It was a large tent which consists of many more than what's here tonight, at one wave of the Holy Spirit came through the tent, just as I walked to the platform, and there wasn't a crippled or afflicted person left in the building, no sick people or nothing, they was everyone healed [unclear words]. They piled up wheelchairs, and things so high, they just have to take them and throw them up like that, to get them up.

6 The next morning, going down through the city, was a great, big cattle truck packing all of them, and the people that once set in them, and laid on their cots and things, walking behind, singing "Only Believe," with a police escort. I stood in the window of the hotel, I wept like a child. I couldn't help it. My heart, I just thought.. "O Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and for ever." That was it. And they can be the same thing here at Toledo. The only thing it lacks is just a little faith. You just believe; just believe what you hear.
Now, I try to speak to the best of my knowledge, all that I know how, to glorify Jesus Christ, Who has redeemed us all, redeemed from everything that the fall consists of. He came as a kinsman Redeemer to redeem the human race back to God. And we have the earnest of our salvation. This that we have now, this glorious Holy Spirit, is only the earnest of our being above sin in the rapture.

7 And if there is no divine healing now, there is no resurrection of the body. Divine healing is the earnest of our redeemed body. Did you ever think of that? If there's no divine healing, then when you go at the grave, that's all of it. You'll be there forever, and your dust will go away, and there'll be no more of you, see. If there... We have the earnest of our salvation, and completeness, back the way we was in the garden of Eden.
And I think that the power of God that would take a cancer-ridden woman here, that the doctor's has just given a few days, and she's one of the thousands that's on records, not just the man, the person's testimony, but the doctors testimony, one of the thousands. And her eaten up (with a few hours to live), by cancer, and by the earnest of her redeemed body will put her in the condition it is now, what will it be when she draws the full value off of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? That's just the down... You know what the down... the earnest is? The earnest is the down payment on anything that holds it, a surety, secures it. Now, she's just got the earnest of it by being healed with a hideous cancer, that would've taken her life, and here she is setting well and normal.

8 Now, if there never was another case besides hers, that would be a perfect evidence of the divine will of our Lord Jesus Christ to every person on earth, see. For He never just picked out certain ones, it's "Whosoever will, let him come." See? It's just according to your faith to believe.
And now, for a few moments, and I will try not to keep you like I did last night, and let you get so awfully stuffy in the building. Now, I want to continue to speak about our Lord in His ministry today.
Now, there's many people in the Bible that teaches the Bible as a historical book, which It is. But it's more than a history, it's a prophetic book also, that foretells... It tells what was; it tells what will be. Do you accept that to be truth? And now, the same Jesus that was, is, and will be... See? He's the same Jesus all the way through the Scriptures, the same Christ, all the way through. In the beginning, He was, in the middle of the book, He's here: "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book to do Thy will, O Lord." And in the end, He's "Alpha, Omega, the beginning, the ending, He which was, which is, and shall come, the root and offspring of David, the morning star, the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley." Why, He's just... That's just Him, isn't it? He's Emmanuel. He's the both the root and offspring of David, see.

9 Now, His ministry carries on. Many people teaching the Bible as a history--history (which is very fine), that we learned in our seminaries and schools, which is fine. But brother, that's just what was; what about what's now? You can't find that in school. You don't know that by genealogy, you know that by "kneeingolgy," on your knees before God. It doesn't take education; it takes a surrendered heart. God works on the heart. Do you believe that?
Now, if for instance, if today, if I could come here as it is very warm in the building tonight, and could paint you a picture here on the wall of a air-cooled, arctic place, or something, it would look very well. I'd say, "That's what was." But that doesn't make you be cool, does it, just a painted picture? For instance, you were freezing, and I painted you a picture of fire licking, and burning, like that, I'd ... and people standing around getting warm, I'd say, "Looky there, that's fire." Why you can't get warm by a painted fire; it won't warm. That's something that was. You've got to have the fire yourself. What Jesus was then, He is now. If He was a fire, a warmth to the heart, and a soothing, a shelter in the time of storm, He is the same today.

10 Now, someone said not long ago, "Brother Branham, preach the Gospel..." A very noted radio evangelist, a friend. We belong to the same church. And he said, "Brother Branham, while you're on the West Coast here, preach the Gospel."
I said, "I do, Doctor."
And he said, "Not that divine healing." He said, "Preach the Word."
I said, "The Word is what I preach, sir."
He said, "Look, Brother Branham," he said, "the Gospel is the Word of God."
I said, "Not altogether, brother. The Bible said the Gospel come to us not in Word only, but through power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost (See?) to preach the Word, The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." See?
It has got to be... Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Then interpret, it in Bible forms means go into all the world and demonstrate the power of the Word by the Holy Ghost. "And these signs shall follow them that believe."

11 Today we say, "What signs?" We go to church; we pay our dues, and we treat our neighbors right. That's wonderful, but that ain't what Jesus said. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe: In My name they shall cast out devils, speak with new tongues; take up serpents; drink deadly things; lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." [Gap in the audio.] That's the signs that Jesus said.
Our ministry has changed it over, and said, "Oh, there's a real believer; I tell you; he loves the Lord. And he goes to church every Sunday, and he pays his dues to the church, and he treats his neighbor right." That's just moral acts. The Holy Spirit in the man demonstrates the power of the supernatural, what makes him a believer. It's God vindicating that he is a believer. Jesus said, "These (not 'them'), these signs shall follow them that believe."

12 All right. Now, the supernatural is what blinds men. It has in all ages. But isn't it marvelous to think where the supernatural is demonstrated, "Where the eagles are ... the carcass is, rather, the eagles will be gathered." Through the age it has been that way. Men walk in slumber of life, and they hear their teaching and their philosophy, and so forth, and that teach theologies and... But that still doesn't satisfy the human heart.
And when the supernatural comes into view, like it did in the days of our Lord Jesus, after their fine priests and so forth, that they had, and their scholars, and their philosophies... When Jesus came on the scene with His, with the power and the manifestation of God, the people flocked to Him to hear, because it's something in the realms beyond. And all men knowing that soon, all the education he's got, and the theology, and so forth, will rot in the grave with him. We know that. But where the supernatural is, pierces beyond the grave. And that's what ... people look, and most time, if they're critical, and they're not open up in their heart, they'll pass some opinion on it, like they did at Him, and said, "He's Beelzebub, a devil, and he casts out devils by the devil. And he knows those things, He sees them. Yeah, Beelzebub shows Him, and..." and is like that, and they pass on. But some believe Him. And those who believe was saved. Those who believed could get healed. But if Jesus Himself was standing, wearing my suit and my shoes, He could not help you any more tonight, than what He can in the form He's doing now. You know that?
The Bible said there's a place that He went into that, "Many mighty works He could (c-o-u-l-d n-o-t), could not do because of their unbelief."

13 When some blind men followed Him, He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith be it unto you." The Father had not showed Him nothing about that; He just touched their eyes. But when calling Lazarus, where He'd seen, He said, "Lazarus, come forth." And to the other people who the Father had showed Him by vision, what He was to do, He called them, and so forth. Then when the others come by, He touched them, and said, "According to your faith."
The woman that had the blood issue touched the hem of His garment; He turned around and said, "Virtue has gone from Me. Somebody touched Me." The Father hadn't showed Him, but it was sensitive (the Spirit), that virtue went out, for the Father had honored her faith in His Son. You see what I mean? And there she was healed.

14 Now, the same word in the Bible, translated, s-a-v-e-d, and healed, is the very same word all the way through the Scriptures. Anyone knows that. Now, well, when you're saved, spiritually, or you're saved physically ... now, He said to the woman, "Thy faith has saved thee," physically, saved you. Now, it's in the redemption; it's in the atonement; it's in the plan of God. You can be spiritually saved or physically saved, because He was wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes we're healed." Is that right? So it's just according to your faith.
Now, in His loving mercy, after ministers, through the years, has passed through the land and preached this wonderful Word, thousands of people has been blessed, and saved, and healed, and so forth. Then, in His sovereign mercy in the last days, as He promised, when the last days... "I will pour out My Spirit." There'd be a former and latter rain; and in the latter days, He would send forth a great blessing to the people. When the enemy comes in like a flood, I will raise up a standard against it." See?

15 And as atheism is on the march and so forth, and the churches are falling away, and getting formal, let me say this to you my dear brother and sister, if you'll receive me as your brother, we need a revival. Now, I'm not discrediting anything; I'm talking to you from my heart. We're having a lot of protractive meetings, but not no revival. We're have great men out, for instance, Billy Graham, a wonderful man, Charles Fuller, Dr. DeHaan, and many of the others that I could call: Hyman Appleman, and many great men. We're having great... There's also Brother Roberts, Brother Freeman, my own meetings. We're having great crowds but no revival. We're getting people to come up, maybe, and stagger along, and confess, and go back. But what we need is an old-fashioned, breaking up, tearing down, rooting out revival that starts in every home, and sweeps through the city, and they close all the bootleg joints and everything else, and straighten the thing up. That's a revival, see. Not just walking up and making a confession and going back, and it's no revival. That's just a form. It's a lukewarm condition. We need a real revival. And God help us to have it.

16 And when you see these crowds gathering, that doesn't mean revival; that's just a gathering. But a revival is when people get really right with God, and pray through, and starts a revival throughout the city, and everything. You see? They put away sin, put away their iniquity, and [unclear words] turn to God, turn around and start back again (See?), the road. Now, I trust it'll be that way in this city.
Now, concerning the operation of the spiritual gift, Brother Baxter will teach you in his afternoon meetings and so forth, what is germ diseases, how they're demons, and how they hold people, and possess people. Now, I want to get a little story to you each night, as I can.

17 Tonight, I want to speak to you about the Angel of the Lord. Now, to... It's just as true, friends, as I'm... I can't make you believe it. You see? I can only speak what's truth. And your attitude towards it will determine the success it'll be for you. I have no power to operate it.
If my dear mother laying here, would be on a platform would be dying, and say to me, "Son, I held you on my bosom, and you nursed life from me, and I walked away from the table when we had nothing to eat, so that when you was a little boy you could eat and live. My beloved son, tell me, what will be the outcome of me in this..." I could not say one word until first He showed me. For it's not nothing to do with man; man is completely out of it.

18 Even the Son of God, He said, "I can do nothing except the Father shows Me first." And if He couldn't, how much more I, as a man, a sinner, and He never was a sinner. And He was borned the virgin Son of God. And I was borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies, worthy to go to hell, but He redeemed me. And only hands He has on earth tonight, is my hands, and your hands. The only mouth that He has, is my mouth and your mouth.
"I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world." Is that His Word? See? Then it's Him, "It's not you that speaketh," He said, "but your heavenly Father that dwelleth in you, He doeth ... will tell you at that hour." You see?

19 Now, in going forth, it was very hard when I first made the announcement about the Angel of the Lord. Many people, even my bishop, pastor, when I went to him and told him, he's the head of the church in that section of the Missionary Baptist. I said, "Dr. Davis, the Angel of the Lord..." and then told him about it.
He said, "Billy, what did you eat for supper last night? You had a nightmare."
And many of you that takes that little paper of Brother Lindsay's, called: "The Voice Of Healing," you seen his apology recently.
He said, "What did you eat for supper that night?"
I said, "Sir, I don't appreciate that."
He said, "Ah, go on home and forget about it."

20 I said, "Dr. Davis, look, you might tell me to go home and forget about it, but God has anchored something in here. If you don't want me, there's others that will." I said, "I am under obligation to God to go."
Well, it was very hard. They told me that they couldn't be done, and so forth. And my last sermon at the church was "David and Goliath," the opposition that David had. But as soon as Goliath was slain, then others, the Israelites taken courage and went forth, and that's what's happened. When they seen that it could be done. Ministers setting on the platform, they didn't claim to be able to know these things, but they believed in the Word, and give them courage, and they went out: Brother Roberts for one of them, Brother Oral J... and Brother Jaggers, and all of those. They's such man in the meeting. They seen the vision, rose, and went out into the fields, and are slaying now, and they've beat the Philistines plumb to the walls. That's right.

21 Now, I'm leaving the fields right away. I have one more--two more American meetings. And God only knows when I will ever have another one. I'm returning back, as Elijah, to Mount Carmel. I believe God is fixing to do something else for the church, and I must wait on the Lord, and find out what He says do, and then there'll be a great move for the Lord. I believe we're near the coming of the Lord, when these... He said, "I will show signs in the earth below, and in the heavens above before this ... the day of the Lord shall come."
I've been called practically everything from a divine healer, to the incarnate Son of God, and demon, and everything else, mental telepathy, and all kinds. But that still doesn't change it a bit. He's Jesus Christ, and we are His people. By His grace He has redeemed us, and that's all we are. And it's Him that does all things by the will of the Father. We believe that, don't we?

22 Now, many times in the meeting, the Angel of the Lord which appeared, and many of you know about, it appears like a ... that night, and all down through the time, it looks like a big pillar of fire, about that thick, and about that big. And it comes in a licking, whirling, going [Brother Branham imitates the sound of the Angel of the Lord coming to him.] Thousands times thousands has seen it. It's appeared visibly...
Here not long ago, I was standing near Fort Wayne, Indiana, in a meeting, and I was speaking, and the audience was very haughty like. It was in a theater building. And I was trying to... I said, "Now, it's the Angel of the Lord..." I just being started, and I could see the people looking one to another, and you could feel that cold feeling. And some of them, especially the sick, they wasn't thinking of that. They... The others that was acting that, they wasn't sick. The sick man is looking for help; you can talk to him. A hungry man that's real hungry, you can talk to him about food. But if he's eat, you ... he's not so interested about dinner any more. See? Well, that's it, it's the ones that's in need. And maybe sometime, you'll be in need, too. So it'll be different. If it was your mother laying here dying, or it's your son, or someone, it would be different, and the doctors said there was no hope for them, it would be different.

23 But they were acting like that. And I said, "I can't make you believe it." And I started to pray for the people that night, was going to pray, and I said ... took a little boy, and the first one in the prayer line was a little boy who had crippled feet. And it was polio had drug his--pulled his little feet down, like that. There was a baby grand piano, something like this, setting down like that, and there was a Nazarene girl playing it. And so, she was playing: "The Great Physician Now Is Near," the sympathizing Jesus. And the mother of the child was sitting right down here. The usher had brought the child in the line.

24 And I was praying for the little boy, and I said, "Heavenly Father, I ask Thee to be merciful." And I thought the custodian turned the light in my face, and I seen it getting brighter, and brighter. And I said, "Lord..." And I thought, "Oh, my, that man, that's... If he doesn't like me, he ought to be gentleman enough not to do that." And it kept getting brighter and brighter, and I thought, "Oh, my." And I raised my eyes to motion to him to ... opened my eyes, rather, to motion to him to quit doing that, and when I did, it wasn't him, it was the Angel of the Lord come whirling, like that. It was coming right to me.
Now, I do not know (to be honest), whether I dropped the child, whether he jumped out of my arms, or the Holy Spirit taken him out. I don't know. But he got on the floor, and his little feet was just as normal as they could be. And here he started walking down, and the mother of the child saw it, what had happened, and she just screamed, and jumped forward, and she seen the light. And the Nazarene girl looked up... How many Nazarenes are here, from the Nazarene church? You mean there was no Nazarenes here? And ... here they are, that's fine, and back there; that's wonderful.

25 Well, the Nazarene people have enough religion to shout when they get happy. And so the Nazarene girl, a very attractive, blond-headed girl with long hair, she raised up like that, and begin screaming as loud as she could, and run away from the piano. And as she run away, the piano constantly played:
The great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus,
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
And this Angel of God settled over there, seven hundred and something people come giving their hearts to Christ, falling over the aisles. He has vindicated Himself hundreds of times. Many of the articles is written in the book back there, if you pick it up, and--of the things that I couldn't have time to tell. Well, some of them would say, "Oh, it was psychology."

26 And at Camden, Arkansas, we got the picture of it there; the photographer got the picture. And it come down through the meeting, and circled down. A minister run forth to throw his arms around [unclear words] and was stricken blind on the platform. There's the picture of the whole thing. It's in the book.
Then I was at Houston, Texas, and we were having a meeting in the music hall, which seated about four thousand people, I guess. And we went to the coliseum; we couldn't seat them, so we went to the coliseum, which seats around thirty thousand. And there was a Baptist clergyman down there. I won't call his name, because it's not very nice to call a minister's name, but he was out of the Southern Baptists conference, just come out of school, about thirty years old. And he put a challenge in the paper, and he said, "Brother Branham is nothing but a religious racketeer, and ought to be run out of the city, and I should be the guy that does it." So he got pretty rough.

27 And I was staying at the Rice Hotel. Dr. Bosworth... how many knows the Reverend Mr. Bosworth? Nearly all of you do. Wonderful character, I thought he'd be known up around in here. And he came to the room, and he's seventy-three years old. He said, "Brother Branham, look at this paper today." A great big column in there. Oh, he just ... the minister ripped me. He said, "Let's challen... let's take that challenge." I...
[Gap in the audio.] This nation, it's in a crumbling condition now. Because our politics and things are so divided. That's why the Indians lost it to the white man. If them Indians'd all gathered together, there'd still be an America for the Indians. But they separated, and the tribes fighting one another, and we come in, and took it. And that's the way we're going to lose it, and that's the way the church is losing today, because we're not together. And ... but that showed that someday... They come from everywhere, and united as one big unit, and that great big Sam Houston Coliseum where they hold the rodeos and things filled up.

28 Mr. Best went over and hired a commercial photographer. Now, here's the remarks he said: "Come over and take six glossies of me (six pictures), I want to have a picture where I skin that old man." He said, "I'm going to skin him, and take his hide, and rub salt in it, and hang it up on my door, in here in my study."
Could you imagine a Christian talking like that? "By their fruits you shall know them." And the first fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience. Now, but that's what the man said. And so Mr. Kipperman, and Mr. Ayers, of the Douglas Studios, in Houston, Texas came over. And that night there was a big platform table setting there, and they had the Look, Life, Time, Colliers, and all the newspapers, and they were taking pictures. And so when the debate started, Mr. Cy Ramsar ... how many knows Cy Ramsar? He was leading the songs. And then when he got through, he made this remark; he said, "I seen in the paper where you was ... that Brother Branham was a religious racketeer, and should be run out of the city." Said, "If the people of this city would put more time running bootleggers out of the city instead of religious men, you'd be better off."

29 And there ... the people begin crying, and going on. And they told me I didn't have to come down. But I went up in balcony thirty, box thirty, two police, and my brother, and wife, little girl, we went up there and set down; they'd taken me up. And I was setting there. I said I wouldn't have nothing to do with it at all. And I didn't believe in arguing.
So that night watching... And when Mr. Bosworth got to the platform, he'd taken his paper, and he said ... and people on by the sides, which wasn't on either side of the debate. He said, "Mr. Best has taken the side to say the ... my opponent here, that divine healing isn't taught in the New Testament." He said, "I've got six hundred Scriptures of the New Testament and Old, written out here, that Christ's present attitude to the people for divine healing is the same today as it ever was. If Mr. Best will take this and disprove one of them, not by his textbook, but by the Bible, you won't have to do no more, and I will walk away and say, 'I've been in error all the time.' Anyone of those six hundred questions..." He said, "Now, Mr. Best, you're at liberty." And he wouldn't receive it. He said, "I will ask you any one of them if you'll correctly, by the Scriptures, prove that it's wrong, then I will walk off the platform." Said, "That ought to be well enough; there's six hundred of them, and I want you to produce one, if you'll show me one, that's ... is contrary to any of these, then I will say I'm wrong, and I will show you six hundred to start with." Said, "Looks like the odds is pretty bad there."

30 So he said ... he wouldn't do it. So the moderator asked, and so he said, "All right, Mr. Best answer me this." He said, "Was the compound names of Jehovah, Jehovah's redemptive, compound names, were they applied to Jesus, yes, or no?"
Well, that like to shook me off of the seat up there. Well, Mr. Best thought he couldn't answer. If He was Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide His Sacrifice, if He was--if He wasn't Jehovah-jireh, He isn't the Saviour. And if He is Jehovah-jireh, He's Jehovah-rapha, the Healer. And if He is Jehovah-jireh, and Jehovah-rapha, He's "the same yesterday, today, and for ever," so He's just the same Healer. That settled it; nothing could be said no more.
So Mr. Best got real angry and begin to stomp up-and-down the floor, and said, "Bring that divine healer out, let me see him."

31 And Brother Bosworth said, "Brother Best, I certainly apologize," said that, "Brother Branham is no divine healer, and never said he was." He said, "Would you..." said, "Do you believe in salvation?"
"Yes, sir."
He said, "Would you want to be called a divine Saviour?" Said, "If preaching divine healing makes Brother Branham a Divine healer, preaching salvation makes you a Divine Saviour." He said, "You know you're not a Saviour."
"Certainly not."
Said, "Neither is he a healer. If you're ever saved it's in Christ. If you're ever healed it's in Christ. You point to salvation; so does Brother Branham. And he points to healing in the atonement. Now, if you want to argue that," said, "just step out on it (See?) for it was in the atonement."

32 So he said, "You bring that healer forth, and let me see him heal somebody." And kept on like that.
Brother Bosworth said, "Now, Brother Branham takes his time praying." And said, "He don't argue with people, and he just ... that's..." He said, "Now, however..." (at the end of the debate), he said, "Brother Branham is in the building. If he wants to come and dismiss the audience, all right. If he doesn't, why he's not--don't have to, but," said, "I know he's in the building somewhere," said, "for a while ago, I seen them when they come in."

33 And I was setting there, and my brother, Howard... Many of you knew Howard. He was kind of, real typical Irishman, he said, "Now you set still." Standing right behind me, and two police standing there... And just as he said that, I felt Something going [Brother Branham makes whirling sound.] I thought, "Oh, no. Huh-uh, I can listen so far, but that's first. I felt it again coming down, going [He describes the sound again.] Something just picked me up. My wife started crying. I said, "Don't cry, honey."
And Howard said, "Sit down."
I said, "It's the Holy Spirit, Howard," and he dropped back.

34 And the people looked up there, about that time, and they started weeping. And about three or four hundred ushers put their hands together as people pressing through trying to touch your clothes or something. It's pitifully. I know how I'd feel if my baby or something was sick, and the doctors had give it up, and I thought there was something could help it. I'd be trying to get in, too. And I'm only human, like anybody else, and it breaks my heart to see such scenes.
And I started walking to the platform. Mr... the ... Kipperman and them had took all their pictures. And when I go, they don't let us take pictures in the meeting, because they sell them and so forth. So he ... they said, "No more pictures taken." Brother Lindsay and them dropped back the people from taking the pictures, and so forth.

35 I walked to the platform; I said, "Don't no one think hard of Mr. Best. That's why the boys are over in Korea fighting. We can be Americans to believe anything we want to." I said, "I don't agree with his theory, not at all," but I said, "as a man, all right." I said, "Some mother loves him just the same as my mother loves me. And don't feel hard at him; he's got a right to his belief." I said, "Now, however, I was minded of my Saviour, when they put a rag around his eyes one time, and they thought He had mental telepathy or something, and they hit Him on the head with a reed, and said, 'Now, if You're a prophet, prophesy, and say who hit You.'" You remember that? Said, "Now prophesy." He didn't clown for nobody; He did what the Father showed Him. So they put a rag over His eyes and hit Him. And they felt no virtue, and neither did He prophesy. He didn't clown for anybody.

36 And I said, "I do not claim to be a divine healer." I said, "I only claim to pray for the sick. And I claim a divine gift, that I was born in this world with, and an Angel of God who comes to me in the form of a Light..." And I said, "It's come to me many times. It comes in the meetings." I said, "If I tell the truth, well, then, it's the truth." But I said, "I cannot heal anyone, no more than Mr. Best, or any other man can save anybody." I said, "But they were sent to preach. I'm not very much of a preacher, but I've seen thousands saved. I've seen as many as two thousand at one altar call, but if a--but that's not what we're talking on, divine healing."

37 And I said, "Now, the person can't come here without God telling me what's on his heart, and what he's done, and the things of his life. That's a divine gift that was sent from Heaven to me, that's my individual. God gave that to me when He brought me in this world." I said, "You can't keep your sins, and so forth, hid, and the thoughts of your heart and mind." I said, "And whatever that you've done in your life, and what your outcome is, you can't keep me from telling you that. But I could pray for you until you for ... till we both got old and gray, and you with a toothache, until you accept Jesus as your Healer, it'll always be there, for healing only is in Chr... God Almighty."

38 I said, "And if I tell the truth," I said, "I tell about an Angel. If I tell the truth, God will testify that I've told the truth. I said, "As Jesus told the Jews, 'I have greater works than those of John, for the works the Father has sent Me to do, the same testifies that I am sent from God.'" And I said, "If He doesn't testify, then I'm wrong. If He does testify, then I am right. Not because that it's me, but because it's He that sent me is right." And I said, "Anyone knows that God will have nothing to do with error, and if I tell the truth, then God will speak of me."

39 Oh, I shall never forget it. And about that time the heavens let loose, and here He come, coming down over me, going [Brother Branham makes a whirling sound.] Everyone sit still. And the man who had taken the pictures of Mr. Best, before he knowed what he was doing, run forward and snapped the picture. God had testified. There was no more for me to do. I said, "Thank You, Father," walked off the platform. Everybody set still; they didn't know what was happening.
This man, going home... Mr. Kipperman's an Orthodox Jew. Mr. Ayers is a Roman Catholic. He wrote in the paper the day before and said I was a hypnotizer. Said a goiter went off of a woman throat, that I hypnotized her. And a young soldier who'd been crippled overseas in his back, his spine, and was saw laying on a place and was told what was wrong with him, and told him to rise to his feet. And him laying there paralyzed, rose to his feet and walked out, said that man was bewitched, made all kinds of fun of me in the paper. And on his road home, he said to Mr. [unclear name] he said, "What do you think about it, Ted?"
Ted said, "I don't know."

40 Mr. Ayers said, "I'm a Catholic," he said, "I'm taught to believe in such things, but it can only come through the Catholic church. If it was ... if he was real, he'd be in the Catholic church."
And many of you... I ... my former people were Catholic. Many of you Catholics in there know that we been taught that, that it has to be in the Catholic church. So did the Jews think that Jesus would come to the temple, but He didn't. He went where God told Him. God does things in mysterious ways. You wouldn't have thought He'd been born in a manger, but He was.
Now, they went in. He said, "Well, let's fix these pictures for Best." And he throwed them in the acid, six of them for Mr. Best. And he shot one of them from that, but he just throwed it in.

41 Mr. Kipperman went upstairs to go to bed, and Mr. Best, or Mr. Ayers setting, smoking a cigarette. And after while he went in, took them out of the acid, took out one, blank, two, blank. Took out all six of them, they were blank. And when he took the next one out, there the Angel of the Lord was on the picture. And he had a heart attack. They tried to get him to Rice Hotel, of course they was guarding the door, wouldn't let them come in to where we was ... to where I was at.

42 And then quickly, they referred to it, and went down there, and they sent it away at eleven o'clock that night to Washington, DC, and copyrighted it. Then it was sent back to Houston. And it was given into the hands of George J. Lacy, the best examiner in the United States, ex-FBI. And he kept it, said, "Now..."--a very hard-boiled. He kept it and said, "Now, wait a minute," said, "I will look it over," and so forth like that. And he took it into the Shell Building for examination, which was... Shell Building for examination and document. He just come from California on a half a million dollar case, and they brought him over there. He kept the picture for two days; then he sent word, said, "We'll give the reading on it, and let you know about it on two o'clock, on the following afternoon, on the third day. Big bunch of photographers, and so forth, gathered in. Many of the people around the city, like the writer for the Colliers and Times, they gathered in.

43 And when he come out, he's kind of a red-headed fellow, very hard-boiled. He walked out sarcastic; I looked at him, and looked like his face had tendered up. He said, "Whose name's Reverend Branham?"
And I said, "Mine, sir."
He said, "Stand up on your feet." And I stood up. He said, "Reverend Branham, one of these days, you're going to pass off of life's scenes like all mortals do."
I said, "I'm aware of that, sir."
He said, "But as long as there's a Christian civilization, your picture shall never die." He said, "It's the first time in all the world's history that a supernatural Being was ever photographed. But I put it through every test that can be thought, and," said, "It was a supernatural Being that's been shot." He said, "For myself, I have said and heard of your meetings, and read it in the magazines, and I heard about that Angel, and so forth. I said within myself, even to the time that I received the negative, 'It's psychology.'" He said, "But Brother Branham, the mechanical eye of that camera will not take psychology." Said, "The light struck the negative."

44 He said, "My mother was a Christian. And I thought I was." He said, "But God have mercy on me." He said, "Come forward." And everybody started crying. He [unclear words] said, "It was once said, Brother Branham, by the old hypocrite (he meant the unbeliever), that there's no scientific proof of the supernatural Being." Said, "Them days is passed now." He had the negative in his hand. He said, "Them days is passed." And he said, "It's scientifically proven that here's the supernatural Being." He said, "Mr. Branham, I will submit this to you."
I said, "It's not mine, sir."
He said, "Oh, wait a minute," said, "that negative's worth a hundred thousand dollars right the way..."
I said, "If it ... to me, it's worth life."

45 He said, "Brother Branham, do you realize what...?" said, "You'll never live to see the day that the picture comes into its value, because the testator is always dead before the testament is seen." And he said, "It'll be in the days after you're gone." He said, "But right now, do you realize what that is?"
And I said, "Sir, it belongs to the American Photographers Association." I said, "It ... if Jesus Christ, my Lord, thought enough of me, to come down in a battle like I was, and have His picture taken with me, for the first time in all the world's history, I love Him too well to commercialize it." And I said, "I will have nothing to do with it."

46 So then they asked me if I'd draw up a plan with them. The lawyers was there, and everything. The studio had the lawyers. And I said, "I will sign no papers. But Mr. Kipperman and you, if you wish to sell it, make it enough so every person (poor people) can get it." But I said, "look, another thing I will require for the sacredness of the picture, that Mr. Lacy, that you'll sign a document, so that the critics will be shut up when they look at it." I said, "and sign a document. And I will ask you, Mr. Kipperman, and you (in the agreement), that you're privileged to sell it. I will sign no papers, but you're privileged to sell it, low priced so the people can get a hold of it, and that no picture can go without a writing signed statement from Mr. Lacy, here, who's our best in America." So I'd think it was the best in the world.
And he said, "I will do that."
And he wrote up a thing, what he'd done, and went to the auditorium, he searched to see if it was a double exposure, and there just above the head, where it was settling down, was the big pillar of fire a whirling around, and around, and around.

47 He said, "Brother Branham, in the ... looking through the negative through the ultra-ray lights, and so forth, it looked like it was kind of a yellow, greenish looking fire, a milling, like this."
And I said, "That's just the way it is." And people there who seen it.
To my opinion, here's what I think it would be, while I read the Scriptures. First, I have the picture here; I want to show it to you. Mr. Kipperman sells them sometimes at the meeting. But when I found out that he was overcharging the people for it, I wouldn't let them sell it in the meetings. Because the picture wouldn't cost over thirty or forty cents, not over fifty at the most, and selling it for a dollar and a quarter is too much. So I... Can you see it back there?

48 Now, at nighttime, when you see those things going on here, it's not me that does that; here is the One that does it. How many can see how far back, let's see your hand, way back. I will have my boy to take it to the stand back there. And in here also, if you'd like to read Mr. Lacy's write up, there it is. You can have a photostatic copy... A photostatic copy's in my book there, but they won't let us (the studios), won't let me print the picture in my book. They let me have the ... this, for this is copyrighted. See on the back, and on here? And you couldn't touch it (See?), because it's copyrighted, and they've got it in Washington, DC. And one of them hangs in the Religious Hall of Art, in Washington, DC, as the first photograph that was ever taken of a supernatural Being.

49 You know what I think, friends? I think that here's where this is, in Exodus 13:21:
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud (a pillar of a cloud), to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by night and day:
He took not away the pillar of ... cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
And with a reverent, sincere heart, I believe that that's the same Angel of God that led Israel out of Egypt to the promised land in the natural, is leading us to the promised land today, in the spiritual. For "In My Father's house are many mansions: I will go and prepare a place for you." And I believe the Angel of the Lord is leading the church today, and it's the same Holy Spirit. And anyone knows the Angel of the covenant was Christ. And not... It isn't just to me, friend. I might be counted in with you, but that Angel of the Lord just doesn't ... to me, it's to all of you. And He's here right now. He's right in the building. I feeled it right now, and know that the Angel... This same Angel that I'm speaking of here, isn't five feet from me right now. And when I meet you at the judgment bar, and this night is called into--to order, see if I haven't told you the truth. He's right in here now.

50 Now, if this was my last service that I ever have in all my life, my words are the truth. For I have not testified of myself; I have testified of Jesus Christ. And the world, the church world, who sees it, and sees its operation, knows and believes it's the truth. And now, the scientific world is without excuse. It's scientifically proven to the scientific world.
You said, "I didn't see nothing spread about..."
No, sir. They wouldn't let the Look, Life, and Times, or none of the papers have it. All of them wanted it, and they wouldn't let them have it. Said if they put it in the paper... You know a Jew. Not all of them, but some of them want money. Said they'll cut it out. They're expecting to sell it, and It's sure sold thousands times thousands, and thousands of them, everywhere. And so I have nothing to do with it.

51 But only this one thing, that I'm happy tonight, to know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who's sovereign in Word and grace, has vindicated that I've told the truth. And I've told you the truth. It's up to you to believe it; that's all. God bless you is my prayer.
Sonny... Ma'am? [The lady says something to Brother Branham.] Let's say, "Praise the Lord." That's ri... Oh, God bless you, sister. Then you know what is the truth, don't you, sister? That is true.
Was there anybody else was there at Houston, when the picture was taken? A man standing right here was there when the pi... another one here, another one there, there, there. Let's say, "Praise the Lord." The Bible said, "In the mouth of two or more witnesses let every word be established." Is that right?

52 Now, friends, while the little short visit is here at this place, let us all now just lay aside every little thought that we had, that was--maybe it was this, that, or the other. Let's just say, "Lord Jesus, we thank You so much." And for this little time while we're here in the city, may we just huddle together as a hen bringing forth her brood out of the rain. And may we all be sheltered by His love, that these wheelchairs, and these people with heart trouble, and cancer, and so forth, will live and not die. Will you do it?
Your faith is what operates the divine gift. So as I say, if I never appear again in public, and my life is took tonight by Almighty God, He, Himself, has vindicated it to the spiritual world, the believers, and also, to the unbelievers. How many believes that's true? Let's see your hands. God bless you. That's fine.
Now, I've took quite a bit of your time. And sonny, you come now, or get the picture, and they'll put it back there.
I'm sorry we don't have them to sell, but you wan... go to look at it, and read it, why that's perfectly all right. Let's bow our heads now.

53 O Father, I didn't mean to take all this time, Lord. When I go to talking about You, I just love You so much that I ... my heart just burns in me. I think of Paul preaching all night, one night about You, and a boy fell out of the window and got killed; and Paul went and laid his body over him, for he knowed he was anointed. He knowed the Angel of God that stood by him out there that night on the stormy sea was with him, and the boys life returned to him. And he said, "You'll be all right," and he got all right.
I think of how Paul loved You. When they was building the scaffold to take his life, he said, "I've fought a good fight, I've finished the course, I've kept the faith: And henceforth there's laid up for me a crown that the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that day: not only me, but all that love His appearing."

54 Dear Father, I ask You tonight, in the mercies, that You will send grace upon this audience. Bless everyone, Lord. And, O holy God, Author of Life, and Giver of every good gift, I've tried to testify the best that I knowed how. And I thank You for Your picture here with us. I look at It, and my heart quivers, think, "Woe is me, the Angel of God has stood near." And You've confirmed Your Word now, practically around the world; thousands times thousands are rejoicing. The scientific world looks at It, they hush it; they don't want it to get any farther. So was it in Your day. But those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, they shall be filled. And those who are predestinated to see the kingdom of God shall see, "For no man can come to My Father, exce..." or "come to Me except My Father draw him." And Lord, there's those here who believe. And I pray Father, that You'll shut us together tonight in the bonds of the love of Christ, and may You stretch forth His holy hands to heal all over this building.

55 And may, when the evening is over, Almighty God, Author of life, and Giver of every gift, two more meetings to end up here in America before sailing the seas. And Lord, please hear the prayer of Your servant. If I've found favor with You, grant this to be a great night. The people has waited long in the hot building, but may tonight, something different happen. May the blind see, or the deaf hear, or may the lame walk tonight; may there be something great. And may the Holy Spirit stand near, call out sin, rebuke things that's unrighteous, to straighten up some poor person that they can believe.

56 And Lord, while You're working here, as I have testified, testify of me, Lord, will You, tonight? And may Your Spirit come, and vindicate that You're present. And may every person that sees You, and Your wonderful way here at the platform, moving out in the audience, and picking those up. Lord, may those tonight, setting out there that won't be in the prayer line, may they have great faith and look and say, "I believe that It's the truth."
Then Lord, heal them, and turn Your servant to them, and announce it to them, that they are healed. Grant it, Father. Will You hear my prayer, as I sincerely pray to You? In the name of Your beloved Child, Jesus. Amen.

57 [Brother Branham speaks to someone.] My boy said he give out prayer cards, D today. And let's start tonight... We started last night at 1, didn't we?
[Gap in the audio.] ... and I ask them to keep their head down. This cold spirit kept flowing in. And I felt where it was at, and I looked back in the audience, and a man setting there with his head up like that, and a bunch of people... I said, "Sir, would you put your head down?" He just laughed at me.
And I prayed again, and it wouldn't leave the baby, because He told me, "If you get the people to believe you..." And that showed they didn't believe, or they'd do what you ask them to do. So I said ... tried again, and it wouldn't... I said, "Now remember, sir, see you to it, I'm not responsible."

58 And I said, "Almighty God, don't let this poor, little, innocent baby suffer for the guilty." And it was in a fit right then, and I called to God to heal it. And when the spirit was rebuked, the little baby quietened down, and that man, and about... I forget how many people, every one of them took epileptic fits, and begin jumping all over the floor, screaming, slobbering, and everything. Far as I know, got epilepsy yet today.
I seen a man not long ago in Phoenix, Arizona (I suppose he's gone now), with cancer. He thought he knew everything. He said, "It's psychology."
A few nights it wasn't psychology when he rushed to his doctor with cramps. He pronounced him with cancer [unclear words] Be reverent. It's not playing church; the Lord Jesus is here. We American people are so heady, and high-minded, and haughty, till we think we know it all. We're living now upon the reputation of our forefathers.

59 When Israel got out of the will of God, they suffered for it, and we will too. So you be reverent, and remember that now.
All right. I trust that the Christians will understand. How many Christians is in here? Raise your hand. Believers in Christ...