The curtain of time

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Good evening friends. We are happy to be in Phoenix tonight at this service, but we're sorry being the last night. And so we hope that God will give us His greatest blessings tonight: that there'll be no sick among us when we leave tonight, no one afflicted. I want you here on the stretchers, cots, and chairs; I want you to do something for me tonight. I want you to believe with all your heart. I'd like to see every one of you walking out tonight, well.
He loves you, friends. Just because your diseases and things seems to be incurable, that's just Satan telling you that. It's no more for Him to heal you, than it is to heal anybody. You believe with all your heart tonight. Just believe it; don't make any difference what your mind says about it; just take what God says about it. I know it's the truth. I wouldn't tell you that, 'less I really knew that it was absolutely the truth.

2 Now, we want to thank first, I guess, Brother Moore. Usually the manager does this, but I want to take this opportunity myself to thank each and every one of you, for helping make this the best meeting, I believe, that we've had in Phoenix: more spiritual and settled than any meeting I've had in Phoenix.
I want to thank this fine group of ministers, the cooperating ministers, that helped us to have this meeting, all the sponsors. Many of them couldn't sponsor, 'cause they had their own revivals and things going on. We never try to, oh, make such a great big thing till everybody has to close up their churches. Some of the brethren has big tents and so forth; they got to have... Everybody's got to close up or they can't come. Well, I've never carried my meetings just like that. I make it simple and little, and just to go and do the best I can.
Appreciate all that did come. And those who couldn't come, why I appreciate them just the same. And our expenses that way is low; our budget's not very much to make; and so therefore, we don't have to strain the people; just take up a ordinary offering and pay off our debts. As soon as the budget's made, that settles it.

3 And I hear that tonight they've given a love offering to me; I certainly appreciate that. Wished I didn't have to take it, but I just got a big obligation; you can imagine what it is. And office going all the time, my obligation's about a hundred dollars a day, regardless of where I'm at. It's just in Jeffersonville, regardless of whether I'm in the services or not. You can realize how far I go back in the hole, sometimes.
And now, we send out lots of prayer cloths, like these here. And we send them all over the world. Sometimes as many as a thousand in one day, we've sent out. And all of you are welcome... Any time I can be of a help to you, why write me and let me know. I don't say that... See, many times they say, "Write me," just to get your address. But I don't have any radio programs to sponsor. I don't have anything, just ... nothing, just so I can help you. Just to send you a prayer cloth or something or other, I'd be glad to do it. Have prayer for you, I'd be happy to do so.

4 And now, I want to thank each and every one of you for your cooperation. All you people's been coming, all that you've given. And the love offering tonight, every penny that doesn't have to go exactly for our little ... what living we have. We live poor, just like the rest of the people. People can't understand that; why, I've been on the field longer than all the rest of them, and yet don't have anything. It's because that I spend what little I do have in foreign missions, friends, everything. God is my solemn Judge to that (see), that everything I get, I...
If it's in the line of finance, if we try to live common like people, and then what little we have left over, I build it up and build it up, till I get enough to get us overseas. We go over and preach the Gospel then to those who's never heard it before, and win thousands times thousands and thousands to Christ. When our money runs out, we come back. Come to America and go through and visit our friends. They help us out a little, and as soon as we enough built up, away we go again.

5 Now, I know it, I've got plenty of friends. I got friends sitting right in this building tonight that just say, "Here, Brother Branham, I'll write you a check to go overseas." But that wouldn't be fair to the rest of the people, see. Every one of us wants a little bit in that. That's right. Every fellow his dime, fifteen cents, quarter, whatever it is, that's part in the kingdom. And that way, then I know it's the Lord sending me over there.
I suppose before I see you again, I will probably have another overseas tour. One's coming up now for all of Africa, Tanganyika, Rhodesia, up through into India again. And so, we trust that you'll be praying for us, as we go along.

6 I met one friend today, told me not to mention their name from the platform, but if they're present, they know how we appreciate them, every one of them. I love them with all my heart. And then, some people has been... They know that I like to hunt so well, so I've been very well fed with wild animals. They brought me... Two or three people brought deer to the place I was staying. Brought elk, and even buffalo, and javelina hog, so I just had a great time.
That's my first time for some of that. It was really good. The Lord bless you. You didn't know how I loved that. And I thank you so kindly. And first time I'd ever tasted any javelina hog or buffalo, and it was really good. And I appreciate it very much. And the elk and deer was wonderful. And I just love that kind of stuff. I don't know what makes me do it, but I like it anyhow. I like the woods and the outdoors. So I like what goes with it. So I appreciate you very, very much.

7 And now, all of you's rallied around, wonderful faith, been wonderful. The meeting's been a little hard on me, friends. This has been the first time in my meetings that I've ever tried to make my own altar call, preach, make my altar call, bring the people to Christ, and then pray for the sick. Been pretty hard. For the last few days, I've been almost knocked out. 'Cause this is just not the only meeting I go to.
I could start right straight in California. We're packed right now, most of our stuff, ready to leave for California. And we'll be over there, and then come right back: Macon, Georgia. Right from there up into Colorado, and just on and on. And it certainly gets kind of tiresome.

8 Now, one time... The greatest thrills that I've been having in my meetings, especially recently, always turn the altar call over to the manager, someone. But I... What a thrill it gives me to see people raising up and accepting the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour. And I am so happy for that.
And I want to make... I want the ministers to understand this, that my sponsors and those who are near, I would like to come back to Phoenix sometime, if God willing, just to have a meeting of just preaching the Gospel, and bringing the people to the altar, and laying hands upon them to receive the Holy Spirit. This discernment, the visions is what knocks me out so.

9 How would you like for us to come back and have a meeting like ... would you like it? Well, God bless you. Thank you very much. Maybe pray for the sick, but not under the discernment, so I can stay a long time instead of just staying a few nights and having to leave, why, we could stay longer. Thank you kindly.
As I'm making my tour across the nation now, before going overseas, I'm asking that. In Los Angeles on the Christian Businessmen, the first five nights of the meeting is just preaching, and laying hands on the sick, and praying for them as they come through the line. We catch every one.

10 And now, that is not exactly the way I use my ministry, but it's the way the people are taught, and they believe for that, so I'd like to do it that way awhile. You just can't mix it up, 'cause when visions first starts then you have no control of it; it just keeps going. And now, I wish tonight I could explain and tell you how that happens, but I can't. That's just as much mystery to me as it is to you.
Now, I think that that covers everything, except the custodians, and the ushers, and so forth. We thank this Shriner brotherhood for letting us have this auditorium. I hope that the custodians, and managers, and so forth are present. If not, may you tell them with deepest of appreciation. This is the second time they've let us have it, and we appreciate that. The Lord bless them all.

11 And the ushers that's been so kind to help us get the prayer line ready. And especially the little usher that's been coming with Billy, helping me in, out here, little fellow, wonderful little chap. I got to shake his hand a few moments ago. And when they're bringing me in, they don't talk, as anyone knows that. So we get to the platform after coming out from prayer. And we sure thank the brother.
And the rest of them, too, Brother Ballard and all this fine bunch of brothers that's sitting back here, Brother Falk---Fuller---oh, so many. I know their face but sometimes can't call their name. I think they are wonderful men. And I believe one of them, I believe it's Brother Fuller, starting a revival right after this, is it? That's tomorrow night. We sure make that announcement, that Brother Fuller here, of the... Is it Fuller Tabernacle? Faith Temple. Have you already announced it here? I guess anyhow.

12 And we're just glad to announce any revival, anytime, or where they're going to have... Hurry, quickly, everybody attend these revivals that's announced now, and go right on and serve the Lord. Don't let your house light die down. Just keep a moving in these revivals.
Oh, it's so wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus lives today, isn't it? Lives and reigns within our hearts. And now tonight I don't want to take very much time. I want to speak just a little while on the Word, and then go right into the line of praying for the sick.
I had it kind of announced out, that maybe I'd just make a sway, a call. And then I kind of feel like, maybe, we just leave it to the Lord, and see what He's going to do about it, down to the end of the road, when we get to that time. Sometimes He just lets us go right to the last moment, then tell us what to do. So we love Him for that, don't we?

13 Now, the Lord bless you. And pray for me. How many will promise me that you will pray for me? I just... God bless you, oh, my. Children out here... Just think of going in and shaking hands with the people. And how I'd just like to come down through this aisle tonight.
Really the truth, I'd like to go home with every one of you, stay all night, sit up and talk awhile, get up in the morning and talk. I'd love to do that; my heart just longs to meet people like that. But I almost have to be an isolationist on account of the type of ministry that I got, 'cause it's... I just can't do that and have the meeting. But God knows that I love you.
So I'm making an appointment with every one of you. When I see you in the glory land, if God permits me to be there with you, I just want to go over and sit down for a thousand years with each one of you and talk. And we'll just... We won't have no less time to talk than when we first began. We'll talk it all over then, won't we? Won't that be wonderful, sit down, the Tree of Life?

14 And you know we'll be entertained by all the great singers. There'll be Sankey, and Beverly Shea, and all of them, over on the hill over there, just a singing the praises of God. We'll be sitting down by the Tree of Life, where the waters are coming out from under the throne. Won't that be marvelous? I just long for the day. What does it matter to a Christian that's really anchored in Christ, for just as soon as this old earthly tabernacle is taken away, we move right into another one; it's right there. My, isn't that marvelous?
Think, sick, and weary, and broke down, and heartbroken, everything going wrong, the world all in a turmoil, we think, well, "Come, Lord Jesus." The first thing you know, this old shaky body, begin to wither away, and you feel the pains moving through it, the chilly death moving up the sleeve. Then look, standing yonder. Yonder's a brand new body, standing right there. Just move out of this one, right into that one.

15 "For when this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting," just to move into it. A new one, not made with hands, but God has made it, fashioned eternally, the glory of God. To move right into, to become new and young again, to never be sick... Oh, my, what can...
Why, death hasn't got any hold on a Christian, has it? Death is just something to bring a Christian right on into the presence of his Maker. He's wonderful when we can think of Him that way. Isn't that right? How that death can't hold a Christian, he just sweeps him right...
Now, what kind of a body that'll be, before we return to pick up this body, I don't know; it's not revealed to men yet. But we know that we're not going to be spirit after we leave here. The spirit's going to leave this tabernacle, to move into one that God has made. Not just a spirit; it's a body. Amen. It's got form, fashion, everything. Oh, it'll be wonderful, won't it?

16 Now, to read just a little out of the Word, 'cause His words isn't going to fail. My words will, and any other man's word will, but His Word isn't going to fail. So over in Saint Luke... I've been preaching so much about the Old Testament, I thought tonight I'd turn around a little bit, and get some out of the New. Just being a typologist, I have to kind of go back and get a line of the Old, to know what the New looks like. So I believe if I had the shadow of the thing, I'll know just about what it is when it gets here, if we see the shadow of it.
Now, in the New Testament, Saint Luke the 24th chapter, and beginning with the 30th verse. Just for a way of text, we read this through these verses.
And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, that He took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave to them.
And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight.
And they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, while He talked to us by the way, and while He opened unto us the scriptures?

17 Now, let's ask Him, the resurrected Lord Jesus, if He won't open to us the Scriptures now, while we sit and wait on Him. Shall we bow our heads, while we pray?
Our beloved Saviour, we have come to Thee tonight, with open hearts, if we know them. We come to Thee with this blessed assurance, that's been placed in our innermost being, that Thou art the Son of the living God, that You died for our sins, and separating us then from sin, and has raised from the dead, and now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, and has sent back the Holy Spirit.
And we thank Thee for the witness of the Holy Spirit, confirming the Word with signs following. We thank Thee for this great, marvelous meeting, that only by Thy grace have we been able to fellowship in. How we've fellowshipped around the Word, and around the Spirit of God! All of us belonging to different organizations, as to say, but all together seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, has opened our hearts to the Word and let the Holy Spirit come in. Feed us.
Hundreds has received Thee as their Saviour; we're so thankful for it. And the sick, the crippled, those who've been sitting in wheel chairs, paralyzed, laying on cots, stretchers, has been made whole and walked out. Blind, deaf, dumb, all kinds of diseases has been healed. And Thou, O God, has come into the midst of the people, and their faith has drawed out supernatural words, explaining to them their life, of what they have done, and what they must do, and what will be. [Gap in the audio]...

18 God, which was a part of God. God seen what the end would be, from the beginning, and the Logos come to the earth, which was Christ the Word, spoken Word of God, part of God, and was made flesh and dwelt among us. And then, we come out of Christ, which makes the same life that was in God, in Christ, in you. And just as sure as God raised this up, we've got to come with the same thing, if the same Spirit's in us. Because it's the Spirit of God making us sons and daughters of God.
Oh, isn't it marvelous? How do we get it? By believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's what. Accepting it, and then God in return gives us the Holy Spirit, crying in our hearts, "Abba Father, my God, my God." And then we are resurrected in the last days to be caught up. And He said, "That day you shall know that I am in the Father, the Father in Me, I in you, and you in Me."

19 There's the Spirit coming out of God, manifested as the Logos, come down and made flesh, dwelt among us, died, taken on penalty of sin, raised up again, sitting at the Majesty on high, at the right hand of God. And the Holy Spirit coming back, bringing in the same Spirit in the individuals now, to bring them back into relationship with their Creator. Isn't that marvelous?
Then all the atomic bombs, and all the... Did you see the paper today? Looks like war's fixing to boom again; they're turning their guns. What difference does that make to a real believer, how many guns they turn? Amen. God's got the reins in His hands. Amen. And whenever it gets time for us to get away from here, whether it's by ... however way that we go; there's nothing, not death, nothing else can separate us from God. We have everlasting life. Can't come into condemnation, 'cause Christ said so: we've already passed from death to life.

20 Now, in Jerusalem, the beginning of our text tonight, it had been a very marvelous three and a half years. They'd had a revival. The great anticipations waited upon the people, on a Man that the world and the church rejected: the Lord Jesus. He was considered a fanatic. And we'd call it today, if we'd put it in the words today, He was a holy-roller. He absolutely disagreed with their theology. And yet, God vindicated that He was with Him.
Peter said at Acts 2; he said, "You men of Israel, you should of known this. For this Jesus of Nazareth was a Man approved of God among you, with signs and wonders which God did by Him, in the midst of you all, which you also are witnesses. You ought to have knowed it." But said, "You with wicked hands have crucified the Prince of Life. Wherefore God's raised Him up, and we're witnesses." That's it. God proved that that was His beloved Son, by the signs and wonders that He did, showing that God was with Him.

21 I want to ask you something, believers, and especially to my ministering brethren back here. Any time the church in the last two thousand years has ever had a revival, or any time in the world that the church ever had a revival, there was signs and wonders accompanied the revival. Yes, sir. Signs of the supernatural God, living in the people, that gives the people a view. What hope do we have, unless we know that there is something supernatural.
Every man is trying to look a past the curtain of time. You know you come from somewhere; you're going somewhere; so it takes a little peek past the curtain of time. Moses wanted to see it. God let him see it. So we can see it also: Christ the resurrected One.

22 Now, the church that come out of their affiliations with the great Orthodox Jewish church of that time, the Sanhedrin, and had brought themselves out, and had followed the Lord Jesus. No matter how black the people tint His name as a illegitimate child, they recognized that God was in Him.
He said, "My sheep know My voice." See, they were spiritual inside; and when they seen Him, they recognized that He was different from them priests, and teachers, and so forth. So they followed Him wherever He went. They loved Him. They couldn't understand Him. He was a mystery, even to the Apostles. No one could understand Him, because there was two people talking all the time.

23 The person Jesus Christ was talking, and God was talking in Him, also. Sometimes it was Christ Himself; sometimes it was the Father that dwelt in Him. You see it? They couldn't understand some things He would say; He talked in riddles to them. Jesus finally said, when He was talking to them one day, how, "I came from God; I come into the world; and I go back again to God."
And so the disciples said, "Now You speak plainly. Now we understand, and we believe that You know all things, and by this we believe that You are the Son of God. We believe on You now, because You know all things; God shows You all things; and You need no man to have to tell You, because God just shows it to You. And that's the reason we believe that You come out from God." See, after they... Right before His crucifixion---Saint John: about, I believe, the 15th or 17th chapter, I don't remember; 15, I think.

24 All right, notice, now they'd loved Him and they believed Him, because they'd seen His works, that God was with Him in confirming the Word that He preached. See, a man can come and say anything. That's just a man's word. But when God comes around and says, "That's the truth," confirms it, then you better believe it, because God said so, see.
So He spoke of God being in Him. He said, "It's not Me that doeth the works; it's My Father that dwells in Me, He doeth the works. I do nothing of Myself; just what the Father shows Me, that I do." And they found out, that ever what the Father showed Him, and He told them, was just exactly the truth.

25 He stood in the audiences, and He perceived what they were thinking about. He said, "Why are you reasoning in your heart about that?" And He found out things like that; they knew it come from God. And He said the things that He had done, and how the Father had showed Him, and He found out every thing that He said was the truth. So that was a sign to the Jew anyhow.
"If there be one among you who's spiritual or a prophet, I the Lord, will make Myself known to him in visions, speak to him in dreams. And what this prophet said, if it comes to pass, then hear him, for I'm with him. But if it isn't coming to pass, then don't hear him; I haven't spoke to him. Just falsely in flesh, I haven't heard him, or I haven't been with him."
But it was a sign, and they seen that God was actually manifesting Himself through Christ. And that's exactly what the Scripture said, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself."

26 Now, notice, then along came the disappointing time: that this great, wonderful One who could speak to the dead, and they would raise again. Not all the dead: He just spoke to three of them, as recorded in the Scripture. And the three raised up, because three's a testimony, a witness. "Mouth of two or three witnesses, every word's established." And each time, He said the Father that did it, the Father showed Him what to do.
Now, and they see a Man who could raise the dead, and yet die. Not only die an ordinary death, take sick and die, but would be stood and made fun of, a Man who could perceive their thoughts and tell the people what they were doing; then when come to the test, the trial, had a rag wrapped around His head, and they hit Him on the head with a stick, and said, "You're a prophesier; tell us who hit you; we'll believe you now."
And reached over and pulled beard out of His face, and spit in His face. A divine person? How could that be? I imagine His followers said, "Well, why don't He just do something about it?" Well, if He'd have done something about it, you and I would've been in an awful fix tonight. He couldn't do nothing about it---save Himself and save others. He had to give Himself.

27 So He didn't clown with His gifts and powers. They hit Him on the head and said, "Now, tell us who hit you." Then when He was on the cross, He could save others and still the waves of the sea. And here with a raging fever on Him, and Him dying, the blood coming out of Him, and the Jews said, "Now, if you be the Son of God, show us a miracle. Do something for us. Come down off the cross, and we'll believe you to be the Son of God. We'll believe you if you'll come off the cross."
See that critical spirit; how that God ... how He just let those things happen so, that it fools the wise and prudent and will reveal it to babes, such as will learn. You've got to forget all you ever know, and let yourself be submissive to the Spirit of God, then God can going to teach you.

28 Don't try to go away and get all these big educations and scholarships to know God. You don't know God by scholarship; you know God by faith. You believe Him, and God reveals Himself to you. I like that, don't you? He's made it so simple, so humble.
Now, so humble and it's so simple, till the wise people can't understand it. It's so simplified, till the wise don't get it. They try to make it complicated to the church. They try to make it a great big lots of sanctifying things you have to do, and stop this, and do this, and all this, that, and the other, and...
Why, it's not at all; just believe it, and accept it, and that settles it. God comes into your heart, and He takes care of the rest of it. If He can ever gain the ... in your heart ... gain a place in your heart, then the rest of it will take care of itself. I love that.

29 Notice, then how could a divine man, who they thought would be the King that was coming, the deliverer of Israel, and that man to humiliate Himself, to let the unclean Gentiles hit Him on the head, and not say a word to them? Why didn't He show His power? God has times and ways of doing things. They pulled His beard out, spit in His face. What a insult! "Do something about it; you're the king."
He said, "I could ask My Father, and He'd send Me twelve legions of angels, but My kingdom's not of this world." See? Said, "You don't understand it."
Oh, they said, "Away with such a heretic." And they got Him up there and crucified Him, and He died, and they buried Him, and put Him away, and sealed Him in the tomb. Now, you talk about a disappointed people that had to go out and face the world again, after they'd come out of their churches, believing in that type of religion... And they come out of their churches, then had to go back and face their churches again, after the very thing they'd believed on, seemingly, had failed. Seemingly all hopes was gone.

30 The very one that they thought was the divine prophet ... or, the Messiah, He had been so thoroughly abused before the people, and so powerless and helpless. When He was out amongst the people He'd done all kinds of signs, but when He was standing here on trial, He never even tried to defend Himself; just let them beat Him around, put Him against the lashing post, take those great cat-o-nine-tails, great big balls of lead on the end of leather, and split His back down with them, when they give Him the lashes across His back. Never opened His mouth.
Took Him up the hill, nailed Him to the cross, pulled Him up and set Him down, the flesh tearing from His hands. He didn't even screamed for mercy. That's right. Now, in the people's minds, how could that've been the Son of God, and could let the people treat Him, and mash Him around, and do that to Him? See, not knowing the Scriptures is the reason they did ... that was. Now, we'll will see in few minutes.

31 All right, they'd buried Him, sold all, the Sabbath was over, the first day of the week come along, so they stayed up for the Sabbath. Peter got his fish nets and was going back out to go at his commercial trade again, fishing. "Well, I guess I was wrong after all. Maybe that fellow was a fanatic."
I can see him ... Cleopas and his friends saying, "Well, let's go on back to Emmaus; it's all over. The Man we had so much confidence in to be a real, true, divine Man sent from God, a real divine person, yet it must've really been... Maybe the big church was right: that was mental telepathy; He was reading their minds." See?
Human beings, "Maybe, really He was a spiritualist. Maybe He was just a spiritualist, and that's the reason the earth shook and things, when He died up there. Maybe He was just what the priest said He was, a Beelzebub. What all the church... Maybe that was right."
So he picks up his friend, says, "Let's go on the road back now, back over to Emmaus, the home, and we'll start our carpenter trade (or whatever it was), start back to building," or whatever they was going to do. All disheartened, going along the road, sad, not knowing that the blessed Lord Jesus had resurrected on that Easter morning, and was alive among the people.

32 Brother, botany don't only mean flowers and things, it means resurrection, too, in that case. Amen. Just at the springtime, when the Easter flowers are blooming, everything's so pretty, a very type of nature; resurrection has to come in the spring. That's the reason the resurrection is in springtime. Resurrection of everything, and surely the King of nature resurrected, the Creator of nature resurrected with the rest of the resurrection of nature.
And here they are, on their road going over to their place, walking along the road. I'd like to listen in on them, (Wouldn't you?) just a minute, stand around and see what they were saying? I hear one of them saying, "Well, Cleopas, what do you think about it? I'm disappointed. Well, I guess we'll just have to face the preacher again, tell Him, 'I guess we were wrong in this Fellow.' My, I hate to do that; my confidence was really built up in Him."

33 And notice, while they spake about Him, talked about Him, He appeared. That's a good way to get Him around you: talk about Him all the time. Amen. Keep your conversation, not on who's ... where the next play comes up on the television, or the next movies going to come, or who's going to be elected president. Talk about Jesus.
Christians talk about everything but Christ in these days. Go out, they always got a bunch of nonsense and everything they want to talk about or something, but never talking about Christ. Talk about Him. Sing about Him. Love Him. Keep Him on your heart and mind all the day and night.
David said about he'd bind the laws upon his fingers and the bedpost, and so He'd be before him all the time. That's the way; keep Him before you in memory, thoughts, praise, speech. All that you do, keep Christ before you. That's the way to keep Him near you.

34 While they were talking about Him, He appeared on the scene, unknown to them. Many of the people that really loved Him didn't know that He had raised from the dead. And if that isn't a true sense of the word tonight, I don't know what it is. Many of the people that really love the Lord Jesus, can't understand that He's here.
He's in this building right now. He's moving in and out of the people: the resurrected Lord Jesus. It's so hard for people to see that. Look, you sitting along here in these chairs and cots and things, if you could see that, and believe it with all your heart, and accept His Word, you'd go out of here tonight a perfect, well person. Yes, for He has risen from the dead.
Notice, walking with them, they loved Him, and He didn't know it; they didn't know that He was. Many times He's been right along with you, there, maybe, when you was just about to have a accident. Something happened; you don't know what happened. Something took place; that was Him. When the doctor come over and said, "The baby, I don't see how it can live." And after a while, the baby got well; that was Jesus. He's with you. Oh, how wonderful.

35 Here not long ago, a little woman that was... I remember she went to live down below my church; she does now, in Jeffersonville. She was in a sanitarium at Waverly Hills, and they brought her down, and they said, "The doctor said she had to die right away." They was going to give her, I believe ten days, two weeks to live, a tubercular case. And I went down there to see her.
They called me down about... Been about eight years ago or ten, just before I come to Phoenix the first time. And I went down there and was praying for the woman. She had about five little children. And I was praying with her that night, and while I prayed and got up, I seen her even with tinted gray hair. She was ... hair was dark brown. And I seen her with tinted gray hair. Her children walking in, shaking hands with her, years later. And I said, "Sister, 'thus saith the Lord'; you're going to live."
She started weeping. She said, "Reverend Branham, something's happened in my heart." She said, "I just feel that I'm going to live. Something just satisfied me I'm going to get well."
I said, "You are, for it's 'thus saith the Lord.'"
I went back up, told them at the church. There was a man lived next door to me, very fine friend, and he had a hobby of making leather things. By the way, he made me this pocketbook, I've carried that for ten years. He made it out of a deerskin that I got myself. Got the picture of my tabernacle on it; and the inside, got a fish here and a deer head here. So he made me that old pocketbook, and I've carried it in memorial of that, for so long.

36 A perfect, total infidel, a scientist. Worked at the government depot. He didn't believe there was such a thing as God. Said, "Anybody that believed such is crazy." He said, "They're..."
I can understand easily, how people can get that in their mind. This morning, standing at a businessman's office, here in this city, with some ministers, how they talked about how Mohammedanism in Africa, is sweeping. Look, twenty-five Mohammedans to one Christian, that's the pressure, why? Mohammedanism is hooked together, one unity. They believe that the Koran is inspired.

37 We Christians, the first thing, we're separated between Catholic and Protestant. The Catholic says, "The Bible's inspired, but the Catholic church is over the Bible."
The Protestant said, "Well, it's inspired as much as I believe. The rest of it's not inspired."
Fussing, fighting, arguing, separating, oh, it's a pitiful thing. I'm sure glad God got a hold of me before the church did (That's right. Yes, sir.), that God taught me first, 'cause I'd have probably been an unbeliever. I see what people call themselves Christians and church and so forth, and each one wanting to pull little gnats and everything from one to the other, and separating, unseemingly, not having the faith. Sure.

38 Now, this man was a perfect infidel. And somebody got the news out the next day that I said that about the woman. I hadn't went out having services yet. I was patrolling out on high-lines and my clothes ragged. I got on my old bicycle and went over to get some groceries down at the store and I had to turn the corner where that woman lived, just two blocks below where I was. And here come the infidel walking down the street. And He spoke to me.
I said, "Good morning, sir."
And he said, "Hello, preacher." Said, "Just a minute, I want to talk to you." He said, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
And I said, "What?"
He said, "Telling that poor little dying mother in there, that she was going to live, building that people up under a false hope like that."
I said, "Well, I never built them up under no false hope."
He said, "Well, she's dying." Said, "Her husband works with me out there at the government." And said, "He told me that you'd come over there last night, and ... or, night before last, it was then, and prayed for her. And even you told her that she was going to be well and live to be an old woman."
I said, "That's right. I never did that; God did that."
He says, "Nonsense." He said, "Shame on you. You ought to be gentleman enough not to build people up under such things, false as that."
I said, "That's not false."
He said, "Away with such." Turned around and walked on.

39 And I thought, Well, okay. I went on and got my groceries, I come back. About two or three days after that... He had a lovely little wife was a believer. And so I ... my wife knew her real well, said she was a lovely lady. And she belonged to the Christian church. So my wife told me when I come in, said, "Well that Mrs. Andrews is very ill, Billy." Said, "You ought to go over and see her."
I said, "All right." I said, "Her husband's that infidel," I said, "I have to walk easy." So I said, "I'll go over and ask him if I can get him some kindling and coal for him, and maybe he'll ask ... maybe she'll ask me if she wants me to pray for her."
And so I went over, and I said, "How do you do, Mr. Andrews."
He said, "Hello, preacher."
And I said, "I hear you got a sick wife."
Said, "Yes, I have, but I've got a good doctor with her."
I said, "Yes, sir. I just wanted to ask you Mr. Andrews, being that we're neighbors here so close, if I could help you get in some coal or run an errand to the grocery, anything, I'd do it for you."
Said, "Oh, well, thank you very much." But said, "We got a good doctor with her; everything will be all right." He told me who the doctor was in the city.
And I said, "He is a fine man." I said, "I like him very much."
"Yeah, we got the situation..." Said, "She's got appendicitis." And said, "It'll be all right," said, "He's freezing it out; it'll be okay."
And I said, "Thank you, Mr. Andrews, I certainly hope so. If I can be of any help to you; I live next door; just call me." Shut the door, went on back, kind of unconcerned. Well, the next day the doctor come up, said, "Well, they'd have to take her to the hospital; she's swelling awful bad." Said, "We'll have to take her to the hospital and operate."

40 So they took her out to the hospital, and when they took the blood test from her, found out she didn't have appendicitis. So they sent to Louisville for a specialist. And they got the specialist over there. The specialist examined her, and when he did, he said, "She's got between four and six hours to live. There's a blood clot right near the heart; that's what's swelling." Said, "She's gone; that's all."
So my wife told me the next morning said, "Mrs. Andrews is going to die, Billy." Said, "I just heard that she's got a blood clot." The nurse, one of the nurse friends called up and said, "She's fixing to die." Said, "She's already unconscious."
I said, "Too bad, Meda, I hate to hear that. Poor thing," I said, "We'll just pray for her." So we prayed, and I went on and started off to work.

41 And it was kind of drizzling rain, and I was going out through the fields. Something kept saying, "Turn and go back. Turn and go back."
So I thought, Well, I'll turn and go back. So I went back, called up and turned in... It was inclement weather, so I couldn't work, just for that, 'cause I knew the Lord wanted something. And so, first thing you know, I sat there, and taking my old gun apart, and was cleaning it out. And the first thing you know, coming around the house, come Mr. Andrews, walking along, his hat pulled down over his ears, knocked on the door, and he said, "Mrs. Branham," said, "is preacher Branham here?"
Said, "Yes, Mr. Andrews. Won't you come in?" So he come in.
I said, "Hello, Mr. Andrews; get you a chair." I just kept working on my gun, you know.
And he said, "Preacher."
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "My---my wife's pretty sick. You heard about it?"
I said, "Yes, I heard she was going to die, Mr. Andrews." I said, "It's too bad." I said, "'Course you got a real good doctor out there." And I said, "I just hope she gets along all right."
He kept... He said, "Well," said, "we got a specialist; you understood that?"
I said, "Yes, I understood you did, Mr. Andrews. Heard it was a blood clot near the heart."
Said, "Yes," said, "that's right." Said, "My," said, "she's in awful shape."
I said, "Yes, sir, that sure is too bad."

42 I thought, You sweat it out. You made me sweat it, so now you sweat awhile. So I just kept cleaning on my gun; let him do some sweating. So I just kept cleaning on my gun, looking through it like that. It was clean, but I just wanted him to take a little while. But I kept looking through it like that.
And he said, "Preacher," he said, "you know what?"
I said, "What, Mr. Andrews?"
He said, "I wonder if you could help her a little bit."
And I said, "What do you mean?"
He said, "You know."
I said, "You mean, pray for her?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "I thought you didn't believe in such." I said, "I thought you told me less than a week ago, down there at the corner, you didn't even believe there was a God."
He said, "Well," he said, "you know..."
I thought, Yeah, when the time comes you'll believe. That's right, just let it get close enough to your own door one time, you'll believe it. And I said, "Well, all right, Mr. Andrews."
He said, "Would you go out and pray for her?"
I said, "I want to ask you something, Mr. Andrews." I said, "How about you kneeling here with me, and let's pray for her right here."
And he said, "Well," he said, "I---I---I don't hardly know what to do."
I said, "You just kneel here; I'll instruct you."

43 And so he got down there. I said, "Now, raise up your hands, and say..." I said, "The first thing: from the bottom of your heart say, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner.'" So I got him to praying, and he got to crying. Oh, my, we had a...
He got up and wiped his eyes; he said, "Well, preacher, you---you think now she's going to be helped?" I said... He said, "Would you go out?"
And I said, "Yes, I will go out and see her." So I said to Meda, "Get your coat on." We went out there, and when she did, she didn't know us: just swollen way up her eyes and her lips turned out. So, the little nurse when we come in, she said, "Come on, Brother Branham." Taken me up there. And I knelt down and prayed for her, put my hand over on her, stood there a little while. And my wife stood there, and she said, "See anything?"
I said, "No, honey, I don't."
We walked out, down around where the babies was and looked in the maternity ward there, you know, where the babies was all laying. She was talking about them. I went back to Mrs. Andrews again. Just as I went in the door, I seen it. Oh, my, I said, "Honey, it's going to be over. Don't worry; God has heard."

44 And I went home. Mr. Andrews come over, and he said, "What do you think about it, preacher?"
I said, "She's going to live."
He started a crying, my. And I said, "She's going to live." I said, "Don't worry; God's done said by the same vision told that woman down there she was going to live, and now she's up, down there, the woman." I said, "Now," (Mrs. Reece). And I said, "Now, she's going to live too."
And he said, "Oh, I'm so glad, preacher."
In a few moments the phone rang, and he went over. Said, "Come to your wife at once; she's dying."
So he come told me, and I said, "Do you believe what I told you?"
He said, "Well, preacher, I want to," said, "but they tell me she's dying."
I said, "That don't make a bit of difference what they say." I said, "When God speaks anything, it's got to be just that way."
So he said... So the first thing you know, he said, "Oh, I can't go see it."
I said, "See what?" I said, "You still think she's going to die, don't you?"
He said, "I'm just all nervous."
I thought, That's good for you right now (You see?), to sweat it out good.

45 So just let it go; and the first thing you know, another phone call come; they called him across the street. Here he went over, and he come back. And he said, "I got to go to the hospital right at once." So out to the hospital he went.
And Meda said, "What do you think about it?"
I said, "Why, don't worry about it. God's done said so; that settles it." I said, "If that woman don't bake me an apple pie in three days from now, and I'll be sitting on that porch and eating it, then I'm a false prophet." That's right. She could really bake a good one too. So I knew it; so I told them right there at the hospital, told the nurse that. I said, "She bakes me a pie in three days from now. If that isn't so, then I'll walk out of the ministry." That's right. I said, "Because it absolutely is the truth."

46 And you know, he come back across the field in a few moments, and the mucus running out of his nose, and he was a leaping and a jumping like that. He said, "Preacher, preacher, guess what happened." Said, "I went there to see her, and time I got there," said, "something had broke loose, and all the water had run out of her, and she was sitting up in a bed, said she was hungry. And I called the nurse." And said, "They brought her up some bouillon, and she said, 'Take that stuff out; I want some wieners and sauerkraut.'" She was normal and well. She lives today. And God of heaven who looked down...
And about a week afterward he made me that pocketbook that I've carried ever since in my pocket, around the world. That's right; that is the truth; God in heaven knows it. She lives tonight, why? 'Cause Jesus lives, she lives also. God [unclear words]. That's right.

47 Jesus, when He spoke to them, begin to reveal to them... Notice, the very thing ... they said... He said, "Why are you sad?" Christians shouldn't be sad; they should be happy, real happy, joy. He said, "Why are you so sad?
They said, "Are You just a stranger, and don't know that Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet that we expected to take the throne of David..." Said, "We all had faith in Him. He done great signs and wonders before us, and what a great prophet He was. And then they delivered Him... The people delivered Him up to Pilate and they crucified Him, buried Him."
And said, "This is the third day since that's happened." Said, "Some of our women of our group went up to the grave, probably to put some flowers on it, or whatever more, and," said, they said the tomb was empty; and they seen a vision that told them He was raised from the dead." And said, "Well then, 'course we believe that was a foolish story." And said, "Then," said, "one more was with our group, he said that he'd seen something about it."
And it went ahead, and He said ... He started... Watch, Jesus never started to arguing with them or talking. He said... Watch what He did: went straight to the Word. That's it. Brother, the Word of God, that's the basis and foundation for all salvation and healing, lays in the Word, not your feelings, not what you think about it, but what God has said about it. Amen. Oh, I wish I could have a tack, that I could tack that in your heart where it would never leave.

48 Today, I was reading a little place of Scripture, Joel ... Amos, 8:11, where it said there'd be a famine, not for bread, or for bread and water, but for hearing of the Word of God. That people'd go from the sea to the sea, from east to west, to and fro, everywhere, seeking for the Word of God and fail to find it. If that don't fit this nation at this time, I don't know where it does fit. That's right. We don't need bread; we got plenty of it. We got plenty to eat, plenty clothes to wear, nice homes to live in, and everything; but there's a famine for the hearing of the Word of God. A man won't know what to believe. That's right.
They're all confused; one say this, and one say that; and one say this, and one say something else. Base your thoughts on "Thus saith the Lord"; God will confirm it.

49 Jesus went right straight to the Word and begin to pour the Word in; said, "Fools and slow of heart, not to understand." Went back in the Old Testament and begin to prove how that Christ should suffer and raise the third day.
So they got to the little place where they were going, so they went into the restaurant. So He made out like He was going on by. Did you ever have a time... Maybe this poor man laying here suffering on this cot, He's made out like He's going to pass by you; He won't see. Invite Him in.
Maybe this poor man sitting here in a crutch, the man sitting in a wheelchair; He might act like He's going to pass by you tonight, but He won't. Just invite Him to come to you and see what happens. Just invite Him in.
They said, "Oh, come in; we just love to hear You teach the Word. We heard all the Pharisees and so forth, but there was something about Your teaching was different. Come in, let's teach just a little more." So they went in. And once inside the door, maybe a humble little hut, no matter how humble it was, but it's never too humble for Him to come into.

50 No matter how poor you are, how bad off you are; you're never too bad off but what Jesus will come in at your invitation. No matter how much you've sinned, what you've done, just give Him an invitation; He'll come right in and make His abode. Isn't that lovely?
All right, they invited Him in, and once in, the doors closed behind Him; He shut the rest of the world out. Now, if you're just a little superstitious tonight, of the presence of the Lord, when the meeting's going on, invite Him into your heart, and then close the door and the rest of your unbelief on the outside. See if He don't make Himself known to you.

51 Once in there, sat down at the table, the waitress probably come, and they ordered their supper. And as they put it out on the table, no doubt His heart beating, looking at them, and them looking at Him. They didn't know it. Why, the Bible said their eyes were closed; they didn't understand it. They were sitting right with Him, walking right with Him, talking right with Him. Here, eating with Him, and didn't know who He was.
And, friend, that's as true as it could be today. That's as true as I'm standing on this platform, that the resurrected Jesus Christ is right in this building, talking to individuals right now. If you could only recognize that that's His voice. I pray that it'll make Himself manifested after awhile, and prove to you that He's here in the building.
Jesus is not dead, He's risen from the dead. And He's here on earth, carrying on the ministry that He had when He was here on earth in the physical form. He's carrying on through human beings as He promised He would. "The very things that I do, shall you do also." Saving, doing the will of the Father, that's what He came for. And He's here tonight.

52 And when He had those disciples in there, sat at the table, He looked at them, He thought, Well, you've heard Me teach the Gospel now. You've heard Me preach today, so I believe I'll just let you know that I'm really Him. So He picked up some bread, and He just done it a little different from what other men did it, so they realized that it was Him. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized, and He vanished from their sight.
My, they was a Sabbath day's journey, getting over there, but they sure went back light-footed, light-hearted, leaping and jumping and praising the Lord. They knew that He was risen from the dead. Went back... He didn't go back to argue their religion, now; they went back with one thing in their heart: Jesus has risen from the dead.

53 That's the thing tonight, not arguing religion, arguing different phases, arguing about different church denominations, arguing about different nations. What the world needs to know tonight: Jesus has risen from the dead, and He lives among men. Amen. Not arguing about pinpoint this, and cut this, and move this, and this inspired; just forget it, and look unto Him, and believe He raised from the dead, and He will manifest Himself to you. Amen. Just that simple...
You say, "Well, if an Angel was preaching that..." God didn't ordain angels to preach the Gospel. He ordained men to preach the Gospel. He never said to the Angels, "I will be with you and in you." He said to men, "I will be with you and in you." He never said to angels, "The things that I do, you'll do also." He said to men, "The things I do, you'll do also."
The Gospel comes by preaching of the Word. God manifests Himself through human beings. Amen. The only eyes God's got on the earth tonight is mine and yours. The only hands He has is our hands: God working in His people. God's in the universe; God's in His Word; God's in His Son; God's in His people.

54 God is here now, resurrected from the dead, night after night proving Himself alive among us, bringing sinners, dead sinners alienated, cut off from God, bringing them to a recognition of God, saving their souls, filling them with the Holy Spirit, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind.
Wake up, people. Don't be carried about with every wind of doctrine, saying, "The days of miracles is past," and "These things are for another age." Don't be tossed about; believe the resurrected Lord Jesus. That was their teaching back there when He was raised on that Easter morning. But He was alive, and He's here tonight. He's here; don't never forget that.
If you never remember a thing that I've ever said to you, remember me by this: that Jesus Christ the Son of God raised from the dead and is alive today among men, hunting out sinners, healing the sick and the afflicted. He's the same in every way that He ever was and ever will be; the same yesterday, today and forever, the Lord Jesus, seeking lost sinners.

55 Are you lost? If you are saved, it's wonderful. But if you're lost, God has a preparation to save you by. The worst thing I can think of is somebody lost.
Being a hunter, I go into the mountains... Just a minute before closing now, and then we'll start praying for the sick, just in a minute. I feel the Holy Spirit would have me to call the people up here and pray for them.
Now, I was lost once in the woods. I went up near the Canadian border where I'd been. I thought I was just too good a woodsmen to ever get lost. And when you trust in yourself, that's when you get lost; that's when you are lost. That's when Adam was lost, when he trusted in himself to make a fig leaf to cover himself over, see. He had to come on the merits of the shed blood.

56 And whenever you think, Oh, I go to church; I'm as good as you are, preacher. Certainly you are, but are you as good as God wants you to be? You ain't good in the first place, and I ain't good in the first place. The only goodness that's in us, is what God did for us through Jesus Christ. That's right. Yes, sir. We're all sinners, but the only way we can be saved is by accepting the Lord Jesus and His free pardon.
Now, I was totally lost. I told my wife I'd be back. I took her ... Billy was just a little baby, little bitty fellow about three, four years old. I believe five years old. And we was way in the head of the Adirondack, near the Canadian border. And we drove up about twenty-five, thirty miles up an old log road like that, where they'd done some chopping, cutting pulp wood. And we come to the ranger's camp. I'd hunted in there for years.

57 I told the wife I was going to bear hunt, and I said, "I'm going down here to hunt deer, and I'll pick up a deer, come back; I will be back by noon."
She said, "I will be waiting for you." Cold that night; we had to take little Billy and put him between us, keep him from freezing to death: cold November and the limbs were freezing, dropping off the trees. Had a little shelter rest, the cabin was locked. The Hurricane Mountain ... the tower sat up there, and we was going to go way back over another part of the country to hunt.
So he was going to unlock the cabin, she could go in there, and her and Billy stay while we taken the trip and went away. So, her just a kid merely herself, about twenty-one, twenty-two years old. And so, that night---that night we liked to froze. So building a little fire and making a little lean-to, and so then the next morning I started out to get a deer, 'cause he was supposed to come that day.
And so, I told her I'd be back at noon. I went down across the hill through some chopping. Come back up along the ridge, and I seen a bobcat crossing; I couldn't get close enough to it to shoot it, so I went on up over a hill. I trailed up along-side and went into a great big bear den. There wasn't nothing in there; I come back, went down towards the giants, what they call the giants: a great massive forest in there for miles after miles, all flat woods like in there, and tarred.

58 So I got way down on the side, and I seen a deer over ... a great big fellow, and I shot the deer. When I got through over there, I said, "Well now, looky here, it's after twelve o'clock, so I got to hurry." And I went back, started back up this way. It come ... a storm was coming down, fog. When it gets foggy in the woods, any hunter knows that's a dangerous time. You can't hardly see your hands before you.
Well, I started walking. I said, "I've got to hurry." I went around; I kept walking, walking, walking, walking. I thought, Well my, where'd I turn off at? And the first thing you know, I happen to stop, look, I thought, Well I've seen this place somewhere. Looked up, and there hung my deer. I knowed that I'd walked around somewhere. So I said, "Now, I've got to go one certain way." And I walked again, come back to the place three times, right straight.
Now, the Indian calls that the death walk, you know. So that's what you are; you're walking in circles. And I knew that, but how was I going to get out?
And now, the storm was right down, blowing in the top of the trees, fog just a turning. And I thought, Now, the sensible thing to do...
I'd have went into somewhere, in a cave somewhere and hibernated up till the storm was over, and then climbed up to a high place, and see where I was, and go on. But I got a wife and baby up there, would freeze to death and die that night. They never in the woods in their life. They didn't know how to take care of themselves, and scare them to death anyhow. For I knowed they'd both die that night; I had to find them. And what a feeling. Oh, my. Baby and wife to die in the woods that night.

59 But I thought I was too good to ever be lost in the woods. So I went around; I thought, Well now, here I've got to go one way. I thought, As I come up the mountain, the wind was facing me in the face. I come down this way, so that would throw it this way. I thought, Now, the storm coming, which way did it come?
And the winds had changed, and them pockets and circuits, it'll blow any way blow this way awhile and then this way awhile. And oh, it was cloudy, fog hanging, moss on both sides of the tree down in that low place, till wasn't nothing in the world I could find for a landmark. Bark down in there, 'course the wind don't get down in there like it does in a blizzard on both sides was thick. There was nothing in the world that I could find to get myself out of the woods.

60 So I said, "Well." I begin to get nervous. And anyone knows what happens, then you take a fever, and you either commit suicide or die. So I said, "Oh, my." I thought, I've got to get out of here; I've got... I said... Sat down a minute. I said... Slapped myself on the side of the face, I said, "Looky here, William Branham, you're not lost. What's the matter with you, boy? You know how to get out of here." I was bluffing myself.
I was lost, sure I was lost. I said, "Why, you're too good in the woods to ever get lost. My goodness, what would your grandfather think about you, to see you sitting here acting like this? Why get up from here." I got up and walked a little bit farther, and I was still lost; that's all.
And I said, "Well, I got to make a... I've got to get out of here some way." So I said, "I'm going to make one straight beeline right this way." And I said, "I'm not going to tarry at all. I'm going right straight this way, and I know I'm going to come right out straight to Hurricane Mountain. If I could only see Hurricane Mountain, I'd know where the tower was, and I could get down from there. I don't whether I'm east of it, or west of it, or where I'm at."

61 So fog just a-blowing, the timbers a-cracking, so I said, "Here I go, right this a way." And I started going, frantic. Something telling me right beside of my ear, said, "I am a very present help in the time of trouble." [Gap in the audio] on: "I'm the Lord; I'm a very present help in a time of trouble."
I thought, Looky here, I---I know I'm going out. Now, there's something getting wrong with me, see. I said, "I'm hearing voices. There's something wrong with me." I said, "Looky here, straighten yourself up, boy, what's the matter with you? You've got to go on. You're not lost. You know exactly where you're at, now go on."
And I thought ... looked down here; it was already four-thirty in the afternoon. And I thought, Oh, my, I was supposed to be there at noon. She's having screaming spells now. 'Cause she knowed... That kid in the woods, never was in the woods in her life, and that little baby up there. Wouldn't even know how to make a fire, nothing.

62 So, then they'd be scared to be out like that, there's sure wild animals and... Wasn't nothing to hurt them, of course, but they was---they was scared. And so I just kept walking on, and I kept hearing something said, "I'm a very present help in a time of trouble. A very ... I'm the Lord. I'm a very present help in the time of trouble."
I stopped and I thought, Wonder if that could be Him speaking. I said, "Am I man enough to admit I'm lost? Am I man enough to admit that I'm lost?" I took off my hat, and laid it down, and I said, "Dear God, I'm lost. I am lost; I don't know where I am. I don't know how to get out of here." I knelt down on my hat, and I set my gun beside the tree.
I said, "Father, I am totally lost, I'm... By feeling that self-sustaining in myself, I deserve to die. But, Lord, have mercy on my poor little wife and baby out there. They're going to die too. They're worthy to live, and I'm unworthy. But, Lord, I'm lost and will You help me for their sake?" I said, "I don't know what to do. If that's You speaking, saying You're a present help in a time trouble, You be my compass now. You take me out. There's none of the natural signs around me. But I'm lost. Will You help me?"

63 I raised up, wiped my eyes, and I thought, Well, God, You direct me. Here I go, I don't know which way I'm going, but I'm going to walk. I believe I come this way. I said, "I'm going... Now that's my own opinion. I'm going this way." And I put my hat down, picked up my rifle, started off going this way.
Now, just as true as I'm standing on this platform tonight, this Bible, I felt somebody put their hand on my shoulder. And I turned to see who it was, and just as I turned, the fog cleared away, back this way. And I seen the tower on Hurricane Mountain, back this way.
I turned this way real quick and faced myself, took off my hat, throwed down my rifle, raised up my hands. I said, "O God, oh how I appreciate this. Lord, I was going right into Canada. I'd have been to ... I'd never come out of it." I said, "Lord..." That was my own opinion. And sometimes you taken your own opinion, you'll go wrong every time. Pray and ask God what to do.

64 And I looked towards that; I thought, I've got to keep my face set right straight the way. Now, the fog covered up again. It just cleared back enough till I could see... I knowed if I could ever get up to that tower or cross that line across that side of the mountain...
I helped the ranger put up that telephone line that run down to the camp where his wife stayed in the summertime. And I knowed if I could ever get to that, I'd get a hold of that line. No matter how bad it was storming, I could find my way to my family. And as I stood there looking that way, something come to me, said, "Yes, you was lost again worse than this. But just keep your eyes on Calvary."
I started like that, walking, walking. I couldn't bypass; I couldn't go around; it'd throw me off of my course. I was about, at least five miles from it. And it getting dark right then. And I went through the bushes, and deers jumping up ahead of me. I'd fall and skin my legs all up. Pitch dark, and I was pulling then, trying to get up these cliffs and things, trying to keep my course just the best as I could.

65 I thought, I'm on top now, it looks like. Now, I couldn't see that line, so I just kept my hands up like this. Put my rifle down over my shoulder in a sling, put my hands up and just kept walking. I said, "I got my hands up, Lord. Let me feel that line when I pass over it." Snow hitting me in the face, and brush; I kept walking.
And first thing you know something touched my hand. I felt it; it was that wire. Oh, my, you don't know what a feeling it was. I knowed if I'd follow that wire, don't take my hand off of it, follow that wire right down that hill about two and a half or three miles, I'd be right with my wife and baby down at the bottom of the hill.
And there it come to me: Yes, every man alienated from God, cut off in this world, not knowing where he's going, carried about everywhere. But if you'll look to Calvary, hold up your hands to God, and accept Christ as your Saviour until something strikes your hand, that's the way home. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit then. Hold your hand in His unchanging hand; it will lead you right straight to your lover, the Lord Jesus. You believe it?

66 Shall we bow our heads just a moment and pray? Our heavenly Father, I think of the old song, it said, "I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see." And I think of that blinding storm that night, my heart jumping, fever raging in my body, scared to death, knowing that I'd perish that night, and so would my wife and baby.
God, there may be men and women sitting in here tonight, that's also, in the spiritual realms, in that same prediction. Their family will perish if dad doesn't come, or mother, one, quickly. The children will be carried about out here in the world. May they tonight look through this misty fog that hangs over the earth and see Calvary, raise their hands to the Lord Jesus and touch the lifeline that leads home.
Grant it, Lord, our last night in this series of services. Bless every wayward, lost man or woman. Maybe they've trusted in the arm of flesh. Maybe they've trusted in some church creed, but never, ever touched the line. They never had that blessed assurance in their heart, that this is the line that leads to happiness, freedom, and to the Lord Jesus, the line that runs from Calvary to glory.
May every dark, staggering, alienated person in the building tonight reach their hand, Father, feel around just a moment. They'll touch something that will anchor a faith in their heart that'll lead them to glory.

67 While we have our heads bowed, everyone praying. If I should return a year from today, many of you here won't be here. Two thousand people, I guess, in here tonight; somebody will slip out. Have you been staggering in darkness? Been coming to the meetings, you look, you see the signs of the Lord Jesus resurrected; you hear the Word; He's been talking to you back there, and you're staggering along in darkness, will you raise your hand to Him tonight, and say, "Lord Jesus, I want to touch the lifeline, now. I'm raising up my hands."
God bless you, brother. God bless you, sister. God bless you, yeah, you. That's right, everywhere. God bless you, mother, with... God bless you, young man. God bless you, little boy. Way back in the back, any standing around back there, would say...
Raise up your hand, not to me, to God. God bless you, Spanish brother. God bless you, little lady. God bless you, the white lady sitting there. Up in the balcony, to my left, all look up there at the hands along there. Just feel there just a minute, say, "God be merciful to me a sinner."

68 God bless you, Spanish lady down here. Balcony to the right, raise up your hands, and say, "Yes, I believe Him right now. I've wandered around in all kinds of darkness. I really never even knew... I've went to church. Oh, yes, I've put my name on the book. But really to have that hope that I got it in my hand right now, I've never really had that assurance. But now, I'm coming firmly upon the basis of the shed blood of Jesus and His resurrection power. And that resurrected Spirit is speaking to my heart, and I'm raising my hands right now, to say, 'God, here I raised my hand for the lifeline.'"
Many dozens has raised their hands. Would someone else put up your hand now, that did not raise your hand a few moments ago, anywhere? God bless you up here, brother. God bless you. God bless you there, sister. God bless you back there, brother. God bless you, sister; I see your hand. Someone else? God bless you, brother, back there; I see your hand. Someone else? God bless you, you, you here, the little lady with both hands up. Someone else? The man sitting here, God bless you, sir.
That's a good way to be healed, is just accept the Lord like that. Someone else? A little boy up here with both hands up, God bless you, honey. Someone else? A lady over here, elderly, with her hand up, yes. "Wasted many years, but I'm coming home now."

69 God bless you, young man. God bless you over here, brother. Someone else? Remember, when you raise your hand, and mean it from your heart, God's obligated to do it right then. God bless the colored sister sitting here. The brother over here with his hand up, with the little brown sweater on, God bless you. God bless the lady sitting here; that's right, sister.
Jesus said, "He that heareth My words, believeth on Him that sent Me has everlasting life," right now. God bless you, brother back there, both hands up, right now is receiving Jesus. God bless you, sir. God bless you, lady. God bless you, sir. God bless you, sir, young man there, just in the...

70 What did Jesus say? "You have, right now, everlasting life. He that heareth My words, (I've done my best to bring them to you.) now, believeth on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life and shall never come into condemnation."
God bless you up there, sister, standing by the side of the post, the little Spanish girl. "Has everlasting life, shall never perish, never perish..." Mean it from your heart. God bless you, mother, aged woman. Someone has to help her hold her hand up; you're coming to the Lord Jesus.
Say, "Brother Branham, what does that mean?" That means you passed from death to life, right there. God will take care of the rest of it, about giving you the Holy Spirit. Just once mean it in your heart; let Christ come to your heart, then you'll grow in the grace of God. God will just unfold the thing to you. First get started right. Get down, "Faith ... by faith are you saved, through grace, not of works, lest any man should boast." Nothing you can do: quit doing this, or quit doing that. You just believe; God saves you by grace.

71 God bless you, sister, with your hand up there. God bless you, little lady back there. You, you, you, oh, my, that's right. New ones just putting up their hands everywhere, accepting the Lord Jesus. My, I guess we're around sixty or seventy now. Someone else raise your hand, that hasn't raised their hand, and say, "Remember me, God."
God bless you, the little fellow, the little lady there with her handkerchief up. Anywhere else before we go to prayer? God bless, I see the man back there, yes in the back, the Spanish brother, back there holding the hand up of another, yeah, I see you. God bless you; God sees you. God bless the little girl there with her hand up. Just a child, but coming to the Lord. All right, God bless you over here, sister. Oh, that's wonderful.

72 Just waiting a few moments, giving the Holy Spirit a time just to speak to the heart. Maybe He's moving over the audience, knocking at every door. Who was that told you to put up your hands? Who was that said that? Jesus said, "No man can come to Me, except My Father draws Him. And all that comes to Me," after My Father's knocked at their heart, all that comes, raises up their hands to the lifeline, "I will give them everlasting life, and will raise them up at the last day."
Someday when the life is gurgling out of your throat, maybe in a automobile accident, maybe by a fever, sickness, or just death coming to you, when you feel the chilly pains coming up your sleeve, your friends a weeping, you'll see that blessed Redeemer standing there with His outstretched arms to take your soul to place it into a new body, a new man, a young man or young woman, never to get old no more, to live in His presence forever. Because, what you did, just believed and raised up your hand.

73 God bless you, the sweetest little curly-headed, blond-headed girl sitting here, with her little hand up, her little eyes watering, looking this a way. You say, "God's not speaking to that child." Sure He is. She hasn't callused her heart with the things of the world yet. She's innocent, just a baby, about six, seven years old. God bless you, sister there, the young lady. Now, if there's just another, before we close.
God bless, there's a whole row of them, look like, coming up back there. I just hate to close, if you're still raising your hands for salvation. How many in here now would like to receive the Holy Spirit? Would you raise your hands? All over the building, everywhere. My, just look at the hands everywhere. God be merciful. Shall we pray now? Every one with your heads bowed, your eyes closed.

74 Jesus raised from the dead. Oh, my, to think that this is the night we're parting now. But you've accepted Christ. We'll meet again where we'll never part, just because that you accepted Him tonight; that means the difference.
Heavenly Father, the great Phoenix meeting is now drawing to a close. And at the end, many, many sinners raised their hands to Thee, upon the teaching of the Word that You said, "He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, shall not perish or come into condemnation," be condemned. No more condemned before God, but has accepted Jesus Christ and His suffering in their stead.

75 Now, Father, sweetly, humbly lead them on, as they hold their hands against the lifeline, walk towards glory. Won't You bless them now? Save every one of them, Father. In Thy kingdom, may I see them and shake their hands. And it'd be possible, may You be able to review tonight's service for us. They'd say, "Yes, that was the one, there's where... That was me put up my hand."
God say, "Yeah, I saw you. I tugged at your heart. You raised your hand; I accepted you. And now you're My beloved child; come into the joys of life, been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. Enter into the joy."

76 We thank Thee, Father. Those who have already come and wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit, set aside for service, grant it to them also, Lord. Finally at the end of the road, when life's all finished, and the great wedding supper is set, there that table thousands of miles long, the blood-washed of all ages sitting around there. The King come out, wipe the tears from their eyes, say, "There's no more suffering now. There's no reason to cry now; we're all here. Come, ye blessed of My Father."
Until that time, Father, keep them happy in their souls, cleanse them from all uncleanliness and unrighteousness. May they walk each day with their sails set towards glory, bringing others to Thee. For we ask it in Jesus' name, Thy beloved Son, who has now called them to everlasting life. Amen. [Gap in the audio]

77 Believe with all your heart, with all your strength. Just take all the feeling away that you just imagine, or all the superstitious feeling, just throw it aside. Then just look right straight to God and say, "I believe it with all my heart, solemnly." And watch and see what the Holy Spirit will do.
Now, all ready? Now, for the glory of God, and for the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I take every spirit in the building under my control. Now, be reverent; don't move around, sit still, please. Now, this closing night, do me that favor. In Jesus' name, will you? Just be real reverent, sit still. They'll watch me. They won't let me too long in the line. And then... Because I'm very weak and tired.

78 And I love you all with warmest of Christian love. God bless you. If the anointing strikes me, 'course I don't know when they take me, or what happens. And I hope to see you again, right away. Until then I'll be praying for you. God bless you.
All right, lady. Now, if you'll come here just a moment, sister. Now, we are supposingly, I suppose we are strangers to one another. We are. You've seen me, but I mean not to know you. If I do, I don't recognize you. I don't recognize you. And we just seen one another just like, you'd be in the audience and look back and see me.
But to know who you are, or where you are, what's happened, that's impossible, isn't it? Only unless it would be revealed by a spiritual revelation, or a vision, or some way of knowing. I have no more idea what you're here for, than I know what ... well, anybody else is here for. I don't; but He knows what you're here for. And He can tell me what you're here for, show me what you're here for. I could tell you, if it's for healing of your body then, well, God could do that by your faith believing it.

79 I see you're a personal worker. So, but if He will let me know what you're here for... Now, I'm talking to you just like man to a woman, just like Jesus to the woman at Samaria.
Now, to the audience, here's a woman that I don't know. You may know her. Are you from Phoenix here, are you? You're from Phoenix? People out there know here, don't you? Well, I don't know her. I've never seen her in my life. But you know whether this is truth or not. And you know whether I know anything about her or not. I have no way; I don't know the woman, let alone know anything about her.

80 Now, the only way that would be done... If it was done in the Scriptural terms... Now take away from the old some kind of a creed you've learned, and let's look at the Bible. Jesus said, "The things that I do, shall you also." Now, when He met a woman like this, He begin to talk to her. And the first thing you know, He found just exactly where her trouble was. And in that case, she was a woman that had five husbands. Said, "Go get your husband."
She said, "I don't have any."
Said, "You got five."
She said, "I perceive that You're a prophet." Said, "I know when Messiah cometh, that'll be His sign." See, the sign of a Messiah, to do that... The people today says it's mental telepathy, it's the devil. No wonder we're in the condition we're in. It's the resurrected Lord Jesus, the sign of the Messiah.
But she said, "Who are You?"
He said, "I am He."
She run into the city and said, "Come, see..." Started a revival in that city, just because of one woman's testimony, Him telling her one thing. And if this ain't perfectly the case, outside of knowing what's wrong with her, tonight. Is that right? Everybody recognize that?

81 Now, she's a Phoenix woman, she said. And you all know her. Many of you raised your hands; you know her. Now, the Lord can tell me what's wrong with her. But if she's---if she's here for domestic trouble, financial trouble, or healing, sick, or whatever it is, or for her soul, whatever it might be, God can reveal it. And she will know whether that's true or not. Then if He knows what was, surely He knows what will be.
Now, everyone be reverent. Now, as I talk to the woman, just to catch her spirit. Now, I'm kind of waiting for you to quieten, if you will. Don't move around. There's all kind of spirit in here tonight (See?), moving; sickness, I mean. And I see, especially children. Children, it gets to children so easy. So don't...
Just as I said that, epilepsy begin to pull. That's right. That's the thing that... As soon as these... I tell you, to know spiritual things, friends, see just how words will change spiritual attitudes and everything, see. Just as he's heard me say that, then epilepsy begin to move in.

82 Now, now I just want to talk to you just a minute. Just in order to see your human spirit. Now, if God will... You being ... you are a Christian believer. And if God will remove ... or, move in and tell me what you're here for, then you will believe. You know that believing, it comes from God.
The first thing, you have something wrong about eating; it's about a stomach condition. You have a stomach trouble, which is a gastric condition in the stomach. Because it causes stuff to come in your mouth and things. It's a gastric condition in the stomach.
Then you've got a arm that's bad. And that's your left arm. And it was crushed by an automobile. That's the truth. You believe now? Do you believe now? Come here, sister.
Heavenly Father, I pray that You'll bless now. Give to her the desire of her heart. In Jesus Christ's name I ask it. Amen.

83 Have faith, believe with all your heart. Now, we're total strangers to each other too.
Now, here's the perfect picture of the Lord Jesus at the well. He was a Jew, and she was a Samaritan: a racial condition, just like today, me being a white man, you a colored woman. But it's... Jesus let them know right quick, that it didn't make any difference to God. We're all off of one person. We all are children of God. But whether Jew, Gentile, white, colored, yellow, brown, it doesn't matter. God, by one blood, through His Son, Jesus Christ, has bought us everyone. And in that, we become brothers and sisters. Now, me being a stranger to you, do you believe that God will do something for you, as He...

84 Now, you know I don't know you, do you, lady? We're strangers. But you're suffering with a nervous condition. You're nervous, upset. You got a lot of things in your heart: sorrow. You're all broke up about something. I see it getting dark, coming darker. There seems to be somebody standing back in there, but it's a man. And he's weaving sideways; he's coming home. It's your husband; he's a drunkard. And you're here to... Have mercy, God. All right. That's true, sister. Come near. Father, I pray that You'll grant her request in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. God bless you.
How do you do, sister? I want you to be reverent, everywhere. Please don't move. Now, lady, are we strange to each other? We don't know each other? Total strangers. Well, Jesus Christ the Son of God died to save...

85 Got something wrong with your side, haven't you, sister, sitting there, right there in front? Got trouble in your side. A real strange thing happened when that lady a few minutes ago was told something about a loved one, because you're praying for a loved one too: That's an unsaved father. I see him standing, and you are praying for him. That's true, isn't it? God bless you, young lady.
Now, there you... Them two ... both them people sitting on the end right there, suffering with epilepsy. That's right. Thou, demon, in the name of Jesus Christ, you leave them, come out of them.
Do you believe now, lady, with all your heart? You believe that Jesus Christ the Son of God is here to make you well? I believe you do. You realized that just now, you're in the presence of something, don't you, sister? It's His presence. Isn't it a wonderful feeling to stand in this presence?

86 Now, if that's right, so the audience will see, raise up your hand. That wonderful consolation of love like pouring... You are suffering with a trouble in your lungs, a lung trouble. Seems like you had some... Did you have a rib moved or something, some kind of a rib trouble? It's under your... Ribs move, yes. I see them taking you ... or doing something to the ribs.
And you got a curvature of the spine. And it's got a stomach trouble, 'cause it's pushed over, and they said, and got the stomach pushed in the wrong condition. And then you have a hurting in your back. That's the truth. Do you believe Jesus is here to heal you? Then if that's Him speaking through, then it's not me.
Come, let me have my hands upon you. God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, make our sister well and all she asks for. In Jesus' name. Amen. Have faith; don't doubt.

87 Now, sister, sitting there with the liver trouble, sitting right there, you was praying then. You said, "God, let him speak to me and I'll believe you." Isn't that exactly what you said? Raise your hand if that isn't right. Now, stand upon your feet. The liver trouble's left you, sister.
How do you do, sir. You believe? We are strangers to one another, brother. But Jesus Christ knows both of us. If God will tell me exactly what you're here for, will you accept what you've come for, through Jesus? You will? There's a shadow of death hangs over you. And that's a cause in your stomach. And that's a cancer in the stomach. You believe now that Jesus Christ is going to make you well? You accept it right now upon the basis of His shed blood? Then go eat. In Jesus Christ's name, may the devil leave my brother. Amen.

88 Have faith; don't doubt. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe..." That's the way, little fellow. Amen.
That Indian woman sitting on the end out there, had her head down praying just then, she's got a comb in her hair. The Angel of the Lord, that Light, hangs over the woman. She's suffering with hay fever. That's right, Indian lady. Jesus Christ make you whole.
Say, your friend sitting next to you, that other Indian woman there, she's suffering with a head trouble. Put your hand over on her too, that she may be made well also. Raise up your hand there, lady, and receive your healing through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen. There it goes: healed. Dark streak of blackness leaving, moving out. Something white shoving it. It's over. Have faith.

89 Is this the patient? Do you believe me, lady, as God's servant, with all your heart? I don't know you, never seen you. But your life, you couldn't hide now, because I've contacted your spirit through Jesus Christ. You're here for a worthy thing. You're a woman that's barren and want children. You want me to lay my hands on you, that you'll receive a child. Heavenly Father, give unto this woman the desire of her heart. I bless her, as Your servant, in the name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus. Amen. Have faith. Don't doubt.
You want to get over that arthritis, sitting right back there? Raise up; your faith healed you, sister. That's right, raise up, shove your hands up in the air, let the people see that you're healed. Absolutely, you're free from it now. Amen. Your faith makes you whole. Amen. Have faith in God; don't doubt.

90 Come here, lady. You believe? I'm a stranger to you. We do not know each other, I suppose, but Jesus Christ knows both of us. Spirits are begging for help. Just a moment, lady. Us being strangers to each other, not never seeing each other, if I ... if the Holy Spirit, rather, through me would tell just what your trouble is, would you believe it? And you'd believe it come from God?
Will the audience believe it comes from God? Now, 'course more I'd talk to you, more it would say, but just so it says. I see something around your arm. It's a high blood pressure, you have. And also you have a choking spirit. It's a goiter in your throat, choking, inward goiter. That's the truth. You're not from this country. You've come from way in the east. You've come from Grand View, Tennessee. That's right. That shock you? Your name's Miss Lily Edwards, too. That's right. Now, go home and be well in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have faith.

91 How do you do? The first thing to say to you, my friend, is your life with God. You're not ... you ain't pleasing yourself the way you're walking. You want a little closer walk with the Lord. That's right. I see you ask Him in prayer. Then I see you've got a growth. And the growth is growing. And the growth is in the stomach. Isn't that true?
You want a closer walk with God? You want to be healed? Then believe that what's talking to you, is not your brother, the Lord Jesus Christ will give it to you. Do you do it? Then in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, receive what you ask for. Amen.

92 You're near the kingdom, sister.
Lady... This the woman, this the patient? We're strangers to each other, I suppose. I don't know you, but God knows you. You're a believer. You're not standing here for yourself; you're standing for a friend. And you've just received some kind of a message from that friend. And they're going to be operated on in the morning for cancer. And that's near a big lake or something, it's near Chicago, Illinois. That's right. God, in the name of the Lord Jesus, grant the healing of whatever she asks for, through Jesus' name.
Lord Jesus can heal heart trouble just the same as He can heal anything. You believe that? You believe you will get it now? In Jesus' name, go and receive it. Amen.

93 Come, lady. You believe with all your heart? I just got to hurry a little. Just ... no, just hold me up. Look again this way just a minute. Do you believe? You want to go eat your supper? That stomach trouble's been bothering you, all upset, cramping, hurting, drawing you double, lady's trouble. Go on your road, Jesus Christ make you well.
Do you believe? You believe God will heal you of this anemia condition? You believe you can go home, be made well of this anemic condition? God bless you. Go, and receive what you asked for, in Jesus' name.
All right, come, lady. See you limping when you come. Means... No, it isn't, you haven't got a broken hip; it's arthritis that's bothering you. You believe Jesus Christ is going to make you well? Go, and be made well in Jesus' name.

94 Will you come, lady? Do you believe? You want to get over that back trouble, kidney trouble? You believe Jesus makes you well? Then go, and Jesus Christ heal you and make you completely well. Amen.
Your arthritis was healed when you was sitting right down there, sir, tonight. You done passed [unclear word]. All right, when you were sitting out there looking at me tonight, right down there. There's a real cool thing went to your stomach; the ulcer left then. You're healed.
How do you do? Heart trouble is gone, brother. Go, rejoicing and praising God. Believe with all your heart.
Eyes and stomach, but Jesus Christ makes you well. Have faith.
Just a minute. Don't fear; your kidney trouble and everything's gone from you, lady. Go, believing.
Stomach trouble, anything, God can heal it all, can't He? Make you well, heal you perfectly. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray the prayer for my brother. Amen.
So much... Look, it's just everywhere. Look, it's just hitting everywhere.

95 You got heart trouble, lady. Everyone with heart trouble, stand on your feet just a minute. See what I told you? How are you going to discern? It's just coming everywhere. Stand here just a minute. Believe with all your heart now. Stand here; remain standing a minute.
Look here, lady. You got TB. Everyone with TB, stand on your feet just a minute. Jump up real quick, TB cases. Be faithful; believe with all your heart. Lungs, lungs, it keeps moving. That's all right, sir. You stand up anyhow. You haven't got TB, but you have got pneumonia in your lungs. That's right, standing right there. That's right, you. Stand still.
This man laying right here's got pneumonia in his lungs, on this stretcher. Stand up, sir, Jesus Christ makes you well. The rest of you stand up a minute. Get up. O God, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I bring these sick and afflicted people to You. I rebuke every devil that's bound the people, TB, everything, all these crippled, sick, afflicted, God, in Jesus' name, take it out. Satan, come out of them bodies of believers. Stand up on your feet everywhere, and be made well.