The Queen of Sheba
You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net
1 Be seated. Thank you, Brother Vayle. And I'm sure that no one come out tonight just to be seen. It's a very bad night. And God bless your gallant souls for weathering this snow storm, to come to hear the Word of the Lord. And I trust that after this life is finished, that I will meet you in a place where we won't have to brave snow storms to worship the Lord. Now, I call that real, real Christianity. You don't come out just to be seen on a night like this or neither for curiosity. And I'm sure that the Lord will bless us in our gathering together tonight.
2 And now, I'm just a little hoarse, and I won't take but just a few minutes of time to speak, and then we will have the prayer line.
And now, you people that's got your prayer cards, while we're running through these lines of discernment, picking out somewhere a group of a few here and there, to pray for, hold your prayer card, because we're going to pray for all that's got prayer cards. So just keep your prayer card. Let us pray now:
3 Blessed God, it's grateful to Thee, and the adoration of our hearts go to You, when we see people coming through the snow, and the slick roads to come to worship Thee in the service. It shows, Lord, that the faith of our fathers are living still. In spite of dungeons, swords, or storms, God's great church marches onward. And we're so happy to be a member of that blessed body, looking shortly for the coming of our blessed Lord, who will receive us up into His kingdom, into His presence. There will we ever be with Him.
Oh, the glorious thoughts and the joy that sweeps through our souls when we look upon these promises, and the Holy Spirit bearing us record that they are true. And then, tonight, Lord, speak to us in Thy Word, and heal all the sick and the needy that's here. May each of them receive a reward for coming out tonight.
4 If there's any unsaved, may they get that great eternal reward of being saved from their sins.
I pray, God, that You'll stop this snow, send the rain, and wash it away, that we might have good nights while we're carrying this revival in Thy name. Bless our people that's here, our brethren and sisters, Your children. As they come to fellowship around the Word, may they be protected on these slick roads tonight going to their homes; protect them, that no harm and danger come to them. Grant it, Lord, and give us a great blessing.
Now, we're going to open the Word, and no man can open it but You. We can turn the pages back, if we're physically able, but Thou alone, Lord, can open the Scriptures to us. Though we would read it many times, it would be hid from our eyes unless Thou would open it. And we pray that You'll open to us the Word, and may we fellowship around it. For we ask it in the name of Thy blessed Child, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.
5 In Saint Matthew, the 12th chapter, just for a little Scripture reading, I wish to read the 42nd verse. And then to comment on this just a few moments, and you pray with me.
And the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word.
Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
6 Now, the tapes that Mr. Goad here, and Mr. Mercier have, they take them on the messages on recordings. They've got hundreds from all over the country. The outstanding ones was at Chicago, just recently. There's a group of five of them, if you people want them for recording ... or, your recorders. We had a real good PA system and every word was clear. And then, they have them, and they sell them just as cheap as they possibly can. I ordered one from a certain evangelist, not long ago, and I paid nine dollars for the tape. The boys, I think, gets about three dollars for them. And cheaper than that, I think, if you buy them in a group. Just about what the tape ... a little more than the tape is worth---what they have to pay for it, by buying them by the hundreds of dollars worth, at a time. So you can see my associates here, Mr. Goad or Mr. Mercier. They'd be glad to take care of it for you.
7 The reading of the Scriptures, tonight... We have read just a portion of the infallible Word of the eternal God. And Jesus had just been upbraiding them because of their hardness of their heart, because they had not believed him. Then we find that He, back in the former part of the Scriptures, in this same text ... or, chapter, they had called Him, Beelzebub, because He was doing the supernatural signs.
And if anyone knew that God always dwells in supernatural, because God, Himself, is supernatural. And His children, which are His offspring, is the nature of their Father. They also believe in the supernatural. So if they cannot believe in the supernatural, then the Spirit of God is not in them, dominating their life.
And these great cultured men, those days, the priest, and the rabbis, and the Pharisees, which were very highly cultured men, fine, educated scholars, knowed the Word just to the letter, and they had to live unspotted lives, because he that despised Moses law, died under two or three witnesses. And they would be stoned if they did anything wrong. So they must be a selected group, a scholarly group, an educated group. But God doesn't dwell in any of that. God dwells in humility, in an honest heart, such as will receive Him. And these men, had just said...
8 Now notice, when you go home tonight, read this 12th chapter of Saint John, and you'll see that these Pharisees never come right out and told Jesus that He was Beelzebub, but they thought it in their hearts, and He knew their thoughts. He perceived what they were thinking about. And they said in themselves, "This man is Beelzebub."
And Jesus, straightway, was condemning them for their evil thinking. And He went ahead to say ... of the great signs that had been in the earth. And He referred, previous to this, to the prophet Jonah.
And he said, "We would seek a sign from Thee, Rabbi."
And He said, "A weak and adulterous generation will seek after a sign, and there will be no sign given them, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights."
Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Matthew 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Mark 3:22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
Luke 11:15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
Luke 11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
9 Now, let's stop just a little bit on Jonah. Now, Jonah had received a commission from God to go to Nineveh. And there's nothing just providential; all God's great wheels turn perfect. Everything is working just exactly the way He knows that it would work. Nothing is just providential: it so happened. God is omnipotent and omniscient. He knows all things and has all power.
Then as Jonah went on his road over to Nineveh ... or, to Tarshish, rather, trying to find a easier way, because it seemed like the ship was going that way, so maybe, the Lord just would send him to this place, to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. He thought, "Maybe that's the way God worked."
God don't always work on the easy road, and things that's at your hand. You have to struggle to do the will of God sometimes.
10 So then, we find our prophet then tonight, as he got on the ship, and there come a great uproar of the sea. And they tied his feet and his hands, and threw him out of the ship. And God had a great big fish prepared for him, and he swallowed the preacher. And there, after the fish feeds... Anyone knows that when a fish feeds, he goes to the bottom and rests himself with his swimmers against the bottom of the lake, or the brook, or the sea, or whatever he's in.
Feed your little goldfish and watch them. Just as soon as they got their little belly full, they'll go right down in the bottom of the jar, and there they'll rest.
11 Well now, this stormy sea, and this prophet, backslidden, hands tied behind him, feet tied, in the belly of the whale, in the bottom of the ocean... I've always thought of this when I see people that look to symptoms. If there ever was a person who had a right to have symptoms, it was Jonah. Look at his condition; there's no one in that condition here tonight. And he was backslid, out of the will of God, feet and hands tied, in the belly of the whale, vomit all over him, sea weeds around his neck, laying in the bottom of the sea. If he looked this way, it was the whale's belly; if he looked this way, it was whale's belly. Everywhere he looked, it was whale's belly.
Now, there's none of us that bad off. And you know what he said? He refused to see the whale's belly. He said, "They are lying symptoms, lying vanities." Watch what that man said, down in that condition. He refused to see his circumstance, and he said, "Once more will I look towards Thy holy temple." Oh, if we could only see that.
Jonah 2:4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
Jonah 2:8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
12 And Jonah knew that when Solomon dedicated that temple, he said, "Lord, if Thy people be in trouble anywhere, and will look towards this holy place, and pray, then hear from heaven." And Jonah based his confidence in the prayer of Solomon. And under those circumstances... And if Jonah under those circumstances could base his faith in a prayer of a man that was an earthly man that later backslid, and to an earthly temple which was tore down, how much more ought we tonight, under the little circumstances that we have, to look to the temple where Jesus sits at the right hand of God, with His own blood to make intercession upon our confession---yes, at the right hand of God, to make intercession. Why, our little symptoms means nothing. Oh, how God wants us to look at what He says.
2 Chronicles 6:38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
2 Chronicles 6:39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
13 Abraham took God at His word, and called those things which were as though they were not (as though they were), because God said so, just kept believing it.
Oh, if we could only look away from these little afflictions, and little light things that we have, these little ups-and-downs, and troubles. They're so little and insignificant. Sometimes, they're put on us to try our faith.
Romans 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
14 Now, we will notice... Now, if you ever read the history of Nineveh, they were a greater city ... or, a bigger city than St. Louis is now, over a million population, I guess, and around about in Nineveh. They were so illiterate, till they didn't know right from left hand, and they worshipped idols. And their sea god was the whale, and you see how God had to get that message to them? The whale swallowed Jonah and kept him in his belly for three days and nights, and when all the fishermen was down there at the sea, the god vomits the prophet up on the bank. Sure, they would hear his message---supernatural---because the god of the sea had sent forth his prophet to preach, and they believed the message.
And Jesus said, "That will be like manner, that a weak and adulterous generation (which we are now living in) as the sign of Jonah, so would it be now."
15 And you notice, that the sign that He was going to give to the weak and adulterous generation was the sign of the resurrection, the resurrected Lord Jesus, that the earth had to let Him loose on the third morning, and He raised from the dead, and is alive tonight, right here in our midst to do the works of God among us. How glorious is the Word of the living God.
Then He said, "And the queen of the south shall rise up in the last day with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the utmost parts of the world to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, I say unto you, a greater than Solomon is here."
Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Luke 11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
16 Now, God, in all generations has had His servant and His prophet, or His message, somewhere in the earth going at all times. God has never been without a witness. And in every generation they received the witness of God. And then, if the people received that witness, then that is a golden age for that generation. If they turn that witness down, then it is a dark age for that generation.
Now, God had done a great thing in the days of Solomon. And we all know, as readers of the blessed Word, that that age of Solomon was considered the golden age of Israel. They built the temple. The whole world paid them tribute, in the reign of Solomon, which was a foreshadow of Christ, the Son of David.
And notice, God gave Solomon a gift of discernment, and all of the nation, the entire economy of Israel, all believed that with one accord: everywhere, every place, on every lip, "Oh, God has visited us with a great gift." And that's the reason the nation prospered.
17 Now, would it not be great today, if we, the people of God would accept the Gift of God that He sent us, that is, the Holy Ghost? If we would only, with one accord, if this whole nation would accept Christ, the Holy Ghost, the Gift that God has sent us, and there would be no denominational barriers between us, and we'd be one heart, and one accord, I'd say, "Brother, it would be better protection than all of the bombs that any scientist could create." We would have a protection, and our protection would be made out of feathers, for under His wings we would be abiding just as safely as we could be, if the nation would just accept it. But how can we get the message across when we're all divided, and in different notions, and guns trained on each other, and that's what makes it hard.
18 Now, we notice, when that begin to take place and the entire church begin to testify, and accept and believe with all their heart in that great gift that God had sent them... Why, certainly, the other nations begin to hear of it. And a way down, across the Sahara desert, way down into Ethiopia, the queen of Sheba, she lived in the utmost parts of the known world, of that day. And no doubt, this little pagan queen down there... Now, she was not a believer; she was a pagan. And when she was... Every one would come by, and hear of this great gift that was up in Israel and Palestine. They would go down, and the passer-by would tell in all different parts of the country, "Oh, you should be up in Palestine. They're all united with one heart and one accord. And their God has sent them a great gift, and God has made that man the king. And with one accord, they all believe." Oh, wouldn't that be a real example for the church today? "Just one accord, they're all in one accord. And oh, their God is performing miracles." Isn't that a rebuke to us today, as a nation and as a church? "Their God is doing great things among them."
19 And you know, every time somebody would come by from up that way, they would tell that to the little queen. "Now, faith cometh by hearing, hearing the words of God." And you know, when you really begin to speak of the supernatural, and of a God who still lives, there's something about it in every man's heart that has any spirituality at all, he longs to see behind that curtain. Every man is it, because inside of him, he's a supernatural being. He's got a spirit that motivates him, that makes him to move, and to talk, and to think, and he is a supernatural being.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
20 And this little woman, being a queen, she begin to draw up a lot of enthusiasm, for everybody was telling the same thing. That's the way we want to do it: all speak the same, glorifying God. Not one say, "Well, I'm a Baptist; we don't cooperate with such. Oh, I'm a Presbyterian; I'm not Pentecostal." Don't make any difference what it is, what denomination, or what tag they're wearing, if you're a son and daughter of God, you can't keep away from it. That's right.
21 I used to do a lot of riding. My father was a rider. I'm not much of a rider, but I've done a lot of ranch work through my life. I used to work on the old Tripod, which I go hunting on now, many times in Colorado. In the springtime, when we'd ride out there with the cattle, they had the drift fence coming down from the Arapaho Forest, and we herded, the Hereford Association grazed the Troublesome River valley. (That's between Berthoud Pass and Rabbit Ear Pass; you can catch it on Forty---Troublesome River.)
And way up, about twenty-five miles up there, our ranch was at the head of the river. And all the association would drive their cattle up there in the spring time. If you could raise as much as a ton of hay, you could put a cow on the forest. That was the quota from the Chamber of Commerce, and you had to have a brand. And a many a day I've sat there after riding for days getting the cattle up to the drift fence, and watch the ranger standing there as he counted them, and marked them, as they went through.
22 And I sat there, and I've watched the Diamond T go across. I watched the Lazy R cross, our Tripod, the Turkey Track just below us. And I noticed, sitting there with my leg across the horn of the saddle, as they passed that drift fence, the ranger wasn't too much concerned about what kind of a brand they had on them, because they done been checked on that. But he was concerned about what kind of a blood they had in them. Nothing could get in there but a thoroughbred Hereford, nothing else. The blood tag is what counted, the last gate.
And I think that's the way it will be at the end of time; God won't look whether we are oneness, or twoness, or threeness, or fiveness, or whatever we are; it'll be the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son. He will look for that blood sign at the end of the journey. Oh, if we could just be in one accord and respect the Gift that God has given us.
23 Then we notice, also, that after that little faith got built up, and someone else, testifying, some traveler said, "Oh, you should see the great miracle working. You know, I believe that Israel has a true God up there, because all of our idols, they don't speak."
We got a lot of theology, but there's nothing in it. No matter how good the theology is, if it don't speak back... A God of history is no good if He isn't the same today. What good does it do to feed your canary bird all kinds of vitamins to make it have good wings, and then keep it in a cage all the time? It doesn't do any good. What we want to be is free, get out so we can spread our wings, our wings of faith in the power of the resurrected Christ, and soar above this carrying-on here on earth.
24 And we notice then, they begin to create a desire, till finally, she said, "All this that I've been hearing, I believe I will go up and find out for myself."
That's a good way. Don't sit across and say, "Well, my church isn't cooperating." Go anyhow. She did. She was on her road, whether they were Pentecostal or Presbyterian, it didn't make any difference to her. Her heart was hungry, because God was leading her. And sons and daughters of God are led by the Spirit of God.
1 Kings 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
2 Chronicles 9:6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
25 Notice this little woman. Now, being a woman, she had a lot of difficult before her. Now, she said, "I'm going to take enough food and so forth to stay, and I'm not going up there just for one night and hear the preacher preach; and if I don't like what he says tomorrow night, I won't go back."
She was going to stay till she was convinced. That's the way to do it, stay till she was satisfied. She was going to examine it by the Scriptures, and see whether that gift was right or not.
And notice, she said, "If it is right, I'm going to support it." She took a lot of gold and frankincense. She was going to do something about it. If it was real, it was worth something. If it wasn't, she was going to bring her gold back. That's the way to do it. It's the truth.
Now, I'm not plugging for offerings for our churches and things, I'm just telling you that it's not only worth your money, it's worth your time, and your life, and your devotion, and everything that you are, if it's right. Your testimony, all that you are, it's worth every bit of it, because it costs what He had to bring it to you.
26 Now, she got ready. Now, the first thing, she was a woman. Now, she had to cross a desert. Mark the time. You know how long it taken a camel to cross from where her palace was to Solomon's palace? It taken three months, three months, not in an air-conditioned Cadillac, but on the back of a camel, through the hot sun. Oh, my, and some here in America won't walk across the street to see it. They're not concerned, but she was; something was digging at her heart.
Oh, God knows His own. "All that He foreknew, He's called. All that He called, He justified. All that He has justified, He has glorified. No man can come to Me except My Father draws him first."
So you see, the Gospel can be preached in the power and the demonstration of the resurrection, and people's hearts can be so hard till they're not even concerned any more. See the condition of the day we're living in? But there's where we're living. I'm saying this because I appreciate, tonight, your sacrifice, not through a desert, but through a slick streets and over roads for hundreds of miles. It shows that God still draws the people, regardless. They come, regardless; weather doesn't stop them.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
27 And she came, and she... And another thing she had to do... Remember, she being a woman and laden down with gold, and the sons of Ishmael was in the desert and they were robbers... What a setup that would've been for them: a little woman with a few guards around her, sitting on the back of a camel, perhaps, had to travel mostly by night, because the desert is so hot in the daytime, no water, just what she could pack on the camels. Oh, she had a lot to confront, but she was determined.
And if a man or a woman is determined, God will go with them and see that it comes to pass, and they get their desires. If something is thirsting, if the deep calls to the deep, there's got to be a deep to respond to it. Before there was a fin on a fish's back, there had to be water for him to swim in first. Before there was a tree to grow in the earth, there had to be an earth first for it to grow into.
28 I read sometime ago where a little boy eat the erasers off of pencils in school. Then his mammy caught him eating the pedal off of a bicycle, and she took him down to the clinic. And when they examined the little fellow, he needed sulfur. Sulfur is found in rubber. Now, before there could be a crave for sulfur, there had to be a sulfur somewhere to respond to that crave.
And as long as you're willing to drive through a snow storm to come to Christ to be healed, there's got to be a fountain open somewhere. As long as you crave... As long as this church craves for more of God, there's more of God somewhere to respond to that crave. "The deep calling to the deep," as David said, "at the noise of Thy water spout."
The deep calling... Before the deep can call, there's got to be a deep to respond to that call or there'd be no call. So if there wasn't a Bible to tell me that Christ healed, to see you here tonight under these conditions, I'd still say, "There's a fountain open somewhere." Certainly.
Psalm 42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
29 That little queen that desired to know a living God, there was a living God somewhere for her to find. No matter what the circumstances was, she was going to do it anyhow. She put all the materials on the camels---the spice, myrrh, frankincense, and the great costly things, that cost literally thousands times ten thousands of dollars. Today you couldn't buy them for the many, many times more than you would've got then. It'd cost in the millions to get it. But she ladened her animals, and she got her little caravan started, and as she started off across the desert, all them circumstances... But yet, something in her heart was pulling her. "Oh, if that is the truth." Now, she's on her road, but "Is it the truth?"
30 So when she arrived, she didn't come just to stay a hour; she took her camels, and put them away, and put up her tents and whatever she had, held her gifts to herself. She went into the church; that morning when Solomon took the pulpit, and they begin to bring the cases up to him, she marveled at that great spirit of discernment. But she said, "I will come back tomorrow, when he's sitting." And she stayed, and day after day she watched it without one failure. God can do anything but fail. She watched it. How perfect it was. And then, when she was thoroughly convinced in her heart, being a pagan, she was thoroughly convinced that there was a God who lived---not an idol but a living God, because He was working in His living creature, showing Himself, that He was God. And she said, "All that I have heard was right, and more than I heard is right." She was thoroughly convinced. She gave her gold; she gave her gifts to support it, and to build in the temple of God, and to do everything that she could do to support it.
And Jesus said, "She will rise up in the judgment, with you well trained Pharisees, and condemn you." Amen. I feel religious right now. You don't think a Baptist shout, you might... Yes. "She will rise. She will stand up in the day of the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it. For she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, a gift of wisdom, discernment, and verily I say unto you, that a greater than Solomon is here."
1 Kings 10:6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
1 Kings 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
1 Kings 10:10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
2 Chronicles 9:5 And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
2 Chronicles 9:6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
2 Chronicles 9:9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.
Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Luke 11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
31 And tonight, when they just called Him, Beelzebub, He said, "I will forgive you for it, but when the Holy Ghost is come and does it, there'll never be forgiveness for that."
So I say that Jesus, after His death, burial, and resurrection, His power is stronger and more persuading tonight, than it were back there in that day. So what will she do to this generation? For this is God's last call, sending the Holy Ghost into the church to call His people. It's God's last call.
Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Matthew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Mark 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Luke 12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
32 She wasn't scared. She didn't care what the presbyters was going to say when she got back, what the bishops and all of them was going to say. She stood publicly, and she said, "All that I heard is the truth, and more than I heard is the truth." She stood for God, and she supported the thing, and she stands today, immortal with the words of Jesus Christ that says, "When she rises on the scene in the resurrection, her obedience to God will condemn that generation. For she stood for what was right, when God had sent His gift to the earth, and it was being manifested. She came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon."
1 Kings 10:6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
1 Kings 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
2 Chronicles 9:5 And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
2 Chronicles 9:6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Luke 11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
33 Some time ago, across to Central America, here there's a minister by the name of Daniel Greenfield. And he went to sleep one night, and he dreamed. And he dreamed that he died, and he was taken up to the gates of paradise.
And when he knocked at the door, the doorkeeper came, said, "Who art thou that desires to enter these gates?"
He said, "I'm Danny Greenfield." Said, "I am the American evangelist."
Said, "Just a moment, sir. I will see if I can find any record of you here." He came back, and he said, "There's no record here of you."
"Oh," he said, "there must be something wrong. Surely, my record is there."
"No, there's no record here."
Said, "Well, what shall I do?"
Said, "There's only one thing that you can do, if you wish to. You can appeal your case to the white throne judgment, if you wish to appeal your case."
And he said, "Well, if that's all I can do; I will do it."
34 So he said He begin to move out through space. He said it seemed for some time he traveled just in space. And after awhile, he come into where it begin to get light, lighter, lighter, and the lighter it got, slower he begin to move. And finally, right in the center of this light, he stopped. There was no certain place it was coming from, but just all around him, extreme light. Just many times stronger, and more brighter than the sun. And he said he looked around, and after a while, a great deep voice said, 'Who art thou, that stands before My judgment?"
And he said, "I'm Daniel Greenfield, the American evangelist. I came to the gates of paradise, and I was asked to come here to Your judgment seat to have my case pleaded."
Said the voice came back and said, "Very well, Daniel Greenfield, I will try you at My judgment seat." And He said, "I have a law that you must be tried by." Said, "Daniel Greenfield, did you ever tell a lie while you was on earth?"
He said, "I thought I'd been a truthful man, but in the presence of that light," he said, "I seen a lot of things that I had said that wasn't right." And he said, "Yes, Lord, I lied."
He said, "Daniel Greenfield, did you ever steal while you were on earth?"
And he said, "If anything I thought I'd been, I'd been honest." But said, "In the presence of that great light, I seen a many a little shady deal I pulled."
35 Listen, friends, you might think you're all right now, but in the presence of that light, it'll be different. It'll certainly be different. You might be a good church member; you might dress good; you might help the poor. That might be all right, but oh, in the presence of that light, that white throne judgment...
And then the voice said, "Daniel Greenfield, was you perfect in your life?"
"Oh," he said, "no, Lord, I wasn't perfect." And said he was listening for a great blast to come from somewhere and say, "Then depart from Me." Said his bones begin to come unjointed, as it were, and he was trembling, knowing that he would sink into a devil's hell in a few minutes, to be there for eternity.
And said while he was facing that, and listening for the voice, he said, "I heard a voice behind me, was the sweetest voice I ever heard in all my life." He said, "It was sweeter than any mother's voice, that I ever heard." And said, "When I turned, I seen the sweetest face I ever saw." And said, "He put His arm around me, and He said, 'Father, that's true; Daniel Greenfield wasn't perfect in his life, but there's one thing he did: when My glory was made known, Daniel Greenfield stood for Me on earth. Now, I will stand for him up here.'"
36 Oh, God, let that be my plea tonight. Let me stand for Him like the Queen of Sheba did in the face of critics. Let me take my position and stand for Him, for on that day, no merit will I have; I will trust in His alone.
If you were going tonight, who would stand for you there? Let us think of that just a moment while we bow our heads.
37 Sinner friend, would Jesus stand for you tonight? Backslider, you church member that's never received God's gift, the Holy Ghost, and you're ashamed of it because your church don't teach it. "If you're ashamed of Me before men, him will I be ashamed before My Father and the holy angels." Don't you never try to stand by the teachings of a mortal man. Don't you never try to stand with that spirit that you have; it's condemned from the garden of Eden. It's not a face lifting the church needs, it needs a birth. You must be born again. And if you haven't received that blessing of being born again, and know that you've passed from death unto life, I wonder if you'll just---with your heads bowed---if you'd just raise your hand and say, "Christ, by this, I promise by Your grace, I will stand for you from this night, henceforth."
Would you raise your hand, anywhere in the building. God bless you, lady. God bless you. God bless you, sir. God bless you, back there. Up in the balcony, along the rows back there in the bleachers. Someone up there, just raise your hand. Say, "Brother Branham, pray for me."
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
38 We have to cut this short now, because it's time to start the prayer line, but I'd just like to see if someone would raise your hand (some more, rather) and say, "I haven't lived the right life." God bless you, sir.
"I know that I've seen a many time I took down, when I ought to have stood for Jesus. I took the place of the Pharisee, a religious person one day said, 'Take away this man, and give us Barabbas.' The man who had done nothing but fill the country with love, and signs, and miracles, and wonders... "But away with Him."
"When they voted for this revival, I actually put my hand against it, but now I'm going to change it. I'm going to raise my hand to God, and say, 'Be merciful to me.'"
God bless those little fellows up there, ten, twelve year old children, just at the turning spot. All right. Someone else? Just raise your hand, say, "Remember me, Brother Branham."
Matthew 27:21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
Mark 15:11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
Luke 23:18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:
John 18:40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
39 You say, "Does that do any good to raise my hand?" Absolutely. God bless you, sir. God bless you, lady. That's right. What does it do? It changes from death to life, if you mean it. God bless you, sir, over here. I see you too, you, lady, way to the left. God bless you, back there, at the back of the bleachers. You next, sir, right down the line there. God sees you. What does it mean? What did Jesus say? "He that heareth My words, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into the judgment, but has passed from death unto life."
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
40 "What does holding my hand up do, Brother Branham?" Well, we got a science that tells us that gravitation holds your hand down. There's no possible way to scientifically prove that your hand can raise up, according to gravitation. That's what keeps you on earth. Gravitation holds you here. It holds your hand down. What made your hand go up? It goes to show that there's something in you, a spirit of life, that's made a decision. And you know that you're wrong, because a Spirit of God has spoke in you. And you raise your hand towards your Creator to recognize that you're wrong, and asking His mercy. You defy every law of science, right there. You break the law of gravitation, because there's a supernatural something in you, that causes you to raise your hand and make a decision for Christ.
41 Would you do it? Someone else that hasn't done it, just before we pray? God bless you back there, sister. God bless you here, my brother. God bless you in the balconies. Yes, that's right. Up in there, and along the rows, God sees your hand, brothers, sisters. Certainly, He does. When you stand by doing that, you're standing for Christ. When you raise your hand, you fully declare to God that you're sincere. And what is it? A Spirit, right by you, over you, talking to you, saying, "What have you done for Me?"
What if you die in a heart attack tonight? What if you're laying on your pillow, and you wake up, and you feels your hands getting cold. You scream for a doctor; he comes, says, "It's a heart attack; he's gone." And you feel your pulse getting icy, wife, mother, babies, whoever it is, screaming over you. Then you've refused to stand for Christ; whose going to stand for you then? Oh, my beloved friend, stand for Him. Make your stand now, gallantly, saying, "Yes, Lord Jesus, I now take my stand. On Christ, the solid rock I stand; all other grounds is sinking sand."
"I know I've never been born again. I know I have never met peace with Christ, and I want to do it now, and God be merciful to me." That's good. God bless you. Let us pray:
42 Dear God, who brought again the Lord Jesus from the resurrection, and appearing to us here nightly, showing us that the sign that He promised, as Jonah was in the heart of the earth, so shall the Son of God be in the heart of the earth ... or, Jonah in the belly of the whale, the Son of God in the heart of the earth.
He's raised from the dead. He's here now. Be merciful to us, Lord. We love You, and we're Your children. And many hands has went up. You said, Your own words, "No man can come to Me, except My Father draws Him. And all that comes to Me, I will give them eternal life and will raise them up at the last day." That's Your Word, Jesus.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
43 Now, the preaching of the Gospel, that's the trophies of the message. They have raised their hand, and now, God, who called them, and drawed them is presenting them now to His Son as love gifts. Now, they become the love gifts of God to His Son, to be the members of His church. Fill them with the Holy Ghost, Lord. Pour out upon them, Thy divine Spirit. Make them gallant soldiers to stand for You, here in this present day. And I'm sure, in the life that is to come, You'll stand for them, when death's cold river comes before them, and the waves of old Jordan begins to dash against their soul. They can scream at the bank, "Send out the lifeboat, Father," and two glossy wings of the Holy Ghost will come down over the stormy Jordan and bear their souls into the kingdom of God, crossing by the way of the cross.
God, grant it just now; I present them to You, as the fruits of the message. In Jesus' name. Amen.
44 Give us, sister, a little chord, "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood." Oh, let's just change that: "My Faith Looks Up To Thee." Would you give us that chord? How many knows that old song? Now, how many feels real good---just scoured out? Feel the Holy Spirit's just been in here, and just scoured us out. Do you feel good? Just raise up your hands. Oh, that's wonderful.
Now, if just preaching is all we have, we have to wonder. But God is here to confirm exactly what He's promised. All right. "My Faith Looks Up To Thee." One verse:
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my sin away,
O let me from this day,
Be wholly Thine!
Now, real quietly, let's hum it. Just raise your hand up.
While life's dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow's tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside. [Brother Branham hums.]
45 O Lord, the Word has gone forth, and now, Lord God, Thou does never leave a generation without Your supernatural works. And these young Christians, some twenty-five or thirty raised their hands, they needing mercy. And I pray, God, that these people, tonight, as soon as the service is closed, will walk up to these cooperating ministers here, shake their hand, and say, "Pastor, I want to come to your church. I want to be baptized. I want to take my stand in your flock. And I want to stand there, and be a gallant soldier to Christ, as long as life is in my body." Grant it, Lord.
Now, maybe this is their first time to be in a meeting. They maybe have never seen that You still give gifts, and You've given us the Holy Ghost in this last day, and He promised the thing of the resurrection.
46 Now, holy God, grant that these Christians will be privileged tonight to see the power of the resurrected Jesus. Grant it, Lord, that they might go back like the queen of Sheba, after they've made their stand, and after she'd made her stand. Back across that desert she went.
Oh, it seemed, no doubt, a lot shorter going back. Oh, she was so happy. The camels walked different. All of them were singing hymns to Jehovah. Things had changed. The desert wasn't half so hot.
Grant, Lord, that on their road across the icy streets, and roads, tonight, it'll be the same thing. May they rejoice as they go along, knowing they passed from death unto life, and have seen the resurrected Jesus, the sign to a weak and adulterous generation. Grant it, Father. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
47 (What? X, 1 to a 100. What was it last night. H?) They gave X's tonight, prayer card X. Last night was H's. Tonight's X. Hold your H's, we will get you up here just as quick as we can. When we give a group of cards out, we're waiting for the weather to get a nice group in here and everything, so we could start, really having a regular prayer lines the way we want to have them. Now, but now we're just holding on.
How many's never been in one of the meetings before? Let's see your hands. How many's never been in one of my meetings? Just look. I do not claim to be a healer, my Christian friends. I'm not a healer, but here's my contention, that I contend that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He raised from the dead. He's not dead; He's alive. And when He was here on earth, the works that He did, He promised He would do again in the last day: "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do... (Saint John 14:7.) He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he also." He said, "A little while and the world sees Me no more, yet, ye shall see Me, for I will be with you, even in you, till the end of the world. The works that I do..." What kind of works did He do?
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
48 He said He did not heal people. How many knows that? "It's not Me that doeth the works, it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. And the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing."
That's the reason when He went and got Nathanael and brought Him to Him, the Jew... When Philip went and got him, he said ... found him under a tree, and he said, "Come, see who we found: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph."
He said, "Could any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
He said, "Come, see."
Maybe that's what many of the sinners thought tonight, "I will go see. I will find out." That's the best way to do. Come find out.
And when Philip, on the road back, had told him, no doubt, but what when Peter come, which was... First he wasn't Peter; he was Andrew ... or, Simon, rather. And then on his road... He was Andrew's brother. And when he come up to him, He'd never seen him before, He said, "Your name is Simon, but I'm going to call you, Cephas," which is Peter, "a little stone." And He said, "Your father is Jonas." That startled him.
That was Jesus yesterday. He's got to be Jesus today if He's the same. Is that right? All right.
John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
49 Then this Philip, of the same city of Bethsaida, went over and found his friend, and his name was Nathanael. He said, "Come, see who we've found." He was under a tree praying when he found him. Said, "Come, see who we've found, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph."
He said, "Could any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
Said, "Come, and see." On the road around, he no doubt told him what had been taking place.
When he walked up in the front of Jesus, Jesus said, "Behold an Israelite, in whom there's no guile." He could've been a Arab; he could've been a Greek; they all dress the same, turbans and robes. But He said, "You're an Israelite, in whom is no guile."
He said, "Rabbi, how did You know me? Whence knowest Thou me?"
And He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you." Thirty miles around the mountain... That was Jesus yesterday.
What did this Jew say, this real true Jew? He said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel."
Jesus said, "Because I told you that, you believe?"
What did the Jew say, the real orthodox stiffy? He said, "He's Beelzebub, a fortuneteller, a devil."
Jesus said, "I forgive you for that, but when the Holy Ghost is come and does the same thing, it'll never be forgiven you to speak against it. It's blasphemy of the Holy Ghost."
Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Matthew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Mark 3:22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Luke 11:15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
Luke 12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
John 1:44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
John 1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
John 1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
50 When He met the Samaritan woman at the well, He said, "Woman, bring Me a drink."
She said, "The well's deep; You have nothing to draw with, and it's not customary for you Jews to ask us Samaritans that." They had a law of segregation, like it is in parts of the south, for the colored and white, a law of segregation: "We have no dealings with one another."
He said, "But if you knew who you were talking to, you'd ask Me for a drink. I give you water you don't come here to drink."
The conversation went on; what was He doing? Contacting her spirit. And when He found out what her trouble was... How many knows what her trouble was? She was living with five husbands.
And He said, "Go get your husband and come here."
She said, "I don't have any."
He said, "That's right; you got five, and the one you have now is not your husband."
Now, watch what she said, "Sir, you're Beelzebub." No. "That's a telepathy." No. What was it? She was looking for something to happen. She knowed the time was at hand. She said, "Sir, I perceive that You're a prophet." She said, "We, we, Samaritans, know that when the Messiah cometh, He will do these things, He will tell us these things." But she didn't know who He was.
He said, "I'm He, that speaks to you."
And she run into the city, and said, "Come, see a man who told me what I've done. Isn't this the Messiah?"
John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
John 4:8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
John 4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
John 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
John 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
John 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
John 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
John 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
John 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
John 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
John 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
51 But remember, He never done that before any Gentiles. And He told His disciples, "Don't go to the Gentiles." Why? This is their age. That was the closing of the Jew ... that was the last sign that the Jews received. How many knows that? The Jews and Samaritans. And this is the last sign to the Gentiles. We're at the end road.
God gets my throat a little better, I want to try to preach a little this week, if God willing, if my throat gets so I can. All right. We're at the end time now. I want to talk on that, "The End Time," maybe Sunday afternoon or some night. Now, be reverent.
Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
52 Now, Jesus said, in Saint John 5:19. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself." Was that the truth? Could He lie? Not and be the Son of God. "The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise."
So then, Jesus told the truth then. He had to tell the truth. He was the Son of God. So He never did one miracle until God showed Him first what to do. How many knows that's the truth? Not one miracle, until God showed Him first what to do.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
53 Now, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever, then to declare Himself in this generation, He's got to do the same in order to be the same. Is that right? How many believes that now? Raise up your hand.
Now, to you young converts, and to you newcomers, if Jesus will appear here on the scene and will do the same thing that He did back there in them days, to prove that we're at the end of the age... And never through the age has it ever been till now. I ask any historian to bring me the history. Never has it been, until this age, right now, in the last few years, last five or six years. Never has He done it, never.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
54 A woman touched His garment, and He said, "Who touched Me?" He couldn't feel it. The Palestinian garment has a underneath garment, and a loose robe, and she touched the border of His robe, which hung that far from His leg. Said, "Who touched Me?"
Why, Peter rebuked Him, said, "Every one is touching You."
He said, "But I got weak. Virtue's gone from Me." And He looked around till He found the woman, and He told her what her trouble was and said that her faith had healed her. How many knows that? How many knows that the Hebrew book says, "That Jesus Christ is a High Priest, today, that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities."? Is that right? How would He act? He's the vine; we're the branches. The vine doesn't bear fruit; the branches does. The church is the fruit bearers today, see. My hands is His hands. Your hands is His hands. Your eyes and my eyes is His eyes. He just uses us as yielded branches.
Father God, the rest is Yours now. Let it be known tonight, that You're the Son of God that's raised from the dead. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Mark 5:31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
Mark 5:32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
Mark 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
Mark 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Luke 8:44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
Luke 8:45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
Luke 8:46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
Luke 8:48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
55 Let's see. I believe in... What was that H last night, and X tonight. All right, we went up around twenty or twenty-five last night, I think. Didn't we? In the line? Let's start from twenty-five tonight. X-25. We just start from anywhere, doesn't matter. Who's got X-25? Look at your card now, you got... The lady over there? Would you come right here, sister? 25, 26? X-26, would you raise your hand right quick? Look at your card, your neighbor. Someone... If one of the ushers would watch this lady here, maybe she couldn't raise her hand. She's in a wheelchair. All right.
X-26, raise your hand quickly. All right. 26, 27? That's right, raise your hand so I can see you, right quick. Now, 27, so we can... [Blank spot on the tape.]
56 Mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established. Now, I'm going to ask you to do one thing. Be just as reverent as you can. Don't move around; sit real still.
How many doesn't have a prayer card, and you want God to heal you? Raise your hand. Raise your hand so I'll see where you're at. All right. Now, you do this. That's in every section and everywhere. You just look to God and say, "Lord God, if that man's told me the truth, speak to me. I believe that You're the High Priest that sits at the right hand of God. And I believe that You can be touched by the feeling of my infirmities. And if You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, doing that in the prayer line, then You've got to be the same to speak to me. Now, I look to You; by faith, I believe that I touch Your garment. And now, if You are, and You're now the Vine, and we are Your branches, then speak through Brother Branham, and have him call me."
I challenge your faith in Christ's name, to do that and see if He does, see. It's just Scripture. How many knows all that's Scripture? Certainly it is, a promise of God.
Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Matthew 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
57 Now, if the engineer will watch; I know this microphone is not too loud, and I don't know when a vision comes; you're in another world. You don't even ... I don't know what I say myself. I just have to say it while I'm looking. When I come out of the vision... That's the reason I don't take too many, because you can't tell whether it's vision or not, see. And you don't know which. But just be reverent. I seen as many as fifty come through at a time. If the faith is good, I don't talk too much for Him, just let them pass through. But now, here...
How many in here are strangers to me, that I don't know? Raise your hands. Everybody that knows that I don't know you. Well, it's a hundred percent.
You had up your hand too, lady? All right then, we're strangers to one another. Now, here is a woman and a man. Now, to you people here, let's just take our time now for about... We got fifteen minutes to let out on time.
58 Now, look, this is our first time meeting. I never seen you in my life, and perhaps this is our first time meeting. If that's right, would you just raise your hand?
Now, I want you to watch, the audience, when you really strike a real believer. Watch the expression on their face as soon as that anointing hits them.
59 How many has seen the picture (Have you showed it yet?) of the Angel of the Lord? Let's see your hand, now. Yeah. It's here now. You remember, that's vindicated by the FBI, the head of it, see. Now, that's the Angel of the Lord, that I've been... If this is my last sermon to preach, if this is my last time to appear in public, there's millions of the people of the church knows that's the truth. And the scientific world can't deny it, because it's scientifically proved. My word has been the truth. Because God has vindicated it with His church, and it's vindicated to the scientific world.
60 In Germany, they taken three pictures. Taken a big camera, and sat there, and asked if they could take it. When the anointing come down, it did it. Did the same thing in Switzerland, like that, great big pictures of it. They got them as high as this platform here, through Germany. You know how many come to the Lord in that meeting I had there? Fifty thousand in five nights, in Germany. That's communists too, the most of them.
Communists are communists because the church let down. That's exactly. They'll worship a real God, but He has to be real. I don't blame them. That's right. If God's God, let Him be God. If it isn't, then we're no better off to be a Mohammedan, be a Buddhist, anything. Let's believe the real God.
61 Now here's the picture. Now, if Christ remains the same, which is the theme of my campaign. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, and here's a woman, and both of us... I don't know whether she's a Christian or not. I suppose she is. She's standing here for something. She might be a critic. She might be a hypocrite. She might be an infidel. She might be sick and needy. She may be a saint of God. I don't know. This is our first time meeting. But if the Holy Spirit will reveal to this woman, like He did the woman at the well, what she's here for... And if she's a critic, watch what happens to her. Just watch her.
How many's been in the meetings when you've seen critics come? They're sitting paralyzed, insane, and everything else, see. All right. Now, watch what takes place.
62 The God of heaven still lives. Now, I hold my hands; I don't know the woman. This is our first time meeting. She did the same; she don't know me.
Now, if this is like the woman at the well, only we're both Anglo-Saxon people, white people ... but a woman and a man, the same thing. Now, if I'd speak to her just a moment, and tell her... Well, I'd say, "Woman, you're sick; you're going to get well. Go on." She'd have a right to doubt that. But what if God goes back and tells her something back yonder that she knows whether it's the truth or not? That would be the ... that would make it right. Would that be right, lady? That's right. All right. Now, may the Lord grant it.
63 How many of you will believe, if He will do this to this woman, right here? And remember, Christians, pray for me. I'm standing here in the name of the One you love, and I love, Jesus Christ. And if God keeps this promise, He keeps all promises.
Now, you're here for some cause. I know not. God does. The woman wants me to pray for her, for severe nervous condition she has. She gets real gloomy spells that comes on her; and especially in the late part of the day, she gets real weak. That's true. Also, you have something wrong with your throat that you want me to pray for. You're aware that something's near you, aren't you? Your brother wouldn't make you feel like that.
64 Right between me and you stands that light that you seen on that picture.
You're not from this country. You're from another country, and you're praying for somebody that's there. And that's an elderly man; it's your father. And he's got something wrong with his breathing. That's right. And that's in Maryland, isn't it? You return; God give you the desire of your heart, in the name of His Son, Jesus.
Are you convinced that the Lord Jesus lives and reigns? You say, "Brother Branham, what is that? Yielding yourself. It's yielding to the Holy Ghost. You that's sick and afflicted, yield yourself to the Holy Ghost, to believe, see. Just yield. Now, out there, are you believing? Are you praying?
65 Now, the lady here, we're stranger to each other, are we, sister dear? We are. Well, we were born years apart, but God knows us both.
Now, just a moment. I see the looks of a woman; she's gray-headed; she's praying. Can't you see that? Look here. Right there, the lady sitting right there looking right at me, kind of gray-headed. She's right beyond the woman with the black hair there. She's about three in the row. She's got a little checkered collar on. She's praying because she has heart trouble, and she wants God to heal her. That's exactly the truth. Do you believe it, lady, that God will make you well? You accept it? All right, raise up your hand. All right. Your heart trouble's left you now. You touched something, didn't you? All right. It wasn't me. You're forty feet away from me, but you touched the High Priest, simple child-like faith to believe. Be reverent now. Just believe with all your heart.
66 We're strangers, you said, to each other? If the Lord God will reveal to me, my sister, what you're here for... I got an old mother at home, tonight, praying for me. When I see anyone that's probably been a mother and aged, my heart just goes out. You are suffering also with a nervous condition. But that's not the kind of nervousness---it's a worry about something. It's not a nervous, just like shaky, but you're worrying about something; you're nervous. And also, your eyes has been getting worse; they're going out like, they're going blind. And that you might know to me to be God's servant, you're suffering with a bad cold right now, also. That's "thus saith the Lord." Those things are true, aren't they? If that is, would you just raise up your hand so the people can see?
Now, do you believe? Now, watch, there's something with the woman. She's worried about something. And if God will reveal what she's worried... I could pass her on now, because I believe she's going to get what she asked for. That what her trouble was, I don't know till I hear the tape again. But now, you believe God could reveal what you're upset about? How many believes that He could do it? Now, you just believe me to be God's servant. You do believe it. I know you do, lady. Now, yes, the woman is worried about a son ... or, grandson, it is, and that grandson has demon oppression, just oppressed and upset. And He's not here. He's not even in this country. He's from Ohio, in a city that's got a college at it, which it's Chillicothe, Ohio. That's a "thus saith the Lord." You believe the Lord Jesus, that He lives? The Lord God grant to our sister her desire. Amen. God bless you, sister, give to you the desire of your heart.
67 Are you believing with all your heart, now every one? Now, I think that's at least three, but let's just a little bit longer. All right, bring the next lady.
How do you do, young lady? This our first time meeting? It is our first time meeting? Do you believe the Lord Jesus has raised from the dead? If the Lord God, what you see Him doing... Now, you know it has to come through supernatural. Well, it depends on what you think it is. If you think that it's a evil devil, then you get his reward. If you believe that it's the Lord Jesus, according to His promise, what I've been preaching, then you have His reward. I cannot say myself, what you would believe; God could tell me. I don't know. Now, just be real reverent.
68 Sitting there, wiping on your nose like that... You believe God healed you of that chest trouble? You do? It's over now; you can go home, be well. Just do like the little woman. She was sitting there when I said awhile ago, she had been praying in her heart that God would say to me, let me speak to her for she was badly in need. It's a nervous condition that's got her a congestion here in her chest. That's exactly right. If that's right, lady, hold up your hand. The little lady's just sitting there just now, right... That's right. How would I know what she was praying about? How did I know the word she said to God? See, you can't hide from Him, you know. He's here, the presence of the Lord.
69 Young lady, if the Lord will reveal to me what you're here for, you will believe me to be His servant, you believe that Christ is wanting to get to you, what you have need of? If I could help you and wouldn't do it, I'd be an awful person. I wouldn't be fit to stand here on what's called a pulpit. I'd be a bad man. But I'm here to help you, if I can. And the only way I can help you is by letting the Holy Spirit reveal something to me that'll help you to have faith in His finished work.
You're suffering with a lady's trouble, a female disorder. That's right. You believe me to be His servant? You do. You've also been praying here lately for somebody else. And that's a woman, and that's your mother. And she has colitis, and she's not here. And she don't live in this state; she lives in West Virginia. That's "thus saith the Lord." Now, believe and you can have what you've ask for. God bless you, sister.
70 We are strangers to each other, I suppose. This is our first time of meeting. You was here in the meeting last night, but this is our first time meeting. I don't know you.
It seemed awful close. Just keep on believing. If the Lord God, who raised up His Son from the dead... You believe we're living in the last days? You believe that God promised these things? If that was the sign of the Messiah back there, when our Lord would tell the people what their troubles was, and so forth, and where they'd been, and who they was, or something other like that... He promised that those things He did, we'd do also. And that wasn't to be done until the ending of the Gentiles, because the Jews and Samaritans had already received it.
You believe that He ... this is the end time, and the sign of the end time? May God help you. If the people can still hear my voice, this woman has something coming onto her, which is a stiffness, an arthritis, that's bothering her. And I see you're having tremendous pains in your sides. You've had an operation, had a kidney removed. That's right. I see the doctor, kind of a heavy-set man, one kind of a tall thin man, and they're taking the kidney. You're not from this city; you're from a place called Elkton, and your name is Maude McDaniel. You believe now with all your heart? Then go on your road and rejoice, and God be merciful to you.
71 Do you believe with all your heart? Just have faith in God, don't doubt.
Do you believe them feet's going to get well? Sitting here on the front row. You was the one who was touching Him awhile ago. All right. They're going to be well.
You took off your glasses, sitting there wiping your nose like that. You believe me to be God's servant? You do? You want help too, don't you? Your trouble's in your shoulders. That's right, raise up your hands. It's all gone.
What about you with your hands up, next to him there? You believe me to be God's prophet ... or, His servant? You do? Your troubles with your hands is what you want God to ... me to pray for. That's right. Now, go and receive your healing, all of you and...
72 We're strangers to one another. I don't know you. I've never seen you. This is our first time meeting.
Something happened. Someone right through here. It's a man sitting right back here. Raised your head up over top of this black headed man. You're suffering with heart trouble, and you want God to heal you. That's right. You was praying and asking God just then, "Let it be me, Lord." If that's right, raise up you hand. All right. You receive what you ask for. Go on your road and be well. Amen.
Do you believe? All of you? With one accord, you believe? Have we had three yet? All right.
73 Now, be real reverent. We've got a man on the platform here. Just a moment. Just exactly time... Now, you just keep believing there; we don't know what the Holy Spirit might do. Are you convinced? Do you truly believe, friend?
I wouldn't come here to deceive you, my brother. What good would it do me? I'm here as your brother. I love you. That's why I come. And I love Christ, and Christ sent me here just like God sent Him up to Samaria. He didn't know what to do. He was going to Jericho, but He had need to go by Samaria. Why? Father sent Him up there. He said, "I do nothing till the Father shows Me." He sent His disciples away, the woman come up. He begin to talk to her, then He found her trouble.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
74 I don't know who you are. You're strangers to me. I don't know who you are, but God sent me here. And I just come here and yield myself to His Spirit, like Christ did then, and He shows me what your trouble ..., just like then. And that woman run into the city and told everybody she come in contact with, "Come, isn't this the very Messiah?" Well, if that was sign of Messiah then, it's the same today, if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Here's a man. I don't know you, sir. Is this our first time meeting? If God will reveal to me what your trouble is, will you accept it as Christ trying to help you? Now, let's just take our time with this man. If the men, women, children in this building, here both of us, we've never met before in life. This is our first time.
John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
75 Now, this makes awful weak, can you see how drops of sweat stand out on my hands, and so forth. It just gets so... It looks like now to me, that this audience is just becoming milky like, around. What is that? That's your faith doing that; it's the Holy Spirit settling in the building, you see. Oh, what could happen? Oh, if you could just break that little crust.
Sir, I see you a much younger man than what you are now, and a doctor shaking his head. He give you up. That's exactly right. You've got an inward trouble. That's right. You're scared that it's cancer now. That's true. That's been long ago. How could God go back in years like that, and know you, what you did? You suffer with a gland trouble too. And you have a stomach trouble too. That's right. If God will tell me who you are, will you accept now, 'cause He's right with you now. You know that. You're Mr. Miller. All right. That's right. Now, go on your road, and rejoice, and be glad. God bless you.
76 Are you believing with all your heart? Look, friends, you're now much farther than you was last night. If I be God's servant, and telling you the truth, I'm telling you the truth, right now. Right now, every one of you, Christ has raised from the dead, and when He died at Calvary, He stripped the devil of every power he had, see. You are healed now, each one of you. And so, this is true. The very Angel, who guides me, and says it, right in this building, it's beginning to look kind of a ... I believe I just quoted it.
Don't think I'm beside myself, but there's a great deep anointing in the building, right now. I believe, if you'll believe what I'm telling you, right now, to be the truth, it'll settle it. Will you believe it? Will you promise to believe it? What more could He do? See, I can't heal no one. It's His Spirit. Not the people in the prayer line; it's the people out there, anywhere.
Now, just look this way and believe, and see if God doesn't do it, see. It's the truth. It's God's Spirit. Now, I've try to lay it with the Scriptures. God has come and proved that it's the truth. Now, Jesus Christ, God's Son, heals every one of you. Now, there's only one thing to keep you from not having it, that's that little dark shadow between the milky way and you. That's right.
If we can pray a prayer of faith to make that shadow move, then the Holy Spirit can drop upon you, like dew drops of mercy, and make every person in here well, right now.
77 In Durban, South Africa, amongst raw heathens, I've seen twenty-five thousand wheelchair, cots, and stretcher cases, healed at one time, when just one of these things was done on the platform---twenty-five thousand. And the next day seven big van loads of carts, and stretchers, and clubs, went down the street singing, "Only Believe," with thousands of black, naked natives walking behind it singing, "Only Believe."
If those natives, who never heard of God before, could accept Christ and get that, what about us, who are filled with the Holy Ghost and sitting in the presence of God, now to see this in this civilized country. God be merciful to us. Let us bow our heads. Let's be sincere. Let every man and woman look to God just now.
78 Eternal and blessed Father, the hour is close; the people has to go over these slick roads. And I thank Thee for them. And O God, I'm trying with all that's in me to this loyal group of people, not to drag out the prayer line, not to drag anything, but to try to tell them the Bible truth. And You've been so kind tonight, to come down and vindicate that to be the truth.
Your Bible says in Hebrews 11, "God vindicates ... or, testifies of His gift."
Now, Lord, let the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, move into every person in Divine Presence. And I condemn any devil, or any power of unbelief, that would try to hold this great universal blessing from these people tonight; I condemn the enemy in Jesus Christ's name.
Satan, leave this place. Come out of this people, and let the Holy Ghost fall in a great rush of a shield, blessings upon the people, and fill each one, and heal them, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
79 If you believe me to be God's servant, and I've found grace in your sight, I don't care what's wrong with you, stand on your feet and give Him praise for your healing, and you shall have it, right now. In the name of Jesus...