Church Ages, part 10: The Laodicean Church Age

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 ...he never finished that. I said, "I was late for my wedding. Born a little late, a little late for my wedding. If I can just be late for my funeral, that's the one I really want to be late at---real late."
No, it was phone calls at the house. I couldn't get away hardly, after my wife and them left early. I just had so many things. And then people, different places, praying, just now entering in, the revelation of the Lord came for a brother, sister standing back there sick---you know what I mean. It's just go, go, go, go. And I haven't even got to shake hands with some of my friends here from Georgia, and different places all around up in Canada. I just feel awful bad about not getting to shake your hands.

2 And by the way, where's Fred at tonight? Fred Sothmann? Fred, you remember that time you called me from Canada, was coming down, and I told you not to come by car? You come anyhow, had a wreck, like to... Tore his car up, like to killed his wife, family, broke his nose, and laid them all in the hospital.
A while ago when I was leaving, right at noon, Brother Ben here was standing out there, come over towards me. And Rosella came over there. She said, "I'm going home."
I said, "Rosella."
She said, "What's the matter, Brother Branham?"
I said, "I feel real funny about that," see.
Said, "Anything going to happen?"
I said, "I don't know. It seems to me something warned me."

3 She called me a few minutes ago. She'd had an accident, and so... No one hurt, but it was the hand of the Lord. And she was sliding---it's all icy in the north---and she slipped at Indianapolis, and started sliding across the road real fast, this way. And she screamed out, "O Lord, help me!", and the car swung back this way again, come back and went into its right lane, and started on all right. She went on up the road, and she said, "My, my! How thankful I am to get out of that, 'cause other cars is coming right on that same track, just a-flying."
So she got across the road, and then she stopped up there to ... I believe something... She stopped to get her a cup of coffee or something. And just before she got out of that car another car slammed right in her back, and another one right behind him, and another one right behind him. And there they all piled up.
But said she was shook up a little, but not bad. But she wanted to thank the Lord, and call and tell the church to thank the Lord that she didn't get hurt or anything; and asked the church to continue to pray that she'd get home.
See, she's a new driver. She just got her license. So I'm so thankful.

4 But it always pays to take those warnings of the Lord.
Said, "Well," she said, "I'd miss a day's work."
What's a day's work? Cost more than that to fix the back of the car up, see. So it's best to stay with the Lord. Isn't that right? If He tells us anything, we better stay with it; cause He's always right, isn't He? Always right.

5 Now, oh, this is such a ... been such a wonderful week. I just don't know how to express myself to God, and to you people, for this wonderful week. These have been some of the happiest eight days that I ever preached in my life. That is true. I have learned so much of the Lord and His tender mercy, and all that He's done for us, and to see His Spirit working back in the church.
I'm so glad to see the gifts begin to operate back in the church again, see. Now, watch there. When you're away it just seems like ... somebody will actually enter in, will just pollute it, you know. They'll just start doing anything. And when you dishonor those gifts, God will dishonor you, see. That's right. You've got to make them right.
And the way we want it is just when it's in order, the way they're speaking with tongues. Not just quoting the Scripture; but telling something that's fixing to take place. And if you'll just keep being real reverent with that, it'll begin... If anyone gets out of order in a church, the Holy Spirit will speak it right out and tell them who it is; and they'll feel chastised and go to the altar. That's what those gifts are for.

6 And to see our pastor here, Brother Neville... He was a bashful, backward sort of a boy. And I tell you, it looked like he was never going to take ahold of it, when it come to Pentecost. But to see him stand up and interpret tongues and prophesy, I tell you he's come a long way. Now, let us pray for our pastor, and see the gifts begin to come in church.
And another little humble brother here... He's here, ought to be here somewhere. I guess he is. He always is. He's a very humble little guy. Used to be one of the trustees here at the church---Brother Higginbotham, a precious, godly, man. And to see that he has received the gift of speaking in tongues---who would have ever thought that Brother Higginbotham would have done that? A bashful, backward little fellow, didn't want to be known nowhere, staying back.
But see, God can take a man like that and use him, see, 'cause he don't want to do it in the first place. If he wanted to do it, he might come out a stuffed shirt. But as long as he comes out where he don't want to do it, maybe God can use him like that.
Junie's here ... oh, he's behind the post from him.

7 I'll say this: I've heard many people speak in tongues, and I think it all comes from God; because you cannot make a sound without it meaning something to somebody somewhere. You know the Bible says there's not a sound without a significance. Means that there's not a sound without it means something. You can't make any kind of an utter 'less it means something.
I often wondered how that would be till I went to Africa and heard all them noises. And I found out then that it was somebody's voice. Sometimes it's an angelic voice, and so forth.

8 But Junie Jackson---a bashful, backward, little, timid, country preacher out there, of the Methodist church, way down around Elizabeth, Indiana, way back in the backwoods---quiet, wouldn't say nothing, kind of backward. Looked like ... I'd see him... Sometimes I'd want to take him, shake him, say, "Say something, Junie. Just quit sitting there looking at me like that."
We'd sit down on a stump out in the woods, and he'd sit there and say, "Well ... I guess ... it's all right."
I'd say, "Oh, Junie, I feel like... Let me say it for you," you see. "You're too slow for me," see. And God gave him a gift of speaking in tongues. I never heard any more plainer language in all my life.

9 Watch him in the church.
See that little woman speak this morning, not knowing the other woman? And one not knowing the other one, and this one, the sound of voice that it was said in; and when it was interpreted in the same sound, the vowels, punctuations, just the same, coming back; and the message was perfect to the church. See how that is? We ought to thank God.
Now don't get your chest stuck out. If you do, you'll flatten yourself and the devil will take ahold of you. Just be humble, and say, "O Lord, keep me in back. Don't never let me raise up before time." He'll never let you get out of order. If you do sometime, that won't matter. If you do, why, the pastor here will tell you, see. The gifts are not to be when you're ... when we're preaching.
Usually, if the gifts gets to working good in the church, we'll have you meet a long time before the other service, let the Lord work with you there, you see. 'Cause then on this part, it won't interrupt it at all.
Now, while we're in the congregation, sometimes you have to hold your peace for a little bit. But if God's got a message, somewhere or another, He'll bring it out, see. Just let Him alone. But do it according to Bible teaching. And Brother Neville perhaps, will be teaching on those things. Which, we'll try to do it. I'll try to help him along as we can, both of us together, to bring it out and show how it's to be used.

10 You feeling better, my Polish brother? That's fine. Oh, how the Lord blessed him. Eight years ago told him something was going to take place. He was all confused---a real strict trinitarian.
And the Lord said the other day, "There's a man coming. He has dark hair and brown eyes, heavy set. Don't turn him away. I'm sending him to you." I picked out a scripture, just where he was confused at. Put me down a piece of paper and laid it there. After a while, here he come up.
My wife said, "There's a man out there to see you."
I said, "That's him. Bring him on in."

11 And he told me what was said to him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, how he had always believed and held onto the message, and so forth, amongst His people. Yet criticized, he stayed right with it.
Said some time ago in the meeting that I spoke to him, and called his name. And how I ever said that name I don't know. He said I had to spell it out, or something or another, in the meeting. Said he was packing a baby on his arm that had a break-out on its face, and said the little baby was cleansed completely---just complete; and how the Lord...
And I said, "Well, the thing that you need now is go down to the church and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." I met him a while ago on top of the mountain---'cause he come down, was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Now he's all satisfied, feeling good, returning home. I hope he interprets for me in Poland one of these days, and Germany, and back over in them places there. The Lord bless you, my brother.

12 So many great, rich, things our Lord does. Just to see His mercy, how it's from east, west, north, and south, He's leading His dear children---coming together, pulling out, shaking down. So much to be said.
Now, don't forget next Sunday night. Our Lord willing, next Sunday night we will have the ... next Sunday morning, rather, a healing service. The reason I say that, on that... Maybe then, if there's too many for Sunday morning, I have Sunday night to fall back to, you see. But if I can get them all out Sunday morning, all right.
Wednesday night is a midweek prayer meeting. Now you people that's here around home, you folks, gather in here. Have prayer meeting. Don't miss that. Stay right with it, see, and pray. Seek closer to God. Don't never let fanaticism get among you. Keep... There's too much real to accept the false, see. Don't get on the wrong side. Stay there.

13 I heard a familiar "Amen" then, that I've heard for years---Brother Russell Creech. They tell me that Patty was the one speaking in tongues back there the other night. Patty, where are you at? You here, honey? My, I wouldn't even know her if I seen her. But I believe I held that child in my arms and dedicated her to the Lord right here. And she's a young woman, Meda said, a young ... beautiful, young, teen-age girl, with the power of the Holy Ghost upon her, speaking in... Russell, you are a rich man. Yes, you are.
Where's Sister Creech at? I haven't seen her. Is she around? Back there. Oh, Sister Creech, how thankful I am that God has give you a child like that. Why, you don't realize how thankful. At the age where teen-age girls are snickering, and laughing, and going-on, you know, with a bunch of nonsense to these guys, their duck haircuts and everything, and like that; and this little kid here with the power of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues, and give... Oh, my!
How many men tonight, Pentecostal preachers, that would give their whole life if they could see their teen-age daughter, who's out to the rock 'n' roll parties, do that.

14 Just value that, brother. I know what you're doing there at the Interstate. I done the same thing. Worked a many a hard day. But, brother ... to raise them children. But remember, God's faithful. He rewards. Yes, indeed, "I will repay."
God bless you, Patty, honey. I wouldn't know you if I seen you, I guess. But don't never leave that straight path, honey. Never let the devil put anything in you like a nice golden apple, because it'll be a lemon, see. Drop the thing and leave it like that. Keep your eyes right on Christ, right on the cross, and keep moving on, for the hour is at hand, see.

15 So many things of exhortations I could just say, the blessings of God. I haven't been able to visit many. And this whole week I haven't prayed for over fifty people, I guess. And the ins-and-outs, and emergencies, and what's come in, and so forth... But I've been busy studying. But now, next Sunday we'll be praying for the people and asking the Lord to come down and give us the great power, and manifest Hisself to us next Sunday morning, the Lord willing.

16 Oh, I just hate to start on this church age because I know that's the last one of them. And now, in this it's going to be the winding up of the seven church ages. Have you enjoyed it? Now, remember, I say this at the end as I did at the beginning: there may be many things that you firmly disagreed with me, but don't hold it against me, see. Just love me anyhow. Because it wouldn't make any difference what you would do, or what you'd say, I'll think just the same of you---if anything, more, see. I'd think more of you.
But I love you. God knows that. There isn't a man that could call the name of Jesus Christ but what I'd love him, see.

17 And I never want any bitterness or indifference, though we could firmly disagree. If we was sitting at a table, and one eating one kind of pie and one another, that'd be just as much as right here, see, when it comes to fellowship with one another. We love one another. And if we don't do that, then we should do that. And we'll never go no farther in God until we do do that.
Just don't forget, don't forget that the greatest gift of all gifts is love. "Though I speak with tongue of men and angels, have my body to be burned as a sacrifice, understand all knowledge [and so forth], I am nothing..." So ... "But when that which is perfect [which is love]..." If all of the spiritual gifts isn't mortared together with love, it won't hold. Any other mortar will break away; but love continueth forever, see. That is I Corinthians 13.

18 Now, tonight entering this great church age, oh, my! Now, we may be about quarter after tonight, nine. And now I certainly am sorry that we don't have enough room to set everybody---seat everybody, rather---but we just don't have it; and maybe some day we will.
But now I want to ask you to do me a favor. You see my stand and you know what it's going to cost me some day, see. And the hour's close at hand, see. Now I want you to do this: always pray for me. And remember, I have been honest as I know how to be honest. And I realize that I'm no kid no more. I'm fifty-one years old. And I ... when my ... I cannot go until God calls me. And I'll go the way that He wants me to go, and that'll be it, see. But I must be honest and tell the truth, regardless. So I know it's a lonesome walk sometimes, but as long as He's with you, what difference does it make?

19 Now, before we enter this great church age, I wonder if we could stand now for prayer just a moment again. That kind of lets you stretch and feel better. On the closing service, is there ... how many here would want to be remembered before God? Raise up your hands to God. Remember me, O Lord, at the end of the age. When life is all over, remember me.

20 Our heavenly Father, we don't have tongues enough to express our gratitude for the presence of the living God that's been in our midst this last week; for the things that we have learned of You, how You have revealed Yourself to us down through the time; and how You have made Your Word so plain to us; how we've waited on You, and how we have tried to express our love and fail to do it, Lord, 'cause mortal tongues could not do that; for even saving us, and for even giving us a hunger for You, for it's written in the Word, "Blessed are they that do hunger..." Just to hunger, it's a blessing---hunger and thirst after righteousness. Then You made that great quotation, "For they shall be filled." Now we believe that, Lord.
Forgive us of our shortcomings. And as we enter in tonight after this last church age, which is Laodicea, after we have seen the Scriptures and the history hit every time exactly right... So Father, we know the quotation from Your great prophecy here of this last age, it will be just as the other six ages has been.
Father, I pray that You'll let the Holy Spirit come to us tonight now, and bless us as we further wait on You. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be seated.

21 If the Lord willing, the book will ... soon as we can. Brother Leo is taking it off of the magnetic tape, to go on to shorthand, from there to the type, then into the book. And by the way, Rosella will have her book pretty soon, "An Alcoholic Saved." All of you remembers her story, how that the Holy Spirit called her in the meeting.
She had been give up by four of the greatest alcoholic institutions, and turned away from hospitals that there was in Chicago. And the Lord Jesus in one moment's time taken it all away from her. She just goes from jail to other places, telling people of how that God can deliver, talking to the alcoholics, and so forth. She's been ... by her testimony, won many people over to Christ.

22 Now, the first church age, can you tell me what it was? Ephesus. Second? Smyrna. Third? Pergamos. Fourth? Thyatira. Fifth? Sardis. Sixth? Philadelphia. Seventh? Laodicea. The first was between A.D. 55 and 170, Ephesus. Smyrna, 170 to 312. Pergamos, 312 to 606. Thyatira, 606 to 520 [1520]. Sardis, 520 [1520] to 1750. Philadelphia, 1750 to 606 [1906].
Now, it began ... the Laodicean age, lapped over, and last night we got into the little lap. Now we're ... tonight take the end of the Laodicean.

23 We believe that the Laodicean church started in A.D. 1906.
I predict... Now remember, "predict" (especially you listening at the tape). I don't say it will be, but predict, that it will end by 1977; that the church will go completely into apostasy, and she'll be ousted out of the mouth of God. And the second coming or the rapture of Christ might come any time.
Now, I could miss that a year, I could miss it twenty years, I could miss it a hundred years. I don't know where it... But I just predict that according to a vision He showed me. And taking the time, the way it's progressing, I'd say it'll be some time between '33 and '77.
At least this great nation is going to strike a war that's going to blow it to bits, see. Now that's pretty close. It's awful close. I could be wrong. I'm predicting. Everybody understands that say, "Amen." See?

24 But the Lord showed me a vision of a great powerful woman in '33, 1933. It's on paper of how that Roosevelt would cause ... he'd help cause the world to go to war; how that Mussolini would make his first invasion to Ethiopia and he would take it, but he would come to a disgraceful end; and how that then the three isms ---Nazism, Fascism, and Communism---would all wind up in Communism.
And how many in here remembers me just keep having you stand, just say it over like that, "Watch Russia. Watch Russia, the king of the North. Watch Russia, king of the North. Watch Russia, king of the North." How many has heard me just say this, wave that over and over? (The old-timers, you see, back in the early part of the church.) Just stand there and wave it over and over, "Watch Russia, the king of the North," see, what he would do---for all those isms will heap up into Russia.

25 Then I said that this nation would finally go to war with Germany, and Germany would be built in a concrete wall. And that was the Maginot Line, eleven years before it was ever started to build it, eleven years before. And I said, "The Americans will take an awful beating at that line."
Some of these brethren here was at that line---Brother Roy Roberson and them. Ask them what happened. They sure did. All right. But, "Finally," I said, "we will overcome and will be one of ... the winner in the war between us and Germany."

26 Now, I said then after that time that science would really progress. They did. They made an atomic bomb and everything. I said during their progression they would make ... cars would constantly begin to shape like an egg. You remember the big old hood on the 1933? The big back come down like this, the spare tire on the back of it? Look how it is now, see. Streamlined, see, like an egg.
And I said, "Finally they will invent a car that they won't have to have a steering wheel in it." I seen a family going down the road in a glass-top car. Great big, fine-looking roads and fine car, and they were sitting looking at one another, and the car was running by itself, going right on around the curves, and everything. And they've got the car right now. It's already invented. They've got the car. And I said then, "Oh, how science will progress in that day."

27 I said, "Then I seen a... They're going to permit women, and are permitting women, to vote. And by voting, they'll elect the wrong man some of these days. And you did at the last election. It was the women's votes that elected Kennedy. We know that, see.
Between the crooked machines, and things fixed up that F.B.I. exposed, and... How could anybody...? Why don't they do something about it? Why ain't something said? Huh! Afraid somebody'd lose their job. You see it's just a bunch of politics, rotten to the core. That's all. Sure.

28 There ain't no ... isn't no (excuse me)... There is no salvation in this nation. There's no salvation in any nation. Salvation's in Jesus Christ, and Him alone. That's right.
Now, I'm thankful for America. I'd rather live here than any place in the world because ... outside of Canada. Canada and the United States is twins. We know that. Neighboring nations---wonderful place. But I believe I'd rather live here than anywhere I know of, because it's my home. I'm glad that I am an American, and thankful for it.
But I tell you, it certainly needs a counter revival. It sure does. And it will not get it. No, sir. She'll never rise again. No, she's gone. You remember about five years ago in Chicago? That's on tape---you got it, Gene. I said, "They'll either accept it this year, or they'll constantly drop down." And they've done it, see. And they will do it till she'll finally meet her end.

29 But there'll be a powerful woman. Now, remember (this is on tape too), a powerful woman, great woman (She'll either be president, or it'll be a woman representing the Catholic church---which I think it is.) will take over here some day, and she'll rule this country. This nation is a woman's nation.
Flag was made by a woman. It's number thirteen. She started out thirteen stars, thirteen stripes, thirteen colonies. Everything's thirteen, thirteen, thirteen, right on down. Thirteen stars on her silver dollar now. Everything's a thirteen. It's number thirteen, and appears in the 13th chapter of Revelation. Completely thirteen.
Everything is woman, woman, woman, woman, woman, right on down. She's took over all the offices. She's took over Hollywood. She's took over the nation. She's took over the offices. She's took over everything there is: equal rights with the men, votes with the men, cusses like a man, drinks like a man, anything else---and just bait for the Catholic church for the worship of a woman. They're already worshipping a woman anyhow.
She's the best... An immoral woman is the best bait the devil ever had. She's worse than all the barrooms that ever was. She can send more souls to hell than all the barrooms in the country. That's right.

30 A good woman is a jewel in a man's crown, said the wisest man on earth. A man ought to honor a good woman, see. But an evil one is water in his blood, and his blood is his life. You men that's got good wives, you don't know how you ought to thank God for a good wife. For if God could've give a man anything better for a helpmate, He'd have done it. But a woman is the best helpmate that God could give a man. But when they turn...

31 She was the one in the garden of Eden that Satan chose for his tool. He didn't take the man; he took the woman. Why didn't he go to Adam to give him passion? He come to the woman and give her, see, 'cause that was the one he chose. God took the man; and Satan took the woman.
Look right on down, and in the end... When Babylon was set up in the beginning (Hislop's "Two Babylons")--- a woman. When it come on down into the age, now it's ending up the Gentile age. Babylon started like that, and ends up with a woman worship (Mary) in the church. What a day we're living in!

32 Now, Laodicea. The Laodicean age, the word means "lukewarm." It's increased with goods, and thinks she has need of nothing. But the Bible says that she is wretched, blind, miserable, and naked. What a condition! The reward to them that overcome in this church age, is to sit on the throne with the Lord.
Now the star, or angel, or messenger, of this church age is unknown. Now, the first church age messenger, who was that? Paul, Ephesus. Smyrna? Irenaeus. Pergamos? St. Martin. Thyatira? Columba. Sardis? Luther. Philadelphia? Wesley. And in this Laodicean we don't know yet, and probably won't know until it's all over.

33 But I'd just like to give my quotation of what this angel will be ---what we're looking for. Would it be all right? Being that we got a little time, I just wrote a little quotation here what I thought, the angel of this Laodicean church, to end it up.
Now he will be at the end of the age like the rest of them, like the Bible. He'll be at the end of the age. Not the first of it, at the end of it, because the angel always comes to rebuke them for what they'd done. "To the angel of the church of Laodicea write these things," see. "To the angel of the church of Smyrna write these things," see. Each one is to the angel at the end of the age.
Paul, the end of the age, and on down---end of the age. The lapover---end of the age, end of the age. That's what makes it lap, see. "To the angel," speaking what it was. This laps over here---"To the angel"---the end of that age, see; picking up right here, made the lap, like stairsteps going up the seven church ages.

34 Now, this angel that comes in this day, I want to... I've got something written here. I'd just like to read it. "But he will be known the last part of the age. And because we are so close to that---so close to that ... age---that probably he's on earth now. Don't know him. He will be a mighty prophet that will be rejected by the church world, for they will go right on in their sins, and finally be spewed out of the mouth of God, out of the mouth of God's presence. I believe it will be one like Elijah." I'm going to give my reasons why.
Now let's us turn over here in the book of Malachi just a moment. I'm going to give you why I think it will be one anointed with the spirit of Elijah. Now I want you to put on your grace cap now. Malachi, the 4th chapter. Now listen as I read, and you in your Bible. Now, think real close now, for the next few minutes now, before we go into the church age.
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, ... all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch. [What's He saying? He's speaking over to a day coming. Will you agree on that? To a day of the coming of the Lord.]
But unto you...

35 [Now, watch, now, He's speaking back to Israel. Now, what did He say?] For behold the day cometh [way over] that shall burn... But to you that fear my name ... the Sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. [Not... The day that He shall burn the earth we'll tread upon their ashes. That's the millennium of course, see.]
Remember ... the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded ... him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgment.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming ... and great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. [The ending of the Old Testament.]

36 Now, Jesus said, Matthew 17:10, speaking of this... All the Jews are looking for that coming Elijah. Now watch what Jesus said about it. Matthew 17:10. We'll begin at the 9th verse, Matthew 17:9:
And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell no man the... ["Tell the vision to no man, see. Don't tell this. You know it, but keep it to yourself."] Tell no man the vision, until the Son of man be risen ... from the dead. [Don't tell it.]
And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then said the scribes that Elias must first come? ["Why is it Elias must first come before this Christ is to come, the Sun of righteousness?" Why did they say this? "Here You're already here, and the scribes said that Elias would come first." Now watch.]
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall come ... shall first come, and restore all things.
But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and you knew him not [See, he didn't say who he was, see.], but have done unto him whatsoever ye listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
And the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Now, John the Baptist was the Elias that was to come.

37 Now watch. I get back to Malachi, the 4th chapter, again. Now remember, He said here that "Before the great and noble, terrible, day of the Lord shall come, I will send to you Elijah the prophet." The 5th verse: "But I will send unto you the prophet ... I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the ... [Congregation says, "Lord"]. What do we find in the Lord's Day? At the end of the age---that's when the world is going to be burned.
MAL4:5
You remember how we took Him with a white wig on, you know, and his breast ... and girded about the paps? You remember that? And we proved by the Bible it wasn't a Sabbath day, neither a Sunday; it was the Lord's day. Is that right? And that's the day that He comes as a judge, and will smite the earth with a curse. Is that right? "And I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."

38 Now watch the compound coming of Elijah. Now, if you'll notice, all Scripture has a compound meaning, but it's "hid from the eyes of the wise and prudent and revealed to babes such as will learn." Don't you believe that? Now, hold Malachi 4 right there. And now let's go back to Matthew 2 just a minute, just right across the page. Matthew 2.
(I believe I ought to have meant Luke 2 instead of Matthew 2. I got it wrote down here, but I was hurrying just a few moments ago; and the Holy Spirit was in the room on me, and I was just having me a big time. So I meant... Let's see if this would be it. Now, let me study here just a minute. Matthew 2. That ain't what I'm looking for, is it. Now, just a minute. I'll get it in just ... let me have just a little bit of time here, 'cause I want you to be sure to see it, that the Scripture has a compound meaning to it.
The adoration of Anna---return to Nazareth ... the Passover ... the ministry of John. Now let me see if I could have meant Luke. I was reading somewhere and... I mean Mark instead of Luke. Might have been Mark. But I want you to get this scripture so that you'll know that it is the work of the Lord, that He does do this in this manner.
Now, I'll tell you what I'm looking for, where "Out of Egypt I have called my son." Somebody with a marginal reading that could get it right quick, or find it: "Out of Egypt I have called my son. I have called my son." Just a moment.

39 [A brother says, "Luke 1:17."] Luke 1:17. Thank you, brother. That's right, Luke 1. Mark ... Luke 1:17 instead of 2. I want to get the 14th. That's where... That's it, brother. That's exactly right. Luke 1:17. All right. Now, now you can mark it down.
Now, what it is, it's out of the blessings of the Lord, that it was blessed.
And thou shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink [This man that comes forth will be taught from his birth not to drink or to have anything to do with sin like that. You get it?]; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and the power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; and make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Now. Now we realize that he was prophesied, and John was that person. Is that right? John was the Elijah of that day, that was to come.

40 Now, we also know that Scripture sometimes means two things. It'll say one thing, like over there in Matthew, where it said, "Out of Egypt I called my son." All right. I believe that's what I was hunting for, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." And then if you'll run that "son" reference there, He was ... did not... It went back into Hosea, which did not mean Jesus, His Son; it was Israel, His son. Out of Egypt He called Israel. But it had a compound meaning and a greater understanding to it when it meant, and talked about ... for Jesus' coming; which was a greater than Israel, when He called Israel out. All right.

41 Now, we also find that His first coming wasn't at the day of the Lord. Is that right? Now back to Malachi. Let's straighten this out first---coming at the day of the Lord. Now watch His compound coming: His one coming, and His second. (Have you got your spiritual thinking ready?) Sixth verse now. He shall ... He'll send Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Is that right?
Now, we realize that that wasn't John, 'cause it wasn't the dreadful day of the Lord, was it? And neither did He burn the earth. So it must've meant a preview, or another future coming of John ... or, of Elijah. Is that right? 'Cause He said, "I'll send Elijah, and I'm going to burn the whole earth, and I'm going to clean it off, and you'll walk out upon their ashes." That's the millennium. We know that. After the atomic bomb shall blow it to pieces then there'll be ... the earth will straighten up, and there'll be a great day here on the earth, and the church will reign with Jesus on the earth for a thousand years. Is that right?
But, before that great and dreadful day of the Lord when it's going to be blowed up, "I'll send to you Elijah the prophet." Is that right? So it did not mean John the Baptist in that stage, because the dreadful day of the Lord wasn't then. It was two thousand years off. Is that right?

42 Now, watch the next verse, and if you'll be real spiritual now...
Now this is a love letter, and you have to read between the lines, and then it's made right. You know what I mean. Remember how I said, the Scripture, Jesus thanked God because He had hid it from the eyes of the wise and prudent, revealed it to babes? As I have often illustrated about my wife: when she writes me a letter, I can see what she's saying on the letter, but I read between the lines to know what she means, see, because I love her, and I know her nature. And you have to know God's nature and love Him. Then the Scriptures stand right out to you. He reveals it.

43 Now watch the next verse: "And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children [now, watch] and the hearts of the children to the fathers," see. Now, when John came as Elijah he turned the hearts of the Israelites, the hearts of the children that was then accepting his message, the hearts of the fathers to the children. But when he comes this time he's going to turn the hearts of the church back to the Pentecostal fathers. See? It's a vice versa there. Do you get it? Now read it.
Now, listen close now. "And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children."

44 The old orthodox priests, he's going to tell them that, "Why, God's able of these stones here to raise children unto Abraham. Don't you think that you can..." See? Now he's going to take the hearts of the old callused orthodox priests and turn their hearts to the faith that the children had here, see. Now, all these that's been baptized and are waiting for the coming Messiah, "Who has warned you, you generation of vipers, to flee from the wrath to come?" Oh, my! See, He was turning the hearts of the fathers to the children.
"...and the hearts of the children to the fathers." Now when this great Elijah comes, in the end of this age, he'll be taking the message of Pentecost to turn the children to the faith of the fathers, because he'll be rebuking them because that they didn't keep this same faith that was back there at the beginning. Amen. Now, I believe we pretty well realize it's going to be Elijah, don't we? Now we know it,

45 that it has... Now you see the dreadful day of the Lord ain't come.
I often wondered, would this man just be a preacher then? Elijah done all miracles; no preaching. But when his spirit was upon John, it done all preaching and no miracles. Why? Jesus was going to follow him. He'd do the miracles, for "the Sun of righteousness shall rise," he said, "with healing in his wings." So John had no need of doing miracles. He just announced the coming of the Christ.
Now, remember. And this John, or this Elijah that will come, will be misunderstood. He'll be such a great powerful man before the Lord until people will think he's actually the Messiah, because his very best friends said to him, "You're the Messiah."
He said, "I'm not worthy to loose his shoes, but He's coming after me." Because they were under expectation then to see a messiah (they thought the Messiah was coming), when they seen this great phenomenon rise up among them, they said, "He is the Messiah."
John said, "I'm not Him, but He's coming after me." Oh, my! You get it? So his close friends will think he is the Messiah.

46 Now, notice another thing will take place in the nature of this. He'll come just before the Lord's day. Now, the earth never burnt in the days of John, so it is in the future. When he come the first time he only preached; the second time he will both do preaching and signs promised by Jesus Christ. All right.
Now. Let us look at the nature, what it will be, the nature of this prophet that's coming. Now we're satisfied that the angel of this last church age, predicted from the Old Testament down... Now the rest of them wasn't. Paul, Irenaeus, they wasn't predicted. But this last age at the end of the consummation, the end of the world, it'll be such a tremendous time that we got just ahead of us, so this angel of this age was predicted all the way back in the Scripture, the old ... Scripture, the ending up of this age. It's Elijah, a great anointed one.

47 Now watch. What kind of a nature will Elijah have? First he'll be a mighty prophet, true to the Word of God, for Elijah was true. John was true. That's right. Doing signs and wonders, will turn the hearts of the children back to the faith of the Pentecostal fathers. He will hate denominations like Elijah did. That's right, he will. I think we just got the thing started for him now. About time he gets to come. He'll hate denominations. Elijah hated them. And so did John hate denominations.
John said, "Don't come ... think, 'Now we got Abraham to our father,' you Pharisees and Sadducees, you bunch of vipers [snakes in the grass, in other words]. For I tell you, God's able of these stones to rise children to Abraham."
Elijah said, "They've all gone astray, every one of them. Nobody left but me alone." Oh, my!
He will also hate fancy women. Elijah did---Jezebel. Is that right? John did---Herodias. Both them prophets, the same Spirit. They hated the denominational world, the church world. They hated also fancy no-good women. Something in their spirit cried out against the thing. Jezebel was after Elijah's head and was going to cut it off, and she also had John's head cut off. Herodias did. Both of them.

48 This prophet will be a lover of the wilderness like Elijah. He lived in the wilderness alone. John, in the wilderness, alone. And we know it's going to be Elijah. All right.
And this prophet will be one that will stay with the true Word of God. Yes, he'll stay with it, all the Word. What to? To restore back a faith to the Ephesus church that's been lost all this time; faith in the church that had an open door set before it, and rejected it.
Not a learned person. Elijah was not a learned person---the Tishbite. John was not a learned person. Luke 1:67, the Bible said that he was ... that the child was in... As soon as he was born he took to the wilderness; was in the wilderness till the day he was showed to Israel. That's right. One ... Luke 1:67 to the 80th verse, if you want to mark it down.

49 This prophet will also be a moody sort of a guy. Elijah, after he had a great meeting, nobody could get along with him. Elijah had spells. When he went out there and called fire down out of the heaven and burnt up the altars of Baal and everything, he run out into the wilderness and he said, "Lord, I'm no better than my fathers. Let me die." Is that right? And John... He sat under a juniper tree. And after the great revival, now he wanted to die.
And John, when they cast him in prison---this foul woman---he sat back there and begin to get moody. I believe Pemberman, or one of them, said, "His eagle eye got filmed over in the jail." He sent some of his disciples
and...

50 Why, he had declared, said, "There's the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." John saw the pillar of fire hanging over Him like a dove, and come down, settled upon Him, witnessed it all. And said, "That's the Lamb of God." And said, "I have need to be baptized of You, and why're You coming to me?"
Jesus said, "Suffer it to be so now."
But when they put him in prison, he gets down in the dumps real quick, see. Kind of hard, can't hardly pick him up. And when they did, he said, "Go ask Him if He really is the one, or should we look for another one to come?" Just exactly like Elijah did, see. Just the same. See, sort of a moody sort of fellow. So we feel sorry for him, 'cause we know what that is. All right.

51 Now. Now at... The church, at his manifestation... I better leave that one alone. At his manifestation the church... When he makes himself known, this mighty Elijah that God will send to us, when he makes himself known like Elijah did, the church was ready to be delivered, was delivered out of the hands of paganism. Is that right? Just ... when he come up there and said, "We'll prove who's God," Elijah delivered the church.
And John ... just as John did. He said ... when he seen Jesus he said, "I must decrease and He must increase." John started preaching, made himself known just before the coming of the Lord, right at the end---the manifestation. All right.

52 Now, we find out that Elijah must mean the age to this church. To prove that it was Elijah, Elijah ... after he had give his prophecy, Elijah did not have to die. He was translated and was taken up into heaven---a type of the church. At the end of this Elijah that will come, at the end of his time, the church will go in the rapture without going through the shadows of death. It'll be the rapture.
I believe the great Elijah, the great one that's to come, will be the anointed Elijah that's prophesied for the last day. Amen. I think he will be, when he comes, the angel or the messenger to the church in the last days---a rejected, degraded, people as this church will get into, and is already.
I think Elijah is promised in the Bible. I think we can understand that---that Elijah was the one that was promised in the Bible to come in this day. Do you believe that?

53 Now, let's turn now to Laodicea, and we'll see what our Lord has to say to us tonight about Laodicea. Laodicea, all right, the salute to the church: "...unto the angel of the Lord..." The 14th verse of the 3rd chapter of Revelation:
...unto the angel of the Lord of ... Laodicea write; These things which saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, and the beginning of the creation of God;...
Oh, my! We got all ... if we had all night on that right there, how the Lord would reveal that to us. Watch. The Amen is the last. He's appeared all the way down through in different things, but here's the last church age where it says, "I am ... this is the finish. I am the last."

54 Now to show that He was the first also (as He was), He's the beginning of the creation of God. Oh! Do you catch it? See? How could God be created if He's a spirit? How could He be? He's eternal. He never was created. He never will be created, because He was God at the beginning. But He that is the beginning of the creation of God was Jesus Christ, when He was made manifest, when God lived in Him. He is God's creation. Oh, my! See? The first and the last, the Amen, the beginning of the creation of God. When God created Himself a body, He come down and lived in it. That's the beginning of the creation of God, see. Oh, isn't He wonderful?

55 Now we find at the first He showed His deity right here. "I am the Almighty. I am He that was, which is, and shall come---the Almighty." To the church of Ephesus. Said it three times. Is that right? Comes right on over to the Laodicean and said, "I'm the Amen. I was the first back there; I'm the last over here. I am the beginning of the creation of God. Through the church ages that we're going to have, you'll learn that I am God, God created in man form. I'm the beginning of the creation of God!" Amen! That would make a Presbyterian shout! Just think of it. Beginning of the creation of God. Now... Oh, how I like that, the creation of God---when God was created, when God was made flesh in Jesus Christ and dwelt among us.

56 Now the next verse would be, to the other churches, commending. But He didn't commend this church. He had a complaint against it, not a commend. He didn't commend this for nothing, this Laodicean age. With all the light that they had and went back on it, they didn't need any commending. They needed a rebuke, and they got it. He had a complaint for this church, not a commend. Now I want to read the 15th and 16th verse here now:
I know thy works, ... thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. [In other words, don't just be lukewarm.]
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Is that a commend? That's a rebuke to this ungodly Laodicean age, the worst of the whole bunch. All the rest of them, under torments and everything they had... They had nothing. They was poverty-stricken, wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, and destitute, and sawed, and burned to death, and fed to lions, and everything else; and still held the faith. And this bunch is rich and has need of nothing, and everything else, and a prostitute. That's right.

57 Now, we got a great big lesson. I hope the Lord helps us in it. He said: "...because you are neither hot or cold, lukewarm..." Like milk, see. A good cold milk is good, isn't it? Hot milk is good for you. But lukewarm milk will make you vomit.
I remember one night I got sick down on the river about twenty-five years ago. I was in a little shanty boat, living down there. I got sick, and they come up. My brother-in-law taken me over to Dr. Isler. Said, "What's the matter?"
I said, "I'm so sick at my stomach."
Said, "Drink you a glass of warm milk." Oh, brother! Lukewarm milk. It made me sick. So I just cleaned it all out, what was on the inside.

58 Now, God said, "I'd rather you'd be hot---real red-hot---or freezing. Be one or the other. Don't get lukewarm, 'cause you make me sick." That's what this church age does for God---makes Him sick, see. Either be... Don't be red... Either be red-hot or... "Don't be lukewarm, warm or hot, 'cause you make me vomit."
The chilliness of the Anglican church in the days of John Wesley drove him to have meetings elsewhere, because it was cold, chilly. The chilliness of the Methodist church caused William Booth to become a red-hot salvationist. See, God said, "If you won't come and repent, I'll remove the candlestick. I'll take it out, give it to somebody else." So when the Methodist church wouldn't receive John Wesley's sanctification,

59 William Booth come right up with the Salvation Army and took it right on. That's right.
Why? They organized it. That's exactly. Made an organization out of it, and God said, "I hate the thing." So William Booth come right along and picked it up, and the Salvation Army. Then what'd he do? The same thing. Turned around and organized it again.
After him come the Campbellites, and they existed a while; and then John Smith with the Baptists; and then after that come the Nazarenes, and after the Nazarenes come Pentecost. Nazarenes, what'd they do? Fixed theirs up the same way, denominated it. What come in that time? Few little branches, Church of God and so forth, growed out of there. What'd they do? Organized. Just let them go. Along come the Pentecostals with the latter rain blessing. What'd they do? Organized, so He just let them go. That's right. (Now, we're going to get down here at the end, you'll get something real strong in a few minutes.) All right.

60 All right. He wants you red-hot or freezing, one or the other. Don't be lukewarm. Just don't pretend something that you haven't got. Either be on fire for God, or go on back into the organization. Don't be lukewarm. It's the same thing now. That's the same thing taken place in the churches here. He wants you either hot or cold. He don't want no lukewarm.
That's what Pentecost has got to---a lukewarm condition. They get on a piano once in a while, and a few drums, and bang around a little bit. And get enough music, somebody'll get up and kind of, you know, kind of, saying, "Praise the Lord, hallelujah, uh-huh," and the music goes down---uh, uh, uh. That's it. Oh, my! Just makes God sick at His stomach, see.
All right.

61 There was not much going on then, as a red-hot revival, going on in them. But they had plenty of mechanical machinery in this church, you see, 'cause they was rich. And oh, my, they was getting together and making big meetings, and everything. They was having a good time in this church. That's all true. But it's all mechanical machinery, but no warmth of the Holy Ghost, see.
Look here what He said in here, see. "I know thy works. Thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. And because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I'll spue thee out of my mouth." See. Now, He said, "I wish you were cold or hot. And because you're not, I just have to get rid of you, that's all---just sweep you out of my mouth."

62 Now, they had plenty of money. They had great buildings. They had great things going on. But they didn't have no warmth of the Holy Spirit. Oh, they had a regime. Oh, my! They got a united church together. Boy, they got the biggest buildings they ever had, and the things going on---but no Holy Spirit, see. That's what God sent for the church---the Holy Spirit.
Now, as we continue on in this 16th verse, they have all kinds of committees. Oh, we got a great regime of that: the Old Ladies' Aid Society, and the young men's pinochle game, and the bunco game on Friday night, and the basketball game on Sunday afternoon, and, oh, the baseball game on so-and-so, and, oh, we just got the men's chattering society, and, oh, we got all kinds of things.

63 I tell you she's loaded down: societies, and clubs, and meetings, and whatevermore. But no warmth of the Holy Spirit.
See, you got a big regime, but you haven't got nothing there to warm up. You're warming up to the world, but not to God. That's the reason you're lukewarm. Oh, you got more members than you ever had. Sure, boy. "Why, we ... get a million more in '44," said the Baptists. But what have you got? A big machine.
Right in the same church where I heard that remark made, they had to dismiss fifteen minutes to give the pastor a chance to go outside, and all the deacons and all of them smoke, and come back in again. See? There you are. The Bible plainly condemns that stuff. If you defile this body...

64 The doctors condemn it and says it's full of cancer. Then they get on the radio and say, "A thinking man's filter."
As Billy Graham said, "He's a fool to think that way in the beginning." Thinking man's filter! A thinking man wouldn't smoke it at all. That's right. He'd take the second thought. But he tells the women it makes them real skinny, you know, so they can wear some of these new kind of dresses they got. Boy, that sells it.
More women smoke cigarettes than there is men now, and a woman will smoke three to one cigarettes to a man (that's exactly right), ' cause she wants to get thin. She don't realize that's T.B. and cancer and stuff making her that way, just in a baby form coming into her, eating her up like that, killing her. Not a thing can come out of it but evil. That's right, see. But it's "a thinking man's filter." Oh, my.

65 No, no.
Oh, you say, "But, Brother Branham, I defy that. We got great meetings. Look what Billy Graham's had across the country." Oh, sure, a big regime---hired evangelists, paid song leaders.
Yeah, they hire their evangelists. "Well, how much will you give me if I come hold that revival? Well, if you can't produce so many thousand dollars, I won't come at all." That's right. "And who you going to let lead the singing? Well, you go and hire So-and-so. He's a great soloist. You hire him. He'll draw half my crowd, he will himself." Paid soloists, paid evangelists.
Why, it comes to a place that soul saving is a business. Soul saving's not a business of the church; it's the power of the Holy Ghost in the church! Soul saving is not a ... you don't buy it with money. No, sir. No. All of it is, is works. Works, works---paid evangelists, paid song leaders, paid choirs, everything else. God don't want that. It's all works. God don't want works; He wants the Holy Spirit working in you. That's right.

66 Seventeenth verse says:
Because thou sayest I am rich, ... increased in goods, and have need for nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched [Oh!] knowest not that thou art wretched, ... miserable, ... poor, ... blind and naked:
They thought they were rich, this Pentecostal in this last age churches. They thought ... and outwardly they were. Yes, sir, they are rich. Just think of the church. Used to be a few years ago stood out on the corner, cast about from place to place, had a hard time. But now they got some of the biggest buildings there is.

67 You see where the Assemblies of God out here, that used to have their place in an ordinary wooden building something like this here... And now they're putting up a six-million dollar building. And they say Jesus is coming right away. Your works prove that you don't believe that. It's hypocrisy! Building million-dollar buildings and things like that, and saying Jesus is coming right away!
And poor missionaries on the field without shoes on their feet ---real God-fearing missionaries, no shoes on their feet, and live off of two rations of rice a week. Eat two times a week to pack the gospel through jungles, and things like that, to take it to their brethren. And we building six-million dollar buildings, and the church with big stained glass windows and everything else and putting it on that. Oh, you even got so much money till sometimes they got loan associations right in their churches. Right.
Doctor in there to examine their evangelists or their missionaries. When somebody wants to go to the field, they give him a doctor's examination to see if he's ... the psychiatrist, to see if he's, oh, if he's mentally got his IQ's right, you see. The Holy Ghost examines that. You don't need a psychiatrist.

68 But we're rich and have need of nothing. Oh, sure. You got plenty of money. Outwardly plenty rich. Have large buildings, stained-glass windows.
And eloquent preachers, oh, my! My, I'll tell you, they're really eloquent. They can stand and talk all night and say nothing, see, when they come up. I mean about things they oughtn't to say, you see. Stand up, and some of this stuff, and talk about little So-and-so and Miss So-and-so, and... You know how it is. Paid singers. That's right. All right. But ... come into the pulpit, eloquent preachers. If they aren't dressed in a tuxedo suit, with a collar turned around, and some kind of a frock-tailed coat on, why, their congregation feels real embarrassed.

69 And those singers come out there, them women---short-bobbed hair like Jezebel, enough paint on their face to paint a barn. Soon as they get that robe off, they wear shorts and men's clothes. And the Bible said, "If a woman puts on a garment pertains to a man it's abomination in his sight." Walk down the street with their nose up. If it'd rain it'd drown them. Smart-alecks, arrogant, high-tempered, Jezebels. That's the reason we ain't in no revival. It's a big piece of machinery work.
Oh, might have a voice like an archangel---and God will make you answer for that. These Elvis Presleys, and so forth, and Ernie Fords, or ever what they call them out here, with these fine voices and using them for the devil, God said, "I'll require that at their hands."

70 The reason I respect blind Fanny Crosby, she never sold her gift out to the world. She kept it with God. Many of these people ---eloquent singers, eloquent men, great men and so forth---instead of using their talent for God, the devil's perverted them. They're over there working for him.
Personalities---radio and television personalities---selling theirself out out there for the world instead of giving it to God. Some of them come to church, go to church, wear a big fine robe, come out there, and sing like that; and go right back and sing rock 'n' roll the next night. Such as singers that we know that belong to certain churches, get out there and make them pictures, them movie pictures. Get out there and sing rock 'n' roll---the kings of rock 'n' roll, and claim to be religious. It's a trick of the devil.

71 One man had enough good common sense up here, that said he was going to be a preacher. Get on Sunday morning and preach; and then he'd go down there and get on the radio broadcast, and sing rock 'n' roll songs, and everything like that. And finally took a pistol and blowed his brains out. I respect the man for doing it. That's right. That's right. He had as much sense as them hogs did anyhow. When they got the devil in them, they run down to the water and choked. Some people don't even have that much.
I know you ... I hate to be that hard, but brother, sister, you got to drive the thing down and make it stick. This is the day that we're living in. I guess if Jesus called Herod an old fox, and John called them a generation of vipers... All right.

72 They have large buildings, stained-glass windows, eloquent preachers, paid singers. Yes, sir. What have they got in it? What's in it? Nothing of the Holy Ghost. Stand up there and go out and wear shorts, and come in and sing in the choir. You miserable hypocrite! Yes, sir. That's right.
And you preacher that'll go to a meeting because they give you more money than they do at some other place. You rascal! You're not fit to be in the pulpit. Money! "If you can't appropriate so many thousand dollars, well, we can't come. Our managers and things will come around. If you can get up the money, we'll come. If I can't get full cooperation with everybody, I won't come. If everybody don't fully cooperate, all the churches, so I'll have plenty of money to make my debts meet, I won't come."
Brother, a real man of God would go if the Holy Ghost led him, or he'd [unclear words]. I'd rather eat soda crackers and drink branch water. That's right, if he's a real servant of God.

73 But people tie themselves up with broadcasts, and radio, and television, and all kinds of things of the world, till they got to have that kind of money. That's exactly right, see. That ain't God. He said, "Oh, you're rich and have need of nothing. Sure. But the very thing you have need of, you didn't have; but you didn't know it, see." Rich, have need of nothing. Paid to do the things that they're doing. Card-playing.
Oh, you say, "We got big congregations." Oh, sure. Yes, sir. Biggest congregation. "Well, you know the mayor of the city comes to our church." Uh-huh. That's right. "Well, you know So-and-so when they come to town, they come to our church." Uh-huh. "We have all the celebrity in our church." Yes, and let the poor, sainted, needy come into the church, and they're a rebuke to you. You don't even want them there. You're afraid somebody will say "Amen" while you're preaching.

74 Like the little lady (I read one time in a little book up here), she come into a church. Her children ... she had raised them in an old-fashioned church back in the woods somewhere, where they was really godly. So a young fellow come in one day and married the girl. Said he belonged to the "outside" church. You know, one of the big churches of the same denomination, out in the city. So he told the mother he was a Christian, so he married the daughter and taken her out.
Well, finally he got her weaned off from the little old country church back in the mountains, to out here, this great big, fine church. Same name, but back there they had the Holy Ghost; out here they had nothing. So then, when they come in this great big, fine church...

75 So Mother said one day she was coming down to see her daughter. Well, they wondered what in the world they would do with her. So when she come down she looked like something out of a relic book---one of them little high-necked dresses, you know, and long sleeves, and her hair peeled back here, onion ... face slicked like that, peeled back, you know. And she come down.
And she said, "Well, hallelujah, honey! How you all getting along? Well," she said, "now in the morning is Sunday." Said, "You all going to meeting, ain't you?"
The husband said, "What will we do with her?" Said, "We can't take her over there like that." And said, "Well, I don't know what to do."
"Well," he said, "Mother, I tell you. We..."
"Oh," she said, "but, honey, I couldn't stay out of church. Surely there's a certain-certain church around here."
"Oh," he said...
Said, "I seen one over on the corner there. I'll just go over."
And he said, "Oh, well, we'll just have to do it."

76 So when they went in, they let her go in first, ashamed of her. Here she come across the street with that little skirt, you know, and the Bible under her arm. But, brother, she might not have had her name in "Who's Who," but I imagine she had her name on the Lamb's book of life. That was the main thing. When she walked in the church she sat down back there, took her a seat, you know, and opened up the Bible, and she began to read.
And everybody began to look around, thought some kind of an antique had dropped out of somewhere. Looked around like that. And oh, my, with all their fine clothes on, you know---the typical Laodicean, and their fine dresses, and so forth---looked back and seen this little mother sitting there, big smile on her face, you know, reading the Bible. Yes.

77 And the pastor after a while... After he got through all the other things, he finally had about fifteen minutes to talk. So he got up and he said, "The Lord is good."
She said, "Praise God, that's right, hallelujah!"
And everybody stretched their neck like a gander looking around. "Who was it?"
Then after a while he said, "Huhm! huhm! huhm!" He said, "Christians in every age should be valiant, great, fine Christians," or something on that order.
She said, "Praise God, that's right."
And they all looked around. And he, "Huhm!" looked over to his deacon board. That deacon board got the idea. Goes back and takes the little woman by the arm, and walks her out the door. Said, "You're interrupting the pastor."
You're dead and don't know it! Yes. Oh, what's your stained glass windows going to amount to? What's your fine plush pews? And what's all your big congregation? Going just straight to hell as a martin to its box. For if you don't have the Spirit of God, you're lost. Unless you're borned again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. That's bitter.
It's like... I used to take castor oil. I said, "Mama, I can't even stand it."
She said, "If it don't make you sick, it don't do you no good." So I guess that's about the way with this, too.

78 Oh, if you would speak to them... Oh, big, fine buildings, and so forth, oh, they... You go to their church, you'd happen to say... Go to their church and say, "Well, I tell you. You are Pentecostals?"
"Oh, yes. Uh-huh, sure. We're Pentecostals."
"You believe in being born again?"
"Yes. Well, I want to show you something. Oh, look at this building. You know how much this building cost? That cost three quarters of a million dollars to put this up. You know, we used to didn't have it that way. We used to be down there at the alley."
"Uh-huh." And look around, you find out all these great things that they got. Yes, sir.
And then they say, "Oh, we got all these big things." But, they have no burden for lost souls. They always want to show you how much building they got. "Look at our Sunday school record, how big it is." What good does that do if they haven't got the Holy Ghost? "Rich, increased in goods, have need of nothing."
That's what He said. "You think that, but don't know that you're poor, wretched, miserable, blind, naked, and don't know it," see. That's it.

79 Oh, sure. They say, "You know what? We used to be... The little church we used to use is in the back part. This is the big one now, and I tell you..."
No burden for souls, but they've got to see that all these things are taken care of. The Ladies' Aid and all these other things, all has to be taken care of, but no burden for lost souls. Oh, man, what this church has got into! They were not burdened for souls, but they were burdened with wealth. That's right. They had the wrong burden. They had a burden for their wealth, but not a burden for lost souls.
The Scripture said they didn't know that they were wretched, oh, miserable, blind.

80 They think that they could take money and convert the world. "Oh, if we could just get a program on that we could get a lot of money here, I believe we could convert the world. If some of the rich people in our church, Brother Branham, if we could just get them to dig out... And I believe that we could start a society that would go around and convert the world. We could take airplanes and drop literature all over Africa, and things like that, if we just had some money."
Brother, the world won't be converted by money. The world will be converted by the Holy Ghost. Powerful preaching of the Holy Ghost and the cross will be the only thing that'll convert the world. God's program is not money; it's the Holy Ghost. That's what God's program is, for the Laodicean church age or any other church age. Yes, sir.

81 They want the Holy Ghost.
"Oh," they say, "we have gold." It was gold, all right, but not the right kind. They had plenty of gold, but not the right kind. Now.
they were commanded by Jesus, "I know you are rich and have gold and have need of nothing, but I counsel thee to come buy of me gold tried in the fire." A different kind of gold. Yes, a gold that's tried in the fiery furnace that went through the fire of death, that went through Calvary, come out.

82 Lot of this gold you got now is tarnishy. It'll canker, it'll rust. If you can mark down this, James ... St. James 5:1 to 4 and you'll get what it is. Said, "Go ye, you rich men, now at the coming of the Lord, weep and howl, for your miseries is come upon you. Your gold is cankered in you." See, that's the kind of gold that cankers.
But the gold that Jesus gives is the Holy Spirit. The golden oil of the Spirit pours into your heart, and, oh, my! "Counsel of you ... come buy of me gold, if you want to get rich." Oh, yes.

83 Also, they were blind. Now, that's a bad way to be. I don't think these Christians was so blind as they was nearsighted. I believe they were nearsighted. The only thing they could look at was their big buildings. Only thing they could look at was their big congregation. Only thing they looked at was a well-garnished choir, with all of its big robes and things. I think they was just nearsighted. They couldn't see over their nose, hardly. I don't think they were blind; they were just nearsighted.
All they could see was their "Well, you know what? We belong to the So-and-so,"---their big denomination, their big crowd, many members, their Sunday school, their fine buildings.

84 But they had need of the Holy Ghost, Jesus said. They needed the Holy Ghost.
So the Lord said to them, "If you are ... eyes are so bad and you're so nearsighted that you can't see nothing but your big building here, and your big, fine, congregation, and the mayor of the city and all coming to your church... You got the celebrities, and you forgot me. But if you are that blind and your eyes is that sore, I'll sell you some eyesalve." Yeah.
See, it's strange them doctors of divinity didn't have any of that, isn't it? They had a lot of perfume and a lot of theology, but they needed eyesalve---God's Holy Spirit to massage their eyes, and let them look for the coming of the Lord, let them look at the Bible, let them look at the Word. They know how to say "Aaah-men" just exactly right. They had the perfume. They had all the ointments. But they needed eyesalve, the Bible said. Said, "You need a little salve to go on your eyes, and it'll open them up."

85 Used to be when I was a little boy... I've told this. I believe I might have said it at the church. Just comes to my mind now. I was raised down in the mountains of Kentucky, partly, and we lived in an old clapboard house. Mom, here... And we had a little old place upstairs, and we had a mattress of straw. And then on top of that mattress of straw was a feather tick. I don't know whether you know what a feather tick is or not, or straw bed, an old bed. We was too poor... Pop and Mom had the bedstead downstairs.
And so we climbed up a little ladder and got in the top, and Mom would put some ... sometimes, a piece of canvas over the covers and things to keep the... You know, you could lay there and count the stars between them old clapboards, put on ... with the light of the moon, you know, and them big holes in the roof like that.

86 And so when it would snow or something, or the rain would blow, us little young'uns would duck under this piece of canvas, you know, keep those ... keep from getting wet. And sometimes, the draft through those holes, we'd get a cold, and our eyes would matter, you know, get all stopped up with cold, cold in our eyes.
And so Mom would call us in the morning to come down. I'd say, "I can't come, Mama, 'cause my eyes is all mattered up." I got stuff in it, you know, cold in my eye. Couldn't get them open, you know, a little young'un laying there. And me and Humpy and them, trying to open up our eyes, and we couldn't do it. Blinded.

87 My grandpa was a trapper. He trapped coons, raccoons. And that was a cure-all at our house, was coon grease. We greased the shoes with coon grease. And if you had the croup, they put a little turpentine on it and you had to swallow it, so, for the croup. And then when our eyes got all mattered up, Mom would take this stuff. "All right, just a minute, honey."
She'd run out in the kitchen and get this big ol' cup of coon grease and set it on there, and get it real hot. And she'd come up and massage our eyes, see, until it done the work. And after a while I got so I could see, open my eyes, get... The coon grease opened it up.

88 And I tell you we've had an awful draft. There's been an awful coldness sweep the country, a draft that said, "The days of miracles are past. There's no such a thing as the Holy Ghost and no speaking in tongues. There's no baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus," and oh, all kinds of drafts.
And it's closed a lot of eyes with some kind of a spiritual coldness. It'll take more than coon grease to open them eyes, brother. It'll take a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost power from on high to massage your eyes to make them see; take the nearsightedness out of you so you can see the Word of God is truth. That's right. Oh, "I counsel with you to come get some eyesalve from me," kind of anoint your eyes.

89 The doctors of theology has their own theology, and their perfumes and things, but it taken more than that. It takes the Holy Ghost to give the spiritual vision to see heavenly powers work---the Holy Ghost, the salve of the Holy Ghost. A salve is a hot oil. We know that. And then the Holy Ghost is the oil of God.
And all the theologies and the perfume... "Oh, brother dear, you're all right. There's nothing wrong. Everything's all right. Well, we have the biggest church there is in the city." That perfume won't work. No.
It'll make you see right along here, nearsighted, and say, "Yes, we got the biggest church." But what about the judgment coming on, when God will make you answer, you Laodicean church members? (I ain't speaking so much here, but I'm on tape and going across the world, you see, so speaking to about several million people at this time, you see.

90 So then that's it.) Laodicean---lukewarm, backslidden, nearsighted, I don't know what all.
Mules. A mule is a hybrid. He ain't got no gumption to start with. You can talk to him, he'll stick them big ears up, go "Haw, Haw, Haw, Haw." There ain't no kindness to him. He's a hybrid. He's between a horse and a donkey. That's what's the matter now.
You put Nicolaitanes and Laodiceans together, and you got a donkey again. What we need... That's right. They don't know. You tell them about divine healing, the baptism in Jesus' name; say, "Haw, Haw, my pastor don't... Haw, Haw, we don't believe that, us Presbyterians." Ignoramuses. That's about what you would call it.
But, you know,

91 I hate a mule. But I tell you I like a good, gentle, pedigreed, horse. Boy, you can teach him something. You can teach him to bow, and get in the circus, and almost do like a human can, because he knows something. He's got a pedigree. A mule don't know who his pappy was, or who his mammy was, and he can't reproduce himself.
That's the way with some of these old, cold, formal denominations. They can't never rise up again. As soon as the church goes into a denomination, it's dead. It never rises again. What is it? It's hybrid. Martin Luther was all right. But when he organized, what did he do? Methodist was all right. When he organized what did he do? Pentecost was all right. But when you organized it, what did you do? You hybrid it. You bred it into the Nicolaitane Catholic church. Exactly what you done. Took up her form of baptism, took up her ways, and actions. And the Bible said you are a daughter to a whore, a harlot---a daughter of harlots. Exactly right.

92 A good pedigreed horse, he's gentle. Oh, he's good. I like him. Put his head on your shoulders, loving, kind. Why? He knows who his pappy is. Be knows who his grandpappy is. He knows who his grandpappy's pappy was. He can go plumb on back. He's pedigreed.
And I like to see a real pedigreed Christian. Not packing his letters: the Methodist last week, and the Baptist this week, and the Pentecostal this week, and the Pilgrim Holiness next week. He don't know who his pappy is, or who his mammy is. But let me tell you a man that's born of the Spirit of God can take you plumb back to the day of Pentecost. He can tell you. He's pedigreed, Pentecostal. Amen. I want to be Pentecost from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I don't mean denominational Pentecost; I mean the real power of the resurrected Christ, the real Pentecostal blessing.
Eyesalve. Open your eyes till where you can look way back and see where it come from. You're just looking what the church is today. Look back and see where it come from, then keep moving towards God. You'll get away from it. Yes, sir.

93 All right.
I noticed another thing. Said they are naked. Naked and don't know it. Sure. Oh, naked and don't know it. Now, that person is in a miserable fix. If a man is wretched, blind, miserable, naked, now if he knows it he'll help himself. But if he don't know it, the poor fellow is mentally gone. Is that right? Whew! That was kind of strong. Mentally gone. He doesn't know enough to help himself.
If you seen somebody coming down the street, poor, miserable, blind, wretched, and naked, and you say, "Brother, you are naked."
"Oh, am I? Oh! Oh, brother, help me in somewhere. Help me to get clothed."

94 But you walk up to them and say, "Say, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?"
"What are you, a holy roller? "Well, say! What do you mean?"
"Don't you talk to me like that. I'm Presbyterian, I'm Baptist, I'm So-and-so and So-and-so." Naked and don't know it!
Now, I never said that; the Bible said that to this age. "Naked and don't know it. Come buy some clothes from me," He said, "white raiment." White raiment belongs to the saints. It's the righteousness of saints, see.
Naked? Oh, sure. Yes, sir. Oh, you say, "Brother Branham, not our church. It's the best dressed church in the city." I wouldn't doubt that. Some of the latest fashions, the best cut materials, the latest Hollywood stars wear, so sexy you'd attract the attention of every man on the street. Sure.
One lady said to me, said, "Brother Branham, do you mean to tell me now...? We buy these dresses out of the store, and that's all you can buy."
I said, "They still sell goods and make sewing machines. That's not much excuse for that."

95 The Bible said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her." Is that right? Well, then, if the woman dresses herself sexy, and puts herself before a man, who's to blame for it? The woman is. She produced it. That's exactly right.
Now, you might be as pure as a lily to your husband. You may be a young girl that's never did anything wrong in your life, be a virgin when you marry your husband. But if you dress like that and cause men to look at you like that, he's committed adultery with you already in his heart. That sinner looked at you. As a Christian you may have the best-cut clothes on in the city, the best of woolens. But it ain't becoming to a saint of God to dress like that. That's right.

96 [Gap in the audio.] Oh, yes. Don't come to a child of God.
"Oh, no," they say. "Well," they say, "our church..." You are well-dressed? They said they was. They was rich had need of nothing. Sure. "Why," they said, "even our pastor walks out with a great big robe on. All the choir walks out with a great big robe on"---and the devil rolled up under it. That's right. (Well, I better not say that one either.) All right.
Oh, all these big things---robed choirs, paid choirs. Have to pay them to sing. Have to give the preacher so much, or he'll get another charge that pays him a little better. He'll call the trustee board together, and say, "Now, brethren, you've been very kind to me here. You give me so-many hundred a week [or something another like that], but the other Presbyterian church [call it Pentecostal, or whatever it is] across here, they've made me a promise that they'd give me so much more." Oh, my!

97 Then what's a poor saint got? What chance has he got? What has a poor little church filled with the Holy Ghost, what kind of a chance have they got? They couldn't afford nothing like that. So the Lord just rises you up something, (amen) hand-picked by Himself. Fills it with the Holy Ghost, and sets him as the general overseer over it. Sends down...
He said, "I counsel of thee to come and buy white raiment," from Him. The Bible said the white robes are the righteousness of the saints.

98 Now, I believe we... Let's get about the 19th verse now. I believe it's about the 20th verse we're on, the best I can see. Yeah, yeah, and closing on this. Now, be real quiet now, and listen now while we're doing this. Listen:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in ... and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This is one of the most outstanding statements that I have ever seen in the New Testament. I want you to notice: "I stand at the door and knock." This is generally used a quotation for the appeal for sinners. Is that right? We tell sinners, "Jesus is at the door, knocking." But here He's knocking at the church door, for He once walked with them. But they, with their organization and worldliness and coldness, have excluded Him. He's on the outside of the church.

99 Now, remember, in the first of the church ages (as we close), He was walking among the seven golden candlesticks (Is that right?), the seven church ages. And at the end here, we find Him outside of what church? The Laodicean. The Laodicean church, outside. They had excluded Him. Why, He was standing on the outside, trying to get back in. What a pitiful picture! The Saviour of the world, standing outside of the church that He bought with His own blood. Shame upon them! "I stand at the door and knock." After being pushed out, or ousted, then trying to get back in, crawls back and knocks at the door.
This is the most striking record in the New Testament. I think there's nothing could be any more ... sadder than this---to see the Saviour of the world took out of His own church, the Laodicean age. After He had done told them what they had did---their richness and everything, and what they were, and how they were lukewarm, and so forth; and they had... He didn't have to spew them out; they'd spewed Him out. And here, with all of that, still knocking at the door, trying to get back in. What for? To give them eternal life. The very ones that killed Him at Calvary, He was trying to save their souls. It's the most pathetic picture I ever seen in my life, ever thought of.

100 Excluded.
What was He excluded from? Now, listen, friends. If this isn't striking! Get a picture of it. Let it sink down in your heart. Our Saviour, when He was on earth He was excluded from His own nation. He was rejected. He was excluded. The world excluded Him and crucified Him. And now from His own church He's excluded. He isn't wanted anywhere.
Had no need of Him. They got a denomination; they didn't need Him. They got a pope; what'd they need with Him anymore? They got an archbishop and general overseer. They had no use for the Holy Ghost anymore. They didn't need that no more. Christ, the Holy Spirit, they didn't need Him.
So their ... I don't believe they just up and throwed Him out, 'cause they hadn't missed Him. They hadn't missed Him, because they were still singing songs to Him. The preacher was still talking about Him, so they hadn't missed Him. But their own worldliness and their organization, organizing, saying, "The days of miracles is past, and there's no such a thing as this and that,"...

101 I ask you. Every revival that ever come, any of you historians... Now, down through here, these churches, every revival that ever come it was always brought outside of an organization. Any man that ever started a revival was outside the organizations.
And every time a revival started, they had signs and miracles of speaking in tongues and healings, and so forth like that, taking place. As soon as that founder died, then they organized it and made an organization out of it, and went right dead, and God never fooled with it no more. That's exactly right.
And here He is at the last church age, standing outside the door---God Almighty. That breaks my heart to think of that. My Lord, standing outside the door of His own church---after being pushed out by worldliness, and coldness, and denomination, and indifference---standing outside the door, knocking, trying to get back in.
When I thought that a while ago I just leaned over on my table, and started crying. I thought ...

102 I've often thought, when Jesus was sitting in that old Pharisee's house there, nobody paid any attention to Him, when He had dirty feet.
They didn't meet Him at the door and wash His feet and anoint Him, taking the manure and stuff where He had been walking. His garment sweeping around, brought that old stink of the road, where horses and things had traveled, and got that stink on Him. They'd always wash the feet. That was the custom.
And a foot-wash flunky stayed at the door. And when a man come they would wash his feet, and reach up there and get a little pair of sandals that fit him, put it on him. And they anointed his head and made him smell good, and the burn in his neck from the rays of the sun, combed back his hair. He went in.

103 And the welcome at the guest, now here's the way... (Stand up here a minute, Pat, I want to show you something.) Here's the
way they did it. They'd welcome him like this. Now, I believe... No, right here, I believe it's like something on this order here, to welcome like this, see, and hug one another. And he was welcome.
But when Jesus come to this feast (just like He come to the Pentecostal feast here), somebody had missed Him. They were so interested in their affairs. The bishops, and so forth, was there. Jesus was invited, but nobody washed His feet. And there He was sitting over in the corner. They hardly knew He was there, with His feet stinking, dirt all over Him, dusty.

104 And then there's a poor old harlot down the street come up there. She only had a little bit of money in a sack. And she looked over and she seen Jesus sitting there with dirty feet. It broke her heart. She said, "That's the man that forgive that woman her sins. That's the man that I've heard that done the healing. Why don't they pay attention to Him?" Because the bishops, and all of them, was around, they ousted Him out.
They invited Him to come. That's the way we do. We invite Him to come to our meetings; but then when we come, we're ashamed of Him. "Oh, I wouldn't ... say, 'Praise the Lord.' Oh, that... The Joneses, they'd think I was a holy roller." You hypocrite! That's right. "I'm afraid I'd speak in tongues, and they'd call me a tongues man." You're a miserable wretch. Now, remember this is going in, see. You're miserable, wretched, poor, naked and blind, and don't know it.

105 Jesus sitting there with unwashed feet, and a street harlot... I can see her go down (Let's take her for a minute.), I can see her go down to the store, and she'd say, "I..." The tears began to run down her face, and she said, "I can't do it. If I take this stuff up there, He'll know where I got this money. He knows how I got it. But it's the only thing I got." (That's all He wants. That's all He wants. He don't care. You just come. "Nothing in my arms I bring.")

106 So she got some ointment and she brought it up. And she got up there, and she thought, "Oh, if I could just see Him."
Then she slipped in and got around the door somewhere. And, no, they hadn't made Him welcome.
So she took the alabaster box and broke it, and put it on His feet and began to wash His feet. And she got to crying. "Oh, it's bound to be Him. That's the one I've read of always in the Bible. I know He'd recognize it." And the first thing you know (What beautiful water for His feet!), tears of repentance, dropping off on His feet.
She didn't have no rag to wipe His feet with it, so she reached up and got her hair. Pretty curls all broke down, tears running down her face like that. She washed His feet. And once in a while she would kiss His feet, wash His feet like that.

107 Jesus with dirty feet, and nobody paying any attention to it.
And today He packs a dirty name as a "holy roller," something or another like that, and men ain't got the gall to stand up for Him. "This consecrated cross I'll bear, till death shall set me free. I'll take the way with the Lord's despised few. I've started in with Jesus. O Lord, take me through." Take me through, Lord, no matter what it costs. I have, like Jacob, a pillow a stone---what difference does it make? What He did for me!
This poor prostitute there crying, weeping. And the first thing you know here stood Simon, the big guy that got Him to come down. Said, "Uhm, uhm. That shows whether He's a prophet or not. He'd know what kind of a woman it was." That hypocrite.

108 So after she got through...
And Jesus never moved His feet. He just sat and looked at her and watched her. Oh, I like that. It's not the big things that we do; it's the little things we leave undone sometimes. He watched her, just watched her, sat there. Nobody was paying any attention to Him.
Finally her in there, crying and washing His feet, kind of paid attention to it---got the attraction of the people. And He just watched her, never said a word. Old Simon, standing back there, said, "Uhm. See whether he's a prophet or not, don't you? Told you. Told you. If he was a prophet he'd know who that woman was. You see, we were the great church here, you see. We know. So we know he's not a prophet---he'd know."

109 After she got through, them tears of repentance running down her face, washed Jesus' feet, I believe He felt a little refreshed.
O God, I'd like to have been there. I would have washed them again. Yes, sir. Boy, wouldn't a woman have a hard time wiping the feet with her hair today? She'd have to stand on her head to do it, to get enough hair to wipe it. She cut it all off.

110 But there, Jesus' feet, nobody paying... Critical. Sitting disgraced, that stink on His feet, but she washed Him.
After He got through He looked down at her as if to say, "All right." Looked over, said, "Simon, I got something to say to you. You invited me here, and you never met me at the door. You didn't give me any water to wash my feet with. You never anointed my head when I come in, take the parch of the sun off of me. You never give me any kiss of welcome when I come in.
But this poor woman [oh, my!], this outsider, a prostitute on the street, she had no water to wash my feet and she washed them with her tears. She had nothing to wipe them off with, so she took her hair, she wiped them. She's continually kissed my feet. Now I want to say to you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven her." That's right. Never said nothing about his. "Your sins, which are many, are forgiven."

111 And today when ... Jesus standing outside the door---of the Pentecostal organizations, Baptist organizations, Methodist organizations---trying to get back in with Pentecost again, and the people are passing Him by. After your worldliness and things has pushed Him out of the church, He's standing trying, and crying to get back in again. And, oh, it's the most pathetic thing I ever seen in my life. Had no need of Him. Him, outside, knocking, trying to get in. That's the same thing He's trying to do...
Why? Why? He was outside.

112 They never throwed Him out. They still sang of Him, preached about Him; but had never missed Him in their presence. That's right. They were going right on. Why? They were nearsighted. They was looking at their big building. They were rich. They were looking at the great organization they belonged to, trying to build it up, get more members to come in. And they didn't miss Him. No, no. They didn't miss speaking in tongues. They didn't miss the great, powerful messages of God, who cuts down to the heart and circumcises the heart, tears off the things of the world and shucks you like a piece of corn. Oh, they...

113 If you'd preach like that in the church, they'd oust you out. And that's the way the Holy Ghost preached. Jesus said, "You generation of vipers, you snakes in the grass." And John did too, and great anointed men. Always tore the hide off of them. That's right. But they didn't miss Him, 'cause they didn't have that. See?
So they had a little flowerly something, patting them on the back and said, "You just join, put your name right here, and we'll take you in, your membership. And you go get your paper from the other church and we will receive you, and so forth. Now, your pledge will be how much each year?" You see, that's it. "Rich, have need of nothing."
Oh, but you have need of the greatest thing and haven't got it: Jesus, standing outside, trying to get back in with Pentecost.

114 What do you think would happen tonight in the Methodist church if the Holy Ghost fell upon the church, and they begin to shouting, jumping, speaking in tongues and acting like a bunch of drunk people? Why, the Conference would throw that Methodist church out of the Conference. You know that.
What would happen in the Baptist church if it happened? Same thing. Pentecostals? Why, there's many of them that it happened the same thing. Sure, yes, sir. They wouldn't put up with that nonsense. They'd say, "Why, they even spoiled our new carpets." My, my! What a miserable bunch they are. That's right.

115 Well, all right. He was once with them. He walked with them in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. And here is the answer: denominations and their worldly things, their bishops, cardinals, and all their worldliness had ousted Him out, and they had never missed Him. And the church...
Now, what are we going to do to get Him back in? If He's outside the Pentecostal church now, what are we going to do to get Him back in? Will it take a unanimous vote of the people to bring Him back? Will it take electing of a new pope, new cardinal? Or maybe it'll take rising up a new denomination.
That'll never take it. That'll never do it. A new denomination won't do it, a new cardinal won't do it, a new pastor won't do it, a well-paid evangelist won't do it. There's nothing in the world can be done but you, yourself. How do we get Him in? Not by a vote. No, sir. We don't vote Jesus back in, 'cause He won't come in.
Hear it. Here it is: "If any man will hear my voice and open the door..." Now, we know what the door is then. "If any many will open the door, hear my voice..." Not "If any church, if any organization..." No, sir. He don't deal with them. They're dead and gone to begin with. He hates it. He always hated it. He said He hated it, and He hates it yet tonight.

116 But "if any man [any Methodist man, any Baptist man, any Presbyterian man, any Catholic man, any Church of God man, Nazarene man, Pentecostal man] any man that will hear my voice and will open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me." That's the message to the Pentecostal church. Not try to revive the Pentecostal organization, but revive the Pentecostal blessing in the individual's heart. That's the only way. "And I will sup with him and he with me."

117 What does the messenger to the church ... message to the church teach us then? Not the growth in the Spirit. No, sir. Decline of the Spirit. We have a decline all the time. The messengers to the church, and the message to every church age, condemned denominationalism. Every message to the church, the church was constantly on the decline and wouldn't listen to it.
The message to the church was disregarding denominations. And it made hybrid Christians, so-called (that's right), who knowed nothing about God or the Holy Ghost (that's as true as I stand in this platform tonight), the fine lukewarm members, only to be spewed out of His mouth.

118 Paul warned the Gentiles was a branch. Now, I want some of you, if you will, to turn to Romans, 11th chapter, the 15th to the 27th verse, just so you can mark it down, you all. And then, being it's late I will quote this to you now, just before leaving, because it's a... Now, Romans, if you want to put it down 11:15 to 27. Paul told them, talking to the Gentiles there, the Romans, he said, "If God..." (Now listen as we're closing on the church ages.) Paul said, "If God did not spare the original olive tree, but cut it off because of unbelief..." Is that right?
What caused them to be cut off? Because they rejected Pentecost. Is that right? On the day of Pentecost they made fun and blasphemed the Holy Ghost. When Jesus was here on earth, He said... They called Him Beelzebub. Said He was a devil, He was a fortune-teller, whatevermore. He said, "I forgive you for that. But when the Holy Ghost is come, don't you speak against it. 'Cause you speak against it, it'll never be forgiven you."

119 And remember when Jesus commissioned His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Is that right?), but go, rather, to the lost sheep of Israel. How did they condemn themselves? By blaspheming the Holy Ghost, calling the Spirit of God an unclean thing; made fun of them when they were dancing in the Spirit, and so forth, on the day of Pentecost.
That same city, they made fun of it, Titus killed them in there and the blood run out the gateway. They eat their own children and everything in that same century. That's right. One of the greatest nations of the world become the lowest, and scattered to the four winds of the earth. Because why? Unbelief.
And that was the original stump, the original tree, Israel.

120 And don't Paul say there...? Who's got the Scripture right there? Got it, Pat? Stand up and read from the 15th to the 27th verse [Brother Pat reads the following scriptures].
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Boast not thyself against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off that I might be graffed in.

121 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off [Listen, unbelief. All right, go ahead.], and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear:
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

122 Do you get it? Paul said if Israel come up and seen the signs here of the Holy Spirit, and was cut off... Remember, because they rejected Paul's message---baptism in Jesus' name, repentance and baptism in Jesus' name, signs and wonders following the believer---and they rejected it. And they said, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Is that right? Let's see, I believe it was at the ... where they first called Christians was at ... Ephesus. All right---Antioch.

123 Now, if the first tree was holy, its branches holy, the original tree, and because they disbelieved the Pentecostal message that Paul was preaching (Is that so?), God cut them off; and took a wild olive tree which was the Gentiles, us, and grafted us in that we might live off the substance of that tree.
Now, how much more in this day when we are rejecting the Pentecostal message that's come down through the church ages, how much more is God able to take that old wild tree off of it anyhow, and let the other one come in? because he will reject it because of unbelief. Now dovetail that with the lesson this morning. You know where we're standing now, don't you? We're at the end time for the taking away of the Gentile church, the rapture for it, and the issuing in of the Holy Ghost to come upon the Jews, and Jesus to make Himself known to seal the 144,000. There you are. Bringing back the original tree back into ... the blessing into Israel again.

124 Jesus ain't going to stand outside of your door and knock all the time. There's a time when He'll get enough and turn away. Then you'll do the knocking, but you'll never find Him. Come while it is time. Come while there's a knock. Don't you compromise with anything less than the baptism of the Holy Ghost like they got at Pentecost, with the same type of water baptism, the same things that they did there. Don't you let nothing put anything in your heart less than that.

125 Now, to you, my Catholic friends, let me tell you something. You believe in the virgin Mary. Virgin Mary, being the mother of Jesus Christ, had to go up to Pentecost and be filled with the Holy Ghost, and she acted like a drunk person. She was among them 120, had the baptism of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues and acting like a drunk woman out there, under the Spirit of God. And if the virgin Mary had to do that in order to get into glory, how are you going to get in it anything less than that? Think of it. That's right. That Baptist preacher back here wants to be sure that it's said to the Baptists also. That's for anybody, don't care who it is.
So just joining church and saying a creed, and going to church every Sunday morning won't do you one speck of good. You're only making a mock out of God. Either be a real Christian or don't be anything at all. Be either hot or cold. Either be out... Because you can't be... You never did see a black-white bird. Never did see a drunk-sober man. You never did see a sinner-saint. No, you don't. They don't make them. You're either filled with the Holy Spirit and God living in you, or you're not, at all. You are, or you are not.

126 So therefore, you must remember that Jesus stands at your door. And remember God's promise here that He will in these days... Because of what? Rejecting. What caused Israel to be cut off, the original tree? Because they rejected Paul's Pentecostal message. And do you believe this is the last church age? The Bible said so. And what's going to happen to them? They're going to be cut off because of rejecting the Pentecostal message. And then God will return again to the Jews. And all of Israel then will be saved, 'cause He'll take them as a nation, not as an individual.
But to you and I, it's individual, because He come to the Jews... Acts, in the book of Acts, He came to the Gentiles to take a people out of the Gentiles for His name. His bride, a people. One here, one there, one over here. And He deals with us as individuals, and regardless of race, creed, or color. He deals with us as individuals. It's His bouquet that He'll put on His altar. But as the Jews, He always dealt with Israel as a nation. They are a nation of people, His nation.

127 I'm glad tonight that we have this message. And I'm so glad that you attended, and your attendance has been so appreciated by me. I'm grateful to almighty God for Him letting me see what I have seen, and being able to deliver to this church. And now it's off my heart. For some time the Holy Spirit dealt on my heart. I couldn't shake it away. I just had to go with it.
There's two things I felt led to do: Go to Shreveport, Louisiana, for a meeting with Brother Moore. My wife, sitting there, can tell you for weeks I almost cried, wanted to go to Shreveport. Why? And anybody was there at Shreveport know why now. They never seen or heard anything like it---preachers coming from everywhere, Baptists, and different kinds.
One man said he started to put his hand on the icebox, and the Holy Spirit come upon him and said, "Go to Shreveport, Louisiana. It'll be told you there what to do." Told him my name and where to find... Said, "He'll tell you what to do."
I said, "The pool is open at the bottom of the steps. You need the baptism of the Holy Ghost." And there... So, things like that, people speaking, and prophecies and things, predicting things that happened right there among us.

128 Then I said, "I must go to Jeffersonville and write this book, 'cause I don't know how much longer I've got to be here. But if I express this and it goes on writing, after I'm gone the words will live on." I've got the history wrote down which will go in the book. And I come here to bring it before the church to find the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 'cause I didn't know these things myself. That's true. That's in the name of the Lord. That's true. I did not know them.
Now I feel delivered. I feel that God has brought us the message. I believe that we're at the end of the road. I believe that the hour is here for the manifestation of God to be made known among us. And I don't know how much longer it'll be, but the hour is soon at hand.

129 We'll be looking for that great one to rise. He might come in my day, he might come in the younger day. I don't know. He might be right among us now. We can't tell. The Holy Spirit is here to lead us till that time. Then when this leader will take us over, he'll still be anointed of the Holy Ghost. The Elijah will, of course, that will come. But he will be the leader that'll turn the hearts of the children ... or the hearts of the children back to the Father's message, back to our heavenly Father's message on the day of Pentecost when He poured out His Spirit.
Which, that little line, I brought it just as close as I could by the history of the Bible, and showed that that thing has come right down through the church ages, and that's it today. Showed that denominations is a curse before God (I hope that's settled in your mind), by Bible, by the acts of the apostles, by the history and all.

130 And there is never one time that God ever organized His church.
The mother of organized churches is the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Roman Catholic church. It's the mother of the organizations. And as soon as the revival breaks in any Protestant group they go right back and do the same thing. And the Bible said she was a whore, and she had daughters, which was churches off of her. They had to be women to be harlots. There she is. So we're sitting...

131 But He also said this, "Fear not, little flock, it's your Father's good will to give you the kingdom." So may we all, at that day, you Methodists, Baptists, whatever you are, "Whosoever will open the door, I'll come in and sup with him."
May we be counted, my brethren, my sisters, may we be counted that little flock at that day. May we be part of that little flock that'll be waiting when He comes, as He comes to pick it up across the world.
For the rapture will be universal. "There'll be two in the bed, I'll take one, two in the field and I'll take one." Shows it'll be night on one side of the earth and daylight on the other, see. So two will be in bed, two will be in the field, see; "I'll take one of each."

132 As I said this morning, you'll be riding down the road some of these days, talking to Mother, and you'll look around, she'll be gone. You'll be sitting at the table, drinking your coffee or eating your breakfast, or something. And the first thing you know, you look around and Dad isn't there no more. That's exactly right.
It's coming and we don't know what time. But the thing of it is, when it's over, then it's over. Then there's nothing else you can do about it. You say, "I've heard that a long time." But you're going to hear it your last time. That's right. It's going to happen because it's the word of the Lord. And remember, has it failed anytime through these eight nights that I've been preaching, but what Jesus said here has come to pass, and done every church age just exactly?

133 And we see this church age right into it, and at the very hour...
Even this morning, in typing the virgins, the very time that the sleeping virgin... Now, remember the Bible said that the sleeping virgin, when the cry went out, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh," (the coming of the Lord, the preaching of the word)... And then what happened? The time is at hand, atomic bombs and everything ready, the preachers run into the streets and begin to scream the message.
And as soon as they do, the big church then, the sleeping virgin said, "Oh, well [yawn], we've been Presbyterian a long time. Maybe we would study and find out. Yes, you know, I believe we do need the Holy Ghost." And they're writing pamphlets and everything about it now, starting out.
And they said, "Would you give us some of it?"
And they said, "No, we just got enough for ourself."

134 So when they went to get the Holy Ghost, went to pray up---like the churches, the big, fine, churches are doing today, the organizations---when they went to get the oil, the bridegroom came. So they're trying to get it right now---great churches, organizations, great international meetings about it in the organized churches, saying, "We got to get back to the Pentecostal blessing. We got to have divine healers in the church. We got to have speakers with tongues. We got to have interpreters of tongues. We got to have all these spiritual gifts in our church, and we're just going to have to start meetings and start doing it." They're getting councils, started to do it.
While they're gone to do that, it's at that very time that the bridegroom come and got those who had the oil in their lamps, and went away. Then they come, and what happened? They were cast into outer darkness, the great tribulation period where there'll be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, while the bride is in heaven. Oh, my!

135 Then at the end of that three-and-a-half years He will come, like Joseph did, and make Himself known to His brethren. They'll cause a weeping all over, and they'll say... They'll separate their families, and weep, and say, "Where'd You get them scars?" And the ones that pierced Him shall see Him, and He'll make Himself known to His brethren.
Now He's trying to make Himself known to His church. And they've pushed Him outside, and He's still standing knocking, saying, "Is there one more in there? One that would open and let me come in and talk with you?"

136 I'm glad, so thankful, that about ... many years ago, around twenty-eight years ago, I felt that knock on my heart, and He come in. I've been supping with Him, and He with me ever since. And I received the Pentecostal blessing, received the Holy Ghost, was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins---the only time I ever was baptized in my life---once.
When I was just a little boy nobody could tell me there was three gods. No, you couldn't poke that down my... You can't give it to anybody that knows any ... knows what God is. That's right. So when I was baptized a Baptist preacher baptized me. I said, "I want to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Dr. Roy E. Davis baptized me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ when I was just a boy. That's right. So, I believed it, I've stayed with it, and I know it's the truth. It's God's eternal Word. That's right.

137 I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
I'm one of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them;
I'm one of them, I'm one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
Though these people may not learn to be,
Or boast of worldly fame,
They have all received their Pentecost,
Baptized in Jesus' name;
And are telling now, both far and wide,
His power is yet the same.
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
(Are you glad? If you are, raise up
your hand.)
One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them;
One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
Come, my brother, seek this blessing
That will cleanse your heart from sin,
That will start the joy-bells ringing
And will keep your soul aflame;
Oh, it's burning now within my heart,
Oh, glory to His name,
And I'm glad that I can say I'm one of them.
Oh, one of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them;
(Hallelujah!) One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
They were gathered in the upper room,
All praying in His name,
They were baptized with the Holy Ghost,
And power for service came;
Now what He did for them that day
He'll do for you the same.
I'm so glad that I can say... (Now let's
shake hands, front, back, and around.)
One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them;
One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
Oh, one of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them;
Well, one of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them;
One of them, one of them,
I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.
Aren't you glad you're one of them? [Congregation answers, "Yes! Amen! Hallelujah!"] Noisy bunch.

138 [A brother speaks in another tongue. A brother gives an interpretation: "Yea, I have come to thee this night, my people, yea, as a refiner's fire. Yea, I have come to thee this night as a fuller's soap. Yea, I say unto thee, 'As many as I love, I rebuke, yea, and chasten.'
"I say unto thee, 'Repent, yea, repent and be converted, yea, that all your sins may be blotted out. The time of refreshing has now come from the presence of the Lord.' Yea, I say unto thee, my people, 'Hearken to the voice of my prophet that I have sent unto thee to declare unto thee this present truth.' Yea, I say unto thee, 'Be established in the present truth, yea, this more sure word of prophecy, yea, that has come to thee from my Word.' I say unto thee, 'I will confirm this word unto thee as the days go past,'" saith the Spirit of the Lord.]
How we thank You, Father, for Your goodness and mercies to us, the unworthy ones, to think that You would confirm Your message now, Lord, promised to people. I pray, God, that Your mercies rest upon them.

139 If there be any here that doesn't know Him as Saviour, you'd want to find Him right now in your hearts as the Saviour, would you stand to your feet while we offer prayer for you? He said that He would ... made this message there, and He wanted to confirm His Word to you. If there's some here that doesn't know Him and hasn't received His Spirit, He's speaking to you.
All right, that one back there, would you just stand up to your feet, brother? [A brother in congregation speaks.] He wants to get baptized in the Holy Ghost. Is that it, brother? God bless you. Stand where you are. Is there another would like to rise up and say, "I would like to get baptized in the Holy Ghost." God bless you, brother. God bless you. That's good. Stand to your feet. Just remain on your feet. Would there be someone else that would like to receive the Holy Ghost, be baptized, like to be remembered in our prayers right now, to be baptized in the Holy Ghost? Is there another, before I say what I'm fixing to, would like to stand and be included?
Oh, would you be numbered as one
of His fold? (Would you do it?)
Be spotless within,
Be watching and waiting that sight
to behold;
He's coming again.

140 He's coming again. Would you want to be His foe, or would you want to be His child? A angry God on that morning, nothing but the blood of Jesus will He recognize. He'll never ... your church membership will be nothing to Him. Nothing but the blood.
Oh, precious is that flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[Brother Branham hums.]
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
(Is there another?)
Oh, precious is......
(Nothing can stand, brother, sister.
The world's sinking, she's gone)
.........as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

141 Slowly, Teddy, if you will, "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins." Now, friends, you that's standing on your feet, are trying to accept the sweetness of the Lord Jesus, the same Bible that tells us that these things would happen, brought them to pass just exactly the way He promised it.
Now, "The promise" said Peter, "is unto you and to your children and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." You stood up because you want the blessing of God on you. And as His servant, I pray for you. I'll pray that God will give you the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
And I wonder if you could do this in your heart? If you're sincere, if you would make this promise to God: "God, I, from this time, standing on my feet, seeking this baptism of the Holy Ghost, I shall constantly pray and wait until You fill me with the Holy Ghost." Will you make that promise to God by raising your hands? "I will constantly pray, constantly, until You fill me with sweetness and goodness of the Spirit."

142 I offer my prayer for you now, as we bow our heads.
Our Heavenly Father, they are the trophies of Your presence. They know that these words are true because they are Yours. They know that they have been given by the Holy Spirit because they are the Word of God. And they have been convinced that they need You, that they need sweetness of the Holy Spirit in their life to give them overcoming power. And they will receive power from on high, receive the power to live a Christian life, to receive power to overcome temptations.
As the song we was just singing, "They gathered in the upper room and was praying in His name, they were baptized with the Holy Ghost and power for service came." That's what they want, power for service to come upon them.
I pray Thee, Father, as Your servant, as You seen them raising their hands, they have made a pledge to You and a promise that they shall never cease, they'll not lay it aside, but they will pray until You fill them, Lord, to a satisfying portion of Thy Holy presence in their life. I offer my prayer in their behalf, Lord, as Your servant, that they will be filled with the Holy Ghost. Lord, I pray that they'll not leave this church until that happens, that they'll be right here until each soul is filled with the Holy Ghost. Grant it, Lord.

143 Thou art God, the Almighty. You was manifested in the flesh to take away the sins of the world. You arose on the third day, ascended on high. And You're here tonight in amongst us, in the name of the Holy Spirit. And we pray, Father, that You, our precious Lord, will fill each one of them with Your own self and may they be a blessing to Your kingdom, and in the world that is to come.
And one day when You finally reach the end of the road---that may be today yet, we don't know when it'll be---but may I be able, Lord, be counted among those who goes in the rapture. May these be the ones that go in the rapture. May every person in divine presence and all that's filled with the Spirit, that belongs to God, go in the rapture.
Take these in tonight, Father. They are Yours now. I commit them to Thee, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

144 Now I want the rest of you that's standing by these people, that has the Holy Spirit, raise up, lay your hands on them.
......a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
Wash all my sins away;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Wash all my sins away.

145 Now raise up your hands to God and just give Him praise. Say, "Thank You, Lord. I raised to my feet. I give You praise. I thank You for Your blessings, for Your goodness, and for giving me the baptism of the Holy Ghost." Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank you, God, for giving us... You keep Your promise. You said... We believe You.

146 Aren't you happy? Say, "Praise the Lord!"
We find many people who can't understand
Why we are so happy and free;
We've crossed over Jordan to Canaan's
fair land,
And this is like heaven to me.
Oh, this is like heaven to me,
Oh, this is like heaven to me;
I've crossed over Jordan to Canaan's
fair land,
And this is like heaven to me.
Oh, when I get happy, I sing and I shout,
The devil don't believe it, I see;
But I'm filled with the Spirit,
there isn't a doubt,
And that's what's the matter with me.
Well, that's what's the matter with me.
Praise God!
Oh, this is like heaven to me;
I've crossed over Jordan to Canaan's
fair land,
And this is like heaven to me.

147 Don't it make you happy? Good. Shake hands with somebody, say, "Praise the Lord. This is like heaven to me."
Take the name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe;
It will joy and comfort give you,
Take it everywhere you go.
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven;
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
At the name of Jesus bowing,
Falling prostrate at His feet,
King of kings in heaven we'll
crown Him,
When our journey is complete.
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven;
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
Now, quietly, with our heads bowed:
... the name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every snare;
When temptations round you gather,
Just breathe that holy name in prayer.
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven;
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.