What is the Baptism of the Holy Ghost?

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We only find Christ when our lives change

The baptism of the Holy Spirit has always been a contentious issue because people try to make it an identical experience for everyone.

A “one size fits all”. What happened to me must also happen to you.

That is not correct.

As an example, no two people have the same salvation experience.

That is what makes testimonies interesting. God brings each person to salvation in a different way.

The salvation experience is summed up in one word. “Repent”.

We all repent in different ways. There is no “Sinner’s Prayer” that has to be repeated word-for-word.

Some repent briefly, some repent during a long heart-searching experience. Some repent without tears, others weep deeply. Some confess their sins silently, others cry out loudly. Some repent in a meeting, others when they are alone.

All that counts is their serious desire to get right with God and have a life-changing experience that may or may not have been very emotional.

What counts is not the actual words said but rather the desire to get rid of past sins. This must produce a change in our lives. A noticeable shift in our attitude so that we want to serve God and please God.

God reads the inner motives of the heart, not the words that we said.

Thus, many people say words of repentance, but their commitment is shallow and they soon return to their old lives.

The biggest proof of salvation is not the words that we said.

Nor does it depend on our salvation experience.

The proof of our salvation is determined by the change that people notice in our lives.

The wise men were led by the Holy Spirit, in the form of a star, to find Jesus as a two-year-old Child in a house.

MATTHEW 2:11   And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:

The Holy Spirit guided the wise men to Christ.

They met Christ.

Then they went home another way. This symbolizes the change in the way we walk after we meet and accept Jesus as our Saviour.

MATTHEW 2:12   And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Once you have met Christ and got saved you will always walk differently.

Jacob wrestled with God in the form of a Man. He had his thigh damaged. After that experience, he limped.

This symbolized that Jacob walked differently.

GENESIS 32:24   And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

:25   And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

:30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

:31   And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

"Halted" means he limped.

That is the real meaning of salvation. It does not depend on the experience. But it does depend on walking differently and giving up our sinful ways.

People who get saved and continue to smoke, drink, swear, gamble, and use bad language are not an impressive testimony.

The wise men were not wise because they were educated. They were wise because they sought Christ.

The only wisdom we have is when we seek Christ.

Salvation is when we have the wisdom to seek Christ as a Person to free us from our sins.

The Holy Ghost baptism is when we have the wisdom to seek Christ as He walks through the pages of the Bible and reveals the hidden mysteries to us.

The Holy Ghost will guide us to understand the truth of Scripture.

JOHN 16:13   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:

Look at the first man who got saved. A sinful thief.

He had no idea what to say, but he put all his hope and trust in Jesus. He wanted to be in Heaven and was ready to follow Jesus to get there.

LUKE 23:42   And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

This is a very strange repentance declaration. But that was enough. Why?

The man had changed.

MATTHEW 27:44   The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

Both thieves shouted abuse at Jesus when they were first crucified.

But then the one thief changed.

He rebuked the other thief who was doing wrong.

He never justified himself and admitted that he deserved his punishment.

He then defended Jesus.

These are the attributes of genuine repentance. Telling sinners to stop sinning. Never justifying one’s own sins by blaming circumstances or other people.

But admitting one’s guilt and accepting responsibility for our sins. Then realizing that Jesus is perfect and that He is our only hope.

That all speaks of an effective inner change.

Then we look to Jesus for salvation in the same way the dying thief did.

Totally unable to save ourselves.

LUKE 23:39   And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

LUKE 23:40   But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

LUKE 23:41   And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

John the Baptist demanded suitable fruits of repentance

Consider John the Baptist.

He was happy to baptize sinners who repented.

MATTHEW 3:6   And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

But he refused to baptize the church leaders. Why?

MATTHEW 3:7   But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Serpent seed or vipers show up most readily amongst the preachers who distort the Scriptures and mislead the people. Each of the 45000 different kinds of churches and denominations pay their preachers to only preach their version of the church traditions.

Luther called this, “Prattling for pennies”. Judas, an apostle, a church leader clutched the money bag.

Jesus threw the religious money-makers out of the Temple on Palm Sunday and again the next Monday and was thus killed on a Thursday. Do not interfere with a religious money-maker.

Religious leaders have one obsession. Money. Greed.

REVELATION 3:17   Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not …

John the Baptist looked for evidence of salvation.

He said, "Do not tell me about your so-called salvation experience, I want to see a suitable change in your life".

Pastors living in the biggest house and driving the fanciest car are a very unimpressive example.

No wonder God shut the churches down with the COVID-19 coronavirus of 2020.

MATTHEW 3:8   Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

John claimed that he saw no real change in the lives of the money-pursuing church leadership.

They were making money out of religion and they preferred their church traditions to the Word of God.

So, salvation was not guaranteed by going through some repentance process. Anybody could do that.

Anybody could get baptized by going down into the water as a dry sinner and coming up as a wet sinner. Then no effective change happened. Consequently, the process was a waste of time.

The repentance had no meaning unless it led to a complete change of heart.

A brand-new desire to follow Jesus.

Let us consider the Scriptures that are involved in the born-again experience.

Remember, life is complex.

EPHESIANS 1:14   … in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

First, we have to repent and believe in Jesus.

That means Jesus picks us up like a dirty vessel.

Then He has to wash us clean with His Blood and the water of the Word.

This is sanctification. Holy living.

REVELATION 1:5   Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

EPHESIANS 5:26   That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Then He wants to fill us with His Spirit to seal our experience with Him.

JOB 37:7   He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.

Every person has a unique fingerprint as proof that God personally made and sealed their body.

God’s spiritual seal is the Holy Spirit baptism.

JOHN 4:24   God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Oil is a symbol of God’s Spirit.

God fills us with His Spirit so that in the light of this burning oil He can illuminate His Word to us in such a way that when we read the Bible verses we can understand them.

Only when we understand the Bible verses do they give us light to walk by.

So the Spirit and the Word are intertwined.

Your understanding of the Word of God reveals the presence of God's Spirit in you, as the mind of Christ replaces your own thinking.

Genuine repentance gives us a deep desire to know Bible truth

Salvation is an experience that gives us a desire to repent of our sins and we accept Jesus.

The proof of this experience is discerned by the change in our lifestyle.

The Holy Ghost baptism is an experience where Jesus accepts us so that we can serve Him.

Because Jesus is the Word of God, this experience can only be discerned by our ability to understand the Word of God.

JOHN 16:13   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:

The main purpose of the Holy Spirit baptism is to enable us to understand the Bible.

Everything else is secondary to this vital task.

The person who serves most faithfully is the person who serves the truth.

But we cannot serve truth until we first know what the truth is.

God wants us to know the truth so that we can help others to find the truth.

JOHN 14:6    Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The Bible is Jesus in Word form as it tells us His thoughts. You cannot separate a person from their thoughts.

John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as a Man walking amongst men.

William Branham pointed out Jesus as He walks through the pages of the Bible.

Brother Branham showed us the way that Jesus is hidden in the symbols and patterns and types of the Bible. It is a certain way of getting the truth to be revealed from the written Word. Then that truth builds our faith and the life of the Holy Spirit grows within us as we realize our place in the plan of God.

Each individual fits into God’s spiritual Temple as a living stone. That is God’s Big Picture.

I PETER 2:5   Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Each stone is a person. Each person is part of the priesthood.

No priest is above another priest. All priests are equal.

Only the High Priest, Jesus, is above the priests.

Thus, God wants no elevation of a man above the people. No Nicolaitans.

God thus shapes each person individually for their part in His Big Plan, as He rebuilds the Tabernacle of the Gentiles during the seven church ages.

When the apostles and elders gathered to consider the Gospel going out to the Gentiles, James referred to a prophecy from Amos.

God wants to rebuild the Tabernacle out of Gentiles

ACTS 15:14     Simeon [Simon Peter] hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

Peter took the Gospel first to the Roman centurion Cornelius and his kinsmen and near friends. Acts Chapter 10.

ACTS 15:15  And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

:16     After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

:17     That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

Amos had written of building up the ruins of David’s tabernacle by means of the heathen Gentiles.

AMOS 9:11   In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

:12     That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

This is what the Tabernacle looked like.

The Tabernacle fell into disuse and ruin when the Temple was built.

Then the Temple became an empty shell when God tore up the inner veil.

Peter began to re-build the Tabernacle on the Day of Pentecost.

Repent was the altar of Christ's sacrifice.

Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ was the laver.

You will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That takes you into the Holy Place where the seven Gentile church ages are the candlestick of God's light. Then the 144000 come to Jesus in great Tribulation in the Promised Land as the 12 tribes of Israel.

ACTS 2:38   Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Jews as a nation rejected this offer so Paul turned to the Gentiles and the 2000 years of church history was born.

What Peter taught remains the blueprint for building the Gentile church throughout the 7 church ages. This truth would be lost at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 when the Trinity was introduced. Then truth was further destroyed in the Dark Ages. But a restoration would start with Martin Luther in Germany who preached salvation by faith in Jesus alone. Brother Branham would complete the restoration by reviving baptism in the name of Jesus and telling us to be Scriptural. So God struggled to rebuild His spiritual Tabernacle during church history.

PSALM 51:6    Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Only if we really desire truth from deep down within our hearts, rather than any desire for personal gain, then alone will God grant us the wisdom to understand the deeper truth of the Bible’s hidden mysteries.

Understanding the hidden mysteries of Scripture is an important and key aspect of the Holy Ghost baptism.

The end time Message shall reveal it, the last church age. [Daniel’s symbols]

1965 CHURCH AGE BOOK   THE LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE

“Be zealous and repent.” Now this false church has zeal; make no mistake about that. Her zeal has literally been that of the Jews, John 2:17, “The zeal of thine house hath eaten Me up.” But it is a wrong zeal. It is for the house of their own building. It is for their own creeds, dogmas, organizations, their own righteousness. They have put the Word out for their own ideas. They deposed the Holy Ghost and made men into leaders. 

They have put aside Eternal Life as a Person, and make it good works, or even church conformity rather than good works."

DANIEL 8:26   And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

Daniel’s visions were promised to be revealed in the end time.

DANIEL 12:4   But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

God’s special plan was to reveal the Bible mysteries at the end time.

In the end, God would reveal six of the seven Seals through William Branham.

This would enable us to understand the hidden mysteries.

The seventh Seal must remain a mystery as it concerns the Coming of the Lord which is the biggest mystery in the universe.

64-0719  THE  FEAST  OF  THE  TRUMPETS

The Seventh Seal hasn't opened yet, you know. That's His Coming.

DANIEL 12:9   And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

:10     Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Again, God puts emphasis on the wise virgins, the Bride, being able to understand the hidden symbols of the Bible.

So again, the main function of the Holy Spirit is, just like burning oil, to illuminate the pages of Scripture so that we can read the types and symbols and join them into a pattern that gives us a picture or revelation of that doctrine.

The most important lesson that Daniel learned was that in the end, God would reveal the hidden mysteries of Scripture.

In the end the Bride will understand the Bible mysteries

So that is the birthright of the Bride. God’s promise that the hidden mysteries would be made known.

Everything else may be good, but it is of secondary importance.

Understanding the truth of God’s Word is vital. That alone can guide us.

62-1230  IS  THIS  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  END  SIR

The mystery of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, without sensation, but the Person of Christ performing in you the same works that He did.

If you are able to understand the end-time revelations of Scripture then only the Holy Ghost could have taught you that.

Spreading God’s Bible truth is the only way that you can really help another to find the right path.

The Spirit will manifest Himself mainly in a person to enable that person to help other people.

I CORINTHIANS 12:7   But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

:8     For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

:9     To another faith by the same Spirit; …

Notice where the main value of the Holy Spirit comes in.

It gives us the wisdom to link the various Bible verses together to understand doctrine.

Knowledge is given so that we can understand the meaning of a single Bible verse.

Then our faith grows because faith is built on Scripture.

The Holy Spirit gives you faith by showing you the meaning of each Bible verse so as to build up your knowledge.

Then, the Spirit gives you the wisdom to link the various Bible verses together to form a picture or revelation that you can prove just from the linked Bible verses.

Only after that, do things like healing, miracles, prophecy discernment, and tongues come in.

Tongues being the least important, wisdom is the most important.

:9   … to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

:10   another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

:11     But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

What is wisdom?

ISAIAH 28:10   For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Being able to put together Bible verses from different parts of the Bible, so that they all combine to reveal a deeper truth.

This is linked by Isaiah, in the next verse, to the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

ISAIAH 28:11   For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

This describes the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost.

Another tongue. They were able to speak in a language that the listeners could hear and understand.

It was another or unknown tongue to the disciples who spoke, but it was the language of each listener.

So, the listeners became aware of what God was saying through the 120 disciples from the upper room.

This has a deeper meaning.

Church-goers cannot understand many verses in the Bible. The Bible is a hidden language to them that is full of mysteries.

You must have, thanks to the inspiration of the Spirit, the knowledge of the Bible verses and the wisdom to join them together into a collective revelation or doctrine. Then, you speak these hidden verses to them by means of an explanation that they can understand.

You have interpreted the unknown language of the Bible mysteries to them.

You have made known the mysteries of the symbols and patterns in the Bible.

The main purpose of the Holy Spirit baptism is to make the hidden words of Scripture, which were previously unknown as a mystery,  come to life as a revelation that people can understand.

Isaiah thus actually claims that the Holy Ghost baptism is the wisdom to join Scriptures together from various parts of the Bible so that we can understand the written Word.

MATTHEW 13:23     But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The seed is the Word of God.

LUKE 8:11   Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Good ground is only good when we are able to understand Scripture.

This is the endpoint of the parable.

Consequently, this was the target that Jesus was aiming at in the parable. Getting the people to understand the Bible.

The fruit that was produced was the understanding of Scripture.

62-1230  IS  THIS  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  END  SIR

The mystery of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, without sensation, but the Person of Christ performing in you the same works that He did.

55-0109M  MELCHISEDEC  THE  GREAT  PRINCE  AND  KING

The baptism of the Holy Spirit doesn't become an emotional, worked-up substance. It becomes a reality of the indwelling Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ to change the life.

When do we receive the Holy Spirit?

On the day that we discover that our biggest desire is to understand the Scriptures, irrespective of who it is that reveals the Word to us.

When you can listen to anyone, especially people outside your chosen church, and find that you can understand the mysteries that they are explaining.

Your ability to understand the written Word when someone explains it to you is the proof that Christ has accepted you.

The Bible is the mind of Christ.

I CORINTHIANS 2:16   … But we have the mind of Christ.

When you have the mind of Christ, then you think like Him and you understand and love His thinking.

Understanding the written mysteries of the Bible requires a pearl of special wisdom because very few can do that.

When you listen to Bible verses being put together and you can understand it, just from the Scripture, then it has to be God’s Spirit working in you.

This is not dependent on sensations and emotions which may or may not be present.

Rather like a one-year-old baby that suddenly becomes aware that it is alive as a separate and independent person.

Let us consider the nature of a human being.

ROMANS 8:5   For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

We are trapped in a body of flesh and our physical life is dominated by money, women, and fame.

These are distractions to lure us off the path of Bible truth. This physical life is temporary, superficial, and based on self-gain.

Then there is a deeper spiritual life based on dying to self and knowing the truth and thus being of more valuable use to God and man.

The Word of God becomes our Absolute

The purpose of bother Branham’s message was to reveal and spread the light of God’s Word.

I JOHN 1:5   This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

The message is to tell us that the Word of God is our light. Our Absolute.

62-1230  ABSOLUTE

It's less than that. Just faith in His Word! And you, if you make His Word your absolute, you can. Any Divine promise in the Bible, you can tie your soul to it. No matter how much the waves whip you around, you're still tied; your absolute.

DANIEL 12:3   And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

People could navigate and find their way by using the stars.

The wise are described as stars which are sources of light that help people find their way.

Consider a person who functions as spirit, soul, and body.

What do these terms mean?

ROMANS 8:27   And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,

EPHESIANS 4:23   And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

The “mind of the Spirit” and the “Spirit of the mind”.

The words “spirit” and “mind” are used interchangeably. Thus, they are the same entity.

ROMANS 8:10   … the Spirit is life

Thus spirit, and mind, and life are all the same.

JOHN 7:38   He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

JOHN 7:39    (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive:

The Spirit is described as flowing water.

I SAMUEL 25:29   … but the soul of my lord [David] shall be bound in the bundle of life

Life is the spirit. So, David’s soul is wrapped up in the bundle of his spirit.

Where is your soul?

Deep down, wrapped up inside your spirit of life.

EZEKIEL 18:20   The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

When a man dies, his soul must return to God to answer for his sin.

ECCLESIASTES 3:21   Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

An animal has no soul. Thus, when it dies, its spirit just gets poured out into the earth and disappears.

The human soul is wrapped up in the spirit. Thus the spirit must return to God as it holds the soul that has to answer to God.

JEREMIAH 31:12   … and their soul shall be as a watered garden

If the soul is a garden of good soil in which the Word of God is planted as a seed, then the Holy Spirit waters the soul so that the seed can germinate and grow.

LUKE 8:11   Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

I PETER 1:23   Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

What is critical is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit, important though that is.

The Holy Spirit is the water that makes the seed grow. Without water, the seed will not grow.

What is critical is the type of seed that you allow to grow in your soul.

The Holy Spirit can only germinate what is in you.

65-1207  LEADERSHIP

Many of you think, "I got the baptism of the Holy Ghost, I'm going to Heaven." That don't mean one thing that you're going to Heaven. No, sir. You can have the baptism of the Holy Ghost every hour in your life, and still be lost and go to hell. The Bible says so. Uh-huh, that's exactly right.

If the true seed-Word is not in your soul then some other seed is in there.

And the water of the Spirit can only make grow the seed that is in you. If it is a weed-seed, then the Holy Spirit will make you grow into a weed.

The water cannot change the nature of the seed.

The fruits of the Spirit are such that we can do the will of the Father.
MATTHEW 7:20    Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

:21   Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

:22   Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

:23   And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

ROMANS 11:29   For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

God gives supernatural gifts to unsaved people if he wants to.

Judas was a disciple who was given supernatural power by Jesus when He sent the disciples out.

MATTHEW 10:1    And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Having supernatural power did not mean that Judas was dedicated to the truth.

The seed Word determines the nature of the body that grows

I CORINTHIANS 15:38    But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

The seed that is in your soul will grow under the power of the Holy Spirit.

If a tare is planted in a person’s soul, then that person will grow into a preacher of error and unbelief.

If a wheat seed is planted, that will grow to become a member of God’s truth-loving Bride.

Once the seed Word germinates it brings the body under subjection because the seed has total control of the body that grows up from the seed.

The seed determines the nature of the body that grows from the seed.

It is the same Holy Spirit. The same water. It all depends on the nature of the seed.

MATTHEW 5:45   That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

God helps the good and the bad. So God pours out his Spirit on everyone.

The crucial difference is the seed that is growing in the soul.

Whatever seed a person plants in their soul, that’s the plant body that will grow.

I THESSALONIANS 5:23   And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spirit, soul, and body.

This is the order in which God works.

The Spirit waters the seed Word in your soul.

The Seed Word germinates to produce a Word body that keeps your physical body under subjection.

That is what determines your final destiny. Not any gifts. Not any experiences.

Gifts and experiences differ from person to person.

People can have a gift of God but reject God.

59-0412   WHAT  HEAREST  THOU  ELIJAH

I just wonder, that if we haven't listened too much to rushing mighty winds, and fire, and blood, and everything else, and have failed to hear that still small Voice. Wonder if we've looked so much to gifts that we can't see the Giver. You know, America is prone for noise. That's the reason rock-and-roll is so popular, and all these other lots of noises.

Now, we've had rushing mighty winds;, we've had great shakings, but where has God been in all of it? Elijah said He was not in it. What did we do with rushing winds? What have we done with all kinds of sensations? Where has it got us? Denominated so tight that we won't give fellowship one to the other. What have we done by it? Is the church better off? Is it unified by rushing winds? No, sir. It's only unified when them people will hear that still small Voice of God.

60-0807  DEBATE  ON  TONGUES

So, you can have any of the gifts of God without having God. God is love, and Satan can impersonate any of those gifts. See? See, he can impersonate pretty near anything 'cause he perverts. Sin is righteousness perverted.

MATTHEW 13:23   But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The whole purpose of the Holy Spirit is to water the Seed of God’s Word so that it gives understanding to the Bride. Humans are made from a handful of dust. The Bride members are made from a handful of good soil.

Thirty, sixty, and a hundred refer to the three ages of the restoration of truth since it died out in the Dark Ages. These three church ages are prophesied in Revelation Chapter 3. They are meant to take us back to the first church age of the early apostles.

Sardis. Martin Luther in the fifth church age started the Reformation by preaching Salvation by faith in Jesus. Justification. This was one portion of the truth. Thirty percent.

Philadelphia. John Wesley preached salvation, holiness, and outreach that led to the golden missionary age. Sanctification. This was two portions of the truth. Sixty percent.

The church of the Laodiceans. Pentecost restored the gifts of the Spirit starting around 1904 in Wales and 1906 in Azusa Street, Los Angeles in America. Then brother Branham revealed the hidden mysteries of Scripture between 1947 and 1965 with his recorded voice. Since then we have lived in the days of the voice of the seventh angel as we learn from those recorded messages which are to forerun the second Coming of Jesus.

Now God expects us to have a full understanding of the mysteries of Scripture. One hundred percent.

59-1217  WHAT  WAS  THE  HOLY  GHOST  GIVEN  FOR?

Here comes that big Light hanging right yonder, come moving down over me and said, "As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, you'll have a Message that'll forerun the second coming of Christ."

The man William Branham is not the forerunner of the Second Coming. It is his revelation of Scripture that reveals the full Bible that prepares the Bride for the Second Coming.

When the Bible is opened up to us, only then can Jesus return with the open Book in His hand which is the symbol of His power and authority.

REVELATION 10:1   And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

:2   And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

This is Jesus coming down as the Archangel for the Voice of the Archangel to raise the dead.

64-0119 SHALOM

And when the great Director comes down and bears that stick down, then, "time shall be no more." When that Angel, of Revelation the 10th chapter, puts one foot on land and one on the sea, and a rainbow over His head, He swore, "time shall be no more." When that time comes, you'll rise up from among the dead. While the rest of them lay there, you'll go in.

The earth and the sea are where the dead saints from the seven church ages are buried.

63-0318  THE  FIRST  SEAL

… for this alone, the mysteries of God, is the ministry of the seventh angel.

Again brother Branham ignores all the amazing supernatural in his ministry, which attracted attention to him, and puts the real emphasis of his ministry on the revelation of the mysteries.

Being able to understand the Bible mysteries is far more important than what you and I realize.

By using the quotes of brother Branham we will be able to interpret the Bible mysteries.

Once the Bible is an open Book that we can understand, then the resurrection happens.

Please do not call brother Branham infallible

There will be some mistakes that brother Branham makes as he is human, but we should be able to spot those if we know what we are talking about.

62-1007  THE  KEY  TO  THE  DOOR

That, they claim in here that some brethren up there that said that I sent them up there, and they're preaching that men should leave their wives and hunt for their spiritual mate, and that I am perfectly infallible. That there's nothing... And, oh, some of the awfullest things you ever heard.

Calling brother Branham infallible, is awful.

John the Baptist made a serious mistake in thinking that perhaps Jesus was not the Messiah. But that did not stop him from being the forerunner of the First Coming.

Revealing the hidden mysteries completes the restoration of the children of the seventh age Bride back to the apostolic fathers who wrote the New Testament. One hundred percent of the truth is now available if we diligently search for it. Like Ruth gleaning in the fields for the scattered seeds that the church harvesters had either missed or carelessly ignored.

An example of brother Branham muddling up his facts.

58-0928  THE  SERPENT'S  SEED

After the death of the apostles, there what come the Nicene fathers, and they went on for several years (three hundred and twenty-five years) finally came to Nicaea, France, where they had the great Nicene Council.

Nicaea is NOT in France, it is a city in Asia Minor, just below Istanbul or Constantinople.

And as I said it in the teaching this morning, each one of those church ages on up to that Thessalonica church age, the fifteen hundred years of dark ages, there was not one time but what He said, "You still have My name." …

There was never a Thessalonica church age. He meant the Thyatira church age.

The Dark Ages were 1200 or 900 years long depending on whether you count both the third and fourth church ages or just the fourth church age.

The Dark Ages ended around 1520 with Luther’s Reformation.

If the Dark Ages were 1500 years long, then Jesus was in the Dark Ages. Impossible. He was the Light of the world.

And it's exactly three hundred and twenty-five years to the Laodicean council.

Above, he said it was 325 years to the Nicene council. The Laodicean Council was AD 363-364. At this Council, they left out the Book of Revelation from the Bible. They realized that it referred to the Roman Catholic church as a prostitute.

325 years is to the Nicene Council, not the Laodicean Council.

But the rest of the message on Serpent’s Seed was an incredible revelation of sex being the original sin. Our belly buttons are effectively the mark of the beast on our bodies. That dooms us to die. We should never have been born this way.

Please, before you just quote brother Branham, you must check. He himself said that he was not infallible.

He had incredible insights, but sometimes he made mistakes.

We were never promised the “Voice of God” in the New Testament.

We were promised the “Voice of the seventh angel”. So, we must stay with Scripture.

The only other voice that we were promised is the future voice of the Archangel to raise the New Testament dead saints.

We need to know the Bible to be ready for that event.

One month before he died, brother Branham was still waiting for the shout. This will only happen when the Bride understands the Bible.

1965-1127   I  HAVE  HEARD  BUT  NOW  I  SEE
 Dear God, in this solemn moment, it's going to be a time like this when there really will be a clap of thunder someday, and the Son of God shall descend from the heavens with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God, the dead in Christ shall rise.

I CORINTHIANS 15:38    But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

In each age of restoration, God had a slightly different body for His seed Word.

But in the end, God wants a body that is strictly Scriptural according to the revealed Word.

Speak in unknown tongues didn't happen on the Day of Pentecost

All the people in the crowd who came from different countries all heard them in their own languages.

Thus, there were no unknown tongues.

Everybody heard and understood.

ACTS 2:4   And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

:6     Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Look what happened when the Holy Ghost fell on the Samaritans.

ACTS 8:17   Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Here there was no speaking in tongues because the Jews and the Samaritans (part Jew and part Gentile)  both spoke the same language.

:18     And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

Simon saw miracles happen.

But you cannot see somebody speaking in tongues, you hear them.

So there is no record of tongues being spoken.

Look what happened at Iconium when Paul and Barnabus got there.

ACTS 13:52   And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

No mention of tongues and no mention of miracles.

The effect of being filled with the Holy Spirit was simply for them to feel very happy.

Many Christians experience this type of Holy Spirit baptism in some way.

Often a person will puzzle and ponder over a Scripture that seems to make no sense.

Then suddenly one day they will read or hear somebody explain the difficulty.

There is a sudden surge of happiness to find that one’s faith is vindicated. Because all the time you were sure that there was a solution somewhere.

A sudden joy at being able to understand why different Scriptures do not contradict each other.

As an example.

A person was baffled that what was written on the cross of Jesus was slightly different in certain Gospels.

Then someone pointed out that three different languages were used.

LUKE 23:38   And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Immediately the baffled person began to laugh with relief and excitement at having her difficult question answered.

Understanding difficult Scriptures brings great joy to a genuine believer.

Different people got the Holy Ghost in different ways

So being filled with the Holy Ghost happened in different ways to different people.

John the Baptist received the Holy Ghost in his mother’s womb where he could not speak.

When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus after His baptism, He never spoke in tongues.

Zecharaiah, John’s father, prophesied and did not speak in tongues as everyone there spoke the same language. They were all Jews.

LUKE 1:67   And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

60-0807  DEBATE.ON.TONGUES

… I said, "I'll admit that there was one time that in the Bible, that everyone spoke in tongues." But he was very upset, you know. And he said, "Hallelujah. Now, you're on the road." I said, "Yes, sir, that was at Babel. No one understood what the other one said." I said, "On Pentecost they all understood what every man said." I said, "It was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You see?"

I said, "At Babel, they all spoke in unknown tongues like Pentecost does now.

No one know what the other one's saying, one jabbering this, one jabbering that, and didn't know nothing, but that was Babel." See? But I said, "At Pentecost every man heard in his own language, wherein he was born."

When Saint Paul (then known as Saul) received the Holy Ghost there were no tongues. They all spoke the same language as they were Jews.

ACTS 9:17   And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

:18     And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

The Holy Ghost enabled Saul to see. Physically and spiritually.

Thus began the greatest ministry of the early disciples.

Mary came to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

They both spoke the same language as both were Jewish.

LUKE 1:41   And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

:42     And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

They were both Jewish. So there was no need for tongues.

I CORINTHIANS 12:28   And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

The apostles wrote down the truth as the New Testament.

Prophets would guide the church at certain times by predicting the future. Like Agabus did when he predicted a drought in Judea and the disciples all collected money to help them.

A Bible teacher has to be strictly Scriptural

Brother Branham as a Word prophet then revealed the hidden mysteries of Scripture.

Then teachers are required to use brother Branham’s quotes to understand the Bible verses until the truth can be preached just from the Bible.

The key part of Bible teaching is to prove that what brother Branham taught is Scriptural.

And to ignore the odd places where he was not Scriptural.

57-0908  HEBREWS.CHAPTER.FIVE.AND.SIX.1

The Holy Spirit set teachers in the church, so He could teach through that teacher. And if it isn't according to the Word, God doesn't confirm it, then it isn't the right kind of teaching. It must compare with the entire Bible, and be just as alive today as It was then.

63-0724  GOD  DOESN'T  CALL  MAN  TO  JUDGMENT  WITHOUT  FIRST  WARNING  HIM

The teacher is a special man. He sits back under the anointing of the Spirit and is able to take the Words and put them together by the Holy Spirit, that, the pastor or evangelist either one could not compare with him.

A teacher has to be dedicated to joining the different Bible verses together.

Only in that way can it be proven that what brother Branham taught is Scriptural.

I CORINTHIANS 12:29   Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?

God distributes ministries and gifts. Not everybody has them.

I CORINTHIANS 12:30   Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

Not everybody is involved with healing or tongues.

I CORINTHIANS 12:31   But covet earnestly the best gifts: …

The best gifts were wisdom, knowledge, and faith.

That is what we should earnestly seek.

I CORINTHIANS 12:7   But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

:8     For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

:9     To another faith by the same Spirit; …

In a public meeting, there should be no tongues unless there is interpretation.

I CORINTHIANS 14:4   He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

In public, we must edify the church, not ourselves.

REVELATION 3:14   And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;

REVELATION 3:18   I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Gold symbolizes faith.

White raiment symbolizes righteousness.

God wants us to have faith and live righteously.

But the advice that He offers is to anoint our eyes.

Anointing comes from the Holy Ghost.

How do we know that our eyes have been anointed?

By the fact that we can SEE and UNDERSTAND the Scriptures when somebody explains them to us.

We need to only believe what is written in the Bible and live a godly life.

51-0508 FAITH  IS  THE  SUBSTANCE

And no one will still know, no matter how much you cry, how much you pray, how much you shout, how many times you speak with tongues, or whatever you do, you're still not, until the fruits of the Spirit bear record in you. For "By their fruits, you shall know them." That's right. "By their fruits..."

GENESIS 1:11   And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

The true fruit has the seed of God's Word in it.

What we do not understand in Scripture does not illuminate us.

PROVERBS 4:7   Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

63-1222  GOD'S  GIFTS  ALWAYS  FIND THEIR  PLACES

Heavenly Father, can the Christian, can the people today see that That is that great Gift? And many here, tonight, more than a dozen, I guess, raised their hands that they wanted to receive the Holy Spirit. May there just like the wise men, maybe none of the rest of the congregation will even see what goes on. And this Star, this mystic Light passed over the observatories, for two years, where people even kept time then by four watches, they kept time by the stars. Nobody, no historian wrote of it. No one knowed nothing about It, and yet It was there. And these wise men, with their appropriate gift, was guided right through to It. May that same Light come into every heart, here tonight, that's setting present. There may not be no emotion, there may not be this, that, and maybe no one else would know it, just like the wise men. But may something so be settled in these men, women, boys and girls' hearts tonight, that that Gift of God will anoint their life. That from this night on, they'll be changed. They won't be no more like they used to be. They'll be a--a changed creature from now on. May they, like the wise men, turn aside and not go back to the fashions of the world (and Herod, the king's palace), "But being warned of God, they turned aside." Grant it, Lord.

Tonight I pray that every wise man, boy, or girl, in here tonight... Man or woman that's wise enough to turn aside from the things of the world tonight, don't go back no more after this day. After this--this passing of this day and night, no more will they go back to the things of the world, but may they be wise. And this little mystic Voice that caused them to raise their hand and say, "Yes, I want God's Gift"... May that same thing that caused them to raise their hand, identify them tonight with His death, burial, and resurrection, by giving them the Holy Spirit. May they turn aside.

May these women here tonight, Lord, that's had such a hard time to keep from coping with the world; let their hair grow, and dress ladylike, and take off this makeup and stuff, this artificial, that shows... it kind of identifies them that they're not healthy, they... there's something wrong. And may tonight, this little mystic Light, Lord, that caused them to raise their hands, may they say, "Lord, I'm turning aside from the things of the world, tonight."

These man that hasn't had the real something, that would talk to their wives and cause them to turn aside; and the things that they do. May we all together, Lord, just turn aside tonight, being warned of God by the strange little message of the- Light of God that strikes upon our hearts. May we turn aside tonight and--and live for You the rest of our days, go home with You by another way than what we have been traveling. Grant it, Lord. Make us better Christians, every Christian here tonight, Father, that's accepted You and believes on You. And they've tried to live a Christian life, but tonight, may they turn aside, may they receive that Gift.

O God, it's a despised way. Women will be called "old fashioned," they'll be called everything. And man will be called "fanatics." But we're ready, Lord.

Holy Spirit, turn us aside, right now. Turn me aside, Lord. I don't want to even go any way that would lead me away from You. Lord, I want to go just the way You'd have me to go. I want the gift of my heart to be so perfect that it'll identify You, Lord, on earth, that You're not dead, You're living.

57-0417 THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD

Oh, brother, if there ever was a need of a time of a lighting of a candle, the sending forth of the Gospel Light, the Holy Ghost back into the church... Not so much for emotion, not for some fantastics, not for some emotional workup, not for a jump for joy, but for a heart-searching experience when men and women get right with God. Right. We're at the end time.

58-0112   HIS  WONDERS  TO PERFORM

You don't know Christ by hallelujahs. You don't know Christ by dancing in the Spirit; that's an attribute.

You know Christ by knowing Him as a Person that's come into your heart in the form of the Holy Ghost, and taken your sins away, and planted an undying faith in a resurrected Lord Jesus. That's the only way. Not by an intellectual conception, but by a new birth to change you.

And you're changed from the creature that you once was. That's how you know Him.

Then you dance in the Spirit. Then you can clap your hands, as it was, or whatever emotions that the Lord puts upon you. That comes afterwards.

But you can have that without having Him. There's the trouble. See?

Be sure that it's right.

And you'll know it by what kind of life it makes you live, by the love and the faith that's in your heart to Him.

If you're Abraham's child, you'll have Abraham's faith, for that's what made him a servant of Christ.

61-0112 QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS
 I want to ask you brethren, have you ever felt the Holy Ghost shake you so bad till you just couldn't hardly say nothing, would just set quiet sometime, just sit there and cry? Have you did that? Well, that's the Holy Ghost.

65-1125 THE  INVISIBLE  UNION  OF  THE   BRIDE   OF  CHRIST
The grace of God spoke to you, brought you to the altar. You're seeking God's blessings. You're seeking His Word. You're seeking the Holy Ghost. You're seeking the favors of God. And if you are, and you can, really, with all your heart, surrender it. Now, don't look for any emotion. Look for a Truth, a Truth that's from your heart, by faith. "Lord, I'm willing to do anything that Your Word commands me to do. I surrender myself, with all that's in me."

The seed of God's Word must be planted in our souls.

Then the Holy Spirit anoints or waters that seed

What is critical is to have the right seed in our souls. That seed believes that the Bible is our Absolute.

If you believe that there is a mistake in the 1769 version of the King James Bible, then a weed seed is growing in your soul. The Holy Spirit will water that weed seed and turn you into an unbeliever.

How can you keep from lining up with the Word? Amen. See what I mean? "The water falls on the just and the unjust," anoint it.
Jesus said, "They will come to Me in that day, say, 'Lord! Lord! Have not I cast out devils? Have not I done prophesied? Have not I done great things in Your Name?'" He'll say, "You workers of iniquity, depart from Me, I don't even know you. Go into eternal hell that's been prepared for the Devil and his angels."

You see? What a Word! Falsely. Worship in vain, striving in vain. Why do you do that when you don't have to do it? Why take a substitute when the Heavens is full of genuine? See? You don't have to do that.

The evidence is not in any supernatural gift or experience.

The evidence is in being Scriptural and believing every word in the King James Version of the Bible.