Place: Life Tabernacle, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A

Date : 18.7.1969

Praise be to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m really happy to be in the Life Tabernacle, Chicago as I feel a great love for this family, because when I came in 1959, I spent most of my time in Chicago as a different man, walking on the roads. And there was a friend with me, Johnny Austin, who is here; Johnny, put your hand up.

When I came in 1959 all the Pentecostal Churches joined together and said, "We must not allow Bro.Lawrie to get into any church in Chicago". So every place was blocked and I went all over the place as an unwanted cargo. At last I was just sitting here in North Sheridan Road and this brother, Johnny Austin and I walked out on the road, praising God and just had a fellowship on the road. You know, sometimes, we are so dignified that we don’t learn lessons from the defeat we have suffered. When Christ was living in this world, the world could not find Him.

I’ll read from Jeremiah 18:1-6: "The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel". "Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel". Thanks be to God.

You know, these are days when people read plenty of Bro. Branham’s books, Prophet’s books and they all talk in a prophetical manner. You know, they do not understand the vindication, the sacrifice, the persecution and the crucified life necessary. And they take it lightly. The prophet spoke. Yes, it is easy to hear, but very difficult to do it. And God said, I want the doers, not the speakers. You know, you can speak a lot, but I’ll tell you when you walk on the road, they must see Christ in you. The devil must know who you are, not only God.

When I was in North India, I was going on the road with a preacher and some brethren who wanted me for a meeting. There was a demon possessed lady, speaking an unknown language that we don’t know in South India. She suddenly started shouting in her own language, something which I did’t know. And the pastor and other people were shocked. Do you know what she said? "What have you got to do, Lawrie? We are peacefully settled here but you have come to disturb us. These people with you, they never could find me out." Then these brethren said, "Brother Lawrie, how did this girl know your name? How did this girl know that God is with you?" So as we went near, we cast out the demon.

So my friends, these are days when people are sleeping, and I tell you, I’ve come to warn you that time is running out. You may think that you’re a Bride, but still be sleeping. People talk, Oh, I’m the Bride. Do you have the sacrifice a Bride should make? When a girl loves a boy, she is to forsake everything, and go away with him. And people say, "Oh, we are in the Bride." But what sacrifice have you made for God today? What has that love done for you? God has done everything for you. What has the Bride done for her God? They say, "Oh, Brother, man is attempting to go to the moon, (but he cannot make it as the prophet had said). You know, people don’t realize that this day, we are standing here at an important era.

I call this the Bride age. In fact, the Bride age seems to start on the day men put foot on the moon. Because, I have been noticing all along that when there’s an actual physical thing going on in this world, it’s a shadow of the coming spiritual thing. God said, in this world, everything is a shadow. A shadow has something of reality behind. And he said, things which you see, shall be shaken, things which you don’t see, shall not be shaken. So when you look at the things of this world, don’t jump about and shout. Jump and shout about the thing which is high; which cannot be shaken. Man has attained much knowledge (Daniel 12:4). Never in the history of man, could he go to the moon and fly near the moon. And now he’s going to bring back some dry clay from the moon, which is not really his boundary. God gave the earth to man, and then He spoke the moon into space for signs and seasons (Jer. 27:5; Isa. 45:12,18; Psalms 115:16). When He spoke the sun into space, it came; for the moon and earth as lights and signs and for seasons but not as the property of man. When this world came under demon powers after the fall, one day, the Devil said to Jesus Christ, "If you fall down at my feet, I’ll give the whole thing to you."

He is the very Creator; but, you know, our God is a just God. He won’t cheat you. (In the worldly court there is no justice so He asks us to refrain from going to courts). He’ll fight a real fight, no blackmailing or backbiting or stabbing on back like human beings. God could just come down to earth and take the whole earth by force but He’s a just God. Who will fight in the court of God?

So, when you fight against another country, if you go across their boundary their army will cross your boundary. When man is reaching the moon, crossing the boundary of God; God is going to cross the boundary of the earth, and take some people made out of clay from this earth and make them immortal.

And you can do so many things. I’ve been travelling around the world. I have heard many speakers. My, where do they got these ideas? One will become mad. One man says already the rapture has taken place, and another man says, no rapture and no resurrection. Another man says, Oh! I saw this and that. And we are playing like children. Get God’s power and be on God’s word. That is why God called us children.

When a prophet comes to a country, it means that country has gone away from God and His Word (not doers but hearers only)-(Ezekiel 33:31-33; 2:3-10; 3:1-11; Hosea 2:8; 8:12-14). If you say, the prophet came to your country, be ashamed. Don’t think that you are so righteous and spiritually advanced than others. You may be rich in earthly goods, but poor in spiritually advancement. If a prophet comes, you have no right to boast about the prophet. When prophet comes to America, it means America has left God’s Word. If he comes in the Indian scene, India has left God’s Word. But why did God raise the prophet in your country? And sometimes people talk like this, they say, "West is California, East is New York, South is Florida and North is Canada. Tucson is JERUSALEM and Jeffersonville is Bethlehem; this is what they think. They forget the whole world. If God were to only think about United States, I don’t want that God. If God is telling, "Only United States people are my people," then I don’t want that God anymore. According to God, the centre of the world is Jerusalem in the STATE OF ISRAEL (PALESTINE of all).

Thank God. God is a God who has no colour, class, or creed or nationality (Acts 17:21-26; 10:34-35). He loves people whose hearts are right with God. God told me, "I’m taking you around the world. I go before you. Anyone who receives you, receives Me. Anyone who will not receive you, has already rejected Me. I go before you." (Isa. 45:2-6; 42:16). When I landed in New York in June 1959, I never was in United States, but I was like a man just landing on the moon. Going along the city of New York, I heard singing going on in a church building, What a glorious singing! So I thought that’s the place for me. As I went in, one fellow came and put his hand on my neck and said, "Get out, you black fellow". It was a Pentecostal group. So I got a blow on the neck and the fellow chased me out and I said, "I came to hear this beautiful singing." "The beautiful singing is not for you, black fellow, so get out." Do you know Mahatma Gandhi who nearly accepted Jesus Christ had to reject it when he was pushed out in a "White Church" in Africa, hereby multitude who followed him in India rejected Jesus Christ.

So I came out and sat on a bench. You know what I said, "You are a dirty God, a partial God creating one man black and one man white and one man yellow, and playing the fool with people and You want me to worship You?" I got so wild, you know, sometimes children will mildly scold the father when they get angry and cry when they are hungry. So I was very angry and upset and scolded Him. People think God is somebody far away. Talk to Him, like a child to a father. You do not read from a book but you talk out of your heart. You know, they think that because you cannot see Him, it cannot be God, but God is right in your midst.

When I sat on the bench, scolding God, it was midnight. I had a little money to get some milk. Shivering from cold, I sat there. Then somebody came and sat next to me. I got so wild, I turned the opposite side, with my back to him. I didn’t want to look at a white man anymore. I thought, you know what I’ll do? ‘If any white man comes into India, I’ll teach him a lesson’. That was the decision I made. I’ll throw stones, if I meet anybody, I’ll chase them out. Then suddenly this man sitting next to me said, "You seem to be very angry." "Yes, I’m very angry," I said. "I am more than angry." Then he said, "I was not a white man when I was in this world." I said, "JESUS". Oh, I was chasing Him like a mad man. My Lord, if I had only known that. I ran behind Him and He was just flying, you know, receding his legs above the ground. I would like to have caught Him there but I couldn’t. So I said, "Who is this man that can’t be caught?" Then He turned towards me and said, "When I was in this world, I was not a white man", and laughed. This meant something different to me. That’s why I’m telling this. And He said, "I’m sitting with you, not in that church". You can sing Hallelujah, shout and do everything, but God will be just outside the door.

But if you do want to see God, what does the Bible say, BELIEVE and you will SEE. We want to SEE AND BELIEVE. When children play together, you know, some girl will say, "I’ll be the nurse," "I’ll be the doctor", "I’ll be the cook", "I’ll be the lady", "I’ll be the hero and heroine." It wants to be everything ("it" - child). Children play with teddy bears, cooking food with sand and playing with clay. That is how the people are playing with God, today.

That is why God said, "Children, turn to the faith of the forefathers." What is the faith of the forefathers? Trusting God and taking God at His Word, without any outward evidence. Today, people want outward evidence. You won’t get any outward evidence, but God is coming down to move mightily in this earth. People are frightened. Gentiles want to see something and worship as God, like images in wood and stones, eagles, cows, clouds, photographs (which is a sign of God giving them up - Romans 1:21-24; Ex. 20:4-6)

And the women are discredited. I have come here not to discredit the women, I want to encourage your women. "Oh, women have no ministry." I’ll tell you, if you can only understand God, you women are the mighty people of God, I tell you. You are natural Bride, men are not natural but an artificial Bride. You are naturally married to a husband so you know how to be a Bride. But the men are always used to boss the wives. So to become a Bride, they’ll even boss Jesus Christ. Men even boss Jesus Christ, today, "Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, you do not know, I must teach you." That’s what many people are teaching Jesus Christ, today. Some say, "Oh, Brother Lawrie, I believe this, I believe that, this word came to me from Bible" then I would say, "What do you know about God?"

You know, to know about God is to learn at the feet of God. Twenty five years, as a dull student I’ve been learning from the College of God and I still have not learned anything much. Some of you people have learnt about God for only three years or four years, and talk like 100 years old saints. Do you know the leading of God? Do you know how God talks to man? Do you know what His next move is? Do you know how God leads His people? Just thank God that God sent a prophet. Who is that man? That little man in Jeffersonville? I have gone to Oral Roberts, and met all big preachers all over the U.S.

When Jesus was living in this world, how many people recognised Him? Yes, when the prophet came into this world, God spoke to him. God’s Word came to him. And you say that God is sending a man, but you will not listen to that man. Is God going to accept you? That’s the man whom Bible calls spirit of Elijah. But he is gone. That ministry has finshed, you must understand. Today, what’s the ministry of Elijah? People talk about Elijah. What is the ministry of the Seventh Church Angel? And then talk about Bro.Branham. First of all, God compares the Bride ministry to His Body. What is this body?

When God created Adam and Eve, He had to take one rib away (Note - Man now normally has seven true ribs and five false ribs on each side). With that one rib, He brought forth a church. And that is the seven church ages. And inside that - lungs and everything, that’s Christ moving, and that’s life. So He was in the midst of the candlesticks, not outside. God is working like a body. And God brought the Bride through the blood of that body-through the blood, through the life of that body. And today, God has sent, dealt already with the Church Ages and its Seven Angels. Bro. Branham was the Seventh Angel-Messenger for the Seventh Age. Do you agree with that? Good. And not only that, he was the Elijah sent to turn the hearts of the people back to the faith of forefathers. Mind you, not to LEAD, what does it say? To TURN! Now you know some of the people say, they read Malachi 4th Chapter and say, they just read certain verses. You should read the whole chapter. He will turn the hearts of the people back to the faith of the forefathers. And he must stop there. And that’s when you are to go still further. And what do the people say? "Everything is finished, brother, the souls are no more saved. Everything is finished, Mercy Seat is over, no miracles." You are definitely a foolish virgin. Surely I tell you, you are not the Bride. I challenge you. Yesterday, I got a letter, thousand Hindus want baptism in India and they want me to come back immediately to baptize them. (The Hindus want Brother Lawrie, and sent information calling immediately to baptize thousands including some big Hindu families).

You stress "Mercy Seat is over, miracles are over." Shame! If any man preaches that, be careful, YOU ARE ON THE BORDER OF JORDAN. You should read the Bible well. There is still mercy, the Bride has mercy from the Bridegroom and the Bride intercedes like Abraham.

Today you have the Spoken Word books, you have the tapes, everything. You know more than the Indian people. But people say, "Brother, I read the books, I listened to the tapes." What about God’s Word? That’s life. The Word has got life. The Spoken Word books bring you back to the Word, and explain the Word. That’s not ANOTHER BIBLE, don’t think that’s another Bible.

People, you know, some people say, they are on the Word. I say, "What Word?" They reply "Spoken Word". "I’m on the WORD OF GOD." That Spoken Word books brought me back to God’s Word and explained everything so that I’ll be spotless. So the Bride to be spotless means, you must know what the prophet of God has said, check it with God’s Word because the Word comes from God. But he’s not God; God spoke to him.

And if you read the whole series of books what do that women do? "Yes, I’m not cutting my hair." Good. In India the women do not cut their hair, it’s pretty. If you do not know how to comb your hair in the long way, let us study from some of the Indians; they know how to make it long and pretty. I see the Indian girls, some of the far North Indian girls are so beautiful with their hair. Only thing is, you find it difficult to clean it.

But now, the ladies stay at home "Ladies can’t preach." Now, suppose God said, "Don’t eat", will you keep quiet, will you give up eating? Women should not eat. We’ll obey God and be without eating. God knows what you should not do. And what do the women do today? "Oh, I’m sitting quietly, doing nothing." I’ll tell you, husbands know what the women are. If not for the wife, I know how it is: You go to a home where the man is not married, and see that home. That home will be just like a market place. Shirts will be hanging on one side, and a shoe will be hanging on another side, and some socks on that side; it’ll be just a dust bin. I know before I married, my house was like that. But when my wife came, she made it beautiful. So if you want your house to be beautiful, you would want a wife.

And what do the men do? "Bad! Women cannot preach!" That just shows that you are a foolish virgin. It’s true women cannot preach, but what about the otherside of it? I tell you, Jesus reveals more to women than men. Mary Magdalene, saw Jesus resurrected. Which man saw that? Peter didn’t see. She had to go and tell Peter. He, a great apostle, came to know only through the woman. Jesus first revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman as the Messiah. And Martha and Mary, how Jesus loved them! Many women ministered unto Him with their substance. And I’ll tell you, in my ministry when I preach to millions and millions of people, do you know who are the back bone of the ministry? Ladies. I’ll tell you, without the substantial hidden help of the ladies, I’d be nowhere. Oh, marvellous! Many of them love God and for the sake of God, they love the ministry; and they will die for the cause. One lady with the love of God will do much more than hundred men. But they are hidden, you do not know who is doing that. You go to my country and find that in every village and in every place, thousands of ladies back me up by constant fasting and prayer day and night.

Now just before I started to come to U.S., they only know that I was to leave India and you know what the women and men are doing now? Two men went of a forty day fast drinking only water. I do not know every man and woman personally, but they’re starting a chain prayer (non-stop) round the clock prayer, day and night and thousands of people are fasting and praying. They say, something should happen. We can’t go on like this any more, because we have got increasing pressure in India. You have a comfortable time. Everything is nice. Pressure is coming very slowly. But when it comes, it’ll come suddenly on you.

So God told the prophet, to put a net on the world. Some people are so big fish, they do not want to get caught in the net. So in the net, when it was pulled out what are being caught? Stones are there, shells are there, oysters are there, shrimps are there, moss is there; all kinds of dirty things, and then also real fishes. And everybody says, "I’m in the Bride, I’m in the Bride, I’m in the Bride." Even the shells and stones are shouting, "I’m in the Bride, I’m in the Bride." But I’ll tell you, people are caught. But this is the place I want you to understand and make things clear.

When God told David to collect all the materials for the temple, he collected and went his way. He didn’t build a temple. Solomon had to come. And suppose somebody said to David, why don’t you build a temple? He would have done something against God. And the prophet will do only what God said. But for the prophet, God reveals all things. What do the people say? Everything is finished, but for the Bride, things are starting now. Don’t be foolish, I see a spirit of fear everywhere, all are frightened of the prophet as well as the leaders much more than the Lord God Himself and His Word, the Bible.

Oh, they whisper praise the Lord. Why are you afraid to praise God? In the Bible it never says not to praise God. David said, "the dead don’t praise God." Are you dead? Secondly, what’s the matter? The people look here and there, ‘anyone watching me’. It is 3 1/2 years since the prophet’s message went forth, since he met with an accident on 18th December 1965, even the Spirit cannot move, they’re stone dead. And some of these people say, "Oh, we’re in the Word, we’re in the message," and they are not even SAVED. They do not have a personal experience with God, and they say, "We are in the message, we are in the Word." Without the filling of the Holy Ghost you won’t even smell the Kingdom of God. Don’t think you’ll go near, you won’t smell it.

And these days, we are just in the last days where the third pull is coming. And people say, everything is finished. Do you think everything is finished, Brother? I understand it differently. If you turn to Malachi, I’ll tell you what happens, you’ll read the fourth chapter. Somebody read loudly, please. Malachi, fourth chapter. "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven," (I wish, you all bring the Bibles please). "And all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye 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. (Now listen) REMEMBER YE THE LAW OF MOSES MY SERVANT, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements (all pointing towards Jesus Christ). Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall TURN," (listen) "he shall TURN," (it doesn’t say he shall lead) "TURN the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

You know, I’ve been travelling a while and I couldn’t give my opinion all these days. But now, I’ve planned to travel all over, Venezuala, Trinidad, Jamaica, British Guyana, Canada, United States, Germany, Australia, Africa, England, Japan and all over the world. And now I can tell you something that is happening here. People are sleeping and unless you take up my warning, I’ll boldly say that you’re lost. Don’t think Brother Branham’s name will take you to Heaven. I love Brother Branham, even though I’m an Indian, Oh, I love that man. He did not tell me. I know, by revelation who Brother Branham is. You need not tell me, "Oh, Brother Branham, do you believe in that prophet?" He did not tell me that. He is a man to whom God sent me. He told me, "Go and see my prophet in Jeffersonville: the voice of God came to me. So I went and saw him, and I got something.

But I’ll tell you solemnly my friends, he is no more here. And what are you thinking? God is dead? The Shepherd has gone, where are the sheep? Sheep are scattered. You meant to say that the Lord will leave the sheep and go away? Tell me did ever the Lord leave His people without a vindicated leader? They say now that the Holy Spirit is the leader. Was He not the leader for 1969 years? Why they are concerned about the leadership of the Holy Spirit only now? Please show me one place in the Bible that He’s not a good Shepherd. The good Shepherd would lay His life down for His sheep. You wouldn’t say that He would send you without any Shepherd. Come on to the Word of God. And what is it now? Listen, Elijah comes, what is the work of John the Baptist? Now see, he’s just like John the Baptist. John the Baptist comes from the wilderness. He doesn’t see and believe. What is the fathers’ faith, what is the children’s faith? Children want to see and believe. That is lack of growth. They’ll believe only when they SEE. Now people say, ‘Brother, can you see something and tell what is going to happen tomorrow?’ That’s child. Bible says BELIEVE, and you’ll see. That’s a higher form of faith. Believing God and His Word without any outward evidence. That’s the father’s faith. Children’s faith is to see and then believe.

So what happens? God gave Brother Branham a ministry - a child ministry. But that doesn’t mean he is a small man, that he’s a child. But he gave a great man, a child ministry. For whom? For the sake of the United States people. Don’t think you should be proud about it. I tell you that you are children. And people get angry, and may say, "Oh, this fellow Lawrie is trying to show himself a big man, but I’m boldly saying because I’m a servant of God. I don’t care whether you give me money or not, I have not come for any money. My old days of fear and bondage are gone. One more message I’m going to give you like this, so if you get angry, we’ll see on the judgement day. We’ll see when the Bridegroom comes, you can challenge me. If you find anything wrong with the Word, I challenge you people. But if you hate me, your blood is on your head. I’m a black man coming from far away; you can fight with your own countrymen, but I’m coming from far East, nearly twelve thousand miles away. This was something deeply impressed in my mind and God put it there. And if you think, "Oh, he’s not in the message," I don’t care. But the day is coming when you’re judged.

I’m a man called by God and saved since 1943. Rolled and rolled like a stone, houseless, suffering I went. God knows. And I don’t know. I even came to the point of telling, ‘This God I don’t like Him, and His work. He’s treating everybody nicely and treating me very badly’. And one day I said, "I don’t want this life". I told my wife, come on, we’ll quit. And then He suddenly came down and lifted me. And how much of suffering has come to you, my brothers? How much of persecution has come to you? You want to say I will stand the persecution. You know what the people say? "When the pressure comes, I’ll fly away then, "but before the pressure, I want to be a seasoned man. Only if you are on the Word can you stand that pressure or else you are just a stubble.

Don’t wait for the pressure. Start now. It’s for today. If you don’t read the Bible more than ten chapters a day, minimum, I’m sure you won’t go in the rapture. I will tell you, the Bride loves the Word. You know when a girl gets a letter from a boy, she is not satisfied reading it once. She’ll say, my dear, my dear, sacred letter, she’ll read between the lines and twenty five times, thirty times, and then put it in the trunk, and then after five minutes take it back again, then read it, put in under the trunk, and when she’s coming in the evening, again read it. We don’t read even one chapter a day. You’re not a Bride, you’re a false Bride. False Bride, you know, it appears like Bride, no doubt. But Bride is not like that, she has got a deep love for God and His letters, love letters.

So what happens, "children’s faith". John the Baptist was a man of father’s faith; John the Baptist had no miracles. But, when he spoke heaven and earth were shaken and something happened. He had a Spoken Word Ministry; when he spoke people repented. Because the ancient people, olden days people of faith never believed in outward manifestations as a proof of belief, that they had manifestations after belief.

And you know what happened really? In the time of Moses the Lord was speaking to people in clouds and thunders. So they were afraid. When God spoke, they were afraid, they didn’t want God to talk in that way. So in Deut.18:16-22, they told Moses, let not God talk to us in thunder and clouds. Then God comes down, tells Moses to tell them I’m going to raise a prophet in whose mouth I’ll put my words. He didn’t say I will be in Him. Listen. He did’t say I’ll dwell in Him. He said, I’ll put my words in His mouth, and He will speak. Whatever He says, if they don’t believe, God will require it of them and they will be destroyed. That really means He’s speaking something great through that man. So what did that man do? He has been like a man, but it was God speaking, because He was in Him. God hidden in a man.

But it took years for Him to grow to that standard. He didn’t start the ministry just when He was born. You know the whole word. One day when He was fit for that, power descended on Him. Jesus emptied Himself and walked like man filled with the Holy Spirit to show the living way to man. When he went to be baptized by John the Baptist, then what does God say to John the Baptist? "The man upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost (John 1:33). He didn’t show a vision of that man, how He looked like, what colour; He didn’t show that. So John the Baptist was looking for a dove. That was the sign. So God did not specify a man, who had come from the wilderness, this kind of jacket, that kind of clothes, that kind of hair. He only told him, "A man who will come to be baptized by you, and when you baptize that man, a dove will come on Him; that’s the man."So he started baptizing everyone, to find what? To find Jesus Christ in whom God is going to dwell. God Himself. So He picked a man like an ordinary human being, in whom God dwelt, but it actually was God.

So what happened, their faith was, they were afraid of God by thunder and cloud. So God listened to the plans and said, "Yes, no more will I talk to you in clouds and thunders. I’ll send a man". So Jesus came like a small child, because they were children. Children are afraid of thunder. So what happened? When John the Baptist was shouting, the Word of God, he was introducing like this, "Behold, the Lamb of God", when he was baptizing the dove came. "He is better than I. He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost." So what did Jesus do? John the Baptist did not take the fathers back to the children’s faith, HE TURNED them.

Now suppose you go on the highway, when you’re going on a highway, you want to go to Chicago or some place, or want to go to Ohio. So what do you do? You see the sign, you drive in that direction. When you see a sign you read the sign, and turn. You don’t go near the sign, Oh, you don’t waste any time there, because the time is short. Oh, you don’t sing, "Oh wonderful sign, what a wonderful sign". You don’t stop there. You want to go to a definite destination. You see the sign there and go that way. That was put by the Government of the United States. It is a sign for you to TURN and then go.

But what are the people doing today? Instead of making a turn, they are making a big round about turn, and go on the same broadway of destruction, and circle around the same broadway. That’s the trouble now, turn, turn, turn, they are going round and round like this and say, "Oh, we are on the message", and going on the same way to destruction. There are some people who make a circuit round it. If you don’t tell the name of Brother Branham a hundred times, you are not in the message, and they get angry and I can see out of fear many even omit to mention the name of Jesus Christ.

So God does not want you to be afraid. Certain place I had to say, Brother Branham, Brother Branham, Branham many time so I got so sick. And if I mention Jesus Christ and His dealing personally they get angry. This man is not in the message, because he just tells the name of Jesus Christ. Oh, I got a headache one day which I could not get rid of one week. Then the people said, Brother Lawrie, if you tell the name of Jesus, you won’t get money. Actually, I lost all the money. But I have God in me. If you want to have a lot of popularity, go on as you go, but you are a tare and a foolish virgin. But if you want to be unpopular, come back to God’s Word. That same rejected people are the Bride. The time is coming, may the Lord open your eyes.

So what happens, John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God." A lot of people were standing there, but only two people followed Jesus Christ. They were the sheep. "My sheep hear my voice." And what happened, Jesus said, "What do you want?" When you would follow Him, hear His voice. So when these people left, John the Baptist’s disciples started walking behind Him. He asked, "What seek ye?" They replied, "Where dwellest Thou?" Jesus said, "Come and see." He didn’t say "I’m so and so", but "You come and see and hear what I say." So to find God follow Jesus, see and hear Him, not to see from a photograph. Come and see me whether I am according to the Word of God. So if you want to see God, see from God’s Word. Not from Spoken Word books, you see God from the Bible. Many of John’s disciples followed John and thought John was the Lamb of God as his head was cut off like a lamb.

So what happens? He took the children, and all of John’s disciples and standing there, and charging, "Hey, this man came and stole our sheep." And you know what they went and told John? "Hey, that man who came after you, that fellow is baptizing all the people; taking our sheep, what do you say about that?" John the Baptist was a man of God, prophet of God, vindicated man; he said, "I must decrease, and he must increase." He didn’t say, "I must become a big man and that rival fellow must be ruined."

That is why the people don’t understand. They’re making a big denominational thing, possessed of a denominational spirit. Their world is already past, they are in another sphere. Three and a half years it takes for a message to get into the hearts of the people. Now three and a half years are over, now the people have digested the message, now the way is open, the way is prepared. Now the next step is to happen. Christ has to COME AGAIN to take the Bride (John 14:3). And people are fooling about with God. Are you ready to meet the Lord, my friend? Do you want the Lord to come your way? Do you want the Lord to come just like you think? How did Jesus Christ come? He came as a carpenter’s son, you know what the people said? "Hey, that fellow is a carpentor’s son." But some people KNEW: Oh, it’s not just Jesus, it’s somebody inside Him. Somebody inside Him. They knew that man from the eyes, from the heart. So what did they do? They followed Him. They know how the Lamb of God would look like from God’s Word (Isa. 53).

But I’ll tell you, many people remembered John the Baptist. Good. He’s the servant of God. But he didn’t go beyond his period. And what happened? Even he doubted and said, "Are you the one to come, or should I look for another?" A prophet is doubting? Why? He finds all his disciples having no power, foolish virgins. All the power is gone. But Peter, James and John had power to bring fire from heaven if Jesus permitted; everything happening, the demons are running out. Why John’s disciples have not even the Holy Ghost? And, mind you, they missed it. They missed Christ. They missed everything. They missed the triumphant entry into JERUSALEM, they missed the miracles; they missed all, the dead being raised, walking on sea, feeding the thousands, they missed His crucifixion, they missed His burial, they missed His resurrection, they missed His walking with His disciples for forty days, they missed the Pentecost and missed everything, missed all the persecutions. They missed being the children of the Bride Chamber.

But do you know where they came in? Under another dispensation, under Paul. He came to Ephesus and he saw some of John’s disciples and asked, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" Oh, they proudly said, "We are John’s disciples." Imagine the pitiable condition when they said, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost" - Acts 19:1-7. Compare the twelve sincere disciples of John the Baptist and the twelve disciples who were with the Bridegroom Jesus Christ. They’ll miss being in the Bride. Do you know who are in the Bride? Peter and all are part of the Bride. They asked Him, "Lord, we have left all and followed you; what are you going to give us?" "You are going to reign with me." The Bride reigns with God. John’s disciples are not the Bride, they’re the foolish virgins. Then they come back later missing the whole glorious thing. And you call yourself Bride and miss the whole thing? My dear brothers and sisters, if you are in the Bride, this is the time to catch hold of God. If you miss it, you miss eternity, you miss rapture, you miss everything. Then what happens, they’re all children playing with toys and everything, they’re children. Two thousand years - just children, playing with God.

Then God grows weary of these children. He has to take these children back to the faith of the fathers. So, God raised a man called Bro. Branham with a children ministry. But he was not Jesus. He was the prophet Elijah. And he preached to the people just like children. Discernment-seeing and believing which is the inborn nature of the Gentiles always cherish and desire. But did you see that cloud, in the heavens and the revelation of seals and did you notice one thing? After that cloud in the air, God was speaking to Him. But he was not God. If he was Christ, he wouldn’t speak to him from a cloud. He’ll live with him, he’ll walk with him, and what do the people say? Everything finished. John said, "Behold the Lamb of God." What did Brother Branham say? "Behold the Bridegroom cometh." He is the man who introduces the Bride to the Word. If you have not yet come, go to the Word. The man who wakes the sleeping virgins is not the Bridegroom nor the sleeping ten torch bearers with or without oil (virgins) the Bride. The Bride is in her chamber while the Bridegroom comes to take her. Now see, when I heard Brother Branham’s message, I became doubly strong on God’s Word. I don’t know what you read, when you read the Spoken Word books. Surely he says check everything by God’s Word. So I came running to the Word with double force, when he introduced us to the Word of God. And you know, Brother Branham was the prophet who, when the seventh angel sounded, the mystery of God should be finished.

Now suppose a girl loves a boy. First of all he laughs, "How are you? How are you? How are you?" That’s the first time, then the boy slowly invites her to have a cup of coffee. Then they exchange gifts for their birthdays. She gives something, he gives something. Then it goes on like that. This girl doesn’t know what kind of boy he is, and the boy doesn’t know what kind of girl she is. So, the boy sends a messenger, the girl sends a messenger, to find out what kind of man, and what kind of girl they are, to find out how much they’re worth. So, the messenger comes and tells, "Do you know, this boy is a very rich boy! He’s got a lot of money and he belongs to a rich and decent family, he has everything". Then when all the mystery of the boy is revealed, this girl says, I’ll marry him. And when she decides to marry that boy, all the gifts cease because what’s the use of gifts after that? The gifts are there, but dormant. Even last week many people were healed. The gifts are there, but you don’t use it because you’ve been feasting with the Master and because the Master has come to take direct action. When the Bride decides in her heart to be doubly true to God’s Word, she gets a revelation of Bridegroom who comes again to receive her to Himself.

So what happens? When Brother Branham turns us to God’s Word, that Third Pull comes when God comes down and leads the Bride. And that’s the thing I plead with you not to miss. Can you imagine God coming down? I’ll explain it to you the day after tomorrow. A lion roars two times (Lion of the tribe of Judah). First of all it roars to set the net by speaking to a prophet (silently without roaring noise). But then the lion never roars till she catches the prey. Only after she catches the prey will she start roaring loudly. Because if she starts roaring before, the prey will escape. That is why the first roaring was not roaring but speaking, through the prophet and setting the net. And so very few of the Bride, the foolish and wise virgins and others are gradually pulled and caught in the net. When very few of the Bride has been caught in the net, (majority of the Bride is still out-the Big Fishes) the Lamb comes down roaring like a lion, to catch away the prey. And this roaring means, Bible says, "It thundered." The thunders are not revealed yet and the seventh seal too. Is everything finished? I challenge all who falsely say they have been revealed. Read the Seven Seals book carefully and find out for yourselves.

Brother Branham clearly says, "the Third Pull is coming" and he didn’t say I’ll die and rise up again. People can’t bear to see that another ministry is coming. Another thing is coming! When Moses was there, he wanted to see and believe. He knows only beating the rock and getting the water. So you know what God said? "Moses, you are a fellow trained in seeing and believing. Get on Mount Pisgah and see and believe." So he got on the mountain, saw the whole thing in Canaan and said, "I see and believe." But you cannot get into Canaan with just seeing and belileving, but by BELIEVING AND SEEING only. That’s the faith of the fathers. Don’t think you can know Christ by SEEING AND BELIEVING, if you do not come first on God’s Word you’ll never be in the Bride. But if you are totally on God’s Word, God will reveal Himself to you. Because you find Christ in the Word only, not outside. Because all the description of God is there, how the Lord will appear, what He is like? What does the Word say? The Lord’s hair is like this, eyes are like this, voice is like this, body is like this, feet are like this, that’s the description and the Bride will not be deceived but will recognise the Lord Jesus, the Bridegroom, as He appears according to God’s Word. (Rev. 1:12-15; 10:1-6; Dan. 7:9, Songs of Solomon 5:10).

So that Bride time is on, as this is Bride age. You may hate me, I know. Many people don’t like this. I don’t care. But I promised God, I’ll go back to India losing all my friends, rather than losing God. So if you don’t take it, I don’t care. But the time is coming, when the foolish virgins will find they want oil. The oil is in the Bible, not in the Spoken Word books. The oil is in the Word of God. If you are not on the Word of God, I tell you, you don’t go in the rapture. That book brings you back to God’s Word to get oil for you. So if you don’t read the Word of God, and make your life exactly like that, you have no oil, and you can never see God coming down in this generation.

So what happens in Moses time, notice carefully. Moses brought the people out of Egypt but he didn’t enter into Canaan. All the people came with him, he stood before Moses, but they could not enter because they were "Seeing and believing" people. But the children who were on God’s Word, believed God could open a passage through Jordan river and marched on by faith and the river simply opened. March on, it’ll simply open, because that’s God leading you.

So today, God is meeting the Bride on the Word of God. And thank God for sending that Elijah, who is that man, Brother Branham? Is he a strong man? No, did he have meetings like Oral Roberts and Billy Graham? No. Does he have radio? Television? No. But who is this man, shouting in a corner of Jeffersonville? No man born of a woman was ever raised like him and no man born of a woman was greater than Brother Branham. But the least ones in the living Bride who would meet the Lord living in this generation ready to be "Changed" putting immortality without tasting death is greater than him. That’s the Bride. The Bride puts on immortality, without going through death. The Bride’s body is different; a heavenly glory comes as a covering which Adam and Eve lost.

But you know the Seven Church Messengers came, Seven Church Messengers. Then the neck comes, the head comes, that’s God. So, God told Jeremiah "Go to the potter’s house", he said, "I’ll make you." So, this world is clay, man is made of clay, but you must understand that this clay is different from the moon clay. This is a miry clay, watery clay. This has got life. Everything has got life, man has got life, animals have life, water has life. So God took the earth, made the clay and made it like a man and breathed the strength in man and it became life. So for every man some amount of earth has been taken, mind you.

But how did the earth come? What do you eat? We eat cabbage and salads and such things, all coming from the earth, only in a different form. Now see there is a mineral kingdom, animal kingdom, vegetable kingdom, spiritual kingdom. But the mineral kingdom can become a vegetable kingdom. How? If you plant a tree, that tree sucks minerals from the earth and brings juice to the fruit. So a vegetable kingdom can become an animal kingdom. When an animal eats the grass, that grass gets into the body and becomes an animal. So when you eat hamburger and hotdogs and all these things, these animals live in your body and thus an animal kingdom can become a human kingdom. One had to die to give life.

So, a human body can become a spiritual body. How? A God-man (Jesus Christ) had to die and he planted and gives a harvest of similar manifested sons of God today. That is why when Jesus Christ died, for the human kingdom, through His life, all the Bride came, hundreds of grains, just like Jesus Christ (original planted seed). And that’s how we are now in the spiritual kingdom. That is why except you be born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Except you be born of water and of the spirit, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

So we are in the kingdom of God. All right we are to be in the Bride, and what’s the price? What are we going to pay as the price? When God comes to claim the Bride, it is like this. If somebody wants you to leave Chicago and go to Florida, what do you do? Are you going to take the whole house and car on your head and go with all the things? You’ll dispose off so many things, make yourself light. When I came to United States from India, I didn’t bring my things and book store and books and trunks and mirrors and tables. I didn’t carry on my head all that. I put all my things in my room, took a suitcase, put two coats and two pants, landed here. In the same way, if a man wants to go to New Jerusalem, should he carry all the things he has? Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. Just like Lot’s wife, she was forced out of Sodom and Gomorrah, but she gets hits, paralysed unable to move further because her heart was there in Sodom. So your heart won’t allow you to go, but if your heart is in heaven, you will make ready for that. That’s why Jesus said "Except a man forsakes everything he has, he cannot be my disciple."

You know I come from a place where doubting Thomas the Apostle arrived in India. You know that? One of the Lord’s disciples was called doubting Thomas. And this doubting Thomas came to India. You know how he started his work? When a king called Gonderferrys wanted to build a big palace, somebody told him that in Palestine, there was a very able carpenter, who was able to build big buildings and his name was Jesus Christ. So this king sent a messenger to get that man. By that time Jesus died and rose again and went away. So they referred him to the disciples. So there was only doubting Thomas having no opening for the ministry. All the others had a ministry. So they said this fellow was with the carpenter, so he said, "Mr. Thomas, our king wants to put up a big building, will you come? Are you one of the carpenter’s family?" "Yes, I can put up a big building for you, come on."

So he was persuaded and brought into the country of India. So the king gave a lot of money and gave the building plans and said, "Here is the money, now put up the building." This fellow took the money, walked up and down the towns, cities, all over the country, gave all the money to the poor people and finished. So the king came, "How is the palace getting on?" And the king’s friends said, "No, sir he has given the money to all the poor people and no building has come." Then the king called him and put him in jail, to be killed the next day. In the middle of the night, the king had a dream, in which he was taken to some place, beautiful buildings and he saw a very big building, beautiful palace with the name Gonderferrys palace. He saw the palace and asked the angel, "Is this for me?" "Yes," replied the angel and said, "This is what Thomas did for you there." The king, in the morning, got up and told the people, listern to this man Thomas and commanded Thomas, "Thomas, you can do the ministry. Whatever you do, I thank you for building a big palace for me in Heaven."

Then Thomas went to a river, where lot of Brahmins and priests were taking bath. He said, "What God are you believing?" They said, "We believe in many gods." "Can your gods do anything wonderful? My God will do wonderful things." Then they said, "All right. Will you take a bucket of water from here and throw it in the air; the water must remain in the air, and there must be a hole to the amount of water in the place from where the water is taken out. Can you do that?" "Yes, Thomas said, in the name of Jesus, I’ll do it provided, if I do this, you’ll all accept Jesus Christ." Then he took the water, this doubting Thomas, took it up, threw it in the air, the water stood there, there was a hole in the river water. The whole group was baptized in the name of Jesus and the ministry started. And he started churches and they named them (Mar Thoma Church) St. Thomas Church throughtout India, hundreds and hundreds of churches. And he was killed in Madras City at St. Thomas Mount. And I come from the doubting Thomas’ Spiritual family, we belong to that doubting Thomas. But I’ll tell you Brother, he saw the Master, but though we didn’t see the Master, we believed.

But today, we see the prophet and keep on thinking that all the things are finished. "Yes, the mercy seat is over." For whom? For those who have no oil. But for the Bride there is mercy. God has come down. If God has left mercy seat, then God has come down to this earth, my friend. But if you don’t recognize Him, you’re gone. Go to your home and think, how many people missed Christ in that generation? Whom do you think Christ will come to? What do you think he is going to look like? Do you want Him to come just as you like according to your theory? But the Bride will know by the description how the Bridegroom looks. Then she recognized it is Christ. Not through a man or anybody. Not by outward evidence not by clouds and everything. God comes down by the Word! God comes down by the Word! And if the Bride cannot recognize this, you are not the Bride, you are a foolish virgin.

Why are you foolish? Turn to Romans 1:21,22 - "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." We think we are wise. You may hear all the tapes and be without salvation. If you read all the books, will God give a revelation step by step what you should do? Thank God that God has been training, us. You know, you must join the School of God for training, not a Bible School. They don’t know what it is. I’ll tell you, every moment counts, sufficient unto the day of the evil thereof. Let us be led moment by moment casting all care on God.

Suppose my wife comes to United States, who will go and book the ticket? Will I sit at home and say, "Hey, you go and book the ticket, and book a room for me?". Suppose I come to Chicago, will I sit on a bench and say to my wife, "You go and book a room at the Holiday Inn?" No, the husband does the work for the Bride. That’s what King David said, "My God which performeth all things for me." You don’t work. What do you read? "I am the way, the truth and the life." "I am the door."

Now suppose he says, "I am the highway," what’s a highway? This highway before, was ups and downs and mountains, valleys, ditches and stones. But one day, men suffered, they dug up and dynamited the stones, and cut down the trees, and made a big highway. And now we go easily. But think how many people suffered to put that road? And Jesus said, "I am the way." That means I came and made a smooth road for you, so that you may just drive on me. So you don’t worry in this life by your efforts. If you go by YOUR EFFORTS, you are not a Bride. Just walk through because He has done all the work for you, you are just driving. Don’t stop, don’t make circles, don’t get into denominations. What is a denomination? It’s like a gramaphone record; New year, Easter, Christmas, New Year, Easter, going around, same song and same prayer, all over the place. "My God in Heaven, I beseech thee." And like the Pentecostal people, what do they do? They prophesy, "Yes, I am with you." God in the Word says, He is with the people, then why should they say, "Yea, I am with you" (prophecy). You have been fooled by many people. "Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world", Why should you tell what is in the Bible? If God wants to tell you something, He’ll tell you something very personal and turn your heart. Not just copy some verse from the Bible and tell you. But, when God moves and tells you something from the Word of God, it is something great. There’s something in the Bible which man cannot utter without experiencing it personally.

Why were the thunders not written? Tell me. The whole Bible was written by God. No man can add or no man can take away but something has not been written by God. Why was it not written? Because God is going to reveal that. Man cannot do that. But when God reveals, that is God’s Word. That is why today, my friends, you are in danger.

Now see my body, to clean this body, I have fingers. So these five fingers, are just kept by God to wash my teeth, to comb my hair, to do everything, to put on my glasses, to put on my coat, to put on my tie, everything - these five fingers. Suppose you have no fingers, what would you do? So God gave five ministries for the body. Where is the five fold ministry today? First of all teacher. Then comes pastor. They are special people, not an ordinary people. Sometime people say, what can the pastor do? Why is this pastor not preaching? He may be a duffer. Once I couldn’t even preach to a crowd of five people. When I came on like that, one day, something happened. Oh, people were startled, I became a big man in the city. God can make you over-night a big man. But the thing is, if God has called you to be a teacher, be a teacher. But you cannot be a pastor, you cannot be an evangelist, you cannot be this or that. If you’re a pastor, you can only be a pastor and a teacher, but you can never be an evangelist. If you go as an evangelist, your church will go away. So pastors feed the sheep. It is not an easy thing, because I have been a pastor myself. You know, for three hundred and sixty-five days or 52 weeks, you have fifty two sermons or more. Then the next year, you get another fifty two sermons. If the pastor stays for three years, he is gone. You have given out nearly 156 sermons. Then the people say, "Oh, he is not a good preacher, man. But an evangelist comes with ten sermons, only in his brain. "Oh! wonderful man that brother, that man is a fire". But let him stay here another one year, you’ll kick that man out. Understand?

It is difficult for a man to understand the hand of God. If an evangelist stays for about one month, you yourself will get him out. But as an evangelist, he cannot stay at home and pastor in his church. But you can do one thing, an evangelist is a tall man, big man. An evangelist sows the manna of God for our day. They’ll say, he’s a big man, tall man. And he can be a pastor, he can be a teacher, but he can never be a prophet. He can be three, but he can never be a prophet. But listen, this evangelist, he’s like dynamite. He goes to a mountain, puts in dynamite, breaks the stone into pieces. That’s all he can do. Everybody says, "Oh, he came and a big revival took place." After that he cannot do anything substantial.

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