Indicated - Authenticated - Vindicated

Indicated - Authenticated - Vindicated

Bro. Lee Vayle - April 3, 1965

Let’s bow our heads for a moment of prayer. Our Father, we come to you at this time to talk about those things which are relative to Thy Word for the last day which we believe people are anxious to know about in order to dissolve doubts, and not only that but also to give confidence and faith in this day, Lord, to receive from You what is for this day. And so, Father, we commit ourselves to You on just the one condition, and that is the Holy Spirit have His right of way, for without Him we shall not know anything, nor shall we be able to deliver anything. So, all things are in Thy hands, O God, to Thee we commit it all in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. I don’t know exactly what turn the services will take. Normally when I preach I teach in a series, in order by the sheer weight of repetition, or emphasis on a subject. To be able to impress the mind sufficiently to as to retain the knowledge which I wish to impart. However, I don't know as I say just exactly what turn we're going to take. Because I feel somehow in this meeting there are many questions that you want answered. Some of those questions I'll be able to answer, and some of them I will not be able to answer.

Now in this last day, we have come into an illumination which was not previously given. It seems that from the First Century onward there has been such a decline in the knowledge of the Word of God, that there has become a literal blackout of the actual truth of the Word. And today people are so divided upon what the Word says that we have the sad condition of multitudes of denominations who have separated themselves from each other on the grounds that that denomination knows as no one else knows.

Now that's true, is it now? Now think it over. I want all this to sink in, because I'm not going to fool myself that you are very much aware any more than I am. And because this is such a predominating factory, or predominate factor. In the world today, we seem to bypass it and not really know what it really means. It means that each church, although each church would not claim that this is the door to God.

2. Now, the Roman Catholic's church does. I wouldn't be surprised that the Church of Christ does. The Church of God out in Cleveland, Tennessee most certainly does. I don't think the Assemblies went that far, or the UPC's or the IMA, or the Baptist or Presbyterians. But if they don't go that far they are literally saying, "We do not pretend to be the door, but we have the most abundant entrance, is that right? Come on now? Is that, right? If it isn't true, why are they organized? You got to think about this.

So, they're claiming that they have this great knowledge and understanding. When the truth of the matter is they haven't even come to the place to realize that the Word of God doesn't fight the Word of God. Here are the Pentecostals a numerous fresh group, plus the Church of God, Indiana and its group, plus the Free Methodist, plus the Methodist. Plus, the United Brethren, and may more who stand for the Armenian doctrine, which believes you can be saved and be lost. This group will take up holy cudgels, and bash out holy brains in a most Christ glorifying manner as they come against those horrible Baptists, and Presbyterian, and Plymouth Brethren, who believe in eternal security. And yet the Word of God doesn't fight the Word of God.

3. Both of these groups claim that they believe this to be infallible word. If I believed as those groups did, I would rip Bible into pieces and eat and drink and be merry, or tomorrow we die, and that's all there is to it. Because If I have a God Who is supposed to be of one mind in this Book, and He is of two minds, whether we're secure, or not secure, then that is a god of folly, he's not as smart as I am.

I agree with the great Dr. A.E. Misal, "If I haven't got eternal security, then I have eternal insecurity, I prefer eternal security." I'm not getting too many 'amens', you look kind of glum some of you folks. But if I'm hitting this, it's not below the belt, because I'm here to help you. Because if you haven't see this much, you haven't seen anything.

4. What am I leading up to? Very simply, we need an 'indicated'. Listen to my language please, because I do not speak lightly. We need an 'indicated', 'authenticated', 'vindicated' prophet. I choose my words carefully. Because if he's indicated, he's got to be in the Bible. (Huh?) Then he must be authenticated, then he must be vindicated. And the people who do not listen to that man, what have they?

Can the Baptist assuredly say that they have the abundant entrance? (Huh?) I've pastored a Baptist church. I'm not rough on Baptist's, I like them best of all, I love them. I'd sooner preach in their churches, I think of any church I know. I can go to Macon, Georgia, a Southern Baptist, have a time of my life. The poor preacher down there they say with Bro. Vayle coming, he said, "He'll get here when he gets here." He said, "I'm tired, he phoned me last night, he said, “Lee, I'm tired of telling them you're coming, because I haven't seen you yet.” It's wonderful to go down there and be amongst them. Do they speak with the assured voice of God? Why, they're divided as Heinz's pickle factory, they've got fifty-seven varieties. You know that as well as I do.

5. Can the Pentecostal's speak with the assured voice of God? Are they vindicated? Now, if I'm going to rough tonight, don't worry, it says it's right in your records. The UPC don't believe in praying for the sick anymore. Why? Because God not healing amongst them as He used to. Are they authenticated? Where's the power? We're just as they were back in the days before Luther, and after Luther. As Comenius describes, "We have taken the Word of God to destroy each other, and the Body of Christ has become fragmented instead of becoming a membership of one in Him and all partakers of Him."

If ever we needed somebody who can come on the scene and say, "This is what it means." We say, "We've got the Greek student." Forget your Greeks. I mean it. I can take a man of the stature of the late Dr. Mc Crossen one of the truly great Greek demarions of the Twentieth Century. And he flubbed up horribly on women preachers. He said, "The word in the Greek prophesy, means to preach, that means women can preach."

6. If he can take the Greek to prove women can preach, then I say the Bible is a lie, because Paul said, "They can't preach." (Uh?) Now, you folk are kidding me, because some of you look like you've got women preachers in your family. Well, come on, let's be happy, because I want to help you. I'm doing this for a purpose. Can anyone tonight say, "You really know something?"

You say you believe in Oneness. You say you believe in Trinity. Have you even taken time to read your history? We're an educated people here in America. We look at the Roman Catholic's and we say, "Ha, I wouldn't be a Roman Catholic." They say that Peter was buried in Rome. He didn't even get to Rome. How can anyone be a Catholic having read the histories? And you know that they have not denied one word of their so called, infallibility. But as Thomas Aquinas said, "That we look on the pope, not as an natural man, but as God. (Capital 'G'-o-d, indeed) Infallible! And yet the Roman Catholic church today is getting rid of its 'masses' and it's changing. (Ah, ha, ha,) You say, "How can anyone be so ignorant, reading history, Fox's Book of Martyrs. Smucker’s Glorious Martyrology? And other books which you can find and say anyone knows by history that they would put your blood in the streets again today.

7. Haven't you read your history books where you can understand by mythology, and the various histories which are still extant, that trinitarianism never came out of the Bible, but it came out of Babylon. Yet trinitarian's will stand by and say loudly, "The Bible declares three gods, when there was never one revelation given in the Old Testament at any one time concerning three gods. (Huh?) Well come on! We're educated, we claim we know something. Can any trinitarian tonight in this room, pick up a Bible and show me where there are indeed three gods?

You say, "Well, I'll prove it by the Greek." Prove it by the Greek. The word in the Greek they use for 'and', and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is 'kai'. And maybe translated, 'even' the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Uh uh, where does that put you? Born of water and the spirit? No! "Born of water, even the spirit," say a literal translation. The God and Father? No! God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

8. Take your Greek, your Greek students will destroy each other as they clash, their holy swords, in holy zeal, for a holy God, for a holy good time. Yeah? (Huh?) Where are they getting it? I'm sarcastic on purpose, I intend to be. Not normally sarcastic, but I am tonight, that's what God wants me to be. It's bitterly sarcastic, against the dogmas and the creeds, and men who think they know something when the great apostle Paul who said, "I know nothing as I ought to know it."

And yet we've got all of our creeds and our systems built upon the fact that they claim to know more than anyone else, and they assuredly, and they alone most assuredly, speak for God, with the voice of God, and they're all liars. They're all liars, because the first thing to prove they weren't liars would be humility. They don't know. I don't... Don't you think tonight now you're going to tell as you know Vayle? Not this way, brother. I don't know the answers.

9. Roughly thirty years ago when men like the great Dr. Price, the great Dr. W.E. Vine, men of the stature of Gaebelein, Haldeman, and the rest, were teaching concerning the resurrection of the Roman Empire, the coming of the antichrist and all their famous ideals. I never knew the answer, but something in my heart said, "No, they're wrong." I have seen them take their charts, (not these men which I have named, but I mean other men) they put their charts of Daniel and their charts of revelation. They stood back with their pointer and they indicated what they thought was right from the chart, which they had on the walls.

But that's been my privilege sometime before to be in the company of a man who had been in England, (he was born in England) and he attended a Wesleyan Bible College when a man from the continent came and taught them prophecy. And this man from the major and minor prophets made a chart upon the wall and he said, "Europe today looks like this. (that was in the turn of the Twentieth Century about 1903 - '04, somewhere in there, and he said) but not long from now there will be a war and the allies as one group will line up as this, and one group will line up as that. At the end of this war the nations will look thus and so." And he showed them a changed map. That was in 1914, the war broke out. In 1919 the map was changed exactly as that prophet had prophesied.

10. And when this man told me, I went to my Bible and I read my Bible, and I said, "There isn't one thing in that Scripture that could tell that was going to happened." It had to be the Spirit of God, that man had to be a prophet. And I said, "When the Book of Revelation is open, It's going to be opened by a prophet, or It'll never be opened." And I stood back waiting for almost thirty years for a prophet of God to come on the scene.

Now, that's just good kid logic. I didn't go to any seminary to learn that, I had about three months of seminary, till they kicked me out. They didn't kick me out, I got out before they threw me out. It's a good thing I went, because something was going and I knew it was going to me. [laughter] So, I left.

11. I had no seminary, I didn't have requisite education in the minds of those men that were what you might call thoroughly pedantic. [precise] No, I didn't have it. But I'll tell you one thing, I had the Spirit of God dealing in my life. And He made me to know that that Book would not be opened, except by a prophet. Now, I could have died without a prophet. That was alright, that was alright.

But you see, bringing these thoughts to us for this basic reason, I want you to understand it's time to clear the slate and begin again. It's time to not know so suredly, as you begin to wonder. It's time to stop and not argue what your church said. You know what your church's say that do not believe in eternal security? They say, "That's a damnable doctrine, it'll send you to hell. It'll make you corrupt. It'll destroy you."

12. The same men who say that, have they heard of Jonathan Edwards? How many heard of Jonathan Edwards? The great preacher, who for forty-eight hours having prayed and fasted and not slept, and written his sermon out and very near sighted he read that sermon sinners in the hand of an angry God. And as he read, near-sighted squinting the people came forward. And he heard all the pillars saying, "But, Mr. Edwards, is there no hope for us?"

David Brainerd who died at twenty-seven amongst the Indians living that holy godly life, and if you've never read his biography, read it, it's called, 'His Diary'. Have you ever stood and watched the Jonathan Goforth resided in Canada a saintly Presbyterian came back deaf, and now blind having given his whole life for God and China, seeing a revival as few men ever saw. Those men believed in eternal security. And they weren't drunkards, and liars, and whoremongers, and filth. Read your books my friends. Because maybe just until tonight, you've been playing. And we're not in the playing game.

13. I challenge you further, show me one book written by an Armenian that stood the test of time. Even Adam's Clark's commentary is moldering in the dust upon the selves. But the great Strong's and the Matthew Henry's, and the Barnes' go marching on. There isn't one book written by a man who believed in falling away, stood the test of time. Look it up in your history books. (Huh?) I'm not cutting tonight, I want to make you deadly sober tonight. And begin to understand it's time to shake off these dry husks, because there are two vines in the world today the righteous vine and the false vine, they're both getting ripe tonight. And if you're in the wrong group there's only one way to get in the right group, and that's by the Blood and the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Now, I said that there is going to be any help today in this age, but we are so terribly split, fragmented, we're like a piece of pottery that fell off a shelf and there were upon the ground broken into smithereens. We all stand as though we were the whole pot, don't we? The little pot shard, looks at all the rest of the pots shards and says, I’m the whole pot." (Huh?) That's about right, isn't it? The Baptist got it all, the Presbyterians got it all. Nazarenes got it all, the Methodist got it all, the Pentecostal's they’ve got it all, of the all, of the all, of the all, of the all. I know, because I was with them all these years.

14. I was saved when I was eighteen, and I'm fifty now, be fifty-one this fall. Except for a few years getting of getting so fed up not understanding about all was going on, I quit preaching, but decided to live my life the way I wanted, but God's bigger than all that.

You know, there's a big God Who's over all just the same. There's one thing you could can believe the Word's got to come to pass. So, we look at ourselves and think we have it, we don't.

We need today a man who must be indicated by Scripture, or we don't dare look for him. Now look it, if it's not in the Bible you can't have it, because Lamentations tells us that, "who can stand shall come to pass when the Lord hath not said it?" [Lamentations 3:37] See, that's what creeds and denominations do. They write their manuals, they write their bylaws, they write their codes and their ethics and they put it all down, and they say, "This is it." That's not it. Because if God hasn't said It, it's not going to come to pass.

15. So, we must look for a man who is indicated in Scripture. There is a man indicated in Scripture and that man is Elijah. Right? Now, I don't believe in reincarnation, so it's not Elijah coming back as Elijah. For what? John the Baptist wasn't Elijah, but, in the economy of God he was Elijah in that the spirit of Elijah was upon him. Right? That's how it is, the spirit of Elijah. The spirit of Elijah fell upon Elisha, then it went away and came back on John the Baptist, now it must come back and be upon a man for this day. Is that correct? All right.

This man then will be walking in the spirit of Elijah, because it will be definitive in this way, it will describe him. Now, the Spirit of God can fall upon a person in prophecy. Now, let me assure you, the same Spirit of God that speaks in tongues is the same Spirit of God that prophesies, is the identical Spirit that heals. Is the identical Spirit performs a miracle, that gives the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, a revelation and so on. And so therefore the Spirit of God that's upon you and me is no different is no different than the Spirit of God that's upon this man who comes back as Elijah. It's just that he manifests in that way. As the Spirit of God manifests in tongues, the same Spirit can manifest as I said in interpretation, can manifest in healings. Is that, right?

16. All right, the same Spirit that comes upon you and me, filling us and placing us in the body of Jesus Christ is just the same Spirit upon every single person, there is no difference. But he will manifest in a different way. It's like electricity, it's the same electricity makes this light come here, and makes this microphone work, because it must be vitalized somehow. And if we had a fan in the place, (I think there are fans, I heard a furnace go on) then that same electricity and all these wires is identical, but you see it manifests in a light, manifests in carrying sound, manifest in carrying, (you know) making the fans go and so on.

So, what it is, it's a peculiar characteristic relative to the man. So, this man will come back as in an identical way, (well perhaps not identical, but in such manner) as we see this, saw the Elijah of the Old Testament.

Now if you've got your Bibles turn to the Book of 1 Kings 19: And some of you folk already know about this, because we have talked to some of you in Jeffersonville. But some of you perhaps have not realized this, and in 1 Kings 19: and here is what God said to Elijah.

(11) ... Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; ...

This is what took place in the mountain. The next thing that took place was an earthquake came, and then in verse 12, It says:

(12) ... and after (that a) fire (came, and after that) a still small voice.

17. Now, you will notice here that sometime back, just before Easter a year ago, a group of men hunting with Bro. Branham as he was going up the hill with Bro. Banks Wood, he threw a stone in the air as a command of the Lord and said, "Thus Saith the Lord, something is about to happen." And it did.

As many men stood in the cavern of which one wall was solid sheer rock, many, many feet in height, a whirlwind suddenly blazed out of nowhere, literally tore and gouged chunks of rocks out of the cliff. Good Friday an earthquake shook the world. It was then as I read the Scripture I knew, that the third would be the fire. I thought it would be last Fall. And if not Fall, this Spring for surety. The Fire was seen for forty-five minutes in Tucson by hundreds of people. Even brought the school kids to the windows and saw It.

After that, Fire fell and was visible, the still small voice spoke to Bro. Branham. And after the still small voice will be the Third Pull, the seven thousand haven't bowed the knee yet to come in, and it's all over.

18. We have an indiated man. You say, "Bro. Vayle, that could be simply a coincidence." No, you show me where a whirlwind would come down and gouge out of the rocks. And earthquake will come to pass at the command of a man, or fire will be seen rising and falling for forty-five minutes, that's not a coincidence. There's got to be some superior force above a man to bring that to pass.

Well, is the man indicated? The man is indicated in chapter 10 verse 7, in the Book of Revelation. It tells us here:

(7) (And) in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the (mysteries) of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Now, you will notice in [Revelation] 9:13

(13) And the sixth angel sounded, ... (this is a heavenly being sounding.)

19. Turn over you Book, and in Revelation 11:15

(15) And the seventh angel sounded; ...

Then, what's he talking about in this chapter 10? Are there two seventh angel? No sir! There's only one seventh angel, a heavenly being. There's only one sixth angel, a heavenly being. There's only one fifth angel, a heavenly being. There has only been one messenger to the church, an earthly angel. His name was to begin with, Paul…that was your first one. Coming up through the age, the last age, (the Laodicean Age) when all things are fulfilled is when Israel is back in Palestine, there has got to be a messenger to this Age. There's your seventh messenger right there.

20. Your sixth trumpeting messenger who you see is in heaven, who causes the catastrophe is coming out of the Sixth Seal upon the earth is in chapter 9. And the seventh heavenly being who is seen in heaven blowing his trumpet, causing further catastrophes in the Sixth Seal, because this isn't the Sixth Seal, is in chapter 11. But in chapter 10, there is somebody else.

Now, you will notice that this seventh messenger in chapter 10, It doesn't say that he sounds as the sixth angel sounded, and the seventh angel sounded. It says, "In the days of his voice." He hasn’t got a trumpet. He's talking. He's not sounding, he's talking. And his talk is what? The Gospel trumpet sounding the end of the age. He's not bringing any cataclysm upon the earth. That's not his job. He has a specific job according to Malachi 4: "To turn the hearts of the children back the fathers." That's his specific job.

21. You say, "Why is that so?" Because it's taught over here in the Book of Luke why it is so. In the Book of Luke [1:] the angel speaking to Zacharias says in verse 17, concerning John the Baptist:

(17) ... he shall go before (Jesus) in the spirit and power of (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

You will notice that this angel stopped in the middle of the verse of Malachi 4: He did not say he'll turn the hearts of the children to the father's. He said, "He turned the hearts of the fathers to the children," to the end that there would be a prepared people for God. There is only one Scripture in the whole Bible that talks about a people prepared for God, and that's the Gentile Bride, my brother, my sister, in the Book of Romans. No other place in the Word. Look it up in your concordance. No place else. A prepared people is the Gentile Bride, because they were foreknown before the foundation if the world. They were chosen in Him.

Now, there's that terrible dogma of predestination. Which if a man believes he'll never win a soul, isn't hat funny, Moody believed it and won multitudes of souls. Finney believe it, and won multitudes of souls. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, oh, why don't you read the histories children? You've been taught wrong honey. I'm going to teach you tonight.

Say, "Shame on you brother.” No, I'm a teacher by profession, I took training in teaching, and I've taught children, taught them for years. And I found I had to un-teach many times before I got to really taught. See, you may have to un-teach a little bit, but no one is going to get hurt either.

22. So, where is our modern day denominational concept of theology? Which says, "We've got it here in our manual." And they haven't even got a enough on the ball to know what the books have written through the ages, because they're there, God put them there. "Oh, if you believe in that terrible doctrine of election, you won't win souls."

My dear, brother/sister, why do you think a man of God goes to Africa? Why does he go to China? Why does he go as a missionary? Because there are sheep there. That's predestination. (Huh?) If there weren't any sheep, why bother? Say, "Well, he, he, he..." Never that he, he, he. The Scripture says, "A man went down to the ocean, and he cast his net in and he got good and bad. But he got some good. Oh, the goats will come in, don't worry.

23. Now, It says here that the hearts of the fathers would be turned to the children, who would be the people prepared of the Lord, for the Lord. That was John. But now you'll notice that the last part of that verse was left out. So therefore, it doesn't belong to John the Baptist of Malachi 3: it belongs to the prophet of Malachi 4: who’s coming back with the identical spirit, but this time, it's to turn the children to the fathers. Right?

Now, that's simple 'a-b-c' as we get in Scripture. And that's exactly who this man is. And you will notice that there were only two messengers mentioned in the Church Ages. One is the apostle Paul, and the other is the last day man, because he is a prophet. How do you know he's a prophet? Because the Scripture says, “… (that God revealed Himself to) the prophets." [Hebrews 1:1] And then notice in here we get the exact wording in [Revelation] chapter 10: verse 7, because the key to prophecy is also in there, and It says here:

(7) (And) in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

So therefore, this man has got to be a prophet, because he's numbered with the prophets. Now, with the occasion of Saul when he prophesied they said, "Is Saul also a prophet?" We number? No, you don't number Saul as a prophet, no. Why? Because the Spirit of God fell on Saul momentarily, then departed. But this man must be a prophet. Why? Because he's going to declare the mysteries of God. That takes a prophet. Why? Because a prophet did not only receive the Word of God, but much of his ministry lay in revealing the Word of God to the present day in which he was. All prophecies believe me is not, "thus Saith the Lord, I'm coming soon." No, or ''Thus Saith the Lord', there's going to be a tornado and earthquake." No sir, it can be 'Thus Saith the Lord', you violated My Word, because here It is, how It is read and you read It thus and so.

24. That's exactly what Jesus said, and He was the Prophet. He didn't say, "Don't worry, I'm going send an earthquake and I'm going to send a storm, and don’t worry I'm going to make truth. " Oh, he said a of those things too. But, when it came down he spoke more about His Word then he did anything else.

So, this man here must be one who will according to Scripture, It says, "The mysteries of God should be finished." [Revelation 10:7b] Now, let's face it, the mystery and the Word of God has held us rapt, for generations. We have written multitudes of books upon it, and some of those books were phenomenal. But I have yet to find even one man in all the studies I have done, and it's not been very much really, it just seems like a lot when you're working at it. But, I have not found one man in any theology who ever explained why it was that the Blood of Jesus Christ achieved the work that It did. And that was when the Blood cell was broken, the Life departed and could come back upon the sinner giving him Eternal Life.

25. Not one theology has got that in it! Not one. What theologian ever opened the Book of Revelation, opened the Seals? I picked up Scythe, and got so bored I closed it. I picked up Vine and saw the he was so far out and I knew nothing, I closed his book. I read several accounts, I think Barkley came as close as any and Dr. Larkin. But in there was a wide margin of error. Not because I knew anything, because I didn't, I didn’t know, I read it and put it to one side.

But now, comes the man of God. Who? By the indication, he's indicated in the Bible by the authentication. God gave him the Blazing Star out of heaven and believe me, when over four thousand people saw that Blazing Star, that was much more than Jesus Christ was ever authenticated on earth. United Press carried it around the world, and I saw it in Canada. In fact I'm going to be in touch with some women and men in Jeffersonville, and get them to write out their personal account. And if I can find one newspaper that's carried it, I'm going to photograph it and put it into a book.

The man has been absolutely authenticated by Almighty God. They've taken the picture. In Switzerland, they caught the Fire coming, the caught It going. In Tucson as I said they saw It for forth-five minutes. In little Becky's room, the teacher got the children to come to the window, they looked out and saw the Fire whirling and falling, and rising and falling, amber fire, seen for forty-five minutes. There has never been one single solitary mistake in anything that he's ever said as 'Thus Saith the Lord'. He has indicated, authenticated, and vindicated. All I know it's a little hard, we're still hard to understand. Now, I know why I had to whip you, a while ago. I'm getting right to it now.

26. You know why I was beating you, a while ago about the fact about your denomination, how you thought you knew something? But because we're going to come right to the place now. Do you know why it's even hard to accept Bro. Branham as the prophet of God and the last day man? It's not because he hasn't got it, it's because you've been taught that there just wasn't anymore. And because you were so thoroughly taught you shy away, even in some measure.

I'm not bawling you out now, because honey I'm with you, I've got hard times too. I'm not speaking down to you, I'm trying to help you tonight. And so many men will not take Bro. Branham, because they've been taught that. One of his best friends says concerning him, that Dr. Martin Luther, had a greater ministry than Bro. Branham.

27. Then I said, "Shame on him." Attempting to equate two lives, when one man hasn't died. You can never equate two lives until they're dead. Martin Luther had his showdown, but William Branham hasn't had his yet. When he gets his showdown, that's what you equate him. Now, listen that didn't take much brains to figure that out that that man was wrong, did it? (Huh?) It didn't take any brains. And why didn't he use his? (Huh?) Only took a split second to see where he was wrong. (Huh?)

How can you say, "Which man ran the fastest, till the race is over?" (Huh?) Now, what right has any man setting himself as a historian and a theologian and saying, "that this man is of greater stature?" Why his own Bible teaches him this in all sincerity, "Who art thou O man to judge another man's servant? Under his own master he standeth or falleth, and yea and God is able to make him to stand." [Rom 14:4]

So, we definitely then have before us this proposition; that according to the Word of God there must come in this day and age. There definitely has to come according to the Book of Revelation, according to Malachi, and remember, it's the same Spirit that wrote It all, it's got to dovetail, the Bible doesn't fight the Bible. There has to come a man, and he will be indicated. He is, he has been authenticated.

28. Now listen, I talk to a man in Beaumont, in Br. Pearry Green's church. This brother came in and he said, "Well my pastor, (who was quite an outstanding man in that area) believes that there is going to be a prophet." But he said, "William Branham is not that man."

"Well, (I said) alright, that's for you to think what you want to think. But, (I said) tell me, do you believe in some of these major doctrines that Bro. Branham believes in?"

He said, "No sir I don't."

"But, (I said) sir, for the sake of argument let us take fifty scholars on both sides. And let those fifty scholars take a hundred Scripture each and fight each other to a draw. So that the fifty men who do not believe in this way, against the fifty men who do believe in this way, they have exhausted themselves to the last word, they are drained and the judge says, “On point per point, you have come to a draw." Now, what are you going to do about it?

He said, "I don't know."

"Well, (I said) I'll tell you, you're going to have to call on God and say, 'God look, we're stuck, You’ve got to come on the scene and manifest who is right'."

He said, "That's it!"

He caught right into my trap. And I said, "Bro. Branham's got it." Show me a man with the Pillar of Fire. Show me a man with 'Thus Saith the Lord'.

28. Your own city here Chicago, entertained him so royally with this great ministerial association did with one thing in mind to cut his throat behind his back. And one man didn't dare come forward, because the Pillar of Fire was there.

Is it indicated? Absolutely. Vindicated, show me one place where he made a mistake. "Oh, (you say) I can see it in his preaching, any man can make a fumble." Any man can make a fumble, I'm talking about 'Thus Saith the Lord'. I'm talking about a trance and visions. I'm talking about that which he has gone into knowing, absolutely is true.

Say, "Well Bro. Branham doesn't believe tongues evidence." So, you know where tongues evidence leads you if you're not careful? I'll show you. People say, "Tongues is the evidence of the Holy Ghost." If tongues is the evidence of the Holy Ghost, and it's like me saying here, "I've got a pen that writes in blue, it's the only pen in all the world that writes in blue." So, every time you see blue ink it's my pen.

29. Can you say every time you hear tongues it's God? Come on now, where's the evidence? It's gone right there. I don't have to be a theologian. I don't have to be clever. I just got to stand back and watch. Listen to what they say, say tongues is the evidence? You know what, it's finally come to a place where you say, devils cannot talk in tongues. You say, "Well, Bro. Vayle, I never did believe that." Oh, you're a lucky… I, didn't believe it either. I used to believe is the evidence too. I never got that far. Why? I kept myself in check, but you see, I didn't take the next step. You start taking the next step, and start taking it, you start fighting. You start going not with the Word of God, but against the Word of God.

You know where tongues evidence came from? I came from Charles Parham. Charles Parham, I believe was in Kansas City, took three boys, three men, and he said, "Study the evidence of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and come up with what is evident."

And they said, "We have found that in the majority of cases experiences in the New Testament, the Book of Acts shows that three out of five spoke in tongues." They said, "That's it!" Then Parham took 1 Corinthians 12:7. It said, "The manifestation of the Holy Ghost is given to everyman to profit withal." And he said, "The manifestation is the tongues."

Why didn't he read the rest? Because the rest said, "For to one by the same Spirit is given the word of wisdom, and to another by the same Spirit a word of knowledge." [1 Cor 12:8] He didn't read the rest. He made a doctrine, he made an organization, and it couldn't stand. Why? Because it's not in the Bible, it doesn't say they have to speak in tongues.

30. You cannot make the Word of God speak where the Word of God has not spoken. I quoted you that in Lamentations. "How can any say will come to pass when has not said it?" How can you add to the Word of God? If God has not spoken, then, leave it silent. You can't find in [Acts] chapter 8 where they spoke in tongues. One man in Dayton said he could find it there.

When Peter said to Simon the sorcerer, he said, "Thou has neither part nor lot in this manner." [Acts 8:21a]

He [man in Dayton] looked up the word 'manner' in the Greek, and that word is 'logos', which means word. And he said, "There it is you have no part nor lot in this word." They were speaking words in tongues. Say, "Oh boy." That's great theology. That's taking the Greek to murder the Greek, or something. I don't know its' doing. But how can you take a word like 'logos' and there meaning pertaining to manner and say that means speaking in tongues. But he did it.

31. I like what Dr. Bosworth said. He said he knew more arguments in the Bible, out of the Bible that were in the Bible for it. He knew all the answers, until one day he began looking around. And suddenly he saw woman who hadn't spoken in tongues living more godly lives than those who had spoken in tongues.

You say, "Just a minute now, I'm going along with A.E. Torry there. I'm going to read what some of these other men, and they say, "That isn't true, it's not criterion, because there is no place in the Word of God where holiness is the basis of receiving Holy Ghost. Oh, we can talk and we can twist, but let's go back to the Word. Let's go back to the Word and see what the Word said. When this man, this Simon the sorcerer, claimed he wanted God. He wanted his crooked double dealing golden calf system, “You haven't got a thing to do with us…out!” When Ananias and Sapphira came with their golden calf scheme they dropped dead. Right? Don't ever tell me that the Holy Ghost comes and there's no basis to point It there. When the Holy Ghost is in a man's life, he better show some fruit.

32. So, he took all the evidence that he thought was evidence, he said, "This is the evidence." But he forgot the one thing, he forgot what Jesus said. And Jesus said, "When the Holy Ghost came, He'd teach you." What's He going to teach? The Word! (Uh?) How was the Gospel written? How was the Bible? "I'll bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said." [John 14:26] How is He going to do it? By the Holy Ghost.

Now, if we're Trinitarian, He said, "My Father will come." He said, "We will come." He said, "I will come,." He said, "the Comforter will come." What did He mean? Plain English, God's going to come. Father, Son, Holy Ghost is just titles, one Person coming. As God came manifest in the flesh, in Person of Jesus Christ, because Jesus was a humanity, Christ was the Godhead. So now, He's going to come back as the Christ upon you. That's why we're not called 'Jesuses’. You know if we were to be called by His Name 'Jesus', we'd be called 'Jesuses’. But we're not 'Jesuses’, we’re 'Christians', because we go. The word...it's a... word, I can't use a vulgar expression for it, it's a word that a cross between a Latin and a Greek, Christos in the Greek, and ‘ire’ in the Latin. 'To go like Christ', to go in the Spirit. Because we are walking in the Spirit, we're Christians. We take that name, you see. See, now He's come back, that same One that returns as a Pillar of Fire, because God is Spirit. Now, He came back sand separated Himself not in one body, but in many people being one body in Christ Jesus. (See?) Not trinity, one.

33. All right, we see here then by Scripture, and I'm a little bit fragmentary here, in my dissertation, but that's alright. We see here than in order to bring us to a place of clarification, because every-body's got the answer. And nobody's got the answer, because the Bible can't fight the Bible. (See?) What, can't do it. See? If security is in there, and falling away as in there, putting in the right place. (See?) What would you look like if you had your hand on your shoulder? I've seen cripples with their hand on their shoulder. Haven't you? A little hand up here, you say, "Oh my God, that's pitiful, oh God." You just shudder and pray.

What do you think God thinks of His body down here? The way that they've taken His Word, and put a hand on top of the head. And maybe put an ear down on the foot. At the back, they’ve got a leg sticking out. That's exactly it, because the Word can't fight the Word. How can any group divide themselves in security and non-security, and stand there fighting? My I don't understand.

34. Now listen, if they don't know their a-b-c's, and these are a-b-c's I've taught tonight. How are they going to know anything beyond that? If they're mixed up there, God have pity. They're mixed up and I don’t believe it.

You say, "Well, do you believe in security, and do you believe in falling away?" I believe in exactly they're put in the Bible. That's exactly right. But you've got to know what one belongs to. You got to know where security is, and you've got to know where falling away is. Do you ever read in Scripture, "Let no man take thy crown.?" [Rev 3:11b] Is it possible to lose your crown? Yes, it is, there's where your falling away is. Have you been obedient to all of God's Word? You say, "No, I sure wish I was, but I haven't been." You've lost something right there. You've lost something. Its battle's gone.

How do you know to be obedient to God? By His Word. How do you know if you love God? By His Word. How do you if you've got a call? By His Word. How do you know if you're going to judged right? By His Word. You don't know a thing, but by that Word.

So therefore, you're losing when you're not walking in that Word, but you can't lose that spirit that's been born again, and joined to God. Because, "he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit." [1 Cor 6:17]

35. Now, that leaves the question: did you make God's Spirit dirty, or did He make yours as perfect as His? (Huh?) Now, that was easy thinking, wasn't it? You read it, but did you think of it? (Huh?) Well, come on now, that's what the Bible said. "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit." Is that Bible? (Huh?) Is that Scripture? Are you joined to God? (Huh?) Are you one spirit? Did you have a good spirit before you was joined to His? No. Well did yours make His dirty? (Huh?) And what did His do for you? Make you perfect, didn't it? He, never get lost. Didn't He say, "Into Thy hands I commend my Spirit." [Lk 23:46a] But didn’t His soul go to hell? Didn't it? Come on now, did it? "Thy will not leave thy holy One in hell, did see My soul in hell, not suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption." [Ps 16:10] He split three ways. His Spirit went back to God, (or He lied.) "Into Thy hands I commend my Spirit." Now, did It go back? Well, did it? Make up your mind. (Huh?)

We're going to be real theologians tonight, we're going to believe the Bible. I don’t care what the man wrote in the book. I got it here in this Book. "Into Thy hands I commend my Spirit." Right? "Thou will not leave my Soul in hell." [Psalms 16:10] "He has poured out his Soul unto death." [Isa 53:12] Right? (Huh?) Where was his body? In the sepulcher.

36. Okay, what does it mean? Simple, you can lose part of your life here. "He that saveth his soul life for his own sake shall lose it." [Mt 16:25] That's what the Bible says. The word in the Greek is 'soul', doesn't mean 'zoe', like people often think it does. If you don't walk in that Word, you're losing your life right now. The man that doesn't pay tithes according to the Word of God, is losing part of his life right now. The person that doesn't apologize and make restitution, he loses something right now. Men that go on smoking and fooling around, they're losing something right now. You're losing.

Disobedience to God walking outside His Word you're losing. Can you recall the moment, (I mean to regain) can you regain the moment that you're lost when you didn't serve God, when you knew that you should have done something right and didn't do it? You didn't go to the hospital, you just sent flowers instead? Oh, that's a good visit, (see?) send cards, send flowers. The Bible doesn't say, send cards and send flowers, instead go visit him. (Huh?) Good thinking preacher, good thinking.

37. They tried to get me in that in the Baptist church years ago, (you know) they said, "Should we send flowers to just the congregation or some of their close relatives?" I said, "Show me in the Bible." So, when they looked up like that, my Bible says, "You visit them, you don't send them flowers." Did you lose something when you didn't obey God? (Huh?) Could you get it back? That moment's gone. Sure, there's falling away. Certainly, there's security. Put it in its right spot. See what God's talking about, understand what He's talking about. The two groups stand back and clash swords. And then they say that, "We believe." How can you believe the Bible if you're going to take the Bible and fight each other and cut each other's throats?

This was given to we can live by, so we can live with. That’s, each other. Have we got it, if we're living by, we claim we're by, we can't live with? Oh, ho, "By this shall all men know you're My disciples, you learn from Me, or My Words." They got to life with each other. Oh my, that's a good one. (Uh?)

38. Can the Presbyterian's get along with the Baptist's? Never. Can the Methodist get along with the Nazarenes? And they believe almost alike. Uh-uh, or they don't dare, because don't you know the Nazarenes' got a fund for their preachers, and the Methodist's got a fund for their preachers? Oh boy, they've got to have retirement funds. Oh, ho, you cannot lose that dollar. (Huh?) You might lose your life for listening to a sermon like this in the near future. (Huh?) If they don't kill me for preaching it. [laughter]

I stuck my neck out so far now, I know I can't draw it back it's ridiculous. Like the turtle, out so far, got arthritis, it can't get it back in the shell. I'm going to take you with me too. I don't believe in dying alone. [more laughter] I'm might be going to even feed the lions, I expect we'll all feed them. We can laugh now, it'll come. God will give us the fortitude to laugh in the right time. The faith martyrs died by, my brother, my sister is nothing but the same faith that you and I live by right now to get an answer to prayer, it's no different. God Almighty weren't the same God at a martyr's stake, then He's not the same God with a headache or anything else, forget it. (Huh?) Amen, we believe it.

39. All right, there's got to come a man who is indicated, and authenticated, and vindicated to bring us the Word and he's got to be a prophet! As we know from the Book of Amos, that is so, in chapter 3:7 in there:

(7) Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Now, isn't it true that mysteries are secrets? (Huh?) And who is it going to take to reveal them? It's going to take a prophet. And God has always spoken, what? Lip to ear to the prophet. (Huh?) Sure, He's going to have a prophet in the last day. Now, that isn't so strange. Do you feel better now? See, that uncomfortable feeling we've got to get rid of, because you see, the world just says, “Prophet, ha, ha”. The church says, "Prophet."

Look it, listen to me. Let's be honest now, look at it. Can the Church of Christ ever raise up a prophet? No! Because why? They've got it. You follow me? Can the Catholic's have a prophet? No, because they've got it. Can the Pentecostal's have a prophet? No, because they've got it. I mean the UP's the IMA's and the Assemblies and the churches and all the rest. Now, I'm not being unkind now, I want you to listen to me carefully. The Independents' are in the same boat. Why? Because they've organized too. They're not independent, they've organized. (Huh?)

40. Oh, once we've let the cat out of the bag what happened in this town not too many years ago, So, don't tell me. I know what goes on. I'm got a long nose for stupid-ness, and ears for hearing. And I'm not wearing glasses, I can see pretty good. But, listen to me, not one can raise up a prophet. Why? Because they don't need one. So, the prophet cannot come out of organization. Because the organization is the prophet. But it's not, it's the false prophetess, the Jezebel's. Can't be organization.

And organization cannot accept the prophet. Why? To get it, because we've been taught and taught, and taught, and taught, and taught. As a Presbyterian, I have got it. As a Methodist, I have got it. As a Baptist, I have got it. As the Assemblies of God, I have got it. As a Church of God, I have got it. And if you are Independent and sectarian, you're saying the same thing, "we've got it." That's what Latter Rain did.

Now, you know what I'm talking about. Latter Rain has remained unorganized, but they say we have got it. And they say, we multiple, because God is bringing His people together, we're all getting the revelation. And fifty people standing here, fighting back and forth, they've all got the revelation. Oh brother, unity? Oh, come on now. That's like hogs in a trough, they're all getting in there, they're got unity, because they're all in the trough, but oh brother. [laughter] I’ve seen them bite each other’s ears, squeeze and kick, but they're in the trough, they're in unity. They're in God.

41. God doesn't...listen, how can there be? How can a man come to them? He cannot come to them anymore than John could come. He comes against them, and he is not against the people he's against the organization. You follow? But there's got to be a prophet. There's got to be, because the only voice you've ever heard is the voice of organization, and they're all fighting. (See?) So, there's got to be this man come with the whirlwind, oh I like it, that spells fierceness and destruction. I don’t mean there's really people going to get him, now I mean that. I mean there's something going on. There's a vitality there. There's a surge of power, that those directed, seems violent, don't come against this, or there's danger.

The earthquake. That earthquake almost unseated the earth, but it didn't, it was just God's careful finger. See, the Sixth Seal hasn't opened yet. Now, comes the fire. But then It says, "It's not there." Right? Not there. Where is it? God is in the still small Voice, the Word.

Now, let me show you something here, get the revelations and I'm going to let you go pretty soon now. This has been always a pretty choppy, but I didn't order it this way... [blank spot]

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