Deuteronomy 30:11–14 For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off. 12It is not [a secret laid up] in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it? 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it? 14But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.
Romans 10:7-11 7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
The Spoken Word Is the Original Seed
62-0318 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
119 My mission, that I believe that God has called me for … I—I have to say some personal things today, because that’s what I told you I’d do, see, and tell the world. My mission, I believe, to the earth, is (what?) is to forerun the coming Word, see, the coming Word which is Christ. And Christ, in Him, has the Millennium, and has everything right there, because He is the Word.** See? All right.
The Spoken Word Is the Original Seed
62-0318 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
148 All of God’s sons must be the same. Yes, sir. To be born of the Word and Spirit, brings us back to the spoken Word again, like in John 3. See? To be born of the Water and the Spirit, what does It do? Then It brings you right back again unto the place of where you should have been at the beginning. See? That’s the reason of Christ’s death, brings us right back again to (where?) sons of God.
The Spoken Word Is the Original Seed
62-0318 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
181 Hallelujah! Can you see? The Word takes flesh. There you are. God is going to have a Church. It’s going to be born of the Word of God, because It is the living Word of God. Do you see it?
The Spoken Word Is the Original Seed
62-0318 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
277 **Now, His Body is to do the same. Because, the Body is, head and body is together. That right? If Christ is the Head, was the Word, His Body has to be the same thing as His Head was. That right? A Church of the Word, born of the Word, virgin-born from the Word! Not denominational now; virgin-born from the Word! The way the Body operates is by the Head. That right?
278 My body can’t move until my head tells it to move. Well, what if my head is flesh and my body is concrete? Huh! Can’t move. Head can say, “Move, move, move, move, move,” but there’s nothing to send a message to. Is that right? [Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] Well, if my Head is Christ, and my body is a denomination, how is it going to work? How can purity and a whore work together? Uh-huh.
279 I love it, brethren, I’ll tell you. I like to preach on some of this, a while. The way the Body operates is by the Head, and the Head is the Word. That right? The Head is the Word.
An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages
The Pergamean Church Age · Chapter 5
But this prophet will come, and as the forerunner to the first coming cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world,” even so will he no doubt cry out, “Behold the Lamb of God, coming in glory.” He will do this, for even as John was the messenger of truth to the elect, so is this one the last messenger to the elect and Word-born bride.
The Seven Church Ages
54-0512 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
211 Watch, it’s the Church speaking to Him now, waters. Revelation 17:15, said, “Waters means thickness and multitudes of people.” Now, “His voice,” or this Being that was standing there looking like this, Christ in His Church, as Bride and Christ being One, like husband and wife is one; the Church and Christ being molded together with one Person, the same Holy Spirit.
212 And the things that Christ did, the Church does also. Do you see it? That beautiful Church there in holiness, in power, in majesty, with seeing visions, signs, wonders. Everything just like He did, here it is on earth; giving all praise to God, saying, “I can do nothing except the Father shows Me; but He showed Me, and here it is.” And we come, see, these things go to taking place.
213 Now, Christ, molded into One. …and the voice…of many waters… Many people, not just the one; it was the whole Church, the Seven Churches molded together in one great ransomed Body of the Lord.
The Rapture
65-1204 · Yuma, Arizona
152 Now, it’s the first thing, is the sounding. The first thing is a trumpet and a…or a voice…A shout; and then a voice; and then a trumpet. Shout: a messenger getting the people ready. The second is a voice of the resurrection: the same voice, that, a loud voice in Saint John 11:38-44, that called Lazarus from the grave. Getting the Bride together; and then the resurrection of the dead, see; to be caught up with It. Now watch the three things takes place. The next is what? Was a trumpet. A voice…A shout; a voice; a trumpet.
153 Now, the third thing, is a trumpet. Which, always, at the Feast of Trumpets, is calling the people to the feast. And that’ll be the Bride’s Supper, the Lamb’s Supper with the Bride, in the sky. See?
154 The first thing comes forth is His Message, calling the Bride together. The next thing is a resurrection of the sleeping Bride; the—the ones died, back in the other ages, they’re caught together. And the trumpet, the Feast in the heavens, in the sky. Why, that’s the thing that takes place, friends.
155 We’re right there, ready now. The only thing, the Church coming out, has got to lay before the Son, to ripen. The great combine will come by, after while. The wheat will be burned, the stalks, but the grain will be gathered into Its garner. See?
Revelation 3:15-16, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.” We are going to look at this carefully. It says that this Laodicean church age group is lukewarm. This lukewarmness demands a penalty from God. The penalty is that they will be spued out of His mouth. Here is where we don’t want to go astray as a lot of folks do. They very unwisely say that God can spue you out of His mouth and that proves that there is no such thing as any truth to the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints. I want to correct your thinking right now. This verse is not given to an individual. It is given to the church. He is talking to the church. Furthermore, if you will just keep the Word in mind you will recall that nowhere does it say that we are in the MOUTH of God. We are engraved on His palms. We are carried in His bosom. Way back in the unknown ages before time we were in His mind. We are in His sheepfold, and in His pastures, but never in His mouth. But what is in the mouth of the Lord? The Word is in His mouth.
Matthew 4:4, “But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages
The Laodicean Church Age · Chapter 7
The Word is supposed to be in our mouths, too. Now we know that the church is His body. It is here taking His place. What will be in the mouth of the church? The WORD. I Peter 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (Word) of God.” II Peter 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Then what is wrong with these people of the last day? THEY HAVE GOTTEN AWAY FROM THE WORD. THEY ARE NO LONGER FERVENT ABOUT IT. THEY ARE LUKEWARM ABOUT IT. I am going to prove that right now. The Baptists have their creeds and dogmas based on the Word and you can’t shake them. They say the apostolic days of miracles are over and there is no Baptism with the Holy Ghost, subsequent to believing. The Methodists say (based on the Word) there is no water baptism (sprinkling is not baptism) and that sanctification is the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. The Church of Christ majors in regenerational baptism and in all too many cases they go down dry sinners and come up wet ones. Yet they claim their doctrine is Word-based. Go right down the line and come to the Pentecostals.
Do they have the Word? Give them the Word test and see. They will sell out the Word for a sensation just about every time. If you can produce a manifestation like oil and blood and tongues and other signs, whether in the Word or not, or whether properly interpreted from the Word, the majority will fall for it. But what has happened to the Word? The Word has been put aside, so God says, “I am going against you all. I will spue you out of My mouth. This is the end. For seven out of seven ages, I have seen nothing but men esteeming their own word above Mine. So at the end of this age I am spuing you out of My mouth. It is all over. I am going to speak all right. Yes, I am here in the midst of the Church. The Amen of God, faithful and true will reveal Himself and it will BE BY MY PROPHET.” Oh yes, that is so. Revelation 10:7, “And in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.” There it is. He is sending a vindicated prophet. He is sending a prophet after almost two thousand years. He is sending someone who is so far from organization, education, and the world of religion that as John the Baptist and Elijah of old, He will hear only from God and he will have “thus saith the Lord” and speak for God. He will be God’s mouthpiece and HE, AS IT IS DECLARED IN MALACHI 4:6, WILL TURN THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN BACK TO THE FATHERS. He will bring back the elect of the last day and they will hear a vindicated prophet give the exact truth as it was with Paul. He will restore the truth as they had it.
And those elect with him in that day will be the ones who truly manifest the Lord and be His Body and be His voice and perform His works. Hallelujah! Do you see it? A momentary consideration of church history will prove how accurate this thought is. In the Dark Ages the Word was almost entirely lost to the people. But God sent Luther with the WORD. The Lutherans spoke for God at that time. But they organized, and again the pure Word was lost for organization tends toward dogma and creeds, and not simple Word. They could no longer speak for God. Then God sent Wesley, and he was the voice with the Word in his day. The people who took his revelation from God became the living epistles read and known of all men for their generation. When the Methodists failed, God raised up others and so it has gone on through the years until in this last day there is again another people in the land, who under their messenger will be the final voice to the final age. Yes sir. The church is no longer the “mouthpiece” of God. It is its own mouthpiece. So, God is turning on her. He will confound her through the prophet and the bride, for the voice of God will be in her. Yes, it is, for it says in the last chapter of Revelation verse 17, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come.” **Once more the world will hear direct from God as at Pentecost; but of course that Word Bride will be repudiated (refuse to acknowledge, rejected, dismissed) as in the first age. **Now He has cried out to this last age, “You have the Word. **You have more Bibles than ever, but you are not doing anything about the Word except dividing and hacking it into pieces, taking what you want and leaving out what you don’t want. You are not interested in LIVING it,but debating it. **I would sooner you were cold or hot. If you were cold and rejected it, I could stand that. If you would get white hot to know its truth and live it, I would praise you for that. But when you simply take My Word and don’t honor it, I in return must refuse to honor you. I will spue you out for you nauseate Me.”
Now anybody knows that it is lukewarm water that makes you sick at the stomach. If you need an emetic, lukewarm water is about the best thing to drink. A lukewarm church has made God sick and He has declared He will spue it out. Reminds us how He felt just before the flood, doesn’t it? Oh, would to God the church were cold or hot. Best of all, she should be fervent (hot). But she is not. Sentence has been passed. She is no longer God’s voice to the world. She will maintain that she is, but God says not. Oh, God still has a voice for the people of the world, even as He has given a voice to the bride. That voice is in the bride as we have said and we will talk more about that later.
(2) Revelation 3:17-18, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Now look at the first phrase of this verse, “because thou sayest.” See, they were speaking. They were talking as the mouthpiece of God. This proves exactly what I said verses 16-17 meant. But though they say it, that does not make it right. The Catholic Church says she speaks for God, saying she is the assured voice of the Lord. How any people can be so spiritually wicked is more than I know, but they produce according to the seed which is in them, and we know where that seed came from, don’t we? The Laodicean church is saying, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” That was her self-estimate. She looked at herself and that is what she saw. She said, “I am rich,” which means that she is wealthy in the things of this world. She is boasting in the face of James 2:5-7, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are called?” Now I do NOT suggest that a rich person cannot be Spiritual, but we all know that the Word says very few are. It is the poor that predominate in the body of the true church. Now then, if the church becomes full of wealth, we know only one thing; “Ichabod” has been written over her portals! You can’t deny that, for that is the Word. Talk about wealth in the church — why there never has been such a show of wealth. The beautiful sanctuaries are multiplied in number as never before. The various groups vie with each other to see who can build the biggest and the loveliest. And they build education centers worth unestimated millions, and those buildings are used only an hour or two a week. Now that would not be such a terrible thing, but they expect this little time spent by the children in the education plant to take the place of the hours of training supposed to be given in the home. Money has poured into the church until different denominations own stocks and bonds, factories, oil wells, and insurance companies. They have poured money into welfare and retirement funds. Now this sounds good, but it has become a snare to the ministers, for if they decide to leave their group for more light or the love of God, their pensions are lost to them. Most can’t stand this and stay with their pressure groups.
Now don’t forget that this is the last age. We know that this is the last age because Israel has gone back to Palestine. If we believe that He really is coming, then there must be something wrong with those who are building so vastly. It makes one think that these people plan on staying here forever, or that the coming of Jesus is hundreds of years off. Do you know that religion today is known as big business? It is an absolute fact that they are placing business managers in the churches to take care of finances. Is this what God desires? Did not His Word teach us in the Book of Acts that seven men full of the Holy Ghost and faith served the Lord in business matters? You can surely see why God said, “YOU say you are wealthy; I never said so.” There are radio programs, television programs, and numerous church endeavors that are costing millions and millions of dollars. Wealth pours and pours into the church, the membership increases along with the money, yet the work is not being done as it was done when there was no money, but men rested solely on the ability given them by the Holy Ghost. There are paid preachers, paid assistants, paid ministers of music and education, paid choirs, paid custodians, programs, and entertainment — all costing great sums, but for all that, the power is decreasing. Yes, the church is rich, but the power is not there. God moves by His Spirit, not by the amount of money or talent in the church.
The Testimony of a True Witness
61-1105 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
186What? Church, that’s the reason I can’t take the baptism of the Holy Ghost of crying, shaking, or speaking in tongues, or any sensation. They’re all right, now. See? Them, them things are all right, but the devil can impersonate that so real.
187But the Holy Ghost is Deity, God tabernacled in man! It’s more than a sensation. It’s more than in speaking in tongues. It’s more than shouting in the Spirit. It’s more than weeping. It’s more than joining church. **It’s God living in man. Deity, God Himself tabernacled into that person, when he can speak and it’s just the same as God speaking, that’s the Church of Jesus Christ. That’s the way that first apostolic Church went forth. **
The Word Became Flesh (India Trip Report)
51-1003 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
238 And He said, “Now, to redeem that fallen race, I’ll send forth My Son, Christ Jesus.” There was the Word. In the beginning, before it was a Word, it was a thought. Before, it was a thought; it was expressed in a word; and the Word become material and dwelt among us. Hallelujah! Ten million years, maybe, before the world was ever formed, God’s thought seen His body, tabernacled in flesh, to take the sting out of death. Whew!
239 How Eternal is the Word of God! Oh, times will change, years will come and go, aeons of time will pass away; but God’s Word will remain forever. There it is!
Three Kinds of Believers
63-1124 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
63 And here we are, down to the Laodicean Age. And we’re taught, in the Laodicean Age, that Christ was put out of His church; and was even knocking on the door, trying to get back in. So when we see that happening, we know what age we’re living in.
64 And, then, we’re at the closing of the history of the world. The book is now being finished. The last line will be wrote across it someday, and she’ll be closed up, then time shall be no more.
65 And there is a great drama being set. And Angels are standing over the skies, watching. You know what a drama is. The actors are ready. You can see them acting.
66 You can see the evil one acting. You can see the villain of the play, how he’s come on the scene with his cunningness, to deceive.
67 But you can also see the raptured Church making Herself ready. It’s a great scene. You can see the Presence of God vindicating and making the great drama that’s foretold here in this Bible, to act itself out. What a time to live, the most glorious time! The man of all ages has longed for this time. The prophets of old longed to see this hour, but wasn’t privileged.
68 Now, there was a believer. Because, he seen it. He believed it. “We’re fully persuaded that Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Word of God for this day, and we believe that.” See, that was a real believer.
Questions and Answers
59-1223 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
127Which is it? A Angel is a servant. We’re sons and daughters. Which is the most thought of, your servant or your son or daughter? Oh, my! Prayer from a saint will go a million times higher than an Angel (yes, sir!), because he’s a son. Oh, whew, that’s right, my brother, sister.
128You don’t…The church…I don’t believe this side of—of eternity how we’ll ever realize that what you are, the position that you are, that God has placed you, you Spirit-filled people. You are sons of God. Why, Angel’s a servant. You’re a son! An Angel can only bring you a message, but you have to act. Amen! You’re the actor on the scene. You’re the son. The Angel is your servant, to bring you the message, say, “Here, I brought you this message for you to do so-and-so. This is from Father. I bring it to you.” Yes. That’s all he is. Amen! You’re sons and daughters of God. Predestinated us! Now, watch just a minute.
According as he hath—he has chosen us…(Now, we didn’t choose…How could I choose Him? Four hundred billion, million, billion, trillion years ago, how could I have chose Him? But He chose me. Amen! Oh, Brother Wood, that’s it. See?)…chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy…(Now, don’t try to make it yourself, ‘cause you can’t.)…and without blame before him in love:
Oh, brother, that will answer a question I seen in here just a few minutes ago. Somewhere I—I seen it just…Oh, yes. You said…How could a man live above…live so close to God, he would be without sin? Listen to this: …holy…from the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
129His love did it. His love paid for my sins. His love taken it away. Love is the most powerful force there is. Take a husband that really loves his wife, he’d die for her freely. And brotherly love…
Hear Ye Him
60-0712 · Klamath Falls, Oregon
61You know what happened then when that boy become a certain age? That boy was adopted into the family. Now, what did they do? They took him out in a public place, put a special robe on him, and had a ceremony. And all the people of the city gathered around and looked. And then they looked upon this boy, and the father had a ceremony of adoption. After… Oh, don’t miss this. After that son was adopted, his name on the checkbook was just as good as his daddy’s.
There’s where God’s trying to get His Church. Just say to this mountain, “Be moved” and it will move: Authority, sons of God… The whole creation’s groaning, waiting for the manifestations of the sons of God, waiting to a spot to where that the sickness will be a “Arise!” and it will be that way. The blind will receive their sight. Deaf and dumb, we pray for them now, but then you’ll command it. Didn’t say, “These signs shall follow them that believe, they shall pray for the sick.” He said, “They shall cast out devils.” Not, “I will”: “They will.” “If you say to this mountain (not if I say).
If you say to this mountain, ‘Be moved,’ and don’t doubt in your heart. What we need is adoption. Sons and daughters needs adoption.
62But how can the church, the Pentecostal church, and the Methodist and Baptist churches be adopted until they come to discipline? We’ve got to be disciplined first. God could not trust this power with the church. It’s hard to tell what you would do. How could a father trust his—his business with a boy that might simply pollute his whole inheritance? He couldn’t do it. The church has got to come to a place to where it’s disciplined. God’s on that work right now: discipline.
Job
55-0223 · Phoenix, Arizona
24That’s the way it is today. We, guilty, unworthy, should die. We’re not worthy of living; we’re not worthy to come to Christ; we’re not worthy to ask anything; but God never looks at your unworthiness; He looked at the Lamb. Now, if He can’t find no fault in Christ, then you’re free. See? He died in your stead. Now, if there’s any fault with Him, you’re not free yet**. But God don’t examine you; He examines the Lamb**. You say, “I’m not worthy to walk out of this wheelchair tonight.” That’s right, you’re not, but God don’t examine you; He examined Christ. And if He’s worthy, then you can walk. See? That’s right. Depends on what you think about it. You say, “Brother Branham, I’m an awful woman; I’ve lived illegally. I’ve done—I’ve even broke my marriage vows. I’ve done this…” “And Mr. Branham, I tell you: I’ve been a drunkard, I’ve done this…” No matter what you done, God never looks at you; He looks at the Lamb. And He’s already accepted the Lamb, so you’re free. God can’t see you; He sees the lamb, dies in your stead. That’s enough to make a fellow shout, isn’t it? Sure is. When you think that, upon those basis of the Word.
Revelation, Chapter Four #3
61-0108 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
119The preacher’s called to preach his, and to live it too. If you can’t live It, then you stop preaching It. But you’re supposed to live your sermons.
120All right, here was “voices.” Oh, how we need in Jeffersonville thousands of lived voices, the thunder of God thundering out in sweetness and holiness, purity, undefiled lives, walking around in the earth today, without a blemish. Yes, sir, real Christians, that’s thunder against the enemy. The devil don’t care how loud you can holler; the devil don’t care how much you can jump or how much you can do this or shout. But what hurts the devil is to see that sanctified, holy life consecrated to God; say anything to him, call him anything, just as sweet as it can be and move right on. Oh, my! That throws him away, that’s the thunder that shakes the devil.
121Just like, “Well,” you say, “if he could preach like a Billy Graham or an Oral Roberts, or somebody, a great influential speaker, he’d be…” Oh, no! Sometimes the devil just laughs at that. He don’t pay no more attention to that than nothing. You get all the theology—theology you wanted to and all the seminary training, and the devil just sit back and laugh at it. But when he sees that Life!
Revelation, Chapter Four #3
61-0108 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
122Look at those disciples down there, that maniac child that day with epilepsy, saying, “Come out of him, devil! Come out of him, devil! Come out of him, devil!”
123The devil sitting there, said, “Now, aren’t you making a pretty shame of yourself? Now, you see what you’re doing? Jesus told you, He commissioned you, to go cast me out. Not a one of you can do it.”
124But, brother, when they see Him come, One come walking quietly. Uh-huh. Oh, my! He didn’t have to say nothing. That devil was already scared right then. He knowed he had to leave, right, ‘cause there come a Life; not only a sermon, but a Life. Said, “Come out of him.” Oh, my! That done it! Quietly; He knowed what He was talking about, He knowed what He was doing.
The Seed is not Heir with the Shuck
65-0218 · Jeffersonville, Indiana
169Remember, I’m giving you the Food of the eagle, the promise of God. He calls His prophets, “eagles.” He calls Himself “a Eagle,” He is Jehovah Eagle. And while you have your hands laid upon one another, pray for them.
170Our Heavenly Father, Your Word said, the last commission You give to Your Church, was, “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel,” the general orders, “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned. These signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; if they should drink any deadly thing, it wouldn’t hurt them; if they take up serpents, they’ll not harm them; and if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover.” O Jehovah Eagle, feed Your little ones tonight upon that Word, Lord. They’re needy. That’s the diet they need. That’s what they need, to know what the Food is, what THUS SAITH THE LORD is.
171You promised, if they laid their hands on one another, that they would recover. O Lord God, take all doubts and vulture ideas away from us now. And we feed solemnly upon the Eagle Food, of the Word of God.
172 Let every unclean spirit that’s in these people, every spirit of doubting, every spirit of fear, every denominational cling, every habit, every sickness, every disease that’s among the people, leave. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may it come out of this group of people. And may they be free from this hour on, that they can eat the Eagle Food that we’re believing You’ll send us through the week, Lord, breaking open those Seals and showing us those mysteries that’s been hid since the foundation of the world, as You’ve promised. They are yours, Father. In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
173All that believe and accept, stand to your feet, say, “I believe. I accept. That what God promised me, I receive.” [Congregation rises with a voice of acceptance—Ed.] The Lord bless you. That’s wonderful. Every person standing! That’s good.