Abendmahl
Datum:
65-1212
|
Dauer:
-
|
Übersetzung:
BBV
Tucson, Arizona
Eine aufrüttelnde Botschaft, die Bruder Pearry uns gerade vorher aus dem Worte Gottes brachte. Wie wahr es ist, daß wir Gott begrenzen und zeitlich einschränken; doch Er ist ewig, wir können das nicht tun. So kommen wir heute abend jetzt zu etwas anderem, dem Abendmahl.
Drei Jahre habe ich darauf gewartet, daß eine Gemeinde in Tucson kommen würde, doch nun ist es soweit. Ja, wir sind hier. So danken wir dem Herrn, Er hat uns nur so lange warten lassen, bis wir es jetzt schätzen können.
E-2 Nun, da ist eine Sache, die ich gerne sagen möchte, gerade bevor wir mit dem Abendmahl beginnen, nämlich, daß ich glaube, daß wir an unserem Tag, an dem wir leben, genug gesehen haben, daß wir wirklich unser ganzes Wesen Gott geben sollten. Wir sollten Gott wirklich dienen. Ich glaube, daß Er uns gesegnet hat mit der direkten Antwort zur Schrift. Wie Bruder Pearry es vor einer Weile gebracht hat, daß wir in dieser Zeit sind. Wir sind nicht blind; wir sehen, daß wir hier sind, wir sind angekommen.
Und wir können auch umherschauen und die Weise sehen, wie der
Menschenverstand die Leute verläßt. Wir können nicht mehr sehr viel länger bleiben, wären wir in einer kompletten Irrenanstalt, die ganze Welt wäre es. Seht? So sind wir in der Endzeit.
E-3 Nun, wie Bruder Pearry dort aufgehört hat, sehen wir, diese Dinge sind wahr, seht ihr, daß sie wahr sind, sie sind kein Märchen. Sie sind nicht einfach etwas, was wir uns vorstellen. Sie sind etwas, was uns direkt durch das Wort Gottes gegeben worden ist und öffentlich vor uns zum Ausdruck gebracht ist, damit wir wissen, daß wir hier sind. Wir wissen nicht, wie lange jetzt noch, weil wiederum kommen wir zu einer Wache zurück, seht ihr, welche Zeit es ist. Doch wir wissen, daß wir hier sind, wir sind in der Zeit. Ob Gottes Zeit,ich könnte mir vorstellen...
Jemand hat einmal eine kleine Untersuchung gemacht, die ausgedrückt hat, daß als Gott bei sich bestimmt hat gemäß.... als Er die Zeit bestimmt hat, daß eintausend Jahre gerade ein Tag sind. So wenn ein Mensch siebzig Jahre alt wird, wären das gerade ein paar Minuten in Gottes Zeit. Seht? Nun, und sagen wir, es wären vierzig Jahre, das würde nicht einmal “Zeit” bedeuten, kaum, Er könnte mit Seinen Augen zwinkern. Seht, so schnell wäre es, die ganze Sache, wenn es bestimmte Zeit wäre. Bei Ihm gibt es keine Zeit, deshalb ist Er eben ewig.
E-4 Ich glaube, es war Sarah einmal... oder nein, Joseph, eines Abends, der zu mir und Bruder Pearry sagte: “Papa, wo und wann ist Gott aufgetreten? Woher ist Er denn gekommen? Er hat doch einen Anfang haben müssen, oder? Hat Er nicht einmal beginnen müssen?”
Ich sagte: “Nein. Alles, was einen Anfang hat, hat ein Ende, doch was keinen Anfang hatte, hat kein Ende.” Aber natürlich, er ist zehn Jahre alt, das konnte er wirklich kaum schlucken. Seht? Wie könnte er das begreifen, zu erkennen, daß etwas nie begonnen hatte? Nicht nur für ihn, für mich ist es . Nun seht, es ist einfach eine riesengroße Portion für mich, wie es je angefangen hat.
E-5 Nun stehen wir davor, hier etwas zu feiern, was wirklich heilig ist.
Ich wurde vor ein paar Tagen zu einem sehr feinen christlichen Herrn gerufen, der dies nie hatte, und er hatte gehört, daß wir das Abendmahl buchstäblich nehmen. Sie nehmen, was sie “geistliches Abendmahl” nennen. Und soweit wie es “Kommunion”1 ist, würde ich sagen, in Ordnung, denn “Gemeinschaft haben” ist, miteinander zu sprechen, seht. <1“Communion”: Das Wort heißt im Englischen wörtlich “Gemeinschaft” und wird im übertragenen Sinne für “Abendmahl” gebraucht.>
Und der Bruder gab mir diese Schriftstelle und sagte: “Bruder Branham, denkst du nicht jetzt...”
Nun, der Grund, warum ich dieses sage... Ist es in Ordnung, Bruder
Pearry? [Bruder Pearry Green antwortet: “Sicher.”] Seht, der Grund, warum
ich dieses sage, ist, daß ihr versteht, was ihr tut. Wenn du in irgend etwas blind hineingehst, weißt du nicht, wohin und was du tust. Du kannst nicht einmal Vertrauen haben, wenn du nicht weißt, was du tust. Doch du mußt verstehen, was du tust und warum du es tust.
Er sagte: “Wenn wir nun das Wort Gottes nehmen, ist das nicht Gott, den wir da nehmen?”
Ich sagte: “Genau richtig, mein Herr, es ist wahr. Doch wir lesen hier, daß sie tatsächlich... Paulus lehrte darüber, das buchstäbliche Abendmahl zu nehmen. 'Dies tut zu Meinem Gedächtnis”, sagte Jesus. “Sooft ihr es zu Meinem Gedächtnis nehmt, verkündigt ihr den Tod des Herrn, bis Er kommt.'” Seht? Nun, wir müssen es nehmen.
E-6 Wir wissen, daß Paulus, der es in die Gemeinde eingeführt hat, der Prophet des Neuen Testaments war. Petrus, Jakobus, Johannes, alle von ihnen, auch Matthäus, Markus, Lukas, sie schrieben als Schreiber, was Jesus getan hat. Doch Paulus ordnete die Dinge, er war der Prophet des Neuen Testaments. Genau wie Mose in die Wüste ging, um die Inspiration zu empfangen, die fünf ersten Bücher der Bibel zu schreiben, so ging auch Paulus in die Wüste und empfing Inspiration von Gott, um die Gemeinde des
Neuen Testaments zu ordnen und es aus dem Alten zu versinnbildlichen.
Darunter hatten sie das Opferlamm, das Israel als einen Gedenktag hielt.
Es war eigentlich einmal gebraucht worden, als sie aus Ägypten kamen. Doch dann hielten sie das als einen Gedenktag durch alle Zeitalter hindurch. Also “wenn das Gesetz ein Schatten der Dinge, die kommen werden, ist”, seht ihr.
Nun, ich glaube, daß die Kommunion (was wir “Abendmahl” nennen) das “Mahl des Herrn” ist.
E-7 Nun, wir haben nur drei körperliche göttliche Ordnungen, welche uns hinterlassen sind: Eine davon ist das Abendmahl; die Fußwaschung; die Wassertaufe. Das sind die einzigen drei Dinge. Das ist die Vollkommenheit, diese drei, seht. Und das sind die einzigen drei Anordnungen, die wir haben. Wir erkennen, daß das der Erlaß war, der durch Apostel Paulus im Neuen Testament gegeben wurde.
Nun, wenn wir sagen würden, “das Abendmahl sollte nur sein, das Wort zu nehmen,” ich glaube nicht, daß irgend jemand ein Recht hat, des Herrn Mahl zu nehmen, bis er das Wort des Herrn in sein Herz hineingenommen hat. Seht? Ich werde gleich etwas für euch lesen und ihr werdet sehen. Nun, beachtet. Warum sollten wir dann...
Auf derselben Grundlage könnten wir absolut die Heilsarmee rechtfertigen. Sie glauben nicht an irgendeine Form der Wassertaufe und sagten: “Wir brauchen es nicht.” Nun, wenn wir die Wassertaufe nicht brauchen, warum sind wir denn getauft? Sie sagten: “Das Wasser kann dich nicht erretten, das Blut errettet dich.”
Damit bin ich einverstanden. Das stimmt, das Blut errettet dich, nicht das Wasser. Aber wir müssen das Wasser nehmen als ein äußeres Bewegtsein, daß ein inwendiges Werk der Gnade getan worden ist. Seht? So müssen wir das Abendmahl !
E-8 Wenn wir den Herrn, unser Opfer, als eine geistliche Geburt in uns aufgenommen haben, sowie auch Seinen Leib, und wir durch Ihn durch das Wort leben, sollten wir es auch sinnbildlich darstellen, weil es ein Gebot ist. “Tut Buße, jeder einzelne von euch, und werdet getauft in dem Namen Jesu Christi zur Vergebung eurer Sünden.”
Paulus sagte: “Ich habe es von dem Herrn empfangen, das ich euch gegeben habe, 'daß der Herr Jesus in der Nacht, da Er verraten ward, Brot nahm, und brach es und gab den Jüngern und sprach: ”Nehmt und eßt, dies tut zu Meinem Gedächtnis.“ Denn sooft ihr dieses Brot nehmt, verkündigt ihr Seinen Tod, bis Er kommt.'” Nun, wir merken, daß es darin Menschen gab, die kommen und...
E-9 Dieser teure Bruder, ein sehr lieber Bruder, er kam und sagte: “Ich habe es nie genommen, Bruder Branham, ich verstehe nicht, was es ist. Ich bin anders belehrt worden.”
Ich sagte: “Doch denk daran, wir werden zugeben, daß Apostel Paulus es in der frühen Christengemeinde anordnete. Sie gingen von Gemeinde… von Haus zu Haus, brachen das Brot mit Einfalt des Herzens und so weiter. Nun”, sagte ich, “er setzte es in die Gemeinde. In Galater 1,8 sagte er: 'Wenn ein Engel vom Himmel kommt und irgend etwas anderes sagt, so sei er verflucht.' Siehst du, derselbe, der sie nach der Taufe des Johannes noch einmal taufen ließ, um getauft zu werden in dem Namen Jesu Christi.”
Seht ihr, es gibt drei Dinge, die wir tun müssen - drei Dinge, die wir als Symbole tun müssen: das Mahl des Herrn,Fußwaschung,Wassertaufe. Seht?
E-10 Du sagst: “Ach...” Nun, die Heilsarmee nimmt es von dem Standpunkt: “Der Schächer , als er starb, war er noch nicht getauft und Jesus sagte, er würde im Himmel sein.” Das ist genau die Wahrheit. Das stimmt genau. Doch seht ihr, er erkannte Jesus erst gerade dort zu der Stunde, als er starb. Seht? Das war die einzige Gelegenheit, die er hatte. Er war ein Räuber, er war verloren, er war draußen. Und er, sobald er dieses Licht gesehen hatte, erkannte er es: “Herr, gedenke meiner!” Und Jesus... Das stimmte.
Aber für dich und mich, die wir wissen, daß wir getauft werden sollten, und wir lehnen ab, es zu tun, dann wird das zwischen dir und Gott sein. Dasselbe mit dem Abendmahl!
Nun, wenn wir dieses Abendmahl nehmen, ist es nicht so einfach eine Sache wie: “Ich komme hier vor und werde etwas Brot essen, und ich werde glauben, daß ich ein Christ bin.” Doch wenn ihr bemerkt, die Bibel sagt: “Wer unwürdiglich ißt und trinkt, wird des Blutes und des Leibes des Herrn schuldig sein.” Seht? Du mußt ein Leben leben vor den Menschen, vor Gott und den Menschen, das zeigt, daß du aufrichtig bist.
E-11 Nun, noch einen Augenblick länger. Nun, im Alten Testament, als das Opfer dargebracht wurde, ein Gesetz oder eine Anordnung. Und ebenso ist die Wassertaufe eine Anordnung; ebenso ist die Fußwaschung eine Anordnung; ebenso ist das Mahl des Herrn eine Anordnung. “Glückselig, wer alle Seine Anordnungen tut, alle Seine Gesetze und alle Seine Gebote hält, daß er ein Recht habe, um in den Baum des Lebens einzugehen.” 2 <2 Frei nach Offenbarung 22,14>
Nun, beachtet bei diesem jetzt, daß es zuerst eine Anordnung Gottes war, ein Opfer zur Gemeinde zu bringen, zum Tempel und dem Altar, und deine Gabe zu opfern für deine Sünden, das Opfer eines Lammes. Ach, ich kann es mir gerade vorstellen und sehe einen jüdischen Bruder, der die Straße herabkommt und weiß, daß er schuldig ist; und er geht zum Altar, bringt seinen fetten Ochsen oder einen Bullen oder was er auch hatte, oder einen Widder, Lamm, irgend etwas. Er hatte es die Straße herabgebracht, gerade so aufrichtig, wie er kommen konnte. Er kam dort herauf und hielt Gottes Anordnungen, gerade so aufrichtig, wie er nur konnte.
Dann legte er seine Hände darauf und bekannte seine Sünden, und der Priester legte seine Sünden auf das Lamm. Und die Kehle des Lammes wurde durchschnitten, und dann starb es für ihn. Als es dort lag, das kleine Lamm strampelte und blutete, seine Hände voll von Blut und es spritzte ganz über ihn (das kleine Lamm blökte sterbend), da erkannte er, daß er gesündigt hatte und etwas an seiner Stelle sterben mußte. Deshalb hat er den Tod dieses Lammes für seinen Tod geopfert. Seht, das Lamm starb an seiner Stelle. Da tat es der Mann in Aufrichtigkeit, aus der Tiefe seines Herzens.
E-12 Schließlich ging das weiter und weiter und blieb so weiter und weiter, bis es schließlich eine Tradition wurde. Das Gebot Gottes wurde eine Tradition für die Menschen. Und dann kam er hier herab: “Ach, mal sehen, heute haben wir den So-und-so-Tag, vielleicht gehe ich besser hinab. Ja, besser ich opfere einen Bullen.” Er ging hinab: “So, Herr, hier ist mein Bulle.” Seht, da ist keine Aufrichtigkeit darin, da ist kein Verständnis davon.
Nun, wir möchten das Abendmahl nicht in dieser Weise nehmen. Das ist dieselbe Sache, wenn wir zum Tisch des Herrn kommen.
Jesaja 35.... Nein, Entschuldigung, Jesaja 60.... Ich muß das zurücknehmen. Ich glaube, es ist Jesaja 28, wo wir dieses finden. Ich bin ziemlich sicher, das ist das richtige Kapitel. Es heißt: “Da folgt Gebot auf Gebot, Regel auf Regel auf Regel; hier ein wenig, da ein wenig. Haltet fest, was gut ist. Mit unverständlichen Lippen und anderen Zungen rede Ich zu diesem Volk. Und dies ist die Ruhe.”
Er sagte: “Alle Tische des Herrn sind voll Speiens. Wen kann Ich Lehre lehren und wem kann ich es verständlich machen?” Seht ihr? Ich denke, das war die richtige Bibelstelle, Jesaja 28. “Wem kann ich die Lehre verständlich machen?” Seht, “die Tische”.
E-13 Nun stellen wir heute fest, daß diese große Sache, die wir heute abend gleich tun werden, im Gedenken Seines Todes und Seines Leibes, den wir, glauben wir, täglich essen, vielmehr empfangen durch Essen, wie unser Bruder zu uns gepredigt hat. Wir nehmen das Wort Gottes und glauben es von ganzem Herzen. Wir sehen es zum Ausdruck gebracht, wir sehen es uns dargereicht, wir sehen es bestätigt, wir fühlen es in unseren Leben. Und wir müssen herzukommen mit einem tiefen Bewußtsein davon, was wir tun; nicht einfach, weil es eine Anordnung ist.
Man geht zur Gemeinde, und viele Male geben sie irgendeinen Keks oder so etwas aus, brechen es, und Knäckebrot oder so etwas, und brechen es; und Leute, die rauchen, trinken und alles mögliche, weil sie ein Mitglied der Gemeinde sind, kommen sie und nehmen das Abendmahl. Ach, das ist Schmutz vor Gott!
E-14 Sogar Opfergabe sagte : “Eure Feiertage und eure Opfer werden ein Gestank in Meiner Nase.” Obwohl Er ihnen angeordnet hatte, jenes Opfer zu bringen. Doch die Weise, wie sie es behandelten, wurde ein Gestank, ein übler Geruch in Seiner Nase; dasselbe Opfer, welches Er anordnete.
Das ist die Weise, wie zu viele sogenannte Christen heute das Wort Gottes nehmen. Wir stehen hier auf und lehren dieses Wort und sagen: “Jesus Christus ist nicht derselbe gestern, heute und auch in Ewigkeit”, und lehren die Dinge, die Er uns verheißen hat, daß Er sie einhalten würde, sagen : “Oh nun, das war für etwas anderes.” Unsere feierlichen Anbetungen werden einfach ein Gestank in Seiner Nase. Er wird sie nicht empfangen, keineswegs. Das ist der Grund, wegen unseren traditionellen Gewohnheiten!
E-15 Du nimmst das Abendmahl nicht aus einer Tradition, weil es die Liebe Gottes in deinem Herzen ist, die Gebote Gottes zu halten. Seht, darum nimmst du es.
So wenn du es nicht in Aufrichtigkeit nimmst, ist es nur eine Tradition: “Ach, unsere Gemeinde setzt das Abendmahl jeden Sonntag an, oder einmal jeden Monat oder zweimal im Jahr”, und du gehst vor und sagst: “Nun, es ist meine Zeit”, und dann nimmst du das Abendmahl. Oh, es ist ein Gestank vor Gott! Seht, das ist nur eine Tradition.
Auch mit allem anderen mußt du aufrichtig sein. Gott möchte die Tiefen deines Herzens. Denkt daran, derselbe Gott, der dich hier auf die Erde gebracht hat, ist derjenige, dem du dienst.
Du tust dieses, weil Er so gesagt hat, weil es Seine Anordnung ist. Dann möchten wir herzukommen mit tiefer Aufrichtigkeit, in dem Wissen, daß wir durch Gottes Gnade errettet worden sind. Und wir lieben Ihn und wir fühlten Seine Gegenwart und wir sehen, es verändert unser Leben. Unser ganzes Wesen ist verändert. Wir sind andere Menschen. Wir leben nicht wie wir einmal lebten, wir denken nicht wie wir einmal dachten.
E-16 Wie in dem Buch hier und die Stelle, über die wir gesprochen haben, daß die zwei Bücher eins sind - das Buch des Lebens. Das erste Buch des Lebens kam herauf, als du geboren wurdest. Das war deine natürliche Geburt. Seht? Aber dann einmal, ganz da drinnen, war ein kleines Lebenskorn, wie ich es heute nachmittag einigen der jungen Schwestern in dem Haus erklärt habe. Seht, ein kleines Lebenskorn liegt da drinnen, über das du dich fragst: “Woher kam es? Was sollen diese seltsamen Dinge?”
Ich sage dieses, indem ich es für mich selbst nehme. Wie ihr vielleicht gesagt hättet: “Der William Branham vor vierzig Jahren und der William Branham heute abend sind nicht derselbe.” Und jemand dort hinten würde sagen: “William Branham, er war ein übler Gauner.” Seht ihr, denn ich wurde geboren von Charles und Ella Branham; in ihrer Natur war ich ein Sünder. Ich kam in die Welt als Lügner, und all die Gewohnheiten der Welt lagen genau in mir. Aber da drinnen war auch eine andere Natur vorhanden, vorherbestimmt, hineingelegt von Gott. In diesem gleichen Leib sind zwei Naturen.
Nun, ich war nur auf eine ausgerichtet. Während sie wuchs, lallte ich als Baby “Da-da”. Als erstes wurde ich zum Lügner und alles andere, was einen Sünder ausmacht, weil ich in jener Weise aufgewachsen bin. Aber da drinnen war die ganze Zeit hindurch ein kleiner Lebensfunke.
E-17 Ich erinnerte mich, als kleiner Junge... (ich hoffe, ich halte euch nicht zu lange.) ... Ich saß draußen am Bachufer, und ich setzte mich nachts dort und schaute umher. Papa und Mama, sie sind jetzt in ihre Ruhe eingegangen. In jenen Tagen waren sie Sünder, da gab es überhaupt nichts Christliches in unseren Häusern. Und, oh, trinken und Partys und Getue - es machte mich krank. Ich nahm meine Laterne und meinen Hund und ging in den Wald, um die ganze Nacht zu bleiben. Zur Winterzeit jagte ich, bis die Party vorbei war, vielleicht bis zur Morgendämmerung. Wenn ich heimkam und sie war noch nicht vorbei, dann legte ich mich oben auf einen Schuppen und schlief und wartete auf den Tagesanbruch.
Dann dachte ich an jene Zeiten, wo ich dann draußen war zur Sommerzeit. Ich las meine Zweige auf und brachte sie als einen kleinen Windschutz an,falls es regnete. Dort lag ich und hielt die Stangen ins Wasser, um zu fischen; mein alter Washbärhunde lag da. Ich sagte: “Schau hier. Weißt du, letzten Winter lagerte ich eine Nacht genau hier. Ich machte ein Feuer genau hier, als ich auf meinen alten Hund wartete, vom Baum zu kommen,,und ich hatte hier ein Feuer. Es war gefroren, fünf Zoll tief in den Boden. Aber, kleine Blume,woher bist du gekommen? Wo bist du denn hergekommen? Wer kam hier heraus und hat dich gesetzt? Und aus welchem Treibhaus brachten sie dich? Oder wie ging das vor sich, woher bist du gekommen?” Seht ihr? Jene kleine Blume, ich sagte: “Ja es war aber doch gefroren, und ich habe gerade hier ein Feuer gemacht. Neben dem Frostelement gab es da ein Hitzeelement, das da in dem großen alten Holzblock war, wo ich ihn verbrannte. Und doch bist du hier, du lebst. Woher bist du gekommen?”
E-18 Was war es? Da war ein anderer William Branham. Seht ihr, ein kleiner Funke von ewigem Leben da drinnen, von den Erbanlagen Gottes, das Wort Gottes, das dort hineingelegt war. Jeder von euch kann sich an ähnliche Erlebnisse erinnern. Seht, es arbeitete.
Dann schaute ich auf zu den Bäumen und dachte: “Blatt, ich sah dich letztes Jahr abfallen, und was bist du jetzt wieder dort zurück? Woher bist du gekommen? Was brachte dich her?” Seht, es war jenes ewige Leben, das in dem Leib arbeitete.
Und dann eines Tages, während ich weiterging, sprach jene Stimme: “Rauche und trinke nie!” und so weiter. Und die jungen Burschen und alles wurde älter. Seht, da bewegte sich etwas!
Doch auf einmal schaute ich auf und sagte: “Ich bin nicht der Sohn von Charles und Ella Branham. Da ist etwas, das ruft.” Wie mein kleiner Adler: “Ich bin kein Huhn. Da gibt es dort oben etwas, irgendwo. O großer Jehova, wer immer du bist, tue auf! Ich möchte nach Hause kommen. Da ist etwas in mir, das ruft.”
Dann wurde ich wiedergeboren. Dieses kleine Leben lag dort, das Wasser des Lebens wurde darauf gegossen und dann begann es zu wachsen. Nun, jenes alte Leben wurde vergeben, versenkt im Meer der Vergessenheit bei Gott und wird nie mehr gegen mich hervorgeholt werden. Jetzt stehen wir gerechtfertigt in der Gegenwart Gottes, als ob wir niemals gesündigt hätten!
E-19 Dann wenn wir zum Tisch des Herrn kommen, müssen wir kommen in Ehrfurcht, Liebe und Respekt und : “Schau, wo wir wären, wenn Er nicht gewesen wäre.” Seht ihr? Schau, wohin es...
Deshalb sagte Paulus, glaube ich: “Daher, wenn ihr zusammenkommt, um zu essen, so harre einer des andern.” Das heißt in anderen Worten: Wartet einfach ein paar Minuten, betet, untersucht euch selbst. Und wenn du von einem Bruder weißt, der hier drin ist und gerade davor ist, etwas Verkehrtes zu tun oder so etwas, dann bete auch für ihn. Seht? “Wartet aufeinander”, wartet einfach einen Augenblick, betet. Wenn da irgendwelche Gefühle zwischen euch sind oder irgend etwas, dann nimm es nicht; geh und bring das zuerst in Ordnung. Stelle das zuerst klar, weil sie gerade so rein hierher kommen möchten wie wir nur sein können, unseren Gedanken voneinander und gegenüber Gott und zueinander, und dann kommen wir in Gemeinschaft um den Tisch des Herrn herum. Seht ihr?
E-20 Und wir tun dies, weil wir Ihm Dank sagen, und auch untereinander, indem wir das Brot untereinander essen und den Wein untereinander trinken, als Sein Blut und Sein Fleisch.
“Werdet ihr nicht essen das Fleisch des Menschensohnes und trinken sein Blut, so habt ihr kein Leben in euch.” . Seht? Ihr seht, das ist, was die Bibel sagt. Wenn ihr es nicht tut, ist da kein Leben. Seht ihr? Du zeigst dann mehr oder weniger, daß du dich schämst, dich selbst als einen Christen auszuweisen, wegen dem Leben, das du lebst. Und dann legt dies tatsächlich die Karten offen auf den Tisch. Wenn du es nicht tust, hast du kein Leben. Wenn du es aber unwürdiglich tust, bist du schuldig am Leibe des Herrn.
E-21 Dasselbe ist es mit der Wassertaufe. Wenn wir sagen: “Wir glauben an Jesus Christus. Er hat uns von den Sünden errettet, und wir wurden im Namen von Jesus Christus getauft”, ja, wir bringen Schande auf Ihn, wir die Dinge tun, die verkehrt sind, und wir werden dafür bezahlen müssen. Und noch etwas anderes, wenn wir das tun: Wir versuchen, eine Sache zu bekennen, und tun das andere.
Das ist das Problem von uns heute. Was ich denke... Ich sage “uns”, ich und die Gemeinde, zu der der Herr Gott mich hat sprechen lassen in diesen letzten Stunden, daß wir glauben, daß wir in der abschließenden Zeit leben. Wir glauben, daß Gott uns eine Botschaft gegeben hat. Sie ist von Gott bestimmt worden, sie ist von Gott bewiesen worden, sie ist von Gott gezeigt worden. Jetzt müssen wir zu Ihm kommen mit Ehrfurcht und mit Liebe und mit Reinheit des Herzens, der Gesinnung und Seele.
E-22 Ihr wißt, die Stunde wird bald anbrechen, wenn gerade unter uns... Der Heilige Geist wird hervorsprechen, wie Er es bei Ananias und Saphira tat. Denkt daran, seht, jene Stunde wird eintreffen. Seht? Und wir sind... Nun, denkt einfach daran, daß Gott unter Seinem Volk wohnen wird. Das ist, was Er jetzt tun möchte.
Wir können die Botschaft annehmen, sagen wir wie: Als ich ein junger Mann war und nach einer Frau suchte und ich eine Frau finden konnte, sagte ich: “Sie ist einfach vollkommen. Sie ist eine Christin. Sie ist eine Dame. Sie ist all dieses, ich habe Vertrauen .” Es macht nichts aus, wieviel Vertrauen ich habe, wieviel ich denke, daß sie nett sei, ich muß sie annehmen und sie muß mich annehmen; seht, unter diesen Versprechen.
Gut, dieselbe Sache ist es, finden wir, mit der Botschaft. Wir sehen, daß sie richtig ist. Wir sehen, wie Gott bestätigt, daß sie richtig ist. Sie ist vollkommen richtig. Jahr um Jahr, Jahr um Jahr, geht sie richtig weiter, geht sie richtig weiter. Alles, was sie sagt, geschieht genau auf die Weise, wie Er gesagt hat. Nun, wir wissen, daß sie richtig ist, doch seht ihr, tut es nicht von einem intellektuellen Standpunkt. Wenn ihr das tut, habt ihr eine Religion aus zweiter Hand. Seht ihr? Wir möchten keine Religion aus zweiter Hand, etwas, was jemand anders erfahren hat und von deren Zeugnis leben.
E-23 Ich glaube, es war Jesus, der zu Pilatus etwas gesagt hat, einen Ausspruch, an den ich gerade vor ein paar Augenblicken dachte, wie Er da sagte: “Wer hat dir das gesagt?” oder in anderen Worten: “Wurde es dir geoffenbart? Woher weißt du diese Dinge?” Ich weiß jetzt nicht genau den Wortlaut, es ist eine lange Zeit her, seit ich es gelesen habe, doch: “Wie hast du gemerkt, was... Wer hat dir dies geoffenbart?” Daß Er der Sohn Gottes sei. “Wer hat es dir geoffenbart? Hat dir das irgendein Mensch gesagt? Oder”, wie Jesus sagte, “ist es Mein Vater im Himmel, der es dir geoffenbart hat?” Seht ihr? “Wie hast du es erfahren, aus zweiter Hand oder ist es eine vollkommene Offenbarung von Gott?”
Ist dieses Abendmahl nur etwas, zu dem ich vorgehe, eine Anordnung, indem ich sage: “Ach, alle anderen nehmen es, ich nehme es auch”? Es ist eine Offenbarung, daß ich ein Teil von Ihm bin und ich bin ein Teil von euch, und ich liebe euch und ich liebe Ihn, und wir nehmen dies gemeinsam als ein Symbol unserer Liebe zu Gott und unserer Liebe und Gemeinschaft untereinander.
E-24 Jetzt möchte ich etwas aus der Schrift lesen. Und dann denke ich... Welche Weise Bruder Pearry auch wünscht heute. Ich möchte, daß ihr es mit mir lest, wenn ihr eure Bibel habt. 1. Korinther, das 11. Kapitel, und angefangen mit dem 23. Vers.
Und dann in unserem Tabernakel haben wir auch immer dieses und Fußwaschung angesetzt, immer, denn sie gehen Hand in Hand zusammen. Ich glaube, der Bruder hat das für Mittwochabend angekündigt wegen der vielen Leute und weil ihr nicht genug Platz habt, die Leute für die Fußwaschung hereinzubekommen. Sie werden dies am Mittwochabend tun.
E-25 Nun, der 23. Vers des 11. Kapitels von 1. Korinther, hört jetzt auf Paulus. Nun denkt daran und behaltet dies im Gedächtnis, Galater 1,8: “Wenn wir oder ein Engel vom Himmel euch ein anderes Evangelium predigen (als dieses Evangelium,das er gepredigt hatte), der sei verflucht.”Seht?
Ich habe es von dem Herrn empfangen, das ich euch gegeben habe. Denn der Herr Jesus in der Nacht, da er verraten ward, nahm das Brot,
dankte und brachꞌs und sprach:Nehmet, esset,das ist mein Leib, der für euch gebrochen wird; solches tut zu meinem Gedächtnis.
Nun,laßt mich gerade hier anhalten und sagen: Aber den Leib des Herrn Jesus Christus in diesem Abendmahl zu nehmen, bedeutet nicht, daß dieses Abendmahl der buchstäbliche Leib von Christus ist. Das ist Katholisch. Ich glaube nicht, daß das richtig ist. Ich glaube, es ist nur eine Anordnung, die Gott uns gemacht hat, seht, es ist nicht der tatsächliche Leib. Nun, es ist wirklich ein kleines Stück ungesäuertes Brot. Es ist nur eine Anordnung.
E-26 Auch glaube ich nicht, daß die Wassertaufe Jesu Christi im Wasser(in dem Namen von Jesus Christus) deine Sünden vergibt. Ich glaube nicht, daß du... Ich glaube, du könntest den ganzen Tag lang getauft werden... Nun, ich weiß, daß da vielleicht Menschen hier sitzen, die von der Apostolischen Kirche kommen, oder ich meine, der Vereinigten Pfingstgemeinde, welche das lehren. Doch seht ihr, ich glaube nicht, daß das Wasser Sünden vergibt. Wenn es so wäre, dann wäre Jesus umsonst gestorben. Seht? Ich glaube, daß es nur eine Anordnung von Gott ist, seht, um zu zeigen, daß dir vergeben worden ist. Aber getauft zu werden zur Erneuerung, nein, ich glaube das nicht. Ich glaube nicht, daß Wasser Sünden vergibt.
Auch glaube ich nicht, daß dieses Brot und dieser Wein irgend etwas mit dir zu tun hat. Wir halten nur eine Anordnung, die Gott für uns bestimmt hat, zu tun. Seht ihr? Das stimmt. Ich glaube, mit der Wassertaufe ist es dasselbe. Ich glaube, es ist für uns unumgänglich, es zu tun, Er hat es alles zu unserem Beispiel getan. Und Er hat dieses zu unserem Beispiel getan. Und Er hat die Füße zu unserem Beispiel gewaschen.
E-27 Nun, “Desselbigengleichen auch,” der 25. Vers:
Desselbigengleichen auch den Kelch nach dem Abendmahl und sprach: Dieser Kelch ist das neue Testament in meinem Blut; solches tut, sooft ihr's trinket, zu meinem Gedächtnis.
Denn sooft... (Denkt jetzt daran!) ... Denn sooft ihr von diesem Brot essett und von diesem Kelch trinket, sollt ihr des Herrn Tod verkündigen, bis daß er kommt. (Wie lange? “Bis Er kommt!” Seht ihr?)
Welcher nun unwürdig von diesem Brot isset oder von dem Kelch des Herrn trinket,der ist schuldig an dem Leib und Blut des Herrn.
Laßt mich gerade einen Augenblick anhalten. Der Grund, warum er dieses sagte, ihr habt in einem anderen Vers hier bemerkt, in einem anderen Kapitel, daß er sagte: “Ich habe gehört, wenn ihr zusammenkommt, dann eßt ihr, werdet sogar betrunken am Tisch des Herrn.” Sie verstanden es falsch, seht ihr. Sie aßen sich einfach satt, seht. Gerade wie die Menschen es heute tun: Sie leben irgendein Leben und nehmen es. Seht? Er sagte: “Ihr habt Häuser, um zu essen, seht. Doch dies ist eine Anordnung, die wir halten sollen, seht.” Nun:
Der Mensch prüfe aber sich selbst, und also esse er von diesem Brote und trinke von dem Kelch.
Denn welcher unwürdig isset und trinket, der isset und trinket sich selber zum Gericht, damit, daß er nicht unterscheidet den Leib des Herrn.
E-28 Was bist du? Du bist ein Christ, du lebst vor jedermann als ein Christ. Und wenn du das nimmst und nicht als ein Christ lebst, dann unterscheidest du nicht den Leib des Herrn. Du legst einen Stolperstein in den Weg von jemand anderem, siehst du, weil sie sehen, wie du das zu tun versuchst, und dann nicht so lebst, wie du leben solltest. Sieh, du unterscheidest nicht den Leib des Herrn. Nun beachtet, was der Fluch davon ist:
Darum sind auch viele Schwache und Kranke unter euch,und ein gut Teil (sind)schlafen. (Die richtige Übersetzung dieses Wortes, Bruder Pearry, ist “tot”. Seht ihr, “viele sind tot.”)
Denn so wir uns selber richteten, so würden wir nicht gerichtet. (Seht, wenn wir uns selbst richten, werden wir nicht gerichtet. Seht ihr?)
Wenn wir aber gerichtet werden, so werden wir von dem Herrn gezüchtigt, auf daß wir nicht samt der Welt verdammt werden. (Seht, keine Verbindung mit der Welt.)
Darum, meine lieben Brüder, wenn ihr zusammenkommt, zu essen, so harre einander des andern.(Seht ihr?)
Hungert aber jemand, der esse daheim, auf daß ihr nicht euch zum Gericht zusammenkommt.—Das andere will ich ordnen, wenn ich komme. (Seht ihr?)
E-29 Nun, in anderen Worten: Komm nicht einfach, um es zu nehmen als ein... Wie ich vorhin darüber geredet habe, was die Juden ihrem Opfer... Es war wunderbar, es war durch Gott gegeben, doch es kam zu einer Stelle, wo sie es nicht in Aufrichtigkeit und Ehrfurcht und in der Ordnung getan haben, dann wurde es einfach ein... Es wurde ein Gestank in Seiner Nase.
Nun, dasselbe ist durch unser Kommen, das Mahl des Herrn zu nehmen, daß wir kommen müssen, indem wir wissen, was wir tun. Genauso wenn du in das Wasser hineingehst, um in dem Namen von Jesus Christus getauft zu werden, dann weißt du, was du tust. Vor der Gemeinde bezeugst du, was Gott in dich gelegt hat: Christus.
Wenn wir dieses nehmen, zeigt es der Gemeinde: “Ich glaube jedes Wort von Gott. Ich glaube, daß Er das Brot des Lebens ist, das von Gott aus dem Himmel gekommen ist. Ich glaube jedes Wort, das Er sagt, daß es die Wahrheit ist. Und ich lebe danach nach meinem besten Wissen, Gott sei mein Richter. Deshalb, vor meinen Brüdern, vor meinen Schwestern... Ich schwöre nicht, ich fluche nicht, ich tue nicht diese Dinge, weil ich den Herrn liebe, und der Herr weiß es und gibt mir Zeugnis. Deshalb nehme ich vor euch den Teil Seines Leibes, zu wissen, daß ich nicht mit der Welt verurteilt bin. Seht, das ist es, dann ist es ein Segen.
E-30 Und denkt daran, ich könnte viele Zeugnisse darüber geben, wo ich das genommen habe und es in einem Krankenzimmer erklärte und habe sie geheilt gesehen.
Denkt daran, als Israel den Vorschatten davon genommen hatte, reisten sie vierzig Jahre in der Wüste und ihre Kleidung verschliß nicht einmal, und sie kamen heraus ohne einen Schwachen unter ihnen, bei zwei Millionen Menschen als ein Vorschatten davon. Nun, was wird dann das Gegenstück bewirken? Wenn der Leib eines Opfertieres das für sie bewirkte, was wird der Leib von Jesus Christus, Immanuel, dann für uns bewirken? Wir wollen einfach ehrfürchtig sein, wenn wir kommen. Laßt uns gerade so ehrfürchtig kommen, wie wir nur können.
E-1 ... stirring message that Brother Pearry gave us just then from the Word of God. How true it is that we limit God and time God; and He's eternal; we can't do that. So tonight we're facing something else now is communion.
E-2 Three years I waited for a church to come in Tucson, but it's here. Yeah, we're--we're here. So we thank the Lord; He just let us wait till we can appreciate it now.
E-3 Now, there's one thing that I'd want to say just before we start the communion, is this; that I believe that we have seen enough in our day that we live in, that we ought to really give every--all of our being to God. We--we should really serve God. I believe that He has blessed us with the direct answer to Scripture. As Brother Pearry gave it a few moments ago, that we--we are--we're at that time. We're not blind; we--we--we see that we're here; we--we've arrived.
E-4 And we also can look around and see that the way that the human mind is leaving the people. That we--we can't stay too much longer, we'd be in a complete insane institution; the whole world would be. See? So we--we're at the end time.
E-5 Now, as Brother Pearry ended up there, seeing these things are true, see if they are true, they're not myth. They're not just something that we imagine; they're something that's been directly given to us by the Word of God and manifested publicly before us, that we know we are here. We--we don't know how long now, because again we come back to a watch (You see?), what time it is. But we are--we know we--we're here, we're at the time. Whether God's time, I'd imagine...
E-6 Someone give a little analysis one time that said that if God put up with him according... If He was to allot time, one--one thousand years is just one day. So if a man lives seventy years old, it'd just be a few minutes of God's time. See? Well, it's said to be forty years, that wouldn't even mean time hardly He could bat His eye. See? See, just that's how quick it is, the whole thing, if--if it be 'lotted time; which, He doesn't have any time. So He just is eternal.
E-7 I believe it was Sarah back there, or little Joseph the other night, said to me and Brother Pearry; he said, "Daddy, where, when did God come on the scene? Where did He come from?" See? "He had to have a beginning, didn't He? Didn't He have to start?"
E-8 I said, "No. Anything that has a beginning has an end, but it's that which had not a beginning has no end." Of course, he's ten years old; that was kind of a--a real mouthful for him. See? And how could he receive that, knowing that something never did begin? Not only to him, it is to me. See? All of us (You see?), it--it's a great big dose for me, how did it ever begin.
E-9 Now, we're fixing to observe something here that's really sacred.
E-10 I was called on a few days ago, to some very fine Christian gentlemen that--that's never had this, and he understood that we taken communion literally. They take it what they call "spiritual communion." And which, as far as communion, I'd say all right, 'cause "communicate" is "to talk to." See? And the brother give me this Scripture, said, "Brother Branham, don't you think now..."
E-11 Now, reason I'm saying this... It's all right, Brother Pearry? [Brother Pearry Green answers, "Sure."--Ed.] See, that reason I'm saying this, so that you would understand what you're doing. You don't... If you walk into anything blindly, you don't know where--what you're doing. You can't have even confidence if you don't know what you're doing. But you must understand what you are doing and why you're doing it.
E-12 He said, "Now, if we take the Word of God, isn't that God that we're taking?"
E-13 I said, "Exactly right, sir; it's true. But we read here that they actually... Paul taught taking the literal Lord's supper. 'This do in remembrance of Me,' said Jesus. 'As oft as you take it in remembrance of Me, you show forth the Lord's death till He comes.'" See? Now, we are to take it.
E-14 We understand that Saint Paul, who ordained it in the church, being the prophet of the New Testament... Peter, James, John, all of them, they wrote (why, Matthew, Mark, Luke) what Jesus did, as scribes. But Paul set the thing in order; he was the--he was the prophet of the New Testament. Just as Moses went into the wilderness to receive the inspiration to write the--the five Books of--of the first five Books of the Bible, why, Paul also went into the desert and received inspiration from God to set the New Testament church in order and type it with the Old.
E-15 Under there they had the sacrificial lamb, that Israel kept that for a memorial. It was actually used one time, coming out of Egypt. But then they kept that as a memorial all down through the age.
E-16 Well, if the law being a shadow of things to come... You see?
Now, I do believe that communion (or what we call "communion," now) is to--is the Lord's supper.
E-17 Now, we only have three physical Divine orders left to us: one of them is--is communion, feet-washing, water baptism. That's the only three things. That's the perfection of the three. See? And that's the only three orders we have. We realize that that was the issue given by Saint Paul in the New Testament.
E-18 Now, if we would say "the communion should just be taking the Word," I don't believe anyone has a right to take the Lord's supper until he's taken the--the Word of the Lord into his heart. See? Because I'm going... I'll read something for you in a few moments and you'll see. Now, notice. Then why then would we--we would...
E-19 On the same basis we could absolutely justify the Salvation Army. They do not believe in any form of water baptism, said, "We don't need it." Now, if we don't need water baptism, why are we baptized? Said, "The water can't save you; the Blood saves you."
E-20 I'll agree with that. That--that's right, the Blood saves you, not the water. But we must take the water as a outward emotion that an inwardly work of grace has been done. See? So must we on communion.
E-21 When we have taken the Lord, our Sacrifice, into us, as a matter of spiritual birth into us, and His Body, we live by Him by the Word; we also should symbolize it because it's a commandment. "Repent, every one of you and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins."
E-22 Paul said, "I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread, and brake it and give it to the disciples, and--and said, Take and eat, this do in remembrance of Me. For as often as you take this bread, you show forth His death till He comes." Now, we find out that, in that, they had people who come and...
E-23 This precious brother, a very dear brother, he came and he said, "I never--I never did take it, Brother Branham; I don't understand what it is." Said, "I've been taught the other side."
E-24 I said, "But remember, we will admit that Saint Paul set it in order in the early Christian church. They went from church--from house to house, broke the bread with singleness of heart, and so forth. Now," I said, "he did put it in the church. Galatians 1:8, he said, 'If a angel from heaven comes and says anything else, let it be accursed,' (You see, see?) the same one that had them to be rebaptized again from the baptism of John, to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ."
E-25 You see, there are three things that we must--three things that we must do as symbols: Lord's supper, feet-washing, water baptism. See? There's...
E-26 You say, "Well, the..." Now, the Salvation Army takes it from the point, the dying thief, when he died, he wasn't baptized yet, Jesus said he would be in heaven. That's exactly the truth. That's exact. But, you see, he--he--he only recognized Jesus right there in the hour he was dying. See? That's the only--that's the only opportunity he had. He--he was a thief; he was away; he was out. And he, as soon as he seen that Light, he recognized It, "Lord, remember me." And Jesus... That was true.
E-27 But to you and I who know that we should be baptized, and refuse to do it, then that'll be between you and God: same thing in communion.
E-28 Now, when we take this communion, it isn't just the thing say, "I'm coming up here and going to eat some bread, and I'll believe I'm a Christian." But, if you notice, the Bible said, "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily shall be guilty of the Blood and the Body of the Lord." See? You've got to live a life that--that--before the people, that--and before God and the people, that shows that you are--that you are sincere.
E-29 Now, just a moment longer. Now, in the Old Testament when the sacrifice was made a--a statute or an ordinance... And so is water baptism an ordinance; so is feet-washing a ordinance; so is the Lord's supper an ordinance. "Blessed is he that does all of His ordinance, keeps all of His statutes, all of His commandments, that he might have a right to enter into the Tree of Life."
E-30 Now, notice in this now, that in that first, when it was first an ordinance of God to bring a sacrifice to the church, and to the temple, and the altar, and offer your gift, and--and for your sins, the sacrifice of a lamb, well, I can just imagine seeing some Jewish brother coming down the road, knowing that he was guilty. And he goes to the altar, or brings his fat ox or a bullock, or whatever he had, or a ram, lamb, something. He brought it down the road just as sincere as he could come; he walked up there, keeping God's ordinance just as sincerely as he could.
E-31 Then he laid his hands upon it, confessing his sins, and the priest placing this (his sins) upon the lamb, and the lamb's throat was cut, and--and then died for him. As he laid there, the little lamb kicking and bleeding, his hands being full of blood, and it flying all over him, (the little lamb bleating, dying), he would realize that he had sinned and something had to die in his place. Therefore, he was offering this lamb's death for his death. See? The lamb died in his place. Then the man done it with sincerity, with deepness of his heart.
E-32 Finally, over and over it went again, over and over it kept going until finally it become a tradition. The commandment of God became a tradition to the people. And then here he come down, "Well, let's see, this is so-and-so today, maybe I'd better go down. Yeah, I better offer a--a bullock." He went down, "Well, Lord, here's my bullock." See, there's no sincerity in it; there's no understanding to it.
E-33 Now, we don't want to take communion like that. That's the same thing as we come to the Lord's table.
E-34 Isaiah 35... No, I beg your pardon, Isaiah 60... Let me take that back. I--I--I believe it's Isaiah 28, is where we find this. I'm pretty sure that's the right chapter. He said, "Precept must be upon precept; and line upon line upon line; here a little, there a little. Hold fast to that what's good. With stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to this people. And this is the Rest."
E-35 He said, "All the tables of the Lord has become full of vomit. Who can I teach doctrine? Who can I make to understand?" See? I think that was the right Scripture, Isaiah 28. "Who can I make understand doctrine? (See?) The tables..."
E-36 Now, we find out today that this great thing that we're fixing to do tonight in commemoration of His death and His Body that we believe that we eat daily, or, just got through eating as our brother preached to us... Taking the Word of God, we believe It with all of our heart. We see It manifested; we see It given to us; we see It vindicated; we feel It in our lives. And we must come to this with a deep conscience of what we're doing, not just because it's an order.
E-37 You go in a church, and many times they give out an old soda cracker or some kind of a--a something, break it up, and light bread, or--or something, and--and break it up; and people who smoke, drink, everything else, because they're a member of the church they come and take the Lord's supper. Well, that's filthiness before God.
E-38 Even the sacrifice, said, "Your holy days and your sacrifice become a stench in My nose." Yet He ordained them to make that sacrifice. But the way they treated it, it become a stench, stink in His nose (His nostrils), the very sacrifice that He ordained...?...
E-39 That's the way we take the Word of God; too many Christians today (so-called) does that. We stand up here and teach this Word, and say, "Jesus Christ isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever," and teach the things that He promised us that He would honor, and say, "Oh, well, that was for something else," our Sodom worships has become a stink in His nose. He will not receive it, by no means. That's the reason, by our traditional habits...
E-40 You don't take the Lord's supper by a tradition. You take it because it's the love of God in your heart, in keeping the commandments of God. See? That's what you take it for.
E-41 So if you don't take it in sincerity, just it's a tradition, "Well, our church observes communion once every Sunday, or once every month, or twice a year," and you go up, say, "Well, it's my time," and--and then take the communion, why, it's a stink to God. See? That's just a tradition.
E-42 Even like anything else, you--you've got to be sincere. God wants the depths of your heart. You remember, the very God that brought you here on earth is the One you're serving. See?
E-43 You're doing this because He said so, because it's His order. Then we want to come up with deepness and sincerity, knowing that by God's grace that we have been saved. And we--we love Him and we feel His Presence, and we--we see It change our lives. Our--our whole being is changed. We--we--we're different people. We don't live like we used to; we don't think like we used to.
E-44 Like in the book here, and the spot there we was talking about the--the two Books being one, the Book of Life. The first Book of life coming up, was when you were born, that was your natural birth. See? But then one time, way back down in there, there was a little grain of Life as I've explained to some of the young sisters at the house this afternoon. See, there's a little grain of Life laying there which you'd wonder, "Where did It come from? What--what these strange things?"
E-45 I was saying this, taking for myself, like you was going to say, "William Branham, well, forty years ago, the William Branham, this and the same one tonight." And somebody back there would say, "We're, very... He was a rank rascal." See? Because I was born of Charles and Ella Branham. In their nature I was a sinner; I came to the world, a liar, and all the habits of the world laid right in me. But down in there too, was another nature present (See?), predestinated, was in there by God. In this same body (See?) two natures in there.
E-46 Well, I only catered to one. As it growed, I gooed as a baby, "Da-da." First thing you know, I become a liar, become everything else that's a sinner, because I raised up that way. But down in there was a little speck of Life all the time.
E-47 I used to remember as a little boy... (I hope I'm not holding you too long. But knowing...) Setting out in the--on--on the creek bank, and I'd set there and look around at nighttime. Pop and mom, they're gone on now to their rest. And them days they were sinners; there was no Christianity in our homes at all. And, oh, my, drinking, and parties, and carrying on; it made me sick. I'd take my--my lantern and my dog and go to the woods to stay all night. In the wintertime I'd hunt till the party was over, maybe daylight in the morning. Come home, wouldn't be over, I've laid on top of a shed and sleep, waiting for daylight to break.
E-48 Then I'd think of how that times, then being out there in the summertime, get my sticks and put them down for a little windbreak, where if it rained; lay there and have the poles sticking in the water, fishing; my old coon dog laying there, I'd say, "Looky here. You know, last winter I camped right here one night; I built a fire right here when I was waiting for my old dog here to tree, and I had a fire here. It was froze five inches deep in the ground. That little flower, where did you come from? See? Where--where--where'd you come from? Who come out here and planted you? And what hothouse did they bring you out of? Or--or what about it, where'd you come from?" See? That little flower, I'd say, "Why, it was froze, and everything, and I built a fire on top here. Besides the freezing element, there was a heat element laying here on a big old log where I burned here. And yet here you are; you're alive. Where'd you come from?"
E-49 What was it? There was another William Branham. See? A little spot of Eternal Life down there, from the--the--the genes of God, the Word of God that was placed in there. Each one of you can think of similar things. See? It was working.
E-50 Then I looked up to the trees and I'd think, "Leaf, I seen you fall off last year, and what are you back there again? Where'd you come from? What brought you here?" See? It was that Eternal Life working in the body.
E-51 Now, then one day as I walked on, that Voice talking, "Don't never smoke, drink, so forth." And the young fellows and all, I got older. See, there was Something moving.
E-52 But yet all at once I looked up, and I said, "I'm not the son of Charles and Ella Branham. There's Something calling." Like my little eagle, "I'm not a chicken. There's Something up yonder, somewhere. O great Jehovah, Whoever You are, open it up. I want to come home. There's Something in me, calling."
E-53 Then I was borned again. That little Life was laying there; the life of water was poured upon It, then It begin to grow. Now, that old life was forgiven, put in the sea of God's forgetfulness, to never be remembered against me no more. See? Now, we stand justified, as though we never had sinned in the Presence of God.
E-54 Then when we come to the Lord's table, we must come in reverence, love and respect, of look where we would have been if it hadn't been for Him. See? Look where it would've...
E-55 Therefore, Paul, I think, in saying this, "Wherefore, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for the other." That is, other words, just wait a few minutes, pray, check yourself out. And if you know a brother is in there, just about to do something that's wrong, or something, and you pray for him too. See? See, "tarry one the other," wait just a minute, pray. If there's any feelings between you or something, don't--don't do it--don't do it; go make that right first. See? Go straighten that up first, because we want to come here just as pure as we can be, and our thoughts of one another and to God, and to each other, and then we come in fellowship around the table of the Lord. See?
E-56 And we do this because that we are giving thanks to Him and among one another, eating the bread between each other, drinking the wine between each other, as His Blood and His Flesh.
E-57 "Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you have no Life in you." See? You see, that's what the Bible said. Except you do it, there's no Life. You see? You are then, more or less, showing you are ashamed to identify yourself as a Christian, because of the life that you live. And then this is the really the showdown. Then if you don't do it, you have no Life. If you do do it unworthily, you're guilty of the body of the Lord.
E-58 Same thing in water baptism. If we say, "We believe on Jesus Christ; He saved us from sin, and we're baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ," why, we bring--we bring disgrace to Him. We do the things that's wrong and we--we'll have to pay for that. And another thing, that when we do that, we are trying to profess one thing and do another.
E-59 That's the trouble of us today. What I think... I'm saying "us," me, and the church that the Lord God has let me speak to in these last hours, that we believe we're in the closing time. We believe that God has give us a Message. It's been ordained of God; It's been proven of God; It's been showed of God. Now, we must come to Him with reverence and with love, and with--with purity of heart and mind and soul.
E-60 You know, the hour will soon arise when--when right among us will be--the Holy Spirit will speak out like It did in Ananias and Sapphira...?... See, that hour is arriving. See? And we are... Now, you just remember that (See?) that God is going to dwell among His people. That's what He wants to do now.
E-61 We could receive the Message as saying... If I was a young man and--and hunting for a wife, and I could find a wife, I said, "She's just perfect. She's a Christian. She's a lady. She's all this; I got confidence." No matter how much confidence, how much I think she's nice, I've got to receive her, she's got to receive me (See?) upon these vows.
E-62 Well, it's the same thing we find is the Message. We see It's right. We see God vindicates It's right. It's perfectly right. Year after year, year after year, It continues right, continues right. Everything It says, happens just exactly the way He said. Now, we know It's right, but (See?) don't do it from a intellectual standpoint. If you do, you got a second-handed religion. See? We don't want a second-handed religion, something that somebody else has experienced it and we are living off of--of their testimony.
E-63 As I believe it was Jesus said to Pilate, something, a word I was thinking, and He said there just a few moments ago, "Who told you that?" Or, "Was it revealed to you? How did you know these things?" in other words. I don't know just what the word is now; it's been a long time since I read it, but, "How did you--how did you notice what... How... Who revealed this to you?" It was about Him being the Son of God. "Who revealed it to you? Did some man tell you that? Or," as Jesus said, "is it My Father in heaven which has revealed it to you? (See, see?) How did you learn it, a secondhand or is it a perfect revelation from God?"
E-64 Is this communion just something I go up for it, an order, say "Well, the rest of them take this, I will too"? It's a revelation that I'm part of Him and I'm part of you, and I love you and I love Him, and we're taking this together as a symbol of our love to God, and our love and fellowship to one another.
E-65 Now, I want to read some from the Scripture. And then I guess... Where do you... Whichever way Brother Pearry desires today. I wished you'd read it with me, if you got your Bible. I Corinthians the--the 11th chapter, and begin with the 23rd verse.
E-66 And then also at our Tabernacle we've always observed this and feet-washing, always, because they go hand in hand together. I believe the brother announced that "Wednesday night" because of the crowds and you don't have enough to--room to get the people in for feet-washing, they're going to observe--observe this Wednesday night.
E-67 Now, 23rd verse of the 11th chapter of I Corinthians, listen at Paul now. Now, remember, keep this in mind, Galatians 1:8, "If we or an angel from heaven preaches any other Gospel unto you (than this Gospel that he had preached), let him be accursed." See?
For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it,... said, Take and eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
E-68 Now, let me stop right here. You see? But taking the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in this communion does not mean that that communion is the literal body of Christ. That's Catholic. I do not believe that that's right. I believe it's only an ordinance that God made with us (See?); it isn't the actual body. It's... Now, it's really a little piece of kosher bread. It's just an ordinance.
E-69 Neither do I believe that the baptism of Jesus Christ, in the Name of Jesus Christ, in water does forgive your sins. I do not believe that you... I believe you could be baptized all day long... Now, I know that there's perhaps people setting here who come from the Apostolic church, I mean, or the United Pentecostal church, which they teach that. But, you see, I--I do not believe that the water forgives sins. Or if it was, then Jesus died in vain. See? I believe that it's only an ordinance of God (See?) to show that you have been forgiven. But to be baptized for regeneration, no, I--I--I don't believe that. I don't believe that water forgives sins.
E-70 Neither do I believe that this bread and wine has anything to do with you, only keeping an ordinance that God has ordained for us to do. See? That's right. I believe water baptism is the same thing. I believe it's compelling to us to do it, that He done it all for our example. And He done this for our example. And He washed feet for our example.
E-71 Now...
After the same manner also,... (25th verse)... After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as oft... (Remember now.)... For as oft as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do shew forth the Lord's death till he come. (How long? "Until He comes." See, see?)
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
E-72 Let me stop just a minute. The reason he said this, you noticed in another verse here, another chapter, that he said, "I understand when you--when you come together you're eating, even getting drunk at the Lord's table." They misunderstood it. You see? They just gluttoned in. See? Just like people are doing today, just live any kind of life and take it. See? And he said, "You got homes to eat in. (See?) But, this is an ordinance that we should keep." See? Now:
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (See?)
E-73 What are you? You're a Christian; you live before everybody as a Christian. And if you take that and don't live as a Christian, you're not discerning the Lord's body. You're putting a stumbling block in somebody else's way (See?), as they see you trying to do that and then not living what you're supposed to live. See, you're not discerning the Lord's body. Now, watch what it--what the curse of it is:
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many are sleep. (The right translation of that word, Brother Pearry, is "dead." See? "many are dead.")
For if we--for if we would judge ourself, we should not be judged. (See, if we judge ourself we won't be judged. See?)
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (See, not any attach to the world.)
Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for the other. (See?)
And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that you come not together unto condemnation. And the rest I will set in order when I come. (See?)
E-74 Now, in other words, don't just come to take it as a... As I said awhile ago, about what the Jews, their sacrifice, they... It was wonderful; it was given by God. But it got to a place where they didn't do it in sincerity and reverence and in order, then it become just a--it become a--a stench in His nose.
E-75 Now, the same thing is by our coming to take the Lord's supper, that we must come knowing what we are doing. Just like when you go into the water to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, you know what you're doing; you're putting on to the church what God has put in you, Christ.
E-76 When we take this, it shows to the church that "I believe every Word of God. I believe that He is the Bread of Life that come from God out of heaven. I believe every Word that He says is the Truth. And I live by It to the best of my knowledge, God being my Judge. Therefore, before my brothers, before my sisters... I--I do not swear; I do not curse; I do not do these things, because I love the Lord, and the Lord knows it and bears me record. Therefore, before you, I take the parcel of His body, to know that I am not condemned with the world." See? There you are, then it's a blessing.
E-77 And, remember, I could give many testimonies on this, where I've took that and explained it in a sickroom and seen them healed.
E-78 Remember, when Israel taken the type of this, they had journeyed forty years in the wilderness and their clothes never even wore out, and they come out without one feeble one--one among them, with two million people as a type of this. Well, what will the antetype do? If the body of a sacrificial animal did that for them, what will the Body of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, do for us? Let's just be reverent when we come. Let us be just as reverent as we know how to come.
E-2 Three years I waited for a church to come in Tucson, but it's here. Yeah, we're--we're here. So we thank the Lord; He just let us wait till we can appreciate it now.
E-3 Now, there's one thing that I'd want to say just before we start the communion, is this; that I believe that we have seen enough in our day that we live in, that we ought to really give every--all of our being to God. We--we should really serve God. I believe that He has blessed us with the direct answer to Scripture. As Brother Pearry gave it a few moments ago, that we--we are--we're at that time. We're not blind; we--we--we see that we're here; we--we've arrived.
E-4 And we also can look around and see that the way that the human mind is leaving the people. That we--we can't stay too much longer, we'd be in a complete insane institution; the whole world would be. See? So we--we're at the end time.
E-5 Now, as Brother Pearry ended up there, seeing these things are true, see if they are true, they're not myth. They're not just something that we imagine; they're something that's been directly given to us by the Word of God and manifested publicly before us, that we know we are here. We--we don't know how long now, because again we come back to a watch (You see?), what time it is. But we are--we know we--we're here, we're at the time. Whether God's time, I'd imagine...
E-6 Someone give a little analysis one time that said that if God put up with him according... If He was to allot time, one--one thousand years is just one day. So if a man lives seventy years old, it'd just be a few minutes of God's time. See? Well, it's said to be forty years, that wouldn't even mean time hardly He could bat His eye. See? See, just that's how quick it is, the whole thing, if--if it be 'lotted time; which, He doesn't have any time. So He just is eternal.
E-7 I believe it was Sarah back there, or little Joseph the other night, said to me and Brother Pearry; he said, "Daddy, where, when did God come on the scene? Where did He come from?" See? "He had to have a beginning, didn't He? Didn't He have to start?"
E-8 I said, "No. Anything that has a beginning has an end, but it's that which had not a beginning has no end." Of course, he's ten years old; that was kind of a--a real mouthful for him. See? And how could he receive that, knowing that something never did begin? Not only to him, it is to me. See? All of us (You see?), it--it's a great big dose for me, how did it ever begin.
E-9 Now, we're fixing to observe something here that's really sacred.
E-10 I was called on a few days ago, to some very fine Christian gentlemen that--that's never had this, and he understood that we taken communion literally. They take it what they call "spiritual communion." And which, as far as communion, I'd say all right, 'cause "communicate" is "to talk to." See? And the brother give me this Scripture, said, "Brother Branham, don't you think now..."
E-11 Now, reason I'm saying this... It's all right, Brother Pearry? [Brother Pearry Green answers, "Sure."--Ed.] See, that reason I'm saying this, so that you would understand what you're doing. You don't... If you walk into anything blindly, you don't know where--what you're doing. You can't have even confidence if you don't know what you're doing. But you must understand what you are doing and why you're doing it.
E-12 He said, "Now, if we take the Word of God, isn't that God that we're taking?"
E-13 I said, "Exactly right, sir; it's true. But we read here that they actually... Paul taught taking the literal Lord's supper. 'This do in remembrance of Me,' said Jesus. 'As oft as you take it in remembrance of Me, you show forth the Lord's death till He comes.'" See? Now, we are to take it.
E-14 We understand that Saint Paul, who ordained it in the church, being the prophet of the New Testament... Peter, James, John, all of them, they wrote (why, Matthew, Mark, Luke) what Jesus did, as scribes. But Paul set the thing in order; he was the--he was the prophet of the New Testament. Just as Moses went into the wilderness to receive the inspiration to write the--the five Books of--of the first five Books of the Bible, why, Paul also went into the desert and received inspiration from God to set the New Testament church in order and type it with the Old.
E-15 Under there they had the sacrificial lamb, that Israel kept that for a memorial. It was actually used one time, coming out of Egypt. But then they kept that as a memorial all down through the age.
E-16 Well, if the law being a shadow of things to come... You see?
Now, I do believe that communion (or what we call "communion," now) is to--is the Lord's supper.
E-17 Now, we only have three physical Divine orders left to us: one of them is--is communion, feet-washing, water baptism. That's the only three things. That's the perfection of the three. See? And that's the only three orders we have. We realize that that was the issue given by Saint Paul in the New Testament.
E-18 Now, if we would say "the communion should just be taking the Word," I don't believe anyone has a right to take the Lord's supper until he's taken the--the Word of the Lord into his heart. See? Because I'm going... I'll read something for you in a few moments and you'll see. Now, notice. Then why then would we--we would...
E-19 On the same basis we could absolutely justify the Salvation Army. They do not believe in any form of water baptism, said, "We don't need it." Now, if we don't need water baptism, why are we baptized? Said, "The water can't save you; the Blood saves you."
E-20 I'll agree with that. That--that's right, the Blood saves you, not the water. But we must take the water as a outward emotion that an inwardly work of grace has been done. See? So must we on communion.
E-21 When we have taken the Lord, our Sacrifice, into us, as a matter of spiritual birth into us, and His Body, we live by Him by the Word; we also should symbolize it because it's a commandment. "Repent, every one of you and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins."
E-22 Paul said, "I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread, and brake it and give it to the disciples, and--and said, Take and eat, this do in remembrance of Me. For as often as you take this bread, you show forth His death till He comes." Now, we find out that, in that, they had people who come and...
E-23 This precious brother, a very dear brother, he came and he said, "I never--I never did take it, Brother Branham; I don't understand what it is." Said, "I've been taught the other side."
E-24 I said, "But remember, we will admit that Saint Paul set it in order in the early Christian church. They went from church--from house to house, broke the bread with singleness of heart, and so forth. Now," I said, "he did put it in the church. Galatians 1:8, he said, 'If a angel from heaven comes and says anything else, let it be accursed,' (You see, see?) the same one that had them to be rebaptized again from the baptism of John, to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ."
E-25 You see, there are three things that we must--three things that we must do as symbols: Lord's supper, feet-washing, water baptism. See? There's...
E-26 You say, "Well, the..." Now, the Salvation Army takes it from the point, the dying thief, when he died, he wasn't baptized yet, Jesus said he would be in heaven. That's exactly the truth. That's exact. But, you see, he--he--he only recognized Jesus right there in the hour he was dying. See? That's the only--that's the only opportunity he had. He--he was a thief; he was away; he was out. And he, as soon as he seen that Light, he recognized It, "Lord, remember me." And Jesus... That was true.
E-27 But to you and I who know that we should be baptized, and refuse to do it, then that'll be between you and God: same thing in communion.
E-28 Now, when we take this communion, it isn't just the thing say, "I'm coming up here and going to eat some bread, and I'll believe I'm a Christian." But, if you notice, the Bible said, "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily shall be guilty of the Blood and the Body of the Lord." See? You've got to live a life that--that--before the people, that--and before God and the people, that shows that you are--that you are sincere.
E-29 Now, just a moment longer. Now, in the Old Testament when the sacrifice was made a--a statute or an ordinance... And so is water baptism an ordinance; so is feet-washing a ordinance; so is the Lord's supper an ordinance. "Blessed is he that does all of His ordinance, keeps all of His statutes, all of His commandments, that he might have a right to enter into the Tree of Life."
E-30 Now, notice in this now, that in that first, when it was first an ordinance of God to bring a sacrifice to the church, and to the temple, and the altar, and offer your gift, and--and for your sins, the sacrifice of a lamb, well, I can just imagine seeing some Jewish brother coming down the road, knowing that he was guilty. And he goes to the altar, or brings his fat ox or a bullock, or whatever he had, or a ram, lamb, something. He brought it down the road just as sincere as he could come; he walked up there, keeping God's ordinance just as sincerely as he could.
E-31 Then he laid his hands upon it, confessing his sins, and the priest placing this (his sins) upon the lamb, and the lamb's throat was cut, and--and then died for him. As he laid there, the little lamb kicking and bleeding, his hands being full of blood, and it flying all over him, (the little lamb bleating, dying), he would realize that he had sinned and something had to die in his place. Therefore, he was offering this lamb's death for his death. See? The lamb died in his place. Then the man done it with sincerity, with deepness of his heart.
E-32 Finally, over and over it went again, over and over it kept going until finally it become a tradition. The commandment of God became a tradition to the people. And then here he come down, "Well, let's see, this is so-and-so today, maybe I'd better go down. Yeah, I better offer a--a bullock." He went down, "Well, Lord, here's my bullock." See, there's no sincerity in it; there's no understanding to it.
E-33 Now, we don't want to take communion like that. That's the same thing as we come to the Lord's table.
E-34 Isaiah 35... No, I beg your pardon, Isaiah 60... Let me take that back. I--I--I believe it's Isaiah 28, is where we find this. I'm pretty sure that's the right chapter. He said, "Precept must be upon precept; and line upon line upon line; here a little, there a little. Hold fast to that what's good. With stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to this people. And this is the Rest."
E-35 He said, "All the tables of the Lord has become full of vomit. Who can I teach doctrine? Who can I make to understand?" See? I think that was the right Scripture, Isaiah 28. "Who can I make understand doctrine? (See?) The tables..."
E-36 Now, we find out today that this great thing that we're fixing to do tonight in commemoration of His death and His Body that we believe that we eat daily, or, just got through eating as our brother preached to us... Taking the Word of God, we believe It with all of our heart. We see It manifested; we see It given to us; we see It vindicated; we feel It in our lives. And we must come to this with a deep conscience of what we're doing, not just because it's an order.
E-37 You go in a church, and many times they give out an old soda cracker or some kind of a--a something, break it up, and light bread, or--or something, and--and break it up; and people who smoke, drink, everything else, because they're a member of the church they come and take the Lord's supper. Well, that's filthiness before God.
E-38 Even the sacrifice, said, "Your holy days and your sacrifice become a stench in My nose." Yet He ordained them to make that sacrifice. But the way they treated it, it become a stench, stink in His nose (His nostrils), the very sacrifice that He ordained...?...
E-39 That's the way we take the Word of God; too many Christians today (so-called) does that. We stand up here and teach this Word, and say, "Jesus Christ isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever," and teach the things that He promised us that He would honor, and say, "Oh, well, that was for something else," our Sodom worships has become a stink in His nose. He will not receive it, by no means. That's the reason, by our traditional habits...
E-40 You don't take the Lord's supper by a tradition. You take it because it's the love of God in your heart, in keeping the commandments of God. See? That's what you take it for.
E-41 So if you don't take it in sincerity, just it's a tradition, "Well, our church observes communion once every Sunday, or once every month, or twice a year," and you go up, say, "Well, it's my time," and--and then take the communion, why, it's a stink to God. See? That's just a tradition.
E-42 Even like anything else, you--you've got to be sincere. God wants the depths of your heart. You remember, the very God that brought you here on earth is the One you're serving. See?
E-43 You're doing this because He said so, because it's His order. Then we want to come up with deepness and sincerity, knowing that by God's grace that we have been saved. And we--we love Him and we feel His Presence, and we--we see It change our lives. Our--our whole being is changed. We--we--we're different people. We don't live like we used to; we don't think like we used to.
E-44 Like in the book here, and the spot there we was talking about the--the two Books being one, the Book of Life. The first Book of life coming up, was when you were born, that was your natural birth. See? But then one time, way back down in there, there was a little grain of Life as I've explained to some of the young sisters at the house this afternoon. See, there's a little grain of Life laying there which you'd wonder, "Where did It come from? What--what these strange things?"
E-45 I was saying this, taking for myself, like you was going to say, "William Branham, well, forty years ago, the William Branham, this and the same one tonight." And somebody back there would say, "We're, very... He was a rank rascal." See? Because I was born of Charles and Ella Branham. In their nature I was a sinner; I came to the world, a liar, and all the habits of the world laid right in me. But down in there too, was another nature present (See?), predestinated, was in there by God. In this same body (See?) two natures in there.
E-46 Well, I only catered to one. As it growed, I gooed as a baby, "Da-da." First thing you know, I become a liar, become everything else that's a sinner, because I raised up that way. But down in there was a little speck of Life all the time.
E-47 I used to remember as a little boy... (I hope I'm not holding you too long. But knowing...) Setting out in the--on--on the creek bank, and I'd set there and look around at nighttime. Pop and mom, they're gone on now to their rest. And them days they were sinners; there was no Christianity in our homes at all. And, oh, my, drinking, and parties, and carrying on; it made me sick. I'd take my--my lantern and my dog and go to the woods to stay all night. In the wintertime I'd hunt till the party was over, maybe daylight in the morning. Come home, wouldn't be over, I've laid on top of a shed and sleep, waiting for daylight to break.
E-48 Then I'd think of how that times, then being out there in the summertime, get my sticks and put them down for a little windbreak, where if it rained; lay there and have the poles sticking in the water, fishing; my old coon dog laying there, I'd say, "Looky here. You know, last winter I camped right here one night; I built a fire right here when I was waiting for my old dog here to tree, and I had a fire here. It was froze five inches deep in the ground. That little flower, where did you come from? See? Where--where--where'd you come from? Who come out here and planted you? And what hothouse did they bring you out of? Or--or what about it, where'd you come from?" See? That little flower, I'd say, "Why, it was froze, and everything, and I built a fire on top here. Besides the freezing element, there was a heat element laying here on a big old log where I burned here. And yet here you are; you're alive. Where'd you come from?"
E-49 What was it? There was another William Branham. See? A little spot of Eternal Life down there, from the--the--the genes of God, the Word of God that was placed in there. Each one of you can think of similar things. See? It was working.
E-50 Then I looked up to the trees and I'd think, "Leaf, I seen you fall off last year, and what are you back there again? Where'd you come from? What brought you here?" See? It was that Eternal Life working in the body.
E-51 Now, then one day as I walked on, that Voice talking, "Don't never smoke, drink, so forth." And the young fellows and all, I got older. See, there was Something moving.
E-52 But yet all at once I looked up, and I said, "I'm not the son of Charles and Ella Branham. There's Something calling." Like my little eagle, "I'm not a chicken. There's Something up yonder, somewhere. O great Jehovah, Whoever You are, open it up. I want to come home. There's Something in me, calling."
E-53 Then I was borned again. That little Life was laying there; the life of water was poured upon It, then It begin to grow. Now, that old life was forgiven, put in the sea of God's forgetfulness, to never be remembered against me no more. See? Now, we stand justified, as though we never had sinned in the Presence of God.
E-54 Then when we come to the Lord's table, we must come in reverence, love and respect, of look where we would have been if it hadn't been for Him. See? Look where it would've...
E-55 Therefore, Paul, I think, in saying this, "Wherefore, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for the other." That is, other words, just wait a few minutes, pray, check yourself out. And if you know a brother is in there, just about to do something that's wrong, or something, and you pray for him too. See? See, "tarry one the other," wait just a minute, pray. If there's any feelings between you or something, don't--don't do it--don't do it; go make that right first. See? Go straighten that up first, because we want to come here just as pure as we can be, and our thoughts of one another and to God, and to each other, and then we come in fellowship around the table of the Lord. See?
E-56 And we do this because that we are giving thanks to Him and among one another, eating the bread between each other, drinking the wine between each other, as His Blood and His Flesh.
E-57 "Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you have no Life in you." See? You see, that's what the Bible said. Except you do it, there's no Life. You see? You are then, more or less, showing you are ashamed to identify yourself as a Christian, because of the life that you live. And then this is the really the showdown. Then if you don't do it, you have no Life. If you do do it unworthily, you're guilty of the body of the Lord.
E-58 Same thing in water baptism. If we say, "We believe on Jesus Christ; He saved us from sin, and we're baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ," why, we bring--we bring disgrace to Him. We do the things that's wrong and we--we'll have to pay for that. And another thing, that when we do that, we are trying to profess one thing and do another.
E-59 That's the trouble of us today. What I think... I'm saying "us," me, and the church that the Lord God has let me speak to in these last hours, that we believe we're in the closing time. We believe that God has give us a Message. It's been ordained of God; It's been proven of God; It's been showed of God. Now, we must come to Him with reverence and with love, and with--with purity of heart and mind and soul.
E-60 You know, the hour will soon arise when--when right among us will be--the Holy Spirit will speak out like It did in Ananias and Sapphira...?... See, that hour is arriving. See? And we are... Now, you just remember that (See?) that God is going to dwell among His people. That's what He wants to do now.
E-61 We could receive the Message as saying... If I was a young man and--and hunting for a wife, and I could find a wife, I said, "She's just perfect. She's a Christian. She's a lady. She's all this; I got confidence." No matter how much confidence, how much I think she's nice, I've got to receive her, she's got to receive me (See?) upon these vows.
E-62 Well, it's the same thing we find is the Message. We see It's right. We see God vindicates It's right. It's perfectly right. Year after year, year after year, It continues right, continues right. Everything It says, happens just exactly the way He said. Now, we know It's right, but (See?) don't do it from a intellectual standpoint. If you do, you got a second-handed religion. See? We don't want a second-handed religion, something that somebody else has experienced it and we are living off of--of their testimony.
E-63 As I believe it was Jesus said to Pilate, something, a word I was thinking, and He said there just a few moments ago, "Who told you that?" Or, "Was it revealed to you? How did you know these things?" in other words. I don't know just what the word is now; it's been a long time since I read it, but, "How did you--how did you notice what... How... Who revealed this to you?" It was about Him being the Son of God. "Who revealed it to you? Did some man tell you that? Or," as Jesus said, "is it My Father in heaven which has revealed it to you? (See, see?) How did you learn it, a secondhand or is it a perfect revelation from God?"
E-64 Is this communion just something I go up for it, an order, say "Well, the rest of them take this, I will too"? It's a revelation that I'm part of Him and I'm part of you, and I love you and I love Him, and we're taking this together as a symbol of our love to God, and our love and fellowship to one another.
E-65 Now, I want to read some from the Scripture. And then I guess... Where do you... Whichever way Brother Pearry desires today. I wished you'd read it with me, if you got your Bible. I Corinthians the--the 11th chapter, and begin with the 23rd verse.
E-66 And then also at our Tabernacle we've always observed this and feet-washing, always, because they go hand in hand together. I believe the brother announced that "Wednesday night" because of the crowds and you don't have enough to--room to get the people in for feet-washing, they're going to observe--observe this Wednesday night.
E-67 Now, 23rd verse of the 11th chapter of I Corinthians, listen at Paul now. Now, remember, keep this in mind, Galatians 1:8, "If we or an angel from heaven preaches any other Gospel unto you (than this Gospel that he had preached), let him be accursed." See?
For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it,... said, Take and eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
E-68 Now, let me stop right here. You see? But taking the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in this communion does not mean that that communion is the literal body of Christ. That's Catholic. I do not believe that that's right. I believe it's only an ordinance that God made with us (See?); it isn't the actual body. It's... Now, it's really a little piece of kosher bread. It's just an ordinance.
E-69 Neither do I believe that the baptism of Jesus Christ, in the Name of Jesus Christ, in water does forgive your sins. I do not believe that you... I believe you could be baptized all day long... Now, I know that there's perhaps people setting here who come from the Apostolic church, I mean, or the United Pentecostal church, which they teach that. But, you see, I--I do not believe that the water forgives sins. Or if it was, then Jesus died in vain. See? I believe that it's only an ordinance of God (See?) to show that you have been forgiven. But to be baptized for regeneration, no, I--I--I don't believe that. I don't believe that water forgives sins.
E-70 Neither do I believe that this bread and wine has anything to do with you, only keeping an ordinance that God has ordained for us to do. See? That's right. I believe water baptism is the same thing. I believe it's compelling to us to do it, that He done it all for our example. And He done this for our example. And He washed feet for our example.
E-71 Now...
After the same manner also,... (25th verse)... After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as oft... (Remember now.)... For as oft as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do shew forth the Lord's death till he come. (How long? "Until He comes." See, see?)
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
E-72 Let me stop just a minute. The reason he said this, you noticed in another verse here, another chapter, that he said, "I understand when you--when you come together you're eating, even getting drunk at the Lord's table." They misunderstood it. You see? They just gluttoned in. See? Just like people are doing today, just live any kind of life and take it. See? And he said, "You got homes to eat in. (See?) But, this is an ordinance that we should keep." See? Now:
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (See?)
E-73 What are you? You're a Christian; you live before everybody as a Christian. And if you take that and don't live as a Christian, you're not discerning the Lord's body. You're putting a stumbling block in somebody else's way (See?), as they see you trying to do that and then not living what you're supposed to live. See, you're not discerning the Lord's body. Now, watch what it--what the curse of it is:
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many are sleep. (The right translation of that word, Brother Pearry, is "dead." See? "many are dead.")
For if we--for if we would judge ourself, we should not be judged. (See, if we judge ourself we won't be judged. See?)
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (See, not any attach to the world.)
Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for the other. (See?)
And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that you come not together unto condemnation. And the rest I will set in order when I come. (See?)
E-74 Now, in other words, don't just come to take it as a... As I said awhile ago, about what the Jews, their sacrifice, they... It was wonderful; it was given by God. But it got to a place where they didn't do it in sincerity and reverence and in order, then it become just a--it become a--a stench in His nose.
E-75 Now, the same thing is by our coming to take the Lord's supper, that we must come knowing what we are doing. Just like when you go into the water to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, you know what you're doing; you're putting on to the church what God has put in you, Christ.
E-76 When we take this, it shows to the church that "I believe every Word of God. I believe that He is the Bread of Life that come from God out of heaven. I believe every Word that He says is the Truth. And I live by It to the best of my knowledge, God being my Judge. Therefore, before my brothers, before my sisters... I--I do not swear; I do not curse; I do not do these things, because I love the Lord, and the Lord knows it and bears me record. Therefore, before you, I take the parcel of His body, to know that I am not condemned with the world." See? There you are, then it's a blessing.
E-77 And, remember, I could give many testimonies on this, where I've took that and explained it in a sickroom and seen them healed.
E-78 Remember, when Israel taken the type of this, they had journeyed forty years in the wilderness and their clothes never even wore out, and they come out without one feeble one--one among them, with two million people as a type of this. Well, what will the antetype do? If the body of a sacrificial animal did that for them, what will the Body of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, do for us? Let's just be reverent when we come. Let us be just as reverent as we know how to come.
