<TITLE>02. Par 9-16</TITLE>L-9   All these things is God's foreknowledge. When He spoke of them what would be, He foreknew it. Now, God, in order to be God, at the beginning He had to know the end or He wasn't the infinite God. God's not willing that any should perish. Certainly not! He doesn't want anyone to perish. But at the beginning of the beginning of the days, the--the world, God knew just exactly who would be saved and who would not be saved. He didn't want the people to be lost, "It's not His will that any should be lost, but it's His will to save everybody," but He knew from the beginning who would and who would not. That's the reason He could foresay, "This thing will happen. That thing will happen," or, "This will be that. This person will be that way." See?

L-10   He could foreknow it because He's infinite. If you know what it means, that's just, "there's nothing that He don't know." See, He knows. Well, there's nothing from before time, and after there's no more time, see, He still knows everything. Everything is in His mind. And then as Paul said in Romans, the 8th and 9th chapter, "Then why does He still find fault?" So we see that, but God...

L-11 Like preaching the Gospel. Someone said, "Brother Branham, do you believe That?"
I said, "Look."
Said, "You must be Calvinist."
I said, "I am Calvinist as long as Calvinist is in the Bible."

L-12 Now, there's a limb on the Tree, that's Calvinism, but there's more limbs on the Tree, too. A tree has more than one limb. He just wanted to run it on out there into Eternal Security, and after a while you go on off into Universalism and you drop off out there somewhere, there's no end to it. But when you get through with Calvinism, come back up and start on Arminianism. See, there's another limb on the Tree, and another limb on the Tree, just keep on. The whole thing together makes the Tree. So I believe in--in the... in Calvinism as long as it stays in the Scripture.

L-13   And I believe that God knew before the foundation of the world, chose His Church in Christ, and slayed Christ before the foundation of the world. Scripture said so, "He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world." See? And Jesus said that He knew us before the foundation of the world, Paul said that, "He--He knew us and predestinated us unto the adoption of the children by Jesus Christ before the world was ever formed. That's God. That's our Father. See?

L-14 So don't worry, the wheels are turning just right, everything's coming just in time. The only thing, is, get in the turn. And that's the--that's the good part about it, then you know how to work when you're getting in the turn.

L-15 Now, notice now, "The gifts and callings without repentance," that's the only way that I could--could Scripturally place my calling in the Lord. And trusting that I'm with friends tonight who will surely understand this and not think it's personal, but that you might have an understanding and know just what's the--what the Lord has said that He would do, and find something moving and then follow in it.

L-16   Now, in the beginning, the first thing that I can ever remember is a vision. The first thing that I can recall to my mind is a vision that the Lord gave me. And that was many, many years ago, I was a little bitty boy. And I had a rock in my hand.


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