<TITLE>12. Par 36-39</TITLE>L-36 In the days of this prophecy, or prophet, rather... God has never been without a voice or a mouthpiece somewhere on the earth. And Elijah was His mouthpiece. And as far as I know, during the time of the backslidings of Israel... They always got cold and formal and backslid. Because it goes to show friends, that here we have no continuing city, but we're seeking one to come.
Not long ago I stood and looked. I used to be a pugilist as you know, fight. I won fifteen professional fights (not bragging, I'm ashamed of it.), but fifteen professional fights without losing a one, nine of them knockouts. And I had my picture there, when I was in my very best, muscles over me and black shaggy hair hanging around my neck. And I looked and I thought... My little girl come in and seen my picture setting in the room; she said, "Daddy, you don't look like you used to." Sure not.
For in here we have no continuing city; this mortal body is fading away. Where I used to be strong, old age, fat begins to slip in. I once remember of a great tree that I used to stand by and its great stately branches I said it'll live forever. And today it's a snag.

L-37 I stood not long ago in Rome, where once ruled the world. And there, that great city has now become nothing, but you'd have to dig thirty feet under the earth to find the ruins of it, now one of the weakest, degraded nations in the world. They're not even self supporting.
I stood in Athens, Greece, where another great empire once stood, and there's not even hardly a symbol of that empire left. And I stood in Cairo, Egypt, where Egypt once knowed and ruled the world and chair of the Pharaohs, and there's nothing left but the Sphinx, and a few of the pyramids is standing as relics of a once great worldwide empire.
Brother and sister, our great America and our great economy that we have is rottening under the foundations, and someday, I see it in the making right now, she'll lay in the ruins. And you young men today, you young women, with the beauty of youth, the blush of the young cheek, the folly of the young heart, but one day will mold yonder in a graveyard somewhere. Why? Because all mortal has to give a way to immortality. Every nation has to fall, because there's coming a nation that'll not be ruled by men, but by Christ. These things fall.

L-38 Israel fell. And it falls... And just before it falls, this great ten--great prophet raised which was a fanatic among the people. But he lived in an atmosphere that he was constantly in the Presence of God. And he served God away to himself, almost like an isolationist. And I can imagine the people talking about him. I can imagine them saying, "You believe that story about the birds feeding him up there? You believe all these different things?" In the days of Noah, "You believe the rain story, how it's going to come water down, out of that fanatic?" But he lived under the atmospheres of God and not of men.
And then when it come time, there was a... The Syrians came over and took a little girl over into their nation. And then the great chief captain of the army, the Bible said he was a mighty man, but he was a leper.

L-39 Out in these--this world today, right here in Owensboro, Kentucky, there's men of great influence in your city here. I do not know them, but a city of this size could not yield hardly enough to be a modern Sodom without having men of influence. But it depends on where they let this influence dwell at, what kind of a life it produces. If it's under politics... Which I can't say nothing about them; we need politics and so forth. But whatever he is, if he lets hisself or this influence lay in the right atmosphere... He ought to lay in the Presence of God.


<A HREF="P13">Next Page</A>