<TITLE>08. Par 26-28</TITLE>L-26 The storms had passed over, and the moon had come out after the sun had set. And the moon was shining and the--this white clouds, what I call buttermilk skies, just like big lumps of clouds go over. And I was riding along; I stopped. Something just seemed to encourage me to stop. So I stopped and tied my little horse, 'cause he was lathered pretty good. And I got up on a log and sit down.
And I looked up toward the skies; I said, "O Lord Jehovah, You are so great and so wonderful. How I love You." And I begin to hear a strange noise, real weird. And it was a mournful noise, just something that would make you feel kind (as we would say, the cute expression)--kinda spooky.
And I looked around, and I was near an old burn-over. I don't know what you know what a burn-over is or not. It's where the fire's went through years before and burnt all the bark off the trees, and they didn't stand there. And when that sun, or moon, rather, come out from behind the clouds, and all those bleached white poles, standing up trees, it looked like tombstones. And the wind blowing, as the clouds was fastly passing over, it let out a mournful sound, "Oooh!" [Brother Branham makes a sound--Ed.]
I thought, "O God, why did You put me in a place like this? This is a terrible place to be here." And I looked around, and all the moaning and groaning I ever heard, "...?..." [Brother Branham imitates sound--Ed.] The winds blow and them trees moaning in the wind... I said, "Lord, I always knew that You lived in the forest, and why was I attracted to stop at this place, for this looks like a terrible place."

L-27 And as I set there, there was a Scripture came to my mind. And that was over in Joel. He said, "What the palmerworm has left, the caterpillar has eaten. And what the caterpillar has left, the locust has eaten." On down, the different insects have eaten all the life out of the tree. And I thought, "Yes, that's right. And here I stand in them trees. Once they were great trees that stood here. And as the winds blew in the days gone by, they frolicked back and forth in their great kingly positions; they moved kingly as the winds blew them. But oh, now what a difference." Something had happened. Oh yeah, they were trees yet. That's right. But something had happened. The sap line, the lifeline of the tree had been burnt off, taken away.
And I thought, "Well, what does this mean?" And I begin to think then of places where I had been, and the people who had, I'd heard opposing and saying that all the days of miracles was past. And I thought, "That's right. That's just like some of these great big high spires of churches that stand with great names behind them, historical names that, "Once we was so-and-so; we were so-and-so." But the lifeline has been cut.

L-28 The denominationals from the time of the early reformation and their founders, a new set of teachers got in and cut out all of the real life of the Holy Spirit. And they were made to sway with the rushing mighty wind like came on the day of Pentecost. But now, when God continually sends his wind, and they lay down, the only thing they can do is moan: "The days of miracles is past. There is no such a thing as the baptism of the Holy Ghost. All these things has passed away."
What a spooky place to be. And I thought, "Oh, no, no doubt they were trees; they had the history behind them as trees. But the life had gone from them."
And that's what's the matter with our Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness; the denominational bugs has eat the life out of it, and it's just become a big old dead spire. What we need is a coming of the rushing mighty wind and a new lifeline to receive it. Right.


<A HREF="P9">Next Page</A>