<TITLE>13. Par 57-61</TITLE>L-57 When God took John the Baptist and made him the forerunner of Christ, instead of taking one of the rich, royal priests, it was a paradox. How would God take a man that had no education at all? Went into the wilderness at the age of nine when he lost his parents, stayed out there in the wilderness, come out looked like a fuzzy worm, the beard out on his face, and a piece of sheepskin wrapped around him, and stood in mud up there, and called the--the audience he was preaching to a generation of snakes in the grass. Could you imagine God taking a man that would say that to an audience of sophisticated Jews and believers, supposed to be?

L-58 He said, "You generation of vipers..." Not, "Hello, Bishop So-and-so. I'm so glad to see you." Oh, you sissified... "Oh, you generation of vipers, who's warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Don't you think, 'We belong to this or that.' God's able of these stones to rise children to Abraham." When God vindicated, it caused a paradox. He saw the Holy Ghost descending like a dove upon the Son of man. It was a paradox.
What was more of a paradox than the virgin birth? Now, I know I'm not--don't want... Now, we got a mixed audience. Now, I want you to understand me, for I'm expecting something. And to expect something, you've got to stay with the Word. "If ye abide in Me, and My Word in you, then ask what you will." That's the conditions, not today, and tomorrow something else, and twist for this one, and twist for that one, but stay straight with the Word and Calvary. Then ask what you will.

L-59 Now, we find that in this virgin birth, many of the people... You precious Catholic people... My background's Catholic too, you know. So we find out that today you take Mary and make her a goddess, an intercessor.
Brother Valdena, here somewhere on the platform, I believe, was down in Mexico. General Medina, Medina. He was here the other night. Put his arms around me, and spoke through his interpreter, and said, "Brother Branham, I admire your courage to stand on your convictions." Said, "Stay with it, son." He's a man, military man; he knows what it means to give an order, and stand out there on the front line, "You stay at your post." That's what God wants His soldiers to do: stand at the post of duty regardless of what comes or goes. Stay there. Stay right there. So he said...

L-60 This virgin birth... I was down in Mexico there, and there was just all kinds of saints. That's where the little baby was raised up from the dead. You saw it in the Christian Business Men. I want to thank you for that compliment. God bless you. When the little baby... We wouldn't let it go just like that, until the doctor stated that the baby died that morning at nine o'clock. And this was about ten or eleven that night. And the little sister standing out there, a little Catholic girl with the baby in her arm, and three hundred ushers couldn't keep her off the platform.

L-61 Billy come to me, said, "Daddy, you'll have to do something about that"; said, "that--that's all there is to it." Said, "She ain't got no prayer card," said, "'cause I've looked." Said, "That brother, I don't know..."
Excuse me, Mexican people, but I called him "Maana, which means "tomorrow," See? He was supposed to come get me at seven o'clock and he come at nine--always about two or three hours late. He was bad as I am. And then, here he was; he was giving out prayer cards, and he was walking along with all of them, you know. And Billy watching him, to be sure that he didn't sell one, so--watching him, walking along... be careful... I sent him down there to do so. So he was decent about that.


<A HREF="P14">Next Page</A>