<TITLE>18. Par -</TITLE>L-719-156 Then I think about the river in 1936, I think what He said. What happened there? Many of you know. I was just a boy, and of baptizing my first baptism when that Angel of the Lord came down and stood over where I was at. Some people said, "You didn't see it." Then science proved that it was so. See, see?
Now, what did He say there? "As it was, as John the Baptist was sent forth to forerun the first coming of Christ, your message will forerun the second coming."
I've watched that across the earth, around the world it went. Just almost overnight, revivals broke out everywhere. Revival fires was burning everywhere; there's been the greatest revival we've ever knowed of. But was there anything before that? Not a thing. When two weeks before that, I heard a man make a speech in New Albany, said, "People used to believe that ballyhoo of--of revival, like Billy Sunday and them." Said, "We know that there cannot be no more of that, people wants concrete evidence. There's no such a thing." When they was making that big ballyhoo, at the same time God blast forth the greatest revival we had since their early centuries, more people has been saved: millions.

L-719-159 Statistics shows that a man's message lasts three years, any of them, then he lives upon his reputation the rest of the time till God calls him. Now, that's been since Christ; His was three and a half. See? And shows that all down, Spurgeon, Knox, Calvin, all the way down, it shows three to three and a half years is the limit for a man's ministry. The rest of it... His candle's burnt; he lives on his past reputation. If he's been evil, his--his works follow him; if he's been right, his works follow him. That's all.
Now, what did that mean? I've been preaching to this church here and telling you that I believed there was a great one coming. I believe and have told you that I believe that the Scriptures support that there will be a messenger of the last church age. I believe that. I've looked for that person to appear; I've watched constantly.

L-720-161 And I see a man rise up; I hear of him, a great man start sweeping; I notice his message; it's far off the Bible. I see him fly back over in a corner. See? I watch another one raise up, fly up yonder, but he doesn't get amongst the eagles; he stays amongst the denominational crows, stays down here, his organization, and another one bring in more membership and so forth. I watch it; I see it die down.
I think, "God, where is that one that's going to restore the faith of the fathers to the children? Where is them Seeds going to be planted? Where's it at? What's to take place?"

L-720-163 Now, it comes to this. If--if that message down on the river that day, if that was it, the coming of the Lord's at hand; it's about here. If it isn't, there's a lull before the storm. I don't know. He hasn't revealed it to me. I'm trying to wonder, "Was that His official message? Was that what all He wanted me to say? Was that when He commissioned? Was that all of it? If it is, we are real, real near. It's later than you think. If it wasn't, there's a lull before a storm.

L-720-164 Now, someone wrote me here not long ago, and asked me, said, "If you do not believe that the church goes through the tribulation period, how about Revelations 13, how they overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and their testimony?" The person asked that question. I wonder. Do you realize that the first three chapters of Revelation deals with the church in the church age? That's the tribulation period, not the church age; the church raptures and goes up at the 4th chapter of Revelation, never comes again till the 19th chapter when it comes with Jesus. That's right. That's in the tribulation period, not nothing to do with the church at all.


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