<TITLE>13. Par -</TITLE>L-937-72 Now, I believe the reason that Paul had to be baptized there, because it's officially and it's essential in the Bible that we are baptized. Because I take right back to this then: when the thief was hanging on the cross... And he died without being baptized at all, and yet with a promise that Jesus would meet him in paradise that day--in paradise, not in the regions of the lost, because it was the first time the opportunity was presented to him.
And I believe the same conditions was with those hearts at the house of Cornelius when they had received the Word of God with gladness. And the Holy Spirit is that Word quickened, and It had been quickened to them. That's the reason the Holy Ghost begin to speak out in other tongues and prophesy. It was the receptacle hearts of the people that the Word fell into, seeing all the supernatural.
That's what puzzles me today in this hour that we're living in. After that bunch of Romans had--and Greeks, as they were, had just seen the manifestation of a vision made sure, the Holy Ghost so alarmed them hearts till while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them. See?

L-938-75 Just like... See, Cornelius said, "Go call up..." He was a centurion, and that come, "century" is from a hundred. He was over a hundred men. He's a Roman centurion; and he'd--he had seen a vision while he was praying, and an Angel come to him. He was a good man. He say go down to Joppa, one Simon, a tanner, and there's one named Simon Peter. He's up... You'll find him there, and he'll come tell you the Word."
Well, he thought that vision was so real. "I couldn't have been asleep; I was looking right at the--the Angel." So he sent some of his faithfullest soldiers down.
And while there, God was making the apostle ready at the other end of the line. And He said, "Now, rise." He said... Seeing he was up on top of the house waiting for the--Mrs. Simon to fix the dinner. And while he was up there... He'd been hungry, probably walking, the apostle had, through the--the deserts. And--and he was laying up there on the house just before dinner, on the housetop, as it was customary. Still do the same thing, lay upon the roof, and they go down a ladder and sometimes steps and things, off the roof--set up there in the cool of the evening.

L-938-78 But the apostle fell asleep, and while he was in a sleep, he went beyond a sleep into a trance; and then he seen a sheet coming down with all unclean and things in it, and he heard a Voice saying, "Rise, slay and eat."
He said, "Not so, Lord, nothing's ever come into my mouth unclean."
Now, see, there's a vision. Now, watch. That has to be interpreted. Now, that look like Peter's going to take a hunting trip and was going to find some kind of a animal he'd never eat before and try to eat it. He said, "Not so, Lord, I--I never had anything unclean come into my lips."
He said, "Don't call that clean what I make--unclean what I make clean." Said, "Rise, there's men waiting at the gate for you. Go, don't doubt nothing." The same time they was knocking on the door. [Brother Branham knocks on pulpit--Ed.]

L-938-81 Now, see? And then when he found this man there, these faithful soldiers, just according to the vision... And here they come back with the very man that God had said in the vision--a unknown person, just a little unknown fisherman. But among that little group, it was so significant that he found this little fisherman. And here he is up here coming into a house now, the very place where he saw the vision. Cornelius drawed all the people together and said, "Why, it's just exactly the way I saw it." And then Peter stood up and begin to speak about how they'd received the Holy Ghost, and while he yet spake... They had seen everything so perfectly in order of one vision. A bunch of people who were Gentiles, that saw one vision manifested, and they heard the Word of the Truth that how they would receive Life; and the Holy Ghost fell on them before they was even baptized.


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