And now when you receive this bread, remember, it represents the Lamb. Long years ago when Israel's lamb was roasted over fire, and was taken with bitter herbs, the people had strength; their shoes never wore out, their clothes never come threadbare, all through the journey till they hit their promised land. May God keep us healthy, happy, serving Him until we reach the Promised Land that He's given us.

This communion that we're fixing to take, has been the greatest dispute of any doctrine in the Bible.

You see, there are three things that we must--three things that we must do as symbols: the Lord's supper, feet-washing, water baptism.

Now, we only have three physical Divine orders left to us: one of them is--is communion; feet-washing; water baptism. That's the only three things. That's the perfection, of the three, see. And that's the only three orders we have.

This represents the body of the Lord Jesus, the Bread. And as the song was just sang, "My Faith Looks up to Thee." There's only three orders that the Lord had give us, and that was baptism, taking of the bread and wine, and feet washing; is the orders.

And this represents the broken body of Christ. My prayer is that every person that partakes of this tonight, that will receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. And that they are sick, may the God of heaven, Who instituted this in the first form down in Egypt by taking the--the--the--the bitter herbs and wine... I trust that God will heal you, and in your entire journey there'll be no sickness among you. May the God of heaven look to us now as we offer this to Him.

Now, just a moment longer. Now, in the Old Testament when the sacrifice was made a--a statute or an ordinance. And so is water baptism an ordinance; so is feet-washing an ordinance; so is the Lord's supper an ordinance. "Blessed is he that does all of His ordinance, keeps all of His statutes, all of His commandments, that he might have a right to enter into the Tree of Life."

Do you know that communion has Divine healing in it? When the Israelites, in the type, took the communion, and marched forty years. And when they come out of the wilderness, there wasn't a feeble one among them, two and a half million people. There is power of healing in the communion.

The verse that says, "He is Meat indeed and Drink indeed." I have a little mark here, the 57th verse, "Meat indeed and Drink indeed." Listen what He said here.

And as the living Father hath sent me, and I live by My Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

In other words, "The Father sent Me, and I live by Him. And every man that comes to Christ must live by Christ." Oh, my, there you are, that's the communion. That's the real communion that you find when you live by Christ.

Now, our bodies need food and drink each day, to survive, our physical body. If we don't take food each day and drink, then our body weakens. There's something in us that we must have food. One day's food will not last for the next day. You've got to have food each day, to strengthen your mortal being. You can live over, but you're weaker. And the second day, you're still weaker. And the third day, you're getting tremendous weak.

Well, that's what many times that we do in the spiritual realm. You see, each day we've got to commune with Christ. We've got to talk to Him each day. We've got to settle it with Him each day. Paul said, "I die each day." See? "Each day, I die; yet I live, not me but Christ lives in me." So, if your physical body needs food each day and drink each day, to survive, your spiritual body needs spiritual Food and communion with the Lord each day, to survive. Yes. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." So, each day we've got to study the Bible. Some people doesn't study It at all. Some picks It up every two or three times a year. But, a real, real believer that's really spiritually built up, he reads his Bible every day, and talks to the Lord. That's right. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] He has to. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

They hated Him. Why, they had nothing to do with this man called Jesus. He tore up their churches and everything else. Why, they despised Him.

And how could this Pharisee ever ask Him down to his house for dinner? We usually invite people who we love to eat with us, you know, like somebody that you--that you appreciate. There's something about eating with each other. That's the reason we have the Lord's Supper. It's to fellowship around the Lord's Supper, what makes it so great to us.

Now, the communion is not err. It's not given for the purpose that many people think it is. It's taught--taught by certain denomination of church, that communion is called the last rites, that it pertains to salvation. Communion does not pertain to salvation. Communion does not give you salvation. Whether you take it in your death, or--or what, it does not have nothing to do with your salvation.

It is a commemoration. Jesus said in the Gospel; He said, "This do in remembrance of Me." Not it leaning or pointing to salvation, but it's in commemoration of a finished work that's been done in you by the Holy Spirit. It's a commemoration.

Now, there's many that take the communion, is not saved. Many eat the paschal lamb and perished in the wilderness. And many take the communion today that will never see God.

But you cannot be a partaker of His salvation and not see Him, because salvation is a gift of God. And communion is commemoration of the great all-sufficient Sacrifice that was made for that salvation. It's to let people see that we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It represents a finished work.

Now, the thing is, that, on this communing, we find out that there was a--a foot-washing and things associated with that, also, to wash our feet, as a symbol of the cleanliness of the Holy Spirit.

Now, then, there must be a mutual feeling. If you are at edge with your--your host, then you--you cannot commune. No, you--you can't do it, because you're disagreeing with him. But if you are in agreement, then you can commune. So that's the way it is when we come to the Lord's table, we've got to be in agreement with His Word. See? We must be born again, the Spirit of God in us saying "amen" to every Word that He has written, then we can commune with Him.

This we have of God, if our hearts condemn us not, then we have favor with God. We know we get our requests and our petition, is because that our hearts condemn us not. Now, if God tells us we must be born again, and we have not received the new birth, then we'll feel a little funny about going, asking Him anything, see, because we know we haven't met His requirements. Only thing then is a sinner's prayer. But we talk with Him when we are in fellowship with Him, that brings communion.

Now, this means of communion, I'd like to explain for a little while. Now, we take, what we call communion, is the bread and the wine. Now, that has been so misrepresented till it's not even good to speak of it. Oh, how that has been misrepresented down through the years! That is really not communion, that is just keeping a commandment. See? Now, the reason we call it communion, is because it come from the Catholic association of being the "Holy Eucharist, which is literally the body of the Lord Jesus." But it isn't the Lord Jesus' body! It's only in commemoration of His body.

I don't care how many priests or preachers, or whoever blesses that, it's still bread and wine. There is no priest as we... they tell us, that, "God is obliged to listen to the priest when he turns the communion," what they call communion, "the Eucharist, into the literal body of the Lord Jesus. Then the believer takes that, and that is communion." That is wrong!

Commune is "to talk to, commune with, something that you can speak to and it'll speak back to you." That's communing. A wafer cannot speak back. So, really, the real communion is the Holy Spirit speaking back. When you ask Him, then He speaks back, that is correct communion. This is a memorial, to take the… of His crucifixion and His resurrection, and not a communion. We call it that, but it isn't. It come from the Catholic church, of taking this wafer as we went through the other day in the order, and talking about it on Paganism Versing Christianity.

"How that this little round wafer is the literal body of Christ." Now, the Catholic church believes that. Did you ever notice, in passing a church, they cross themselves, tip their hats, and so forth? It isn't the church, it's that wafer in there, "that body that the priest has turned from a wafer to the literal body of Christ," where the rats and mice could pack it away. Why, you don't, can't think of civil thinking and think that a piece of bread would be a body of the Lord Jesus! It cannot be.

Communion is "to talk, and it talks back, something that you talk to." The very word commune means "to talk to," or, "be associated with something that's talking back to you." And God talks back to you, communion. And it's still bread and wine, that we call communion.

Now, Jesus said here, as I read, "My body is meat and drink, My Blood, body and Blood is meat and drink."

Now, we want to think of Jesus and associate Him, what He was. What is His body? What is the body of Christ? It's the body of believers that's associated with Him in the Holy Spirit. Not an idol, not a piece of bread, but a Spirit that's in the heart of the believer, and they are associated together, that when man and God can talk to each other, sons and daughters of God. Mortal man, through the shedding of the Blood brought remission of sin, and this man and this woman, boy or girl, that has fellowship with Christ, is communing with Him, the body.

As a husband and wife would sit down and talk it over, or a boy and his girlfriend, Christ and His Church is communing together. That's the reason we can hear from Him, and see the future before it gets here, and can tell the future that it's perfect, because that we commune with a God Who holds Eternity in His hand. Communing one with another, the Body of Christ, the mystical, spiritual Body of Christ. Not associated with any kind of an idol, or a bread or a—a wine, but in a—a spiritual form.

One of them they called cannibals; that was the Christians. They said, "There was a man that Pontius Pilate killed, and the disciples come and stole His body. And they got it hid, and every--every Sunday they go eat a part of it." They was taking communion. You see? They did... They taken His body. You see? They said they was taking the Lord's body, the communion. And they didn't know what it was, and he said they were cannibals. Said, "They go eat on the first day of the week; they meet together and eat this man's body."

And the only way you could tell whether they were law keepers and bitterly denied the resurrection, or whether they was Christians and believed the resurrection, one went to church on Saturday and one went to church on Sunday, which was a mark between them.

That's pretty strong, isn't it? All right. Hope that gets it. The Holy Ghost is...

Now, you got something there, brother? You want... Do you want--do you want to go up and answer it? All right. Let's see, right here. Oh, yes.

Now, just think of how many Lutherans, Protestants, how many Catholics, this morning, was confirmed, what they call it, taking first communion. And they call that "Holy Eucharist," which means, a Latin word, "Holy Ghost." Did you ever see a Catholic pass by the church and go over hisself like that? [Brother Branham illustrates--Ed.] Why? "It's god in that church." What is god? "That little piece of bread." That little piece of bread, round, made like the sun-god that they worship, laying on the altar where the mice and roaches pack around, overnight. That's not my God. I'll tell you that now. "First communion, confirmed to the church." Nonsense.

But that's what they did. That's what the cankerworm did. It took away the Spirit and give them a piece of bread, some bread that some priest made, or some nun, or something. That's what they did. That's exactly right. Go, ask now. Go, looking back in history, and see if it isn't right. And you let that thing be shoved down your throat? Not only them Catholics, but you Protestants, a many of you, same thing. All right. There's what they did. All right.

"How that this little round wafer is the literal body of Christ." Now, the Catholic church believes that. Did you ever notice, in passing a church, they cross themselves, tip their hats, and so forth? It isn't the church, it's that wafer in there, "that body that the priest has turned from a wafer to the literal body of Christ," where the rats and mice could pack it away. Why, you don't, can't think of civil thinking and think that a piece of bread would be a body of the Lord Jesus! It cannot be.

Communion is "to talk, and it talks back, something that you talk to." The very word commune means "to talk to," or, "be associated with something that's talking back to you." And God talks back to you, communion. And it's still bread and wine, that we call communion.

Now, Jesus said here, as I read, "My body is meat and drink, My Blood, body and Blood is meat and drink."

Now, we want to think of Jesus and associate Him, what He was. What is His body? What is the body of Christ? It's the body of believers that's associated with Him in the Holy Spirit. Not an idol, not a piece of bread, but a Spirit that's in the heart of the believer, and they are associated together, that when man and God can talk to each other, sons and daughters of God. Mortal man, through the shedding of the Blood brought remission of sin, and this man and this woman, boy or girl, that has fellowship with Christ, is communing with Him, the body.

Now, if Baal is a round god... Now, catch this word by word, and you'll get the rest--the ending of this message. God was a round god, a sun god. They had great big brass plates that would reflect the sun and look like fire. And then the bread that Jeremiah said here that they... The women would bake these cakes unto Baal, that it was made round like the sun. Well, then it was laid upon the altar, the pagan altar for the communion, and made round like the sun or like the moon, because it was the sun god or the moon god.

Now, the Roman priest... Then they adopted this by taking and making the communion... The first thing come up was making the communion. Instead of a broken parcel like the body of Christ, they would make it round like the sun or like the moon. And to this day, it's still round. Sure. It's still a round wafer and not a broken piece of His body. It's round and smooth. Roman priests today lay this round wafer on the altar and call it the literal body of Christ.

Now, there's a great stand-back between some of these high Episcopalians and so forth and the Catholic church, is upon that subject, whether it is the literal Body or it represents the body. The Roman Catholic says it is the literal body, because that was the literal body of Baal the sun god that reflected hisself on that piece of brass and made it round. No Christian table has round bread on it.

The Catholic church teaches, "A holy eucharist which is the body of Christ, that when you receive this bread and kosher, it is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the holy eucharist." See?

We believe it's a piece of bread; we don't believe it is the body of Christ. We're fixing to take it in a few minutes. We believe it represents the body of Christ. But it isn't...

That's the difference between Catholic and Protestant doctrine. See? The Catholic church says, "The body is... The bread is the literal body. The church has the power to transform this." Did you ever see a Catholic passing a church, bow his head, make crosses? Is because that little light's burning in the church there under that little tabernacle; it's got a light in there; and that kosher bread lays in there. "And that's the body of Christ. And when you take that, you're absolutely taking the literal body of Christ on your first communion and your confessions and so forth: you're taking, literally, the body of Christ."

Please explain if a Christian should observe feet-washing, and baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ's Name instead of the Name of the "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." Please.

All right. I had about three of those in here that asked that same thing of feet-washing. Well, I might as well start on that. All right, now you may different; that's all right. Let me just read a few, just a moment. Or if you want to read it, get St. John the 13th chapter, just a moment. I want to ask you something here. And listen to what Jesus Christ said Himself, and then I'll take you on over in the Testament and show you it's still observed on. Begin at the 2nd verse.

Now, supper being ended, the devil have... put in the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

Jesus knowing... the Father had given all things into his hands,... He came from God, and He went to God; (He came out of the Spirit into flesh, and returned back into Spirit. See?)

And He rises from the supper,... laid aside his garments;... took a towel,... girded himself.

After that he poured water into a bason,... begin to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter said unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

Jesus... said unto him, What--what I do now thou knowest not... but thou shall know hereafter.

Peter said unto him, Thou shall never wash my feet.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. (Oh, could you imagine that. All right.)

Simon... said to him,... not my feet only, but... my hands and my head.

And Jesus said unto him, He that is washed... save... needs to wash his feet, you're clean every whit:... but not all.

For he knew who should betray him; wherefore he said, You're not all clean.

So after he had washed their feet, and had--had taken his garments, and had set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done unto you?

You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet;... you ought to wash one another's feet.

For I have given you an example, that you should do to one another as I have done unto you.

Happy are ye if ye know these things and do them.

Over in II Timothy, Paul said, writing to the church, "Don't let a widow be brought into the church until she has washed the saints' feet." That's right. A feet-washing was observed all through the Bible days. And by God's help, if I keep my right mind, and God helps me, I'll observe it till I die. That's right. It is exactly a commission of Jesus Christ.

You hear where the church, yet (we do at our church) observe feet washing. Now, they say it's traditional, but yet it's--It's a commandment. They say they did it then as a tradition, and they did. But Jesus left it as an example. And then if He did, it's a commandment. So then we...

When the... Lowest paid man on the job was what they called the foot wash man. He was really just a flunky. He made the--the least money of any of them, because at the home he only washed the guests' feet when they come in.

Then I think of our Lord. Sometimes we think that we're somebody; when the God of heaven changed His cast from God to become man, and He took the position, not of the king, but a foot wash flunky to wash His disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. Then if we don't have the highest honor when we're the entertained, or going to be entertained... We have to be noticed by everybody. Then I think about our Lord, how He give us example of taking the lowest place there was, to wash the feet of the guests.

Now, all that wants to stay for Communion, we'd be glad to have you in this time of fellowship. Now, you have First Corinthians, I believe, 11th chapter there. I'll have you read it right now, then, Brother Neville, if you will. [Brother Neville reads First Corinthians 11:23-32--Ed.]

That doesn't need any explaining. It's just this. If we eat and drink unworthily, we eat and drink damnation to our own self not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause, many are weakly and sick among you, and many are dead. See? When we come to take Communion... Every Christian should take Communion. It's your duty. It's a showdown. See? Jesus said, "If you don't take it, you have no part with Me." See? "But he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eats and drinks damnation to himself." That is, if you're still out with the world and doing things of the world, and people see you taking Communion, you're doing wrong. You're only bringing disgrace to you, and it'll only harm you. It isn't that--that it'll harm God; it'll harm you. And so a person should examine theirselves. And before we approach this sacred moment, you ask God to search my life. And if I've done anything that's not right, forgive me for it. I--I don't mean to do it. I'll make it right if He'll reveal it to me. And I'll ask the same thing for you.

Said, "When you come together, tarry one for another." Let's wait on one another and pray for one another. We want to take this Communion. And if we don't do it, we have no part with Him. That's what He said. First... Or, Saint John the 6th chapter.

Now, let's just pray. You pray for me silently while I pray for you. [Brother Branham whispers as he prays--Ed.]...?... I pray...?... that Thy Spirit, O God...?... I pray that You forgive us of all of our trespasses...?...

O Lord, hear our prayer. This is our prayer of forgiveness, Lord. We pray forgiveness. We pray for mercy. Forgive us. Lord, as it is written in Thy Word, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. Amen."

For I truly think that it's the duty of every Christian to take communion. The Bible said, "If you take this not, you have no part with me." And I believe that it is a--a showdown time for the Christians. If we do not take it, we have no part with Him. And if we take it unworthily, then we're guilty of the body and death of Christ.

No man, no person, no woman, boy, girl, I don't care who he is, is fit to go in the pulpit, or even claim to be a Christian, without being filled with the Holy Ghost. You have no right to the Lord's supper, or any communion, feet-washing, or anything, until you've been cleansed by the Holy Fire of God.

We are very happy to have you here tonight, and we are glad that you come. And tomorrow night our message is tomorrow night on "The Perfection Of The Believer." And now, come, bring someone with you if your own church doesn't have services.

And now, we're going to have the communion. Maybe some of you... I'm just a little teeny bit late a few minutes, and we're going to dismiss those who have to go.

And those who wish to stay to take the communion and foot-washing with us... We believe in absolutely doing every article that Jesus left for us to do. And if He shall come in my generation and will let me stay in my right mind and keep His love in my heart, I'll be trying my best to do every one of them and be found faithful at the post. God bless you now.

Now, we are having--coming to the communion table. And now, a yet, there's some that doesn't take communion, and maybe you just take it in their own churches, but we'd be happy tonight if you could, would want to, fellowship with us around these things. We never draw any lines of who, just long as you're walking worthy of--of the Gospel that you're--you're listening to and confessing to be part of.

You know you're part of this Gospel. You are--you are written epistles of what we're talking about. And as long as we do something that's reproachful, then we are an indebtiment to what we are listening to. See? We must live what we believe, and live it in such a way that it will never reproach, but reflect Jesus Christ in all things that we do and say. That's way it is. We just love Him for this.

And now, tonight, we're going to read the order of the Lord's table that's found over in II Corinthians, about the 11th chapter. And we read this and just let each individual... How, we do this, if there's newcomers among us, we call the people around the altar in--in succession as they come in, take the communion. And every Christian is worthy.

Now, if you live a life that proves what you are... You want to search your heart. Well, let me be sure to mention this, that the Scripture reads here if we take it unworthily. Now, we know that we are not worthy in ourselves; none of us are. But that we are not trusting in our own worthiness, we're trusting in Him Who has... We're--we're trusting in His worthiness, that we have died to our own thinking, and just think His thoughts, and live to everything that we believe He commands us to, and look back and see what we're living, and look our life over, and if we're doing things that's not worthy of the Gospel, then we shouldn't take the communion.

But if we're doing things that we thinks that it--that our lives could be read of all men, that if anybody could not point a finger and say, "I seen this man in a barroom the other day," "I--I heard this man stand and telling filthy jokes." "This woman doing wrong." Then, if you know that that's the Holy Spirit pointing to you, then--then don't take the communion. But if you--if you feel that--that you're living, that you'd look back and see that all your sins are confessed and under the Blood, then you--you're supposed to take it. You--you're--you're part of it.

Notice, Isaiah said in Isaiah 28:8; he said, "Precept must be upon precept," speaking of this day, "when the tables would be full of vomit," and so forth... every man... They take the communion today. They think because you take the communion that--that you're going to go to heaven. The Bible said ever who takes it unworthy is guilty of the death and body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. That's a sacred order. I don't believe in all this what they call taking communion today.

I went to a church not long ago, and they took a piece of loaf bread or light bread and cut it up in some pieces. And people down through there that drank, and gambled, and smoke, and cuss, and lie, a taking that, and think you'll go to heaven. Brother, you're damning your own soul by doing such a thing. No wonder the tables of the Lord is full of vomit. Sure.

You don't take the Lord's supper by a tradition. You take it because it's the love of God in your heart, in keeping the commandments of God. See, that's what you take it for.

So if you don't take it in sincerity, just it's a tradition, "Well, our church observes communion once every Sunday, or once every month, or twice a year," and you go up, say, "Well, it's my time," and--and then take the communion, why, it's a stink to God! See, that's just a tradition.

Even like anything else, you--you've got to be sincere. God wants the depths of your heart. You remember, the very God that brought you here on earth is the One you're serving. See?

You're doing this because He said so, because it's His order. Then we want to come up with deepness of sincerity, knowing that by God's grace that we have been saved. And we--we love Him and we feeled His Presence, and we--we see It change our lives. Our--our whole being is changed. We--we--we're different people. We don't live like we used to, we don't think like we used to.

There's only one way to do it. Not shaking hands, not joining church, not by baptisms, not by emotions; but walk up to the waters of separation, lay your hands, by faith, upon the head of Jesus, and say, "I'm a sinner, and You died in my place. And Something in me tells me that You'll forgive me of my sins, and I accept You as my personal Saviour now." Walk beneath the Blood, yonder, have fellowship with the children of God. That's it. Eat the bread, drink the wine, and have the fellowship with the church.

And we believe, tonight, there'll be a great healing service. I believe there'll be a... I won't speak but just a little bit, 'cause we got communion tonight. And so about twenty or thirty minutes, then we'll have the prayer line, and--and then immediately after that, we'll have--have the communion. And you are welcome to stay with us; we'll be glad. We don't have a--a closed communion. It's to every believer, every believer.

And then also, at our tabernacle, we've always observed this and feet-washing, always, because they go hand in hand together.

Now, in the Antitype that we're to speak on, it was many years ago tonight, that Jesus taken what we know as the Lord's supper, the communion. And there's something about it, that He was going to talk to His disciples. And just before going away, He wanted to talk it over with them. And it's a... They had a room prepared. It was a time of fellowship. And the communion does mean a fellowship.

Many of the churches have closed communion; that is, just to their own church when they have their communion. But here we are not a denomination. We have a open communion for all, for we believe that every believer has a right to the table of the Lord and to fellowship around the good things of God with every believer, regardless of creed, color, or whatever he may be, that all have been made drink of the selfsame blessing: Christ.

But, communion, it's called "the Lord's supper." Now, a lot of people, they want to take it in the morning. Didn't say in the Bible it was His breakfast. And how these people today, how they can still say "Lord's supper," and they don't. They've cut out supper, and omitted it, and called it "dinner," nonsense. Supper!

Now, always a dispute in the Bible times, it was a dispute then. The people misunderstood the Lord's supper, when they come to the table. Paul told those Corinthians. They were coming and getting drunk at the Lord's table. See, it was misunderstood right then. He said, "If you want to eat, eat at home."

And another thing, it was misunderstood, what it was. Sinners, and man living in sin, come and took the communion. And that was misunderstood. A man living with his mother, foster mother, and the church had told him about it; still taking communion at the table.

And there were divisions among them, and they were still taking communion. He said, "I understand that you walk like the rest the Gentiles. And there's--there's friction among you, like there is at--at especially in Cephas' house, and so forth." Said, "You walk like the rest the Gentiles." See, it was misunderstood.

The communion has always been misunderstood. Now, I could go on for that for hours, but we got to get this communion and the feet-washing. Now they've simply omitted feet-washing altogether, but just a few of the denominations. A lot of the Pentecostals has got completely away from it. See? And it's still in the Bible just the way it was wrote. See?

Now, Rome does not call it "communion." They call it "mass, it's a holy mass." They don't take communion, they take a mass. It's a mass, and a mass certainly takes the real meaning from communion. A mass means "hoping." They take a mass, hoping (that in doing this in the mass) that God will forgive them of their sins, by taking "the literal body of Christ, which the priest turns to the Body and the Blood of Christ," taking that, hoping that God will omit their sins by doing so. It's a mass.

The Protestants call it "communion." Communion means "thanksgiving." That the Protestant... The Catholic is taking a mass, in the mass hoping that God forgives them of their evil doing. The Protestant takes it with thanksgiving for what's already done with the communion with God; communing with Him, that it's already done. The Catholic is hoping it's done; the Protestant says it's already done. The Catholic is wondering if his sins is forgiven; the Protestant is confessing that they are forgiven, that he is free. And a communion is communing with God. And these articles that we take, not in hopes that our sins are forgiven, but they are forgiven. Because it... One is hope; and the other one is faith. One's hoping he's right; and the other one knows he's right. See? The other one, one's hoping, because he don't know where he stands; the other one knows he's right, because he knows what God said. That's it. That's the difference. So, when you're just hoping, be careful; but when you know, then go on. See, then you're in communion with God. Protestant is, he says he's forgiven and he knows it; the Catholic has mass, hopes that he'll be forgiven. It's just like this: one is a beggar, hoping that everything's all right, see; the other one is a beggar thanking for what's already been done. They're both beggars. But one is begging, hoping he'll get it; the other beggar knows he's got it, and thanked Him for giving it to him. Now, there's the difference. That's communion. Yes, sir. One is hoping that he's forgiven; the other one knows he's forgiven, and giving thanks for it.

So, communion is for Christians that's born again of the Spirit of God. And born again does not necessarily mean now that you got the Holy Ghost.

Now it's maybe getting a little late, towards nine-thirty, but now we're going to have the communion service.

Now, we call it "communion," but it isn't communion. Communion is to talk, to commune. Commune, is when we stop and talk to the Lord, communicate. But, now, this is called "the Lord's supper." I wonder how some of these modernists, that don't say "supper" anymore, and calls it "dinner," how they going to work that around? See? Uh-huh. See? Yes, sir. It's the Lord's supper. We just believe the Bible the way It says it.

And we want you to know, that Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, whatever you may be, you're invited, and a brother with us, if you're born of the Spirit of God, to stand here, take communion with us.

We believe that these represent the broken body of Jesus Christ. And we believe that a Christian is duty-bound to take it. We believe that a man that's not living right, that comes and takes it, without being living right, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's Body. That's why those churches calling themselves Christians, was found, in the Bible, "Full of blasphemous names." You see? Because, taking the communion, and going out and living any kind of a life, brings a bigger stumbling block than all the bootleg joints that there is throughout the country.

At a communion service, a man came to the altar to pray. Brother Branham was standing behind the--the elements of communion as they were being administered, he said he could not leave them to pray with the man at the altar. Please explain.

I sent the associate (You see?) Brother Neville. I remember the night when it taken place. I'm supposed to stay with that communion table (See?) even when... Look here. Now, I ain't got time to go into this. Somebody setting here that asked, of course. Here's what it is, brother. When--when you got the communion, that is a representation of the body of Jesus Christ. It could be... It should be under guard all the time.

For instance, if--if they caught Brother Neville, or Brother Junior, or Brother, some brother here, one of the deacons or trustees, or something another, doing something wrong, I believe the thing to do is for the church to get together and pray for this brother. If he still don't straighten up, then let a couple go with him, go to the brother to be reconciled. And if then if he don't receive it, then tell it before the church. Then if they don't receive it then, that's the time for the whole church then (See?); that's for pastor, elders, and everything else to do it. I don't believe that any deacon board has a right to throw anybody out of church, or any trustee board, or any pastor has a right to do it.

I think if anybody was to be disfellowshipped, would be because of immoral living, or something like that, that he wasn't a fit person, like a man coming in here defiling our girls or--or insulting our women, and things like that, and still professing to be one of us here... See? Now, if he's out somewhere else coming in, why, we have to do something about it, but, when it comes to a person like that, a immoral person trying to make love to our wives, or--or insult our daughters, or, you know, something another like that, or do something immorally around her, or taking our little boys out and making perverts out of them, or something, those things should be taken up, and then that fellow should be excommunicated from the fellowship and not permitted to take communion with it; because we're not supposed to do that. We're not. "If any eats unworthily, is guilty of the Blood and body of the Lord," on that person.

Now, if you are saying you're a Christian, and still living worldly lives, then you are chastened of the Lord, for you should not be condemned with the world.

Wherefore, when you come together... Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for the other. (Watch.)

And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that you come not together unto condemnation. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

You notice Paul here. Those Corinthians, they didn't get it. They went up there and even get drunk at the Lord's table. And they eat and drink, done everything wrong. Paul said, "When you come together, if a man's hungry, let him eat at home. But when you come together, tarry one for another." In other words, "Wait on one another."

You say, "Now, here's a brother that I don't think ought to take the communion." Well don't run up there and jerk him out. Have patience with him. After the service is over, and a time when he... come over to his house some night and sit down, say, "Brother, now, forgive me if I'm wrong. But I seen you down, the other day on the street, drunk," whatever he was doing, "out with some other lady that wasn't your wife, and you're taking communion. I love you, brother. Let--let's you and I pray over this thing and straighten it up." See? Wait on one another. Do service for one another. Don't be bigger than somebody else. Try and see how little you can be.

I've often heard, say, "Don't never be big in your own sight." If you're big, let it be in God's sight. Be little in your own sight. Every man that humbles himself, God will exalt. But those who exalts themself, God will bring abase. See? Be little.

Now, we can tell you why we take communion, tell you why we take feet-washing, why we won't let the members take it if we know they're in sin. And that's why this last two or three weeks I've been going from one member to the other one, where you been having your little fusses around too: going around, one wouldn't speak to the other, pass one another on the road and turn your head, shame on you, who's took the blessed cup of God across this, the altar here, and call you brothers and sisters and then get on the telephone and gad off about one another, you're not fit to be called Christians when you're that way. Right. You keep off them telephones, if you can't talk good about somebody, don't you talk at all. Remember, God's going to hold you responsible. As long as that kind of spirit's in you, you know you're not right with God.

Not what Noah done, what Moses done, they're examples; we see and read what they did, but it's what He promised to do now. He was the Word back there; that was the Carcass for that day. The day of--of Wesley was a carcass for that day; the day of Luther was a carcass for that day; but they don't go back to that. That's already contaminated. What was left over must be burned, of the communion even; don't leave it for the next generation. The Bible said when you're taking the communion, what's left over of it, don't even let it lay till morning; burn it. So refer back to that? No, sir. We got fresh Food today; that's the Word that's promised to this hour be made manifest in this hour. That's where the eagles are, where the carcass is. We can stay a long time on that, but I'm sure you understand what I mean.

Now, on this next question... Now, if there's a question on that just raise your hand. I'd be glad to do the best I can.

Can you find anywhere the apostles took communion after Pentecost? Did Paul mean people do not discern the Word? Holy Ghost was the only way to worship God?

If you take wine and crackers, sickness and sleep fall on you?

Now, here is maybe a place that I believe the dear person that asked this is no doubt deeply and sincerely in this, what they're asking, or they wouldn't ask it. And I--my brother or sister, whoever it was, I answer it just as deeply and sincerely as you a--answered it--or asked it.

I want you now to turn with me unto the Book of Acts the 2nd chapter, and with the--we begin with the 42nd verse. The 2nd chapter of the Acts, and we'll begin, as I said, with the 42nd verse.

Now remember, I do not believe that I could say just exactly where the Scripture says that Paul took the communion, and Peter then reached over and taken it; but when they're talking of the congregation, that was in whole, everybody. And I do not believe that Paul would preach something and tell others to do, that he would not do. So in the Acts we find this:

And they continually steadfast in the apostles' doctrine... fellowship,... (Watch. They continued, the whole church, the body.)... continually steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and in fellowship,... (and, conjunction there. See?)... and in breaking of bread,... (That's the communion.)... and in prayers.

The apostles, who was the preachers... They continuedly steadfast in their doctrine of breaking of bread (communion), and in fellowship, and in prayer. Then if that cuts out communion from the apostles, it also cuts out prayer from the apostles. See? Now, let's just read on. See?

And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

And all the believers were together, and had all things common;

And they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to every man, as every man had need.

And they, continuing daily in one accord in the temple,... (That's apostles and all.)... breaking bread... (communion every time they met)...

That was a doctrine of the apostles and of the early church, that every time they came together they taken communion, every time. Now, I know you Christian people who go to the Christian Church (the Campbellite church, as we know it, as... Because there's two of them. One's the Church of Christ, and the other one the Campbellite Church.), you say, "We take it every Sunday morning. We got the Scriptures on it." You have a better Scripture on it than the Branham Tabernacle does. The Branham Tabernacle takes it once a month. But the Scripture is, "as oft as you come together." That's right. That's every time.

And they, continued daily in one accord in the temple,... breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

See, each time the apostles, holding these prayer groups, meetings in the temple, house to house, every time they met, they broke bread, taken the communion.

Now, Paul, in I Corinthians we'll--we could also read the 11th chapter, where we use here for a communion... I might read it so it might be able to help you, I Corinthians the 11th chapter. Listen at Paul speaking now, 23rd verse.

For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night... he was betrayed took bread:

And when he had gave thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, and eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: do this in remembrance of me.

After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he had supped, saying,... (the cup now)... This is the cup of the new testament in my blood: this do... as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

For as oft as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do shew forth the Lord's death till he comes.

See? It's a communion. I do realize and do agree that the--the body of the Lord, the living Word is Christ Himself. But these are symbols just like baptism, and footwash, and other ordinances of the church. But communion is absolutely essential for the bread, now, bread and wine.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily,...

Now, the question was asked here: "You taking--you taking wine and crackers, sickness and sleep on you." See, that... I believe that the question is, that the only worship there is, is in the Holy Spirit, worshipping in the Holy Spirit. That is exactly the truth. You have to worship... All worship's in the Holy Spirit, and Paul's trying to say here, that you must be in the Holy Spirit before you do this or you eat and drink damnation to yourself (See?), before you do this, before the order's carried out.

Now, to back that up, I got a writing here of Josephus, where he claimed that the early Christians after the death of--of Jesus, that they were considered cannibals, because they took the body of the Lord and eat it. And they thought they had dug it up, and had took it out, and was cutting it up by pieces, and eating it: which they were taking the communion. See?

Now, watch, why this Scripture--how Paul says here.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread,...

Eat of the bread... Now, I know Jesus is the Bread of Life; that's true. But this is a symbol just like baptism. Baptism doesn't save you; baptism is only a sign that you're witnessing to the congregation that you believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It doesn't save you. Water will not save. It's your faith that saves you. But baptism is an order, and it must be carried out, 'cause God can't say be baptized, and then turn around and say it doesn't need to be done. He cannot issue taking communion, and turn around, and say there no need to taken it. You've got to do it. It's an order forever with God.

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Now, you see there? Comes right back to the Christian that's trying to take communion, that's not in Christ, not fellowshipping in the Spirit; he isn't worthy of taking it. And when he does take this communion, he's eating and drinking damnation to himself, if he's going out smoking, lying, stealing, committing adultery, or something like that, or not living a Christian life. And people see the kind of life he's living, and then coming in, taking this order of the death and--and body of Christ, taking into him a symbol that--that he has received Christ the Word in his heart, and taking this symbol in there behind it. He said he eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Now, just in a few minutes I'm going to get to that same question, if we get to it, because it's the same order of the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. See? Because you are professing something and playing the part of hypocrite with it, when you should not be doing it. All right. Let me finish this then (See?), and then we'll stop.

For this cause many are sick and weakly among you, and many sleep.

For if we would judge ourself, we should not be judged.

But when we are judged, we're chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for the other. (Now, watch.)

And if any man eat--any man hunger...

Don't come in... because in another Scripture here, they were bringing in meat, and so much drink, and stuff like that, till they were making the Lord's house just a--a place of--of a feast, and getting drunk at the Lord's table. You remember that in the Book of Corinthians here. They got drunk at the Lord's table. But Paul said here:

... if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that you come not together unto condemnation. And the rest I'll set in order when I come. (See?)

Now therefore, I believe that the eating of the cracker... Now, I do not believe that kosher bread should be substituted for a cracker. I believe that it should be a holy unleavened bread, the type of the unleavened bread that was made in Egypt. And I believe that the Blood should not be grape juice, but it should be wine. Grape juice sours and spoils as it gets old. But wine gets better and stronger as it gets old; it never loses its strength. And the Blood of Christ doesn't sour and spoil; as it gets older, it gets stronger and better as the days goes by to the believer. And it is a literal wine and bread. Communion bread should be made by people who's dedicated themselves and consecrated themselves to God.

I went to a church once where they taken this old loaf bread, where sinners cursing and carrying on, and filth, and cut up that old bread and stuck it out there with some kind of a juice to drink. To me that was--that was ridiculous. I believe it should be just exactly the way the Scripture said it should be and not vary one speck from the Scriptures, stay right with It.

Now I believe the elders will take their place, and they'll... of the church, and they'll bring the people up as they come, row by row, for the communion. Always think of that song:

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious Blood

Shall never lose Its power,

Till all the ransomed Church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

Let us bow our heads.

Gracious and Holy Father, Jehovah, the great Almighty, send Thy blessings upon Thy people as we wait. Forgive our sins. And now we offer to You this sacrament, this wine, the grapes that's been grown, and hands of ministers crushed this together. And it was made into wine for the cause that we're now bringing it to You for, that it might represent to us the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray Thee, Father, to sanctify the wine for that purpose. Forgive every sin of ours. And may every person that receives this wine to their body, may they have health, strength, and salvation from You. Grant it, Lord. We ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

The Bible said that when He brake bread and blessed it, said, "Take and eat, this is My Body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me." And when we take these little parcels of bread, of kosher, which is made unleavened. It's made by Christians. It's made because that it--it represents the Body of Christ. We understand that--that it was the disciples of Christ's day, or the day of the church, that took these portions and made the supper ready at the last supper, at Christ's last supper. And down through the Bible, it was disciples that ministered these things to the people. And today, our modern-day disciples, our brethren here of the church, disciples of this Cause, minister to the people. And they will take these portions and give them to the people.

And now when you receive this bread, remember, it represents the Lamb. Long years ago when Israel's lamb was roasted over fire, and was taken with bitter herbs, the people had strength; their shoes never wore out, their clothes never come threadbare, all through the journey till they hit their promised land. May God keep us healthy, happy, serving Him until we reach the Promised Land that He's given us.

Let us pray.

Gracious Heavenly Father, as I speaking tonight of that Holy, sanctified Body of our Lord, in Whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead. When I think of that Body being creased and--and broken, and the Blood running out, His back and His ribs shining through, the lashes up and down His back; when I think of this wrinkled, beaten bread represents that, it comes afresh in our hearts. We lay our hearts, Lord, upon Your altar tonight. Forgive us, O God. And may this broken bread, as it goes into the mouth of these, Thy servants, and may they recognize that it was Your precious Body that was bruised and wounded, and by the stripes we are healed. Grant it, Lord. Sanctify this kosher bread to its intended purpose. We ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Notice Abraham. There he was. And he met Melchisedec, which is the King of Salem, King of Jerusalem, King of peace, without father, without mother. And notice, He blessed Abraham after the battle was over. When the battle was over, He blessed Abraham. And notice what he did. He brought out wine and bread and give it to him. Wine and bread is the communion. They took communion after the battle was over.

Sure, one of these days we're going to take communion again when the battle is over. When we brought back the lost children, the lost sheep of the fold, have brought them back into reconciliation, and life is finished, then we'll have communion again with the Melchisedec of heaven, Christ. He will bring out the bread and wine, and we'll enjoy it together.

Matthew the 26th chapter and the 26th verse, now we got her; here we are, at the last supper.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

For this is my blood of the new testament, for--which is shed for many for the remission of sins... (S-i-n-s, sins, Christians who does things wrong)

All right, but--but listen, 29th verse...

... I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.

What? The same thing Melchisedec did after Abraham had got his position, set his men in order, and won the battle, and had come home, and Melchisedec come out with bread and wine. After the battle's over, then we'll eat the wedding supper with the Lord Jesus in the new world. Oh, blessed be the Name of the Lord. All right.

Who was this King of Salem? A great King of Jerusalem, not the earthly, the heavenly. The earthly Jerusalem was a type of the heavenly; and here come the King of Salem which is first the King of righteousness, the King of peace. He didn't have any father, didn't have any mother. He didn't have beginning of life or ending of days. Oh, my. Without a descent, none other than Christ, Himself. That's Who the Church meets when they go up into the air.

And when Abraham met Him, he give Him the tithes of all that he possessed. You know what they did? The first thing they did was set down (I feel really emotional.), set down and broke bread and drink wine and taken the communion after the battle was over.

And the Bible tells us, Jesus Christ did, that, "We'll eat no more of the fruit of the vine, until I eat it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom." That when the last battle is fought and the victory's won and the waywards has been brought back to the Kingdom of God, we'll set down in the Kingdom of God, and with our Melchisedec Who has no beginning of days or ending of here... (Oh, my, He's our King that's eternal One), eat the communion again with Him. Oh, what a beautiful picture, just marvelous, Old Testament gives to the New Testament believers.

Oh, weary pilgrim tonight, come back to the Father's house. Come up out of Sodom. You've been reconciled by the Blood. And this glorious memorial night, when our great Melchisedec, Who had no beginning of days or ending of life, but is a King and a Prince forever and forever...

The Holy Spirit here tonight is a-wooing to the unsaved, now if you're without Christ tonight. And when the battle is over if you want to meet Him in peace and take the communion with Him, and you've promised that you love Him, and separate yourself from the things of the world, take the old rugged Gospel and the old fashion rugged way, and drink the cup of the bitterness of the persecution of the world. And drinking the bitter drugs of persecution of the world, it's given to us by the Bible that we'll drink the sweet wines of heaven someday, when we meet Him in peace yonder between the heavens and earth when He comes to serve the communion.

As soon as the battle was over, what did he bring out? Bread and wine, the communion. And they took communion after the battle was over. Let's fight now, bring back the lost brother. Jesus said, "I'll drink it anew with you in the Father's Kingdom." After the battle's over. Amen. Melchisedec came out, met Abraham, and gave him communion.

And notice what a type we find here. After the battle is over, after the--the real believer has fought the enemy, broke down the lines and tried to capture his brother, the real Seed of Abraham bringing back that wayward brother, Melchisedec come out and served wine and bread, communion, giving communion after the battle was over, served the communion to him after the battle.

A very beautiful type of when the battle is over, here on earth, the victories have been won. Jesus said, "They would eat it anew in the Father's Kingdom, after the wayward has been brought back. Then the first thing we do when we go in, after the battle is over, is sit down at the table in the Kingdom of God. And there those that has fought, and sat down and overcome, shall be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and then again they take the bread and the wine, in the Father's Kingdom on the other side. What a real picture this is, of Abraham going out and getting Lot and bringing him back.

But after Abraham (the true, righteous one of God), when he'd had the revival, after the battle was over, Melchisedec met him; and Abraham gave Him a tenth of the spoils. And what did Melchisedec serve him? Wine and bread, the communion, after the battle was over. Jesus said, "I'll not eat it any more with you, until I eat this anew with you in My Father's Kingdom." When the battle's over, servant of God, someday Melchisedec, the great King of peace, the great King of heaven, without father, without mother, without beginning of Life or ending of Life--without beginning of days or ending of Life, He will meet us after the battle's over, and serve us communion.

Oh, seed of Abraham, bless your heart. Aren't you happy that you can be a seed of Abraham, a servant of God battling against the things of the world? Oh, how it makes your heart feel to see the very church that you love falling out into the world; and you reach for it, and pull for it, like that, and try to shake it and show it. It'll drift right straight back out in the same thing. See? But remember,

 When the battle's over, we shall wear the crown!

 We shall wear the crown, yes, we shall wear the crown!

 And when the battle's over, we shall wear the crown

 In the New Jerusalem.

 Wear the crown, wear the crown,

 Wear a bright and shining crown.

 And when the battle's over, we shall wear the crown

 In the New Jerusalem.

Now, it's Communion time. While we bow our heads I'm going to ask someone to come to the piano.

Lord, this is the hour, the time that when maybe men and women, Lord, across the world will see that the great hour of judgment is approaching when God will judge all nations in their political standings. Everywhere, every place, and everybody must stand the judgments of God. And, Father, we're so happy to know that there is an escape of these people that--who would desire to escape. And that route is through Jesus Christ, Who is the--the Offspring of David. And we thank Thee, dear Father, for ever sending Him to the earth, that He was the Medium that we could go through; He would intercede for us and take away our sins, that we'd escape the wrath and the damnation of God. We know that the wrath is to come. And as--as John said in the days gone by, "Flee from the wrath that is to come."...

Now, Lord, we pray that as we take Communion tonight that You will sanctify us, Lord, with Your cleansing Blood; and may every sin of these people be remitted. I humbly and sincerely pray, God, that You'll not let one of us take it unworthily. For Thou has said in Thy Word, if we do so, we're guilty of the Body and the Blood of the Lord. Now, Father, make these people holy and consecrated, that we may take this without a blemish.

And now, Father, we realize the Communion was first given down in Egypt. And those people who taken Communion, the lamb and the bread, as they marched out, forty years they journeyed in the wilderness; and there wasn't one feeble among them when they come out of the wilderness. They taken the Communion.

God, be merciful. I pray that all the sick will be healed, all the lost will be saved. And those who are formal and indifferent, may they move up close to the fires of God, warming their souls. Grant it, Lord. Forgive us now and help us. We pray in the Name of Thy Son.

And while we have our heads bowed, I wonder, as the brother gives us a little chord on the piano, if there is a person here that would raise their hand and say, "Brother Bill, I--I sincerely... for a soul's condition. I--I--I want you to remember me. I--I--I want to receive the Holy Spirit." Would you raise your hand, say, "Remember..." God bless you. God bless you, and you, and you, you, and you. God bless you, and you. God bless you, lady, you, and you, you, brother. My, hands everywhere. God bless you, brother. God bless you. God bless you, sister. You, sister, I see your hand. That you want to receive the Holy Ghost. God bless you, brother.

Don't you want just a little closer walk. Remember, friends, we are living near the coming of our Lord. Now, God is confirming His Word, signs and wonders everywhere.

Now, surely that God wouldn't let me go out and be anointed with the Holy Ghost to perform signs and wonders, come back and preach the Word, and so forth, and would bless It everywhere, and do these things, unless He give me some conception of His Word. He wouldn't grant that. So I do know what I'm speaking of.

If you're without Jesus Christ, without the Holy Ghost, may God don't let you have any rest till you receive the Holy Ghost. Don't be deceived. Just don't take one of these formal dry-eyed confessions and say that you got the Holy Ghost. You do not get the Holy Ghost when you believe. You don't believe to get the Holy Ghost. It's a gift of God. Paul said, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" So believe it. And may God grant It to you.

Now, Father, to those who held up their hands, I pray that You'll give them the Person of the Holy Ghost just now. May He come deeply into these many, ten or fifteen hands that went up. I pray that You'll give every one of them the baptism of Thy Being. May they be so filled with the Holy Ghost, till signs and wonders will take place in their lives, they'll see all kinds of signs. Like Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Grant it, Father. We humbly pray in Thy Son's Name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

These little parcels that is kosher bread made without lard, seasoning, and so forth, which represents the body of the Lord. It is not round, it's broke in all pieces. It's because that it means His broken body that was broke for us.

Now, He said, "My peace I leave unto you. My peace I give you." Not as the world gives you peace, but the way He gives you peace. His peace quenches our thirst. If we are longing for peace, then let us refresh in His peace, to know that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Peace-giver that quenches our thirst.

The verse that says, "He is Meat indeed and Drink indeed." I have a little mark here, the 57th verse, "Meat indeed and Drink indeed." Listen what He said here.

And as the living Father hath sent me, and I live by My Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

In other words, "The Father sent Me, and I live by Him. And every man that comes to Christ must live by Christ." Oh, my, there you are, that's the communion. That's the real communion that you find when you live by Christ.

Now, our bodies need food and drink each day, to survive, our physical body. If we don't take food each day and drink, then our body weakens. There's something in us that we must have food. One day's food will not last for the next day. You've got to have food each day, to strengthen your mortal being. You can live over, but you're weaker. And the second day, you're still weaker. And the third day, you're getting tremendous weak.

Well, that's what many times that we do in the spiritual realm. You see, each day we've got to commune with Christ. We've got to talk to Him each day. We've got to settle it with Him each day. Paul said, "I die each day." See? "Each day, I die; yet I live, not me but Christ lives in me." So, if your physical body needs food each day and drink each day, to survive, your spiritual body needs spiritual Food and communion with the Lord each day, to survive. Yes. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." So, each day we've got to study the Bible. Some people doesn't study It at all. Some picks It up every two or three times a year. But, a real, real believer that's really spiritually built up, he reads his Bible every day, and talks to the Lord. That's right. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] He has to. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Now, another thing we take food for, is to build up our body to resist diseases. If you don't take food, and let your body get weak, then it's subject to diseases. Diseases will break right into the blood stream, and here you're gone. If your blood isn't rich and pure, well, then it'll, disease will go right into your blood stream. So you've got to eat good nourishing food to keep your blood stream right. If you don't, you're allergic to diseases. That's what's the matter with a lot of Christians.

Like hothouse plants. You know, you take a plant out of the hothouse, you have to baby it. It don't know the weather. It doesn't know the sunshine and things, it's been covered over and babied. And that's what's the matter with too many so-called Christians, they're hothouse plants. That's right, subject to every bug comes along! You know, it's only the--the... It's only the--the delicate plants that has to be sprayed, or, the hybrid plants.

You know, you take an old Hereford cow and turn him out there on the pasture, and turn a Longhorn out there, that Longhorn can make his own way because he's original breed. But you take a Brangus or a Hereford that's a crossbreed and a hybrid, it's a better cow to look at, sure, fatter and healthier, but you turn them out there, they can't make their way. They'll die! They've got to be babied. See?

And that's what's the matter today, we got better-dressed Christians, bigger churches, and a lot of--of education, lot of theology, but they have to be babied all the time, you have to look through their glass or you're not seeing at all. What we need is some thoroughbred Christians, born under the Blood of the Lord Jesus, that live not off of church theology, but off of the Word of God, the communion with Christ. The Word coming into the believer, his--his spiritual body is built up. Not a hothouse baby!

There was a certain minister said today, I heard him, he said that on a broadcast, he said, that when he come into the country, he had a great sinus trouble, and they were talking of an operation. And they said that they was going to do this and that, and cut on him and operate, and take part of the sinus glands out, which would sink his face in, and so forth like that. And he said he had taken pills by the barrel. Look like there was so many pills that he had to take. But when he come to a good Christian doctor, the doctor said, "Let's forget the pills and let's forget the operation, and let's build up the body so it can resist the sinusitis." That's it!

What's the matter that people don't live as long as they used to? We have to take a shot for this and a shot for that, and spraying ourselves over with all kinds of medicine. What does it do? It gets us soft, fat, flabby, no good. When the man of long ago... Why, we're allergic to everything. Now they're getting mal-allergies and everything else.

I've stood in Africa, couldn't take a shot for malaria. But a malaria mosquito would light on my hand, I'd have malaria. They don't buzz, and you don't know hardly. They light, they just light on, that's it, you've had it. If you live, you'll have it for fifteen years. And then sometimes you die with it. And there was those natives in their little huts, with mosquitoes all over their legs, them naked. Mosquitoes sticking on them, malaria mosquitoes, and it didn't bother them. Why? They had built up an immunity. They had a God-given inoculation.

And that's what's the matter today with the people. That's what's the matter with the church. We got so much baby shots and man-made theology, until we're sprayed over. What we need is God's inoculation by the Word of the Lord God. Man shall live daily by that kind of a Food, to build his soul into inoculation from spiritual diseases that's flowing and jumping around the country. Got lots of notes on this, but I'm going to have to stop.

Now, build up, get ready for the inoculation. Now, we live by this, our--our bodies must have this. And, if we don't then we are subject to all kinds of diseases. And the Word of God, as we believe It and accept It by communion, "Lord, Thy Word is Truth."

"My church says you don't have to be born again. They say, 'Shaking hands is born again.' They say, 'Sprinkling.' They say all these other things, 'That's it, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.'" But the Bible said to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. See? Now, you go ahead with those artificial shots if you want to, you'll make yourself an artificial Christian. See? You don't want that.

You can't have Life, only through Christ. And now what does His Word do? It builds up our spiritual body, strong, as we commune with Him, to resist the Devil.

You say, "Brother Branham, what's that you say, 'communing in His Word'?"

Yes, He is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." And we are to eat His body. Then His body is His Word, because He is the Word. And He said, in Saint John 15, "If ye abide in Me, and My communion, My Word, abides in you, then you can ask what you will and it'll be done for you." There you are. That's true. See, ask what you will!

What do you do? You're building up your body to inoculation from the... Somebody comes in and said, "Oh, our church don't believe in shouting." See, you're built up. What? You got communion in you, the Word. And you're inoculated from it. If a bunch of nonsense comes in, what is it? It has no Word in it, then you're sure it's wrong. I don't care how real it looks, if it's not the Word leave it alone. Right, leave it alone. I don't care what it does, it must compare with the Word!

In prayer, as I was quoting Micaiah standing there, look, it looked really right, while there was Israel, and that piece of land belonged to them. Those aliens had come in and took it away from them and had built their own houses, and they was occupying part of the land that God give them. So it looked like those four hundred Hebrew prophets was right. But, you know, there was something about Jehoshaphat was spiritual, he said, "Haven't you got another one?"

Said, "I got another one, but," said, "I hate him. The only thing he does is prophesy evil."

Said, "Go get him and let's hear him."

And he went up, he said, "Go on, go on up there, but I seen Israel scattered like sheep having no shepherd." And then he told his vision.

Now, whose is right? It looked like the four hundred was right. Four hundred well trained man, saying, "Go up, the Lord is with you." And even Zedekiah had a--a--a--had a... Zedekiah had a two big iron horns built. He said, "By this you'll push the aliens out of the land." He was sure he was right. He knowed he was right. But, you see, he was wrong.

And here, Micaiah, one against four hundred, and he said, "If you go up, Israel will be scattered, with no shepherd."

And the others said, "Go up, the Lord is with you!" Now, materially, they was right, the place did belong to Israel. But the Word of the Lord had condemned Ahab, so how could God bless what He had condemned?

There it is today. See? The Word of communion was in Micaiah. Now, if you're communing with God in taking the real communion, and the spirit in you disagrees with this Word, you're not communing with God, you're communing with devils. And they're so impersonating! The Bible said, "In the last days they'd almost deceive the very Elected if possible. But heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not." And if a... Paul said, Galatians 1:8, "If an angel from heaven preaches any other Gospel than This that you've already heard, let him be accursed." Even an angel! In the early church, when those men, like Saint Martin, Irenaeus, those godly men, when the Devil would appear like an angel of light. But, you watch, he'll be a little bit off the Word.

He appeared to Eve as an angel of light, told her, "Sure, the Lord said this, the Lord said this," but he disagreed with God right at the end. And that's the way false communion does today. When people think they're praying to God, and won't obey the Word, it's a false communion.

"If ye abide in Me, and My Word in you, then ask what you will," see, "and it'll be done." Now, it just can't go one time, then off the next. "Ye abide in Me, My Words abide in you," that's, stay there. Abide means to "rest there, stay right there." Yes, it--it's inoculation from sinful diseases.

Now, let me close in saying this one word now, before we go to the communion table. The Blood and the Body of the Lord, mixed with faith, that's the Blood and the Body, that's the Spirit and the Word, mixed with faith, equals Eternal Life. "He that eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has Eternal Life, and I will raise him up at the last day." There you are. What is it? The communion of the Lord. The Word and the Spirit, this Life is in the Blood, the Word and the Spirit equals Eternal Life, by faith in the Lord.

Here's my prayer, as I see the end approaching and see, at any minute, something could happen, and know that we're not far off from the Coming of the Lord. Lord, then in the Name of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, let me take the Word, the Sword, and wave It with what faith I have, and cut my way through every demon power, till I see Jesus, by the communing of His Word.

Commune with His Word. "If ye abide in Me, and My Word in you, then ask Me what you will and it'll be done for you." How beautiful! There's real communion with the Word and the Spirit, with faith to wave It together, "Ask what you will, and it'll be done for you." Let us pray.

Gracious and Noble Holy Father, God, the great I AM, the El Shaddai, to Abraham. O God, how this great communion of the Lord equals Eternal Life, and how It inoculates from pride, how It inoculates from unbelief, how It inoculates from the sin of the world! It's communion, with love Divine to our Heavenly Father. And by the righteousness of Jesus Christ we have the access to this table. And we pray, Lord, that You will give each of us that access tonight, in the Spirit. Forgive us. And we want our spiritual bodies to grow. We do not care about joining some church or denomination. We want to build the spiritual body, to the inoculation of sin, to a place where there is no more desire to do wrong, and where the Holy Spirit can take His Own Word and our lips, and speak It just as fresh as It was spoken on that day, because It's the same Spirit that was in the Lord Jesus. I pray, Father, that You'll give that to us.

The hours are closing in. Just when, we don't know, that the last one will be saved. But I pray tonight, Lord, if there is those here who doesn't know You as their Saviour, may they find You tonight as they come to this water of baptism, as a memorial, to confess to this body of believers that they believe the story that Jesus of Nazareth was born of the virgin Mary, and was killed, crucified by Pontius Pilate, and was raised up the third day by God, and sets on the right hand of His Majesty, tonight, ever living to make intercessions.

Grant, Lord, that that same person, obeying the commandments of the Bible, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. For there's not another name under Heaven given among men whereby you must be saved." O God, may the people see the sincerity of it, and the firm Word, "There is not another name under Heaven given among man whereby you must be saved, but in the Name of Jesus Christ." Therefore, the apostle said, "Repent, every one of you and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto every age, as many as the Lord our God shall call." Grant, Lord, that there will be much calling tonight.

And it is said also, by our Lord, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him, and all that the Father has given Me will come to Me. My sheep hear My Voice." A stranger, and if a stranger speaks, a voice that's not scriptural, quickly the sheep will recognize it. O God! And if it's Your Voice, the Bible, what It says, every sheep will hear It, because It is sheep Food. They have communed. They know what kind of Food the Father feeds. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth from the mouth of God." Grant, Lord, that many will see and will understand, and will come to Thee tonight.

Those without the Holy Spirit, may they not put it off another hour. It may be too late in another hour. They may not be here.

And, Father, as we've gathered around the table now to take this representation of Thy broken body, we pray that if there be sin in our midst, Lord, forgive us. You said, "When you come together, tarry one for the other." God, if there's a sin in this congregation, anywhere, I pray that the Blood of Jesus Christ will separate that man from his sin, or that woman, boy or girl. And, Father, I pray for myself, that You will separate me from every doubt, every sin, every unbelief, anything that... We know that unbelief is sin. It's the only sin there is. "He that believeth not is condemned already." And only sin there is, is not to believe the Word of God. And, Father, if there's any unbelief in me, forgive me, O God, which there is much, and I pray that You forgive me. Forgive my congregation that Thou has given me tonight, and feed them upon the Word. Grant it.

And as we take these little commemorations of the broken body of Him Who is raised from the dead and alive forevermore among us, may we receive communion from Him, Lord, the communing of the Holy Spirit. Grant it, Father. We ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Now, to you that must go and cannot stay for about fifteen-minute communion service... There's not many of us, and we'll take the communion. It is not a closed communion. It is absolutely for every Christian believer. God don't have the line drawed between Baptist and Methodist, and so forth. We are all, by one Spirit, baptized into one Body, and we're fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God. And if there be someone among us who's strange, I'm not here too much, and don't know who is members and who is not. Remember, no matter what church you belong to, that has nothing to do with it. There's only one Church, anyhow, and you don't join in It, you're born in It. That's right. And you're borned into this Church of God. And we pray that you'll receive Christ tonight, commune with Him as we remember His broken body, and these little elements that we take, of the passover, and may God sprinkle our hearts and conscience with the Blood.

Now they'll bring forth the communion, and we'll read now from First Corinthians, the 12th chapter. And we're going to take the communion immediately after this, and we trust that God will bless you abundantly. Then as soon as we read this, or just before we read it, if you have to go, well, you can go out easily. And then be with us again Wednesday night, and Sunday morning and Sunday night. If you can stay to take the communion with us, we'll be so happy for you to do it. Then immediately after that, will be the Lord... will be the baptismal service, which will be in about fifteen minutes, or twenty at the most, I suppose. First Corinthians, the 11th chapter, the 23rd verse.

... I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night... which he was betrayed took bread:

And when he had gave thanks, he brake it,... said, Take, and eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he had supped, saying, This is the cup of the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

For as oft as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do shew forth the Lord's death till he come.

Wherefore whosoever shall not eat this... whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

For this cause many are sick and weakly among you,... many sleep.

For if we should judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for the other.

Now, just a moment of silent prayer for every one of us, pray for me while I pray for you. [Brother Branham pauses--Ed.]

Grant these requests, Almighty God. Forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us. This we ask in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.

These little parcels that is kosher bread made without lard, seasoning, and so forth, which represents the body of the Lord. It is not round, it's broke in all pieces. It's because that it means His broken body that was broke for us. And may God grant His blessings to everyone that eats it. Now, it is not the body, it only represents the body. I have no power, no one else does, to make it anything but bread. God alone. And that's what He told us, to eat this bread and drink this cup of wine. Now let us bow our head.

Most Holy God, Whose servants we are, in the Name of Jesus Christ, sanctify this bread for its intended use, to make us, as we receive it, remember that our Lord was crucified; and His body, precious and holy as it was, was mingled with stripes and thorns and nails, for us, that through His riven body came forth the Spirit that gives us Eternal Life. May we, Lord, as we eat this, have journeying grace, as Israel did forty years in the wilderness, and not a feeble one among them. Father God, grant this, as we pray You sanctify this bread, kosher bread, for its intended use. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

The cup of the New Testament, the Blood. I think of that song, "Every since by faith I saw that stream Thy flowing wounds supply, redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die." When I see this blood, grapes, the blood of grapes, I know it represents the Blood that came forth from the Lord Jesus' body. May ever who receives this have Eternal Life, may sickness depart out of their bodies, may weariness and feebleness, oppression, may the Devil (in every form) leave them, that they might have great strength and health and Eternal Life, to let their light shine before this wicked and adulterous generation we live in, to glorify God.

Heavenly Father, we present to You the fruit of the vine. In the Name of Jesus Christ, sanctify it, to represent the Blood of Thy Son, Jesus, in It we have, "Wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes we were healed." Grant, Lord, that Life will come to us, Eternal Life in great abundance, that we might be able to serve You better, have strength and health to carry us from place to place where we expect to serve You, wherever You will call us. Grant these blessings in Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.