Ewald Frank

preached on 25. 08. 1991, 14:00, Zürich,

Topic: "Biblical end-time prophecy came through the mouth of His prophet, Brother Branham!"

broadcast on 30. 09. 2026

In this place we have the privilege, the privilege given by God not only to speak about God and His Word, but to allow God Himself to speak to us through His Word. That is a world of difference for those who know it. Many speak about God, yes perhaps too many, and many also speak about God’s Word, perhaps too many, because they are not at all called to do so, but there are only a few through whom God can speak directly. And by that I do not mean anyone standing up here at the front, but rather God’s Word, which speaks to us and is in all matters concerning faith and life binding upon us all.

We have after all been observing world events together over the last few days, and I must say that we have come one step closer to the fulfilment of what must happen before the return of Jesus Christ. And someone might well ask, how can one claim that? You see, Holy Scripture does indeed contain the prophetic part to which we should pay attention in order to recognize the progress being made, to have guidance and to know how far the world’s clock has advanced, and on top of that, God had His servant and prophet, Brother Branham, and I hope we all understand this correctly. A man of God, who is called in a supernatural way, gains insight and an overview of things that are not accessible to others.

There were prophets, men of God, to whom the Lord could speak, whom He could send and whom He could commission. We can read about this throughout the Old Testament. Similarly, at the beginning of the New Testament, there were men sent by God. John was a man sent by God, Peter a man sent by God, Paul a man sent by God. And if the Lord is the same as we believe Him to be, then at the end of time, He must be and act just as He was from the beginning of time and as He dealt with mankind.

It is still written in Amos 3 verse 7:

[7] Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

In 1933, Brother Branham saw the end times in visions. He saw how Mussolini would take power in Italy. He saw how Fascism would rise. He saw this, and please bear this in mind, as a man who had only attended primary school and had no further formal education to his name, he said at the time: “An Austrian named Adolf Hitler will take power in Germany.”

I said “in 1933”, actually I should have said 1932. In some sermons one year is given, in others the other. In fact, it was as early as 1932 that this was seen and also spoken of.

In any case, Brother Brenham saw that three things would arise, Fascism, National Socialism and Communism. And then the voice of the Lord’s angel spoke to him and said: “The first two will come to nothing and end in Communism.” And the angel of the Lord continued, saying to him: “At the very end Communism will fail and everything will”, shall I call it by its name, “end under Roman rule.” And that is exactly what we are seeing now.

Fascism and National Socialism are long gone. What has now happened in the Soviet Union was the death blow for Communism. The end has been heralded. One can simply say it no longer exists.

It had to come to this, the 72 hours that have passed since then have moved us all. But one thing we knew, that all things would take their course, just as God foretold in His Word. So we are actually grateful, that we have taken a huge step closer to the end.

Now the Russian Empire, that is, the Empire of the Soviet Republics, is also crumbling. I believe, if I’m not mistaken, there are 58 nationalities within the vast Soviet Empire. If one considers Russia proper, it is not actually all that large. And so what is written will now be fulfilled: “The fig tree and all the other trees will put forth their leaves.” [Lk 21:29-30] Not only the nation of Israel, but all the other nations that were forcibly subjugated and incorporated, whether Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia or others, will follow.

Why is everything crumbling? So that the Roman Empire, under papal domination, may come into being. And anyone who watched the funeral of the three heroes of the Soviet Union could see that the splendor of the Orthodox Church shone brightest. Nothing else was as conspicuous as the splendor with which these three heroes, who were run over by a tank and one of whom was shot last Wednesday, were given their final honors and laid to rest.

Everything that had not been possible for 70 years had now become possible once more. Religion has made a comeback and all other ideologies must make way for this religious trend of our time, for the time for it has come.

As I said, we are observing these things and are grateful to God that the end has now truly been heralded. And perhaps some who are familiar with Brother Branham’s statement that Russia will one day destroy the Vatican with a nuclear bomb have already thought that the time has now come for this upheaval to take place. No, that will only happen right at the very end, for Brother Branham also saw the United States being destroyed right at the very end, and indeed after the rapture these three things will happen, originating from Russia, the reckoning with the Vatican, the advance alongside all the others against Israel. And because the USA stands on Israel’s side, the strike against the USA will follow in the same vein. But that will only come after the rapture.

We do not need to worry about it today.

Another matter that has continued to occupy my thoughts is also a statement by Brother Branham, as well as the religious developments of our day. Brother Pesal sent me a newspaper clipping from the South West Press, and I would like to read just a few sentences from page 19 here: “Pentecostals optimistic about dialogue with the Catholic Church”. That is the headline in the newspaper.

And then we read: “Official contacts between the Vatican and various Pentecostal fellowships from around the world give cause for hope of a deeper understanding between Pentecostals and Catholics.” And it continues: “In an interview with a Catholic news agency, Möller said in Bonn, ‘The dialogue on the biblical and systematic foundations of evangelism has been fruitful for both sides.’”

So here we have two bodies coming together, one from the Roman Catholic Church, the other from the Pentecostal Churches, and both are discussing the foundations of evangelism. What can one say to that?

I remember the saying, and I particularly hope that all those who are new to this and have not yet been able to fully understand Brother Branham’s ministry, I remember the statement that, like no other, cut right through me to the very core, and I have heard many statements from him. He spoke about the denominations and said “the Lord Jesus did not organize the church as a denomination.” He spoke of the organism of the body of Christ in contrast to organized religion, and he said “All organized religions and denominations bear the mark of the first organization.”

And then he went on to say who this first organization was, namely the Roman Catholic Church, referring to Revelation 17 which states that this is the Mother Church and all other denominations are its daughters. [Rev 17:5] Brother Branham said in a very weighty voice, you could tell that God was speaking through him, he said: “All denominations are anti-Christ movements including the Pentecostal denomination.”

And when he said Pentecostal denomination, it hit home.

You must now take yourself back many years, it may have been 1962 to 1963 when I heard him say this. Back then the early Christians were still the early Christians and the Pentecostal mission was the Pentecostal mission, it was a separation, people preached the gospel as far as they understood and knew it, they set themselves apart, one did not belong to the masses, one belonged to the small despised flock. What has happened in all these years? Since breaking away there has been a reorientation and a return to the bosom of this Mother Church is taking place. And today we see how right this man of God was when he said all denominations are anti-Christian movements including the Pentecostal denomination.

At the time I still thought to myself, man of God, haven’t you gone too far? Here are people baptized in the Spirit, who praise and glorify the Lord, who have experienced conversion. I tried to piece the matter together based on the level of understanding I had at the time. I am grateful to God that my understanding back then is not the same as it is today. God has continued to lead us all forward. He has given us anointed eyes, opened our understanding of Scripture and enabled our spiritual growth by His grace.

I must also recall that I was once in Düsseldorf with Brother Schmidt, I have probably already told you this, at a huge congress of full gospel business people and to see Demos Shakarian, who was a great friend of Brother Branham and whom I also knew personally. I thought, if he is there, then you might as well go along to see and hear what is going on. The large banner with the headline “The banner over us is love”. It was more or less acceptable. But then came the statement, “we all come from different churches and Christian fellowships, but…,” here comes the but, “but faith in the triune God unites us all.” And as you can imagine, the Bible knows no such concept, the word trinity, triune God or God in three persons do not appear even once in the Bible, no prophet, no apostle ever uttered such a phrase.

There is only one true God, who has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit in order to fulfill his plan of salvation for humanity. In order to transform us human beings into sons and daughters of God, he made the beginning in his self-revelation in Jesus Christ as the firstborn among many brethren, so that we too might be renewed and born again by the Spirit of God through the power of redemption by the blood of the Lamb.

What strikes me most here is precisely the fact that all fellowships, all denominations right down to the Pentecostal mission, whoever they may be, which held fast to the doctrine of the Trinity and practiced the unbiblical baptism in the three titles, are of like kind and indeed actually belong back in the mother’s womb. Outwardly they may have come out, but doctrinally and inwardly they have remained of the same kind and so we actually have a very good reason and cause to thank God, to give thanks for the correction, for the restoration of Bible teachings and biblical practice, so that we have not merely come out and gone our own way outwardly, but as Paul writes to the Corinthians, that we may truly and completely rid ourselves of the old leaven, so that we may then become an unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [1Cor 5:7-8]

I mentioned this once in Krefeld, I remember it well. My mother used to bake bread and I’ve known about leaven since time immemorial. The leaven remains as it is until she took it and put it into a new batch of dough and then began to knead it. Only then did the leaven take effect. All week long, from Saturday to Saturday, it lay there as a lifeless lump. But then, when the next Saturday came and it was time to break bread and the new dough was mixed, she would take that old leaven and off it went and lo and behold it began to rise.

What do we see in church history? Every time God did something new, what happened? Someone brought out some old leaven, put it into the new dough and kneaded it all together. And what happened? That little bit leavened the whole mass completely. Now, at the end of the age, God desires a complete separation. He does not want old leaven to be taken and added to the new dough once again, but for us to be made new through and through by the grace of God.

There is a marvelous scripture that Paul addressed to the church in Romans chapter 11, Romans chapter 11, verse 16, Romans chapter 11, verse 16:

[16] For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

You are all familiar with Holy Scripture, so there is no need to read all these passages. Look, in our day it really is essential that all old leaven, unbiblical teachings be kept out. The people of Israel were not allowed to have any leaven for seven days. [Exo 12:15-19] It was the feast of unleavened bread. The time has come, when now, at the end of the seventh church age, a true purifying must take place, so that nothing of the old, unbiblical remains, but everything is made new by the grace of God.

With this in mind, we shall return to the subject of baptism later, but because we have announced a baptism, and God willing, it will take place after this service, let me say this now. Those who repeat Matthew 28 over and over again have not understood what the Lord said. They repeat a task and do not provide the solution, they do not give the answer to the task, they merely repeat the task. And so we see that the enemy has succeeded in turning the Word of God into mere decoration, and he did this even in the Garden of Eden. He took the Word, he made use of the Word to give the whole conversation with Eve this beautiful façade, namely to use what God had said, to present it just a little differently, to rephrase it and then add the question mark “Did God really say?” [Gen 3:1]

Everyone, right down to the Pentecostal churches who baptize using the formula in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, simply belong to that tradition where baptism was first practiced in this way. And everyone, even the most Catholic encyclopedia, Herder, the greatest German encyclopedia, I have 13 volumes of it, none under 800 pages, and all those who have written church history attest that in the first centuries people were baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was only with the emergence of Constantine’s church, I do not like to call it the Church of Rome, let alone the Lord’s Church, only this master of intrigue, Constantine, he actually founded this imperial and state church. And at that point the revelation concerning Matthew 28, verse 19 was lost and a formula was devised from it.

I have already said this here too, what goes on in the name of this formula is unspeakable. If you go to Bavaria, when a housewife cuts into a fresh loaf of bread, she says “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Wherever you go, these three titles are always used, in sorcery, in rituals involving people and livestock, in table turning, in all forms of sorcery throughout the so-called Christian West.

And I have probably mentioned this here before as well. I once met some men in a hotel who approached me. It was on the North American continent, men who belonged to the full gospel businessmen. Demos Shakarian was well known. One of them was the president of the chapter and he said to me, “you German, you seem interesting to us. Do tell us who and what you actually are.” And I said: “I’d be happy to do that, but as you are a little older than me, I’d like to do you the honor of asking, please tell me who you are, introduce yourselves briefly and then I’ll do the same.” And that’s how it went.

To cut a long story short, one of them was a leading figure in a spiritualist circle. A man who belonged to the Freemasons. And when I had given my testimony, including on the oneness of God, he flinched and said: “Now I am completely confused, because actually I also believe that there is only one God.” And then he asked me something along these lines: “Tell me, why then did I have to take my oath in the Masonic lodge in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?” And then I knew even more than I had known before.

When Brother Branham was in Zurich, you heard it from his own lips, the Lord spoke to him: “Go to the spiritualist meeting at such and such a place, here in the city of Zurich in 1955,” and the angel of the Lord said to him: “There I will show you what is going on in the formula in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” And lo and behold, Brother Branham walks in, and the lady, the medium says: “The man who is now entering does not believe,” and addresses him directly, and he says: “I do not believe in what is going on here.” And the medium said: “This is from God.” And Brother Branham said: “This is not from my Lord, this is not from Jesus Christ.” And there was a confrontation.

In any case, the medium said: “If you have more power than I do, then command or speak or do something to make the table rise, so that we may know that you have the power of God.” And Brother Branham said: “I am not here to do what you tell me, I am here on God’s behalf to do whatever he commands me to do.” And in the blink of an eye, she uttered her formula, and the table rose into the air before Brother Branham’s very eyes. Brother Branham watched, right here in the city of Zurich he watched.

And then it happened, Brother Branham said to this medium and those present: “This is of the devil, from Satan, under a religious guise,” and so on. And he said: “So that you may know that what is being done here is from Satan, let it be done by the power of God, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that this table may fall to the floor and shatter into a thousand pieces.” And so it came to pass. Brother Branham spoke the words and it happened. Right here in the city of Zurich.

What was I trying to say by that? In the formula, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the devil has been able to carry out his work in secret. And if now the Catholic priest begins every ceremony and everything in this way and the Pentecostal preacher does the same, what is the difference? If two people do the same thing, is it not the same thing? You see, Satan has been able to hide himself under a pious guise. It took a prophet, a man sent by God, to reveal to us the tragedy of this deception in a pious manner so that we might be delivered from this deception, set ourselves apart, and become a people who are holy to the Lord.

In light of what I have just reported, I would like to make a very urgent appeal to all those who have not yet been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Bible, that they seize this opportunity today and be baptized biblically. Just as the bride takes the bridegroom’s name, identifies with him, and is not ashamed of him, so too do all who belong to the Bride of the Lamb take on the name of the Bridegroom. They have died with him, and through baptism are buried with him, and are raised from the water, which is meant to symbolize that they will walk in a new life with Christ.

Beloved, I have only said this to briefly illustrate the religious development, adorned and decorated with many Bible verses, as it is unfolding in our day. If agreement is reached here between a Roman Catholic delegation and a Pentecostal delegation, how far have we actually come? The Bible says: “How can two walk together unless they are in agreement?” [Amo 3:3]

And then it is actually written here: “Christians from the various Pentecostal fellowships would have to revise their assessment of the Catholic Church in many respects.” Yes, what choice do they have? If they wish to join forces with them, they can no longer speak out against it, they must then speak in favor of it, and then they are no longer God’s mouthpiece. We are God’s mouthpiece only as long as we pass on the pure words of God without any compromise whatsoever. The moment compromises are made, it is no longer God’s pure and holy Word.

Just one more sentence: “In particular the biblical foundation of the church,” just imagine, the biblical foundation of the church, which doesn’t actually exist, but that’s what it says here, “the biblical foundation of the church and its theological orientation towards Christ must be indisputable.” The Church of Rome is not orientated towards Christ, it is centered on Mary, on saints, on all sorts of things, on the Pope, on all sorts of things, and Christ is mentioned in passing, wherever he fits in, he is included, wherever he is not needed, he is left out. There is only one proclamation that has Christ at its center, and that is the proclamation of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

It is rare for me to read aloud; here is another newspaper clipping that Brother Pesal sent me, and here the objection is not that homosexuals are being married, but that church members are attending Pentecostal meetings to have an experience there. I do not wish to go into these matters in greater detail, time is precious after all, and it is short. Beloved, let us also take what has just been said from the hand of the Lord. And informed people do not go astray, and what we need now is divine information. What is right should be recognized as right, and what is wrong should be exposed as such. The people of God must be given such guidance.

Spiritual development reminds me very strongly of what the Lord said in Matthew 24 and Luke 17, and perhaps in other passages too: as it was in the days of Noah. Beloved, most people skim over this, it says “they were marrying and giving in marriage” and so forth. [Mt 24:37-38; Lk 17:26-27] Marrying is by no means forbidden, indeed God ordained it, he instituted marriage. “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make him an help meet for him.” [Gen 2:18]

That is the rule. What happened in the days of Noah? What did God take issue with when he said “they were marrying and being given in marriage”? Here is the point: the sons of God, the line of Seth, took wives from the line of Cain, as we would say today, believers and unbelievers. That was the point God took issue with. Not that anyone should marry a woman, but the line of God, from which Christ was to come in the flesh, was to remain pure and unmixed, but then the moment came, they were marrying and were given in marriage, yet they did not observe the divine principles, but did as they pleased, and hear what God says: “He said, referring to the sons of God in the days of Noah, My spirit shall not always strive with men.” Genesis 6, verse 3.

What was it? “This line of Seth, these sons of God, these children of God, did not heed what the Spirit of God told them, as he admonished them through Noah’s message, they did as they pleased, even though they had the Spirit of God, and the Lord our God said: “My spirit shall not always strive with men.”

Imagine, knowing this now, that back then it was not simply a general matter of anyone getting married or being given in marriage, but rather that believers and unbelievers were intermingling, and so God had to bring about the end of all flesh. Why then did he say: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days when the Son of Man is revealed?” [Luk 17:26]

And now comes the big question. All these men, including those around Brother Branham, whether it was Gordon Lindsay, whom I personally translated in Stuttgart, or others whom I also met, all of whom received the Spirit, and millions of Pentecostals who have truly received the Spirit of God, we do not deny this. We freely and openly confess that since the turn of the century the Holy Spirit has begun to work anew, whether in China or Russia, whether in America or Europe, independently of one another, the Spirit of God has begun to work anew everywhere.

But now the question is, why do the children of God not allow themselves to be guided into all truth by the Spirit they have received, but instead suppress the truth in unrighteousness and to top it all, even boast of having received the Spirit of God? In the end a reckoning will follow, for then God will pronounce his judgment. As for the others who have not received the Spirit, he cannot be grieved, suppressed or humiliated within them. This can only happen to those who have received him. So what is the crucial point now? It is that we are able to discern precisely what is happening at present.

The children of God are mingling with the other side. All the barriers that once existed have been torn down. They say, as in the days of Balaam, and at other times: “We are all the same after all, let us celebrate festivals together.” [Num 25:1-2; Num 31:16] And what was it like in the days of Balaam? It was exactly the same. It was not that the Israelites had married amongst themselves. What was it? Intermingling. It was intermingling that brought the downfall upon the people of God.

What happened in the days of Solomon? You can read about it. He did after all have many wives. In any case, it is written that the foreign women turned his heart away from God. And then he built shrines and went after gods and goddesses to please these foreign women. [1Kin 11:3-8]

Do you see what this is all about? God wants separation, not intermingling. God’s people must remain God’s people. And everything else that belongs to the world must remain in the world. Jesus said: “Ye are not of this world, just as I am not of this world.” [Joh 17:14]

So we belong to God, we belong above. And so it is also written: “Seek the things that are above.” [Col 3:1]

And we have been born again by God unto a living hope, not to take part in this mingling, but to be set apart. [1Pet 1:3] And look at the mingling today, as we have just read about here in the newspaper reports. No more separation, “we are all one, hallelujah, praise be to God.” And I must say, forgive me for saying this, but I am a Protestant through and through, I can’t help it.

In any case, when I witnessed and experienced this singing, what is called “singing in the spirit” in the charismatic movement, I was quite astonished that the kind of singing bore such a strong resemblance to the priest’s chanting, that I thought to myself… who does not know it, when the priest sings in Latin with his melody forward and backward and so on. And I thought to myself: “well, look, they all think they are singing like that in the Holy Spirit, even the melody of the singing tells where it comes from.”

Thank God for the sending of His servant and prophet. Thank God for the revelation of His Word and His will. We do not live in darkness, so that the day of the Lord might overtake us like a thief. [1The 5:4] Do you realize why Brother Branham mentioned Matthew 24:24 time and again? “If it were possible, even the elect would be deceived.” Thus the one will come close to the other, the counterfeit to the genuine. So that only the truly initiated, those who have been born again through the Word and the Spirit, who have thus become part of the Word of God, they will recognize the difference through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. All others will fall into error.

Even in these days, I am no prophet, but together we have the prophetic Word and we believe what the Lord has said. I can understand what our Lord said. It will be in the days of the Son of man as it was in the days of the flood, in the days when the ark was being built. At that time the children of God did not listen to the prophet, they paid no heed to the warning, they ignored everything and thought to themselves: “we have the Holy Spirit, we are descended from Seth, we have the promises, God is with us.” They had the Holy Spirit, for it is written: “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” [Gen 6:3] So these people, the children of God in the days of Noah, humiliated and grieved the Spirit of God because they did not listen to what God had to say to them through a commissioned mouth.

If we now and then place emphasis on the importance and significance of the fact that we are now living in a prophetic age and that today it is not the Pope or the devil nor evangelists who have the say in the kingdom of God, but that the Lord Himself speaks to His people through His revealed Word, through the promises given for our time and walks amongst the seven golden candlesticks. [Rev 1:12-13; Rev 2:1] In this context we must indeed mention Brother Branham. We do not do this out of arrogance nor to offend anyone. We do it out of reverence for the Almighty God. And if we are to be completely honest, whether believer or unbeliever, whether in this or that denomination, if anyone were to accuse us of following a man, then we could level the same accusation at everyone else.

To some we might say: you follow the Pope, to others: you follow the cardinals or the Protestant bishops or the priest or the pastor or a denomination. We will not accept this accusation. We do not follow a man. We follow the Lord, who sent us a man with His Word, with a message of the hour, to snatch us out of error and place us wholly and completely within the Word of Truth. Nor do we apologize for this. On the contrary, we are very grateful that God has ordained it so.

Have we now fully grasped the parallel? When our Lord speaks specifically in Luke 17, verse 30 and so on, that the Son of man will be revealed and that things will then be as they were in those days, we should not be surprised that the entire Protestant world is returning to the mother’s womb, that even the Pentecostal movement refuses to be chastened by the Spirit of God and does not take the warning God gives seriously, but simply says: “Huh, we do have the Holy Spirit.” Then hands are raised and praise and worship are offered in tongues, both old and new, sometimes even sung. I wish with all my heart that the Spirit of God would come upon the whole church and I wish that from the first to the last we might be baptized in the Spirit according to the Bible, that God’s holy fire might touch the tongue of every one of us and that the holy anointing of the Holy Spirit might come upon us all, so that we may proclaim the mighty deeds of God in a wide variety of languages, but in all this, please always speak the language of God and do not speak past God. [Act 2:3-4, 11]

There is the scripture in 1 Corinthians 12 and also in chapter 14: “anyone who speaks in tongues speaks to God.” [1Cor 14:2] They utter mysteries and no one understands them. What are they all saying today, throughout the entire charismatic movement, what are they saying? They are not speaking mysteries, they are speaking past God, and the mysteries that God has truly revealed, they reject them, they cast them aside. So even these people, who have received the Spirit of God, no longer allow themselves to be corrected by the Spirit of God, and that is precisely what is needed in these days. The Holy Spirit will always lead us into the Word and will expose error. Where error is concealed, where people are encouraged in their error, there one may speak in tongues, old and new, in one’s own language and in others, yet one is speaking past God.

Oh, may a holy reverence come upon all God’s children and may this warning not merely be understood as a comparison, referring to the days of Noah and to God’s children in those times who intermingled with the other lineage, but that we apply it to our own days, so that we may see with open eyes how this intermingling, this crossing of the line is taking place and that all of us who have found grace before God and are permitted to heed what the Lord says to the church, that we may allow ourselves to be brought into conformity with the Word of God.

To this end, I would like to read the Word from Colossians. Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2 from verse 6:

[6] As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

[7] Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

[8] Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Let us pause here for a moment. We are reminded here that all believers in every age must take care not to be led astray by philosophy, and people have always philosophized about God and God’s Word. The church of the Lord is not meant to follow such philosophizing, but to be firmly rooted in the Word of Truth, in the Word which the prophets and apostles spoke and wrote in the name of the Lord. God has never used philosophers nor theologians. God Himself chose His servants so that they may pass on His Word holy and pure from their lips.

Let us read on here, verses 9 and 10 are of course well known. We read from verse 11:

[11] In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

[12] Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

What a marvelous testimony! May it be that what we have read, all of us gathered here today, and all those in the German-speaking world, or throughout Europe and the world, who may be hearing this sermon, may have become a reality in our lives, that we may indeed have received the circumcision of Christ, and that we might put to death the old self, our own I, which is always so keen to assert itself, and say in truth and in such a way that it confirms our life: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And whatever I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.” [Gal 2:20]

Beloved, we must all draw closer to the Lord. We all need a fresh experience with God. Let us seek to feel His presence more deeply. You know what I mean. There has been a certain cooling off. The Lord does not wish to quench the smoking flax. [Isa 42:3; Mat 12:20] He wants to rekindle the fire. He wants to reveal Himself to us. He wants to bless. He wants to save, heal, deliver, and forgive. He wants to unite His people most intimately with Himself and with one another in divine love. Then no one will need to teach the other anymore. Everyone accepts the divine teaching, becomes still before God, and thanks Him for this privilege. From the throne, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, the Word is freshly illuminated for us.

And if we are to be honest, then we must confess this to the glory of God. We would not have known the things we know today at all. We would have preached just like everyone else… “As it was in the days of Noah…” [Luk 17:26] how many preachers and evangelists have already spoken about this passage, and how many more, as time goes on, will speak about it, without having grasped its spiritual significance and application for our time?

Have we understood this? Every now and then an Amen would be quite good, so that God too knows that we have all understood it. There is in fact a scripture, where the Lord asks his disciples: “Have you understood all this?” [Mat 13:51] It had apparently grown quiet. No one gave an answer. And then the Lord asked: “Have you understood all this?” They said: “Yes, Lord, we have understood.” God wants us to hear his Word, but he also wants us to understand it through revelation, so that our spiritual understanding is opened up through the preaching of the Word and we are thus grafted into and introduced to the Word of truth by the Holy Spirit.

I mean, as I have said on several occasions, it is simply true, whoever hears the prophetic Word in these days from the commissioned mouth of the servant sent by God, I am referring to Brother Branham, and whoever hears it in prayer, to them God makes things clear, reveals them and shows them through the Spirit in all their contexts, as if we were with John on the Isle of Patmos, as if we were with Paul whilst he was dictating the epistles, as if we had gained insight into everything that is written, and we have gained this insight by the grace of our God, for the Word is not in heaven that anyone should have to fetch it down, nor is it across the sea that it should be brought to us, no, the Word is near you, it is in your mouth, it is in our hearts. [Deu 30:11-14; Rom 10:6-8]

I am grateful to God, anew today, for what has happened in recent days, in the past week, and for what is currently unfolding, both politically and religiously. We are witnessing the unification of the nations under one leader, and believe me, it pains me to think of beautiful Switzerland, which is after all a shining example to the whole world, even if you, one day, are to become part of this united Europe and have to contribute financially, just as we already must. I am sorry, but it will happen, it will happen. The Pope can wait here after all, near Bern stands the foundry, where the gold for the Vatican is cast, once it arrives from the Soviet Union at Kloten airport. I am not just saying this, it’s the truth, and you know exactly where the Pope keeps his money.

He doesn’t have it tucked away somewhere in Jura, he has it here, everyone knows that. And that’s why things are going so well, right up until that day, the Swiss Guard will keep a close watch, don’t worry. God will have his way, in every respect, politically and religiously. No one can stop this union any longer, the train is moving and everyone must jump on board and come along for the ride, and anyone who doesn’t come along will be replaced by someone else, so that there will be no more stops, no more delays.

Beloved, may the words we have considered today, even if they were not many scriptures, as usual, may the words serve to show, that in my view, God has taught us a very profound lesson today, God has opened our eyes today to see the progress of Bible prophecy and we see that nothing can be turned back now, the process that has been set in motion is irreversible, as the Americans say, there is no going back, but there is still a church of the Lord, a Word Bride who is coming forth, she will not be well regarded or liked, our crime will be that we do not belong to the denominations that are uniting with the World Council of Churches and returning to Rome, you will see, there may yet come a very brief, difficult time, not a time of tribulation and direct persecution, but a trial could come upon us all. Blessed is he who is firmly grounded, blessed is he who takes the Word as his standard, blessed is he who takes it seriously. And today too, as the opportunity for baptism has been provided, I would like to emphasize this once more, today you have heard God’s Word, it has been enough to make it clear to everyone that there is only one Lord, only one faith and only one baptism, as Paul writes to the Ephesians and our Lord’s Great Commission reads:

“Go ye therefore into all the world, preach the gospel, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name [singular], in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” [Mat 28:19, Mar 16:15]

So it is about the name, Father is a title, any man who has children is a father, Son is a title, when a male child is born, he is a son who has been born into the family, there are many titles, professional titles and so on. When we are talking about the titles, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we must realize that it is not just about these titles, it is about the name that goes with them and “baptize them in the name”, the Greek word eis can actually mean both, in and into, I have looked it up, it can mean both, in and into, in any case, it is in the singular, baptizing them either into the name or in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

And because Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not names, but titles, namely to let us know how God has revealed himself to us for our salvation as Father in heaven, in the Son on earth and then through the Holy Spirit, but everything that God does for our salvation takes place in the name of Jesus, that is the redemptive name of the Lord our God. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” [Mat 1:21] Repentance and forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations in his name. [Luk 24:47] Every prayer, salvation, healing, everything is in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is written: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” [Col 3:17]

Only those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ have, according to Matthew 28:19, been baptized in the name that is above every name, in that God has revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Did not God already say to Moses: “The place which I shall choose, there I will place my name, and there you shall worship me”? [Deu 12:5, 11] How do we worship God? Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. For it is through him that he has revealed himself personally, made his name known and reconciled us to himself. To him, the one and only God, be praise and honor, glory and worship, now and forever. Amen.

All of us who are serious about this and truly leave behind the old leaven, old traditions, old teachings, statutes and dogmas, introduced by men, whatever they may be, and consecrate ourselves to the Lord, placing ourselves at his disposal, must not mix the old with the new, must not put old leaven into new dough and then begin to knead it, so that everything becomes puffed up, no more swelling. We are to become an unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, free from the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees, free from all teachings that are not recognized as the doctrine of Christ, as the teachings of the Word of God. [1Cor 5:8] Whoever has this desire…

Heavenly Father, together we come before your holy presence. We are not worthy to appear before your face, let alone to draw near to your throne of grace. We are people with unclean lips, dwelling amongst a people of unclean lips. Beloved Lord, cleanse and sanctify us, wash us in the precious blood of the Lamb and grant us grace that we may take a bath by the washing of water by the Word, immersed, Lord, so that all may be washed away. We pray especially for our beloved brothers and sisters who wish to be baptized today, who will enter into a covenant of a good conscience with God. Beloved Lord, be especially close to them now. Come upon them, grant them repentance, contrition, faith, forgiveness, a true conversion to you, O God, a renewal through your Holy Spirit, and a new birth of water and the Spirit.

Beloved Lord, we have meditated on your Word. It is precious to us. We see it fulfilled before our very eyes. Beloved Lord, we do not live in darkness, so that these things, and indeed the day of the Lord, might overtake us like a thief. No, we see it. We see how everything is happening, and we lift up our heads, for we know that our redemption is drawing near. Faithful God, once again I ask you, remember us in all that you do, in your Kingdom. Save today at this place. Forgive, Lord. May all receive reconciliation with you and believe that God was in Christ and reconciled the world to himself. Lord, grant us the grace that each of us may believe and accept this for ourselves.

May salvation come to us today, the salvation of our God. May peace and joy, the joy of forgiveness and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding of men, enter into our hearts. Have mercy on us all, save, forgive and bless us all. And be with us all, especially with those being baptized.

To you, the Almighty God, we give honor and praise for all that you have graciously bestowed upon us. Right up to the revealed Word, beloved Lord. Many have the written Word; your people have seen and received the revealed Word, made alive, illuminated from on high and now being fulfilled. Hallelujah to you, the living God, thanks be to you for the gracious visitation we have been permitted to experience. We give thanks, faithful God, that the ministry of your servant and prophet was not in vain, even though most refuse to be corrected by your Spirit and you must cry out: “I regret having created mankind.” [Gen 6:6-7] Yet you have people on earth, a small flock, only a few, whom you have been able to show mercy to, your sheep, your flock, they listen to your voice and follow you.

Almighty God, all are now entrusted to you, here and in every place, all who are yours and all who will yet become yours, they are entrusted to you. Be with us, by your grace, now and always, in Jesus’ name. Amen.