Episode 37: The Family Altar Audio Devotional – Day 3

Episode Summary:

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:13-17)

135 Now, a lot—lot of Trinitarian people try to say… I was debating it not long ago. I find out it don’t do no good, because no man can come to God unless God foreknew him and called him before the foundation of the world. “All the Father has given Me will come to Me,” said Jesus. See?

136 And this man tried to say… He was a—a Trinitarian, extremely, and he stood up before the class and he said, “My precious friends,” said, “Brother Branham is a one of the finest fellows.” See, you see right then, I knowed there was something.

137 Jesus said, “You hypocrites, how can you say good things? for out of the abundance of the heart speaketh the mouth.” See?

138 And so, just trying to find favor with the people, he said… This was a Church of Christ man, and a so-called Church of Christ. Of course they’re against all the true teachings of the Bible, almost, and you couldn’t call them… I don’t mean to say anything against them people in there, but them ministers are, if—if you’ll excuse the expression, “Is like the Irishman’s owl: all fuss and feathers, and no owl.” So that’s just about the way it is, you see, just a… they—they haven’t got nothing to stand on, so, the modern Pharisee.

139 Now, he said, “But Brother Branham has been like a, in this discussion,” said, “wiggle out of everything, like the worm in the lemon.” But said, “I would like for him to wiggle out of this one.” And of course all debaters holds the keynote to the last part of it. So then he said, “At the baptism in Matthew 3, the display of three persons, absolutely three distinct persons: the Son standing on the bank; the Holy Ghost, like a dove, in between them; God the Father, speaking out of Heaven.”

I said, “Sir, is that your keynote?”

He said, “I want to hear you wiggle out of that one.”

140 I said, “Sir, you just wiggle back and read the Scripture, way It reads.” I said, “That’s the only thing; you’re just misreading the Scripture to the people.” I said, “That is thinner than the broth made out of a shadow of a chicken that starved to death.” I said, “Why, you’re just… you’re—you’re—you’re making it wrong, brother. You’re misreading it to the people.” And I said, “Now, look here what the brother says.”

141 Now, I’ll take it like this, like these I got: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now, this here would be the Holy Ghost, that is wrote, “Son,” this is wrote, “Father.” Now, watch how they read that: “When Jesus was baptized… went straightway out of the water: lo, the heavens was opened unto Him, he saw the Spirit of God, like a dove, descending, and a Voice from Heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in Whom I’m pleased to dwell.’” I said, “See, three beautiful illustrations: the Son on the ground, the Holy Ghost like a dove in between, and the Father out of Heaven speaking.” See how the devil can stand there and deceive a person, if you don’t have the revelation of God, if God isn’t merciful to us? We ought to be thankful.

142 He made that say something it didn’t say, just like Matthew 28:19, make them say something it don’t say. He never said, “Baptize them…” He never said, “Baptize in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, the name of Holy Ghost.” Said, “Baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost,” which is Jesus Christ. [Blank spot on tape—Ed.]

143 Now, let us take this illustration. Now, let’s see. You’re getting the Scriptures wrote down, Matthew 3 there, last three or four verses. Now… [One of the ladies speaks—Ed.] All right, that’s all right, she’ll get it and you can study it when you get… I’m giving you Scriptures so you can study it alone. Now, look, notice.

144 Now, they say that was the Son standing on the bank; this is God the Holy Ghost, like a dove, in between them; and God the Father was speaking out of the Heaven. Now, look like that would make that exactly three different voices from three different places. Now, notice. Now, when Jesus was baptized…

145 Now, we realize that heavens was… means “above, atmospheres,” whatever it is, in the heavens. Now, “When Jesus was baptized, He went straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens was open unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God…” I thought they said God was up in Heaven speaking. “The Spirit of God like a dove…” The Dove was God. See? We just got through it here. Holy Ghost and God is the same Person. See? It’s just a title to it. See? And he saw the Spirit of God. Not another God up in Heaven speaking, but the Spirit of God was in a form of a dove. That was—that was the Holy Ghost and it was God, the same thing, see?

146 The Spirit of God, like a dove, descended, and a Voice from Heaven, which was above Him, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell.” Really, the right translation (They got the verb before the adverb, like all the foreign do.) is, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am pleased to dwell in.” Or, “Whom I am pleased to dwell.” “In Whom I am pleased to dwell.” That was God coming into Jesus, and in Him was the Fulness of the Godhead bodily. And there is your Father, Son and Holy Ghost: in the Name of Jesus Christ.

147 Sure. Do you get it? There is no—there is no place in the Bible, speaks of three, it being three gods. There’s no such a thing. It’s absolutely pagan. It come from pagan. [A sister says, “Well that’s—that’s the way with that trinity.”—Ed.] Yes. Well, surely, it… there… they… it’s just as—it’s just as bottomless as hell is. See? There’s no such a thing. [A sister says, “Billy Graham needs that.”]

61-0120 – “The Water Baptism”

Rev. William Marrion Branham

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