Chapter 7

Disease Germs and Healing.

In the framework of what we call "The End Time Message" there are actually three messages to three different groups of people, Believers, Make-believers, and Unbelievers. The prophet had a vision in which he was fishing and made three PULLS, or three times he pulled his line from the water. The first time he pulled the line became tangled, indicating that Brother Branham was injecting some of his own thoughts, and those of other men, into his sermons.
The second time he pulled he had caught a very small fish, about the size of his lure, he said. Indicating that his revelation was being progressive. He was learning as he went. But the third time he pulled his line up he had caught a big rainbow trout. We now understand that this third pull and the large fish was showing that there would come a message after the Seven Seals were opened that would attract the attention of the Bride and would be for her only.
As the Bride grows in her revelation of the Word and the Message, she will recognize the different messages contained in "The Message" and will hold fast to those parts that are being whispered into her ear by the Bridegroom. They are His secrets that He reveals only to her. By the power of the Holy Ghost in her, the Bride will begin to walk in the light of the third pull message, the "Thus Saith The Lord Message". These revelations will separate her from the rank and file of Message Believers.
She will be only too willing to share her powerful truths with all, but her new wine will burst the old wine skins, and there will be a separation within the framework of the Message. It must not be the Bride that holds herself aloof. The grain does not separate itself from the shuck, but rather does the shuck pull away from the grain. It has always been so and we are not to expect anything different now. History repeats itself.
This brings us to the topic of our sermon "Disease Germs and Healing." With all my heart I believe it to be a part of the Third Pull Revelations being whispered to the Bride. We will use Matt. 15:1-20 as our text.
"Then came to Jesus Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem saying, 'Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the Elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread." "But He answered and said unto them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"
Verse 10, "And He called the multitude and said unto them, hear and understand." Verse 11, "Not that which goeth INTO the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh OUT of the mouth, this defileth a man." It is important to see that the topic under discussion here is DISEASE GERMS. In Mark 7:3-4 we read, "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the Elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables."
These religious Pharisees were afraid of germs! Their forefathers had taught them the cleanliness laws handed down by Moses, and they were not only holding to them religiously, but had added many of their own. It is not wrong to be clean, but it is wrong to fear germs and disease. Fear is the opposite of faith, and actually attracts to itself that which is feared. Verse 12, "Then came His disciples and said unto Him, knowest Thou not that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?"
What offended those religious people? Jesus told them that trying to wash away disease germs was not the spiritual answer to sickness. It is true that God gave laws of cleanliness to an unspiritual people in the wilderness, but in our present study Jesus is come, not to do away with the law, which says we are to be clean, but to fulfill it by showing the spiritual side of God's health program.
The spiritual side, as Jesus revealed it so long ago, is that no amount of natural caution will fully protect us from germs and disease. Now that we have the New Testament revelation, that an enemy spirit life is the cause of every germ related sickness, we are required to use our FAITH to resist these spirits.
So much of the Church world today is still deathly afraid of germs. But God has not given us the spirit of fear. Someone else sends that spirit. (II Tim.1:7)
Verse 13, "But He answered and said, every plant which My Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." I believe He was saying that only those with the Seed of God in them would be able to understand the teaching. The rest would be overcome by these spirits of fear and germs. Verse 14, "Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch." Our modern day prophet expressed it like this, "You can't teach Pentecostal babies spiritual things."
Verse 15, "Then answered Peter and said unto Him, declare unto us this parable." (Some of the Bride still did not understand, even as today.) Verse 16, "And Jesus said, are ye also yet without understanding?"
Verse 17, "Do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth (Germs) goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?" (That is to say, germs will have no effect on us when our faith is right.)
Verse 18, "But those things which proceedeth OUT OF THE MOUTH come forth from the heart, and they defile the man."
What is our Lord teaching here? He is stressing the fact that we must keep our hearts right before God, we must daily repent as we have need, and be washed in the water of the Word. We must be concerned about what come OUT of the mouth and not be afraid of the GERMS that might find their way INTO the mouth.
Verse 19 tells us why! "For out of the heart proceedeth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies."
Germs which receive their life from devils, only have power over us when our heart is not right before God. Condemnation in the heart, for whatever the reason, stops our faith and gives the enemy a foothold. Therefore Jesus is teaching that we must pay attention to our RELATIONSHIP with God. Our relationship determines our faith!
The Pharisees were afraid of the germs that might get into their body. The Lord Jesus was teaching that if they would guard their heart, and keep it pure before God, then God would guard them concerning the germs. How so? He would give them FAITH to resist all devils, no matter in what form they came. Faith is our answer, not washing of hands.
Verse 20, "These are the things that defile a man, but to eat with unwashen hands DEFILETH NOT A MAN."
Friends, this is a most powerful statement! Have we really understood what our Lord said? He was not teaching that we should ignore cleanliness, but He was teaching the highest law there is, the LAW OF FAITH.
The spirit life in germs is SUPERNATURAL. No matter what NATURAL means of precaution we may take, we cannot hide ourselves from them. There is only one way to be safe, and that is to live such a life before our Lord that He will, "Deliver the faith unto us that was once delivered unto the Saints." (Jude 3) We are to "Above all take the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked." (Eph. 6:16)
What a rebuke that teaching was to the Pharisees, and what a rebuke to our modern day medical science people. Have your ever watched the doctors and nurses preparing for an operation? The same spirit of fear that was on the Pharisees is still here today. They sterilize everything, pour on bottles of disinfectant, wear a muzzle over their mouth, tie sterilized cloth shoes on their feet, and wear sterilized gowns. They far surpass the thought of cleanliness and are "given over to fear."
Our enemy, Satan, must be much amused at our attempts to hide ourselves from him. He is the "Prince of the powers of the AIR." How are we going to get rid of all the AIR? That's where he lives. Jesus was not advocating filth. He was simply teaching against fear of germs.
He was telling us that when we are born again, and become true servants of God so that our attitude towards God and His Word becomes right, and evil things are no longer welcome in our hearts, THEN we are not to fear germs.
I saw a recent TV program where a group of doctors and scientist went on a germ hunt. They took swabs and glass containers to hold the germs, and went out into public places to gather them from door knobs, bathroom fixtures, counter tops, steering wheels of cars, plates and cups in restaurants and etc.
Checking their findings in the lab, they reported that they had found killing germs everywhere. They warned the people of our nation to be careful what they touched in public places, and to wash and disinfect at every opportunity. The program was televised as an aid to better health, but I couldn't help but notice their final conclusion. After warning the people that deadly germs were everywhere, they concluded that it is virtually impossible to stay clear of them all.
The end result of the program was that they had instilled even more fear into the people. To tell the masses of unspiritual people that killer germs lurk at every turn, then add that it is impossible to protect yourself from them all, is hardly an aid to better health. In fact, the promoter of the program was Satan himself, teaching fear and death. The blind are still leading the blind.
QUOTE: UNCERTAIN SOUND, PAGE 5, " I wake up in the mornings about 4:30 or 5:00, I was laying there thinking, (One morning). Many times God reveals things. I don't teach this (out in other churches) but did you know, man in the beginning, when God made him, He didn't make him to be doctored on. He had his own doctoring in him, he was equipped. He was a unit of his own. Then healing does not come from any outside resource, it has to come from the inside."
"We can use outside aids (if we want to) such as TO KILL GERMS, or we can take our hands and cut on each other, to take a piece out. But healing does not come from anything you apply. Healing only comes from the power that's within yourself. Therefore, healing is in you. NOW LISTEN CLOSE AND THINK HARD BEFORE YOU PASS JUDGMENT ON THIS." (End quote)
Remember what the prophet said in the beginning of the preceding statement "God reveals things." God revealed that in the beginning God didn't make man to be DOCTORED ON. Is it not strange that the scriptures hold no instructions about how to operate, and remove hearts and lungs, and arms and legs? Have you ever wondered why the Bible doesn't tell us how to mix toxic chemicals together to make medicines? (I do not refer to natural herbs, but to poisonous chemicals.)
If you have a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible, you would do well to look up the word "pharmakeia" in the Greek Dictionary. It means "medication" or "pharmacy". It is the word from which our modern day drug stores derive their name. The Greek word means, QUOTE: MAGIC, SORCERY, WITCHCRAFT. Now use your Bible concordance and see what God thinks of SORCERY. For example, Acts 8:9, "But there was a certain man called Simon, which beforetime in this same city used SORCERY and bewitched the people of Samaria---."
And again in Rev. 21:8, God records in no uncertain terms what is to be the end of SORCERERS. They shall have their part in the lake of fire along with murders, whoremongers, idolaters and all liars.
Medical science had it's start back in early Old Testament days. The people had left off obeying God and following His commandments. Therefore, they knew they could no longer depend on Him to heal their bodies, and so they set out to heal themselves. The Israelites, down in Egypt, were taught about drugs and certain healing techniques by the Egyptians. Modern man has now made healing a multi-billion dollar a year business, when all the time our loving Father intends it to be a spiritual thing, and free to all who agree to serve Him.
The terrible error of the teaching of the sorcerers has been handed down through hundreds of years, until when God sent a Word Prophet to preach the truth about science and medicine, the church laughs us to scorn. Medical Science was born in the hearts of a people who were away from God, or else they would never have needed it!
Our subject is DISEASE GERMS! Jesus said, "To eat with unwashen hands DEFILETH NOT A MAN." It is unrepented sin that defiles a man. It is living under CONDEMNATION that is defiling the Nominal Church. What is defiling the Bride in this last hour? It is her failure to understand that God has only one plan for her healing. She is still trying to tie God's plan and man's plan together. She is still double minded about healing. Therefore, when man's plan fails her, she is hard put to gather together her misplaced faith and get it pointed toward God alone.
In Isa. 31:1-3, God again warns His people about turning to the world for help. "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help (Egypt is a type of sin and the world.), and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many. And in horsemen because they are very strong. But they LOOK NOT UNTO THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL NEITHER SEEK THE LORD." "-------When the Lord shall stretch out His hand BOTH HE THAT HELPETH AND HE THAT IS HOLPEN shall fall down, and they shall all fail together."
We have arrived at the place God spoke of in the preceding scripture. Doctors are doctoring on each other, and they are all dying together, unable to cure their so called incurable diseases.
Now for a few minutes, let us look at what a prophet said that a disease germ really is. QUOTE: DEMONOLOGY, PAGES 32-33, "And now notice, the doctor calls it a cancer, but God calls it a devil. A tumor, a cataract, and other diseases, everyone of them comes from a GERM, and that germ has to be a body (has to have a body), and before it can be a body it has to be a LIFE." (End quote)
Did we understand what he said? A germ has a spirit life of Satan behind it. A devil spirit life caused the germ.
Cont. Quote, "Before it can germatize and make more cells it has to be a LIFE. Is that correct? Now where did that cancer come from? Who? Where did it come from? It's another life, different from yours, living in you. Jesus called it a devil. They say "Epilepsy". Why, in the Bible Jesus called it a devil. Now notice in this then, that cell (GERM) sits there, and it's a LIFE. He is growing and becoming greater and greater. He's got one duty to do, that's take your life." (End quote)
QUOTE: DEMONOLOGY, PAGE 38, "And demons, what are they? They are spiritual beings. Now the doctor says you have cancer, or TB, or you have cataracts, or pleurisy, or you've got this, or you've got that----It's a DEVIL, it's a LIFE, and behind that germ life is a SPIRIT." (End quote)
Notice what he said. All germ-related sicknesses are caused by a LIFE, a DEVIL, that is hidden in the germ. The germ is made up of our own body cells that have been contaminated by this spirit life. The doctor can see the germ, or substance, it's growing, but they know nothing of the satanic life producing the growth.
The devil cannot create, only God does that. Therefore, Satan uses our own body cells. He corrupts them and turns them into evil cells. Rather than working to build the body, he turns the cells against our bodies. The doctors call these evil, devil possessed cells, GERMS.
The doctors attack these germs with chemicals made up into certain medicines. Our flesh reacts to these medicines in different ways, depending on the drug administered. The diseased cells, or germs, can be made to dry up and go away if the potion given is strong enough. The only problem is that the good cells are destroyed in the process. Often, enough good cells are destroyed to cause the death of the patient.
All of this natural treatment given to stop the diseased cells in our bodies has no effect at all on the spirit life that produces the germs. Man-made, natural remedies may kill some of the germs caused by devil-spirits, but no NATURAL remedy can stop a SUPERNATURAL DEVIL.
What is the answer? The answer is God's SPIRITUAL PLAN for healing. May I quote it for you?
Luke 9:1, "Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over ALL DEVILS, and to CURE DISEASES."
Notice! The Word says they were given authority to cast out the spirits that were producing the germs. When the CAUSE of the germ, the life behind the germ, was cast out, the sick recovered. Does the Bible actually teach this?
Matt. 10:1, "And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease."
When the unclean spirits were cast out, all manner of sicknesses began to dry up, and the people recovered.
Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him." Notice again. The people were sick, and they were sick because the devil was oppressing them. But when the devils were cast out, they got well. That still works today Little Bride. If we can get the people to believe this Gospel, then the cause of their sickness can be cast out, and God's healing power that lies within us, brings about healing.
Luke 4:38, "And He arose out of the synagogue and entered Simon's house. (Simon's mother-in-law had a fever.) Jesus rebuked the fever and it left." He REBUKED the fever, He SPOKE to the spirit. The spirit understood and had to obey the command.
Acts 8:7, "The unclean spirits crying with loud voices came out of many that were possessed with them. And many taken with palsies, and that were lame were healed." Unclean spirits cause palsy and lameness!
Matt. 8:16, "When even was come they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all that were sick." Can we see it? When the spirits are cast out ,the sick recover.
Devils cause insanity. Lk. 8:26-30, "The insane man in the country of the Gadarenes was healed when Jesus commanded the UNCLEAN SPIRIT to come out of him." (Verse 29)
Devils are the cause of people being deaf and dumb. (Lk. 11:14) In Lk.13:11-13, a woman had a crooked spine and could in no way raise herself up. But when the spirit was commanded to depart she was made straight.
Over and over the Bible tells us that it is evil spirits that cause us our problems, but so many fail to understand. When we speak of devils possessing someone they are at once offended, visualizing someone foaming at the mouth and mentally unbalanced. True, this is one form of possession, but there are many other forms not recognized by the masses.
When a person has cancer of the lungs, it is a spirit of cancer that has possessed the lungs. Tuberculosis is a spirit that men have so named that also possesses the lungs and other body parts. Sugar diabetes is a spirit possessing that part of the body that controls the sugar. Loss of memory is a spirit possessing the part of the brain that remembers. A brain that is not exercised, one that is inactive and dormant, becomes a roosting place for these spirits.
We can eat too much apple pie and get sick; we can overwork and get sick; we can go outside in a freezing rain and become sick. Lack of exercise brings on a form of sickness that we call laziness. There are sicknesses that are self-induced, which are not germ connected in the beginning. But the evil spirits take advantage of the weaknesses that we bring about in our bodies. Brother Branham said that a cancer usually starts, or can start, in a bruised place in or on the body.
A cut that won't heal because the Doctor says it is INFECTED, is simply an evil spirit possessing that injury and interfering with the body's healing process. The Bible tells us to resist these spirits and they will flee from us.
From the teaching of the Bible and the prophet, we can conclude that all true healing comes as the result of dealing with these spirits of infirmity.
QUOTE: DEMONOLOGY PAGE 28-29, "What is a germ? It is the smallest of cells. Let's take the cells in your body. Let's take you down (Take you apart) cell after cell and lay you here on the platform. Now, I've took you apart, every piece of you, and I haven't found YOU yet! I am down to the last little cell, now where are YOU at? Where is your life?"
He is showing that the real US is a SPIRIT OF LIFE from God and cannot be seen with the eye, or found with the doctors instruments.
CONT. QUOTE: PAGE 29, "Now what about a cancer? He is a bunch of cells too. (Just like our body is made up of) A tumor, a cataract, or any of these things, they are cells. (End quote) And he said that behind these cells there is a spirit life that cannot be seen or found with the doctors instruments. But it is there just the same. And in the same way that our physical body dies when our spirit of life leaves it, so does the disease die in our body when the spirit of life behind the germ is resisted and cast out. This is the process of a healing as the sick one begins to recover.
What about allergies? So many thousands have allergies! They are told that they are allergic to many different things: Elm trees, grass, pollen, cat hair, dog hair, house dust and on and on. But friends, if you can receive it, that is the devil lying to you. In the book of Genesis, God looked at ALL of His creation and said "It is good." (Gen. 1:31) Did God make trees and grass, and dogs and cats, and the dust of the ground, and then make man incompatible with them?
The answer is definitely not. But you say, "Every time I am in contact with some of these things I become sick." I do not doubt your statement, but just believe the Word once, and resist that lying spirit and you will find out it was the enemy using those things to bluff you. He has to give you a reason that you accept before he can put his sickness on you. Faith in the devil works the same as faith in our God.
The Lord has put into our bodies a healing process that the doctors call our immune system. This system is kept strong and active by the food we eat. Proper diet and fasting have much to do with our health. It can't be wrong to assist our immune system by using natural, non-chemical products to strengthen it, as long as we keep in mind that these products would avail nothing without God's system in us. He is the only healer.
In closing, we must say that our health depends on our faith, and faith is delivered to us to the same degree that our lives are dedicated to the Lord. We cannot produce faith. If God doesn't deliver, it we are lacking. John 7:17, "If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine---." (God will reveal the Word to him.) This revealing of the Word then, is the delivering of faith into our hearts!
Do we lack faith? Then we must take heed to our dedication, our commitment and our obedience. God will do the rest.