DO 188224/12/84

—And Going Stronger than Ever!—Christmas Eve, 1984!

1. IT MUST BE HEAVEN, ALL I SEE IS ANGELS! How come everybody's so extra beautiful tonight? (Fam: For you!) Well, I've been here before & you didn't fix yourselves up this pretty! I know why!—We've got a new handsome man here tonight! (Kids: It's because it's Christmas!) Oh‚ for Jesus' Birthday‚ well that's different. I'm sure the Lord appreciates it, because I sure do! As soon as you're all finished eating you can assemble up there & I have something very interesting for you tonight‚ something right hot off the griddle that I just got today while I was reading the Kidz BOF!

2. WELL, PRAISE THE LORD! MERRY CHRISTMAS! It's such a happy occasion to have our Family all together, I thought you might like to have your pictures taken‚ so we're videoing tonight! We don't have these formal gatherings too often. I like you to operate here just like any local Home on your own, so the only time you get to see me is on some special occasion. Well, actually I see you around the house every day, several times a day!

3. SO, PRAISE THE LORD! IT'S SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE & IT'S SO GOOD TO BE HERE! PTL! TYJ! IT'S VERY GOOD TO BE WITH THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. The preachers are always talking about, "Here we are in the house of the Lord!" If you ask me, this is more like a house of the Lord than any church I was ever in. This is a house & it belongs to the Lord, so it's a house of the Lord! Amen?—And we have a beautiful Family, thank the Lord, beautiful children, gorgeous angels! All of you just look like little angels to me. PTL! TYL! Hallelujah! Amen, amen, amen. Let's have our dear new friends that have just come lead us in prayer!—Actually old friends, old Family Members—they're getting old anyhow!—Ha! It seems like only us men get old, all the women stay young & beautiful! Actually‚ Son, you look younger!

4. (JOE: THANK YOU JESUS FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL EVENING, LORD, & SUCH A WONDERFUL HOME OF LOVE! We thank You for all Your many many blessings, Lord Jesus, & most of all, Lord‚ we thank You for the Words that we're going to hear tonight. Open up our hearts, Lord, so these precious seeds can fall on good ground, Lord Jesus, so they can grow in our hearts. Especially, Lord, protect Dad, Lord Jesus, & keep him & keep him healthy so that we can hear these wonderful Words from You, Lord, in Jesus' name.) Amen, Lord! TYL!

5. (ANGELA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, JESUS, FOR THY WONDERFUL FAMILY & THIS TIME WE CAN HAVE TOGETHER IN FELLOWSHIP & TO SIT AT THY FEET & HEAR YOUR WORDS. We do pray that You'll bless & anoint this time‚ Lord Jesus. We pray, Lord, that You help us to have listening ears & open receptive hearts. Have Thy way, Jesus, & really anoint it‚ in Jesus' name. We pray also for the video equipment, that everything will work really well, the machinery & the recorders, Jesus, we put it in Thy hands, Lord. In Jesus' name.) Amen, how about a few more of you home folks here? I could stand a little prayer & I'm sure you can. We can all stand some prayer, we need it! Amen! PTL! TYJ!

6. (PETER: THANK YOU SO MUCH, LORD, FOR THIS TIME TOGETHER THAT WE CAN SIT AT YOUR FEET & HEAR OF THEE. We thank You for the Words that You've given Your Prophet to pass on to the World, Lord, & to pass on to us here tonight. We pray that You do strengthen him & bless him, Lord, to help him to be able to get them out & that You'll speak through him. We pray that you strengthen him‚ & as each word comes out, that You make him stronger & stronger & feeling better & better, Lord. We thank You for how You have been keeping him so healthy & we pray that throughout this whole meeting You continue to do so. Do bless the night & help us to really hear these Words & receive them & we pray that You really pour forth Thy Spirit, in Jesus' name.)

7. (MARIA: AMEN, LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS PRECIOUS, PRICELESS TIME, LORD, THESE DAYS OF HEAVEN ON EARTH WHERE WE CAN GATHER TOGETHER HERE & HEAR THY PROPHET SPEAK, & HEAR YOU, LORD, & HIM SPEAKING THY VERY WORDS. We ask You to rebuke the Enemy in Jesus' name & all his evil devices & his trying to defeat this talk & this revelation You've given. We resist you, Satan, in Jesus' name! You said‚ Lord, as they went they were healed, so he's going & continuing to fight, so You just give him the victory, Lord‚ in Jesus' name. Help us, Lord‚ to do everything we can to make it easy, to be prayerful & to pray for him as we listen & to have receptive hearts & hearing ears & not to do anything that would distract or in any way take away from Thy Words. Bless & help us all, keep our security here & help us to be safe & in the center of Thy Will, Lord, in Jesus' precious name.) Jesus, Lord Jesus, praise You Lord! Amen!

8. KEEP ON PRAYIN'! THAT'LL GIVE ME A LITTLE REST IF YOU KEEP PRAYING. Besides‚ they're taking your picture while you pray & I wouldn't want to miss that. We'll have a permanent recording of this beautiful Christmas Eve Prayer Time! What better way to spend Christmas Eve than in prayer! PTL? So keep praying!

9. (RUTH: THANK YOU JESUS SO MUCH FOR THY BIRTHDAY, LORD, & NOTHING BETTER THAN WITH THE WORDS OF YOU THROUGH THY PROPHET ON YOUR BIRTHDAY. Please help us to take the time with You, Lord, & really think about You & praise You & thank You so much for all Your many blessings, Lord Jesus. Thank You so much that even though it's Your Birthday, that You give us so many presents, Lord & such fun, Lord, & such a special dinner & all the rest. Please bless this night & strengthen Grandpa, Lord Jesus, & put Your guardian angels all around us & all around this house. Thank You once again so much for everything you've done for us & for this beautiful beautiful Family here together gathered at Thy feet, in Jesus' name.) Amen!

10. (TECHI: THANK YOU JESUS FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY & THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR MANY BLESSINGS, & THANK YOU THAT GRANDPA GETS TO TALK TO US. And please rebuke the Devil from getting Grandpa sick or doing anything to stop his work. We know that the Devil doesn't like this, so rebuke the Devil, in Jesus' name, from hindering Grandpa in any way. And thank You Jesus for all the good things You've done for us, & help all the people around the World to praise You & not give each other presents, but give You presents, since it's Your birthday, in Jesus' name, amen.) PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! We've got the prettiest little angels here you ever saw! You beautiful children, please look toward the camera. I want them to see you! Anyhow, pray. If they can't see you, at least the Lord can hear you.

11. ZOOM IN AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN, CAMERAMAN, SO WE CAN GET THESE BEAUTIFUL LITTLE CHERUBIM! Cherubs, they used to call'm. Actually cherubim were mighty angels, but they got to where they called these little angels cherubs. So we've got several beautiful little cherubs here tonight. Excuse me, go ahead & pray!

12. (DAVIDA: THANK YOU JESUS SO MUCH FOR THIS WONDERFUL NIGHT THAT WE GET TO HAVE SPECIAL ON YOUR BIRTHDAY. Please really bless it & thank You so much that Grandpa's still alive & he's still here after so many years. Please help him & just stop the Enemy from making him not feel so good after the gravy & potatoes. Please help him to feel just fine. Thank You so much for this good night, help the camera & all the machinery to work, in Jesus' name.) Amen TYL! Pass along the mike. It's not an offering plate. Well, this is our offering, this is your offering‚ a prayer offering. So instead of passing the plate we pass the mike!

13. (DAVID: AMEN, JESUS, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS NICE WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS EVE, LORD, & THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER CHRISTMAS IN YOUR SERVICE. Thank You that You came to the World to save us from our sins, Lord. Please bless this night & help us to have a good time, Lord‚ & to really be attentive listeners too. Thank You that Grandpa's still here. We rebuke the Devil & please help his tummy to heal up right now, in Jesus' name‚ amen.)

14. (SARA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, LORD, FOR THE WONDERFUL PRIVILEGE OF BEING HERE TOGETHER & BEING WITH DADDY & MOMMY & EACH OTHER HERE ON A SPECIAL SPECIAL DAY. And Jesus, we thank You, Lord, for all Your many blessings & Your wonderful answers to prayer. We ask You once again, Lord, & know You'll answer, Lord, to really anoint & bless this special time as unto You, our offering to You on Christmas, & our hearts & minds & spirits, that we listen attentively & be truly appreciative for these wonderful Words of life. You said to not let one Word drop to the ground, Lord, so we cherish each one & we thank You for each one & pray for Dad's strength & health & super anointing, Lord, wisdom & faith for the task, in Jesus' name. Strengthen him mightily, Lord Jesus, & empower him from On High as You promised in Your Word, Lord, in Jesus' name. TYJ! TYL!)

15. (DORA: THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS BIRTHDAY WE CAN CELEBRATE TO YOU, LORD. We really do want to give our all tonight to You, Jesus. We uplift Dad‚ Lord, & we pray You strengthen him, Jesus, & we thank You for the wonderful peace You have given us in our hearts & in our Heavenly Home here, Jesus. We also rebuke & pray against any outside noise or any outside disturbance. Rebuke it & just pour Your wonderful peace over this place, in Jesus' name.) (Dora to Mary Dear: Can you say‚ "Jesus, bless Grandpa & thank You for him in Jesus' name, amen?" Amen!)

16. (JOHN: THANK YOU JESUS! AMEN, LORD, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY‚ JESUS, FOR DYING FOR US & FOR GIVING YOUR LIFE FOR US, LORD. We know the Devil is really mad at that, but he didn't stop it‚ & we know he's not going to stop Your Prophet from giving Your Words, Lord. It says, "When the Enemy shall come in like a flood‚ the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him." So we pray for Your miracle-working power, Lord. You said, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the World." So please strengthen Dad & give him real anointing & Your Spirit, Lord. In Jesus' name we rebuke this little piece of chicken that didn't go down. Help it to go right down, in Jesus' name, according to Your promise, Lord, Your Word, so that he can be free to give Your Word in Jesus' name. Please manifest Your power, Jesus. We commit it to You, Lord, & we ask You to do it, in Jesus' name!)

17. (ALF: AMEN, JESUS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS DAY & FOR HOW THE WHOLE WORLD IS REALLY FORCED TO REMEMBER YOU & CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTH‚ JESUS, & remember all the things that You've done for us especially‚ Lord, giving us Salvation‚ Jesus, & a real reason for living & giving our life to something. We thank You so much also for Thy Prophet David to lead us & guide us & teach us Your ways, Jesus. Thank You for Thy precious Words that flow from his mouth to teach us & help us to learn Thy truths. So we pray You'd anoint this night, Jesus. Help everything to work, all the machinery & the recording, the video machine, the lights & all these things to work perfectly tonight, Jesus, as we glorify You & take time with You, time in the Temple right now. In Jesus' name we pray. TYL! Amen!) Amen‚ Lord Jesus, Thy will be done, Lord.

18. WELL‚ THE LORD ANSWERED YOUR PRAYERS & I FEEL BETTER AFTER ACCIDENTALLY EATING THAT PIECE OF CHICKEN! It was a big temptation! I ran across that piece of chicken in the gravy & it was so good‚ so nice & soft & tender & delicious, like you girls‚ so I swallowed it.—At least I tried to swallow it. I don't know how many times the Lord's going to have to teach me that lesson. I guess He's trying to keep me humble & keep me close to Him, thank the Lord, because when you're close to death, you're close to the Lord.

19. WELL‚ I'VE BEEN CLOSE TO DEATH MOST OF MY LIFE SOMETIME OR OTHER, & I always lived with somebody who was close to death, like my Mother, who could have gone out like a light any time because she always had heart trouble & she was not strong. She always worked hard & overdid & sometimes did crazy foolish things which brought on dangerous results. But praise God, she kept going strong to the ripe old age of 83, my father to 86, & if the Lord wasn't going to come so soon, I might live that long, I don't know! But like that old German Jew, I'd rather die of old age a little bit sooner & not have to live so long!

20. SO IF MY VOICE IS A LITTLE BIT WEAK, FOLKS, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY. For one thing I'm a little tired & I just had a little tummy attack of the Enemy that your prayers pulled me through, pulled it through, thank the Lord! I just hope you can hear me. This generation is so deaf from all that loud noise you used to listen to! I refuse to call it music, all that loud horrible Hell noise, sounds of Hell! I've written a Letter on that, I don't think you got it yet‚ but you know how I feel about it. Anyway, I found that most of you are about half-deaf just from listening to all that noise. Some doctors say there has been a 50 or 60 percent loss of hearing to your generation through listening to that loud music.

21. WHEREAS I DIDN'T LISTEN TO THAT KIND OF MUSIC & I HAVE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE HEARING, ESPECIALLY IN MY LEFT EAR. I blew up a blood vessel in my right ear, an aneurysm, from flying upside–down in a flight-trainer when I was young. I used to play a little trick where I could blow smoke out my ear. At least I've got one very good left ear, it's very keen, doubly keen, & I've got a very good sense of smell. Most of you ruined your sense of smell too, I don't know how‚ smoking or sniffin' or whatever you did!

22. CAN YOU HEAR ME? I'M SPEAKING PERFECTLY LOUD ENOUGH FOR ME TO HEAR, WHY CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?—Ha! I don't know why you've got me sitting so far away—why don't you shove me up a little closer to these people? If I was two meters from you & now I'm only one meter from you, that doesn't mean that I'm twice as loud, because according to the laws of physics & sound & light both, if you get half as far from the light or the sound, the light or the sound are not just doubled‚ but they are quadrupled! Right now the front row here can hear me four times as well as they could hear me back there when I was two meters away. Now I'm only one meter away. Besides, you ought to be able to get some gorgeous shots of these lovely children! I like the children to be right in the spotlight! These are the stars of our show here, the shooting stars of the Future! Thank God they don't shoot like the World who've got gun shoot'm ups all the time, but our stars are shootin' all the time, shootin' the Gospel‚ shootin' the breeze‚ shootin' the Light! PTL!

23. SO THE LIGHT & SOUND INCREASE BY THE SQUARE OF THE RATIO TO THE DISTANCE THAT YOU ARE FROM THAT ORIGIN OF LIGHT OR SOUND, so that every time you halve the distance, you quadruple the light or the sound! Wonderful World the Lord made‚ huh? The closer you get to the Light of Jesus, the better You'll be able to hear Him & see the Light, so it pays to get close. I don't know why those rows out there are all so far away. Why can't we get a little bit more chummy here & come a little closer? I don't want to have to yell so loud. Pull it up, Folks! Get up where I can see the whites of your eyes! I'm sure with this light on you can see the whites of mine!

24. CAN'T YOU HEAR ME BETTER? DIDN'T THAT IMPROVE THE SOUND A LOT? I'm sorry about the sight‚ but you just have to look at it. That's the best I've got to offer. Once in awhile you can swerve over there to our lovely secretary if you get tired of looking at me, Cameraman! Go on, get over there! What a relief! What a change! I dare say there's not a single church pageant or Christmas cantata that has as lovely angels as we have, or as beautiful & as lovely to look at as all of ours! Now that deserves a camera sweep again! See all the lovely angels, male & female! PTL! Aren't they gorgeous? Smile! You're on our not-so–candid camera! We want you all to know & see who is here on our last 1984 Christmas Eve Family get-together. We'll never have another Christmas 1984.

25. HEY, GET A GOOD SHOT OF THIS LITTLE [GAL]! STAND UP & LET'M SEE HOW PRETTY YOU ARE! … Isn't she gorgeous? PTL! … [T]hey're the best-educated kids in the World. PTL? They don't have to have any neuroses or all kinds of guilt complexes & all the various neuroses & everything else from being so horribly beat down & suppressed & isolated & kept in ignorance of all the things in the World! They know it all, they've heard it all! Thank the Lord! Amen?

26. SO ANYWAY, HALLELUJAH! TYL! CHRISTMAS EVE, 1984, I REALLY NEVER THOUGHT I'D GET THIS FAR! Especially when I was little, it seemed like every day was another crisis & every day was another dramatic, dangerous experience or something‚ & by all my stories & all my scars, I'm sure you have heard it all by this time. And if it wasn't me, it was my Mother. It seemed like my Dad was about the only one that kept out of trouble most of the time‚ God bless him. I guess it was because he was a little more saintly than we were. Me & my mother were kind of aggressive Jews & always sticking our nose in where it shouldn't be & being pushy like we are.

27. SO I REALLY NEVER DREAMED I'D LIVE SO LONG! I ACTUALLY NEVER EVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT BEING AN OLD MAN, SO I JUST DECIDED NOT TO GET OLD! I just never grew that direction. I'm not in my second childhood, I'm in my first childhood. I've been growing younger all the time! When I was your age I was sober, quiet, silent & serious like Professor David over here. Once in awhile he really cracks up though. When Grandpa tells a funny story he grins that broad grin & he just doubles up & cracks up! But most of the time he's very serious & very sober & very thoughtful, & that's very good. That's the way I was when I was a little boy. I didn't start getting foolish till I got older. You know, they say there's no fool like an old fool, so now I'm really having a good time! PTL! I'm really fooling around. If you don't believe it, just watch me every day. … Wow!

28. WELL, YOU KNOW ME, IT TAKES ME AN HOUR OR TWO TO GET WARMED UP, especially when I've been a little bit sick. I've gotta kinda catch my breath. Thank you all for praying for me! I'm feeling okay now, except I'm a little bit tired. That's not very uncommon with guys my age.—Although I've found sometimes I seem to have more energy than some of you young people! Well, that is at least everybody except Techi. Ahem! She has more energy than all of us put together. I'll tell you‚ she is full of it! Praise God! I think she's either going to be an actress or a singer or a woman preacher or a prophetess or maybe all four! Whatever it is, it's going to be melodramatic, & I guess that's what it's going to take to survive the days that are coming.—As well as being beautiful!

29. I ALWAYS WANTED TO GET TO MY THREE SCORE & TEN‚ MY ALLOTTED 70 YEARS, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! When I found out I was going to last that long & I was going to get older anyhow in spite of all the calamities I went through‚ I wanted to get it over as soon as possible! But I guess the Lord kept me here for your benefit, because I could have gotten killed a thousand times in so many ways—car wrecks, accidents, falls & sicknesses. I'll tell you, this past year I began to wonder if I was going to make it because I was quite sick, the sickest I think I've ever been in a prolonged illness. I had a bad cold or pneumonia or some kind of lung congestion or bronchitis.

30. I WAS SICK FROM THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST TO MID-DECEMBER‚ FOUR MONTHS ALTOGETHER! I'd been kind of murmuring & complaining about not ever getting any vacation, not even a day off, so the Lord decided to give me a real vacation! You'd better not gripe about not getting enough days off‚ you may land sick in bed & get'm all off & wish you were on again! So that's the longest sickness I ever had in my life. Normally I've never been sick in bed more than a few hours or maybe a day or two.—All my life, even when I had various children's illnesses.

31. I THINK ABOUT THE LONGEST I'VE EVER ACTUALLY BEEN SICK IN BED WAS IN THAT ARMY HOSPITAL, & that was only three days that they were able to keep me in bed with double pneumonia. Of course they didn't give me the double pneumonia to try to keep me in bed, but they tried to keep me in bed because I had double pneumonia! But when the Lord healed me, I wanted to jump out right away! I was tired of that nurse [helping me go potty in the bedpan] … & everything. … I was very shy & embarrassed. Besides, I was hungry & I wanted to go to the cafeteria & eat good food like the rest of'm. I was tired of not being able to go to the bathroom & not seeing the guys & all the rest. So the Lord healed me real quick. I don't think I spent more than a week in that private room. I only spent about 3 days & 3 nights in bed & then I got up.

32. SO HERE I AM ALL THESE YEARS LATER! I survived being born, even when I was born in the middle of the famous Spanish Influenza epidemic after World War 1, just three months after the war ended. They estimate that epidemic killed between 4 & 5 million people all over the World. My Mother had it & I even had it as a baby. She said she thought I had the runs so bad my bowels were coming out. … The Devil tried to kill me then & even before I was born! Well, I don't have to tell you too many stories, you've heard most of them anyhow.

33. BUT HERE I AM‚ IMAGINE, 1984‚ CHRISTMAS EVE! This would make a good final talk even if I don't make it to February 18th. Maria's grinning over there. Peter's grinning. They don't believe I won't make it. Well anyhow, I really was sick there from August clear until mid–December. Well, I was gradually improving & I really got better in a hurry, thanks to your prayers. (Yawns) If I'm getting tired already you can be thankful!—That means I won't be able to keep you as late as I usually do! Of course the one little problem about that is that I'm always tired in the beginning & I sort of gradually get up steam! I don't know if I'm going to do that tonight or not.

34. BUT ANYWAY, HERE I AM YEARS LATER & STILL GROWING—I MEAN GOING! Well, I have grown a little bit, but lately I've shrunk a little bit, thank the Lord, lost some weight, so that was good for me. And even though I was so sick there for about a week, I think I only missed getting my exercise about 3 or 4 days. Sick as I was, I determined I wasn't going to let that bed get me down & I wasn't going to let the old Devil get me down. You know, the Bible says, "Strength cometh not from the bed!" Well, you need your rest, but if you stay in bed too long, if you stay in bed all the time, you just get weaker & weaker.—Like that girl in Pennsylvania I told you about, after 8 years in bed she couldn't even sit up any more‚ she couldn't stand up any more or anything until the Lord healed her. She was just practically a skeleton wearing skin!

35. SO YOU DO NEED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SLEEP, DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME, & THE ONLY TIME YOU GROW IS WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING, DID YOU KNOW THAT? You little ones who want to grow fast‚ the more you sleep, the more you grow! Don't forget that‚ that's the time when you grow, when you're sleeping. I have to try to impress dear Techi with that, because if there's anything in this World she hates‚ it is sleep. She fights it to the last ditch! She's usually still awake when we're long gone & asleep. Once in awhile I'll open one eye & see what she's doing. I can open one or the other eye like this, can you do that? It's a good spy trick! If the one person is looking at you from one side, you can still open the other eye, without even winking. See? So sometimes I'll be lying there & they think I'm asleep & I open one or the other eye, whichever it takes to see whatever they're doin'! (Looks at a pretty … girl!:) You make me open both eyes, kiddo!

36. AND DEAR TECHI, SHE'LL STILL BE FLOPPIN' AROUND & FLINGING HER ARMS AROUND & KICKIN' HER HEELS & COUNTIN' HER FINGERS & TOES & talking to herself & playing with her dollies. I think it takes her at least half-an-hour after we've gone to sleep before she goes to sleep. But you don't have to try to live up to that reputation, Dear, you need to try to get over it! (Maria: She was doing something very constructive last night. She told me this morning that she was scratching David's back.) Oh, that's nice. … Maria does that for me, too. She scratches my back. …

37. DO I SPEAK CLEAR ENOUGH & SLOW ENOUGH? JOE REALLY KNOWS HIS ENGLISH, BUT OF COURSE HE KNOWS HIS SPANISH TOO & IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND ME WHO EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH‚ BECAUSE I SPEAK AMERICAN! Well, I must say, I speak better English than most Americans! In fact, when I was abroad in Europe they never took me for an American, they always thought I was an Englishman, because I spoke fairly clear, decent English. I enunciated clearly & pronounced my words clearly. Of course the English have a whole different system of pronunciation of some words. But anyway, they always thought I was an Englishman. They said, "It's because you speak such clear English." They also said, "And because you're so gentlemanly & polite."

38. AMERICANS ARE NOT NOTED FOR THEIR GENTLENESS, POLITENESS, GOOD ENGLISH OR QUIETNESS! Whenever you're in a restaurant in Europe you could always tell when there were some Americans around. They're the loudest-mouthed people in the place! I'm talking about U.S. Americans, Joe.—Not you lovely, sweet, beautiful, wonderful South Americans! I love the Latin Americans, they're wonderful! But boy, those U.S. Americans!—You are a nasty bunch, aren't you? Ha‚ ha! But we're converted Americans, we've changed, thank the Lord! I hope we're not more English‚ but at least more polite & considerate & thoughtful & loving & kind & gentle & quiet & all the nice things that real Christians oughtta be!

39. SO HERE I AM SO MANY YEARS LATER, CHRISTMAS EVE 1964—I MEAN 1984, PARDON ME! 1964 was 20 years ago & we hadn't even started the Family! Well, I'd started my family‚ but I'd better not get off on '64 or I'll never get back to '84, you know me! So anyway, I was real sick this year & I had an illness the longest of anything I ever had!

40. SO IT WAS QUITE A TRIAL, I'D NEVER BEEN SICK THAT LONG BEFORE, & THANK THE LORD HE GRADUALLY HEALED ME! The Lord doesn't always do it just the way you want it. I often have to remind people that when it says "These signs shall follow them which believe, they shall lay hands on the sick"—I often quote it—"& they shall be healed." Well, it means the same thing‚ it says "& they shall recover." I believe you'll find that's the word. (Mar.16:18) And it doesn't always mean instant healing, it just means you're not going to stay sick forever. The Lord is going to heal you, but it may be gradual.

41. DON'T ALWAYS COUNT ON INSTANT HEALING THE MINUTE PEOPLE LAY THEIR HANDS ON YOU, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES I'VE BEEN HEALED THAT WAY & YOU HAVE TOO. Sometimes the Lord likes to let you suffer a little bit to learn a few lessons‚ maybe a little humility. I don't know whether I've learned any humility or not‚ but I'm sure a lot weaker than I used to be. I used to be able to work about as hard as the boys when we were working on maintenance or whatever, but now I just have to kind of stand aside & direct them & let them do it, because I'm not quite as strong as I used to be.

42. MY GOODNESS! AFTER GOING ALL THESE YEARS, IT SEEMS LIKE I OUGHT TO BE STRONGER THAN EVER! But in this life, for some reason or other old folks sort of decay & pretty soon they get downright rotten, & pretty soon they stink so bad they have to put'm in a box & bury'm six feet underground so they won't stink up the place! The little kids have learned this through having to bury sparrows & kittens & pets & things like that‚ & that's one way they learn about death & what it's like.

43. BUT ANYHOW, IT'S A LONG STORY & THAT'S HOW LONG I'VE BEEN SICK. THEN WE MOVED THREE TIMES ON TOP OF IT & MOVING IS LIKE DYING & SOMETIMES IT NEARLY KILLS YOU! So that's a lot of moving for an old man, & this last move I think I overdid. When I was trying to lift that refrigerator, that was a little bit too much. Well, somebody had to do it. Some of our men have bad backs & when it took several of us to lift it‚ I tried to help. And I did help you. We had to turn the thing over & upside-down to get it out this particular door. That's why you've got that nice kitchen now, because we had to take the door apart so we could get that refrigerator in & it was quite a little engineering task! Well, I mostly just engineered it & they did most of the stevedore work.

44. DO YOU KNOW WHAT A STEVEDORE IS, TECHI? Those are the guys who work on the docks & help lift big heavy crates & packages & things like that. Of course nowadays they've got all kinds of machinery & cranes & stuff to help'm so they don't really have to do too much lifting, they just sort of direct it with their little finger almost, to where it's supposed to be set down. The guy up there in the crane, he's cranking & moving the levers, etc.‚ to get it there. But of course if one of those big containers ever falls on top of you, you won't be a stevedore any more, you'll be just a little grease spot! But anyway, it's dangerous work & they do a lot of heavy lifting, etc., like you boys. Only I was the stevedore that day, & I must have strained something‚ I don't know what, or overdid in those weeks we were getting settled here & I kind of strained my heart & it's been tired ever since.

45. I'D BEEN USED TO MY HEART GETTING TIRED BEFORE, OTHER TIMES, ALL MY LIFE‚ BUT I NEVER HAD SUCH SHARP PAINS IN IT, LIKE YOU HAVE PAINS IN A MUSCLE SOMETIMES WHEN YOU USE IT TOO MUCH. You know how your first day out of school on vacation you take that long 5 or 10-mile hike? We always used to say the second & third days were worse than the first day because the second day you were so sore, & the third day you were really sore! All those muscles you hadn't been using were really sore & tired. If you didn't keep going you'd just never work it out‚ but after a few more days your muscles begin to get up to it & you work the soreness out & you begin to feel better. I used to be able to hike many many miles & climb mountains & all kinds of things. So I've known what it is to have even a sore heart‚ a tired heart. It's a muscle, the most important muscle you have‚ just about the only muscle you've got that you can't do without, & I abused it & the Lord says not to abuse your body.

46. MARY DEAR IS PATTING THE TV MONITOR INSTEAD OF GRANDPA!—Ha! Hi Mary Dear! I'm on television! Yes! Which one is me? Which one is Grandpa? (Mary Dear: Vivo!) Vivo! Oh, video! When I was a kid, "Vivo" was a kind of a medicine that was supposed to give you pep, vim & vigor! Well‚ that's the kind of medicine most people take now, videos, Vivo, for their pep, vim & vigor. I don't know how much good it does them, it probably more weakens them than anything.

47. BUT ALL THAT TO SAY THIS, I'M APOLOGISING FOR BEING TIRED & THAT I DON'T SEE YOU MUCH ANY MORE, I SORT OF STAY OUT OF THE ACTIVE PICTURE. I try to conserve what little strength I have left & how much heart I have left & how much breath I have left to keep getting out the lit & the Letters & now the pretty pictures & posters! I wish I could get out pictures of you girls in those posters, I know they'd make a hit then! We haven't got an ugly girl in the bunch! You're absolutely all ravishing beauties! We didn't pick'm for their beauty, we're very thankful they are pretty, but every one was chosen for their particular talents & skills & most of all for their dedication to the Lord & His work & the Family‚ their loyalty, faithfulness & hard work. And look at our guys! Did you ever see such a handsome bunch of guys in your whole life? Every one of them is handsome! We haven't got an ugly one in the bunch, except maybe me! I'm the only ugly duckling in the crowd. (Family: No!) Aren't they loyal fans!

48. (TECHI: YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL, GRANDPA!) OH, THANK YOU, HONEY.—ONE OF MY MOST LOYAL FANS! When I ever say anything bad about myself she says‚ "No, Grandpa!" She hasn't got quite that musical tone to her "no's" that Mary Dear has. When she says "no" she says, "No-o-o-o-o!" Almost everything is rather musical. I think she's going to be a singer! She's really getting a kick out of seeing me on that monitor over there, seeing two Grandpas. And look, all the kids are waving at you too. Look, there are two Davidas & two Davids & two Techis! Boy oh boy, one of these kids is enough without two of'm! Okay, you've had a little comic relief & it's only 10:30 p.m., now we can get down to business! I haven't quite had my two hours of wee introduction though.

49. SO JUST TO TELL YOU MY SAD TALE OF WOE, IN SPITE OF ALL THAT, I'M STILL HERE & STILL KICKING, STILL LIVING & STILL WRITING & I'M STILL ABLE TO AT LEAST PICK UP A PEN & WRITE! When I get too tired for that‚ I'll probably dictate or make sign language or something like those two old ladies that were drowning, did you hear that one? When the Titanic sank these two old ladies were having an argument about whether a hole they found in their dress or something was cut with a knife or a pair of scissors, & as the story goes, as they were drowning, one old lady wanted to get in the last word, & as she went down & the water was almost covering her hand she went like this: (Makes two fingers like scissors) (Techi: Did she drown?) Well, as far as I know, I never heard about her coming up! In fact, it probably never even happened, but that's one of those preacher's jokes all those preachers taught me all those years I was going to church. That's the kind of stuff they teach you in church!

50. SO ANYHOW, I AM GETTING OLD & I AM GETTING TIRED & THIS OLD HOUSE, AS THE OLD SONG GOES‚ PROBABLY WON'T LAST MUCH LONGER! My old heart's been real tired lately, but that's the first time it started really hurting me, really paining with sharp pains. The Lord has to really spank you sometimes when you abuse this temple of the Holy Ghost & you don't take good care of it, & I had really abused it during those moving days & settling days. It just seemed like I never slowed down & the Lord had to paddle me to make me slow down & conserve my strength for what is really necessary, to just sort of supervise the boys now & let them do the work. But they've all had such good training now they can do almost anything around the house, anything electrical, plumbing, whatever it is.

51. BY THE WAY, GIRLS, … GIVE [JOE] A CHANCE TO REST UP A LITTLE BIT, WILL YOU? (Maria: I'm protecting him!) If she's protection, who needs enemies? She's one of the sexiest ones in the bunch! But anyway, I'm still here, thank the Lord, in spite of sex & Maria!—Well, really because of her I'm still here.—Mostly in spite of all my foolishness & abuse of the strength the Lord does give me & overdoing. You suffer for it, you reap what you sow. If you're naughty & you're not thoughtful & considerate of the body God's given you, then the Lord may let your body suffer & you suffer a little bit to teach you a lesson. I don't know just exactly why I had to have that long sickness, but at least I never stopped working. I think maybe there was only one day that I didn't get up & do my paperwork, about one day, maybe two, even though at one time I had a high fever & was almost delirious!

52. THERE COULD BE ANY NUMBER OF REASONS WHY THE LORD OUGHT TO PADDLE ME‚ I've often been a bad boy‚ but anyway, I guess like King David at least it did enough good to let Him allow me to stay awhile longer to help you out, if nothing else. Even if I am a bad boy‚ you still need me. You even need a bad boy sometimes to help make you good. Well, the way I've been screaming & fussing at these people sometimes, I think they thought I was pretty bad! About the only meetings I've had with this family lately have been bawlings-out & rantings & ravings & fussing at them about the mistakes they make. I save my nice sweet talks for the GN!

53. WELL ANYWAY, IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE 1984 & WE'RE STILL GOING STRONG, IN FACT STRONGER THAN EVER! I was warning Peter, "You've got to watch out now for Christmas time, December & January are the worst months in the year for the Lord's work! Giving always goes down, because even if our folks didn't spend it on presents & foolishness‚ the people that support'm, they buy presents & they quit giving so much." So I've never seen it to fail that giving goes down during the year-end holiday season. People spend it on other things, they give to everything else but the Lord on His birthday.—And here we just got news that we had the best month we've had in a long time! So praise the Lord! Well, I'm kind of like the old farmer. That reminds me of another joke‚ but I'm not going to tell it to you. But just wait for next month!—Ha! Forgive me, Lord! Amen, Lord, You're able to even make next month better‚ or at least as good as we need it. TYJ! PTL!

54. SO IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING, IN SPITE OF ALL THAT, I'M STILL HERE & STILL KICKIN' & WE'RE STILL GETTING THINGS FROM THE LORD & I JUST GOT SOMETHING FROM THE LORD TODAY THAT WAS NEWS TO ME! I'd been getting a little inkling of it before‚ but it came out so clear! I wanted to find some Scriptures to verify it & the Lord gave me a most unexpected passage that I had not really read for years & really had never understood it. Some of those Prophetic Books are really Greek to everybody but the Greeks, & it's really Greek to them too I guess. But God has revealed it to us & straightened out things to us & made things clearer to us than I think any people that ever lived! TTL! He promised to do that & He's done it, & we've got a clearer idea of Bible Prophecy & the sequence of events from now on than any people that I know.—And all because the Lord has shown us, thank the Lord! He made it clear & simple to us so that even our little kids can understand it. PTL? So we're even getting out a book now for them, the Kidz BOF, all pictures & text & it's really simple, & probably if you big folks would be honest & confess it, it's the first time you ever got it straight yourself!

55. AND YOU REALLY WON'T GET IT ALL STRAIGHT UNTIL YOU GET THE FINAL BOILING DOWN OF THE WHOLE THING IN "THE ENDTIME NEWS!—THE NEWSPAPER OF TOMORROW!" It's a four-page tabloid-size newspaper with the whole story of Bible Prophecy told in just 36 pictures! That's the whole story! That's the most we've ever boiled it down to, almost a nutshell. Well, it's not exactly a nutshell, it's a newspaper, but it came out of this old Nut's shell! Anyhow, it is all in a nutshell right here & it came from the Lord, of course.

56. BUT ANYWAY, THANK THE LORD! WE'RE GOING STRONGER THAN EVER, BETTER LIT THAN EVER & MORE LIT THAN EVER! Now we're going to get out not only hundreds of thousands of these beautiful colour picture posters, we are going to get out millions of them! I'm convinced that this is the Lit of Tomorrow, the Lit of the End, even the Trib Lit! So we are doing better & more, & more tapes! The Tape Ministry is booming, as Joe will probably tell you about South America, where it's really going strong, & India & a lot of places. It's just almost phenomenal!

57. JUST ABOUT THE TIME WE THOUGHT WE'D DONE EVERYTHING, SAID EVERYTHING‚ HEARD EVERYTHING, SEEN EVERYTHING, PUBBED EVERYTHING, GOD GAVE US SOMETHING NEW TO REALLY WOW THE PEOPLE WITH! And we're getting out the Message in that gorgeous music that MCV & MWM worked on so long, & now MCS & a whole string of about ten different language music programs that we've had. The Chinese one is going strong, by the way, getting responses from all over the Chinese areas, people writing in from out of Red China, ministering to them, taking the course‚ etc.‚ wonderful! Really wonderful! They're going in there & getting them saved too!

58. AND RUSSIA‚ WE'RE NOT REACHING IT BY RADIO, BUT WE'RE REACHING IT WITH TAPES, & THE HEAVEN POSTER MADE A TREMENDOUS HIT, & THE RUSSIAN & EAST BLOC WORK IS JUST BOOMING! It's just amazing! The kids there are just as hungry as they were in the U.S. & Europe & South America & anyplace else. They're just eatin' it up as fast as we can feed them. The only little problem is getting it in to feed'm. Now dear Simon wrote us that he & Peruvian Manuel have been shut out of Russia. They refused their request for visas this last time‚ & when they asked the Embassy how come, they said, "You know why!" Well, I think that was pretty mild & they should be thanking the Lord & their blessed stars that they didn't put'm in jail, they just banned'm from coming in any more. (See GN 170, pg.8.)

59. SO I WROTE BACK TO SIMON, "WELL DON'T WORRY, SIMON‚ THANK GOD HE SPARED YOU, & HE PROBABLY SPARED YOU TO LEAD THIS WORK!"—Because he's got a big vision to set up a big Sprint Center to make lit to send in to those East Bloc & Russian areas. I said, "Thank God you survived as long as you did!" He & Ivan pioneered it, he got it started‚ he had the vision, the burden, the faith & the initiative to get it rolling, & now he's got lots of teams going in & lots of other people with the vision & support going into Russia & the East Bloc countries & they're harvesting souls right & left, getting disciples, & now they've even got national leaders, etc. So the Lord is really working!

60. SO WE'RE GOING STRONGER THAN EVER, THANK THE LORD! I MAY BE GETTING WEAKER‚ BUT I MUST DECREASE THAT HE MAY INCREASE! (Jn.3:30) Hallelujah! Sometimes I think I must decrease that Maria may increase too, because I think she's going to have a ministry even far surpassing mine in those days that are coming. Well, I've been waving my glasses around all this time & never used them yet!—Because my wee word of introduction isn't over yet! Don't get scared. My wee word of introduction is almost over & I'm almost through for tonight‚ & maybe I'll give you the rest tomorrow, Christmas Day, for your Christmas Present when I feel a little bit better. I think I did pretty good tonight considering I'm an old sick man with a tummy problem.

61. BUT I'M STILL HERE, STILL GOING & STILL ABLE TO ROLL, THANK THE LORD, & STILL LOVE YOU, ALL OF YOU, WHOEVER'S GOING TO BE WATCHING OR READING THIS! Of course we made a lot of these videos & hardly anybody ever got to watch them because [they were not for everyone]. Some of our … Units have had the privilege of seeing some of these local homey family videos made by this little family, & who knows? Maybe some day I'll be on television! I wouldn't be surprised that if we'd let one of these get out of our hands I'd be on television, that's for sure! That's just what we don't want right now! It'll probably happen after I'm dead & gone—I hope!

62. I THINK THOSE "GARDEN OF EDEN" VIDEOS ARE GOING TO HAVE A MINISTRY! I had a feeling the way the Lord inspired me on those, it was like I was talking to the general public & the sinners who needed salvation, but we've never been able to show them to anybody but a bunch of very bad sinners like you!—But you're already saved! So when that's going to happen, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. I just have a feeling maybe after I'm gone you might be able to let the old cat out of the bag—a lion is a cat, the old lion out of the bag—& show it to people outside the Family if nothing else will convince'm. Just be sure none of you are in it. That's why we tried to just make sure I was the only one in it so we wouldn't jeopardise the rest of you. So if anybody ever makes a haul & discovers those, I'm the only guilty party.—Except for a few little dances we had in–between chapters, but after all, that was art!—Art & music, two of the arts, so nobody should complain about those.—Ha!

…

64. HOW COME THEY ALWAYS TELL ME I'M THE BEST [LOVER]?—THAT I GIVE THEM THE GREATEST THRILL & THE BEST & ALL THAT? How come? What's the matter with you guys‚ anyway? … How am I the best?—I just love you, that's all! I just get inspired when I'm loving you. I just want to love you like everything, & I do! … After all, you've got to give your lovers your Christmas Eve gift‚ & what better gift could you give than love? PTL?—Real Love!

65. THE WORLD WITH ALL OF ITS SEX KNOWS VERY LITTLE ABOUT REAL LOVE! You don't know what real love is until you have genuine loving sex. Amen? PTL! Ah, just wait'll we get to Heaven, … then we're going to have it! …

66. WELL, IT'S 11 O'CLOCK SO I'D BETTER QUIT! MY HEART'S GETTING A LITTLE TIRED & HURTING A LITTLE BIT, SO I THINK I'D BETTER JUST MIND THE CHECKS OF THE LORD. You've probably had enough. You know what I told you about big wheels—anybody remember that story? (Sara: The longer the spoke the greater the tire!) Of course you don't know anything about spokes now, so how would you know what we're talking about? The longer the spoke the greater the tire! That's just a matter of mechanics, it has nothing to do with any big wheels you know of!—Only some big wheels talk too long‚ in other words, & people get tired. "The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak!" (Ruth: Now I get it!) Ruth finally got it! She was the English walnut log this time, & I think maybe Techi's finally getting it too!

67. IN POOR COUNTRIES THEY'VE STILL GOT WAGONS & WAGON WHEELS & THEY'VE GOT SPOKES THAT GO OUT LIKE THIS FROM THE HUB & GO OUT TO THE RIM OR THE TIRE, & THAT'S WHAT IS CHARACTERISTIC OF BIG WHEELS: THE LONGER THE SPOKE, THE GREATER THE TIRE! (David: The longer you speak the greater tired you get!) Exactly! So I'd better quit. PTL! Did you just get it too, Peter? These walnuts keep cracking & the story goes on & on! They used to sing an old song:

"The song is ended but the melody lingers on.

You & the song are gone,

But the melody lingers on!"

—And that's about characteristic of some of my jokes! Some of'm you guys don't get till I've told them 2 or 3 times. So don't laugh at the kids!

68. CHRISTMAS EVE 1984, THINK OF THAT! JUST THINK, BORN SO MANY YEARS AGO! That's a long time. I never expected to live this long myself‚ I never even wanted to live this long. I always asked the Lord, "At least if I do have to live a long time, I don't want to get to where I'm so helpless that people have to take care of me."—Although I've been getting a little bit helpless lately & they have been taking care of me, God bless'm! They won't even let me walk up the stairs by myself, they hardly let me go to the toilet by myself. Maria keeps checking on me if I stay in the bathroom too long.

69. BUT I DON'T EVER WANT TO BE A BURDEN ON YOU! I always asked, prayed & hoped that when I go the Lord will let me go fairly quickly without too much trouble, problems, sickness or long time of dependency or invalidism or helplessness like my poor Father had to go through for about 2 or 3 years with a stroke where he couldn't walk or speak. He still had his mind quite clear, though he could hardly even write‚ but he could make himself known, what he wanted.

70. I ALWAYS LOOK AT DAVID & THINK ABOUT HO, HOW THAT IN THOSE YEARS THAT MY DAD WAS SICK HO BECAME THE GREATEST BLESSING THAT MOTHER & DAD ALMOST EVER HAD, BECAUSE HE HELPED TAKE CARE OF HIM.—Yet Ho was the one that she didn't even want to be born! Ho was the one for whom I got kicked out! She fired me when she heard that Eve was pregnant with Ho! And yet the Lord has ways of humbling people & bringing them to repentance. My Mother had to be sorry for that 12 years later when Ho was taking care of her & my Dad‚ when Ho was 12 years of age. They were never so thankful as they were then for him.—Whereas when we were about to have him, she fired me for having so many kids, saying that she just couldn't support such a big family any more. Well, I don't blame her & it was good for me & it had good results & all things work together for good, & you know the story.

71. BUT IF I HAD ANYTHING TO SAY THAT I WAS THANKFUL FOR THIS CHRISTMAS EVE 1984, I THINK IT WOULD BE TO SAY THAT I'M GLAD IT IS CHRISTMAS EVE 1984 & THAT I AM STILL HERE TO TELL THE TALE!—In fact a lot of tales, called Grandpa Stories! Oh, you're going to get a big book pretty soon full of Grandpa Stories, all illustrated, some of them that you've never even heard!—Some that have never been printed before, that they're getting out of RDs & old tapes & stuff. Maria wants me to go through it & check it out before they print it. Didn't you kids get those? Those are Grandpa stories! You didn't recognise me in those pictures? Hey, bawl those artists out, will you?—Ha! Well, the fact is, Honey, they try to make them not look like me for fear people would recognise me.

72. MARY DEAR IS DOING PRETTY GOOD TO SIT UP TILL 11 O'CLOCK STILL LISTENING! She's getting the same kind of training these had. That's why they're all such night owls‚ they're used to having to sit up every night late listening to Grandpa. But we've gotta quit now!

73. SO WHAT SHALL WE CALL THIS ONE?—I'M GLAD I'M STILL HERE! I'M GLAD IT IS CHRISTMAS EVE 1984! Like the photographer told me when I went back to pick up my pictures once—this was a long time ago, I was only about 30 then—I looked at my picture & I said, "Boy, I'm getting older, ain't I?" I guess he had this as a stock answer for lots of people to cheer'm up: He said, "Well, you could've died a lot younger!" So that's one thing to be thankful for, anyhow. Here it is Christmas Eve 1984 & I could've died a lot younger.—But I didn't, thank the Lord! Maybe I even couldn't because the Lord was sparing me! It seemed like I could've died a lot of times, but I didn't, thank the Lord, because the Lord protected me & promised He'd never allow me to be cut off before my time. I have a certain time the Lord has ordained for me to go.

74. YOU THINK, "OH, HE'S ONE OF THOSE FATALISTS! HE'S LIKE THE LATIN AMERICANS & THE SPANISH!" They believe that God's got your number & the date's set & you'll never go no matter what happens until your time is up! The trouble is‚ the Lord said to some guys like that, "Listen, your time is always ready!" They thought they weren't going to go till their time was up either, like the people on whom the Tower of Siloam had fallen‚ etc., etc. But He said to the Scribes & the Pharisees & His enemies & hypocrites‚ the self-righteous, "Your time is always ready!" (Jn.7:6) They could go any time!

75. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE PROTECTED UNTIL THEIR NUMBER COMES UP & THEIR TIME IS UP ARE GOD'S CHILDREN, GOD'S PEOPLE, & HE WILL PROTECT THEM UNTIL THE TIME THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GO. Of course if you're foolish & you abuse your body like I have & you overdo & you disobey the Lord & do something you shouldn't, you might just sort of tempt the Lord to shorten your time.—Especially if you get in other people's way or you cause them to do the same things or you cause them to stumble in some way.—Like Deborah‚ I think her time is ready! She's causing a lot of trouble, but the Lord must be allowing it for some reason, if for no other reason than to maybe make people make a choice & a decision & drive people to some kind of a stand one way or the other.

76. A LOT OF THESE NEUTRALS VACILLATE IN BETWEEN—THEY HAVEN'T EXACTLY BEEN AGAINST US, BUT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN FOR US EITHER. But the Lord said, "If you're not for Me you're against Me!" (Mat.12:30) Some people don't show their true colours until they're driven to a decision, & that book of hers ought to drive anybody to a decision if it doesn't drive'm crazy like it has her! She's absolutely nuts! And I think her Mad Magician is nuttier than a fruitcake & always has been!—And he doesn't taste half as good either. That junk he puts out sure doesn't taste good, it's pretty rotten! It stinks!

77. BUT WE'RE STILL HERE ANYHOW!—IN SPITE OF ALL OUR ENEMIES! When the Lord gave me that thing about "They Can't Stop Our Rain" (ML #128) I was afraid to give it to you! I thought‚ "Lord, that's too far out, that takes too much faith even for me to believe, that nobody's ever going to be able to stop us, we are going to go on to the End! No Lord, I can't give that to these people!"—Because right then Fred & different ones were persecuting us & they had a lawsuit against us & we had lawyers & a lawsuit against them & all kinds of trouble & we'd been driven off the Ranch & we were getting persecuted. They'd organised FreeCOG just to persecute us, but the Lord gives us "They Can't Stop Our Rain"!

78. IN THIS VISION I SAW THESE SILLY LITTLE PEOPLE RUNNING OUT WHEN IT WAS RAINING HOLDING UP THEIR HANDS TRYING TO STOP THE RAIN! Isn't that ridiculous? I thought, "Lord, right now when we're having so much trouble, do You expect our folks to believe that? It looks like they're about to stop us already & they could stop us any time!" In fact, it was just shortly after that, that I had to flee to Europe. The Lord said, "They can't stop your rain, never!" And I was speaking of r-a-i-n, but it also could include r-e-i-g-n.—The Reign of Righteousness!—The Rule of the Righteous! PTL! And believe it or not‚ we may not look like it, but we're the rulers of the Earth!—Not quite yet, but we will be! God is already ruling the Earth according to us, dependent on what we do & how we do. God is running the World in consideration of us. He's only letting the World get away with whatever He allows, depending on us & how we do & what we do or even don't do!

79. BUT THEY'LL NEVER STOP US! "IF GOD BE FOR US‚ WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?" (ROM.8:31) AMEN? If this thing had been of man it would have long ago come to nought like all the rest. But thank the Lord, this thing was not just of me, it was of the Lord!—And you know that, thank God! They can give all these analyses of the cults & the usual history of a cult member & blah blah, & I even put them in the GN so you'll read what usually happens to the others, but that's not true of us! It may have been true of some of them, even some of our former members, backsliders, but they'll never stop this cult! They can kill its leader, they can kill its members‚ but they'll never stop us! TTL!

80. WELL, I WAS GOING TO TALK TO YOU TONIGHT ABOUT ONE OF THE GREATEST WARS THIS WORLD IS EVER GOING TO KNOW & WHAT THE LORD SHOWED ME ABOUT IT TODAY & EVEN BEFORE THIS, but how He showed it even clearer today & showed me Scriptures on it. But that would have been kind of a funny subject for celebrating the night of the birth of the Prince of Peace, to talk about the greatest War the World's ever going to have! But you've heard the story about the birth of the Prince of Peace. You all know the story about Baby Jesus & the donkey & Mary & Joseph & all that, the whole World's heard that story. But the Lord has called me to tell you things you don't know, that you need to know, the things that didn't happen just 2,000 years ago, but the things that you've gotta know about that are about to happen right now & in the Future! Amen?

81. MAYBE THE LORD MADE ME A LITTLE WEAK SO I WOULDN'T YELL SO LOUD! You know how loud I yell & scream when I get excited! I mean‚ that's the only way He could possibly stop me from getting het–up & excited & screaming at the top of my voice! I just cannot keep quiet, I explode like a firecracker! So the Lord had to dampen my fuse a bit so I wouldn't explode tonight & go off with a big bang that the neighbours could hear! Good thing, huh? But I think I'd better quit or it's going to take a big bang to keep you guys awake.

82. SO THANK THE LORD WE'RE STILL HERE! IF YOU CAN'T THANK THE LORD FOR ANYTHING ELSE, THANK THE LORD FOR THAT! That's a miracle that we're still here 16 years later!—16 years since Maria & I met‚ 16 years next month, January‚ think of that!—And they couldn't stop our rain! They did everything they could think of to try to stop us, but we have grown & we have boomed & we have prospered & we have scattered & we have proliferated & propagated, & now we've got a whole new generation comin' up!

83. HALF OF US ARE KIDS, THANK THE LORD! Now that you guys have gotten so old & such old bottles, He's gotta raise up a whole new generation to carry on, even for the next few years. You may not last that long, but thank the Lord‚ I believe these children are going to last right on to the Coming of the Lord! PTL? We may not get away with it, some of us, but young folks can get away with more than old folks! Besides, they're stronger & younger & smarter! Of course they're smarter than you are! They ought to be an improvement on the stock!

84. SO THANK GOD WE'RE STILL HERE!—AND GOING STRONGER THAN EVER! PTL! You're going stronger. I may be getting weaker, but I must decrease that you may increase. That's the truth. Because as I decrease, you know you've gotta get stronger & you've gotta carry on, & greater things than these shall ye do, because I go to the Father! Hallelujah! TYJ! I believe it! I'd love to live to see that day, but it might be too hard on me. So it sounds like the Lord is planning to take me just before things get that bad.

85. MAYBE IT'S A COWARDLY THING TO DIE IN BED‚ BUT I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF DYING IN BED LIKE THE PATRIARCHS, WITH ALL THE CHILDREN STANDING AROUND & BLESSING EACH ONE & PRAYING FOR THEM, THEN JUST VOLUNTARILY GIVING UP THE SPIRIT & GOING TO BE WITH THE LORD. But that's kind of an easy way to go. I don't know, maybe I ought to make my death count for something better than that.—Although maybe you'd rather see me go like that than get killed by my enemies. If it was a testimony of some kind, I think I'd be willing to die in some other way, if my martyrdom meant someone else's conversion. Like the Christians who died, it was the way they died that converted the Romans!—The way they died in joy & praising the Lord, singing‚ happy to die for Jesus! That's what persuaded the Romans that they really had it & meant business & they wanted what the Christians had & they got it, & Christianity took over the Roman Empire!—Just what Pilate & Caesar feared, that that Message of Love was the most dangerous Message of all, it could take over the Roman Empire‚ & it did, praise God! Hallelujah!

86. IT REMINDS ME OF THE FAREWELL I TOLD SIMON TODAY ON HIS LETTER. I SAID, "IT'S A GOOD THING! WE DIDN'T WANT OUR PAUL KILLED OVER THERE BY THE ROMANS!" And this that is coming, as many preachers have called it‚ is a revival of the old Roman Empire. The Antichrist regime is like a revival of old Rome. In fact, his greatest allies are going to be the ten kings‚ the ten nations which we believe are those ten of Europe, which is the same area the old Roman Empire covered. And didn't those feet & toes come out of the legs of iron, the old Roman Empire? And there was iron still down in the toes, still remnants of the old Roman Empire in the ten toes‚ the ten kings, the ten nations, the ten final nations of man. So, could be!

87. SO I WAS GLAD THAT OUR PAUL, SIMON OF RUSSIA‚ DIDN'T GET KILLED OVER THERE, AT LEAST NOT YET, SO HE COULD DIRECT THE WORK FROM BEHIND THE LINES, SORT OF LIKE SAINT PAUL DID A LOT OF THE TIME & LIKE I'M HAVING TO DO NOW. But when the time came, if Paul's death won any souls, that would be worth dying for, if your death won souls! Of course, your life can win a lot more souls! So I agree with General Patton who said, "I don't want you to die for your country, I want you to help some other guy die for his country!" It was a terrible thing to say, huh? He said, "Why should you die for your country when you could help some other guy to die for his country?" Well, right now I feel like maybe it's better to live for our Country, Heaven, as long as we can! But then in the end if we need to die for our Country & that'll help our Country any, help it gain new members or win souls‚ then not one of us should hesitate to be willing to die for our Country [as martyrs]. PTL!

88. SO LIKE PAUL SAID, "WHETHER I LIVE OR WHETHER I DIE, IT'S UNTO THE LORD." (Rom.14:8) Amen? So I'm sure the Lord knows when & how He's going to do it. I felt a lot of times like this was it, it was about it! Last year I felt like that was about it & I told them to get ready & they'd better make plans for my funeral, get a burial plot & find a Funeral Director & an embalmer. Not bombing, son, no, embalming. It doesn't mean they were going to plan on bombing me, but embalming me is something else. They sort of perfume you up after you're dead so you won't stink while the funeral's going on. That's really what they do.—So you'll last long enough so they can get you in the coffin & get the funeral over with before they have to stick you in that hole & cover you up so that you don't stink any more. They shoot you full of perfume to keep the body from rotting too fast so it won't stink before the funeral is over.

89. SO I WAS TELLING THEM THEY'D BETTER GET READY, I FELT LIKE I WAS ABOUT TO GO! And the other night I finally got tough with them & I told the kids, "You kids better shut up & get quiet & go to sleep so I can go to sleep or you're killing me!" You guys don't want to kill me, do you? Well, then why don't you let me go?—To bed! You're thinking, "Well Dad, why don't you shut up & go to bed?—It's 11:30!" Let's see, 8:30, 9:30‚ 10:30, 11:30, that was a better introduction than usual! I was so sick tonight & so tired, I had to just give you a three-hour introduction, I'm sorry. Praise the Lord anyhow!

90. THANK GOD WE'RE HERE! THANK GOD IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE 1984 & THEY'LL NEVER STOP OUR REIGN! Praise God!—Not even when you & I go to Heaven! TTL?—Never ever ever! And I was reading all about that today & I got some juicy stuff to tell you about it, it's terrific! I got so inspired‚ if I hadn't been facing out that window where every word I say you can hear outside & the neighbours can hear, I'd have been shoutin' hallelujah! I got such a good revelation & such good Scriptures all about the End & what a victory, what a triumph! Praise God!

91. IT MAY SEEM LIKE ONCE IN AWHILE WE HAVE SOME LITTLE DEFEATS, BUT THEY'RE NOT DEFEATS, THEY'RE JUST LITTLE LESSONS WE NEED TO LEARN SO WE CAN WIN GREATER VICTORIES! God gets his greatest victories out of seeming defeats. So you may think I've been defeated a little bit by being sick‚ but I've learned a lot through it & I got a lot of work done anyhow & I think these Posters were almost born of it! If I couldn't give any other talks, I gave some lectures to the artists, etc., so that we're going to have a new Poster Push that I think is going to outdo anything else we have ever done!

92. I THINK IT'S GOING TO GET SO TERRIFIC THEY'RE GOING TO TRY TO STOP US AGAIN! WE'VE GOT SUCH A MESSAGE & SO POWERFUL & SO VIVID, SO GRAPHIC‚ SO TERRIFIC!—IN THOSE BIG BEAUTIFUL COLOUR POSTERS! Praise God!—Millions of'm! We've already published 300,000 of the Music Poster‚ & we're planning to publish 300,000 of each‚ over a million next time, & that about every two or three months! So by the Lord's mercy & His grace & your help, by the end of next year, if we last that long, God willing, & if the mails last that long, which I am expecting the Lord to keep going as long as we go, we're going to have millions of those posters out to millions of people on the street & seen by more millions! Even if they don't buy'm, they can't miss the Message right there in front of their eyes in vivid‚ living colour & headlines! Praise God? Hallelujah! (Dad makes a closed fist salute!)

93. ANYBODY WHO SEES THIS VIDEO IS GOING TO THINK I'M A COMMUNIST FOR SURE!—Ha! Well, Gandhi's party salute is this, & if you take a picture of me like this they're going to think I'm a Nazi, so what's the difference? Now they can have their choice! They could take the picture of the Nazi or the Communist, one or the other. Actually, our salute to the Family used to be this: (Three-finger salute!) And all the hippies whose salute for having cannabis or grass was the old World War 2 "Victory" sign (two fingers). Back in the Huntington Beach days‚ when you gave that sign & you were a pusher, that meant you had grass or LSD or speed for sale or something!

94. BUT WE CAME AROUND GIVING THIS THREE-FINGER SIGN & THEY ALL LOOKED AT US SO FUNNY, "WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT ARE YOU PUSHING? WHAT ARE YOU SELLING, ANYHOW?"—GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON & GOD THE HOLY GHOST!—Ha! We were selling God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit! Praise God! That's what it meant! TTL! Even though it looked like the old Boy Scout salute. What was their three?—Be prepared & two others I've forgotten. But anyhow, we're prepared & even though we're unprepared sometimes, the Lord still uses us. PTL? We're still going, still here, even though I must decrease that you may increase & learn more to carry on every day.

95. THAT'S ONE REASON JOE IS HERE‚ BECAUSE WE NEED MORE TOP LEADERSHIP HERE NOW TO HELP & MAYBE EVEN TAKE OVER AFTER I'M GONE! PTL! After all, a guy who can guide a whole continent like South America with all those cantankerous fiery Latin Americans, he ought to be able to run the World some day, don't you think?—Along with Maria & Peter & the rest! So praise the Lord! Now don't get the big head, because here you'll probably have to mop floors‚ clean toilets, wash dishes, etc., but that's part of your education to know how to run the World!

96. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE A JANITOR, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO RUN THE WORLD? If you don't know how to be a maintenance man or repairman like me & the boys, how are you going to run the rest of the World & tell them how to do it? So you've got to have a glory in whatever thing you do! Praise God?—Even if it's the most humble task. The greatest men I ever knew were the humblest. They were willing to do anything for the Lord. Great men were usually really humble men, because they knew they were nothing without the Lord. So God manifested His greatness through them. It wasn't them, it's not me‚ it's the Lord! PTL? And He's going to be around a long time, as long as all of us, praise God, which is Forever!

97. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT FOREVER IS, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LIKE ONE OF GRANDPA'S CLASSES, THAT'S WHAT FOREVER IS! Don't let me forget my glasses here, that I never used except to wave around your noses! I never even realised that I used my hands so much until they showed me those videos of me talking! Isn't that funny? I never even knew I was doing it. Somebody wrote me, "Oh, the movies that I saw of you were so wonderful, you had such correct gesticulations & such wonderful articulation & your thoughts were so well–ordered & planned & blah blah!"—If he only knew! It just happens! Thank God, it usually happens in the right direction anyhow! GBY! ILY! Let's pray. I'm the only one that hasn't prayed yet, so I'd better pray! … You'd better pray I'll last long enough to get up the stairs!

98. AMEN, LORD! TYJ! PTL! THANK YOU LORD THAT WE HAVE LASTED THIS LONG! I've lasted much longer than I ever expected to, & perhaps the Family feels that they've lasted longer than they expected to. But You said they'll never stop our rain, Lord, our rain of the Gospel here & our reign over all the Earth in the Future, & our reign in Heaven forever! PYJ! Hallelujah!—Heaven on Earth! TYJ! They just will never be able to stop us, Lord‚ because we'll still be here, or There‚ as long as You want us to be, & that's Forever! So keep us wherever You want us as long as You want us to be there, doing whatever You want us to do‚ & then put us wherever You want us, Lord, for whatever other job You have for us to do. All we ask is Thy will be done, have Thy way, Lord, You know what's best‚ in Jesus' name! Amen! PTL! TYJ! Give our precious Family, all of us, a good night's rest, safekeeping, & keep us going as long as You want us to go. And then we know, Lord, You'll have us coming to meet You at Your Coming, in Jesus' name! PTL! Amen! TYJ! PTL! GBY! Good night, I'll meet you in the Morning Up There! PTL! Hallelujah? Amen? Bye-bye! We'll meet'm in the Morning, amen? To whoever gets to see or read this‚ goodnight to you, God bless & keep you!

99. WE USUALLY PRAY THE LORD'S PRAYER, IT'S PART OF OUR LITURGY, OUR RITUAL‚ AS SOME EPISCOPALIAN TOLD US! We didn't know what we were doing until he told us. All we thought we were doing was singing the "Our Father," but he said it was the new liturgy‚ the new ritual of the New Church! Well, maybe he was right!

100. … As we pray the prayer that You taught us to pray, Lord: (Prays the Lord's Prayer) Amen! PTL! TYJ! Good night! I may not be able to kiss you all, but I'll try! (Kids ask Grandpa if he'd like some pumpkin pie they made.) I'd like some but I'd better not! I have to forego some of these pleasures for a season. I can't always enjoy the pleasures of this life now for a season, because I have respect unto the recompence of reward!—Amen?—GBAKY Forever!—In Jesus' name, amen!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family