Questions & Answers
Questions 128 (COD Page 585)
At a communion service, a man came to the altar to pray. Brother Branham was standing behind the–the elements of communion as they were being administered, he said he “could not leave them to pray with the man at the altar.” Please explain.
462 I sent the associate, you see, Brother Neville. I remember the night when it taken place. I’m supposed to stay with that communion table, see, even when...Look here. Now, I ain’t got time to go into this. Somebody sitting here that asked, of course. Here’s what it is, brother. When–when you got the communion, that is a representation of the body of Jesus Christ. It could be...It should be under guard all the time.
463 Look, when Elijah said to–to Gehazi, “Take my staff” (he had blessed that staff), he said, “go on your road. And if anybody speaks, don’t speak back. If anybody salutes you, don’t salute back. Go on, and lay that staff on the baby.” Is that right? “Stay with that staff!” See? And that’s what I was doing.
464 Now, if there had not been an associate pastor here, standing there...I had got through preaching. I remember when it was. And I...if they...if Brother Neville hadn’t been standing here, or somebody to help that man at the altar...I had just got through preaching, so I was standing at the communion table. And while they was fixing to take communion, and I was already in–in giving the communion. Brother Neville was just standing by, and I was ministering communion. Now, Brother Neville was standing there.
465 What if they had come to the altar and Brother Neville was still in his sermon, and he was preaching? I would went to the altar with the man, if he’d got up out of the meeting while he was preaching, went up to the altar. I’d seen my brother was...that he had the anointing of the Spirit. He was ministering. He was a minister in the...he was in the line of duty, a minister in the line of duty.
466 And you should never let them speak with tongues, interrupt, or any way, a minister in the line of duty. Yet, if the Holy Spirit’s speaking to somebody and they run to the altar to get saved, let the minister continue on with his line of duty; let a pastor, deacon, associate, if there’s an associate or any other minister, let him take to that person right quick. And don’t bother the minister in the line of duty. See?
467 And I was standing behind the desk in a line of duty, giving communion. And my associate, Brother Neville, was standing by me. And a man run up to the altar, I said, “Get, go down to him, Brother Neville.” And Brother Neville went down to him. That’s the reason I didn’t go.
468 Now, if there had been no associate here, or nothing else to have went to the man, I’d have stepped off and stopped the communion, and went down and–and seen that soul was saved. You see? But being that there was somebody to send, it would have pulled me from the line of duty, you see, where I was serving communion.