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The Branham Subterfuge Advanced in the “gifted
church”
Many people today do not know they are following
Branham inside the “gifted church,” those who claim to be filled
with the Spirit. The idea of new revelation, the office of a
prophet[s] ( not just the gift of prophecy) the visitation of
angels, the trips to heaven, glory clouds and other Old Testament
manifestations, visions and dreams, word faith teachings, Latter
Rain all were popularized and found its permanency in the church by
William Branham. He is esteemed by nearly all involved in these
practices and teachings today.
As I further study this mans life and what made him
tick the more I understand the modern church’s
ways of error and heresy. Because nearly everything he did nearly 50
years ago has been adopted. Branham’s story
telling is still unmatched by the best that relate their spiritual
experiences to the audience. Some echo him nearly word for word
(certainly thought for thought) as they steal his teachings and make
it their own. If one takes the time to read his nearly 1,200 sermons
they can spot what is copied today, showing there is nothing new
under the sun.
Branham was more confused than Joseph Smith on
nearly everything that happened, he had two, three or more stories
on nearly every event in his life. While most blame this on his lack
of education, this could only be related to his grammar, not his
memory. For he spoke portions and near whole sermons word for word,
sometimes years apart. The man was not dumb, he was ingenious,
especially the way he convinced the people that he was sent of God.
If one is fully convinced themselves, certainly their enthusiasm can
persuade others. Add supernaturalism to the mix and what transpired
was a Canard.
It was 17 years after (Aug. 1950) the now famous
baptism event that Braham taught in his sermons that 3 years after
his conversion God’s glory came down in front
of thousands at his first baptism and an angel spoke out loud
“As John the Baptist was sent to
forerun the first coming of Jesus Christ, so are you sent to forerun
His second coming!” Which ha said was heard by all, but no one
heard but him; did he? Branham presents different versions of what
he said he heard that day. He said as proof The next edition of
the Jeffersonville Evening News reported the incident with the
subheading, “Mysterious Star Appears Over Minister While Baptizing,”
and was also carried by UPI which not one copy to our knowledge has
not been produced, even by the followers of Branham.
In the various versions of what was said “ “As
John the Baptist was sent for the forerunner of the first coming of
Christ, you've got a--have a Message that will bring forth the
forerunning of the second coming of Christ.” (William Branham
How the Angel Came To Me, January 17, 1955
“As John the Baptist was sent forth to warn the
people of the first coming of Christ, your ministry will warn
them of the second coming around the world” (As I was
with Moses, Jefferson, IN Sunday 60-0911M)
“A voice speaking from it, said, "Someday
you'll spread the Gospel throughout the world." (55-0724,
Enticing Spirits, Branham Tabernacle, Jeffersonville, IN)
Quite a variety of different words of intent.
Gordon Lindsay published the book, “A Man Sent
From God.” On p. 43 Branham gave an account of this
baptismal event but evidently does not include the voice with the
message of Branham’s ministry as John the
Baptist’s ministry. The official story
Lindsay wrote, describes a prophecy given at a Branham meeting which
said, “...that as John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner of the
Lord's first coming, so was He sending forth this evangelist
[William Branham] and others like him
to move the people and prepare them for His second coming” (a
Man Sent from God By Gordon Lindsay p. 105).
Yet no one else had what Branham attributed to
himself. Branham adjusted this to mean Him and to this day his
followers interpret it as this.
Furthermore the wording “As John the Baptist was
sent.” The term “Baptist,” was
Branham’s denomination at the time. John the Baptist is not a
biblical term even though it is used in certain Bibles (KJV). John
did not belong to a denomination. In Greek the word is either
baptizo or Baptistes meaning the one who baptizes, or
immerses. For us to believe God spoke using this type of inaccuracy,
using the vernacular of our day, is hardly acceptable and brings
into question where this came from. John came preaching to repent,
to the Jews in Israel and stayed in the wilderness, people came out
to him.
The real problem surfaces with all the details of
how many people were baptized, how many were an audience and what
happened by seeing and hearing, what day, what year; which is
expressed in nearly 6- 8 different versions. One could make a case
for Branham being a modern Joseph Smith, who had 6-7 versions of his
visitation in the woods but his intensity of influence far exceeds
Smith.
Branham liberally used whomever and whatever he
could to make sense of his spiritual experiences and present himself
as “the” prophet to the church. “And up here at Santa Rosa not
long ago, the minister may be standing present now; they was having
a Saturday night of a playhouse. We had several people, about like
here. And they was trying to put a man out of the prayer line. And
he kept saying, "I'm not wanting in the prayer line; I'm wanting to
see this minister."
And I said, "Let him alone," down like this. "What
do you want, sir?"
And he said, "How do you spell your name?"
And up here at Santa Rosa not long ago, the minister
may be standing present now; they was having a Saturday night of a
playhouse. We had several people, about like here. And they was
trying to put a man out of the prayer line. And he kept saying, "I'm
not wanting in the prayer line; I'm wanting to see this minister."
And I said, "Let him alone," down like this. "What
do you want, sir?"
And he said, "How do you spell your name?"
And I said, "B-R-A-N-H-A-M."
He said, "Mother, that's it. That's it." And a lady
came forth.
E-54 They had an old paper, turned yellow. They were
evangelists, belonging to the Assemblies of God. And twenty-two
years, that would be about... That's four years ago, it'd be about
twenty-six years now. Twenty-two years before that, one said they
had a gift of speaking in tongues, the other one had the gift of
interpretation. And when they were... Said they were down praying,
twenty-two years before that, and the interpretation come. And this
was one of their messages they had laying back, said, "THUS SAITH
THE LORD, in the last days before the coming of the Lord, I'll send
My servant, William Branham, up the West Coast with..." And there it
was wrote on old paper.
And then one night, I was coming out of Seattle, and
there was a man standing over there. And he had a book under his
arm. He kept telling me, "Brother Branham, you're in the wrong
church."
And I didn't know what he was talking of. And he put
the book under my arm. It was called the Mormon Word Of God. I don't
know what it was. It's a--it's one of their prophets of The Latter
Day Saint, some bunch of them, that they claims they see the
neophytes. And--and back there a hundred and... long long... how
long ago it was, it... on a certain page there... I have the book in
my library. It prophesied, their prophet, and said, that, "In the
last days that Germany would have a--a ism called Nazis." And it
went ahead and said, "In that day, let W-i double l-i-a-m, William
Branham be called and set aside in humility for the service that I
have called him to." That's right.” ( Testimony
51-0509, Testimony, Calvary Temple, Los Angeles, CA)
So a Mormon prophecy was bearing witness to Branham,
validating him. What true prophet use a church by a false prophet to
validate himself as a prophet? Branham used it, even
though he spoke unfavorably against the Mormon church. This same
account was recorded a bit differently in his life biography William
Branham, a man sent by God by Gordon Lindsay.
“On one occasion while in Santa
Rosa, California, a man came into the building, and seeking out
Brother Branham asked him to spell his name. When he had done this
the man held a piece of yellow paper in his hand and said, "That's
it, mother." He said that he had come from a Pentecostal Church, and
he claimed that 22 years ago, while he and his wife were praying,
the Holy Ghost spoke through him saying, "My servant, William
Branham will come up this West coast bearing a gift of Divine
healing in the latter times." They believed that it was a prophecy
that had been given. And when they had heard Brother Branham's name
they dug out that old prophecy and there it was written.”
Notice the difference? Come from
a Pentecostal Church That’s how it
was revisioned in his book, the Holy Ghost spoke through the Mormon
on Branham?
Whatever happened on June 11, 1933, it has grown to
legendary proportions to advertise Branham's ministry and endorse
him as being the prophet for our age.
And way too many people accept it without ever looking into the
actual details of his life or teaching.
This is no different than his birth story where he
claims a light of God, God’s glory entered
the room. Branham who spent much of his life in the woods saw nature,
and the supernatural working in unity, seen by William Branham's
visions and voices.
"My first
prayer that I was going to pray to confess my sins, I didn't
know how to do it; so I was going to write a letter to God and tack
it on a tree in the woods so He could read it when He come down the
path. For I knowed He was there”
(59-0419E, Show Us The Father And It Will Satisfy Us, Angelus
Temple, Los Angeles, CA) Why would he do this? Because
I knowed He stayed in the woods.
(56-0902, The Handwriting On The Wall, Branham Tabernacle,
Jeffersonville, IN)
“And I wrote out
my prayer. I said, "God, I've been an awful man. If You'll just
forgive me." I took it and tacked it on the tree. .... I thought if
He come by, He could read it, and know that I was sorry for what I
done. (56-0902, The Handwriting On The Wall, Branham
Tabernacle, Jeffersonville, IN)
Branham said, “How I love it and
in the nature I meet God. My first Bible was mother nature.
Who could look in the face of that flower and be...?... and say
there's no God. Where did it come from...?... No, God is in nature.”
(57-0125, Hear Ye Him, Memorial Hall, Lima, OH)
“Watch nature. God and nature
works in continuity, because God is in nature. See?”
(65-1205, Things That Are To Be, First Assembly Of God, Rialto, CA)
Branham’s Pantheistic view on
God was repeated over and over in short statements.
“And I'm a great lover of art. I believe God is in
art, real art. God is in music. God is in nature. God is in His
church. God is just all around” ( (58-0302, Door To The
Heart, Memorial Auditorium, Chattanooga, TN)
“I believe God is in nature. God is everywhere ”
(64-0705, The Masterpiece, Branham Tabernacle, Jeffersonville, IN)
“God is in nature. If you'll just
study Him, He--He lives in nature.” (60-0804, As The
Eagle Stirreth Up Her Nest, Eisenhower High School, Yakima, WA)
“God is in His Creation.
Do you believe it? … All that believes that God is in nature, let's
see your hands. Now, thank you” (55-0625, Show Us The
Father, Unknown, Zurich, Switzerland)
“I think, the last time I was
down here on the West Coast, I preached on the four ways of seeing
God; God in His Son, God in His Word, God in nature, and so forth”
(64-0209, Countdown, Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, CA)
“Out yonder I see now all that
space, that all is God, without form, forever, for
eternities, no beginning, no ending. It's all God. Before
there was even air there was God. The very beginning of nature of
creation was God.” (The Pillar of
Fire Jonesboro AR 53-0509 E-15)
Branham explains his creation account: “After
a hundred billions of years a clinker flew off of it, was a star.
And we watch it falling. It fell for several million years, and He
stopped it. Another one fell; He stopped it. What's He doing? He's
writing His first Bible. We've had three Bible's written. One of
them is in the heavens above, the Zodiac. Starts off with the
virgin, ends up with Leo the lion, the first coming and the second
coming of the Lord Jesus, down through the different ages. Then we
find it, till Enoch wrote one and put it in the pyramid. The third
is put on paper” (54-0809A, I Will
Restore Unto You, Saith The Lord, Shriner Temple, Los
Angeles, CA)
He repeated this teaching over and over
– that there are three Bibles, the first were
the stars, nature, the second was created by man, the pyramid. “God
is from above. He's writing the zodiac in the sky. Zodiac starts
with the Virgin, the first coming of Christ, ends up with the Leo,
the Lion, the second coming. And He's writing His first Bible.”
(51-0729A, The Resurrection Of Lazarus,
National Guard Armory, Erie, PA)
This is why Braham believed the gospel was in the
stars and the pyramids were teaching of God, that they were the
Bible just as the written word was the bible, but the stars were the
Bible before any bible written.
“God wrote three Bibles. One of them was the
Zodiac in the skies. That's the first Bible. Man was to look
up to realize that God is from above. Follow the Zodiac; did
you ever study it? It even gives every age, even the cancer age. It
gives the beginning, the birth--the birth of Christ. What is the
first figure in the Zodiac? The virgin. What's the last figure? Leo
the lion. The first coming and the second coming of Christ, all of
it is written in there. Then the next Bible was written, was in
stone, called pyramid. God wrote in the pyramids. If you study them,
watch the ancient histories and wars, how they were built before the
antediluvian destruction. The third was wrote on paper, the Bible,
for the great, smart intellectual world to come. Now, as God has
moved down through the age, we're at Leo the lion. We're at the
capping of the pyramid. We're in the Book of the Revelations at the
last chapter. (Adoption
1960)
God gave us the gospel in the stars to follow? Can
anyone find this mentioned in the word he did give us to follow?
Branham mixed astrology concepts with his
Christianity.
“It was in the days of the coming
of Jesus. Those astrologers went right on up there and worshipped
Him, the three wise men” (47-1123,
The Children Of Israel, Shriner Temple, Phoenix, AZ)
“We're taught in another phase that the three wise
men that came to worship Jesus, consulting one another, found out
one was from the--the lineage of Ham, one from Shem, and Japheth,
those three. And Jesus said when this Gospel's been preached to Ham,
Shem, and Japheth's people, then the end shall come ....”
( 54-0306, The
Unconditional Covenant That God Made With His People, Madison Square
Garden, Phoenix, AZ)
Does the bible mention the three wise men were from
Ham, Japheth, and Shem?
“Now, three wise men came to see Jesus. The
astronomy says that they followed three different stars, and these
three stars came together and made the one star. You see? And the
three are one, always See ?" (61-0119A,
The Water Baptism, Golden Arrow Restaurant, Beaumont,
TX)
Matt 2:1 “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East
came to Jerusalem, v.11 And when they had come into the house, they
saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and
worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they
presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
It does not tell us there were three men, but three
gifts. There could have been a dozen men.
So where did Branham get this teaching from? The astrologer he met a
few years before he joined his first church (Baptist) that said
“Well, your birth has something to do with the stars up there."
" Said, "There was three wise men that come to meet
the Lord Jesus, and one was from the lineage of Ham, and one Shem,
and the other one Japheth." And said, "When they met together at
Bethlehem, the three stars that they were from... Every person on
earth," said, "they have something to do with the stars." …
And she said, "Now, these three wise men came."
And said, "When they three stars, when they... They come from
different directions and they met at Bethlehem. And they said
they found out and consulted, and one was from the lineage of Ham,
Shem, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah." And she said, "Then they
come and worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ." (55-0117, How The
Angel Came To Me, And His Commission, Lane Tech High School,
Chicago, IL)
Branham said they were“ the
astronomers of India, magis...”( 62-0319, The End-Time
Sign Seed, Tifton Junior High School, Tifton, GA)
Only later does he correct himself
“These wise men. We have an idea here that, and we're
told by tradition, that there were three wise men, yet we don't know
that to be true. The Bible doesn't say there were "three."
However, I've had the privilege of ministering in India, from where
they come from, and they travel by three's” (63-1216,
We Have Seen His Star And Have Come To Worship
Him, Ramada Inn, Tucson, AZ)
Now they are from India. Most believe they were from
Persia, which would make far more sense since this is where Israel
was in captivity and had a certain man, Daniel who influence the
nation. More likely they were converts from Daniels day who searched
the Bible?
Branham further contrives, “The
three ancient fathers coming to pay tribute as they followed the
morning Star to Christ... (54-0306, The Unconditional
Covenant That God Made With His People, Madison Square Garden,
Phoenix, AZ)
This angel was called the Morning star as one of the
many names by Branham. This so called
light which Branham identified as an angel, the angel of the Lord,
(whom he said was not Jesus) was prayed to.
“O Morning Star, guide us and
direct us. Forgive us of our sin and help us to be Your servants,
Lord”( 53-0327, Israel And The Church
#3, Branham Tabernacle, Jeffersonville)
Only God is to be prayed to, prayer is part of true
worship. Yet we read Branham said the Morning star lead the three
wise men to Christ, so this is the confusion one learns from the man
who was the prophet over the last day church.
“Angel of God, I do not see you. But I know that you
are standing near. Please, thou knowest my heart, and know how I
love these people. Stand by me tonight. …And I know that your
Words have been true. I’ve took you at your Word, for you
said you were sent from God. I believed you. And you’ve stuck by me.
… Now, again tonight, in this March the fifth, this Memorial night,
may you stand now and heal every one. Grant it.” (At Thy
Word, Lord, (tape #48-0305, Mar. 5, 1948)
“I don't believe in worshipping
angels. And a true angel would not stand to be worshipped. No.
The angel of God will not stand to be worshipped. He'll say,
"Worship God," every time. And he'll declare Jesus Christ to be the
Son of God every time. And he'll give all praise and all glory to
God, take none for himself.” (54-0401, God's Preparation,
The Church Of The Open Door, Louisville, KY).
Here we learn two things, the angel that came to
Branham, he did not believe to be God, and he claimed he did not
worship the angel that was present with him. But what of his prayers
to the angel, the one whom he claimed knew his heart, who heals
people? Branham did not know so many of his sermons would be
collected and compared on what he said.
“We were singing that when the
Morning Star, the Angel of the Lord made It's first appearance over
where I was standing in public, for the first time in my life,
at the foot of Spring Street in the Ohio river in June '33, as a
young Baptist minister, there baptizing.” (55-0123A, The
Approach To God, Philadelphia Church, Chicago, IL)
Branham developed his interpretation of this
creature by reading the Bible, until then, he had no exact term for
who he was. No identifications were given by this creature except to
say to him he was sent by almighty God. Branham took his word, he
had no choice.
This terminology was applied many years later. We
find that Branham claimed The morning star visited him, who was The
Angel of the Lord (who is God as a theophany) an angel, and he said
the Holy Spirit was the angel, but he was not Jesus or God, but then
at times he was Jesus and God. Whatever he felt at the time was
vocalized. What confusion I can agree this was some kind of
celestial being, possibly an angel, but of what kind?
Branham had been oppressed by this creature his
whole life. As a child he stated “I couldn't
dismiss the strange feeling that hovered over me continually,
causing me to be nervous and jumpy, miserable around people, yet
dreading to be alone, fearful every time the wind would blow.”
“every time It comes near me,
It alarms me. He almost puts me in an unconscious condition. You
never get used to It. 63-0322, The
Fifth Seal, Branham Tabernacle, Jeffersonville, IN)
“It scared me. It would you” ( 1951-0717,
The Manifestation of the Spirit, Civic
Auditorium, Toledo, OH) This sentiment was repeated all through his
life.
Branham would say “I do not know who he is. I
only know that he is the messenger of God to me” (From "A Man
Sent By God" by William Branham). How is this possible?
The words of an "angel" that he claimed was the angel of the Lord
(who no longer appears to anyone after he became flesh in Jesus
Christ that ,s now at the right hand of the Father). So as we can
see we have a theological problem with his Bible teaching; a
sociological one with his contradictory stories of the same event
and a supernatural one, that the power came from a angel that needed
to always be present.
The supernatural is fascinating, for some it has a
heavy attraction. This is why we are warned and need to be prepared
to resist stories that are greater than the apostles whom were hand
picked by the Lord to start and oversee his church. That there are
other Jesus’ and other spirits (2 Cor.11:4) and they mislead people.
For more on William Branham's life, I recommend the
book: “ Legend of the Fall.” This
is a well written and documented book on the real story of Branham,
by Peter M. Duyzer, Published by Canada Apologetics Research
Team. There are so many
inconsistencies in Branham’s life and doctrine that anyone who has
any honesty, using Bible teaching and logic must admit that it can’t
be believable; he can’t get his facts straight. His doctrine not
only disagrees with the Bible but is internally inconsistent with
itself.
This book has insight into what Branham believed and did.
http://wmbranham.net/
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We will be starting a Radio
Ministry on station WRMV located just outside Lynchburg Virginia. The
program will air in the mornings with a possible time slot of 7:00 a.m. and
will also be streamed on the Internet. We will keep you posted on the
time slot as it may change before the start date. We will have a 15
minute program centered around errant teachings and actions in today's
Churches. We will keep you informed with more information in the
upcoming weeks. We covet your prayers for this new adventure the Lord
has placed on our hearts.
