William M. Branham

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William Marrion Branham (April 6, 1909, Kentucky – December 24, 1965) was an influential Bible minister sometimes credited with founding the Latter Rain Movement within American Pentecostal churches, elements of which are present in most modern Pentecostal and Charismatic churches (although William Branham denied any specific connection with the movement). There are some who consider him a false prophet who taught heretical doctrines, although many today still acknowledge him as a true prophet.

Branham is considered by many to have initiated the faith healing movement that began in 1947. Other sub groups in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements were partially influenced by Branham, including the Latter Rain Movement, Manifest Sons of God, and Kingdom Now theology. His ministry had effects felt around the world, and it fostered a number of other ministers who became internationally known. The whole intent of his ministry was to turn Christians hearts back to the scriptures and their experiences to match that of the Apostles, as is stated in 'Malachi 4:5-6'. His theme was "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever".

Contents

[edit] Early life, conversion, and ordination

William Branham was born April 6, 1909 in a log cabin in the Kentucky hills, the first of nine children of Charles and Ella Branham, and was raised near Jeffersonville, Indiana. Branham's father was an illiterate alcoholic, and his upbringing was difficult and impoverished. From his early childhood Branham had supernatural experiences including prophetic visions. A defining moment in his early childhood is when he, while assisting his father at a backyard moonshine still met the angel of the Lord who told him never to drink , smoke or defile himself by living immorally with women. On at least one occasion during his teenage years he was approached by an astrologer telling him that he was born under a special sign and prophesied an important ministry for him. Branham's family was nominally Roman Catholic; however, he had minimal contact with Christianity during his childhood. Branham also had a career as a 'prize fighter' boxer winning 52 fights. Branham had a conversion experience in the late 1920s, and was later ordained as an assistant pastor at a 'Missionary Baptist Church' in Jeffersonville. When he disagreed with the pastor about women preachers, Branham held a series of revivals in a tent, then began holding meetings in a Masonic hall until they were able to construct a building in 1933. This was originally named the ‘First Pentecostal Baptist’ church (Jeffersonville Evening News, 10 June 1933) but later became known as 'Branham Tabernacle'. Over this period Branham continued experiencing prophetic visions and other supernatural events. In 1936 Branham was invited to preach at a Oneness Pentecostal convention and received invitations to minister at various Oneness churches. Branham was initially pressured by his mother-in-law not to accept these invitations, preceding a number of tragedies (including the death of his first wife and daughter).

[edit] Successful public ministry

The late 1930s and early 1940s were usually a blank patch in Branham's accounts of his life story, although there are some glimpses in his early booklets. Typically his story would resume in May 1946 when he broke from daily life to seek God and establish the meaning of his life. At this point he subsequently reported that he had received an angelic commissioning which began a public ministry of evangelism and faith healing. From accounts from Branham's family, it is evident that Branham had been conducting healing campaigns at least as early as 1941 when he conducted a two-week 'revival' in Milltown. (At Totten’s Ford, Believers News, April 1998) and his 1945 tract 'I Was Not Disobedient Unto the Heavenly Vision' shows that his public healing ministry was well established by this time.

During the mid 1940s Branham was conducting healing campaigns almost exclusively with Oneness Pentecostal groups. The broadening of Branham's ministry to the wider Pentecostal community came as a result of his introduction to Gordon Lindsay in 1947, who soon became his primary manager and promoter. Around this time several other prominent Pentecostals joined his ministry team including Ern Baxter and F.F. Bosworth. Gordon Lindsay proved to be an able publicist for Branham, founding The Voice of Healing magazine in 1948 which was originally aimed at reporting on Branham's healing campaigns.

His early work in faith healing attracted attention, and as stories began to spread of his healing gift, local pastors came to ask Branham to minister to their congregations and pray for the sick. When local churches could not accommodate the crowds, Branham's meetings were moved to larger auditoriums or stadiums for united campaigns in major cities in North America.

In June 1947, the Evening Sun newspaper of Jonesboro, Arkansas reported that "Residents of at least 25 States and Mexico have visited Jonesboro since Rev. Branham opened the camp meeting, June 1st. The total attendance for the services is likely to surpass the 20,000 mark." His success soon took him to minister in countries around the world. According to a Pentecostal historian, "Branham filled the largest stadiums and meeting halls in the world." In Durban, South Africa in 1951 he addressed meetings sponsored by the Apostolic Faith Mission, the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Holiness Church, and the Full Gospel Church of God. Meetings were conducted in eleven cities, with a combined attendance of a half million people. On the final day of the Durban meetings, held at the Greyville Racecourse, an estimated 45,000 people attended and thousands more were turned away at the gates. As he travelled around the world he met many individuals of public influence, including U.S. Congressman Upshaw who was healed after Branham prayed for him. (See the healing of William David Upshaw.) Branham claimed that God also healed King George VI of England of multiple-sclerosis through his prayers.

From the mid 1950s onwards Branham became more open with his beliefs, indicating a position more in line with the 'oneness' position regarding the Godhead, and by the late 1950s he was openly stating that the Trinity as presented by most churches was not scriptural. He took the position that neither Oneness theology nor Trinitarianism lined up with the Bible. Also over this period a number of other doctrines which were considered to be unorthodox, but by no means unprovable from the Bible, such as the 'serpent's seed doctrine', which became increasingly obvious in his recorded sermons.

[edit] "Angelic visitations" and "supernatural signs"

William Branham had supernatural signs given to him in order to encourage people to believe. A physical sign appearing in his hand was to indicate a disease or healing. Later on secret thoughts and needs of individuals would be revealed to him. Many people believe William Branham was a prophet fulfilling scriptural prophecies about the end times.

Branham's experience with the supernatural went back to his childhood. As a young boy he was considered "nervous" because from an early age he spoke of "visions" and "a voice" that spoke to him out of a wind, saying, "Don't ever drink, or smoke, or defile your body in any way. There will be a work for you to do when you get older." Shortly after being ordained, he was baptizing people on June 11, 1933 in the Ohio River near Jeffersonville, and hundreds of people saw a bright fiery light suddenly appeared over his head.Then he heard a voice say, "As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Jesus Christ, so your message will forerun His second coming!"

William Branham reported that as he prayed alone late one night during his search for personal meaning in 1946 or 1947, an angel of light appeared, saying: "Do not fear. I am sent from the presence of the Almighty God to tell you that your peculiar birth and misunderstood life has been to indicate that you are to take a gift of Divine healing to the peoples of the world. If you will be sincere when you pray and can get the people to believe you, nothing shall stand before your prayer, not even cancer. You will go into many parts of the earth and will pray for kings and rulers and potentates. You will preach to multitudes the world over and thousands will come to you for counsel." Some claim his successful career around the world and his meetings with world dignitaries were a fulfillment of this prophecy.

Branham's engagement with the supernatural included miracles. In 1948 God showed him a vision of a boy being raised from the dead. He related the details to his audiences and asked them to write those details down in the flyleaves of their bibles.

The "Supernatural Photo"
Enlarge
The "Supernatural Photo"

The vision was fulfilled two years later during a speaking trip to Helsinki, Finland in 1950 at the scene of a street accident near Kuopio, Finland. A boy on a bicycle had been struck by a car and had been killed. Branham's party had come upon the scene, and he then asked that the sheet covering the boy's body be removed, because he recognized the boy as the one he had seen in his vision. He then prayed over the child and the child was raised from the dead.

On the night of January 24, 1950, an unusual photograph was taken during a speaking engagement in the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas. As Branham stood at the podium, an apparent halo of fire appeared above his head. A photograph of this phenomenon was produced, the only one of its film roll that developed an image. George J. Lacy, an investigator of questioned documents, subjected the negative to testing [1] In his report he said "Based upon the above described examination and study I am of the definite opinion that the negative submitted for examination, was not retouched nor was it a composite or double exposed negative. Further, I am of the definite opinion that the light streak appearing above the head in a halo position was caused by the light striking the negative."

The original of the photograph is in the archives of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

[edit] William Branham's doctrines and teachings

William Branham preached thousands of sermons, of which 1100 were recorded and transcribed. His sermons dealt not only with the doctrines that would secure his place in modern religious history, but with staples of Pentecostalism such as personal prophecy. William Branham said he had received seven major prophecies in 1933. When revealing them in later sermons, he said that the first five had already come true, and that they would all be fulfilled.

Here is a list of prophecies that William Branham received.

  1. "Franklin D. Roosevelt will run four terms and take America into a second world war.
  2. "The dictator that's now arising in Italy will come into power, Ethiopia will fall. He'll come to a shameful end.
  3. "The women has been permitted to vote. And in voting, someday they'll elect the wrong man.
  4. "Our war will be with Germany, and they will build a great big concrete place and fortify themselves in there, and the Americans will take a horrible beating.
  5. "Science will progress in such a way until they will make a car that will not have to be guided by a steering wheel, and the cars will continue to be shaped like an egg until the consummation
  6. "I saw a great woman stand up, beautiful looking, dressed in real highly royals like purple, and I got little parenthesis down here, 'She was a great ruler in the United States, perhaps the Catholic church'
  7. "I saw this United States burning like a smolder; rocks had been blowed up. And it was burning like a--a heap of fire in logs or something that just set it afire; and looked as far as I could see and she'd been blown up.[2]

Other notable prophecies by Branham include:

  • That Los Angeles and much of California would sink beneath the sea. Branham told one group of his followers: "People will make fun of the destruction of the earthquake that we have said would happen, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ on the west coast of America, but I want you brothers to know this, that if you have any friends or relation in Los Angeles, if I were you, I’d get them out as quickly as possible."(Pearry Green, The Acts of the Prophet, p.115) . Many of Branham’s followers did leave California including 95% of one Church (Eulogy in Memorial Service #1, Phoenix Arizona, 25 January 1966).

Branham also went outside traditional Christian theology in his rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity. From the late 1940s to the early 1950s it appears that Branham did not publicly denounce the Trinity in his campaign meetings, however to his congregation in Jeffersonville he was more open regarding his preference to the 'Oneness' position (although he said that both Trinity and Jesus Only were not scriptural). The avoidance of controversial doctrinal issues particularly regarding the Trinity was a stated policy of Branham's party during this period of his ministry, it being reported in 'The Voice of Healing':

Doctrines that are peculiar to one denomination, or involve thee [sic] mysteries of Divine Sovereignty, or which concern formulas of water baptism are to be avoided in the meetings, and not to be identified with it afterwards. (Branham Party News, The Voice of Healing, April 1948, p.4)

However from about 1953 onwards Branham increasingly clearly stated his preference to the 'oneness' position, and by the late 1950s onwards he was openly denouncing the Trinity as a heresy. e.g.:

“The hour has approached where I can't hold still on these things no more: too close to the coming. See? "Trinitarianism is of the Devil." I say that THUS SAITH THE LORD. Look where it come from. It come from the Nicene Council when the Catholic church become in rulership. The word "trinity" is not even mentioned in the entire Book of the Bible. And as far as three Gods, that's from hell. There's one God. That's exactly right. (‘Revelations Chapter 4 Part 3, Mercy Throne’, 8 January 1961)

Frequently Branham taught a form of ‘modalism’ (sabellianism) with regard to the Godhead, claiming that there are no personal distinctions between Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit and that the 'persons' of the Godhead are just God playing different roles, like an actor would:

The Bible said that He changed His countenance, or He changed Himself, en morphe. The word comes from the Greek word, "en morphe," which means "a Greek actor that plays many parts"; today he is one thing, in the next act he's something else. He was God the Father in one act; God the Son in another act; and He's God the Holy Ghost in this act. See? There He is; His Word is still Supreme. We're living in the last days.(‘Ashamed of Him’, 11 July 1965)

William Branham taught the Deity of Jesus Christ, that Jesus was the fullness of God dwelling bodily:

The cell that was in there God created Himself with His own Self. He come down a little Baby, Jehovah, and was born in a stable over a manure, and--and it ought to be striking to the people: little Jehovah laying crying in a stable. Oh, my. And we think we're somebody, because... Oh, my. Jehovah playing like a Child, Jehovah working like a man, Jehovah dying like a man, but He was Jehovah when He raised up again, He proved He was Jehovah. Sure He was. Yes, sir. Yes. ('Be Not Afraid', 11 March 1961)

[edit] Death

On December 18, 1965 William Branham and his family (all except his daughter Rebekah) were returning to Jeffersonville, Indiana from Tucson, Arizona for the Christmas Holidays. About three miles east of Friona, Texas (about 70 miles southwest of Amarillo on U.S. Highway 60), just after dark a car traveling west in the eastbound lane, struck Branham's car head-on. The driver of the car was intoxicated and died at the scene as did the other front seat passenger. The other two passengers in the back seat of the car were severely injured. Branham's wife was seriously injured and his daughter Sarah was lying in the back seat also injured. Branham's left arm was mangled and caught in the driver-side door, and his left leg was wrapped around the steering wheel. After about 45 minutes Branham was extricated from his car and transported to the hospital at Friona-then later transported to the hospital at Amarillo, Texas. He lived for six days after the crash, dying on December 24, 1965 at 5:49 PM. His body was returned to Jeffersonville, Indiana for burial.

[edit] Branham's legacy and influence

Branham's popularity continued through the last years of his life. In its February 1961 issue, the Full Gospel Men's Voice (now the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International) glowed: "In Bible Days, there were men of God who were Prophets and Seers. But in all the Sacred Records, none of these had a greater ministry than that of William Branham, a Prophet and Seer of God.... Branham has been used by God, in the Name of Jesus, to raise the dead!" Branham's teachings and notoriety had a profound influence on the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Though Branham has been dead since 1965, there are thousands around the world who regard him as a prophet, and the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5. Branham taught that the 7 churches of Revelation represented 7 church ages, each of these church ages having a messenger. He taught that the succession of messengers were: The Apostle Paul, Irenaeus, St. Martin, St. Columba, Martin Luther, and John Wesley. Branham did not mention who the last messenger was. It may be difficult to measure Branham's influence on other evangelists in his time period, but he certainly led the way in the pioneering of tent revivals, which would lead into the era of televangelism. Branham is often mentioned as the leader or first revivalist preacher of the second wave of Pentecost that swept the country after World War Two (the first wave being Parham, Seymour, and others). Among those who began around the same time of Branham and part of the Second Wave of Pentecostalism (late 1940s to the mid 1950s) were Jack Coe, Oral Roberts, and A. A. Allen. It is interesting to note that Branham was one of the first "faith" preachers and evangelists who not only preached a latter day visitation of God’s Spirit, but also emphasized faith for healing, as did Coe, Roberts, and Allen.

[edit] Current Followers Beliefs

There are still Christians today who follow the teachings of William Branham. They are known as Christians, and have not taken on any other name themselves but are called "Believers Church" or "Believers Assembly", as well as other names. Their beliefs tend to be an acceptance of the whole Bible as divinely inspired truth, and have a balanced view of the Bible, with many not focusing on a ‘pet’ belief, although there are certainly some fringe groups who do so.

[edit] Where The Group Is Located

This group is neither monastic nor gather within a compound (fortification). The true followers of William Branham distance themselves from controversial exclusiveness. Instead, they maintain their homes in their communities. There is no headquarters but each church is sovereign. These churches have no membership or members.

The largest concentration of Christians following the message of William Branham is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is estimated that there are some 500,000 followers of William Branham's message. Large groups are also existent in Trinidad (one congregation in excess of 2,000 people), Vancouver, Canada (around 900 in one congregation), Harare (Close to 1000) and in Johnson City, Tennessee (around 600 in one congregation). There are numerous churches following William Branham's message in most countries of the world. Recently the Message has began finding its way in Muslim countries.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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