ø o b j e c t i o n s

1. According to Psalm 91, if we dwell in the secret place of the most High, no disease, evil, plague, danger or harm will befall us. If God was truly with Bro. Branham, God would NEVER have allowed him to be killed in the car accident.

By that suggestion as above, does it also suggest that if an idolator lives up to the ripe old age of 80 and dies peacefully in his sleep meant that he was "right" with God and that God was with him? Certainly not.

Psalm 91 is not a blanket promise of God. God allows certain events to happen - even tragic events, but I believe it was in God's plan since the beginning of time. This is not a blanket promise to be used as a basis for God's protection. God's promises are no doubt what they are - a promise of God, and God cannot break His promises in His Word. They are true in the general sense but cannot be taken as a blanket promise. There are other conditions to fulfil as well.

Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Romans 9:11-21 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Take the above Scripture for example, are we to say that a child will NEVER depart from living out a proper life if his / her parents train them up well? Even if they did, a child can still depart from it.

Romans 10:9-13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Does the above Scripture mean that we will NEVER lose our salvation if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that "Jesus is Lord"? Definitely not! We will lose our salvation if we continue to sin etc.

Too often when something goes wrong in our lives we immediately jump to the conclusion that God is whipping us because of some sin we've committed - no thanks to the proponents of the "Prosperity Gospel". That's not necessarily true. Much of the suffering that comes into our lives is because we live in a broken world inhabited by broken people and rebellious spirit beings.

Job's friends mistakenly thought that he was suffering because of sin in his life (Job 4:7-8; 8:1-6; 22:4-5; 36:17). Jesus' own disciples jumped to the wrong conclusion when they saw a blind man. They wondered if the man's eye problem was due to his personal sin or because of something his parents had done (John 9:1-2). Jesus told them that the man's physical problem was not related to his personal sin or the sin of his parents (v.3).

John 9:1-3 And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Some suffering does come as the direct consequence of sin - either as corrective discipline from God for those He loves, or punitive action by God upon rebels in His universe but we must not make it a sin issue at all time.

Through the hatred of a woman and the folly of her daughter, John the Baptist was beheaded. Though Jesus declared, "Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist," yet God, in His sovereignty, chose to allow man's cruelest, most dishonorable means to remove his prophet from the scene. Here was Emmanuel, "God with Us," standing just a few miles away, seemingly with His arms folded, while a woman's evil plot was carried out.

How quickly some would judge this to mean that no doubt this was judgment upon John the Baptist. How shallow their thinking when we realize that it is simply a matter of God's ways not being our ways. We might have wanted John elevated to a king's position, or to have been the one to sit at the right hand of Jesus while He was on the earth.

The critics point that the apostles were martyred for their faith while Bro. Branham wasn't. They say it must bring glory to God. "How can God get the glory from such incidents?", they ask. Bro. Branham's death in the car accident was certainly not glorifing to God. Why couldn't God protect him? Can God get the glory from this? The apostles that were martyred were martyred for their faith - to God's glory. Amen. John the Baptist was killed for his stand against Herodius. He was beheaded - to God's glory? Jesus was right there probably a few miles away and did nothing! Jesus said that John was "more than a prophet" and "none risen greater than him". This is similar to the pastor who died of the SARS epidemic case. Glory to God? If everything has to bring glory to God (in our pre-conceived way) then if our car breaks down, if we face problems at work, if we make a mistake in judgment, if we accidentally bump our head against the wall, isn't that all counter-glory to God? Mmm... we must be doing something wrong. Time to repent.

Job was tested and Paul had his "thorn in the flesh" being tormented by Satan. They were godly people. Job's friends accused him of harbouring some secret sin which he denied. Hannah and Elizabeth were barren even though they were righteous. But praise God, He delivered them later on. Bad things happen to people... why? I don't know. Good things happen to bad people... why? I don't know. Again, God's ways are not our ways. We are not to judge and jump to our own conclusions.

2. Could it be that it was the devil who had put the sicknesses on the people himself and later took it away? Maybe it was the devil himself who was working through Bro. Branham and healing the sick?

This very same accusation was brought against Jesus Christ Himself when the Pharisees accused Him of casting out devils by Beelzebub's power. Satan cannot put a sickness on a person and then take it away. The devil can only put a sickness on a person but God alone can take it away and bring healing. He alone is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer. Satan cannot heal. It is clear that Satan cannot cast out Satan - Jesus said so Himself.

Matthew 12:24-27 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

So how do unbelievers and those who seek help from mediums, witchdoctors etc. obtain their healing? From God because of their faith to be healed. What these people are doing is actually approaching God through these mediums etc. thinking that they are approaching God. God recognises and honours that faith and heals them anyhow. However, they will be answerable for it on the day of judgment, for such as that. ALL healings comes from God alone through faith. There is no other healing in the world but divine healing.

Also, Bro. Branham was always preaching the Gospel, exalting and proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, pointing people back to the Word, leading many to Christ, advocating holiness and righteousness, speaking out against sin, adjuring the devil and demons out of people etc. behind the pulpit. Are these the works of the devil? Certainly, Satan would not have approved of the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Mediums (e.g. our local Chinese mediums) can also tell of past events in a person’s life with much accuracy. Couldn’t Bro. Branham be just the same, deriving his “powers” from the evil one?

Yes, there are such things as familiar spirits as mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Bro. Branham was also called a medium by some. However Bro. Branham would have no part in such. He spoke out against spiritism, rebuked mediums and the spirits by which they operated, taking authority over them in the name of Jesus. However, one thing mediums through the workings of evil spirits cannot do is to prophesy future events with accuracy. Bro. Branham did this and was NEVER wrong. All his prophecies of future events came to pass exactly as prophesied. This cannot be the workings of evil spirit-filled mediums, thus further vindicating Bro. Branham as a true prophet of God.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Jeremiah 28:9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, [then] shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.

Ezekiel 33:33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

There are indeed those who may duplicate to a certain degree this supernatural “power” such as the sorcerers in Pharaoh’s court (Exodus 7:10-12) but none can compare with the prophets of God.

2 Titus 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

4. Other prophets were sent to warn Bro. Branham (i.e. Gordon Lindsay, Kenneth Hagin and Sis. Schrader (a prophetess) of his erroneous teaching and coming death.

While Bro. Lindsay travelled much with Bro. Branham, and even wrote the book on his life story, he was not a prophet, nor did he fully understand that a true prophet cannot say more nor less than what God puts in his mouth to speak. When a newspaper wrote a very negative article about Bro. Branham, Gordon Lindsay wanted him to call fire down from Heaven to burn up the publishing plant. Bro. Branham rebuked him, saying, “Oh, brother, my! Jesus said, ‘You don’t know what spirit you are.’” It indeed seems strange that a brother in the Lord, who had seen even the dead raised in Bro. Branham’s ministry, would fail to see that this prophet had "Thus Saith the Lord."

Evangelist Kenneth Hagin claimed that he had been given a prophesy two years before Bro. Branham’s accident, “At the end of 1965, he who now stands in the forefront of the healing ministry as a prophet will be taken out of the way. He’ll make a false step and Satan shall destroy his life, but his spirit will be saved, and his works will follow him. Ere 1966 shall come, he shall be gone.” This is most certainly in error. I am not saying that Bro. Hagin did not receive a prophecy, but I question from whence it came, since it was contrary to the Word of the Lord.

Bro. Branham did not make a false step. Satan did not destroy his life. In fact, Satan cannot take the life of a believer. Speaking of Job, Bro. Branham said, “So God told him; He said, “Now, he’s in your hands, but don’t you take his life.” And Satan even stretched as far as he could on that. He took every friend and everything he had, almost his complete life, but he couldn’t take his life.” Neither could Satan take the life of Bro. Branham. Just this one statement alone repudiates the validity of Kenneth Hagin’s prophecy.

Sis. Schrader was called a “frail little woman” by Bro. Branham when he prayed for her at Jack Moore’s church in 1962. Two years earlier Bro. Branham said, “She has a gift of prophecy.” Again, it is important to note here that there is a great difference between being a prophet and having the gift of prophecy. “Isaiah was a prophet. Prophets are born. They just... Not laying their hands on them and make them prophets, they’re born foreordained of God. Gifts and callings are without repentance. There’s a gift of prophecy in the church, and it must be judged by three people before the voice should ever be heard amongst the congregation. But that’s just a gift of prophecy. But a prophet is absolutely ordained with "Thus Saith the Lord" from childhood up.” This sister was NOT a prophetess, although she did have the gift of prophecy, but that is subject to judgment. Sis. Schrader in her "prophecy" said, "Go warn Brother [Branham]... he's going to die. He's walking in the way of Dowie." Bro. Branham never once said that he was Elijah (although he did speak on the promise of the Elijah of Malachi 4:5-6), in fact he mentioned about those who believed themselves to be Elijah, even mentioning Dowie by name.

MESSIAH.THE_  SHREVEPORT.LA  TUESDAY_  61-0117
Oh, there's been a hundred Elijah's come up in the last days: Alexander Dowie, and so many in the world today saying they're Elijah, they're Elijah of the day.

THIRD.SEAL.THE_  JEFF.IN  WEDNESDAY_  63-0320
There'd been a lot of messiahs raise up and said, "I'm He," and led them off by the hundreds, and--and perished and everything; but see, that was to throw off the real One when He comes. We've had Elijah's mantles and coats and every other thing, but that--that's--that's just to throw off the real thing when He does come. See? That's right. All kinds of people that's wore the robes and the garments and been buried in all kinds of hoods turned around and everything else... That don't... That just only vindicates. Like a bogus dollar shows there's a good one somewhere if you can just find it. See?

FOURTH.SEAL.THE_  JEFF.IN  THURSDAY_  63-0321
We've had Elijah's garments; we've had Elijah's robes; oh, there's been people that... John Alexander Dowie is buried up there wrapped in a--a robe; he said he was Elijah. And we've had all kinds of things like that. What is it anyhow? It's only to take away a Truth that is going to be presented. See, see?

MODERN.EVENTS.MADE.CLEAR.BY.PROPHECY_  SBD.CA  V-7 N-6  MONDAY_  65-1206
We've had Elijah's, and coats, and everything else, and mantles, and all kinds of nonsense that went off into organizationism and everything else.

5. A number of writers believe that it was when Branham took a 'teaching' ministry upon himself that he fell into error. It is clear that he had been anointed and commissioned by God to have a prophetic / evangelistic ministry, but never one of teaching. And as soon as he got into this area of teaching doctrine, he began to trespass into realms to which God had never called him, thus opening himself up to ever-increasing deception. It has been reported that towards the end, some of his teachings almost bordered on the occult. When he started to teach, he went out of his calling and started to teach erroneous doctrines and so God had to take him off the scene because of the damage he was causing in the body of Christ.

While Bro. Branham was accused by many other evangelists of "going off into error in his teachings", when in reality, it was the others who were in error and God had sent the prophetic ministry of Bro. Branham to bring them back to the Truth but they refused to listen.

People do not understand the nature of a true prophet of God or how his office operates. Bro. Branham definitely was a true prophet of God, who spoke "Thus Saith the Lord." While prophetic gifts have been in the church since Pentecost, there had not been a major prophet sent to the church for 2,000 years. No wonder his ministry and his Message was misunderstood, just as it was in the days of John the Baptist. The office of a prophet - being a much higher office, however, is completely different from the gifts of healing, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, working of miracles, the gift of prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation. These are gifts given to the church, which should have been in operation from the day of Pentecost. Moses and Elijah of old performed miracles, but that was only to get the attention of the people, so that they could give the message God had given them as major prophets. The point I am trying to make here is simply this: Bro. Branham was a major prophet of God, the first in two thousand years. He was a man sent by God, as Gordon Lindsay said, but not just to pray for the sick. He was sent by God to sound forth a message that would prepare the Bride of Christ for the rapture.

It was reported that Bro. Lindsay said, "I begged him not to teach. I said, "... Leave the Bible teaching to the teachers. Just go ahead and preach and exercise the word of knowledge and gifts of healing as the Spirit wills, and be a blessing to the Body of Christ.'''  This prophet said to Bro. Lindsay, "I know I'm not a teacher, but I want to teach. And I'm going to teach!" I agree that Bro. Branham's calling was to be a prophet and evangelist and not a teacher but who is to say what Bro. Branham's calling was? He stayed true to his calling and didn't consider himself a teacher, he said so many times in his sermons. He was sounding the truth. In the earlier years of his ministry, he rarely touched on doctrinal issues outside of his own church in Jeffersonville (Branham Tabernacle) and did not go around propagating "his" teachings. Even so, they thought he was too hard on the women, preaching against their actions and manner of dress. They opposed him for preaching serpent's seed in his own church and water baptism according to Acts 2:38. I believe that Bro. Branham was a prophet-messenger sent by God in the 20th century (on par with Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Paul etc.) and not only one with a gift of prophecy. As a prophet of God - a messenger, he only said what God told and instructed him to do. Refusing to obey that voice is the same as disobeying God Himself.

People who say that do not know what they are talking about and have gotten their doctrines mixed-up. When you say prophet of the old Bible it meant "a seer." The very word "prophet" itself means "a Divine revelator of the Word." How can one be a prophet of God bringing the Word yet be in error at the same time? Do you really know what a prophet is? A true prophet is the mouthpiece of God, for it is to him the Word of the Lord comes. The phrase, “the Word of the Lord came to...” (the prophet) appears no less than 18 times in the Old Testament. To reject the Word of the Lord that came to this prophet would be no different than to reject the Word of the Lord that came to Noah when he said it would rain, or the Word of the Lord that came to Moses on the mountain. That is how Jesus was identified. And they said after the resurrection, "...Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people" (Luke 24:19) and also Nicodemus' remark to Jesus.

John 3:2b ...for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Yet, still many would not accept His message. They would not accept John, and he was a prophet. They would not accept Elijah and the rest of the prophets of old, and they had the divine revelation. Remember the admonition for us to receive a prophet.

Matthew 10:41a He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.

7. Bro. Branham was a false prophet because of the failed prophecy he gave saying that by 1977 all denominations would be consumed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) under the control of the Roman Catholic Church, that the rapture would take place, and that the world would be destroyed to usher in the millennial reign of Christ. This did not come to pass thus being proven to be a failed prophecy. Despite the fact that Bro. Branham tried to qualify his statement by saying he "predicted" rather than "prophesied" certain events, anytime a prophet of God speaks under divine inspiration, it is a prophecy.

Bro. Branham did not prophesy as such. This has been misconstrued to mean what Bro. Branham did not say. Bro. Branham was very clear that he was not making a prophecy. He was merely making a prediction. How anyone can equate a "prediction" to being a "prophecy" is above me. Some quotes of what Bro. Branham said is reproduced as below. Judge for yourself as to whether Bro. Branham was making a prediction or prophesying. They are not the same. If Bro. Branham was indeed prophesying, he would emphatically state it with "Thus Saith the Lord" as he had done many numerous times before. He did not say it this time because it was not revealed to him by God, the prediction was his own.

EPHESIAN.CHURCH.AGE_ JEFF.IN ROJC 131-183 MONDAY_ 60-1205
And at 1906 the Laodicean church age set in, and I don't know when it'll end, but I predict it'll be done by 1977. I predict, not the Lord told me, but I predict it according to a vision that was showed me some years ago, that five of those things has (out of the seven)--has already taken place about...

LAODICEAN.CHURCH.AGE_ JEFF.IN ROJC 493-550 SUNDAY_ 60-1211E
"We believe that the Laodicean church started in A.D. 1906. I predict... Now, remember, "predict," especially you listening at the tape. I don't say it will be, but predict that it will end by 1977, that the church will go completely into apostasy, and she'll be ousted out of the mouth of God. And the second coming, or the rapture of Christ, might come anytime. Now, I could miss that a year; I can miss it twenty years, I could miss it a hundred years. I don't know where. But I just predict that according to a vision He showed me, and taking the time, the way it's progressing, I say it'll be sometime between '33 and '77. At--at least, this great nation is going to strike a war that's going to blow it to bits. See? Now, that's pretty close; it's awful close. And I could be wrong; I'm predicting. Everybody understand say, "amen" if you do. [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] See?"

LAODICEAN.CHURCH.AGE - CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.9
The Laodicean Age began around the turn of the Twentieth Century, perhaps 1906. How long will it last? As a servant of God who has had multitudes of visions, of which NONE has ever failed, let me predict (I did not say prophesy, but predict) that this age will end around 1977. If you will pardon a personal note here, I base this prediction on seven major continuous visions that came to me one Sunday morning in June, 1933. Based on these seven visions, along with the rapid changes which have swept the world in the last fifty years, I PREDICT (I do not prophesy) that these visions will have all come to pass by 1977. And though many may feel that this is an irresponsible statement in view of the fact that Jesus said that 'no man knoweth the day nor the hour.' I still maintain this prediction after thirty years because, Jesus did NOT say no man could know the year, month or week in which His coming was to be completed. So I repeat, I sincerely believe and maintain as a private student of the Word, along with Divine inspiration that 1977 ought to terminate the world systems and usher in the millennium.

8. In spite of his apparent humility and consecration, Branham had great difficulty controlling a strident, hateful attitude toward women. In his own poor English, transcribed from a sermon, Branham stated, "But I remember when my father's still up there running, I had to be out there with water and stuff, see young ladies that wasn't over seventeen, eighteen years, up there with a man my age now, drunk. And they'd have to sober them up and give them black coffee, to get them home to cook their husband's supper. Oh, something like that, I said, 'I...This was my remarked [sic] then, THEY'RE NOT WORTH A GOOD CLEAN BULLET TO KILL THEM WITH IT.' That's right. And I hated women. That's right. And I just have to watch every move now, to keep from still thinking the same thing." His animosity toward women led to the preaching of a rigid moral code that lambasted them on their manner of dress, and may have been responsible for his "revelation" that allowed for divorce.

Bro. Branham did not "hate" women. He himself was married and had daughters - he did not hate them either. He treated women well, never abused them and spoke for men and husbands to treat their girlfriends and wives well. His comment was targeted to those women who were indecent and defiled themselves and others, not to the general population of women. Bro. Branham abhorred perverted womanhood. We can see that even more clearly today with the decay of morals in society. I'm sure God Himself hated the sin these women were involved in. The prophet Elijah was also outspoken against Jezebel. John the Baptist also condemned Herodias for her adulterous affair with King Herod (Mark 6:19). Bro. Branham loved all people regardless of their sex or colour. Bro. Branham's teachings on women's dressing is in-line with God's Word and his allowance for divorce is also Biblical although he does not advocate divorce.

9. Bro. Branham taught and allowed for divorce, re-marriage and advocated polygamy.

Bro. Branham allowed for divorce and re-marriage (a man to a virgin woman only) on the same grounds as supported by the Bible. He however did not advocate polygamous relationships. He said that polygamy was wrong. This is a doctrinal issue which Bro. Branham handled in many of his sermons. In gist, what Bro. Branham taught was in accordance to the Word of God and was Scripturally sound. For a brief understanding on these, please refer to the sermon "Marriage and Divorce" - 21.02.65 and read for yourself what Bro. Branham actually taught on these issues.

10. Years ago (William Branham) told his interpreter, Pastor Ruff, "If my angel does not give the sign, I cannot heal." Ruff noticed several features of spiritism in the work of Branham, and therefore stopped working with him. These "angels" of whom (Harry) Edwards and Branham spoke are evil spirits masquerading as angels of light. As in many areas of the occult, we are here reminded again that the devil appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) Another evidence is the fact that neither Edwards nor Branham were able to perform cures when faced with born-again Christians who had committed themselves to the protection of Christ. In the case of Branham, I have experienced this myself. When he spoke in Karlsruhe and Lausanne, there were several believers among the audience -- including myself -- who prayed along these lines: "Lord, if this man's powers are from You, then bless and use him, but if the healing gifts are not from You, then hinder him." The result? On both occasions Branham said from the platform, "There are disturbing powers here. I can do nothing." - Kurt Koch, Occult ABC 1978, p. 235

The angel that followed Bro. Branham did say that, "If you will be sincere, and can get the people to BELIEVE you, nothing shall stand before your prayer, not even cancer." First of all, I must clarify that this does not displace God in any way, the focus was not to disbelieve God and put their trust in Bro. Branham, rather to believe that God could work through Bro. Branham as His prophet. It is pretty obvious that those "believers" did not really believe that Bro. Branham was God's prophet. Bro. Branham always asked those who wanted to be healed whether they believed him to be God's prophet and when they respond positively, they receive their healing - not from Bro. Branham, but from God.

With regards to the issue of Bro. Branham's angel, Bro. F.F. Bosworth had this to add: "On page 1291 of the Scofield Bible, Dr. C. I. Scofield, D.D., in his footnote on Angels says: "Though angels are spirits (Psa. 104:4; Heb. 1:14), power is given them to become visible in the semblance of human form (Gen. 19:1 and many other Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments). In Exod. 23:20, God said to Moses: 'Behold I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place I have prepared.' And in Gen. 24:40, we read, 'The Lord... will send His Angel with thee, and prosper they way'."

This is exactly what God has done for Bro. Branham. He does not begin to pray for healing of the afflicted in body in the healing line each night, until God anoints him for the operation of the Gift, and until he is conscious of the presence of the Angel with him on the platform. Without this consciousness, he seems to be perfectly helpless." This very Angel has been seen by several people giving their eye witnesses accounts . This is not occultic or something made up.

Divine healing comes by faith. Lack of faith could also be the reason. We might say that those "believers" did not have faith to be healed. To put the blame on someone as "lacking faith" or "having sins in one's life" as the reason to why they didn't receive their healing is pretty harsh - although it COULD BE TRUE. Yes, absolutely true. Faith brings healing (e.g. blind Bartimaeus, Jairus' faith for his daughter's life, the friends of the paralysed man brought through the roof, the woman with the issue of blood etc. they all received their healing because of their faith or the faith of their friends - Jesus said... "Go... thy faith hath made thee whole"). Do we have the faith? If we don't we should admit it and not blame someone else.

Divine healing is a spiritual law placed in effect by God. Just as there are laws of physics, which being obeyed, bring good things, obedience to the law of faith brings good things. God is good to even His enemies. God honours their faith and their healings can be permanent. I will use a simple example. The electrical wall plug on the wall taps into a great source of power. Anyone whether good or bad, with the right attachment can plug into the socket and receive the benefits of that law and power. Faith operates the access to God's law of divine healing. Bro. Branham said that a reprobate with faith, can apply it and receive the benefits of divine healing. As it is received by faith by either a true believer or an unbeliever, if the faith remains the healing follows that law of faith. Genuine saints of God may lose their healing by beginning to doubt but sinners by faith receive from God and keep it. As sure as faith and believe brought about the healing, so does doubt and unbelief bring the sicknesses right back. Healing lasts as long as faith lasts. We all get sick again. Faith can bend spoons and allow men to walk on hot coals - a very sad misuse of faith.

Sin in our lives may also be the cause of sicknesses in our lives. They open up ourselves and gives full permission to the devil to attack us. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear us (Psalms 66:18). But we never know why. That is something between the person and God.

11. Bro. Branham often told that he once prayed for a young boy by the name of Donny Morton who had a terminal case of meningitis. He tells that the child was healed of the disease according to "Thus Saith the Lord." After Bro. Branham's prayer over the child, his health began to improve dramatically, but within five months of this prediction, the boy died from a combination of meningitis and pneumonia. Contrary to what Bro. Branham led his followers to believe, Donny Morton was not healed according to "Thus Saith the Lord."

Little Donny Morton was healed. You can get totally healed and well of flu and die from it two months later. The boy improved and got better - and did live for 5 months - became sick again and died. No doubt it was the boy's time to go - God gave an extension of 5 months - an incredible miracle with someone living that long - having had meningitis and without modern antibiotics. The Donny Morton healing did take place, and for five months the little boy was in full progress of recovery. He did get sick again, and he did die.

These things happen. Take for example a case of demon possession. In some cases the spirits would leave with dramatic results. If the person did not consecrate themselves to a Christian walk, those demons would come right back and they get possessed again – remember Jesus’ teaching on this in Matthew 12:45 and Luke 11:26. The same type of thing can happen in divine healing. Jesus also said to the crippled man, "...thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14). If the crippled man actually did go and continue to sin, he would have had a worse thing come upon him. Are we then to say that Jesus did not heal him?

No, I'm not implying that little Donny Morton sinned. I'm implying that many things could have taken place during that 5 month period. One Message Pastor testifies that there was a deaf man in one of his prayer lines years ago, and after prayer he could hear. He went outside of the building and that spirit of deafness came right back on him. So we know that these things can happen, and is not the fault of Bro. Branham or his ministry.

12. Bro. Branham was a "Oneness" person who did not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity calling it "of the devil." He subscribed to the "Jesus Only" doctrine where he baptised people into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of using the Trinitarian formula (into the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost).

Bro. Branham denied being a "Oneness" or "Jesus Only" person or any other denominational church for that matter. He did not associate himself with any group or denomination though he did work with them. Bro. Branham spoke out against denominational churches. He professed to be one who believed in the Bible alone. He also believed that the "Oneness" and "Jesus Only" groups also had wrong doctrines within their midst. To label Bro. Branham a "Oneness" or "Jesus Only" person is erroneous. He was a Christian, a disciple of Christ who believed the Bible 100%. Period.

Bro. Branham baptised and taught baptism in accordance to the Word of God and was Scripturally sound. He merely followed the examples of earlier baptisms as performed by the apostles as in Acts 2:38. However, this is not the place to discuss doctrinal issues. You may read what Bro. Branham taught on this subject in many of his sermons.

13. After Bro. Branham's death in the car accident in 1965, there was talk amongst a few of Branham's followers that he might rise from the dead after several days, but it is clear that only a relatively small number believed this. Rumours followed that Bro. Branham's followers believed that he might be resurrected on Easter morning 1966, storing his body away only to be buried after Easter 1966 when he failed to rise from the dead. Others also believed him to be virgin-born and some believing him to be God.

What other followers of Bro. Branham believe are not our concern. Our concern is the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We are not even to concern ourselves with other followers who might have brought a "bad name" to Believers so as to "tarnish" the image of Believers around the world, whether they be Message church pastors, Believers or Bro. Branham's own sons and daughters themselves for that matter. The rumours are exactly just that - rumours. The reason why Bro. Branham was not immediately buried was because they were waiting for his wife, Sis. Branham [Meda Broy] - (who was also involved in the same accident and in a coma to come about) to sufficiently recover from her brain concussion and decide on his burial place, either in Tucson or in Jeffersonville. It is best if one read the whole story of Bro. Branham's death and subsequent burial.

14. Bro. Branham's followers can still be found around the world today, some of whom adore him with a fervour bordering almost on idolatry. They listen to his tapes and read his books as if it was the Word of God itself.

I DO NOT worship William Branham. I worship the Lord Jesus Christ ALONE. I listen to the tapes and read his books because I believe they are inspired of God, just like the Bible. He did not preach a different gospel that was different from what the Bible proclaimed. His message was the Bible, the Word - Jesus Christ. Bro. Branham preached his sermons under the anointing and as a prophet-messenger, he would have brought God's Word to us. How many of us would want to listen to the taped messages of Moses', Noah's, Elijah's, Elisha's, Jeremiah's, Isaiah's, John the Baptist's or Paul's preaching if they were available? I'm sure we all would want to. That is why I listen to the tapes and read his books. I also read the Bible and everything Bro. Branham preached MUST line up with the Bible. Bro. Branham said it himself that if what he preached did not match the Bible, we are not to believe it.

15. Bro. Branham could not have been legally hunting javelina at the time (28 February 1963) when he said he received the commission to go back east and to preach on the seven seals because the hunting season (01-10 March 1963) had not begun yet. It was then when the supernatural cloud was seen.

An example is the "mysterious cloud" issue. I have read all the arguments about the CLOUD, the timing, the date, etc. One thing is clear, either that cloud was a part of the move of God in Branham's life and ministry or was not at all. If it was not, then Bro. Branham lied. Otherwise, the "time frame" controversy is just one of the many discrepancies caused by Bro. Branham's poor memory. (At times, I myself do suffer memory loss of certain important events in my life and of those around me. Some people have photographic memory, some do not and others are even worse off.) Finally, if the cloud had nothing to do with Branham, but was something that NASA or whoever had put up there in space (what a fantastic display!) — why was there the (Hofmann's) FACE OF CHRIST in it? Why did God put it there? (Some believe that the "FACE" was filled in. If so, by whom? A Branhamite? A Joker?) [And why are the Branhamites and the anti-Branham people so taken up with this CLOUD or even the Supernatural Light (halo above Branham's head) more than the Word of God? Why are there all the questions and arguments about the CLOUD? Such things are unprofitable and useless. Just get into THE WORD!]

Source: http://www.propheticrevelation.com/branhamism.htm

In the case of the vision on Sunset Peak that was shown to Bro. Branham 2 months prior to its fulfillment - whether the flocks of tiny and large birds in the vision were present or not, whether the sound of the blast was from a distant south or centred at the mountain, whether there were 5 or 7 angels appearing, whether Bro. Branham's son, Joseph was there on the hunting trip with him, that the cloud was 200 miles northwest of the mountain, whether it was the Holy Spirit or the angels who revealed the seals to Bro. Branham etc. bears very little consequences. Bro. Branham could have made an error when reporting facts as with the example of the silver-tipped grizzly bear he shot. Bro. Branham would sometimes say it was 7 feet tall but most of the time he would say it was 9 feet tall. Other discrepancies might include where the angel of the Lord first appeared to Bro. Branham in 1946 - whether it was in the cave or a cabin, the inconsistent and differing accounts of what happened to a man who brought tuberculosis (TB) upon himself by trying to trick Bro. Branham, or whether Bro. Branham picked up a pack of cigarettes or not etc. These kinds of "mistakes" happen occasionally whether they be a factual error due to poor memory or the slip of the tongue. No, I'm not saying that this was due to Bro. Branham's poor memory. I just do not know for sure.

Where they cannot attack the message they attack the messenger instead. This is called an ad hominem argument or character assassination. They mistakenly think that by belittling the man they have answered his points and won the debate. It is interesting to watch how those who disagree with Bro. Branham will spend much time and effort scrutinizing a subject like the cloud issue yet won't spend 2 seconds scrutinizing their long held doctrines! They truly strain at a gnat and swallow a camel (Matthew 23:24). In gist, the cloud did appear on 28 February 1963 - no doubt about that. Bro. Branham was not there at that time, he only went hunting during the hunting season and that is when the angel appeared to him (07 March 1963). Bro. Branham most likely got his dates confused, seeing that it was only a week apart. Bro. Branham did not see the cloud and did not know of its existence only until 01 June 1963 when Bro. Gene Norman showed him the article from Life magazine. Maybe this reading will somewhat bring things into perspective and straighten things out.

http://www.wbmp3.com/Stories/Angels_Appeared_to_BB_March.htm
(this page is no longer available)

16. During a prayer line in Dallas, Texas Bro. Branham incorrectly discerned the name of a woman as in the quote below.

TESTIMONY.ON.THE.SEA_  DALLAS.TX  V-19 N-11  SATURDAY_  64-0307
You believe God can tell me what your name is? Would it make you believe more, will it? Mrs. Strong [The sister says, "Stout."--Ed.] Stout, would you believe? Go and believe, and you... It's all over.

If God had really revealed the woman's name to Bro. Branham, how could he have gotten it wrong if he were a true prophet? Bro. Branham often said that his gift of discernment was never wrong. This single incident invalidates any such claim.

Bro. Branham also often saw visions in symbol. It was sometimes easy to misinterpret those symbols. Strong and Stout are the same meaning. When you listen to the tape, you can tell that Bro. Branham immediately knew he said it wrong and said Stout but not before the woman did. Other times he was so deeply in another realm, that he could not even remember what he saw. Bro. Branham could not even hear this dimension when in the other dimension. He would often say, "I don't know if you can hear me or not" because he was unaware of his surroundings - many times saying, "Is this the patient" after coming back to.

GOD.IDENTIFYING.HIMSELF_  DENHAM.SP.LA  FRIDAY_  64-0320
I was listening today, and repeating what was said. Some of them French names, I... The Holy Spirit... The only way I could do it, just wait and see. See, sometimes when you see a vision, it's got to be turned around and translated, interpreted, a vision. Like you'd--you'd see a sheep. That might mean wool. See, you have to have also the translation of it (See?) and turn that vision around and translate it. And I noticed last night, I--I couldn't pronounce those French names. I had to spell it out.
In Africa and around those Hottentots, and heathens, and things, it would have to spell their name right out, tell them who they were, spell it right out in their language. They--they'd know what it was as soon as you'd spell it out. But, see, but He knows all languages. He's the eternal God.

At times Bro. Branham would see the person in the prayer lines name written on a mailbox or some other object. A man who was once was in one of the services was called out by Bro. Branham. He had a truck with his name written on it. The name on the truck was "Terrel." Bro. Branham pronounced it "Ferrel." Things of this nature can happen, as many times Bro. Branham would just repeat what he was seeing in a vision.

17. Once when standing in front of the May Company in downtown Los Angeles, Bro. Branham told his son Billy Paul, "Billy, I may not be here but you won't be an old man until sharks will swim right where we are standing" (The Acts of the Prophet, by Pearry Green, page 119). He was referring to his prophecy that California would one day sink into the ocean as the result of a catastrophic earthquake. It is important to understand what Bro. Branham meant when he said that Billy Paul would not be an "old man" before the coming earthquake. Bro. Branham often called himself an old man from the time he was 56 years old. It is reasonable to conclude that Bro. Branham did not believe Billy Paul would be 56 years old before California would sink into the ocean. Billy Paul Branham was born on September 13, 1935, making him 68 years old now. Geologists agree that "The Big One" could come at any moment, but according Bro. Branham's time frame, this prophecy has already failed to come to pass.

Bro. Branham was not prophesying here. Did Bro. Branham say that this was shown to him by a vision or that it was to be taken as a prophecy? No. He was simply telling his son that he believed this vision could be fulfilled in a man's lifetime. Bro. Branham probably believed that the vision would be fulfilled soon, just like the prediction of events that would take place in the year 1977. Seeing that the time for the fulfilment was not revealed to him, it was just a hunch of Bro. Branham. This is a problem of trying to make every word Bro. Branham said "Thus Saith the Lord."

18. Bro. Branham claimed to have had 7 major visions in 1932 or 1933 in which he saw several events that would take place in the world between then and 1977. He said these pertaining those visions...

CONDEMNATION.BY.REPRESENTATION_  JEFF.IN  V-2 N-13  SUNDAY_  60-1113
The president which now is, President Franklin D. Roosevelt... (Now remember, this is twenty-eight years ago.) will cause the whole world to go to war; and the new dictator of Italy, Mussolini, shall make his first invasion towards Ethiopia, and he will take Ethiopia; but that'll be his last. He shall come to his end.
We will be in war with Germany. Watch Russia. (Now, that's...) Communism, Nazism, and Fascism... Watch Russia. But that is not the main one to watch.
The Americans will take a great beating at a place that Germany will build, which will be a great wall built of concrete (The Maginot Line, eleven years before it was ever built.) But finally they will be victors.

CONFERENCE_  SHREVEPORT.LA  FRIDAY_  60-1125
Said, "We now have a president (Dwi... Mr. Roosevelt), and this Mr. Roosevelt will cause the world to go into a world war through his--in his time of his administration, his--his--as president,"...
..."We will go to war with Germany, and Germany will be fortified behind concrete. And we will take an awful beating at this place," the Maginot Line eleven years before it was built. See? Exactly.

The earliest reference we have to this series of seven visions was in 1953. Bro. Branham apparently did not study the history of World War II before telling his followers of this prophecy. Historians indicate that World War II began in March 1939. There were as many as 23 countries that declared war before the United States entered World War II on 08 December 1941, a day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. This vision is another example of Bro. Branham's many prophecies that history has not borne out to be true.

This is another example of how the words of Bro. Branham has been misconstrued to mean what he did not say. I do not know how anyone could read these things from the above quotes? Bro. Branham did not prophesy that World War II would begin in 1933 but during President's Roosevelt's administration (1933-1945). We know that this is correct. Yes, Bro. Branham did say that President Roosevelt would cause the whole world to go to war but he did not say that President Roosevelt would be the one to start it. World War II started in 1939 on a much smaller scale but the "Day of Infamy" was a major turning point and had a great bearing on the events of the war on the "world war" level. It was then that the US "entered" World War II. It was then that the US and Britain declared war on Japan, and Japan promptly declared war on the US and Britain. Germany and Italy then declared war on the US on 11 December 1941. Policies of the US during that time did play a part and help start World War II. These visions were absolutely correct.

True, the earliest reference we have of these visions are from 1953 but Bro. Branham did receive these vision in June 1933. This is because the earliest messages of Bro. Branham that were recorded are from 1947 onwards.

19. Bro. Branham once told of a prophecy he made concerning the city of Los Angeles. In the prophecy, Bro. Branham mentioned that Capernaum laid at the bottom of the sea as with Sodom and Gomorrah that now lays at the bottom of the Dead Sea because of an earthquake. In a later sermon, Bro. Branham spoke about this prophecy. He explained that after making the prophecy, he had no memory of it, or of quoting Jesus' prophecy against Capernaum, implying that it was the Holy Spirit speaking through him at the time. The Lord could not have spoken through Bro. Branham in this prophecy because Capernaum never sank into the sea. Its ruins lay on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee to this day.

Current archaeology shows that earthquakes and tsunami have destroyed nearly every ancient fishing village that existed on the water's edge of the Sea of Galilee. Some even believe that the present declared sight of Capernaum, is no more than a relatively recent town built on the edge of the original site. The water is not real deep there, but earthquakes have so altered the shoreline, there is no way to tell exactly where the original Capernaum was. As such, this cannot be proven or disproved. There has been a considerable amount of discussion as to the exact location of Capernaum and the evidence available now is still not entirely conclusive, even to archaeologists.

I believe I will take sides with Jesus prophecy, declaring that it would be brought down to hell (Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15). I also believe that Bro. Branham's prophecy was absolutely correct, as modern archaeology unearthed evidence pointing to the probability that the original Capernaum is under the water.

20. Bro. Branham prophesied of a great campaign in India, saying it was a "Thus Saith the Lord" that during that campaign in India, tens of thousands times thousands were going to be saved. Bro. Branham never achieved the results in India that were prophesied.

Yes, I do not doubt that the Holy Spirit showed Bro. Branham the success of the India trip as "Thus Saith the Lord." We first have to understand how visions are fulfilled. Everything has to be done in order and exactly as shown or the vision does not materialize. If even one aspect of the vision is not carried out as instructed, the vision will not come to pass as expected. The events failed to take place when Bro. Branham failed to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit to go to Africa first and thereafter to India. Bro. Branham tells us that he disobeyed the vision. That is why it did not come to pass as shown.

Bro. Branham had told of a boy he prayed for in his early ministry, the kinfolk of Graham Snelling. In order for this vision to be fulfilled, the conditions had to be right and exactly the same as the vision; the hat had to be in the right place and that the boy's grandmother had to be present. In a previous incident in South Africa he gave in to the desires of the ministers there that pulled him away from fulfilling the vision's instructions. Though the meetings were successful it was not what it should have been. India was the same.

INDIA.TRIP.REPORT_  LIMA.OH  SATURDAY_  57-0126B
And yet, as many of you might know, the Indian trip wasn't the success that it should've been, because I failed to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and never recognized it after He give me a vision to go to Africa first and then to India.

And--and some of the brethren said, "Oh, just... We can't get Africa together, so... Brother Roberts has just been down there, so take off to India." And under the influence of my brethren, well maybe taught... But no matter what someone influences you, if God has told you something different... And now, judge it by the Word (See?), by the Word, and then go.
You know, we're not supposed... As--as prophets together, we are to help one another, but never tell one another what to do. Many of you has read II Kings 13, no doubt. Where what got in trouble there, and a lion killed the prophet because that he--he listened to the--a real true prophet, because God had commissioned him. God comes first always. And when... And then let that be... If you know whether it's God or not, judge it by the Word always. If it's not just exactly with the Word, be leery of it. See?

HEBREWS.CHAPTER.7.PT.1_  JEFF.IN  HEB  SUNDAY_  57-0915E
God told Abraham to "Separate yourself." And just as human as Abraham was, he took his daddy along; He took his brother's son along, his nephew, all hanging on him. And God never did bless him until he did what God told him to do.
I don't say that you're not a Christian. That... I don't unchristianize anyone, but I'll say this: that if God told you something to do, He'll never bless you until you do it. I'm in the pulpit tonight with one of those things holding over me. My meetings hasn't been what they should been for the past two years. It's because I failed the Lord. I... He told me to go to Africa and then to India. Here it is written right here in the back of this book right now.
And the manager called me, said, "Let them Afrikaans go, India's ready."
The Holy Spirit met me, said, "You'll go to Africa like I told you to."
And another year passed. And the managers... I forgot about It. He said, "We're going to India; tickets is already here."
I started off, forgot it till I got to Lisbon. One night that... I thought I was dying. The next morning I was started to go over to the bathroom to take a bath. Oh, I was so sick, I could hardly stand up. There that Light hanging there in the bathroom, said, "I thought I told you to go to Africa first."

My meetings has been slowly failing since that time. Though I went to India with nearly a half a million standing there, but that wasn't doing what God said do. And I feel that my meetings will never be a success until I go right straight back and make that thing right. No matter what I do, it's Africa first, 'cause you've got to do it. There lays God's eternal Word laying there. I knew better than that. But I've got to go back. And I feel that this coming year is the time I'll crawl out of the shell by the help of the Lord.
This glorious old Gospel who's been growing easy like a oak tree, but I believe she's about ready to spread forth her branches now. I believe It. This great Message and great thing, I believe that the Lord let us shake the world again for the glory of God.
 
You've got to do what God told you to do.

21. Most followers of William Branham are familiar with a vision he had in which he saw himself shooting a 9-foot silver-tipped grizzly bear. That vision has come to pass. However, Bro. Branham also prophesied at least 3 times that he would later shoot another large brown bear. This prophecy was never fulfilled before Bro. Branham's death in 1965.

Yes, it is true that Bro. Branham did prophesy as such as the Lord had showed him. However, Bro. Branham did not get to see the vision come to pass because of his own fault. Bro. Branham knew the exact moment when the vision was being fulfilled but because of his own failure, it did not materialize. Below are some quotes of Bro. Branham apologizing because of this. In these quotes, Bro. Branham was referring to this prophecy (this was not recorded on the tapes) that did not come to pass as shown. This is the same as the India trip that failed to come to pass as the visions showed to Bro. Branham. The visions were indeed "Thus Saith the Lord" but did not materialise fully because of Bro. Branham's disobedience. This serves as another lesson learnt.

PRESENT.STAGE.OF.MY.MINISTRY_  JEFF.IN  V-11 N-2  SATURDAY_  62-0908
I apologize before God and the people of being stupid and being--making many mistakes. But through these many years I have been privileged to see many millions of people come into the Kingdom of God, and have been thankful to the Lord to let me lead them there.

...Search me, Lord. I've--I've made many mistakes. I--I've done wrong, Lord. Many times I've failed You, as I just testified awhile ago about a failure. God, I--I, quick as I do it, I want forgiveness.

COUNTDOWN_  JEFF.IN  V-11 N-3  SUNDAY_  62-0909M
And I find out, if God has spoken anything, then we must go with that Word in order to make It be fulfilled. We seen that, as I told you last night, of a vision just recently (See?), that it... I had to be there, and warning to be there, and telling me six months before to be on that spot, and stand there, and saying, "Go down there (three times) with them." And I just walked on with the other men. AND THE VISION PASSED RIGHT THROUGH exactly, God's part; and I was left standing. So we want to remember; you've got to stay on the Word, just stay right with the Word. And where the Word leads, you go right with the Word, then It'll bring you out all right. I'm sure.

Then, later in the evening service, Bro. Branham said this...

IN.HIS.PRESENCE_  JEFF.IN  V-11 N-4  SUNDAY_  62-0909E
My hands, Lord, is up. What will I do? Now, Father, I've got many things that I do wrong. I've just confessed my sin this morning before the church, as I confessed it to You on top of the mountain the other morning when it was blowing and snowing, and up there on top of the mountain to how I cried out and asked You to forgive me for my stupidity. And how I dreaded to come before my brethren, who some of them regard me as Your prophet-servant. And, Lord, how I hated to come to--'fore them and tell them of a stupid act that I would do a thing like that, but, God, it's good for my soul that I confess my sins and not hide them. So to be honest with You, and right before the people, I have confessed it, Lord. I'm wrong; I'm altogether wrong. I pray forgiveness.

And then, Father, I've been dilatory about You, serving You, many times maybe I could've went longer when I didn't do it. Father, I confess my sins. I want the Angel of God to cleanse me from that by the Blood of Jesus. Other hands went up tonight; some of them maybe has never asked forgiveness before; but I'm sure of this one thing, if we'll confess our sins, God will blot them out, put them in the sea of forgetfulness and never remember them no--no more. And, Father, as I confess mine, about misbehaving before them people, I didn't carry on myself like a servant of Christ. I didn't. I was afraid that man might be angry with me and think I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I didn't think of what I was doing to You, Lord. And now, I--I pray that You forgive me. And now, Father, I know that if I ask forgiveness I have forgiveness, and You've put them in the sea of forgetfulness, and You'll never remember that no more. God, I'm thankful for that.

CONTEST.THE_  JEFF.IN  V-10 N-7  MONDAY_  62-1231
All my mistakes that I've made in all these years, forgive me for them. God, forgive me. Church, forgive me. And the ministry that I--I've failed with, I feel; God, forgive me for it. Church, forgive me of my mistake. And I'll press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.

Bro. Branham had an open-vision ministry (1 Samuel 3:1) which compares to that of the Old Testament prophets. God always fulfills whatever He had spoken through His servants the prophets. If the prophecies were changed or if they did not come to pass, the prophets themselves would have had to make it clear. Take for example Jonah's preaching to Nineveh in Jonah 3 saying that the city would be overthrown in 40 days. Because the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast and truly repented, God did not destroy the city. Are we then to say that Jonah falsely prophesied? By no means. Also when King Hezekiah was sick unto death, Isaiah prophesied that he would die soon. But because King Hezekiah went to the Lord in prayer over this matter, Isaiah was then sent again to proclaim the additional 15 years that the Lord had granted to the King's life (Isaiah 38:1-5). Also, the prophet Amos was given a vision of a complete destruction falling upon the land of Israel, first by a plague of locusts and then by fire. In each case, though the sins of the nation were not yet forgiven, Amos cried out in intercession and asked God to avert the decree: "...forgive... cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small." In both cases the Lord changed His mind about the coming destruction (Amos 6:8 - 7:6). If the prophecies or visions given to Bro. Branham were not fulfilled, Bro. Branham openly admits his fault when explaining why these visions were not fulfilled as prophesied.

22. Near the end of a prayer service, the Lord Himself apparently begins to speak directly to the congregation through Bro. Branham’s lips as follows...

LOOKING.AT.THE.UNSEEN_  LA.CA  FRIDAY_  59-0410
I'm the Lord that raised up Christ from the grave.
I'm the One that sent the Holy Ghost.
I'm the One that give the promise.
Brother Branham has nothing to do in this.
I have--He's surrendered his life to Me.
I'm using his Spirit;
I'm talking through his lips.
That's Me; I'm the Lord.

There are several reasons to doubt that this was really the Lord speaking through Bro. Branham’s lips. Firstly, it contains many violations of the rules of English grammar. God knows the rules of English grammar better than the most learned scholar. Then, when Bro. Branham spoke, "I have--He's surrendered his life to Me", are we to believe that the Lord actually stumbled over His words here? The fact that the Lord appears to be speaking in the first person while using Bro. Branham's poor grammatical skills indicates that Bro. Branham made this statement on his own initiative. Therefore, it is my contention that it was not the Lord who was speaking through William Branham's lips.

This criticism is strictly based upon the grammar that Bro. Branham used. They seem to think Bro. Branham should have spoken under the anointing like a college Professor. The Lord always uses human vessels that are moved on by the Holy Spirit. That does not mean that the Words are always the Lord's - it means the Word came through a human vessel. Human vessels stutter - human vessels are imperfect.

What is actually happening is that Bro. Branham is making an altar call. In that altar call, the Holy Spirit took over Bro. Branham's VOICE.  He is speaking in "first person" for the Lord. For example, a preacher making an altar call many times speaks for the sinner:  "I am lost and realize I need a Saviour. I want to come to the altar and repent." The speaker is speaking for the sinner and is obviously not meaning himself.  In this instance Bro. Branham was speaking for God. A similar incident is as follows...

WHY.CRY.SPEAK_  JEFF.IN  V-2 N-26  SUNDAY_  63-0714M
"Why cry to Me? Why are you crying to Me when I proved to be with you? Haven't I healed your sick," He'd say? "Haven't I told you things that's happened just exactly? Your pastor can't do that; Me. He can't. He's a man. It's Me, the Lord," that He would say. "I'm the One that did it. I'm the One that tells him these things to say. It's not him; It's My Voice. I'm the One that raises up your dead when they drop down. I'm the One that heals the sick. I'm the One that foretells these things. I'm the One that does the saving. I'm the One that give the promise."

Things to consider: Could it be that when Moses spoke in the name of the Lord that he stuttered? Nowhere does it say that he was healed of his speech impediment. Since Jesus spoke in the language of the common people did he always speak perfect grammar? I'm so thankful I know that God speaking through our Lord Jesus was so common, that the common people heard Him gladly.

Back to my story page.

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank the following people for their input on these various subjects -
                              Pastor  Garold  MacGraw, Bro. Donny Reagan, Bro. Jesse D. Baquing, BrideHelp.org
                              and Voice of God Recordings Incorporated. Some materials were also gleaned  from
                              other various sources - websites, books etc.