[b]The Enigma of William M Branham
By Andrew Strom
William Branham was an evangelist this century who was mightily used of God for
a number of years. In fact, there can be little doubt that he was endued with
power to a degree that has rarely been seen since the days of the apostles. And
there is still a great deal of controversy surrounding his life, death and
teachings. To some of his most ardent followers (who are still around today), he
seemed to assume almost semi- divine status,- a damaging and tragic fallacy that
has frightened many sound Christians away from studying his life. On the other
hand, even in his heyday some believers were sceptical and suspicious of the
tremendous power and unusual signs and miracles that accompanied his ministry.
There can be little doubt that Branham went astray in his ministry in the latter
part of his life. (The fact that God took him home early, and that the cause of
death was a car-crash in which his body became horribly tangled in the wreck,
though he lingered on for a few more days - bears this out). However, it is my
belief, and the belief of many who have studied his life, that in his early
years he was one of the most anointed men of God that has ever lived in modern
times.
As Gordon Lindsay wrote in his 1952 biography of Branham's early life and
ministry: "The story of the life of William Branham is so out of this world and
beyond the ordinary that were there not available a host of infallible proofs
which document and attest its authenticity, one might well be excused for
considering it far-fetched and incredible." (G. Lindsay, 'William Branham - A
man sent from God', pg 9). Even his birth and childhood had unusual aspects to
them. Born in 1909 in Kentucky, his family soon shifted to the state of Indiana,
where they eventually settled not far from Jeffersonville. Branham's family were
the "poorest of the poor". When he was seven years old, he experienced the first
of many godly visitations: "It seemed to be a very still afternoon. I stepped
back from the tree and noticed that in a certain place about the size of a
barrel, the wind seemed to be blowing through the tree leaves. Then there came a
voice saying: 'Never drink, smoke, or defile your body in any way, for I have a
work foryou to do when you get older.'" (Pg 30).
When he was about twenty years of age, the death of his brother Edward caused
him to again turn his thoughts toward God's call upon his life. However, he
carried on the way he was going (essentially running away from God) for a couple
of years. Finally, he ended up seriously ill - at death's door, in hospital. And
suddenly God visited him again. He said, 'Lord, if that is you, let me go back
again to earth and I will preach your gospel from the housetops and street
corners. I'll tell everyone about it!'... When this vision had passed, I found
that I felt better." (Pg 40-41). However, Branham was not completely healed at
this time.
He says, "I knew then that if God wanted me to preach he would heal me, so I
went to a church that believed in anointing with oil, and I was healed
instantly. I saw then that the disciples had something that most of the
ministers do not have today. The disciples were baptized with the Holy Ghost and
so could heal the sick and do mighty miracles in His name. So I began to pray
for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. One day about six months later God gave me
the desire of my heart. He spoke to me in a great light telling me to preach and
pray for the sick and He would heal them regardless of what disease they had. I
then started preaching and doing what He told me to do." (Pg 41-42). Branham
began tent meetings in his home town of Jeffersonville, and for a 24-year-old
who was just starting out, these were astonishingly successful, with up to 3000
people being attracted to the meetings at one time, and scores of conversions.
Miracles follow his ministry
Afterwards when Branham was baptizing 130 converts in the Ohio River, a
heavenly light, like a blazing star, appeared above him just as he was about to
baptize the seventeenth person. This was witnessed by the vast 4000-strong
congregation that stood on the banks of the river looking on. Some of them ran
for fear, while others shouted or fainted. A report of this unusual event
appeared in the local newspaper shortly afterwards. It has also been reported
that a voice spoke from within the light, saying, "As John the Baptist was sent
to forerun the first coming of the Lord, so you are sent to forerun His second
coming..." What is certain is that a heavenly light was seen, and it seems
likely also that something along these lines was spoken over him.
It was in this same year of 1933 that a number of significant visions were given
to William Branham. In June 1933 he was given a series of seven visions relating
to world events that lay immediately ahead (and he told his congregation of
these visions at the time). In the first of these he saw the Italian dictator
Mussolini successfully invading Ethiopia, but eventually coming to a terrible
demise - murdered and spat upon by his own people. In the second he saw America
being drawn into a world war against Germany, which would be headed up by an
Austrian. The war would overthrow this leader, and he would come to a mysterious
end.
The third vision showed the three 'isms' in the world - Fascism, Nazism and
communism, and that the first two would come to nothing, but that Communism
would flourish. He was told, "Watch Russia. She will become a great world
power." In the fourth vision he was shown some of the tremendous advances in
Science that would come after the Second World War.
The fifth vision showed the rapid moral decay in the world, relating especially
to women. He was shown this decline from the beginning of the feminist
"liberation" movement of the late 19th century, and the gradual gaining of
worldly power by women, to the eventual election of a 'boy president' (probably
Kennedy - known to have been elected because of the women's vote) and after this
the progressive decline in the way women dressed - deliberately exposing their
bodies more and more in an ever-increasing display of brazen sensuality. With
true womanhood so little valued, a terrible decay of all flesh came upon the
earth, and every form of perversion arose, just as is prophesied for the Last
Days.
In the sixth vision there arose in the United States a beautiful woman, clothed
in splendour and royal robes - a woman given great power, and beautiful - yet
cruel, cunning and deceitful. She dominated the land with her authority. Branham
felt that she represented either an actual person, or else a particular
organization (perhaps the Catholic church?) However, surely there is also the
possibility that she represents a great "Jezebelic" spirit that utterly
dominates the landscape? In the seventh and final vision, he witnessed a great
explosion that rent the entire land and left America a smouldering, chaotic
ruin, with no humanity in sight.
The amazing thing about this series of seven visions is that they were given at
a time (June 1933) when Branham had no way at all of coming to these conclusions
through mere guesswork. In 1933 Germany was by no means ready for war, Russia
was by no means a dominant world power, and Communism was a relatively minor
force in the world. Some of the details given in the visions were just too
extraordinary to pass off as mere coincidence. (See 'The Acts of the Prophet' by
Pearry Green, pg 48-51, for a fuller description). Also, the fact is that these
visions were given to an uneducated, simple man in the back-blocks of Indiana, a
man who had little understanding at all of political complexities. And the fact
that at least five of these visions have now been precisely fulfilled, means
that we should surely take the others seriously also.
Tragedy
After the baptisms, a church was built for Branham to pastor in Jeffersonville.
The next few years were a fruitful time in his life and ministry, during which
he married a lovely Christian wife and they had two children. However, several
years later Branham came to a crossroads and made a serious error of judgement
that was to have serious repurcussions for his family and ministry. After
attending a Pentecostal convention for the first time (up until then he had been
an independent Baptist), Branham was invited by these Pentecostals to become a
travelling evangelist for them, and he felt that this was definitely a call from
God.
However, he allowed himself to be persuaded by friends that the Pentecostals
were "trash" (they were known as 'holy rollers' at the time - the lowest of the
low), and he drew back from joining with them.
"It was at this time that the anointing of God which had come upon me left me.
It never really returned until five years later... Everything went wrong. With
my church going down, I didn't know what to do. Then began the dark period of my
life when the Ohio River flood that took so many lives, came, and was
responsible for the death of two of those that were the dearest to me in all
the world." (G. Lindsay, 'William Branham - A man sent from God', pg 51). The
great Ohio River flood of 1937 claimed the lives of Branham's wife and baby
daughter, and Branham was left heartbroken, with only his infant son left. This
was only eight months after he had drawn back from obeying God and joining with
the Pentecostals, and he himself acknowledged the tragic connection.
For a number of years after this, Branham continued to preach and also work at
various jobs. He remarried, and when a new visitation of the angel of God came
May 7, 1946. He was working as an Indiana state game warden. This was to be the
beginning of his international miracle ministry. In fact it was the start of the
great American Healing Revival of 1947 through 1955, in which many well-known
ministries were raised up, and thousands upon thousands of people were saved and
healed. As Branham himself said, "The great things which have taken place during
these months are too innumerable to ever be recorded, but God has confirmed the
angel's words time after time. Deaf, dumb, blind, all manners of diseases have
been healed, and thousands of testimonies are on record to date. I do not have
any power of my own to do this... God always has something or someone to work
through, and I am only an instrument used by Him."
Of that day, Branham recounts, "Trying to get hold of myself, I sat down and
told her that after all these twenty odd years of being conscious of this
strange feeling, the time had come when I had to find out what it was all about.
The crisis had come! That afternoon I went away to a secret place to pray and
read the Bible. I became deep in prayer; it seemed that my whole soul would tear
from me. I cried before God...I laid my face to the ground...I looked up to God
and cried, 'If you will forgive me for the way that I have done, I'll try to do
better... I'm sorry that I've been so neglectful all these years in doing the
work you wanted me to do"
From that point in his life, two things were triggered in Branham. Firstly he
could detect or discern illnesses in people via a visible violent reaction in
his left hand which would make it red and swollen whenever it came into contact
with sickness. The second sign would be a gift that would enable him to discern
the thoughts and deeds in the past life of the individual - specific sins that
needed to be repented of, etc. It was often found that as Branham challenged
people over such specific sins, and they confessed them to God, they would
regularly be healed of whatever ailed them even before he had a chance to lay
hands on them.
His Heart
William Branham was renowned for his transparency, his simplicity and his
genuine humility. No doubt this was due in part to his early life of hardship,
brokenness and poverty - a great advantage when it came to his eventual
ministry. I have read several of his early sermons, and they often appeared to
be little more than personal testimonies accompanied by a simple (yet effective)
gospel message. There was little sign of the somewhat strange, divisive and
controversial teachings of his latter years. After all, the angel had told him
that part of his commission was to help UNIFY Christians of differing
backgrounds. Speaking of Branham's "outstandingly humble spirit", one observer
wrote: "There is nothing boisterous or arrogant about him. He is a meek and
humble man... He is a man loved by all. No-one begrudges him any of his success
or is envious of his great popularity." (David Harrell Jr, 'ALL Things are
Possible', pg 39).
Over the following months and years, Branham travelled widely in the USA, and
also to Europe and South Africa, etc. Thousands came from far and wide to hear
him preach and to witness the many outstanding healings, miracles and 'words of
knowledge' that accompanied his ministry. Often, he would call out the name,
city of origin and background information of people in the audience whom he had
never met, who had come to hear his preaching or to be healed. Of all the
thousands of such 'words of knowledge' that he gave, none was ever known to be
wrong or inaccurate. His gift was reportedly "exactly 100%". The deaf were
healed, the blind received their sight, and even the dead were raised.
It became standard for Branham to have the angel of God standing beside him as
he ministered, and he would often wait for the angel to arrive before he began.
It was also commonplace for Branham to see specific miracles enacted before his
eyes in vision form several days before they actually occurred, so that when he
found himself in the precise circumstance pictured in the vision, he would know
exactly what to do. Astounding! And everywhere he went, God was glorified in the
most profound way.
There can be no doubt that Branham was the initial pioneer and the key leader of
the great Healing Revival of 1947 through 1955. During this Revival, literally
dozens of healing ministries were raised up all over America, some well-known
and others less prominent, but all of them inspired by the example of Branham
and others. Thousands were saved and healed, not just in America, but in many
other nations also. And the mighty 1954 Argentina Revival under Tommy Hicks
(with meetings of up to 400,000 people) also had strong links with this Revival.
Even amongst the better-known evangelists who came into prominence at that time
(such as Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborne, A.A. Allen, Jack Coe, etc),
The Fall
However, there were crucial weaknesses in the practices and ministry of William
Branham, which tragically began to manifest themselves in the mid-1950's. In
1955, largely through his own carelessness and lack of good management, Branham
fell into financial difficulty. He had always been nonchalant, almost naive,
toward all business matters. "He sometimes missed scheduled meetings and was
totally unconcerned about business details. Some of his business associates came
to feel that he was culpably irresponsible. The Internal Revenue Service filed a
tax evasion suit against him... and the unsophisticated Branham, apparently
little interested in personal wealth, had made no systematic effort to account
for the thousands of dollars that flowed through his ministry." (Ibid, pg 39-
40).
It is obvious that God was little able to financially bless Branham's ministry
any longer, due to the careless and dubious state of his financial management.
This had clearly become a "legal gateway" through which the devil could now
disrupt and tie-down Branham's ministry. And one of the most devastating
results of this was that when most of the other prominent healing evangelists
were called into large, mobile tent ministries (which God used very effectively
at that time), Branham was unable to make this jump, due seemingly to the
parlous state of his finances.
By 1958, William Branham (along with many of the other healing evangelists) was
deeply re-assessing his ministry. It was clear that the great Healing Revival
was now well and truly over, and there can be little doubt that the decline in
Branham's own ministry had contributed tothis. You can never afford to lose such
a leader in any move of God, as history clearly shows. It was after this that
Branham began to gradually withdraw into his own little circle, where he had an
adoring and loyal following. (Essentially this circle was made up of "Oneness"
or 'Jesus Only' Pentecostals). And instead of his previous unwillingness to
speak about contentious or divisive 'minor' issues, he now gradually began to
emphasize such things more and more in his preaching. Slowly, these teachings
became ever-more alarming and extreme.
As early as 1957, Branham had received a dream in which he was ministering in a
'white disk' above a pyramid. A voice from heaven proclaimed that no other man
could stand in the disk "unless he die or be killed", and that Branham was "the
only one who can and will stand there." Branham apparently considered this dream
to be of 'spiritual significance'. (Ibid, pg 41). By the 1960's, he had clearly
become convinced that he was the end-times "Elijah" and the true "Messenger of
the Covenant". And the adoring followers in his tight little circle were
certainly not going to contradict him
The End
There were a number of men who tried to warn Branham, and to bring him back into
some form of balance, including his respected colleague and old friend, Gordon
Lindsay. But Branham would not listen: "Brother 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 Brother
Lindsay, 'I know I'm not a teacher, but I want to teach. And I'm going to
teach!' Under grace, people in disobedience can last for a while, but sooner or
later, those who intrude into ministry offices to which they are not called will
be judged. It is dangerous to intrude into another man's office."
Two years later, when driving to Tucson, Arizona, William Branham was involved
in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. His wife was badly injured in the
smash, and Branham's body was horribly tangled in the wreck. He lingered on for
a few days in hospital, though his head became terribly swollen and a tube was
placed in his throat to assist his breathing. William Branham died on Christmas
Eve, 1965, just before the turn of the year, exactly as the prophecy had
predicted. Once more - "How have the mighty fallen". Satan had again succeeded
in 'taking out' one of God's great servants. And there can be little doubt that
God's full purposes for Branham's life and ministry remained at least partially
unfulfilled.
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. (Such Branham-followers can still be found around the world
today, some of whom adore him with a fervour bordering almost on idolatry - a
sad and tragic epitaph to a once-mighty man of God).