Who was William Marrion
Branham
William Marrion Branham was one of the most influential
Bible ministers of our time. He was considered by many to
be the initiator of the healing and charismatic revival
that began in 1947, and from his ministry there sprang a
myriad of other ministers who became internationally
known. One Historian of that movement stated that William
Branham was
"a prophet to our generation", and a Pentecostal
Historian wrote,
"Branham
filled the largest stadiums and meeting halls in the
world." The Full Gospel Men's Voice, (now, Full
Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International), in its
February 1961 issue, wrote:
"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, whose photograph appears on the front
cover of this issue of Full Gospel Men's Voice. Branham
has been used by God, in the Name of Jesus, to raise the
dead!" From 1947 until the time of his passing in
1965, the powerful ministry of William Branham was well
known and considered unparalleled in the history of gospel
meetings. The impact of the supernatural ministry of this
one man was felt not only in North America, but also
around the world.
Early Life And Conversion
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. Reared near Jeffersonville, Indiana, he
knew only a life of deep poverty and hardship, his father
being alcoholic and illiterate. Compounding these
circumstances, the young boy was considered "nervous",
because from an early age he spoke of "visions" and "a
voice" which 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."
William Branham came to know the Lord and was filled with
the Holy Spirit in 1931. From that time, the Bible became
the focus of his life and Jesus Christ the center of his
very existence! He was ordained to the ministry at the age
of 23 years, in the Missionary Baptist Church in December
of 1932.
Visitations Of An Angel
On June 11, 1933, William Branham was baptizing in the
Ohio River near Jeffersonville, Indiana, when a bright
fiery light suddenly appeared over his head and a voice
spoke out, "As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the
first coming of Jesus Christ, so are you sent to forerun
His second coming!" The next edition of the Jeffersonville
Evening News reported the incident with the subheading,
"Mysterious Star Appears Over Minister While Baptizing".
In May of 1946, he set himself aside to seek God for the
meaning of his strange life. As he prayed alone late one
night, an angel of light appeared, saying, "Do not fear. I
am sent from the presence of 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."
This was literally fulfilled in the years that followed,
for his ministry took him around the world seven times and
many individuals of public influence, including
Congressman Upshaw of the U.S.A. and King George VI of
England, were healed as a result of his prayers.
On the night of January 24, 1950, one of the most amazing
photographs (right figure) of all time was taken in the
Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas. As William Branham
stood at the podium, a halo of fire appeared above his
head. This picture was the only one that turned out on the
entire film! George J. Lacy, Investigator of Questioned
Documents, and often hired by the FBI in that capacity,
subjected the negative to every scientific test available.
At a news conference, he stated, "To my knowledge, this is
the first time in all the world's history that a
supernatural being has been photographed and
scientifically vindicated." The original of this
photograph is kept in the archives of the Religious
Department of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
Worldwide Ministry
As news spread of miraculous healings, pastors from all
around began to call Bro. William Branham to minister for
their congregations and pray for the sick. A supernatural
sign had been given him for the purpose of encouraging the
people to believe. Firstly, a physical sign in his hand
would indicate a disease or healing. Later on in his
ministry the secret thoughts and needs of individuals were
revealed, resulting in faith for deliverance. It became
abundantly clear to any serious Bible reader, that William
Branham was ordained a Prophet to fulfill the many
scriptural prophecies concerning our time.
Churches could not accommodate the crowds, and the
meetings moved to large auditoriums or stadiums for united
campaigns in the major cities of North America.
Jonesboro, Arkansas - "Evening Sun" Newspaper June 12,
1947.
"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."
Helsinki, Finland - 1950
Two years prior to the Helsinki campaign, God had shown
Bro. Branham a vision of a boy being raised from the dead.
He related the details to his audiences and asked them to
write the vision in the flyleaf of their Bibles. The
vision was fulfilled at the scene of an accident, near
Kuopio, Finland, where a boy on a bicycle had been struck
by a car and killed. The Branham party travelling in a
motorcade came upon the scene and Brother Branham, asking
that the sheet covering the body be removed, recognized
the boy to be the same one he had seen in the vision. He
prayed and the child was raised from the dead.
Durban, South Africa - 1951
Meetings were sponsored by The Apostolic Faith Mission,
the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Holiness and the
Full Gospel Church of God and conducted in eleven cities,
with a combined attendance of a half a million people!
Church history was made on the final day of the Durban
meetings, held at the Greyville Racecourse, where an
estimated 45,000 people were in attendance and thousands
more turned away at the gates!
Is This Ministry A Fulfillment Of Prophecy?
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets. Amos 3:7
God's pattern of dealing with His people has always
included the sending of prophets. The prophet Amos informs
us that God does "nothing" without a prophetic forerunner,
and even a surface study of scriptural history will
uncover this to be exactly as stated. Seldom was there a
prophet who spoke the words of God who was not greeted
with skepticism, rejection and abuse!
Consider these scriptures:
Malachi 4:5 and 6 is two-fold, fulfilled in part in the
ministry of John, the Baptist. He preceded the first
coming of Jesus Christ, called the "great" day of the
Lord, turning the hearts of the fathers of the "law" to
the children of the New Testament era of "grace." As
stated in Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary on the
Whole Bible, "…John the Baptist was an Elijah in spirit
(Luke 1:16,17) but not the literal Elijah (John 1:21).
This implies that John, knowing he was referred to by
Malachi 4:5, knew by inspiration that he did not
exhaustively fulfil all that is included in this prophecy:
that there is a further fulfillment. There is a prophet
that will fulfill the second part of this scripture,
forerun the second coming of Christ and "turn the hearts
of the children to their fathers.." Literally, a ministry
that will turn the hearts of a backslidden generation back
to the Word of God and the faith of our "early church"
fathers before the "dreadful day of the Lord", the second
coming of Christ in judgment.
Again, Matthew 17:10-12 is two-fold. Firstly, "Why then
say the scribes that Elias must first come?" "… But I say
unto you, That Elias is come already and they knew him not
…" speaking of John the Baptist. Secondly, "And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come,
and restore all things." Speaking of a future forerunner
to precede Christ's second coming.
The ministry of William Branham involved three distinct
stages that he referred to as "pulls". The First Pull:
Healing. Second Pull: Prophesying. Third Pull: The opening
or revealing of the Word of God.
The ministry of Jesus Christ followed exactly the same
pattern. First Pull: multitudes flocked to hear his
gracious words and to receive His miraculous healing
touch. Second Pull: Revealed the secrets of the hearts.
(John 4:17-18) Third Pull: His "message", the Word of God
which came in strength and contrary to the religious order
of the day, caused the multitudes to leave him.
"From that time many of his disciples went back, and
walked no more with him." John. 6:66
In December 1962 God gave William Branham a vision of an
angelic visitation which he foretold in a message "Sirs is
this the Time?" On February 28, 1963, the vision and
prophecy was fulfilled when a constellation of seven
angels, formed as the head of Christ, met him with a
commission to speak the opening of the Seven Seals of
Revelation. Life Magazine (May 17th 1963) carried the
photograph (left figure) of this supernatural event,
describing it as a "Mystery Cloud over Arizona."
To the millions of believers around the world who have
heard and received the Message which God has sent through
His prophet, William Branham, the Word of God has opened
up as never before in history. Jesus Christ has come into
plain view through the pages of revealed scripture. World
events no longer cause alarm, for all is unfolding as it
should, fulfilling Bible prophecy!
We urge all sincere readers to be as the Bereans in Act
17:11 who "were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in
that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things
were so."
Source: International Revival Network: archive.openheaven.com.
May be freely copied provided source and/or copyrights are
included with the text.
(c) 1996, Morning Star Publications. Used with permission.
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