View source for THUS SAITH THE LORD

William Branham believed that when he spoke "Thus saith the Lord" that God was obligated to carry out what William Branham said.

:''I prayed for a woman at the platform who had a horrible stomach trouble and couldn't eat nothing. And the Holy Spirit told her, "THUS SAITH THE LORD..." Watch you got your recorders here, if you want to see what He says. Said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you're healed of that stomach trouble."
:''When you hear that come forth, brother, I lay my life right there, it's going to be just that way. I'm forty-five years old, seen visions since I was a baby, and have never seen one time or challenge anybody to mention one time that He ever spoke in that manner, that it didn't come to pass just exactly the way He said it. That's right. Just ask anywhere; take any recordings you want to and find out. When you hear Him speak out like that, that it isn't just exactly that way.<ref>DIVINE.HEALING  DES.MOINES.IA  54-0620E</ref>


=Was it always correct in William Branham's ministry?=

Was each time that William Branham said "Thus saith the Lord" correct?

'''One of the big challenges with William Branham's prophetic ministry is actually finding verifiable examples of it.'''  This is dealt with in detail in our article on the [[Proof of the Prophetic]].  From the period from the first recorded tape in 1947 until his last recorded sermon in 1965, we have been unable to find any examples of unambiguous prophecies that were publicly announced by William Branham and that were clearly fulfilled at a later date.  We have [[Proof of the Prophetic#The Test|repeatedly asked for examples publicly]] but have had no one yet contact us with any clear examples.

This is a serious problem for those that wish to believe that William Branham was a prophet. 

Based on our research, '''there are several instances''' where William Branham spoke in the name of the Lord or pointed to a vision that he said came from God but that did not ultimately come to pass.  Examples of these would include:

*[[The Municipal Bridge Vision]]
*[[The Brown Bear Vision]]
*[[The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa]]
*[[Heavenly Vision|His Commission by a Heavenly Vision]]
*[[The Marilyn Monroe Vision]]

There are also problems with prophecies that changed significantly over time, including:

*The [[Prophecy of the Cloud]]
*The Seven Visions of  1933
**[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
**[[Mussolini invades Ethiopia]]
**[[Hitler and WWII]]'''
**[[Russia and the three ...isms]]
**[[Driverless Cars]]
**[[Morality|The Morality of Women]]
**[[Rise of a Woman in America]]
**[[America in Ashes]]

=Was it unique in William Branham's ministry?=

Some message believers are of the view that William Branham's ministry was unique because of his use of "''Thus Saith The Lord''" and in this way can be differentiated from other self-appointed prophets like Joseph Smith, Ellen G. White and others.

==Joseph Smith (Mormon Prophet)==

Joseph Smith - Doctrine and Covenants 124:125
:''Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth.”

Mormon historical revision by J. Reuben Clark, a former member of the LDS First Presidency
:''"There are those who insist that unless the Prophet of the Lord declares, 'Thus saith the Lord,' the message may not be taken as a revelation. This is a false testing standard"'' (Church News 7/31/54, p.10).

==Ellen G. White (Seventh Day Adventist Prophet)==

The Great Controversy, p. 595.
:''“Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord” in its support.” 

==Mary Baker Eddy (founder of Christian Science)==

:''As to the argument that the truths of Christian Science have always been known and practised by a few, Mrs. Eddy issued her direct challenge. In all of her literature she set out the unqualified statement that she was "The Discoverer and the Founder." She was never apologetic; she assumed no modesty she did not feel; she spoke as one having authority, as did Moses of old, "Thus saith the Lord!" <ref>[http://www.web-books.com/Classics/ON/B1/B1509/12MB1509.html ''LITTLE JOURNEYS TO THE HOMES OF GREAT TEACHERS''], BEING VOLUME TEN OF THE SERIES, AS WRITTEN BY ELBERT HUBBARD; EDITED AND ARRANGED BY FRED BANN; BORDERS AND INITIALS BY ROYCROFT ARTISTS, AND PRODUCED BY THE ROYCROFTERS, AT THEIR SHOPS, WHICH ARE IN EAST AURORA, ERIE COUNTY, NEW YORK, MCMXXII </ref>

==Muhammad (Prophet of Islam)==
Indirect quote=“'Thus', says Allah in the Quran, 'We restored Moses to his mother, so that her eyes might be cooled and she would cease to grieve and would know that Allah's promise was fulfilled.'”

==Charles Russell (Jehovah Witness Prophet)==

:''Thus saith the Lord GOD -- The message delivered by Pastor Russell was not one of his own imagination. It was the Truth of God's Holy Word. <ref>[http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/bibleXref.asp?xref=bible^Ezekiel^2^2 Most Holy Faith website]</ref>

==William Branham (The Message Prophet)==
Possessing All Things, Jeffersonville, IN, May 6, 1962 (tape #62-0506)
:''“Many of you remember the vision that I had, where I had shot the grizzly bear, nine-foot grizzly bear (And the church remembers me telling it here.) and the caribou. I had another. :''Remember it's on tape here, I seen a great huge brown bear. That might be a Kodiak and it wouldn't have worked down there in Canada, 'cause they're not there. You see? But wherever it will be, it'll be. It will be; that's THUS SAITH THE LORD. It will be.”

==David Koresh (Branch Davidians)==

:''The book of Revelation having the authority of a ‘thus saith the Lord’ states that a Man-child (David Koresh) shall be born in the latter days (our day), see Rev.12:5. The latter day Man-child had within his body the same spirit which was also within Yahshua’s body. The duplicate spirit of Yahshua (for the old testament period) and the spirit of David Koresh (for the new testament period) is the same duplicate spirit of the Archangel Michael. In other words, Yahshua and David Koresh were the Angelic Michael in human form. In the latter days the Man-child’s name (David Koresh) and now the Chosen Vessel’s name (typified by Darius), are the only names whereby salvation may be attained. <ref>[http://branchdavidian.tripod.com/timothy.html BranchDavidian.com]</ref>

=Biblical View=

In the King James Version of the Bible, the phrase '''"''Thus saith the Lord''"''' appears 415 times in the Old Testament but does not appear at all in the New Testament.  The term "saith the Lord" does appear 13 times in the New Testament but generally in reference to a quotation from the Old Testament.

While William Branham appears to have been fixated on this phrase, '''it appears to have no significant relevance in the New Testament'''.

Hebrews 1:1–2
:''God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son... 

Deuteronomy 18:20–22
:''‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, '''that prophet shall die'''.’ 
:''“You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ 
:''“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, '''if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken'''. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. 

Jeremiah 23: 25-32
:''“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship. 
:''Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 
:''“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. 
:''“They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

=Quotes=

:''But let me tell you something. A lot of you women tonight would have an awful time doing that; you'd have to stand on your head to do it. Shame on you. The Bible said, "The hair is given to a woman for her glory." '''And the Bible rights gives any man a right to leave and divorce and leave his wife, that'll cut her hair. That's the Bible. That's '''THUS SAITH THE LORD'''.''' Too bad you got away from the old fashion trainings, isn't it?<ref>THE.WORST.SINNER.IN.THE.CITY_ MINNEAPOLIS.MN SATURDAY_ 56-0218E</ref>

:''Now, I'm an old man now. And I--I have never one time... And can call the world to--to a standstill, and ask them. '''"Put your finger on one thing that He ever told me, in THUS SAITH THE LORD, in the Name of the Lord, but what was absolutely the truth and fact, and come to pass,''' out of the thousands times thousands of things."<ref>SPIRIT.OF.TRUTH  PHOENIX.AZ   63-0118</ref>

:''And before you can accept it, you've got to believe it. Because, faith is based; or, healing is based on faith, and faith is based on the Word.
:''Now, you can't say, "If I touch this microphone, I'll be healed." There, there is no basic to that, see. That's in your mind.
:''But '''when it's THUS SAITH THE LORD, then you can know that's true''', 'cause, "All heavens and earth will pass away, but His Word will never be changed." So it's true.<ref>PERSEVERANCE_  NY.NY  V-18 N-12  SATURDAY_  63-1116E</ref>

:''And He promised, "In the last days, He would send the Spirit of Elijah, and would call the people, the children of God, back to the original Faith like it was in the beginning, of the Word." :''That Word was confirmed, the Son of man in the last days, the same as it was at Sodom; yesterday, today, and forever. He promised to do it. It's God's promise. It's THUS SAITH THE LORD.  Notice, they did the same thing, just as Moses did, until God got enough of it.
:'''''Now remember, it's THUS SAITH THE LORD, it'll come to pass in this day'''.<ref>THE.ANOINTED.ONES.AT.THE.END.TIME_  JEFF.IN  V-5 N-3  SUNDAY_  65-0725M</ref>

=References=
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