View source for A response to Tim Pruitt's Defense of William Branham

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By way of introduction, we as editors should state our bias upfront.  Some of us interacted with Tim Pruitt when we were in the message as he visited our assembly occasionally.  We also interacted with him directly when the leadership of our church (3 associate ministers, all of the trustees and 10 out of 11 of the deacons) asked for the resignation of our pastor as the result of a discovery that he had covered up the sexual abuse of a minor and had been dishonest in his communications with the board of the church.

Tim Pruitt's reaction was simply to defend the pastor.  He did no work to ascertain the facts nor why we, as the leadership of the church, had asked for the pastor's resignation.  We wrote to Tim Pruitt on several occasions in this regard but he never responded.

As a result, we have little respect for Tim Pruitt and do not view him as a man of integrity.

However, with our biases on the table, we will attempt to address Tim Pruitt's defense of William Branham.

=Deuteronomy 18:20-22 did not apply to William Branham=

A true Prophet must be 100% accurate.  There is absolutely no margin for error.

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 states:

:''But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, '''that same prophet shall die'''.  And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ — when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, '''if the word does not come to pass or come true''', that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. '''You need not be afraid of him.''' (emphasis added)<ref>Deuteronomy 18:20-22</ref>

It is clear that William Branham considered himself to be an Old Testament prophet and that as a result, he was not subject to the judgment of the church.  He also stated the test in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 applied to him:

:''“Let one speak and two or three judge,” said Paul. Now, those are the spirits of the gifts that’s in the Church. '''But the only person that has a right to say, THUS SAITH THE LORD, is an a vindicated prophet'''. '''You never seen anybody judging Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or those people.''' They were prophets, foreordained and borned in the world to be prophets.<ref>William Branham, 50-0405 - Expectation, para. 16</ref>

:''Prophets are foreordained. They’re prophets. Now, there’s a gift of prophecy in the church... But there’s a lot of difference between a prophet and a prophecy... '''But a prophet, like the Old Testament prophet, ''they had the Word of the Lord. The translation was right to them. And they were known, because the Bible said, “If there be one among you spiritual or a prophet, I, the Lord, will make Myself known unto him, speak to him in visions, and reveal Myself in dreams. '''And if what this man says comes to pass, then hear him, for I’m am with him. If it doesn’t, then don’t hear him.''' I’m not with him. Don’t fear him.”<ref>William Branham, 61-0205E - Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever, para. 12</ref>

In excusing the failure of William Branham, Tim Pruitt argues:

:''William Branham could miss visions that the Lord had given him, and because of disobedience cause them not to be fulfilled as promised and would feel the need to repent before God and his church asking God for pardon of his stupidity.

But as we have shown, the Bible does not provide for such an excuse.

=How to discount a failed prophecy in one sentence=

William Branham's story of the miraculous municipal bridge vision was one of his reasons that we should accept him as a "vindicated prophet."  The [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|clear failure of this prophecy has also been well documented]].  if you are unfamiliar with the research on this important failed prophecy, please [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|click here]].

Tim Pruitt completely ignores the importance of this failed prophecy with one sentence:

:''Can you imagine discounting any man’s ministry over a story of a bridge as remembered by 5 or 6 year old?

The problem is not that William Branham's recollection of his "prophecy" might have been flawed.  The problem is that he lied about its fulfillment.  William Branham stated it was fulfilled when [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|there is clear evidence that is was not]].  That is the issue that Tim Pruitt refuses to address.

=The Cloud fiasco discounted in a single paragraph=

Tim Pruitt states:

:''No matter what the controversy of the cloud, William Branham was caught up in the midst of the 7 angels and the Seven Seals were revealed...  So, perhaps we don’t understand perfectly about the cloud and because of that, we are unable to put all the pieces together – reasoning will say that Bro. Branham didn’t either, yet the very first time he shows the picture and tells of the event to his church, it didn’t offend God nor cause God to forsake him, God was there and raised Edmund Way from the dead in the very same service. If someone has a better explanation than the prophet did of the cloud, let them raise the dead and then maybe I will give some credence to their explanation. I don’t need to understand every detail, I already believe.

We raised our hands and so did many others when examining the problem of the cloud.  

There is also [[Were Dead Raised in William Branham's Ministry?|ZERO evidence]] that Edmund Way was raised from the dead.  In fact, we have spoken to people who were in attendance at the meeting that stated it appeared he had simply fainted.

If you are not familiar with the HUGE problems with the Cloud and William Branham's apparent lying about his being under the Cloud, we have provided all of the details here - [[The Cloud|Our article on the Cloud]].

=Belief in the message is required to properly believe the Bible=

Tim Pruitt states:

:''It grieves me to learn that some no longer believes in the messenger but yet claim to believe their Bible and yet see no need for a restoration of its truths. What a lie! Without the message, we are rendered as powerless as the denominational world we came out of. This message has returned us to Paul’s gospel.

This statement in itself is contrary to scripture and is proof that [[The Message is Greater than the Bible|the Message is a cult]].

==The Bible identifies William Branham as a prophet==

Tim Pruitt states:

:''...the Bible identifies him as the voice of the 7th angel. (Rev 3:14;10:7). He was God’s prophet without a doubt...

Our problem is that we have repeatedly raised literally scores of questions with message ministers which have remained almost totally without a response.  Our questions are clear but there has been no reasoned response.

William Branham was not identified by scripture as the fulfillment of [[Revelation 10:7]].  It also did not identify him as the fulfillment of [[The Laodicean Church Age Messenger|Revelation 3:14]].

One "proof" that we often hear that we are currently in the Laodicean Church age is this - ''"Simply look around at churches today, they clearly demonstrate that we are in the age of Laodicea."''  While this sounds like a good argument, as there are many lukewarm churches in North America, it fails to deal with the global church today.  There are currently 245 million Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.  Their churches reflect NONE of the characteristics of Laodicea<ref>https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/christian-persecution-by-the-numbers/</ref>. We are not currently in the Laodicean Church Age and William Branham was not its messenger.

==The God of William Branham carries a big stick==

This is one of the major flaws in William Branham's concept of God.  As Tim Pruitt states:

:''William Branham could get in the permissive will of God and for his disobedience, God would correct him severely. His wife and baby would die because he listened to others instead of God. In South Africa, he listened to preachers and asked for the permissive will of God and would suffer the consequences of getting an Ameba and almost dying from the sickness.




==When is an exaggeration so extreme as to become a lie?==

Tim Pruitt admits:

:''William Branham as a man could exaggerate.

==The failed 1977 prediction does classify William Branham as a false prophet==

:''As a man he could make predictions that didn’t come to pass as he did of 1977. This was something he adamantly declared was not a prediction from God or a prophecy but a prediction based on his own assumption of how quickly the other visions had transpired. Yet because of this prediction, he is regarded as a false prophet by the denominational world.

==Who did William Branham think he was?==

Pruitt says that:

:''He knew the difference between his own self and God.


==What constitutes the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit?==

Tim Pruitt decries many in the message:

:In far too many circles, a mere profession stating that you believe in William Branham and his message, is considered the evidence that you have the Holy Ghost.

Yet it is clear that this is exactly what William Branham believed taught.



How do you ignore William Branham's plain teaching?  What are you supposed to ignore and what are you supposed to follow?

==Is the Bible Tim Pruitt's absolute?==

Tim Pruitt would have you believe that the Bible is his absolute:

:''This is why we all should proclaim the Bible as our absolute and that William Branham was not God but a prophet and as a prophet he was human as was Elijah, Moses, or any other Biblical prophet.

==The problem with the Houston photograph==

:''He’s the man that God wasn’t ashamed to have His picture taken with. 


==How to ignore William Branham's plagiarism==

:''He told us that he gathered the loose ends that were left dangling by the reformers. This is why I am not surprised when I find he “borrowed” from someone else’s inspiration. Some feel betrayed and say that he plagiarized or borrowed from someone else but the truth of it, we all borrow from someone. His message wasn’t to bring something new, William Branham restored. Yes, there were symbols that no one understood until a prophet came. These were not plagiarized. Yet when he was about to preach on the Seven Seals, he started to bring us some things, referencing other men’s thoughts, until the Angel came into the room and changed his thinking, and revealed to him each Seal. He was doing the best he knew how, as a man probing at the book, until God opened it.

==Tim Pruitt's red herring argument==

:''That deity snake poisons the mind and then destroys the foundation when a person perceives something they believe as a flaw. Gulp! He doesn’t know everything, so he can’t be a prophet. This is the poison of the snake, it bites, convincing us that in some way that the man is God and then shows us that he was a flawed human being just like us all, and then the poison sets in, destroying our faith in the messenger so we will lose confidence in the message God was bringing through him.

==The myth of William Branham raising people from the dead==

:''God was there and raised Edmund Way from the dead in the very same service.




==How to interpret scripture badly==

Tim Pruitt states:

:''This is why we believe in Elijah’s coming in this day, because the Bible said he would. Greater than any testimony that William Branham gave is the Word of God that testifies of him. The same Word testifies of us and I believe what it says irregardless (sic) of how I feel, what I see or what I hear.

=A summary of our response to Tim Pruitt=

Pruitt's argument can be summarized in three points...

==1. The message is an extension of the Bible==

The message is part of (or an extension of) the Bible... no message, no ability to understand the Bible.  Clearly this comes from Branham's assertion that you '''NEED''' someone like a Gentile Prophet to TELL YOU what God's Word and the Holy Spirit are revealing to you...  

In OLD TESTAMENT times, there were only two ways for God to speak to His people:
#at the time when the High Priests offered sacrifice for the people in the Holy of Holies, and 
#when God gave specific instructions to His prophets.  

But we are in a NEW COVENANT which was ushered in by Jesus Christ Himself when this happened:

Matthew 27:50-51 (HCSB) 
:''Jesus shouted again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.  Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was split in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked and the rocks were split. 

Notice here that the curtain in the sactuary, the veil which separated everyone EXCEPT the High Priest from God was torn from top to bottom giving EVERYONE direct access to God Himself.

And then we know that Jesus told us in advance that a NEW COVENANT would be arriving when Jesus Christ tells us this:

Luke 16:16 (HCSB) 
:''“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it."

AND-- 

Matthew 11:13-15 (HCSB) 
:''For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Anyone who has ears should listen! 

The Apostle Paul reaffirms this after Christ died on the cross when he writes his letter to the Hebrew church:

Hebrews 1:1-3 (HCSB) 
:''Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 
:''In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. 
:''The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 

Both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul tell us that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are our direct access to God... NO PROPHETS REQUIRED...

==2. William Branham was just a person==

Branham was just a person... he made mistakes... and his sermons were not the LITERAL Voice of God as is asserted by the Branham Family... what lays this open is this:

1 Samuel 3:19-20 (KJV) 
:''And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.   And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 

This is how a prophet is vindicated by God... the fact that Branham's words "FELL TO THE GROUND" when his visions and prophecies did not come to pass he demonstrated all by himself that he did not qualify as a prophet of God.

And for Branham having to behave a certain way in order for God's instructions to a true prophet to have come to pass is ludicrous... Jonah is instructive here... Jonah did EVERYTHING HE COULD ON PURPOSE to avoid delivering the exact message that God wanted delivered... and God put Jonah back in the position to deliver the exact message God wanted delivered where God instructed him to deliver it... the notion that a human being has to do something to make God's Word come to pass is absurd...

==3. William Branham made no claims of infallibility==

That William Branham made no claims of infallibility is completely incorrect on its face. 

:''BUT I DENY UPON THE INFALLIBLE EVIDENCE OF THE WORD THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE MAJOR PROPHET-MESSENGER WHO WILL REVEAL THE MYSTERIES AS CONTAINED IN THE WORD, AND WHO HAS THE MINISTRY TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN TO THE FATHERS. "Thus saith the Lord" by His unfailing Word stands, and shall stand and be vindicated. There is one prophet-messenger to this age. On the basis of human behavior alone, anyone knows that where there are many people there is even divided opinion on lesser points of a major doctrine which they all hold together. Who then will have the power of infallibility which is to be restored in this last age, for this last age is going to go back to manifesting the Pure Word Bride? That means we will have the Word once again as it was perfectly given, and perfectly understood in the days of Paul. I will tell you who will have it. It will be a prophet as thoroughly vindicated, or even more thoroughly vindicated than was any prophet in all the ages from Enoch to this day, because this man will of necessity have the capstone prophetic ministry, and God will shew him forth. He won't need to speak for himself, God will speak for him by the voice of the sign. Amen.<ref>An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages - Chapter Nine - The Laodicean Church Age</ref>

He also said this:

:''Look what it puts me before, when I'm up there before the public. Look at that. What about one error on that? See? Because I trust Him. See? I trust Him. Someone say, "You afraid of a mistake, Brother Branham." No, no, huh-uh, ain't afraid of a mistake. I believe Him. He is my Protection. I'm ordained to do this, so I'll stay right there.
If God's ordained you to do something, then He's your Protection. See, He will protect you. If He's sent you, He'll back up your word. You're an ambassador then. You're ambassador with the gift of tongues; you're ambassador with the gift of interpretation; you're ambassador with the gift of discernment, the three of you. See what I mean? Then what have you got? You got a solid church. You wouldn't fear standing yet no more than yesterday.<ref>QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN COD THURSDAY_ 61-0112</ref>

Yet, we know that true prophets of God NEVER teach what directly opposes Scripture, prophets NEVER lie in the Name of the Lord, and what prophets proclaim as visions and prophecies, NEVER fail...

The entire starting point of Pruitt's letter is absurd.

His RED HERRING statement is ridiculous. Scripture doesn't say that a prophet KNOWS everthing. That isn't an argument which is made by this website EVER.  What IS clear however is that a prophet NEVER teaches ANYTHING that God doesn't give to him, which means that it NEVER opposes God's Word.




=Tim Pruitt's original article=

'''From the Pastor’s Desk''' by Tim Pruitt (dated December 2019)

As I reflect and pray about those who are falling away, I am certainly grieved for their sakes and the sake of others.   Of course, I am disappointed and offended that some that once preached the message now think of Bro. Branham as someone dishonest or perhaps even a liar.  It grieves me to learn that some no longer believes in the messenger but yet claim to believe their Bible and yet see no need for a restoration of its truths.  What a lie!  Without the message, we are rendered as powerless as the denominational world we came out of.   This message has returned us to Paul’s gospel. 

However, I am even more offended at the deity spirit that has caused this.  I am offended that this demon has permeated our message ranks so that we now call the publications of William Branham’s sermons THE VOICE OF GOD.  William Branham was not literally the voice of God, but rather the voice of a man that God used.  The Bible never says he was the voice of God, but rather the Bible identifies him as the voice of the 7th angel.  (Rev 3:14;10:7).  He was God’s prophet without a doubt, but God, he was not.
A horrible mistake has been made by the message community in deifying William Branham by making him the absolute.  William Branham was never the absolute! The Word of God is the absolute.  William Branham is no different than any mortal man, for he was a man of like passions as was Elijah.  

57-0127E – Blind Bartimaeus
:''Proves God just reveals to His prophets that what He wants them to know, nothing else. Prophets are not infallible people. Prophets are not Angels. They are men.

59-0611 – The Time Of Decision  
:''You see, God don’t make all of our decisions. And there’s many times that God doesn’t tell His prophets just what to do, because they have to make the decision. If there is no decision that we have to make, just wait every move on God, then there is no overcoming on our part. And sometimes, they make the wrong decision. God’s anointed prophets makes the wrong decisions, and many times are deceived.

55-0607 – The True Vine & A False Vine 
:''Look at the–this Elijah, setting there and–and here come the Shunammite women and fell down by him like that. Said, “God’s troubled her heart and kept it from me.” They don’t know all things. They just know as God will let them know. They’re not infallible people.

The Bible said, “Elijah was man subject to like such passions as we are,” his up and downs, and differences.
As a man of like passion William Branham was subject to mistakes. He reasoned like all men, understood as a man, and because he grew in revelation thus gaining understanding, he changed his views on things.

54-0302 – The Resurrection Of Jairus’ Daughter
:''And what I read here is His Word. It will never change; It’ll never pass away. It’s eternally right. Mine may fail, ’cause I’m just a man, speak like any other man, make mistakes and everything. But when He speaks, mark His Words; it’s the truth.

63-0803E – Influence 
:''So it’s a lesson to us, tonight, to keep our minds upon God, regardless of what man it is. Let him be cardinal, priest, prophet, whatever he might be, he is not immune from mistakes and—and error, and even death, and sin. But there is One Who is, and that’s Jesus Christ; He is the One.  By this, Isaiah learned a lesson, God orders His man to place.  

Bro. Branham recognized this about himself that he was human and could be wrong: 

54-1203 – The Law Having A Shadow 
:''A man can make a statement; he can be wrong, because he’s just a man. We’re all subject to mistakes. But when God makes a statement that’s truth.  

This is why he prayed to the Lord asking for forgiveness of his errors and mistakes.

61-0226 – Jehovah-Jireh
:''Forgive me of my errors and mistakes in life as being a man. But look upon the objective of my heart and the motive. 

This is why he asked for our prayers when we observed his mistakes.

63-0804E – Calling Jesus On The Scene
:''But the Lord sent me to pray for His sick children. And in there, what I do know about Him, I love to express it with all my heart. If I make mistakes, you pray for me. I’m not infallible. I’m your brother.  

This is why he warned us not to look to him but to keep our eyes on Jesus.

63-1110E – He That Is In You
:''What I’m trying to say, “Don’t never lose your confidence.” Don’t let Satan tell you evil about me; ’cause, there’s much. But you keep that confidence; ’cause, if you don’t, it won’t happen. Don’t look to me, as a man; I’m a man, I’m full of mistakes. But look to what I’m saying about Him. It’s Him. He is the One.

William Branham realized that he was as vulnerable as anyone else and could make mistakes and errors in judgment and sincerely pleaded with God to never lift his helping hand.  

63-1114 – Influence
:''And it was a lesson to Isaiah, that he mustn’t put his eyes upon human beings for an example. He must put his eyes on God.  Now that’s us. Any man, any man is subject to mistakes. He is subject to error because He is human. He is subject to the violations of God’s laws. And he is subject to many things, because Satan tempts him, and he is just a human being. And if God ever lifted His hands, he would fall. That’s all.

:''And I’ve heard people say, “Oh, Satan can’t do that.”

:''Yes, you just let God lift His hand one time, and watch what happens. It’s a… I constantly plead, “God, don’t send him. Have mercy on me. Keep him away from me,” you see. I–I need God’s mercy. And we all need that.

William Branham as a man could exaggerate.  

59-0301m – Strait Is The Gate
:''That’s all the advertisement we had. I’m not very good at making a …?… or estimating crowds, because I usually exaggerate on it.  

He even prayed that God would help him not to exaggerate and asked God to help him with this.

51-0729E – The Second Miracle
:''May God help me not–not to exaggerate, but just be honest as I believe from my heart.
He was human as any of us and could forget details and not have perfect recall.  Yet too many want to him to be God and not allow him to be a man. 

As a human, he could make an error in judgment and take up for the wrong person and as a result he believed God punished him for it by allowing a gun to almost blow his head off.

62-0513M – The Way Of A True Prophet Of God
:''God knowed all about it, and forewarned it, and everything else. And we know it. It was partly my fault, and I had something. I-I took up for a man one time, when I should not have took up. I could have just shook the liver out of him. See? Instead of doing it, I had to pay for it. So, then, so we … That’s all right. It’s me, and it’s forgiven now. And we’ll go on. 

William Branham could get in the permissive will of God and for his disobedience, God would correct him severely.  His wife and baby would die because he listened to others instead of God.   In South Africa, he listened to preachers and asked for the permissive will of God and would suffer the consequences of getting an Ameba and almost dying from the sickness.  
William Branham could make presumptions while trying to interpret or understand the visions God gave him,  

62-1230E – Is This The Sign Of The End, Sir?
:''And maybe, tonight, Lord, I have took upon myself to interpret something to the people, without having a vision of it.

William Branham realized he was not God and knew he was only finite.

63-0113E  – Perseverance
:''Now, we are finite. We can say something this year, and maybe even tomorrow have to alter it. Because, we’re not too sure, because we’re finite. We’re just presuming. And presume means “to adventure without authority.”

In the sermon, Souls That Are In Prison Now he made presumptions about the Lamb leaving the seat of mercy and so the mercy is now over and as a result of this, men today make the horrible mistake of thinking the mercy seat is ineffective because they deified his words, yet he plainly said it was a presumption.  

63-1110M – Souls That Are In Prison Now
:''But I want you to know that what I’m going to say is just presuming, and the word presume means to “adventure without authority.”

William Branham could miss visions that the Lord had given him, and because of disobedience cause them not to be fulfilled as promised and would feel the need to repent before God and his church asking God for pardon of his stupidity.  He made this repentance after being with Bro. Ed Byskal in Canada on a hunting trip where Bro. Byskal saw the brown bear.

62-0909E  – In His Presence 
:''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 before 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 have 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.

He found out the hard way that many of his visions would have to be obeyed perfectly for them to come to pass as promised.

62-0909M – Countdown
:''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, and It’ll bring you out all right, I’m sure.

As a man he could make predictions that didn’t come to pass as he did of 1977.  This was something he adamantly declared was not a prediction from God or a prophecy but a prediction based on his own assumption of how quickly the other visions had transpired.  Yet because of this prediction, he is regarded as a false prophet by the denominational world.

60-1211E – The Laodicean Church Age
:''We believe that the Laodicean church [age] 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 it… 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.] 

William Branham was human but many of his followers made him God.  They made him so much God that when he died, some believed he would rise on the following Easter.   This shows some thought him to be equal to Jesus Christ.  About that same time, some formulated a teaching, saying he would soon return to finish his ministry.  This was yet another manifestation of the deity spirit.  
Some in our movement have declared him the Absolute and final authority.  Yet, William Branham was never our absolute. Nor was he, his own absolute.  His absolute was the Bible and the final authority was God.  

62-1230M – Absolute
:''And if your absolute is in some organization, or some sensation, or something else besides the Person of Jesus Christ, you’ll come to the same portion of shame, only worse, see, if your absolute is not Christ. That’s the only center post of the human life, and Christ is the Word; not your church, your word. The Word! See? “Upon this absolute I’ll build My Church,” upon Christ, the Word.

Others declare that every word was inspired and even as Jesus said, “Verily, Verily”, so every stutter of I-I-I and the-the-the was as God speaking.  However, what Jesus said was not a stutter when He said verily, verily, it was adding emphasis on what He was saying.

We hardly raised our eyebrows when the publishing company for his sermons was named The Voice Of God Recordings, thus publicly declaring that Willam Branham was the Voice of God.   Yet William Branham knew he was not the voice of God, but rather the voice of a man that God used and he knew the difference between when God was saying something and he was saying something and made it clear it was when the Angel of the Lord moves down, It becomes then a Voice of God to you. 
 
Even though Bro. Branham acknowledged that God uses man and thus the man becomes God’s voice to the people, he understood it was God using a human vessel.  Never once did he claim that every word he spoke was Thus Saith The Lord.  

64-0500 
:''...God, on–on the mountain that time, blasted out from the Mount Sinai, and they said, ‘Don’t let God speak. Let Moses speak.’ And He said, ‘I’ll send them prophets.’ See, a prophet. And so He speaks through… And that prophet becomes the voice of God to the people. 

He understood that prophets had the Word of the Lord but once out from under the inspiration, the prophet and his words were only human.

64-0614M – The Unveiling Of God
:''Moses had the Word. Now remember, after the Word was made manifest, Moses was Moses again.

He knew the difference between his own self and God.

57-0810 – Jehovah-Jireh
:''But when you say —hear it say, “THUS SAITH THE LORD, it’ll certain-certain thing happen.” That’s Him speaking. Now, this is William Branham now. That was Him a few minutes ago. 
He knew that things he said as a man could be a million miles off and his presumptions could fail. 

63-0324M – Questions And Answers On The Seals
:''Now, remember, this is William Branham (See?), speaking. This is my idea. It’s only presuming. Just looking at it in the natural standpoint, which may be a million miles off, 

He knew that his thoughts may not be right. 

63-0324M – Questions And Answers On The Seals
:''Notice, but now, here’s what I think, what I, I think will take place: (Now, it may not be so.)

He knew that he was a man and as a man there was a human side and he admonished us to be careful and discern what was God and what part of what he said was a man. That means it our responsibility to rightly divide what is truly God speaking from when he as a man is speaking.

63-0721 – He Cares. Do You Care?
:''I’ve always asked you to be careful what you’re listening to. See? There’s so much of it that it’s just the human side. But always if there is something that goes forth, it will speak it, “It’s THUS SAITH THE LORD,” even to visions or anything.  

He knew he could make assumptions based on his own feelings and declared it to be so by saying, 

57-0610 – Faith Once Delivered To The Saints
:''this just is my feeling, not THUS SAITH THE LORD. This is William Branham.
Yet within the message community every word of William Branham has been deified as though it were Scripture.   But, if every word and utterance of a man is Thus Saith The Lord, then the man would have to be God because he has no human part since his every word is deity.  It has been preached that if William Branham said that the moon was made out of cheese and although I don’t understand it, I am going to say the moon was made out of cheese – these and other similar statements deified the man by making his words infallible.

Yet Bro. Branham knew he was not infallible and made no claims to be infallible.

59-1108 – Possessing The Enemy’s Gates
:''Men are not infallible, but God is. Man, you get your mind on a man, he’ll make a mistake. Maybe not willfully, but he’ll do it. God permits him to do it so that He can shake your faith away from man. Our faith is not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When he was asked questions, he made us to understand his answers were not infallible.

61-0112 – Questions And Answers
:''And these answers are not infallible (See?), because the Scriptures is infallible; and as far as I know they’re lined with the Scriptures

Yet at the same time, those within the message community have almost taken Jesus Christ and rendered Him ineffective.   There have been those who baptized and even prayed in William Branham’s name.  Others have said that he is THE SON OF MAN.   In far too many circles, a mere profession stating that you believe in William Branham and his message, is considered the evidence that you have the Holy Ghost.   

Among the “tape only” sect, William Branham is introduced as though he were the omnipresent God, saying, “We will now turn the service over to Bro. Branham”.  Handkerchiefs have been placed in front of the speakers as a segment of a recording was played of Bro. Branham praying for the needs of the sick and distributed as though he had prayed over them, declaring him to the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Communion has been served while a portion of a recording was played where Bro. Branham prayed over the bread and wine and while choking back tears, the worship leader declared how wonderful it was that the prophet was there to serve communion as though he were the omnipresent God. This is nothing short of spiritualism.

While William Branham is made to be God, others belittle Jesus Christ and regard Him as merely the son of God, a little lord and not the Lord, and then boldly state that Jesus Christ was not God.   Others believe that Jesus no longer sits upon the mercy seat, but the bride and their ministers are now the seat of mercy and they are the ones that can regulate and administer mercy.  Among some, their teachers say that the bride is God’s chosen place of worship and not Jesus Christ. 
  
Should we be surprised when it is now being discovered that William Branham was a man and could actually be human enough to make mistakes, conjecture, predict and presume?  Could it be possible that he embellish, exaggerate and have memory failures and lack perfect recall just like every other mortal?  If he’s God, he cannot, but if he’s man, he’s mortal and he can.

This is why we all should proclaim the Bible as our absolute and that William Branham was not God but a prophet and as a prophet he was human as was Elijah, Moses, or any other Biblical prophet.

52-0717 –  Get The People To Believe
:''Now, Elijah was not an Angel; he was a man. And he had his ups-and-downs, and his troubles like we do. And he had his passions. The Bible said he was a man with like passions–subject to like passions as we are. He was just as apt to make a mistake as you are or I am. He’s just as apt to do something wrong as you are or I am.

53-1201 – God’s Provided Way
:''Now, a righteous man is not a sinless man. For you notice he said, “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are.” He had his ups-and-downs and his differences. And the Scripture of his life proves that he had his ups-and-downs like we do. And he had his times of wondering and his times that his temper got away from him, and he had a lot of things, that went wrong. But he was still a righteous man, because he confessed his unworthiness and believed in God. So that’s what made him righteous.
We’re not righteous within ourselves; we’re righteous through Jesus Christ. I cannot be sanctified within myself; I am sanctified through Jesus Christ Who stands in the–in the Presence of God in my place. It isn’t my holiness; it’s His holiness.

55-0607 – The True Vine And A False Vine
:''Said, “God’s troubled her heart and kept it from me.” They don’t know all things. They just know as God will let them know. 
 They’re not infallible people.  The Bible said, “Elijah was man subject to like such passions as we are,” his up and downs, and differences.

61-0117 – The Messiah
:''See? Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are. Is that right? He had his ups-and-downs. His temper got up, and his indignation. He’s just like I was or you are.

63-1201M – An Absolute
:''All those prophets were man just like we are. The Bible said so. Saint James 5, “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are,” he had his up’s and down’s, his in’s and out’s, “and he prayed earnestly it might not rain.”

:''And Paul was the same kind of a man like we are. He had his flustrations, his doubt.

Brothers, I am offended that some are now pointing out what they perceive as William Branham’s flaws and even though we must acknowledge that he is a man, I don’t enjoy hearing what some believe to be his faults. 

However, I am more offended that by deifying the words of William Branham that Jesus has been put in the background.   Teachers have removed by their teaching, Jesus as High Priest and thus rendering Him ineffective and unneeded.  I am offended when men think that the evidence of the Holy Spirit is by professing faith in the prophet.  I am offended that Jesus Christ has been debased as simply a little lord and not God at all.  I am offended in any spirit that debases Jesus Christ and exalts any other human over him.  I am offended that a fallible man has been made our absolute.  I am offended that he is called the voice of God. However, I am not offended to find out that William Branham is a human.

I love Bro. Branham and it pains me terribly for people to point out what they perceive as his flaws or failures.  There is no virtue in that.  People get distracted by the stories and yet forget the results.  Regardless of whether we understand the details of the boy in Finland, he raised from the dead.   No matter what the controversy of the cloud, William Branham was caught up in the midst of the 7 angels and the Seven Seals were revealed.  Can you imagine discounting any man’s ministry over a story of a bridge as remembered by 5 or 6 year old?  This has nothing to do with the Bible.   The Bible is the infallible Word of God and that’s where our faith is.   This is why we believe in Elijah’s coming in this day, because the Bible said he would.   Greater than any testimony that William Branham gave is the Word of God that testifies of him.   The same Word testifies of us and I believe what it says irregardless of how I feel, what I see or what I hear.   

Why should I be ashamed of William Branham?  He’s the man that God wasn’t ashamed to have His picture taken with.  So, perhaps we don’t understand perfectly about the cloud and because of that, we are unable to put all the pieces together – reasoning will say that Bro. Branham didn’t either, yet the very first time he shows the picture and tells of the event to his church, it didn’t offend God nor cause God to forsake him, God was there and raised Edmund Way from the dead in the very same service.  If someone has a better explanation than the prophet did of the cloud, let them raise the dead and then maybe I will give some credence to their explanation.  I don’t need to understand every detail, I already believe. 

This is the hour of restoration.  We saw Elijah restore our faith in Jehovah.  I am convinced that Bro. Branham is the Elijah that was promised.   He told us that he gathered the loose ends that were left dangling by the reformers.  This is why I am not surprised when I find he “borrowed” from someone else’s inspiration.   Some feel betrayed and say that he plagiarized or borrowed from someone else but the truth of it, we all borrow from someone.  His message wasn’t to bring something new, William Branham restored.  Yes, there were symbols that no one understood until a prophet came.  These were not plagiarized. Yet when he was about to preach on the Seven Seals, he started to bring us some things, referencing other men’s thoughts, until the Angel came into the room and changed his thinking, and revealed to him each Seal.  He was doing the best he knew how, as a man probing at the book, until God opened it.

So we have discovered that our prophet doesn’t know everything.  We wanted him to be infinite and have complete knowledge and understanding from birth.  That deity snake poisons the mind and then destroys the foundation when a person perceives something they believe as a flaw.  Gulp! He doesn’t know everything, so he can’t be a prophet. This is the poison of the snake, it bites, convincing us that in some way that the man is God and then shows us that he was a flawed human being just like us all, and then the poison sets in, destroying our faith in the messenger so we will lose confidence in the message God was bringing through him.   

62-0318 – The Spoken Word Is The Original Seed
:''And remember, Christian friends, I’m a man, I can make mistakes. But God, being God, cannot make a mistake

62-0630B – It Wasn’t So From The Beginning
:''Forgive our many weaknesses, Lord. We don’t intend to do anything wrong, Lord, but through flesh we do make mistakes daily. So in order to stay alive in Christ, we have to die to our own thoughts. So keep us dead to ourselves and alive in Him.

62-0718 – Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever
:''Now, I’m finite, and He’s infinite. So He cannot make a mistake. I can. You can. Our brethren can. We can all make mistakes. We’re finite. Today, if I don’t know more than I did last year, I’m not progressing any. But God cannot progress, because He’s perfect to begin with. And every decision is perfect.

62-1014E – A Guide
:''I can change; I’m a man. You can change; you’re a man or woman. But God cannot change. I’m finite; I can make mistakes and say things wrong, all of us can. But God can’t, and be God. His first decision is perfect. 

63-0623M – Standing In The Gap
:''But, you see, even the great Saint Paul got between the straits one time. And many times that God has did things or let His servants do it, that was mistakes, in order to prove these things. Now, we know that human beings can make mistakes, but God can make no mistake.

62-0601 – Taking Sides With Jesus
:''Now, for instance, if–if one of you brethren would make a mistake and do something is wrong; which, you’re subject to do it; I am, too; every one of us. 

63-1103 – Go, Wake Jesus
:''But, there’s one thing about God, He does not make no mistakes. And His first decision is His only decision, because He is infinite. And to be infinite, that’s perfect times perfect, plus perfect. And, perfect, is infinite. He knew all things from the beginning. He never has to take a word back. He never has to improve, because His first decision is the only decision can ever be made. He does not learn more, get smarter, as we claim we do. But He was perfect, to begin with.

63-1103 – Go, Wake Jesus
:''So, therefore, when anything we read in the Bible, which, we firmly believe to be the Word of God. And when we read That, we can rest our soul right on That. God never can change It. If He changes, then He’s–He’s just like I am, see, He’s finite, and He’s full of mistakes. But He is not finite. He is infinite, and He cannot make a mistake.
Church Age Book – The Sardisean Church Age

:''“He that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” Revelation 3:1.

:''As this same Lord identified Himself with man in the incarnation, He is again identifying Himself with man by His Spirit within man. “These are mine,” saith the Lord. The seven Spirit-filled messengers are the Lord’s. They may be repudiated. They may be questioned. Indeed, to human minds they may not even seem to qualify–nevertheless, they are the messengers for their age. God used an Abraham (he lied), He used a Moses (he rebelled), Jonah (he disobeyed), Samson (he sinned), David (he murdered). He also used Joshua, and Joseph. And those with severe blemishes far outnumber those whose histories seem to be perfect. ALL WERE, AND ARE HIS. None dare deny that. He used them by and through the Holy Spirit that He put within them. To their own Master they stood or fell. And in them all was accomplished the sovereign will of God. Let external history attempt to refute this, it still stands. The Eternal God still walks amongst the golden lamp stands and sends His messengers by His Spirit with the Word to the people of every age

This deity spirit has anointed men to build their own kingdoms.  Some of these now claim to be THE apostle, THE teacher, and even Michael the archangel, THE Holy Ghost, and Elohim.   It’s the deity spirit at work which deifies men and minimizes Jesus Christ and the snake bites and poisons many and they are dead or dying. They too want to be God.  William Branham feared this would happen.  

64-0823M – Questions And Answers #1
:''I pray for mercy, Lord. Have mercy on me; help me. It makes me nervous, Father. I pray that You’ll help me. I—I don’t want to seal my life…All my work here would be out here some fanatic to lead some group or cult out into a desert somewhere. Don’t let my name have to go down like that, Lord. I fought hard for this. I’m sincere in it as I can be. God, don’t let it happen. Help me some way. I don’t know what to do; I’m just depending on You, but You help me. I’ll do anything You tell me to do. I’m Your servant; these are Your children. Lord, these…Most of these people, ninty-nine out of every hundred, Lord, is really solid. They believe; they know; they understand. And they know it’s not me; but I know these things has to follow every revival, and this is not immune from it. So I pray that You’ll help us now.

Using Bro. Branham as their authority, some preachers are claiming to be the husband of their congregation.  They teach that the pastor is the husband of the individuals in the assembly, therefore it is adultery to listen to anyone but them.  This is another form of deifying a man and making a man God.

63-0825M – How Can I Overcome?
:''She started out, as an overcomer, but she never did overcome. Oh, she left the denomination. She did. She walked out of Sodom, with Lot. But she wanted to go back and have her hair cut. You know what I mean. See? She had to go back. She just couldn’t stand the–the test. She had to look back again, to see what the rest of them was doing. “Oh, you know, I had some good friends down there, after all. And, after all, this might be just a little–a little move. I don’t know whether it could be right or not. I–I’ve only got this man’s word for it, though he’s my husband. But yet…” Your pastor is your husband, spiritually speaking, you see. “Now, whether it could be right or not, I don’t know. Maybe his revelation wasn’t right.”

By examining this quote in context, you will see that Bro. Branham is speaking about Lot and his wife.  Lot’s wife did not listen to the leadership of her husband instead she says:  “I don’t know whether it could be right or not. I’ve only got this man’s word for it, though he’s my husband.” Then Bro. Branham says, of a woman in reference to Lot and his wife: Your pastor is your husband, spiritual speaking.  Bro. Branham is not telling us the pastor is the husband of the Bride, but that a husband is pastor (priest) of his family.

Brother Branham never started this deity spirit, he stood FIRMLY AGAINST IT and tried his best to shut it up!  He proclaimed Jesus as Lord of lords! His WHOLE LIFE was dedicated to lifting Jesus AND THE BIBLE UP! It was the most important Book in his life! He preached its life, its hope, its reality, its power with every breath he had!   What I am offended about is exactly what Brother Branham would be offended by, and that is many have demoted Jesus Christ! Jesus, not his stories or his successes were his heartbeat, his life and ministry!

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''...the other day in Canada a brother showed me a little ticket of a thing he’s packed in his pocket, said “William Branham is our Lord,” baptizing in the name of William Branham. And a little… a precious… If it had been an enemy, if it had been my enemy I would have knowed it was a joke. But a precious, darling brother come up to confess his sins and his wrongs and say his faith in me as being Jesus Christ.

:''And I have got letters at home, and calls from Chicago and different places, asking me if I believe that dogma.  And I got all kinds of letters that’s come in the last few days, and calls from different places, so, saying that I was Christ. Brethren, that is a horrible, disgraceful, ungodly lie of the Devil! See? See, I am your brother. Now, that would run any person from the field. That would make anyone that loves Christ run from the very thing.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''I went to the Lord here not long ago, when I first heard it, about a year ago. And then I went to the Lord and He referred to me to the Scripture that when John came forth preaching, that they hadn’t had a prophet on the earth for so many years, until it would… they was all amazed in their hearts, thinking maybe John was the Messiah. So then I… John, they went and asked him, and he said that he was not. You read that in Luke the 3rd chapter, 15th verse. And so then… But that kind of quietened down, so I let it go like that.

:''But then when it come to this, then I knowed that something must be done. And I say this, “That the visions and the Angel of the Lord that appeared at the river,” (if this is to be my last message or last thing to the church, to the world) “those things are Truth, as far as the Angel of the Lord.”

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''And I stood still if people called me a prophet many times, ’cause a prophet in the English testament is just “a preacher, a prophesier, foreteller of the Word,” and so forth. I’d stand for that ’cause you could just kind of push that down; but when it comes to be calling “Anointed Christ,” or something, that was too much for me. So I just couldn’t stand that.

:''And so then about… I come… After leaving the meeting at Canada, I found out that way up in the Eskimos or the Indians up there, it had got among them.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''And so it just tore me all up. And the hunting trip that I had planned so long, I could not take it. I was afraid of a hunting accident, if you understand what I mean. I got so shaky, worse than I am standing here now. And I just couldn’t stand it any longer, to think that thirty-one years of ministry went down the Devil’s gutter pipe, into the… When I’m gone, what will they say? “There he is, that’s exactly what it was”; and all the influence that I had upon the people, then you see where it’d be, I’d be an antichrist. And I just couldn’t stand it!

:''I thought, “I’d rather die here in the woods, like I fell on my gun or something, than… ” And I seen I was… Then I thought about my little Joseph, and so forth, that had to be raised. And I was no condition to hunt, so I just left the woods and come home.  And I’ve been tore up about eight or ten days, in such a fix that I–I thought I was losing my mind. And I just asked everybody to stay away from me and let me alone ’cause I’m in such a fix and nervous and upset and all tore to pieces.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''And I wondered; if it would have been some enemy of mine, it would been all right, but I would just have laughed at it and went on; but when it come to being precious brothers, precious sisters, then that’s what hurt me. And I said, “Lord, the great… thing’s too great for me, I’ll just have to walk out and leave it in Your hands. I–I don’t know nothing else to do.”


:''A few nights ago, to make it sure, I had a–a visitation from the Lord. And I seen a precious one’s… a babying… a— a serpent which was yellow and black, and telling me right along, and the–and the thing struck me on the leg. But the blood was so rich it didn’t take effect on me. And I looked down, and there’s where I had been bit before. And I turned quickly with a gun and shot the–the thing, and it hit it right in the middle of the thing.

:''And a brother said… I turned with my gun to shoot its head off, and he said, “Don’t do that, just pick up the stick laying there by you.” And when I turned my back to pick up the stick, it wiggled into some water, just a small puddle of water.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''I said, “Well, it can’t hurt very much longer now because I believe the brother realizes (the brethren) that what would happen.” I said, “It’ll… It’s mortally wounded, so it’ll die.”

:''And I ask many of my members of my church here, in this tabernacle with Brother Neville and I, that’s come approaching me with that same question: Brothers, sisters, haven’t I tried to be a true servant of Christ before you? Have not I tried to be your brother? Now, wherever it is, it’s a spirit on precious people. Many people has asked me that. But it’s–it’s a spirit, but I hope that today that it receives a deadly wound and will die out quickly so I can return back to the ministry. Until then, I’ll ask you each one, pray for me. I don’t know what I’ll do. My place up for sale. I just can’t stand it, I–I–I stay around, I’ll go completely stark mad. And I’m… I ask you to pray for me.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''And, remember, if you’ve ever believed me, if you’ve ever believed me to be a servant of Christ, remember, “That is an error! It’s falsely!” THUS SAITH THE LORD! “It is wrong! Have nothing to do with it!” I am your brother.
Let us bow our heads:

:''Heavenly Father, my flesh is trembling, my hands are squeezing together, my toes are drawed up in my shoes. O God, be merciful. What have I ever done, Lord, to deserve this? I pray that You’ll be so merciful to me, Lord, and to all. And up there, and them precious darling people, may they see their error and what they have did, Lord, to break the heart of their brother and to… not only the brother, but our Saviour, our Heavenly Father. I pray that You’ll forgive us of our errors, Lord. Let the holy Blood of Christ now draw our beings together, Lord, and blessed be the Tie that binds our hearts in Christian love and fellowship.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''God, may the enemy that approached our brothers and our sisters with… may it receive a deadly wound that cannot exist any longer; may it just die away, Lord. When you do that, Father, I’ll return back to the field again. But until then, Lord, I am your heartbroken servant, waiting, waiting. It’s beyond anything I could do. With tears and with crying and with persuading I tried, Lord, hard (You know my heart.) to stop it before it got that far, but it went beyond anything I could do. So, Father, I commit it into Your Hands from this pulpit to where I’ve preached for all these years. I commit it into Your Hand.

61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''Now, You see to it, Father, in Your Own Divine way. And when it’s all finished and everything is over, then Thy servant shall return. Until then I’ll be waiting to hear from You, Lord.<ref>from the website eveninglight.net/2019/12/29/in-defense-of-william-branham</ref>


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[[Category: Unfinished articles]]