What if William Branham was a Prophet?: Difference between revisions

    From BelieveTheSign
    (Created page with "We do not believe William Branham to be a prophet, at least in the context of those following the message. But what if William Branham is the prophet of Malachi 4? What ...")
     
     
    (8 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
    Line 1: Line 1:
    We do not believe William Branham to be a prophet, at least in the context of those following [[the message]].
    {{Top of Page}}
    We do not believe William Branham to be a prophet, at least in the context of those following [[Glossary#The Message|the message]].


    But what if William Branham is the prophet of Malachi 4?  What if he is the messenger to the last church age as those in the believe?  What then?
    But what if William Branham was the prophet of Malachi 4?  What if he was the messenger to the last church age as those in the believe?  What then?


    If William Branham was actually a prophet, but you are following Christ, you will miss nothing.  Obviously, you can't be a lukewarm believer.  You have to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.  But this is certainly possible outside of the message.
    =No significant consequences=
    If you are following Jesus Christ, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, it would not matter whether William Branham was actually a prophet.  Is it possible to be a true follower of Jesus Christ outside of the message?  Certainly!
     
    We understand from scripture that God's "''divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.''"<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 2 Pe 1:3.</ref>


    Only two of Jesus' disciples were previously followers of John the Baptist.  It was not a requirement to follow John in order to follow Jesus.  Why should it be different now?
    Only two of Jesus' disciples were previously followers of John the Baptist.  It was not a requirement to follow John in order to follow Jesus.  Why should it be different now?


    More importantly, Deuteronomy 18:22 can't be ignored.  There are multiple failed visions - see [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|the Municipal Bridge Vision]] and [[The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa|the vision of the meetings in South Africa]]. 
    =The problem of Deuteronomy 18:20-22=
     
    More importantly, Deuteronomy 18:22 can't be ignored.  There are multiple failed visions - see, for example:
     
    *[[The Municipal Bridge Vision]]
    *[[The Brown Bear Vision]]
    *[[The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa]]
    *[[Prophecy of the Cloud]]
    *[[The Marilyn Monroe Vision]]  


    Since we reject [[Portal:Controversies#The_Returned_Ministry_Sect|the doctrine of the Returned Ministry]], the only logical conclusion is that William Branham failed the true test of a prophet.  We have not attempted to discredit his healing or discernment ministry but those are gifts that were promised to the church in 1 Corinthians 12.  They do not make a person a prophet.
    Since we reject [[Portal:Controversies#The_Returned_Ministry_Sect|the doctrine of the Returned Ministry]], the only logical conclusion is that William Branham failed the true test of a prophet.  We have not attempted to discredit his healing or discernment ministry but those are gifts that were promised to the church in 1 Corinthians 12.  They do not make a person a prophet.
    Line 13: Line 25:
    Message ministers and message believers cannot deal with this and so end up intentionally bypassing all of the issues because of the process of [[Cognitive Dissonance]] - they simply rationalize the problems away.
    Message ministers and message believers cannot deal with this and so end up intentionally bypassing all of the issues because of the process of [[Cognitive Dissonance]] - they simply rationalize the problems away.


    Also, nothing that William Branham taught was salvational, i.e. there is nothing unique to the message that one's salvation is dependent on.  Indeed, some of his teachings were just plain non-scriptural (see [[Michael the Archangel]] and [[Marriage and Divorce]].  Your salvation and standing with God is not dependent on whether you believe [[The Serpent's Seed]] doctrine.  Salvation is solely dependent on accepting the finished work of Calvary.  It is not "''Jesus plus something''".  It is not "''Jesus plus the message''".  '''It is just Jesus!'''
    Also, nothing that William Branham taught was salvational, i.e. there is nothing unique to the message that one's salvation is dependent on.  Indeed, some of his teachings were just plain non-scriptural (see [[Michael the Archangel]] and [[Marriage and Divorce]]).  But your salvation and standing with God is not dependent on whether you believe [[The Serpent's Seed]] doctrine.  Salvation is solely dependent on accepting the finished work of Calvary.  It is not "''Jesus plus something''".  It is not "''Jesus plus the message''".  It is not "''Jesus plus Serpent's Seed Doctrine"''.  '''It is just Jesus!'''


    The only thing that matters is that you are a Christian.  You must be led by the Spirit of God, because those that are led of the Spirit are the sons and daughters of God.  While there are those in the message that are Christians, the vast majority of message believers are lukewarm (just like the majority in denominational churches).
    The only thing that matters is that you are a Christian.  You must be led by the Spirit of God, because those that are led of the Spirit are the sons and daughters of God.  While there are those in the message that are Christians, the vast majority of message believers are lukewarm, and their hearts are no different than the people in denominational churches that they preach against.


    The major problem with the message is that it [[Mixing Law and Grace|mixes law and grace]].  Paul said that the result of mixing law and grace is that you alienate yourself from Christ.
    The major problem with the message is that it [[Mixing Law and Grace|mixes law and grace]].  Paul said that the result of mixing law and grace is that you alienate yourself from Christ.
    Line 21: Line 33:
    How can Bro. Branham be a prophet when he failed the simple test of Deuteronomy 18:22?  We certainly appreciate that there are ways to rationalize oneself around all of the problems, just like [[Cognitive Dissonance#UFOCult|the UFO cult followers did in our article on cognitive dissonance]].  But to the simple and the unlearned, William Branham failed the test.
    How can Bro. Branham be a prophet when he failed the simple test of Deuteronomy 18:22?  We certainly appreciate that there are ways to rationalize oneself around all of the problems, just like [[Cognitive Dissonance#UFOCult|the UFO cult followers did in our article on cognitive dissonance]].  But to the simple and the unlearned, William Branham failed the test.


    True spiritual knowledge is not fact based, it is love based.  And that love is both vertical (to God) and horizontal (to our fellow man). 
    {{Bottom of Page No Ref}}
     
    [[Category:Prophecies and Visions]]
    Jesus said that if we love only the people that love us, why would we expect a reward?  Even the world does does that!  That is the thing that is most lacking in message churches - the love of God for those outside of the message.  John said clearly that we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen.
    [[Category:Prophecies]]
    [[Category: Visions]]
    [[Category: Critical analysis of William Branham]]

    Latest revision as of 18:36, 22 August 2020

    Click on headings to expand them, or links to go to specific articles.

    We do not believe William Branham to be a prophet, at least in the context of those following the message.

    But what if William Branham was the prophet of Malachi 4? What if he was the messenger to the last church age as those in the believe? What then?

    No significant consequences

    If you are following Jesus Christ, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, it would not matter whether William Branham was actually a prophet. Is it possible to be a true follower of Jesus Christ outside of the message? Certainly!

    We understand from scripture that God's "divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."[1]

    Only two of Jesus' disciples were previously followers of John the Baptist. It was not a requirement to follow John in order to follow Jesus. Why should it be different now?

    The problem of Deuteronomy 18:20-22

    More importantly, Deuteronomy 18:22 can't be ignored. There are multiple failed visions - see, for example:

    Since we reject the doctrine of the Returned Ministry, the only logical conclusion is that William Branham failed the true test of a prophet. We have not attempted to discredit his healing or discernment ministry but those are gifts that were promised to the church in 1 Corinthians 12. They do not make a person a prophet.

    Message ministers and message believers cannot deal with this and so end up intentionally bypassing all of the issues because of the process of Cognitive Dissonance - they simply rationalize the problems away.

    Also, nothing that William Branham taught was salvational, i.e. there is nothing unique to the message that one's salvation is dependent on. Indeed, some of his teachings were just plain non-scriptural (see Michael the Archangel and Marriage and Divorce). But your salvation and standing with God is not dependent on whether you believe The Serpent's Seed doctrine. Salvation is solely dependent on accepting the finished work of Calvary. It is not "Jesus plus something". It is not "Jesus plus the message". It is not "Jesus plus Serpent's Seed Doctrine". It is just Jesus!

    The only thing that matters is that you are a Christian. You must be led by the Spirit of God, because those that are led of the Spirit are the sons and daughters of God. While there are those in the message that are Christians, the vast majority of message believers are lukewarm, and their hearts are no different than the people in denominational churches that they preach against.

    The major problem with the message is that it mixes law and grace. Paul said that the result of mixing law and grace is that you alienate yourself from Christ.

    How can Bro. Branham be a prophet when he failed the simple test of Deuteronomy 18:22? We certainly appreciate that there are ways to rationalize oneself around all of the problems, just like the UFO cult followers did in our article on cognitive dissonance. But to the simple and the unlearned, William Branham failed the test.

    Navigation

    1. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 2 Pe 1:3.
    Retrieved from "http:///index.php?title=What_if_William_Branham_was_a_Prophet%3F&oldid=24697"