Fourth Seal

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Seven Seals: Introduction • First • Second • Third • Fourth • Fifth • Sixth • Seventh • Videos

Where did William Branham say he got his revelation from?

William Branham said this about his "revelation" of the second seal:

Just thought this One wouldn’t come, but It finally did. And so I’m so thankful, that being the last of those four horse riders, which I think is one of the main Messages to the Church at this time. I don’t know what the other One is. I’m just taking it day by day, just as He reveals It. I’m trying to—to give It, by…as He gives It to me.

William Branham's Revelation of the Fourth Seal

For the fourth horse rider, the pale horse, William Branham said the following:

And, again, the same rider upon this pale horse.

“Sixty-eight million Protestants,” as we took from—from Schmucker’s Glorious Reform, of the—of the martyrology of Rome, last night. We find that, up to the 1500 mark, I believe it was, or eighteen-…I don’t remember exactly now. But it was sixty-eight million put to death, to protest the first Roman church, Rome. No wonder, he could impersonate himself in the personified name of… and called Death. He sure was.

Now, God only knows how many he caused to spiritually die, by his anti-Bible, -Word teaching! This is the one he put sixty-eight million to the sword, and killed them. And probably, literally, billions died spiritually, on his false teaching. No wonder he could take the name of Death!

See the rider? The first place, as an antichrist, he was death, to begin with; but he was innocent then. Then he received a crown, a triple one; and when he did, then he be united, Satan united his church and state, because he was over both of them then. Antichrist was Satan, in a form of a man.

Comparison to the teachings of Charles Taze Russell

As with the first three Seals, we again compare William Branham's teaching above to what Charles Taze Russel said in the 1918 book, The Finished Mystery:

6:7. And when He had opened the fourth seal.—Disclosing the history of the Papacy in its fourth stage, the period synchronizing with the Thyatira and Sardis epochs. See Rev. 2:18-29; 3:1-6.

6:8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse.—The ghastly and horrible teachings that God's true people must be “exterminated.” “The ghastly green of terror and of death. The word is used of grass in Rev. 8:7; 9:4; Mark 6:39.”—Cook.

And his name that sat on him was Death.—Still the same rider, the Papacy; and an apt description of its chief claim to recognition during the pre-Reformation period.

...And Hell followed with him.—All the people killed by the pope went to hell.

Perversion changed to Pestilence

What William Branham does not point out is that the word for “Pale” is “Green” in Greek (Chloros). So it wasn’t a skin-colored horse, it was a green (or sick) horse. What William Branham does do is change the meaning of the Fourth Horse Rider from perversion to pestilence when he reviews all of the Seals during the Sixth Seal:

166 Fourth Seal, “pestilences” and “death.” Notice, Matthew 24. We’ll read the—the 8th verse, 7th and 8th, I believe it is, on this Fourth Seal, I got here. All right.

Why does William Branham do this? Could it be that he was once again plagiarizing from Clarence Larkin. Here is an excerpt of what Larkin said about the Fourth Seal:

When the “FOURTH SEAL” was broken John heard the fourth, or “Eagle-like Living Creature” say—“Come,” and a “PALE HORSE” appeared and went forth. Note the “corpse-like” color of the Horse. We are not surprised then when the Rider upon the “PALE HORSE” is called “DEATH,” and that “HADES,” the “Grave,” not “Hell,” follows after “Death” like a great “Voracious Monster” to swallow up the victims of “DEATH.” It is worthy of note that the Riders of the first three Horses are not named, but it will be very clear when the events they chronicle occur, who and what is meant. Here however the Rider is personified and called “DEATH,” and his consort is called “HADES,” they are inseparable companions. The reference here is clearly to some great PESTILENCE that shall come upon the earth. After a devastating war, followed by famine, during which the dead are left unburied, a PESTILENCE is sure to follow.

It should be noted that the capitalization of the word "PESTILENCE" was done by Larkin himself.

The Eagle Angel, Elijah

William Branham taught that the beast that counters this rider is the eagle-angel. He also takes the time to point out the prophets are eagles, and he is the only one to this age.

“God always likens His prophets to eagles…now we find out, that eagle age was promised in Revelation 10:7 and in Malachi 4. …There never was two major prophets on the earth, prophesying the same time. Look back and see if there was. No sir, too much scrupled up!”

Learn from the Bible why Eagles do not represent Prophets.

William Branham then makes some very strong and strange statements about his role as Elijah:

1. He says that his own words are a divine source of life when he quotes John 6:63, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” then says “God revealed to Moses what to do. Moses spoke it, and it happened… Just as He can create squirrels the same as He can create flies or frogs or anything else. He's God, the Creator.”
2. “He strongly suggests that he will never die when he says “Elijah was a prophet that prophesied and condemned Jezebel, in that particular generation. And Elijah never died. He certainly didn’t."
3. He strongly suggests that anyone who rejects Elijah will be eaten by wild beasts like Jezebel, “The first Elijah was a rejected man, but the churches. And Jezebel and Ahab was the head of them churches…now if you want to see their bodies, let’s turn over here to Revelations 19.”
4. And he says that God opened the seals to Elijah. “Elijah…thought he was the only one saved, until God opened one of the Seals and showed him the mystery in the Book, that He had seven hundred that never bowed down to them creeds…Whew! God opened the Seals.”

With these statements William Branham lays the foundation for stronger statements of judgement in the fifth, sixth and seventh seals.

"“Before He passed judgment upon her, He gave her a place to repent. And it's in the Name of the Lord I say this: He's give the Protestant church the same thing, and she won't do it. These messages shook everywhere, and she won't do it. She's going to have her own dogmas and creeds; I don't care how much you explain it...Like He give Egypt, He give Egypt place to repent. What was that last plague? Was death. That's the last plague that's hit the Pentecostal church. It's spiritual death; she's dead. That's in the Name of the Lord. She's spiritually dead.”

Plagiarism

William Branham’s secret source of information for this sermon was the writings of Clarence Larkin. Here is a comparison:

What William Branham Said	What Clarence Larkin Said
"Pale is red and--and white and so mixed together. See? He... It's--it's all mixed in this one horse… Sure, a mixed color--the mixed color of the dead , pale horse of the world... Now, that's right. Mixed colors of the dead , worldly form of the pale horse.	Note the “corpse-like” color of the Horse.
Now, notice, none of the other rider... None of the other horses or no time that this rider ever rode, they didn't have--that man had no name, but now he is called death. It's not mentioned. See? He's revealed now what he is--is death.	We are not surprised then when the Rider upon the “PALE HORSE” is called “DEATH,” and that “HADES,” the “Grave,” not “Hell,” follows after “Death” like a great “Voracious Monster” to swallow up the victims of “DEATH.” It is worthy of note that the Riders of the first three Horses are not named,
Fourth Seal, pestilence and death...	Here however the Rider is personified and called “DEATH,” and his consort is called “HADES,” they are inseparable companions. The reference here is clearly to some great PESTILENCE that shall come upon the earth.
Matthew 24:7 and 8. I'm sorry. Now, that opens up the rain... or the famine, opens up the famine. All right, now the pestilences and death... Yes, sir, now we're going to it; 7 and 8, now, that would be the Fourth Seal.	But awful as those days will be, they will be only the “BEGINNING OF SORROWS” for those who are left. Matt. 24:6–8.

Quotes and Questions

• “I don’t doubt but what Joseph Smith saw the vision, but it wasn’t according to the rest of the Word. So therefore, to me, it’s wrong.” (William Branham, The Fourth Seal)
• Do you believe all of William Branham’s visions are true? What about the one that says there is nothing wrong with the doctrine of the Trinity? If you don't know that vision, click here to read it.

Moving to the Next Seal

Click here to go to the next article - The Fifth Seal

Video Transcript

In his message on the Fourth Seal, William Branham tells us that after much prayer, he again received his revelation directly from God:

Just thought this One wouldn’t come, but It finally did. And so I’m so thankful, that being the last of those four horse riders, which I think is one of the main Messages to the Church at this time. I don’t know what the other One is. I’m just taking it day by day, just as He reveals It. I’m trying to—to give It, by…as He gives It to me.

What was the revelation that he received?

And John went to see, and he saw a pale horse. And, again, the same rider upon this pale horse.

...See the rider? The first place, as an antichrist, he was death, to begin with; but he was innocent then. Then he received a crown, a triple one; and when he did, then he be united, Satan united his church and state, because he was over both of them then. Antichrist was Satan, in a form of a man.

But not surprisingly, after copying the first three seals from Charles Taze Russell, we again see that William Branham’s revelation is identical to that of Russel:

And when He had opened the fourth seal… Still the same rider, the Papacy.

We have now seen the first four seals. Did they come from God, or from other men?

I am against those prophets who take each other’s words and proclaim them as my message.

Did William Branham take the words of Charles Russell and proclaim them as God’s message?

Is there a reason that William Branham’s grave bears a strong resemblance to the second tombstone of Charles Russell, who preached that Christ was the capstone on the pyramid?

Links to other articles in the series

This article is one in a series of studies on the Seven Seals - you are currently on the topic that is in bold:

• Introduction
• First Seal
• Second Seal
• Third Seal
• Fourth Seal
• Fifth Seal
• Sixth Seal
• Seventh Seal
• Videos
• An Analysis of William Branham's Plagiarism

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