Third Seal

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    Where did William Branham say he got his revelation from?

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

    And I want to say this. That, each time, even till this morning, about… Oh, I get up real, real early and go to prayer before things stir, and just keep on praying through the day. But this morning, early, the Holy Spirit came to where I was. And just as plain as anything, I—I seen this other Seal open up now, just exactly. Now—now—now, He hears me, I know. And I’m very grateful.[1]

    William Branham's Revelation of the Third Seal

    For the third horse rider, the red horse, William Branham said the following:

    Same rider, now. This first stage, he was innocent. And second, now, if you went a little bit higher, a little more than that; the second stage, the Bible said he’d be “given a crown.” And they crowned a man, a superman. See, crowned him! And, then, the Bible didn’t call him a pope. The Bible called him a “false prophet.” Why? Yeah. Of course, he must be a false prophet, by his antichrist spirit, that taught antichrist against the original Word. Cause, if he taught against the original Word, it was antichrist. It was. And the Word is God, see, Christ. All right. Now, after that, we find him then crowned. And when he got crowned, now, he’s very innocent and helpless. He’s just a little fellow.
    But then in the Nicaea Council, he was made it, and Constantine give him all the property. And then what did he do? Then he, see, Satan, give him his throne and authority. The Bible said so, as we’ve went through it. 275 Now, the next thing we find out, that the devil controls all politics that ever has been or ever will be. We find that in Matthew 4:11. And now we find out, then, that Satan already had politics.
    And wine symbolizes stimulation of revelation. Oh, I—I like to a run all over the place. Wonder I didn’t wake up the neighborhood, when the Lord showed me that, see, “stimulation of revelation.” See?[2]

    Comparison to the teachings of Charles Taze Russell

    As with the first two Seals, we want to look at Charles Taze Russel’s explanation of the third horse rider (from his 1918 book, The Finished Mystery). You will again see that William Branham is again copying Russel:

    And I beheld, and lo, a black horse.—Complete disregard of the Scriptures by clergy and people alike, and in their place the ugly creeds and bulls of popes and councils.
    And he that sat on him.—The same rider, the Antichrist.
    And the wine.—Wine is a symbol of doctrine, true or false, and its accompanying joys.[3]

    Avoid other Christians

    During this sermon William Branham also encourages his congregation to dis-fellowship from other Christians, saying “The Message going out right here is to “Stay away from that poison thing!” See? See? 'How can two walk together lest they be agreed’”?

    Questions you should ask yourself

    In his sermon on the third seal, William Branham stated:

    I always wondered, all my life, why I was so against organizational systems. Not the people, no. The people are just like me or you, or anybody else. But that system, that denominational system, now I see it right here. I never knowed it till now. And that’s right.[4]

    If William Branham discovered the errors of Denominations during the Third Seal, why did he preach “Why are we not a denomination” (also titled “The Great Harlot”) on September 27, 1958 and identify “the mark of the beast, which is Romanism; and the image of the beast, which is Protestantism” in a sermon on March 18, 1962?

    Moving to the Next Seal

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

    Video Transcript

    We have seen where William Branham received his revelation of the first 2 seals. Is the third seal any different?

    In his sermon on the third seal, William Branham tells us:

    But this morning, early, the Holy Spirit came to where I was. And just as plain as anything, I—I seen this other Seal open up now, just exactly. Now—now—now, He hears me, I know. And I’m very grateful.[5]

    So William Branham is again clear that he got his revelation directly from God. He didn’t get it from anyone else.

    Here is his revelation which he discloses towards the end of his sermon:

    Same rider, now.[6]

    Not surprisingly, we find Russel saying the same thing in his book, The Finished Mystery:

    And when He had opened the third seal. — Disclosing the third epoch in the history of Antichrist.
    And he that sat on him. — The same rider, the Antichrist.[7]

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

    So I, the LORD, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me.[8]


    Footnotes

    1. William Branham, 63-0320 - The Third Seal, para. 20
    2. William Branham, 63-0320 - The Third Seal, para. 273-275, 306
    3. Russell, C. T. (Charles Taze), The Finished Mystery, Brooklyn : International Bible Students Association, 1918
    4. William Branham, 63-0320 - The Third Seal, para. 154
    5. 63-0320 - The Third Seal, para. 20
    6. 63-0320 - The Third Seal, para. 273
    7. Charles Taze Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, Volume VII, The Finished Mystery: The Winepress of God's Wrath and the Fall of Babylon (published posthumously), edited by C. J. Woodworth and George H. Fisher, copyright 1917, Peoples Pulpit Association, Brooklyn, N. Y., USA, International Bible Students Association, published 1918, p. 149
    8. Jeremiah 23:30, NET


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