View source for Did William Branham predict the coronavirus pandemic?

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Some message believers are claiming that William Branham predicted the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the globe in 2020.  Is this true?

=The prophetic quote?=

We were recently sent a quote by William Branham from

:''“Well, if the plague falls, we’ll just go down beneath the ground, in a cave, and shut the door down.” That won’t do it one bit of good. “We’ll stay in the house, and put a mask over our face, and—and put some disinfect on it.”<ref>William Branham, 63-0115 - Accepting God's Provided Way At The End Time, para. 214</ref>

The problem is this quote is taken out of context.  What William Branham said, in context was this:

:'''''Israel needed a way out of Egypt.''' They needed some way, some military strength or something, to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians. God provided a prophet with the vindicated original Word. Moses! That right? They wanted a army to rise up and to take them out, and beat the Egyptians down. But God sent them the Word, the prophet with the vindicated Word that God had spoke before to Abraham, saying, “Thy seed shall sojourn in a strange land. But I’ll visit them with a mighty hand,” the Word that God had spoke. They was crying for a deliverer, and God sent them a prophet with the Word. God had a provided way to tell the difference between the believer and the unbeliever. And God… 
:'''''Now, some of them said, “Well, now, if the plague falls, we’ll just go in the hospital. If the plague—if the plague happens to fall, you know what we’ll do? We’ll go get Dr. Jones. He’ll know how to take care of it.” It didn’t work.''' Yet, they were smart. “Well, if the plague falls, we’ll just go down beneath the ground, in a cave, and shut the door down.” That won’t do it one bit of good. '''“We’ll stay in the house, and put a mask over our face, and—and put some disinfect on it.” Didn’t do a bit of good.''' 
:''God made a provided way. Yes. And it was (what?) the blood. God provided it, as simple as it seemed, to take the blood of a lamb and sprinkle the door. Yet, God said that was His way, and He honored it. “All out from under the blood died, the firstborn.”<ref>William Branham, 63-0115 - Accepting God's Provided Way At The End Time, para. 212-214</ref>

This is simply William Branham making an illustration about the Egyptians during the time of the plagues.  He was merely trying to make the story relevant to the audience.

This is clearly not a prophecy.

=Quotes of William Branham=

During World War 2, Japan used germ warfare in China and it was well known in the 1950's that the world superpowers were experimenting with biological warfare.  As a result, the following quote cannot be considered prophetic:

:''Grant, Lord, that something will be said tonight, or done, that will cause the wayward to turn to Christ. For we believe, and feel pressed in the Spirit, that great judgments are upon these lands in the last days. Plagues, '''disease germs already bred up''' to be scattered throughout the nations. No doctor know even how to take a hold of it. O God, we’ll have to believe in Divine healing then. When nations are breeding germs together, to '''burst them in bombs''', and millions die in hours over it.

:''What is a cancer? What is a tu—what is a disease? We’ll deal on that for the next five minutes now. What is a cancer? What caused that thing? Let’s take a cancer, or anything you wish to take: tubercular, pneumonia, whatever you wish to, any disease. Diseases are germs. Let me pass something, here quickly, as our time’s a going. Listen, did you know the Bible predicts that in the last days, that they’ll be a germ warfare? That diseases will break out upon the people, and will fall on everyone without the baptism of the Holy Spirit? But with the Angel or who had charge over these plagues was given orders to touch no one on whom the mark was. Why, how much, kind of teachers have we got to be, brethren, to get the church in order to be in that condition? Immune.<ref>William Branham, 54-0719A - God's Provided Way Of Healing, para. 42</ref>
   
The first polio vaccine was announced to the world on April 12, 1955.  This quote refers to a polio outbreak prior to the vaccine:

:''Our dear precious Lord, we’re so unworthy to come to You, but yet Thou has been so loving to us to promise us, that if we would ask anything, You would do it. And that’s the confidence that we come in tonight, confessing all of our sins, and the sins of this nation, the sins of this city that we’re speaking of, God, be merciful and think of those poor little children, falling with that horrible '''demon of polio'''. Now, we know that Thou can remove this thing. And I pray, God, that—that there’ll be an old fashion meeting started there, a prayer meeting all around the city. May the churches fall on their faces, the peoples, and go to screaming out to God. And I believe You’ll stop the plague, Lord. 4 That we want to say that our hearts are bleeding for those people, those Christians in that city, and those poor little children. O God, hasten the day that when all the curse will be gone away and there’ll be no more sickness, no more sorrow. We feel for those poor fathers and mothers tonight. I feel for them, knowing an experience of—of it. I—I feel that, Lord, their poor hearts are crushed. Be merciful, God. And I pray that the plague will leave this very night. May there not be one more case broke out. May it stop now. And may the enemy be turned back and cast into destructions. Grant it, Lord.<ref>William Branham, 53-0831 - God Talked To Moses, para. 3</ref>
   
These are too non-specific to be called a prophecy:

:''Brother, what we need tonight, over the whole nation, is an old-fashioned, God-sent revival and repentance for every church and every individual to come back to God, to the true and living God. Not to the psychology, not to the—the theology of church, but what we need to come back, is to the true and living God Who changes a man’s heart, changes his nature, changes his makeup and makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus, Who kills all the nature of the world and makes a person a new creature. Oh, Christian friends, that’s what the world needs tonight. We don’t need a program. We need the regular program that Christ set at Calvary. When He was here on earth, He said, “Except a man be born again, he will in no wise enter the kingdom.” That’s what we need tonight. We’ve got it, all kinds of programs everywhere, and everybody soliciting, and everything, for this program and that program. When, brother, the program lays right next to your heart, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, trying to get into you just as hard as He can. And yet, we shut it off, and turn aside, and listen to everything else besides the right thing. And God has… '''lets the bucket of plagues''' pour out upon the nation. That’s right.<ref>William Branham, 53-1018 - Elijah, para. 17</ref>

:''Cancer is on the rampage. Just think, that…I heard a statement the other day, a bill like this, “That there will be more people die in America this year, from smoking cigarettes, cause cancer, that will die this year in America, than there was killed in the four years of the Korean War.” Cancer is on the rampage. 135 Diseases are happening, and everything is taking place. Well, we don’t know what to expect. The doctor’s don’t know what to call the diseases, so they’re saying, “They’re viruses.” What is a virus? Ask the doctor. It’s something that he don’t know nothing about. He just says, '''“It’s a virus.”''' That’s all there is. 
:'''''There’s little old bugs and demons a flying, that man never heard of before. Everything is on the move. Everything, we’re trying to curb it with natural things. But, when we try to do this, it breaks out something else.''' That’s right. You give a man penicillin for this, it’ll set up something else. You give this, it’s… 1
:''You’re just all out of the way. God has a way, we might as well get into it. 
:''The churches has failed. The Presbyterians fail. The Methodist fail. The Baptist fail. The Pentecostal fail. The Pilgrim Holiness fail. The church of God fail. We’ve, every one, failed. [Brother Branham knocks on the pulpit six times—Ed.] That’s right. You can’t say, “I’m a Methodist,” and act secure. You can’t say you’re a Baptist and act secure; Methodist, or a Presbyterian, whatever you may be, or Pentecostal. You can’t say you’re secure, not belonging to the church, because the church has miserably failed. 
:''The sickness is on such a rampage until, I believe, five out of eight, or something like that, will die this year, from cancer. Think of it. And diseases of all kinds, new diseases, and things a breaking out, that’s just terrible to think about. 140 Automobiles are killing. And every day, the people are driving down the road so nervously, and screaming.<ref>William Branham, 57-0407E - Then Jesus Came, para. 134-139</ref>
   
:''And so I believe that—that Rosella will finally turn into the mission fields somewhere, because America doesn’t want the Gospel. You know that. We just might as well admit that, that, this Anglo-Saxon people is finished. That’s all. There’s no more Gospel that America will receive. Oh, you get a few stragglings, now and then. But, just as the Gospel, it’s over. And you can’t even preach to them, can’t talk to them. They won’t believe nothing. See? They just got their own hardheaded ideas, and they’re set. And the next things for this nation is judgment. She is going to have it, too. '''It may be through depression. It may be through an atomic bomb. It may be through a great plague, a disease or something,''' but, she is ready. It’s coming. Thousands times thousands will fall.<ref>William Branham, 57-0901M - Hebrews, Chapter Three, para. 69</ref>
   
:''And we’re right now seeing the very same thing that Jesus said would take place. His own Word spoke it, “as it was in the days of Lot, so will it be at the coming of the Son of man,” the same thing. Look at your country here, how it’s perverted. Look at the newspapers. I seen an analysis, where homosexual is on the increase about twenty percent over last year on the West Coast, the sins of Sodom. Look how everything’s—everything’s being perverted. '''The waters, the streams, everything’s contaminated. The diseases, viruses, that the doctors know nothing about… We’re at the end time.''' Flee to the Rock. Flee to Christ, get into Him quickly, church.<ref>William Branham, 59-1125 - From The Beginning It Wasn't So, para. 49</ref>
   
:''When God sends forth a Message and tells the people, and they don’t receive It, then He withdraws His servant and sends His plagues: famine, death (spiritually speaking, physically also). You watch for a depression, brother. You think you’ve seen something, you just wait after while. You haven’t seen nothing. You think you are dying for a good spiritual revival, you wait till after a bit. You just wait, long and cry to hear the Word of God. '''The Bible said so!''' “There’ll be a famine in the last days,” said the prophet, “and not for bread and water alone, but for hearing the true Word of God.” But that voice will be quiet, in the wilderness somewhere, hid away.<ref>William Branham, 61-0319 - Jezebel Religion, para. 100</ref>

:''And I pray, Heavenly Father, today, that You will heal the sick and the afflicted. '''Many are suffering across the nation, and plagues, and “viruses” as the doctors place them.''' And I pray that Your healing virtues, Lord, will be to those people.<ref>William Branham, 61-1119 - Perfect Strength By Perfect Weakness, para. 25</ref>

:''Notice what happens, as we go along. '''Here is the plan of it.''' The first thing happens, there is a—a—an announcement in the Heavens, first. What happens? A Seal is opened. What is that? A mystery is unfolded. See? And when a mystery unfolds, then a trumpet sounds. It declares a war. '''A plague falls, and a church age opened.''' See? 
:''What is the “war” part? The angel of the Church catches the mystery of God, not fully yet revealed. But, when he does, he catches this mystery of God, and then he goes forth to the people after the mystery has been given to him. Goes forth to the people! What does he do out there? He begins to proclaim that Message. And what does it start? A war, a spiritual war. 65 And then God takes His messenger, with the Elect of that age, and lays them away, asleep. And then He drops a plague upon them who rejected It; a temporary judgment. 66 And then after that is over, then it goes on, and they denominate, and bring in denominations, and start off with that man’s work, like of Wesley and all the rest of them. And then it gets all in a squabble again. 
:''And then another mystery comes forth. Then what happened? Another messenger arrives on earth, for a church age. See? Then, when he arrives, he the—the trumpet sounds. He declares war. See? And then what happens? Finally, then, he is caught away. And then when he is laid away, then plague falls, destroys them. Spiritual death hits the church, and she is gone, that group. Then He goes on to another one. Oh, it’s a great plan!<ref>William Branham, 63-0318 - The First Seal, para. 63-67</ref>
   
These are a reference to the plagues of Egypt:

:''I know they’re blind and led away, and deceiving and everything, but they was deceived by God that you and I might have sight. That’s right. But I’ll say this in the spirit of prophecy, by the Bible, that, the hour of the Jew to return home is at hand. Yes, sir. He hardened Hitler’s heart, drove them out of Germany; hardened Mussolini’s heart, drove them out of Russia. He’s driving them from everywhere, like He did in the days when He brought them out. And then when they got out into the wilderness there and was ready to cross over, what taken place? God visited the land with great plagues and things. Which He’ll repeat again with His two servants, the two olive trees of Ezekiel and also of Revelation 11. He will repeat those signs and wonders. 70 Look at them two witnesses in Revelation 11, “I’ll give power unto My witnesses, and they’ll close the heavens in the days of their prophecy, or send plagues upon the earth as they will.” There you are, the two witnesses in the last days.<ref>William Branham, 54-0103M - Questions And Answers #1, para. 69</ref>

:'''''Israel needed a way out of Egypt.''' They needed some way, some military strength or something, to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians. God provided a prophet with the vindicated original Word. Moses! That right? They wanted a army to rise up and to take them out, and beat the Egyptians down. But God sent them the Word, the prophet with the vindicated Word that God had spoke before to Abraham, saying, “Thy seed shall sojourn in a strange land. But I’ll visit them with a mighty hand,” the Word that God had spoke. They was crying for a deliverer, and God sent them a prophet with the Word. God had a provided way to tell the difference between the believer and the unbeliever. And God… 
:'''''Now, some of them said, “Well, now, if the plague falls, we’ll just go in the hospital. If the plague—if the plague happens to fall, you know what we’ll do? We’ll go get Dr. Jones. He’ll know how to take care of it.” It didn’t work.''' Yet, they were smart. “Well, if the plague falls, we’ll just go down beneath the ground, in a cave, and shut the door down.” That won’t do it one bit of good. '''“We’ll stay in the house, and put a mask over our face, and—and put some disinfect on it.” Didn’t do a bit of good.''' 
:''God made a provided way. Yes. And it was (what?) the blood. God provided it, as simple as it seemed, to take the blood of a lamb and sprinkle the door. Yet, God said that was His way, and He honored it. “All out from under the blood died, the firstborn.”<ref>William Branham, 63-0115 - Accepting God's Provided Way At The End Time, para. 212-214</ref>
   
:''We’ll pick that up tomorrow night, the Lord willing, or Saturday night, on those Plagues that’s passes over. You watch what takes place there. 245 Like He give Egypt, He give Egypt place to repent. And what was that last plague? Was death. 246 That’s the last plague that’s hit the Pentecostal church, is spiritual death. She is dead. That’s in the Name of the Lord. She is spiritually dead. He gave her a place to repent, and she rejected It. Now she is dead. She’ll never rise again.<ref>William Branham, 63-0321 - The Fourth Seal, para. 244</ref>

These refer to the seven plagues mentioned in the Book of Revelation: 

:''Christ comes three times. The first time, He came to redeem His Church. Is that right? The second time, He comes to receive His Church. The third time, He comes with His Church. See? He come to redeem Her; He comes to rapture Her and be caught away, in the time of the plagues and so forth; returns back for the Millennium, lives through the Millennium.<ref>William Branham, 54-0103M - Questions And Answers #1, para. 104</ref>

:''Now, the Book of Revelation, how It’s made up. And Daniel ties in with It. Isaiah ties in with It. All the Old Testament ties in with It. And It’s the Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. See? The Book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 28 And then, in there, there is Seven Churches, Seven Plagues, Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets. Now, a trumpet represents war; a seal, a mystery re-…unfolding; and a plague is what follows every war. 29 And by God’s help, and with the book of history, I can prove to you that we’re living at the Seventh Trumpet, for the Seventh Plague, and the Seventh Seal to be opened, and the Seventh Vial to be poured out.<ref>William Branham, 54-0512 - The Seven Church Ages, para. 27</ref>

:''Omnipotent is speaking. The miraculous is happening. Why don’t you get in and go with us? We’ll be glad to have you along. Call you our brother, sister. I’m not meaning that you’re not, in a sense, but I want you to get into the blessing. One day, the Bible says, that things will break out on this earth and diseases and things, and all the people will be plagued, till the flesh shall rot on them and so forth. But the Bible says, “Don’t you come near any of those who has the Seal of God in their forehead.”<ref>William Branham, 56-0122 - The Junction Time, para. 93</ref>

:''I’m told in the Bible that there would be a time come, for those who are not in this wonderful Son Light, that the fowls of the air will eat the flesh of them; that diseases is on its road, that the doctors will never be able to stop. It’s the plagues of God. 108 The Egyptians’ doctors, which was far smarter than ours today, could not stop the plagues of God, neither could their soothsayers or their impersonators. It took Goshen, and the Power of God, to hold His people; under the blood of a lamb!<ref>William Branham, 60-0229 - The Oncoming Storm, para. 107</ref>


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