William Branham and the mother eagle: Difference between revisions
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<youtube>https://youtu.be/ACmzp28bGvo</youtube> | |||
William Branham stated that he saw a mother eagle put her wings out and that her babies hopped onto her wing and she flew with them down to the grass in the valley below and then went back up to a mountain top to watch them. Then as a storm approached, she flew back down into the valley and took her eaglets back onto her wings and flew them to a place of safety. | William Branham stated that he saw a mother eagle put her wings out and that her babies hopped onto her wing and she flew with them down to the grass in the valley below and then went back up to a mountain top to watch them. Then as a storm approached, she flew back down into the valley and took her eaglets back onto her wings and flew them to a place of safety. | ||
This is a story that is familiar to all message believers. But did it really happen? Or was William Branham making up a story? | This is a story that is familiar to all message believers. But did it really happen? Or was William Branham making up a story? | ||
=What did William Branham see?= | =What did William Branham see?= | ||
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:'''''"...these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories."'''''<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 2 Pe 2:3.</ref> | :'''''"...these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories."'''''<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 2 Pe 2:3.</ref> | ||
==Where did William Branham get his story?== | |||
Deuteronomy 32:11 states: | |||
:As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young, | |||
:He spread His wings, He caught them, He carried them on His pinions.<ref>New American Standard Bible (Dt 32:11). (2020). The Lockman Foundation.</ref> | |||
This is similar to the statement in Exodus 19:4: | |||
:You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.<ref>New American Standard Bible (Ex 19:4). (2020). The Lockman Foundation.</ref> | |||
First, although the eagle cannot be totally ruled out, the bird referred to is more likely the griffin vulture, with a wingspan of eight to ten feet.<ref>Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000). The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., Dt 32:11). InterVarsity Press.</ref> | |||
This is a metaphor, and one must read it closely. While this can be read as stating that this is the actual behaviour of the bird in question, it is not necessarily so. The passage talks about the eagle stirring up its nest and hovering over its young. Then, it states that GOD spread HIS wings, caught Israel and carried them. That does not mean that this behaviour was ever observed in a vulture (or eagle) in the wild. | |||
It appears that William Branham misinterpreted this passage as stating that this was a common behaviour of eagles and then invented the story of him observing this behaviour when it has never been observed by ornithologists or anyone else. | |||
=Video Transcript= | =Video Transcript= | ||
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William Branham told several stories about a mother eagle flying with her babies on her wings. Here is the story as related by Donny Reagan of Johnson City, Tennessee: | William Branham told several stories about a mother eagle flying with her babies on her wings. Here is the story as related by Donny Reagan of Johnson City, Tennessee: | ||
:''…You remember how that mama eagle would let them little eaglets down there and they'd turn around in them green valleys and boy they'd turn over one more one or after another after another. And that mama would look back to there and see a great storm coming up and she would let out a scream and them little eagles would come and climb right up on her wings. And each one of them would grab a feather in its mouth. Oh, they were not able to face the storm. They didn't have to. They was on mama's back. They're each one of them holding onto the wings and here would go mama… and mama would head right up through there and take them babies out of the tribulation period | :''…You remember how that mama eagle would let them little eaglets down there and they'd turn around in them green valleys and boy they'd turn over one more one or after another after another. And that mama would look back to there and see a great storm coming up and she would let out a scream and them little eagles would come and climb right up on her wings. And each one of them would grab a feather in its mouth. Oh, they were not able to face the storm. They didn't have to. They was on mama's back. They're each one of them holding onto the wings and here would go mama… and mama would head right up through there and take them babies out of the tribulation period,<ref>Donny Reagan, Happy Valley Church of Jesus Christ, sermon dated August 11, 2021, www.happyvalleychurch.com</ref> | ||
I went to 3 ornithologists, scientists who study birds, to determine whether such behaviour had ever been seen. All of the scientists that I contacted specialize in the study of eagles and other birds of preyt. I will refer to the scientists by their initials rather than their full names… I don’t want them inundated by message followers telling them that the prophet couldn’t possibly be wrong. | I went to 3 ornithologists, scientists who study birds, to determine whether such behaviour had ever been seen. All of the scientists that I contacted specialize in the study of eagles and other birds of preyt. I will refer to the scientists by their initials rather than their full names… I don’t want them inundated by message followers telling them that the prophet couldn’t possibly be wrong. | ||
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