The Brown Bear Vision: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
Branham had already shot a silver-tip grizzly bear in British Columbia in May of 1961 — a nine-foot animal he described in enthusiastic detail from the pulpit. Riding that high, he started talking about what was coming next. In April 1962 he described a new vision: | Branham had already shot a silver-tip grizzly bear in British Columbia in May of 1961 — a nine-foot animal he described in enthusiastic detail from the pulpit. Riding that high, he started talking about what was coming next. In April 1962 he described a new vision: | ||
''Coming home the other night, or the other day, or just ’fore I come home, I was—fell into a vision; and I seen some little fellows, thin, looked like young boys or something, had on caps. And we were standing hunting. And I’d shot a mammoth, big, brown-looking bear… I don’t know where that’s at, but this is on tape. It’s going to happen. See? Just remember; it’s going to happen; it’s a vision.'' | <Blockquote>''Coming home the other night, or the other day, or just ’fore I come home, I was—fell into a vision; and I seen some little fellows, thin, looked like young boys or something, had on caps. And we were standing hunting. And I’d shot a mammoth, big, brown-looking bear… I don’t know where that’s at, but this is on tape. It’s going to happen. See? Just remember; it’s going to happen; it’s a vision.''</Blockquote> | ||
A month later, May 1962, he upgraded the language: | A month later, May 1962, he upgraded the language: | ||
''I seen a great huge brown bear… It will be; that’s THUS SAITH THE LORD. It will be. See?'' | <Blockquote>''I seen a great huge brown bear… It will be; that’s THUS SAITH THE LORD. It will be. See?''</Blockquote> | ||
Then in June 1962 he said it again in a sermon literally titled “Presuming” — apparently without irony: | Then in June 1962 he said it again in a sermon literally titled “Presuming” — apparently without irony: | ||
''I’m going to get a brown bear that’s almost twice that size. You see if it’s right or not… God’s perfect and never fails.'' | <Blockquote>''I’m going to get a brown bear that’s almost twice that size. You see if it’s right or not… God’s perfect and never fails.''</Blockquote> | ||
He returned to British Columbia in late July 1962. No bear. He went back in October 1964 with Pearry Green. Still no bear. He died December 25, 1965. The vision was never fulfilled. | He returned to British Columbia in late July 1962. No bear. He went back in October 1964 with Pearry Green. Still no bear. He died December 25, 1965. The vision was never fulfilled. | ||
| Line 28: | Line 28: | ||
Scripture has something to say about exactly this situation: | Scripture has something to say about exactly this situation: | ||
''“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” — Deuteronomy 18:20–22'' | <Blockquote>''“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” — Deuteronomy 18:20–22''</Blockquote> | ||
= How Message Believers Explain It Away = | = How Message Believers Explain It Away = | ||
| Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
This argument comes primarily from Ed Byskal, a minister who accompanied Branham on several hunting trips. Byskal has publicly stated that Branham privately acknowledged his disobedience, citing this quote from Branham: | This argument comes primarily from Ed Byskal, a minister who accompanied Branham on several hunting trips. Byskal has publicly stated that Branham privately acknowledged his disobedience, citing this quote from Branham: | ||
''So I, in these thirty—going on thirty-two years of ministry, I have tried to stay true to the Word… We seen that, as I told you last night, of a vision just recently (See?), that it… I had to be there, and warning to be there, and telling me six months before to be on that spot, and stand there, and saying, “Go down there (three times) with them.” And I just walked on with the other men. And the vision passed right through exactly, God’s part; and I was left standing.'' | <Blockquote>''So I, in these thirty—going on thirty-two years of ministry, I have tried to stay true to the Word… We seen that, as I told you last night, of a vision just recently (See?), that it… I had to be there, and warning to be there, and telling me six months before to be on that spot, and stand there, and saying, “Go down there (three times) with them.” And I just walked on with the other men. And the vision passed right through exactly, God’s part; and I was left standing.''</Blockquote> | ||
Worth noting: this quote doesn’t actually name the brown bear. It’s vague enough that it could apply to any number of situations. And Byskal’s credibility as a witness is worth examining — the majority of his own congregation, including most of the church leadership, left because of his personal moral failures. That’s relevant context. | Worth noting: this quote doesn’t actually name the brown bear. It’s vague enough that it could apply to any number of situations. And Byskal’s credibility as a witness is worth examining — the majority of his own congregation, including most of the church leadership, left because of his personal moral failures. That’s relevant context. | ||
| Line 63: | Line 63: | ||
This last group — Message followers whose pastors have simply never preached on this and probably never will — is arguably the most revealing. It’s not a theological defense. It’s avoidance. But the vision is on tape, repeated across multiple sermons, in Branham’s own words. Not mentioning it isn’t an answer. | This last group — Message followers whose pastors have simply never preached on this and probably never will — is arguably the most revealing. It’s not a theological defense. It’s avoidance. But the vision is on tape, repeated across multiple sermons, in Branham’s own words. Not mentioning it isn’t an answer. | ||
= A Note on the 1961 Grizzly Bear Vision = | == A Note on the 1961 Grizzly Bear Vision == | ||
People sometimes conflate two separate stories: the 1961 grizzly bear and the 1962 brown bear. They’re not the same vision. The 1961 vision — which involved shooting a silver-tip grizzly, along with a large caribou — was fulfilled. Branham described it after the fact in October 1961: | People sometimes conflate two separate stories: the 1961 grizzly bear and the 1962 brown bear. They’re not the same vision. The 1961 vision — which involved shooting a silver-tip grizzly, along with a large caribou — was fulfilled. Branham described it after the fact in October 1961: | ||
''About two months ago, or hardly that long, I was woke up one morning… in a vision I saw, that I’d saw a great animal, looked like a deer. And it had great high horns… And on the road back, I saw a great huge silver-tip grizzly bear… I shot the bear with a heart shot, killed him.'' | <Blockquote>''About two months ago, or hardly that long, I was woke up one morning… in a vision I saw, that I’d saw a great animal, looked like a deer. And it had great high horns… And on the road back, I saw a great huge silver-tip grizzly bear… I shot the bear with a heart shot, killed him.''</Blockquote> | ||
That fulfilled vision is sometimes used to frame Branham as a reliable prophet, and then the unfulfilled brown bear vision gets quietly set aside. But having one accurate prediction doesn’t cover for a specific, emphatic, tape-recorded “Thus Saith The Lord” that never came to pass. | That fulfilled vision is sometimes used to frame Branham as a reliable prophet, and then the unfulfilled brown bear vision gets quietly set aside. But having one accurate prediction doesn’t cover for a specific, emphatic, tape-recorded “Thus Saith The Lord” that never came to pass. | ||