First Seal

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William Branham preached a series of sermons in March 1963 on the Seven Seals of the book of Revelation, and said that each seal identifies a religious disturbance. William Branham compared Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:4-5 with the First seal.

Matthew 24:4-5	Revelation 6:1-2
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.	And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The first seal is rider on a white horse, with a bow and a crown. William Branham said the beast the spoke was the lion-angel.

William Branham taught that the seal was the antichrist spirit on a “white denominational horse to deceive the people,” yet was powerless to persecute anyone at the time. William Branham taught that a horse represents a power, and white represents innocence. Unlike the white horse rider in Revelation Chapter 19 whose name is called the Word of God, this rider does not have a name. This rider is the Spirit of the Antichrist impersonating Jesus Christ. Attenpting to blot out His name, the rider instead uses the titles "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit".

Pointing clearly at the Pope and his papal crown, William Branham called the first rider a Nicolaitan spirit, which means "to conquer the laity" and occurs when you “take the Holy Spirit out of the church and give it all to one holy man, let him be the boss of all of it."

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

“See, he first started an antichrist, the spirit; then he become a false prophet. Then later, when the devil is cast out, he's incarnate then with the devil. “Three stages: the first he's a devil to begin with, a spirit of the devil; then he becomes a false prophet, teacher of a false doctrine; next thing he comes as the very devil himself incarnate.”

While accusing the Catholics of following one man, William Branham then talks about his own role as Elijah because:

1. He is a prophet,
2. He hates women,
3. He fulfills Malachi 4, and
4. He fulfills Revelation 10:7 by wrapping up the loose ends for the rapture.

Plagiarism

What William Branham Said	What Clarence Larkin Said
Now, that sounds very good, but it isn't the Truth. No, sir. That... It wasn't. "White" does mean "righteous." We--we realize that, that "white" means "righteous." The teachers taught it, that it was the Holy Spirit conquering in the first age. But my revelation of it by the Holy Spirit is not that way. My revelation by the Holy Spirit is: Christ and the Holy Spirit is the self same Person (See?), only in a different form. So here stands Christ, the Lamb. We know He was the Lamb. He's standing here with the Books in His hand, and there goes the white horse rider. See? So it wasn't the Holy Spirit. And notice, Christ is not seen any more (See?) from the time there. But He is on a white horse; so if this guy is riding a white horse, he's only an impersonator of Christ. See? Get that? Notice, the rider on the white horse don't have any name. He might use two or three titles, but he hasn't got any name. But Christ has a Name. What is it? The Word of God. That's what it is. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And the Word made flesh. See? The rider has no name, but Christ is called the Word of God. That's what He is. He's called that. Now, He's got a Name that no man knows, but He's called the Word of God. This guy isn't called nothing (See?), but he's on a white horse. The rider has no arrows for his bow. Did you notice? He had a bow, but there's nothing said about having any arrows; so he must be a bluffer. That's right. Maybe he's got a lot of thunder and no lightning, but you find out Christ had both lightning and thunder; for out of His mouth goes a sharp two-edged Sword, and He smites the nations. And this guy can't smite nothing (See?), but he's playing the part of a hypocrite. He's going forth riding on a white horse, going out to conquer. And for this cause God has sent them strong delusion, that they should believe a--a lie:... (It should be translated there, as I looked in the Lexicon, "the lie," not "a lie"; "the lie," same one he told Eve.) A white horse rider went out. See? Who is he? He's mighty in his conquering power, is a great fellow in his conquering power. You want me to tell you who he is? He's the antichrist. That's exactly what he is. Now, look, let's take--go back to Daniel again just a minute. I want to read something 'fore... Whether if you don't go back, it's all right. I want to read Daniel 9--Daniel 9, and I want to read the 26th and 27th verse of Daniel 9. What are we saying? Who is this rider, this horse rider? You know what it is? It's Satan's superman... Notice, this rider is nothing but Satan's superman, a incarnate devil. THE FIRST SEAL 63-0318 Now, we find out in Revelation 13:1-8... And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up... (Now, here's twelve, where he was kicked out. Now, watch.)... saw a beast rise up out of the sea... THE FOURTH SEAL 63-0321	First Seal When the LAMB broke the “First Seal,” the first, or “Lion-like Living Creature” cried with a voice of thunder—“COME.” The words “and see” are omitted in many manuscripts, and in the Revised Version. John had no need to “come” for he was already there. The command then of “Come” was to the “Rider” of the White Horse. When he appeared, John says—“And I saw, and behold a WHITE HORSE; and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Who is the “Rider” upon this White Horse? He is not Christ, as some claim, for Christ, as the LAMB, is holding the “Seven Sealed Book” and breaking its “Seals.” Christ does not appear as a White Horse Rider until chapter 19:11–16, when He comes with the armies of Heaven to engage in the Battle of Armageddon. Then He is called “Faithful and True,” and on His head there is a many “Diademed Crown,” and He is clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and His name is called the “WORD OF GOD,” and there is no weapon of warfare in His hand, but a sharp sword comes out of His mouth, and the effect upon His enemies will be swift and terrible. This “Rider” has a “bow,” no arrow is mentioned, and he is not crowned at first, but a crown will be given to him later... As the “Tool of Satan” he will be endowed with wonder working powers, and when he comes, he will find the world ready to receive him, for God will send upon its inhabitants a “strong delusion” that they will believe a LIE, or “THE LIE,” for that is what he will be. 2. Thess. 2:9–11. In other words this White Horse Rider is the ANTICHRIST. He is the “PRINCE WHO IS TO COME” of Daniel’s Vision of the “Seventy Weeks,” and who will confirm the Covenant for “ONE WEEK,” the last or “Seventieth Week,” with Daniel’s people the Jews. Dan. 9:27.) This “White Horse Rider” will be Satan’s “SUPERMAN.” The Scriptures clearly teach that there is some day to arise a human being who shall be the embodiment of all Satanic power. All this will be fully brought out under the “Sixth Personage,” the “Beast Out of the Sea,” Clarence Larkin, The Book of Revelation: A Study of the Last Prophetic Book of Holy Scripture, 53-54 (Philadelphia, PA: Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate, 1919).

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