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The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

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William Branham early in his ministry taught that the evidence of the baptism of the Holy spirit was not speaking in tongues.

What William Branham taught

What the Bible teaches

Details of William Branham's teaching

William Branham initially believed that the Holy Spirit was the love of God and not speaking in toungues:

Just like now, this is going to hurt you. But I'm responsible with God's Word, willing to discuss It, any time. Here's where you Pentecostal people has made your mistake, many of you setting here, of teaching the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues being the Holy Ghost. Why, speaking in tongues is all right, but that is an attribute. That isn't the Holy Ghost; that's what the Holy Ghost does.
The Holy Ghost is the love of God. I can prove it by the Bible. "Though I speak with tongue of men and Angels, and have not love, it profit me nothing." If you want a apple tree, and just got an apple, you're a long ways from getting a tree. See, it's an attribute.[1]
If you want to know what I think the evidence of the Holy Ghost is, it's love. And that's right. I don't care what else, you can scream, shout, or do whatever you want to, if you haven't got love, Paul said, "You got nothing." That's right. You got to have love to go with this there. You got that without love, you haven't got it yet, 'cause God is love. And no--and there he goes. And up into the country...[2]

He later added that the evidence of the Holy Spirit was the fruit of the Spirit (which includes love):

Heavenly Father, tonight, knowing that hour is close, knowing that we're living in the end time, knowing that those old trees are going on, here is that vine bringing tonight, filled with the Holy Ghost, bringing forth fruit, the evidence of the Holy Spirit, being among us. How thankful we are, Lord. We could raise our hands and praise Thee and praise Thee over and over for all Thy goodness and mercy. How wonderful and how marvelous are Thy ways. We thank and praise Thee with all of our heart.[3]
We put so much stress on the evidence of the Holy Ghost. The Methodist said you have to shout 'fore you got It. A lot of Methodist shouted and didn't have It. The Pentecostal said speak with tongues when you got it. A lot of them spoke in tongues and didn't have It. That's right. But, brother, when you come to a place where you got love, it never will fail.[4]
So, there's nothing you can say is the evidence of the Holy Ghost, unless it's your life that you live.[5]
There's not one thing left in the Bible, as "evidence of the Holy Ghost," only the fruits of the Spirit. Find out any place that Jesus said so. Yes, sir. The evidence of the Holy Ghost is the fruit of your Spirit. Jesus said so, "By their fruit you shall know them." "And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, peace, gentleness, meekness. And the fruit of the enemy is enmity, hatred, malice, strife, and so forth; that's the fruit of the enemy." So, you can judge by the way you're living, where you're standing with God. If your whole heart is in love with Him, and you love Him and are gentle, and live with Him daily, you know you've passed from death unto Life. If it isn't, and you're otherwise, you're just impersonating a Christian. That's right. Which, all carnal impersonations will certainly be exposed. We know that.[6]
I believe in speaking in tongues, but I don't take it to be the only evidence of the Holy Spirit. No, sir. The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence.[7]
Now, don't you get a hold of that. I spoke with tongues, and that's the evidence of the Holy Ghost." If your life... If you can still cut your hair, if you can still do these things the Bible says not do; you could speak with tongues all day and night, and it's still nothing to do with God. The tree is known by its fruit.[8]

But then in 1964. he changed his mind again and began teaching that the evidence of the Holy Spirit was believing William Branham's message:

Now, that's no evidence of the Holy Ghost. See? You can't rely upon that. You can't rely upon the fruit of the Spirit, because the first fruit of the Spirit is love. And the Christian Science exercise more love than anybody I know of, and they even deny Jesus Christ being Divine. See? There's only one evidence of the Holy Spirit that I know of, and that is a genuine faith in the promised Word of the hour.[9]
Now we have been constantly saying that the true evidence of being baptized with the Holy Ghost is for the believer to receive the Word for the age in which he lives.[10]
The evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost today is just the same as it was back in the day of our Lord. It is receiving the Word of truth for the day in which you live. Jesus never did stress the importance of the Works as He did the Word.[11]


Footnotes

  1. ↑ ISRAEL.AND.THE.CHURCH.2_ JEFF.IN IC 35-64 THURSDAY_ 53-0326
  2. ↑ GOD'S.PREPARATION_ LOUISVILLE.KY THURSDAY_ 54-0401
  3. ↑ THE.TRUE.VINE.AND.A.FALSE.VINE_ MACON.GA TUESDAY_ 55-0607
  4. ↑ LOVE_ SHREVEPORT.LA THURSDAY_ 56-0726
  5. ↑ HEBREWS.CHAPTER.FIVE.AND.SIX.1_ JEFF.IN HEB SUNDAY_ 57-0908M
  6. ↑ HEBREWS.CHAPTER.SIX.2_ JEFF.IN HEB SUNDAY_ 57-0908E
  7. ↑ GOD.HIDING.HIMSELF.IN.SIMPLICITY.THEN.REVEALING.HIMSELF.IN.THE.SAME_ JEFF.IN SUNDAY_ 63-0317M
  8. ↑ THE.FLASHING.RED.LIGHT.OF.THE.SIGN.OF.HIS.COMING_ JEFF.IN V-5 N-4 SUNDAY_ 63-0623E
  9. ↑ QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.2_ JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_ 64-0823E
  10. ↑ 155-2, SMYRNAEAN.CHURCH.AGE, CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.4
  11. ↑ 169-4, PERGAMEAN.CHURCH.AGE, CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.5


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