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John the Baptist

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With respect to John the Baptist, William Branham taught (he actually said that this came directly from the Bible) that:

  1. John was dead in his mother's womb.
  2. The foetus had not moved for 6 months.
  3. The baby came to life when Elizabeth heard the name of Jesus.
  4. John was "baptized" with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb at 6 months gestation.

The question is: are these things true?

What does the Bible say

The only reference to the birth of John the Baptist is in the Book of Luke:

And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.[1]
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”[2]
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying...[3]
And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.[4]


Contrary to what William Branham said that the Bible taught, it is clear that the Bible teaches the following:

  1. There is no indication from the text that Mary told Elizabeth the name of the baby (Jesus) and that this was the cause of the baby leaping in the womb.
  2. The Bible NEVER states that either John was dead in his mother's womb or that the foetus had not moved for 6 months.
  3. What we do know is that the Bible clearly says that:
    1. John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. The Greek words, ἔτι ἐκ, which are translated as "even from" connote a meaning of "from a point in time continuing forward" or "from that moment and moving forward". In other words, John was filled with the Holy Spirit at the time of his birth and continuing forward in his life. The Bible never states he was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb.
    2. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she heard the greeting of Mary.
    3. Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit after the baby was born.

We can clearly conclude that William Branham did not teach what the scripture clearly stated but instead added to scripture.

Quotes of William Branham

And Mary said, "The Angel Gabriel met me and told me that I was going to bring forth a Son also. And I was to call His Name Jesus." Well, just the time that she spoke Jesus, little John begin to leap and jump in his mother's womb. Brother, the first time the Name of Jesus Christ was ever spoke, it brought life to a dead baby. What ought it to bring to a Holy Ghost Church when the Name of Jesus…?… power of sickness and sin. Hallelujah! Yes, it's… That Name, Jesus Christ, when it was spoke first by a mortals lips, it brought life to a baby that was dead in his mother's womb. The Bible said, he received the Holy Ghost, and was borned from his mother's womb full of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah! Oh, my. What's the matter with Christians? Wishy-washy, half jellyfish. Get a backbone in you and stand up for God and what's right. And today, stand for what the Bible says, and believe it with all your heart. 50 Little John begin to leap in his mother's womb for joy, and the Holy Spirit came upon Elisabeth. She said, "Whence cometh the mother of my Lord? For as soon as your salutation came into my ears, my baby leaped in the womb for joy."[5]


And the Bible said that John received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or received the Holy Ghost in his mother's womb, and was born full of the Holy Ghost.[6]


And as soon as she said, "Jesus," little John begin to shout and jump, jump up-and-down, hard as he could go, up-and-down. Oh, my. And the Holy Ghost come up on Elisabeth; and John, the Bible said, he was filled with the Holy Ghost in his mother's womb. Oh, my, yes. God keeps His Word. And listen, if the first time that the Name of Jesus was ever spoke through human lips, made a dead baby come to life and jump for joy in his mother's womb, what ought it do for a church that claims to be borned again of the Spirit?[7]


John the Baptizer was a great man. You know his birth, and how he received the Holy Ghost before he was born, in his mother's womb. While, Mary come, being a virgin, and told her that she was going to have a baby, and told Elisabeth about having the Baby, and about how the Holy Ghost had appeared to her, the Angel of the Lord, rather, and had told her that she was going to be a mother also. And she said, "I'm going to have a Son, and I'll call His Name Jesus." And when she said, "Jesus," the first time that that Name was ever spoken in human lips. A little baby in his mother's wombs, dead, she was worried about it. No life, six months, that's altogether subnormal. But as soon as that Name "Jesus" was first spoken by a human lip, that little, dead John in the mother's womb come to life and leaped for joy, the Bible says.[8]


When, when that Name was first spoke, when Mary come up into Judah. And Elisabeth had conceived, and little John was six months old, in his mother's womb, and had not moved yet. Now, anybody knows, about three months, or four, at the most, the baby is moving. And Elisabeth was strange, she… It hadn't moved. She had hid herself. And when she seen Mary coming, her little face all lit up with the glory of God. And she said, "You know…" And she seen she was to be mother, and she said, "I suppose you and Joseph are married?" "No. We're not married." "Well, uh, and you're going to have a baby?" "Yes. The Holy Ghost overshadowed me, and He said that Thing would be born in me would be called 'the Son of God.' And I would call His Name 'Jesus.'" And just as soon as she said, "Jesus," the first time that the Name of Jesus Christ was ever spoke through a human lip, the little dead baby in its mother's womb received the Holy Ghost and begin to jump for joy, in the womb of a mother.[9]


Footnotes

  1. ↑ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Lk 1:12–15.
  2. ↑ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Lk 1:39–45.
  3. ↑ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Lk 1:67.
  4. ↑ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Lk 1:80.
  5. ↑ William Branham, 50-0716 - Believest Thou This?, para. 49-50
  6. ↑ William Branham, 52-0810A - I Am The Resurrection And The Life, para. 38
  7. ↑ William Branham, 60-0724 - The Unchangeable Word Of God, para. 78
  8. ↑ William Branham, 63-1103 - Go, Wake Jesus, para. 75-76
  9. ↑ William Branham, 64-0417, Then Jesus Came And Called, para. 268-270


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