William Branham and the Providence of God

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Did William Branham understand the biblical concept of the providence of God?

What do we mean by the "Providence of God"?

Though the term providence is not found in Scripture, it has been traditionally used to summarize God’s ongoing relationship to his creation. When we accept the biblical doctrine of providence, we avoid four common errors in thinking about God’s relationship to creation:

1. The biblical doctrine of providence is not deism (which teaches that God created the world and then essentially abandoned it),
2. The biblical doctrine of providence is not pantheism (which teaches that the creation does not have a real, distinct existence in itself, but is only part of God),
3. Providence which teaches that though God is actively related to and involved in the creation at each moment, creation is distinct from him.
4. The biblical doctrine of providence does not teach that events in creation are determined by chance (or randomness), nor are they determined by impersonal fate (or determinism), but by God, who is the personal yet infinitely powerful Creator and Lord.

We may define God’s providence as follows:

God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he

(1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them;

(2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and

(3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.

In Ephesians 1:11 Paul says that God “accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.” No event in creation falls outside of his providence.

Scripture also speaks of God’s providential control of human affairs. We read that God “makes nations great, and he destroys them: he enlarges nations, and leads them away” (Job 12:23). “Dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations” (Ps. 22:28). He has determined the time of existence and the place of every nation on the earth, for Paul says, “he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26; cf. 14:16). And when Nebuchadnezzar repented, he learned to praise God,

For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing; and he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What are you doing?” (Dan. 4:34–35)

God plans our days before we are born, for David affirms, “In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:16). And Job says that man’s “days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5). This can be seen in the life of Paul, who says that God “had set me apart before I was born” (Gal. 1:15), and Jeremiah, to whom God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5).

All our actions are under God’s providential care, for “in him we live and move” (Acts 17:28). The individual steps we take each day are directed by the Lord. Jeremiah confesses, “I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). We read that “a man’s steps are ordered by the LORD” (Prov. 20:24), and that “a man’s mind plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9). Similarly, Proverbs 16:1 affirms, “The plans of the mind belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”

God influences rulers in their decisions, for “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov. 21:1). An illustration of this was when the Lord “turned the heart of the king of Assyria” to his people, “so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel” (Ezr. 6:22), or when “the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” (Ezr. 1:1) to help the people of Israel. But it is not just the heart of the king that God influences, for he looks down “on all the inhabitants of the earth” and “fashions the hearts of them all” (Ps. 33:14–15).

Did William Branham believe in the providence of God?

In a quote that has been used by many message follower regarding the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, William Branham stated:

We know that the hour has to come when the wrong man will be chosen, too. So we pray, Father, that You’ll give us a little more time to bring in the lost. May, if there be any of those here tonight, seeing the shadows lengthening out, may they come sweetly to the Lord Jesus and be saved. Heal the sick and afflicted. Strengthen the Church. For we ask it in His Name. Amen.

How could the American people choose "the wrong man" when God is in control? If God sets up kings and takes them down, then how can anyone ever truly elect the "wrong man"? Here is what Daniel said of God (Danial 2:21):

It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.

William Branham's statement about the "wrong man" being elected simply shows that he did not understand the providence of God.

Full Quotes of William Branham

Knowing that in this dark hour of the closing scenes of the world’s history, when men are confused, and people are running from church to church and from place to place, changing letters and packing them from place to place, and yet we found that abiding, resting place in God. How we thank Thee for the Holy Spirit that gives us comfort in this hour. And we pray, Father, that He will abide with us forever, as the shadows are lengthening out and we know the sun is setting on civilization.

God, we would pray now for this great nation of ours, that’s in the time of the changing of presidents. It might seem like a light thing, but, God, it might change the destination of this nation. O Lord, Thou Who could choose the prophets and—and anoint the kings, we pray that Your Holy Spirit will anoint the right man for us in this hour. Grant it, Lord. Where the great rallies are going on on both parties… Father, we realize that You’re not interested in parties; it’s man that You can trust.

So I pray, Father, that somewhere along that they’ll choose the right man for the hour. We know that the hour has to come when the wrong man will be choosen—chosen, too. So we pray, Father, that You’ll give us a little more time to bring in the lost. May, if there be any of those here tonight, seeing the shadows lengthening out, may they come sweetly to the Lord Jesus and be saved. Heal the sick and afflicted. Strengthen the Church. For we ask it in His Name. Amen.

I was on my way to Sunday school, and when I was getting my Bible, a vision came before me; and I was stopped in the floor. And here was what it said. It’s on yellow paper. Will be printed in the “Herald of Faith” right away, because most all of it is fulfilled. 1933—think of this now. Many, many years ago, about twenty-eight years ago it—it taken place. Watch how accurate His Word is. Said, “We now have a president (Dwi… Mr. Roosevelt), and this Mr. Roosevelt will cause the world to go into a world war through his—in his time of his administration, his—his—as president,” and then said, “And during this time they have permitted women to vote, which will be a curse to the nation. They’ll elect the wrong man sometime.” And they did the other day. Now, think of that. Said, “We will go to war with Germany, and Germany will be fortified behind concrete. And we will take an awful beating at this place,” the Maginot Line eleven years before it was built. See? Exactly.

Now, I said, “Then after that time, that science would really progress.” They did, they made the atomic bomb and everything. I said, “During their progression, they would make a…cars would constantly begin to shape like an egg.” And you remember the big old hood on the 1933, the big back come down like this, the spare tire on the back of it? Look how it is now, see: streamlined, see, like an egg. And I said, “Finally they will invent a car that they won’t have to have a steering wheel in it. I seen a family going down the…Call it, ‘road,’ in a glass-top car, great big fine-looking roads and fine car. And they were sitting, looking at one another, and the car was running by itself, going right on around the curves and everything.” And they’ve got the car right now, it’s already invented. They’ve got the car. And I said then, “Oh, how science will progress in that day!” 47 I said, “Then I seen a…They’re going to permit women and are permitting women to vote. And by voting, they’ll elect the wrong man some of these days.” And you did at the last election. It was the woman’s votes that elected Kennedy. We know that, see, between the crooked machines and things fixed up, that FBI exposed. And how could anybody…Why don’t they do something about it? Why ain’t something said? Hah! Afraid somebody’d lose their job. You see, it’s just a bunch of politics, rotten to the core. That’s all. Sure!

A few days ago we… Now, I’m not Democrat nor Republican; I’m a Christian; so I don’t mention these things. But I picked up an old book there that the—the Lord had gave me a vision in 1933 when I just first become a minister, going down to the Baptist Tabernacle. And He gave me a vision that morning, and I seen the first one I remember of an international affair. And I seen that President Roosevelt that was in then, and seen that we’d go to a world war. Then I seen also that—that was eleven years before the Maginot line was built, I seen Germany fortify themselves in this big concrete place. I also seen they permitted women to vote, which was wrong. And said they would—they would someday elect the wrong man; they just did it. And then…

Now, look. Sodom was sinners. They were perverted, just like the world is today. Great portions of this nation is completely gone. And as I said, “We’re just being honeycombed with communism and everything.” Every ism, it’s… Many of you, if you’d put a righteous President in every county in the whole United States, it’s still gone. She’ll never rise again, THUS SAITH THE LORD. 1956 she made her fatal move. Now, and she took well on her way about three months ago. Now, she’s gone. Write it in your Bible; see if it’s right. 1933, one morning going to the Baptist tabernacle, I went into a trance, saw a vision. I saw President Roosevelt was going to help lead the world to a world war, told it that morning. They was going to lock me up for it. And I said, “They’ll go to war with Germany.” Eleven years before the Maginot Line was built, I said, “There…” in that same vision I saw Germany fortified in concrete. And America took a terrible beating there, and many of you boys know what happened, was there. 75 Notice. I said, “Mussolini is standing up as a dictator; he will make his first invasion to Ethiopia. But he will take Ethiopia, but he will come to a disgraceful end, him and that woman both.” And they hung them with their feet up, and her clothes hanging over her head in the street, and spit on them. I said, “Science will improve.” I said, “Another thing, the nation has permitted women to vote, one of the most horrible disgraces they’ve done.” And I said, “In voting they’ll elect the wrong man.” I’m neither Democrat nor Republican. I’m a Christian. Both sides is rotten. But they made their fatal mistake the other day. Women done the works. And how you colored people, sell your birthright to such a thing as that, when the blood of Abraham Lincoln’s stains, up yonder on that dress. God have mercy. Help me, Lord. Oh, my. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it. But I’ve done said it.

Now watch. I predicted seven things was yet in the making of the…before this great consummation or great thing would take place here in the United States, some great horrible thing. I said… Now remember, this is before it started. I said we would go into a Second World War. How many remember hearing me say it? Say, “Amen.” [Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] All right. A Second World War! I said, “The President that now is…” I copied this off the old scripture, yet, the old thing yesterday, that, “The President that we now have,” which was…How many remembers whose it was? [A brother says, “Franklin Roosevelt.”] Franklin D. Roosevelt. I said, “The President we have in now will run even in the fourth term,” he was on his first then, “will run into the fourth term, and we will be taken to a Second World War.” 202 I said, “The dictator that’s now arising in Italy, which is Mussolini, he will come into power. And he will go to Ethiopia, and Ethiopia will fall at his steps.” There is people setting here now that knows, that there’s a group of people come and stood, when I was having my meeting in the Redman’s Hall down there that night, when I had to go down there to preach that, Redman’s Hall, and was going to throw me out of the hall for saying such a thing. [Sister Wilson says, “Amen. That’s right.”—Ed.] Yeah. Yeah. Mrs. Wilson, I know you’re…[“That’s right.”] That’s right. When I said that…But did he do it? “But,” I said, “he’ll come to a shameful end,” and he did. Him and the woman he run with, was turned up-side-down and hung on a rope in the street, with their feet up, their clothes hanging down. All right, that come to pass. 203 And then I said, “The women has been permitted to vote. Which is absolutely a disgrace upon the nation. And, in voting, some day they’ll elect the wrong man.” And they did that in this last election. My, my! Four…(I said, “Science will progress in such a way…”) No, here, that’s third. Pardon me.

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