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A response to Tim Pruitt's Defense of William Branham: Difference between revisions

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A response to Tim Pruitt's Defense of William Branham (view source)

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=Responding to Tim Pruitt's article=


By way of introduction, we as editors must state our bias upfront.  We interacted with Tim Pruitt when we were in the message as he visited our assembly occasionally.  We also interacted with him directly when the leadership of our church (3 associate ministers, all of the trustees and 10 out of 11 of the deacons) asked for the resignation of our pastor as the result of a discovery that he had covered up the sexual abuse of a minor and had been dishonest in his communications with the board of the church.
By way of introduction, we as editors should state our bias upfront.  Some of us interacted with Tim Pruitt when we were in the message as he visited our assembly occasionally.  We also interacted with him directly when the leadership of our church (3 associate ministers, all of the trustees and 10 out of 11 of the deacons) asked for the resignation of our pastor as the result of a discovery that he had covered up the sexual abuse of a minor and had been dishonest in his communications with the board of the church.


Tim Pruitt's reaction was simply to defend the pastor.  He did no work to ascertain the facts nor why we, as the leadership of the church, had asked for the pastor's resignation.  We wrote to Tim Pruitt on several occasions in this regard but he never responsed.
Tim Pruitt's reaction was simply to defend the pastor.  He did no work to ascertain the facts nor why we, as the leadership of the church, had asked for the pastor's resignation.  We wrote to Tim Pruitt on several occasions in this regard but he never responded.


As a result, we have little respect for Tim Pruitt and do not view him as a man of integrity.
As a result, we have little respect for Tim Pruitt and do not view him as a man of integrity.
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However, with our biases on the table, we will attempt to address Tim Pruitt's defense of William Branham.
However, with our biases on the table, we will attempt to address Tim Pruitt's defense of William Branham.


==Belief in the Bible is not compatible without an accompanying belief in the message==
=Deuteronomy 18:20-22 did not apply to William Branham=
 
A true Prophet must be 100% accurate.  There is absolutely no margin for error.
 
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 states:
 
:''But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, '''that same prophet shall die'''.  And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ — when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, '''if the word does not come to pass or come true''', that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. '''You need not be afraid of him.''' (emphasis added)<ref>Deuteronomy 18:20-22</ref>
 
It is clear that William Branham considered himself to be an Old Testament prophet and that as a result, he was not subject to the judgment of the church.  He also stated the test in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 applied to him:
 
:''“Let one speak and two or three judge,” said Paul. Now, those are the spirits of the gifts that’s in the Church. '''But the only person that has a right to say, THUS SAITH THE LORD, is an a vindicated prophet'''. '''You never seen anybody judging Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or those people.''' They were prophets, foreordained and borned in the world to be prophets.<ref>William Branham, 50-0405 - Expectation, para. 16</ref>
 
:''Prophets are foreordained. They’re prophets. Now, there’s a gift of prophecy in the church... But there’s a lot of difference between a prophet and a prophecy... '''But a prophet, like the Old Testament prophet, ''they had the Word of the Lord. The translation was right to them. And they were known, because the Bible said, “If there be one among you spiritual or a prophet, I, the Lord, will make Myself known unto him, speak to him in visions, and reveal Myself in dreams. '''And if what this man says comes to pass, then hear him, for I’m am with him. If it doesn’t, then don’t hear him.''' I’m not with him. Don’t fear him.”<ref>William Branham, 61-0205E - Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever, para. 12</ref>
 
In excusing the failure of William Branham, Tim Pruitt argues:
 
:''William Branham could miss visions that the Lord had given him, and because of disobedience cause them not to be fulfilled as promised and would feel the need to repent before God and his church asking God for pardon of his stupidity.
 
But as we have shown, the Bible does not provide for such an excuse.
 
=How to discount a failed prophecy in one sentence=
 
William Branham's story of the miraculous municipal bridge vision was one of his reasons that we should accept him as a "vindicated prophet."  The [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|clear failure of this prophecy has also been well documented]].  if you are unfamiliar with the research on this important failed prophecy, please [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|click here]].
 
Tim Pruitt completely ignores the importance of this failed prophecy with one sentence:
 
:''Can you imagine discounting any man’s ministry over a story of a bridge as remembered by 5 or 6 year old?
 
The problem is not that William Branham's recollection of his "prophecy" might have been flawed.  The problem is that he lied about its fulfillment.  William Branham stated it was fulfilled when [[The Municipal Bridge Vision|there is clear evidence that is was not]].  That is the issue that Tim Pruitt refuses to address.
 
=The Cloud fiasco discounted in a single paragraph=
 
Tim Pruitt states:
 
:''No matter what the controversy of the cloud, William Branham was caught up in the midst of the 7 angels and the Seven Seals were revealed...  So, perhaps we don’t understand perfectly about the cloud and because of that, we are unable to put all the pieces together – reasoning will say that Bro. Branham didn’t either, yet the very first time he shows the picture and tells of the event to his church, it didn’t offend God nor cause God to forsake him, God was there and raised Edmund Way from the dead in the very same service. If someone has a better explanation than the prophet did of the cloud, let them raise the dead and then maybe I will give some credence to their explanation. I don’t need to understand every detail, I already believe.
 
We raised our hands and so did many others when examining the problem of the cloud. 
 
There is also [[Were Dead Raised in William Branham's Ministry?|ZERO evidence]] that Edmund Way was raised from the dead.  In fact, we have spoken to people who were in attendance at the meeting that stated it appeared he had simply fainted.
 
If you are not familiar with the HUGE problems with the Cloud and William Branham's apparent lying about his being under the Cloud, we have provided all of the details here - [[The Cloud|Our article on the Cloud]].
 
=Belief in the message is required to properly believe the Bible=
 
Tim Pruitt states:
 
:''It grieves me to learn that some no longer believes in the messenger but yet claim to believe their Bible and yet see no need for a restoration of its truths. What a lie! Without the message, we are rendered as powerless as the denominational world we came out of. This message has returned us to Paul’s gospel.
 
This statement in itself is contrary to scripture and is proof that [[The Message is Greater than the Bible|the Message is a cult]].
 
==The Bible identifies William Branham as a prophet==
 
Tim Pruitt states:
 
:''...the Bible identifies him as the voice of the 7th angel. (Rev 3:14;10:7). He was God’s prophet without a doubt...
 
Our problem is that we have repeatedly raised literally scores of questions with message ministers which have remained almost totally without a response.  Our questions are clear but there has been no reasoned response.
 
William Branham was not identified by scripture as the fulfillment of [[Revelation 10:7]].  It also did not identify him as the fulfillment of [[The Laodicean Church Age Messenger|Revelation 3:14]].
 
One "proof" that we often hear that we are currently in the Laodicean Church age is this - ''"Simply look around at churches today, they clearly demonstrate that we are in the age of Laodicea."''  While this sounds like a good argument, as there are many lukewarm churches in North America, it fails to deal with the global church today.  There are currently 245 million Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.  Their churches reflect NONE of the characteristics of Laodicea<ref>https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/christian-persecution-by-the-numbers/</ref>. We are not currently in the Laodicean Church Age and William Branham was not its messenger.
 
==The God of William Branham carries a big stick==
 
This is one of the major flaws in William Branham's concept of God.  As Tim Pruitt states:
 
:''William Branham could get in the permissive will of God and for his disobedience, God would correct him severely. His wife and baby would die because he listened to others instead of God. In South Africa, he listened to preachers and asked for the permissive will of God and would suffer the consequences of getting an Ameba and almost dying from the sickness.
 
 
 
 
==When is an exaggeration so extreme as to become a lie?==
 
Tim Pruitt admits:
 
:''William Branham as a man could exaggerate.
 
==The failed 1977 prediction does classify William Branham as a false prophet==
 
:''As a man he could make predictions that didn’t come to pass as he did of 1977. This was something he adamantly declared was not a prediction from God or a prophecy but a prediction based on his own assumption of how quickly the other visions had transpired. Yet because of this prediction, he is regarded as a false prophet by the denominational world.
 
==Who did William Branham think he was?==
 
Pruitt says that:
 
:''He knew the difference between his own self and God.
 
 
==What constitutes the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit?==
 
Tim Pruitt decries many in the message:
 
:In far too many circles, a mere profession stating that you believe in William Branham and his message, is considered the evidence that you have the Holy Ghost.
 
Yet it is clear that this is exactly what William Branham believed taught.
 
 
 
How do you ignore William Branham's plain teaching?  What are you supposed to ignore and what are you supposed to follow?
 
==Is the Bible Tim Pruitt's absolute?==
 
Tim Pruitt would have you believe that the Bible is his absolute:
 
:''This is why we all should proclaim the Bible as our absolute and that William Branham was not God but a prophet and as a prophet he was human as was Elijah, Moses, or any other Biblical prophet.
 
==The problem with the Houston photograph==
 
:''He’s the man that God wasn’t ashamed to have His picture taken with.
 
 
==How to ignore William Branham's plagiarism==
 
:''He told us that he gathered the loose ends that were left dangling by the reformers. This is why I am not surprised when I find he “borrowed” from someone else’s inspiration. Some feel betrayed and say that he plagiarized or borrowed from someone else but the truth of it, we all borrow from someone. His message wasn’t to bring something new, William Branham restored. Yes, there were symbols that no one understood until a prophet came. These were not plagiarized. Yet when he was about to preach on the Seven Seals, he started to bring us some things, referencing other men’s thoughts, until the Angel came into the room and changed his thinking, and revealed to him each Seal. He was doing the best he knew how, as a man probing at the book, until God opened it.
 
==Tim Pruitt's red herring argument==
 
:''That deity snake poisons the mind and then destroys the foundation when a person perceives something they believe as a flaw. Gulp! He doesn’t know everything, so he can’t be a prophet. This is the poison of the snake, it bites, convincing us that in some way that the man is God and then shows us that he was a flawed human being just like us all, and then the poison sets in, destroying our faith in the messenger so we will lose confidence in the message God was bringing through him.
 
==The myth of William Branham raising people from the dead==
 
:''God was there and raised Edmund Way from the dead in the very same service.
 
 
 
 
==How to interpret scripture badly==
 
Tim Pruitt states:
 
:''This is why we believe in Elijah’s coming in this day, because the Bible said he would. Greater than any testimony that William Branham gave is the Word of God that testifies of him. The same Word testifies of us and I believe what it says irregardless (sic) of how I feel, what I see or what I hear.
 
=A summary of our response to Tim Pruitt=
 
Pruitt's argument can be summarized in three points...
 
==1. The message is an extension of the Bible==
 
The message is part of (or an extension of) the Bible... no message, no ability to understand the Bible.  Clearly this comes from Branham's assertion that you '''NEED''' someone like a Gentile Prophet to TELL YOU what God's Word and the Holy Spirit are revealing to you... 
 
In OLD TESTAMENT times, there were only two ways for God to speak to His people:
#at the time when the High Priests offered sacrifice for the people in the Holy of Holies, and
#when God gave specific instructions to His prophets. 
 
But we are in a NEW COVENANT which was ushered in by Jesus Christ Himself when this happened:
 
Matthew 27:50-51 (HCSB)
:''Jesus shouted again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.  Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was split in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked and the rocks were split.
 
Notice here that the curtain in the sactuary, the veil which separated everyone EXCEPT the High Priest from God was torn from top to bottom giving EVERYONE direct access to God Himself.
 
And then we know that Jesus told us in advance that a NEW COVENANT would be arriving when Jesus Christ tells us this:
 
Luke 16:16 (HCSB)
:''“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it."
 
AND--
 
Matthew 11:13-15 (HCSB)
:''For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Anyone who has ears should listen!
 
The Apostle Paul reaffirms this after Christ died on the cross when he writes his letter to the Hebrew church:
 
Hebrews 1:1-3 (HCSB)
:''Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.
:''In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him.
:''The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
 
Both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul tell us that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are our direct access to God... NO PROPHETS REQUIRED...
 
==2. William Branham was just a person==
 
Branham was just a person... he made mistakes... and his sermons were not the LITERAL Voice of God as is asserted by the Branham Family... what lays this open is this:
 
1 Samuel 3:19-20 (KJV)
:''And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.  And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
 
This is how a prophet is vindicated by God... the fact that Branham's words "FELL TO THE GROUND" when his visions and prophecies did not come to pass he demonstrated all by himself that he did not qualify as a prophet of God.
 
And for Branham having to behave a certain way in order for God's instructions to a true prophet to have come to pass is ludicrous... Jonah is instructive here... Jonah did EVERYTHING HE COULD ON PURPOSE to avoid delivering the exact message that God wanted delivered... and God put Jonah back in the position to deliver the exact message God wanted delivered where God instructed him to deliver it... the notion that a human being has to do something to make God's Word come to pass is absurd...
 
==3. William Branham made no claims of infallibility==
 
That William Branham made no claims of infallibility is completely incorrect on its face.
 
:''BUT I DENY UPON THE INFALLIBLE EVIDENCE OF THE WORD THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE MAJOR PROPHET-MESSENGER WHO WILL REVEAL THE MYSTERIES AS CONTAINED IN THE WORD, AND WHO HAS THE MINISTRY TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN TO THE FATHERS. "Thus saith the Lord" by His unfailing Word stands, and shall stand and be vindicated. There is one prophet-messenger to this age. On the basis of human behavior alone, anyone knows that where there are many people there is even divided opinion on lesser points of a major doctrine which they all hold together. Who then will have the power of infallibility which is to be restored in this last age, for this last age is going to go back to manifesting the Pure Word Bride? That means we will have the Word once again as it was perfectly given, and perfectly understood in the days of Paul. I will tell you who will have it. It will be a prophet as thoroughly vindicated, or even more thoroughly vindicated than was any prophet in all the ages from Enoch to this day, because this man will of necessity have the capstone prophetic ministry, and God will shew him forth. He won't need to speak for himself, God will speak for him by the voice of the sign. Amen.<ref>An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages - Chapter Nine - The Laodicean Church Age</ref>
 
He also said this:
 
:''Look what it puts me before, when I'm up there before the public. Look at that. What about one error on that? See? Because I trust Him. See? I trust Him. Someone say, "You afraid of a mistake, Brother Branham." No, no, huh-uh, ain't afraid of a mistake. I believe Him. He is my Protection. I'm ordained to do this, so I'll stay right there.
If God's ordained you to do something, then He's your Protection. See, He will protect you. If He's sent you, He'll back up your word. You're an ambassador then. You're ambassador with the gift of tongues; you're ambassador with the gift of interpretation; you're ambassador with the gift of discernment, the three of you. See what I mean? Then what have you got? You got a solid church. You wouldn't fear standing yet no more than yesterday.<ref>QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN COD THURSDAY_ 61-0112</ref>
 
Yet, we know that true prophets of God NEVER teach what directly opposes Scripture, prophets NEVER lie in the Name of the Lord, and what prophets proclaim as visions and prophecies, NEVER fail...
 
The entire starting point of Pruitt's letter is absurd.
 
His RED HERRING statement is ridiculous. Scripture doesn't say that a prophet KNOWS everthing. That isn't an argument which is made by this website EVER.  What IS clear however is that a prophet NEVER teaches ANYTHING that God doesn't give to him, which means that it NEVER opposes God's Word.
 




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:''And what I read here is His Word. It will never change; It’ll never pass away. It’s eternally right. Mine may fail, ’cause I’m just a man, speak like any other man, make mistakes and everything. But when He speaks, mark His Words; it’s the truth.
:''And what I read here is His Word. It will never change; It’ll never pass away. It’s eternally right. Mine may fail, ’cause I’m just a man, speak like any other man, make mistakes and everything. But when He speaks, mark His Words; it’s the truth.


:''63-0803E – Influence  
63-0803E – Influence  
So it’s a lesson to us, tonight, to keep our minds upon God, regardless of what man it is. Let him be cardinal, priest, prophet, whatever he might be, he is not immune from mistakes and—and error, and even death, and sin. But there is One Who is, and that’s Jesus Christ; He is the One.  
:''So it’s a lesson to us, tonight, to keep our minds upon God, regardless of what man it is. Let him be cardinal, priest, prophet, whatever he might be, he is not immune from mistakes and—and error, and even death, and sin. But there is One Who is, and that’s Jesus Christ; He is the One. By this, Isaiah learned a lesson, God orders His man to place. 


By this, Isaiah learned a lesson, God orders His man to place.  Bro. Branham recognized this about himself that he was human and could be wrong:  
Bro. Branham recognized this about himself that he was human and could be wrong:  


54-1203 – The Law Having A Shadow  
54-1203 – The Law Having A Shadow  
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63-1114 – Influence
63-1114 – Influence
:''And it was a lesson to Isaiah, that he mustn’t put his eyes upon human beings for an example. He must put his eyes on God.
:''And it was a lesson to Isaiah, that he mustn’t put his eyes upon human beings for an example. He must put his eyes on God. Now that’s us. Any man, any man is subject to mistakes. He is subject to error because He is human. He is subject to the violations of God’s laws. And he is subject to many things, because Satan tempts him, and he is just a human being. And if God ever lifted His hands, he would fall. That’s all.
Now that’s us. Any man, any man is subject to mistakes. He is subject to error because He is human. He is subject to the violations of God’s laws. And he is subject to many things, because Satan tempts him, and he is just a human being. And if God ever lifted His hands, he would fall. That’s all.


:''And I’ve heard people say, “Oh, Satan can’t do that.”
:''And I’ve heard people say, “Oh, Satan can’t do that.”
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:''And so it just tore me all up. And the hunting trip that I had planned so long, I could not take it. I was afraid of a hunting accident, if you understand what I mean. I got so shaky, worse than I am standing here now. And I just couldn’t stand it any longer, to think that thirty-one years of ministry went down the Devil’s gutter pipe, into the… When I’m gone, what will they say? “There he is, that’s exactly what it was”; and all the influence that I had upon the people, then you see where it’d be, I’d be an antichrist. And I just couldn’t stand it!
:''And so it just tore me all up. And the hunting trip that I had planned so long, I could not take it. I was afraid of a hunting accident, if you understand what I mean. I got so shaky, worse than I am standing here now. And I just couldn’t stand it any longer, to think that thirty-one years of ministry went down the Devil’s gutter pipe, into the… When I’m gone, what will they say? “There he is, that’s exactly what it was”; and all the influence that I had upon the people, then you see where it’d be, I’d be an antichrist. And I just couldn’t stand it!


:''I thought, “I’d rather die here in the woods, like I fell on my gun or something, than… ” And I seen I was… Then I thought about my little Joseph, and so forth, that had to be raised. And I was no condition to hunt, so I just left the woods and come home.
:''I thought, “I’d rather die here in the woods, like I fell on my gun or something, than… ” And I seen I was… Then I thought about my little Joseph, and so forth, that had to be raised. And I was no condition to hunt, so I just left the woods and come home. And I’ve been tore up about eight or ten days, in such a fix that I–I thought I was losing my mind. And I just asked everybody to stay away from me and let me alone ’cause I’m in such a fix and nervous and upset and all tore to pieces.
And I’ve been tore up about eight or ten days, in such a fix that I–I thought I was losing my mind. And I just asked everybody to stay away from me and let me alone ’cause I’m in such a fix and nervous and upset and all tore to pieces.


61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''And I wondered; if it would have been some enemy of mine, it would been all right, but I would just have laughed at it and went on; but when it come to being precious brothers, precious sisters, then that’s what hurt me. And I said, “Lord, the great… thing’s too great for me, I’ll just have to walk out and leave it in Your hands. I–I don’t know nothing else to do.”
:''And I wondered; if it would have been some enemy of mine, it would been all right, but I would just have laughed at it and went on; but when it come to being precious brothers, precious sisters, then that’s what hurt me. And I said, “Lord, the great… thing’s too great for me, I’ll just have to walk out and leave it in Your hands. I–I don’t know nothing else to do.”
A few nights ago, to make it sure, I had a–a visitation from the Lord. And I seen a precious one’s… a babying… a— a serpent which was yellow and black, and telling me right along, and the–and the thing struck me on the leg. But the blood was so rich it didn’t take effect on me. And I looked down, and there’s where I had been bit before. And I turned quickly with a gun and shot the–the thing, and it hit it right in the middle of the thing.
 
 
:''A few nights ago, to make it sure, I had a–a visitation from the Lord. And I seen a precious one’s… a babying… a— a serpent which was yellow and black, and telling me right along, and the–and the thing struck me on the leg. But the blood was so rich it didn’t take effect on me. And I looked down, and there’s where I had been bit before. And I turned quickly with a gun and shot the–the thing, and it hit it right in the middle of the thing.


:''And a brother said… I turned with my gun to shoot its head off, and he said, “Don’t do that, just pick up the stick laying there by you.” And when I turned my back to pick up the stick, it wiggled into some water, just a small puddle of water.
:''And a brother said… I turned with my gun to shoot its head off, and he said, “Don’t do that, just pick up the stick laying there by you.” And when I turned my back to pick up the stick, it wiggled into some water, just a small puddle of water.
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61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
61-0611 – Revelation, Chapter Five #1
:''Now, You see to it, Father, in Your Own Divine way. And when it’s all finished and everything is over, then Thy servant shall return. Until then I’ll be waiting to hear from You, Lord.<ref>from the website eveninglight.net/2019/12/29/in-defense-of-william-branham/<ref>
:''Now, You see to it, Father, in Your Own Divine way. And when it’s all finished and everything is over, then Thy servant shall return. Until then I’ll be waiting to hear from You, Lord.<ref>from the website eveninglight.net/2019/12/29/in-defense-of-william-branham</ref>




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[[Category: Unfinished articles]]
[[Category: Unfinished articles]]
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