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Did William Branham Teach Oneness?: Difference between revisions
Did William Branham Teach Oneness? (view source)
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'''The majority of message church believe the Oneness doctrine.''' | |||
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The '''Oneness''' doctrine is a [[Trinity| | The '''Oneness''' doctrine is a non-[[Trinity|Trinitarian]] view of the [[The Godhead]]. It is the fundamental belief of a minority of Pentecostal denominations and most churches that follow William Branham. However, those message churches that follow the teachings of [[Vaylism|Lee Vayle]] have a view of the Godhead that is a mixture of several heretical teachings that originated well over 1,000 year ago, namely [[Nestorianism]], [[Arianism]], and [[Dynamic Monarchianism|Adoptionism]]. Prior to the 20th century, the Christian church referred to the Oneness doctrine as Sabellianism, Patripassianism, Modalism or modalistic monarchianism. | ||
=An important question to consider= | |||
In Ephesians 1:17, Paul refers to "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory."<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Eph 1:17.</ref> | |||
'''If Jesus and the Father are one and the same, who is the God of Jesus that Paul is referring to?''' | |||
=William Branham and the Oneness doctrine= | |||
On close examination, William Branham was incredibly confused in his understanding of God. He tried to hold himself out as believing something that was between Oneness and the Trinity. At times, he sounded like a Oneness preacher (also referred to as Sabellianism or Patripassianism): | |||
:''And now we find out that Jesus said, also, “I came in My Father’s Name, and you received Me not.” Then, '''the Name of the Father must be Jesus'''. That’s right. The Name of the Father is Jesus, ’cause Jesus said so. “I carry My Father’s Name. I come in My Father’s Name, and you received Me not.” Then, His Name was Jesus.<ref>William Branham, 65-0220 - God's Chosen Place Of Worship, para. 44</ref> | |||
At other times, he sounded like a Nestorian, a teacher of Arianism or an Adoptionist. As a result, some of his followers, in particular the followers of [[Vaylism|Lee Vayle]], believe that Jesus was not God but a created being (Arianism) with a dual nature (Nestorianism). This doctrine is referred to in a derogatory manner by some message followers as the doctrine of the "Twinity". | |||
Notwithstanding his statements to the contrary, the majority of the followers of William Branham believe that he fundamentally taught a Oneness view of the Godhead and would, therefore, be considered adherents to Oneness theology. | |||
William Branham often said statements such as, “God is not one like your finger” (Sermon: Lord, Show us the Father, Sept 7, 1953). This appears to be directed at doctrines he was hearing among the people at the time, even though this is not the current doctrine of Oneness Pentecostals, such as the United Pentecostal Church. Websites such as FatherJesus.com are evidence of this extreme Oneness view that Jesus is God the Father. In contrast, William Branham taught that there is a threefold being to God, but God is not three individuals nor so singular that the Son of God is God the Father. | |||
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|''I do not believe that Jesus could be His own father. I believe that Jesus had a Father, and that was God. But God dwelled and tabernacled in this body called Jesus, and He was Emmanuel: God with us. And there's no other God besides this God. He is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost... Father: the Lord, Son: Jesus, Holy Ghost: Logos, Spirit of God. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Lord Jesus Christ; that's Him. And in Him dwelled the Fullness of the Godhead bodily.'' (William Branham, Sermon: Q&A, June 28, 1959) | |||
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William Branham referred to "Lord Jesus Christ" as the name of God, and that it was what Jesus referred to when he said people should be baptized in "the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", which were the titles of God. But this isn't right. For example, "Christ" is a title. It means "Messaiah" or "anointed one", while "Holy Spirit" is the best name form the Spirit of God that can be found. "Lord" also reflects the authority of Jesus. But referring to "Lord" as "Father" both removes authority from Jesus, and removes his identity as the Son of God. | |||
Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is Lord, and Jesus is God. The basis for those statements can all be found in scripture. Saying that Holy Spirit is a title and that Christ is the Name is not scriptural. And saying that "Abba" is impersonal is like telling a child that she must call her father by his given name. William Branham's doctrine of the Godhead sacrifices the relationship that God has with man. | |||
= Unitarianism versus Oneness = | |||
There are many who confuse the terms unitarian and Oneness. This is because both essentially believe that God can only exist as a single "unit," or monad. He cannot be divided into separate parts, or a plurality of "persons" and still exist as a whole deity. Although unitarians and Oneness are similar in the belief that there is not a plurality of persons in the Godhead, unitarians believe that Jesus was only a moral authority whereas the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ is essential to Oneness doctrine. | |||
In Oneness theology there is an existential distinction, where God in the incarnation comes to exist in Christ in complete human existence and continues to exist as God eternally as Spirit ("Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" - Matthew 1:23). | |||
=Monarchianism= | =Monarchianism= | ||
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The majority of message churches would be considered modalist or oneness in their view of the Godhead. | The majority of message churches would be considered modalist or oneness in their view of the Godhead. | ||
They believe in the one [[God]], and the complete and full deity of [[Jesus Christ]]. Oneness Pentecostals reject the doctrine of the [[Trinity]]. Oneness Pentecostals maintain that the Judeo-Christian God is not three separate and distinct Persons, but is exclusively one God without any internal distinctions of persons | They believe in the one [[God]], and the complete and full deity of [[Jesus Christ]]. Oneness Pentecostals reject the doctrine of the [[Trinity]]. Oneness Pentecostals maintain that the Judeo-Christian God is not three separate and distinct Persons, but is exclusively one God without any internal distinctions of persons, a belief based in part on a biblical passage found in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." | ||
According to Oneness Pentecostals, God is not a plurality of persons | According to Oneness Pentecostals, God is not a plurality of persons, but does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. Oneness statements of faith generally refer to God as "Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in emanation/regeneration" or that God exists in three "manifestations" throughout history. Oneness Christians maintain that there is no fundamental "threeness" to God, and consider it an injustice to speak of God as a "person". | ||
Oneness Pentecostals are often referred to as "Jesus Only." The label arose early on in reference to their insistence on baptizing only in the name of Jesus, but it tends to be used only by the movement's critics today, and is generally disliked by Oneness Pentecostals. "Oneness", "Apostolic" and "Jesus' Name" are adherents' preferred self-designations.<ref>Dr. David K. Bernard, [http://www.pctii.org/cyberj/cyberj4/bernard.html Unmasking Prejudice], Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research</ref> | Oneness Pentecostals are often referred to as "Jesus Only." The label arose early on in reference to their insistence on baptizing only in the name of Jesus, but it tends to be used only by the movement's critics today, and is generally disliked by Oneness Pentecostals. "Oneness", "Apostolic" and "Jesus' Name" are adherents' preferred self-designations.<ref>Dr. David K. Bernard, [http://www.pctii.org/cyberj/cyberj4/bernard.html Unmasking Prejudice], Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research</ref> | ||
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==Adoptionist, or dynamic monarchianism== | ==Adoptionist, or dynamic monarchianism== | ||
[[Vaylism|Lee Vayle]] took the teachings of William Branham and used them | [[Vaylism|Lee Vayle]] took the teachings of William Branham and used them to teach his own heretical view of the Godhead, a strange admixture of [[Nestorianism]], [[Arianism]], and [[Dynamic Monarchianism|Adoptionism]]. A detailed analysis of Lee Vayle's teachings can be found in our [[Vaylism|article on the subject]]. | ||
=Concerns with the Oneness doctrine= | =Concerns with the Oneness doctrine= | ||
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:''counted the names of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as almost of no importance, arguing that it was not because of any distinction that they were put forward, but that they were diverse attributes of God, of which sort there are very many. If it came to a debate, he was accustomed to confess that he recognized the Father as God, the Son as God, and the Spirit as God; but afterward a way out was found, contending that he had said nothing else than if he had spoken of God as strong, and just, and wise. And so he re-echoed another old song, that the Father is the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Father, without rank, without distinction. <ref> John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volumes 1 & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, The Library of Christian Classics, 125 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).</ref> | :''counted the names of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as almost of no importance, arguing that it was not because of any distinction that they were put forward, but that they were diverse attributes of God, of which sort there are very many. If it came to a debate, he was accustomed to confess that he recognized the Father as God, the Son as God, and the Spirit as God; but afterward a way out was found, contending that he had said nothing else than if he had spoken of God as strong, and just, and wise. And so he re-echoed another old song, that the Father is the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Father, without rank, without distinction. <ref> John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volumes 1 & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, The Library of Christian Classics, 125 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).</ref> | ||
==Wording that | ==Wording that modalist (and message) believers never use== | ||
It is interesting to note that the people that | It is interesting to note that the people that ascribe to the modalist view of the Godhead never use wording like the following when they are talking about God: | ||
:''But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, '''and Jesus | :''But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, '''and Jesus standing at the right hand of God'''.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ac 7:55.</ref> | ||
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Why is it that they never refer to ''God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ''? Could it be that their understanding of the Godhead is incorrect? | Why is it that they never refer to ''God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ''? Could it be that their understanding of the Godhead is incorrect? Could it be an antichrist spirit that ''denies the Father '''and''' the Son''? | ||
=Quotes of William Branham= | |||
William Branham clearly stated that he did not believe the Oneness doctrine on numerous occasions: | |||
:''And I different agree with the organization of Pentecost that calls the Oneness like your finger is one. '''That’s wrong. Absolutely, it’s wrong. God… Jesus couldn’t have been His Own Father,''' and if God is a Man, then Jesus was born sexual desire and not virgin birth. That settles the whole thing. You see? If He’s one like your finger’s one, then what? Then He was His Own daddy. How could He have been? That’s wrong. He had a Father, Jesus did.<ref>William Branham, 53-0907A - Lord, Show Us The Father And It Sufficeth Us</ref> | |||
:''Now, the Oneness took it, the oneness group of people, and '''try to make Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, just one office and one place, and like your finger, one. That’s wrong.''' God could not…Jesus could not been His Own father. If He was, then He was a…Well, '''how could He been His Own father?'''<ref>William Branham, 57-0901E - Hebrews, Chapter Four, para. 128</ref> | |||
:''That’s why we stay at the Branham Tabernacle. That’s why we’re not Assemblies. That’s '''why we’re not Oneness. That’s why we’re not Jesus Only.''' That’s why we’re not Methodist. That’s why we’re not Baptist. Just a—a little tabernacle here. We don’t have no denomination at all. We’re free, in Christ. That’s why we stay the way we do. And God has blessed us, God helping us.<ref>William Branham, 58-0927 - Why Are We Not A Denomination?, para. 194</ref> | |||
:''A few days ago, when Doctor Lamsa come to me, and never knowed nothing about that, and brought me a picture, which brother’s got it there with him now. Have you got that picture? Have you got the Bible with you, laying there, it’s in your book? All right. There was a picture of the old ancient Hebrew sign of God, just exactly that existed in the days of Job, before the Bible was ever wrote. God in His three attributes, not three gods. One God in three attributes. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three offices that God worked into. Not three gods, three attributes! And there It was. | |||
:''When that great man, Doctor Lamsa, the translation of the Lamsa Bible, when he said that morning. When I told him that, I said—I said, “What’s that sign?” 122 He said, “That’s God’s ancient sign, in the Hebrew. God, one God in three attributes.” I said, “Such as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?” He stopped, and he set his cup of coffee down, he looked at me. Gene, believe you was there, Leo. Said, “You believe that?” I said, “With all my heart.” | |||
:''He said, “Last night, standing in your meeting, Brother Branham, I seen that discernment. I’ve never seen it before in America, in my land.” He said, “These American people don’t even know the Bible. Only thing they know is their denomination. They don’t even know where they’re standing.” Said, “They don’t know nothing.” He said, “But when I stood there last night,” said, “I said…” Now, Brother Gene, I just say this with reverence and love and such. He said, “I said, ‘That must be a prophet.’ B'''ut when I see that you believe that Father, Son and Holy Ghost was no three gods, it was attributes, then I know that you’re a prophet of God, or it wouldn’t be revealed to you like that.”''' He said, “That’s a perfect sign.” Said, “I’ve never…” Said, “You’re not oneness?” | |||
:'''''I said, “No, sir. I am not the oneness.''' I believe in God being the Almighty God, and the three attributes are only three offices that the one God lived in.” He said, “Bless your heart!” He said, “Someday you’ll pour your blood upon the earth for that, but,” said, “prophets always die for their cause.” 127 And I said, “So let it be, if it pleases my Lord.” The translation of the Lamsa Bible.<ref>William Branham, 60-0515E - Adoption #1, para. 121-125</ref> | |||
:''Now, I’m not a… don’t… And I say… '''And some people say, “He’s a ‘Jesus Only,’” You’re mistaken there.''' I wouldn’t have that kind of a spirit on me. There that dogmatic, ungodly thing that… No, sir. '''I’m not Oneness. Not at all. I’m not trinity either.''' I’m a Christian. I believe in God. I believe in God manifested in three offices. Now His office is in my heart, in your heart. Not another God somewhere else; another God somewhere else; another God somewhere else. That’s as pagan as pagan can be. Never one time was that even thought of until the Nicene Council. Find it in the Bible, or find it in history—till that time. It’s not there.<ref>William Branham, 61-0318 - Abraham's Covenant Confirmed, para. 71</ref> | |||
:''Now, God cannot be three people, three Gods. '''Neither can Jesus be His Own Father''', in one. See? So, you see, it makes both radically wrong.<ref>William Branham, 61-0425B - The Godhead Explained, para. 131</ref> | |||
:''In the day that the Pentecostal come out, '''they got the “Jesus Only” group. Now, that’s wrong, again. How can Jesus be His Own Father?''' See? So it knocks that out. 176 But there is supposed to be an eagle time come. See? That’s the time It’s to straighten all those mysteries out. See?<ref>William Branham, 63-0324M - Questions And Answers On The Seals, para. 175</ref> | |||
There | |||
:''There is God, see, not three gods. Oh, how many of you trinitarian people got that mixed up. '''And how you Oneness people got it mixed up, too, of Him being one like your finger.''' Uh-huh. See? They, they both of them got it mixed up. See? That’s right. He’s the one God like your finger, one, how could He be His Own Father? See? See, '''He can’t be His Own Father.''' And if He had another Father outside of the Holy Spirit, and if God is a man, a person, then He is a…the Holy Spirit was His Father, and God is His Father, Matthew 1, so then He was an illegitimate Child. See? So you can’t make it either way, you, it’s both wrong.<ref>William Branham, 63-0804E - Calling Jesus On The Scene, para. 44</ref> | |||
:''There is where '''the oneness missed it, there is where the trinity missed it, both sides of the road. But the happy medium is right in between.''' If God could be His Own Father, if Jesus was His Own Father, He couldn’t be. And if He had another Father besides God, and the Bible said the “Holy Ghost” was His Father, and if they’re two different spirits, He was an illegitimate child. That’s right. Which was the Father of Him, God or the Holy Ghost? You say one and watch how embarrassed you’re going to get. God was His Father. Is that right?<ref>William Branham, 65-0429B - The Seed Shall Not Be Heir With The Shuck, para. 107</ref> | |||
= | =Denominations that follow Oneness Theology= | ||
Besides the majority of message believers, there are many Oneness Pentecostal organizations, although their numbers are not significant. Here are a few of the larger ones: | |||
*[http://www.pawinc.org Pentecostal Assemblies of the World] | *[http://www.pawinc.org Pentecostal Assemblies of the World] | ||
*[http://www.upci.org United Pentecostal Church] | *[http://www.upci.org United Pentecostal Church] | ||
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*[http://ALJC.org Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ] | *[http://ALJC.org Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ] | ||
== International Denominations == | |||
Oneness Pentecostal groups with headquarters in other countries include the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia, an indigenous church and the largest non-Catholic church in the country; the United Pentecostal Church of Australia; the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus, with headquarters in Mexico; the Oneness Pentecostal movement in the former U.S.S.R.; and the True Jesus Church], an indigenous church founded by Chinese Christians on the mainland but whose headquarters is now in Taiwan. At times they have affirmed to be the only true church. There are many smaller organizations (approximately 130 worldwide), independent churches, and charismatic fellowships that are Oneness in doctrine. | Oneness Pentecostal groups with headquarters in other countries include the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia, an indigenous church and the largest non-Catholic church in the country; the United Pentecostal Church of Australia; the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus, with headquarters in Mexico; the Oneness Pentecostal movement in the former U.S.S.R.; and the True Jesus Church], an indigenous church founded by Chinese Christians on the mainland but whose headquarters is now in Taiwan. At times they have affirmed to be the only true church. There are many smaller organizations (approximately 130 worldwide), independent churches, and charismatic fellowships that are Oneness in doctrine. | ||
In existence is also the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship which has been trying to unite all Oneness Pentecostal denominations in existence through a loose fellowship. There are some Oneness denominations that have refused to join -- for example the United Pentecostal Church. | In existence is also the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship which has been trying to unite all Oneness Pentecostal denominations in existence through a loose fellowship. There are some Oneness denominations that have refused to join -- for example the United Pentecostal Church.<ref>"The Pentecostals", by Walter J. Hollenweger, Professor of Mission at the University of Birmingham</ref> | ||
< | |||
"The Pentecostals", by Walter J. Hollenweger, Professor of Mission at the University of Birmingham< | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* [http://www.carm.org/oneness.htm Oneness Pentecostal theology, also known as Jesus Only theology] What is Oneness Pentecostal Theology? | * [http://www.carm.org/oneness.htm Oneness Pentecostal theology, also known as Jesus Only theology] What is Oneness Pentecostal Theology? | ||
*[http://christiandefense.org/oneness.htm A Definitive Look at Oneness Theology] Defending the Tri-Unity of God | * [http://christiandefense.org/oneness.htm A Definitive Look at Oneness Theology] Defending the Tri-Unity of God | ||
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