Question 31 (ABM) - What is the significance of a Seven-Lettered Name?: Difference between revisions

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 By doing this, William Branham was clearly stating that he was more spiritual than Billy Graham.
-==Is this spiritual?==
+This was part of his self-deception.
+This ties into something we previously quoted:
+:''"In order to thoroughly deceive others, it is necessary to also deceive oneself. The actor playing Hamlet must indeed believe in the moment that he is the Prince of Denmark, though when he leaves the stage he will usually remember who he really is. On the other hand, when someone's entire life is based on such pretense, they seldom if ever return to reality. That is the secret of many successful politicians, evangelists and confidence tricksters alike–they believe they are telling the truth, even when it seems sure they must have known that they faked the evidence. Sincerity... is a quality not to be trusted." (Sarah Cockburn)
+'''William Branham believed his own lies.  Did this develop as the result of some psychotic break he experienced after the death of his wife and daughter?  We will never know.  But the evidence points CLEARLY to deception.'''
 Why is the English language important when spelling non-English names?
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 BTS
+=Response from ABM=
+BTS,
+I have found this particular subject to be a bit of a curiosity. I cannot say I really understand Bro. Branham's logic here (because it does not make any sense, and seems to be not the least bit biblical). But I do see and accept the point he was making.
+If I understand him, I think it is the "ham" in the name which he regards as important. The fact that he had seven letters is secondarily important. "Ham" meaning father. (I do not think he actually knew what "ham" meant. I could be mistaken though)
+So from the aspect that they are both fathers in their movement, I can see the comparison. Likewise Abraham was a father of a nation. I do not think you would dispute the fact that Bro. Branham birthed a movement, and he is the father of it. By the time he made those statements, his movement was well underway and established. So, rather than trying to promote himself above someone else, I interpret his statements as reflecting reality. He is the father of a movement, and so was Billy Graham.
+He then, by strange logic, considers that Graham is to the world church since he has six letters in his name, while he is to the bride church because he has seven letters. I do not understand the logic, as I said, but the point I can see.
+I listened today to a message you gave on YouTube where you spoke on the Will of God. I very much enjoyed it. I have also finished your podcast series. There were alot of sad stories on there. It is unfortunate how many people have been hurt by wicked men.
+Kind Regards,
+ABM
+=Follow up question=
+[[Image:William marvin branham draft card.jpg|250px|thumb|right]]
+Recently, the first official government document containing William Branham's legal name was discovered - his 1940 draft card from the United States Defense Security Service.  Even more curious is the fact that William Branham's signature appears on the form.   His signature is an acknowledgment that his legal name, the name given to him at birth, was William Marvin Branham.  So his middle name was Marvin and not Marrion.
+It is also interesting to note that William Branham gave no indication of his middle name in any sermon until March 24, 1963:
+:''There is many Branhams, if you want to talk about me personally, but I’m—I’m the one William Marrion Branham. That—that’s me. But there’s many other William Branhams, and so forth, around.<ref>William Branham, 63-0324M - Questions And Answers On The Seals, para. 181</ref>
+William Branham doesn't spell his middle name in the sermon.  There is no indication where the spelling of his middle name came from as it appears not to have appeared in any written form until after his death.
+One must, therefore, draw the conclusion that William Branham's actual middle name was "Marvin."  To convince his followers that his name had spiritual connotations (his first, middle and surname each had seven letters), he changed his middle name to Marrion.  This further illustrates William Branham's questionable integrity and his overwhelming desire to make himself look like a prophet.
+I do agree that William Branham birthed a movement. However, from its outset it was tiny and today is rapidly losing relevancy. Thirty-five years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians were already known to the Roman emperor Nero and many Christians had already given their life for the Gospel (including Peter and Paul). However, almost fifty-five years after the death of William Branham, his movement is almost unknown on a worldwide basis.
+It is true that there are small groups of message followers around the world (with a few notable exceptions in a couple of African countries), but these small groups are generally shrinking as knowledge of the problems related to William Branham and his message becomes more accessible.  For this reason, we are aware that many message ministers are decrying their shrinking congregations as a sign of the "falling away" referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.  Of course, their shrinking congregations have nothing to do with that passage and everything to do with the spreading knowledge of the failure of William Branham's prophetic ministry.
+Again, we would simply ask the question - Why am I required to follow William Branham when his credibility is so questionable?