11,153
edits
The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa: Difference between revisions
The Vision of the Meetings in South Africa (view source)
Revision as of 20:24, 1 April 2013
, 11 years ago→The Explanation of the Failed Vision
| Line 28: | Line 28: | ||
#Some claim that he will rise from the dead to fulfill this vision. | #Some claim that he will rise from the dead to fulfill this vision. | ||
#Others defend William Branham by saying that a failed prophecy has a Biblical precedent in the prophet Jonah, because God told him to prophecy the destruction of Nineveh and it never came to pass. | #Others defend William Branham by saying that a failed prophecy has a Biblical precedent in the prophet Jonah, because God told him to prophecy the destruction of Nineveh and it never came to pass. | ||
# | #Some believe that William Branham’s disobedience resulted in the vision not being fulfilled. | ||
#Lastly, there is a group that will ask, "What vision?". This group is the 'faithful' group whose pastors have just never | #There are others that believe that the vision was fulfilled in India (even though William Branham himself did not believe this). | ||
#Lastly, there is a group that will ask, "What vision?". This group is the 'faithful' group whose pastors have just never mentioned this vision (and likely never will). | |||
There are a few problems with these explanations: | There are a few problems with these explanations: | ||
First: William Branham died in 1965, and a large stone pyramid now sits on top of his grave in Indiana. | '''First''': William Branham died in 1965, and a large stone pyramid now sits on top of his grave in Indiana. However, followers of the [[The Returned Ministry Sect|the Returned Ministry sect]] believe that William Branham will raise from the dead to travel to South Africa to hold meetings and accomplish the other unfulfilled visions (such as ''[[The Brown Bear Vision]]''). | ||
Second: ''“God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon”'' the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:10) because they repented. Applying this scripture to William Branham’s life might make sense in the context of the vision of the destruction of Los Angeles (although there was no mass-repentance in L.A. as there was in Nineveh). However, this scripture does not work in the context of a vision of holding meetings in South Africa, as the meetings were to be held to allow people to repent. | This is not only a foolish concept but also completely unscriptural. | ||
'''Second''': ''“God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon”'' the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:10) because they repented. Applying this scripture to William Branham’s life might make sense in the context of the vision of the destruction of Los Angeles (although there was no mass-repentance in L.A. as there was in Nineveh). However, this scripture does not work in the context of a vision of holding meetings in South Africa, as the meetings were to be held to allow people to repent. | |||
Years before the Jonah went to Nineveh, the prophet Jeremiah said that God would withhold his judgement to a Nation that would repent. ''"The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it."'' (Jeremiah 18:7-8) There is no scriptural precident that says God will relent of a vision that involves the holding of meetings to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. | Years before the Jonah went to Nineveh, the prophet Jeremiah said that God would withhold his judgement to a Nation that would repent. ''"The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it."'' (Jeremiah 18:7-8) There is no scriptural precident that says God will relent of a vision that involves the holding of meetings to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. | ||
Third: '''''“Thus Saith The Lord”''''' should be stronger than an individual’s lack of obedience. Does God permit a prophet to say, ''"I did something wrong personally and that is why the vision did not come to pass"''? There is no example in scripture that suggests that this is the case. There is only one exception for a prophesy not to be fulfilled – and this involves repentance by the person (or nation) being judged. If it was acceptable for one prophet to say "Oops! I made a personal mistake, and that’s why the vision was not fulfilled," then every false prophet would claim this easy-out excuse. For this reason, the Word of God only permits one explanation for a failed vision, because repentance satisfies the wrath of God. That is why Ezekiel says, ''“Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.”'' (Ezekiel 18:30) | '''Third:''' '''''“Thus Saith The Lord”''''' should be stronger than an individual’s lack of obedience. Does God permit a prophet to say, ''"I did something wrong personally and that is why the vision did not come to pass"''? There is no example in scripture that suggests that this is the case. There is only one exception for a prophesy not to be fulfilled – and this involves repentance by the person (or nation) being judged. If it was acceptable for one prophet to say "Oops! I made a personal mistake, and that’s why the vision was not fulfilled," then every false prophet would claim this easy-out excuse. For this reason, the Word of God only permits one explanation for a failed vision, because repentance satisfies the wrath of God. That is why Ezekiel says, ''“Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.”'' (Ezekiel 18:30) | ||
'''Fourth''': | |||
So what will you do with this failed vision? Will you succumb to [[Cognitive Dissonance|cognitive dissonance]] and trivialize an obvious wrong? | So what will you do with this failed vision? Will you succumb to [[Cognitive Dissonance|cognitive dissonance]] and trivialize an obvious wrong? | ||