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The Message: Difference between revisions
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=What is the Message?= | =What is the Message?= | ||
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|'''[[Glossary]]''' <br> Do you want to understand the Message? | |'''[[Glossary]]''' <br> Do you want to understand the Message? Click above for a list of important terms. | ||
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'''[[Message Urban Legends|Urban Legends]]''' <br> Everyone loves stories that are vague on facts. Here are a few popular Message stories. | '''[[Message Urban Legends|Urban Legends]]''' <br> Everyone loves stories that are vague on facts. Here are a few popular Message stories. | ||
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'''[[Is the Message a Cult?]]''' <br> | '''[[Is the Message a Cult?]]''' <br> It's a hard question if you're in the cult. | ||
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These are the visible hallmarks of a message believer: | These are the visible hallmarks of a message believer: | ||
#They are convinced that denominations believe in THREE GODS. This is based on William | #They are convinced that most Christian denominations believe in THREE GODS. This is based on William Branham's [[The Trinity#William Branham's Critique of the Trinity|straw man argument against the doctrine of the Trinity.]] | ||
#They baptise in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. This is a strange doctrine given that [[William Branham's Teachings on Water Baptism#The Challenge from William Branham|no one in scripture was ever baptized using this formula]]. | #They baptise in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. This is a strange doctrine given that [[William Branham's Teachings on Water Baptism#The Challenge from William Branham|no one in scripture was ever baptized using this formula]]. | ||
#They believe William Branham was the end time prophet according to Malachi 4:5-6, Luke 17:30, Revelation 3:14 and Revelation 10:7. (see details below) | #They believe William Branham was the end time prophet according to Malachi 4:5-6, Luke 17:30, Revelation 3:14 and Revelation 10:7. (see details below) | ||
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#They believe William Branham's interpretation of the Bible as the Word of God for today. | #They believe William Branham's interpretation of the Bible as the Word of God for today. | ||
== | ==Is it a denomination?== | ||
Message followers will deny that they are a denomination. But how is a denomination defined? | |||
A denomination is a faction of the church, out of fellowship with other factions, holding to some “distinctives” of doctrine, practice, worship, ethnicity, style, history, social class, etc. Denominationalism is any attempt to justify and maintain the separate existence of a denomination.[1] | |||
On the basis of this definition, it is clear that the message is a denomination. | |||
==Doctrines or interpretations based on William Branham pointing to himself== | ==Doctrines or interpretations based on William Branham pointing to himself== | ||
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*[[William Branham's View of Himself]] | *[[William Branham's View of Himself]] | ||
==Plagiarized doctrines== | |||
Included in the set of doctrines that constitute the message are a large number of teachings that were [[Plagiarism|plagiarized from Clarence Larkin]] and from the [[William Branham and the Watchtower Society|Jehovah's Witnesses]]. These plagiarized beliefs include William Branham's teachings on the seven church ages, the seven seals, the gates to the soul and the token. He also plagiarized from Billy Graham (thinking man's filter) and C.L Franklin (the eagle in the chicken coop). | |||
=What do followers of William Branham think that the message is?= | =What do followers of William Branham think that the message is?= | ||
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#They believe that you could never look into the eyes of William Branham and tell a lie. | #They believe that you could never look into the eyes of William Branham and tell a lie. | ||
=Is the "Bride" a special category of Christian?= | ==Is the "Bride" a special category of Christian?== | ||
William Branham was not the only one in our age to use the parables of Jesus to split the Church into various groups, such as the bride, the friends of the bridegroom, the virgins, the guests, and the servants. Many exclusive groups do this to make themselves feel special. But this is pressing the analogy too far. We must be careful that we do not become like Nicodemus when he pressed the analogy of birth too far by asking how we could go back into our mothers’ wombs and be born again (John 3:4). | William Branham was not the only one in our age to use the parables of Jesus to split the Church into various groups, such as the bride, the friends of the bridegroom, the virgins, the guests, and the servants. Many exclusive groups do this to make themselves feel special. But this is pressing the analogy too far. We must be careful that we do not become like Nicodemus when he pressed the analogy of birth too far by asking how we could go back into our mothers’ wombs and be born again (John 3:4). | ||
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Some have suggested that John refers to an elite group of Christians who have reached a special status in which they no longer sin. But the text does not restrict godly living to a special group of Christians but rather claims that all believers without exception — anyone born of God — do not sin. Hence, a spiritual elite cannot be in view here. <ref>Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 567.</ref> | Some have suggested that John refers to an elite group of Christians who have reached a special status in which they no longer sin. But the text does not restrict godly living to a special group of Christians but rather claims that all believers without exception — anyone born of God — do not sin. Hence, a spiritual elite cannot be in view here. <ref>Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 567.</ref> | ||
==Other beliefs== | |||
There are a group of other doctrines that are largely unscriptural which William Branham promoted as part of his "message": | |||
#[[Christians that were required to believe Satanic doctrine|Some Christians were required to believe Satanic doctrine to be saved.]] | |||
#[[Marriage and Divorce|If a wife cuts her hair, her husband can divorce her.]] | |||
#[[Marriage and Divorce|A man can remarry after divorce but a woman can't.]] | |||
#[[Three holy words|The three holy words of the Bible.]] | |||
#[[Prophets that ministered at the same time|No 2 major prophets were ever on the scene at the same time.]] | |||
#[[Q&A on the Godhead#Did God leave Jesus Christ on the cross?|God left Jesus Christ when He was on the cross.]] | |||
#[[William Branham and the Zodiac|God has '''THREE Bibles''']] | |||
#[[Women were designed by Satan|Women were designed by Satan.]] | |||
#[[Can you lose your healing?]] | |||
#[[Are Christians considered amateur gods?|Christian are amateur gods.]] | |||
#[[Michael the Archangel|Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel.]] | |||
#[[Enoch and Noah|Noah started building the ark after he saw Enoch go in a Rapture]] | |||
#[[Enoch and Noah|Enoch was a type of the wise virgin, and Noah a type of the foolish virgin.]] | |||
#[[Illegitimate children]] cannot be part of the rapture. | |||
#[[Reason and Faith|Christians should "cast down reasoning".]] | |||
#[[Can the Holy Spirit abandon you?|The Holy Spirit can abandon you.]] | |||
#[[Long Hair or Uncut Hair|Long hair mean uncut (i.e. no trimming of split ends) for women.]] | |||
#[[Long Hair or Uncut Hair|Does God hear the prayer of a woman that has cut her hair]]? | |||
#[[The Midwives of Egypt|The midwives in Egypt were actually witches.]] | |||
#[[Hierarchy in Heaven|Your admission to heaven is conditional on William Branham's judgment.]] | |||
#[[Matthew 27:46|Jesus died screaming for help, crying for mercy because He was separated from God.]] | |||
#[[John 18:6|When Jesus died on the cross, he simply died as a man.]] | |||
#[[The Serpent's Seed|The Bible teaches that the serpent had sex with Eve.]] | |||
#[[The Sin in the Wilderness|The Israelites who died in the wilderness were eternally lost.]] | |||
#Was William Branham guilty of [[Theological Trespassing]]? | |||
#The evidence of [[The Baptism of the Holy Spirit|the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is believing in William Branham]] | |||
#[[The Body of Christ|The Bible teaches there are two tiers of Christians.]] | |||
#[[The Message#Is the "Bride" a special category of Christian?|The "Bride" of Christ is a special category of Christian.]] | |||
#[[Destruction of Los Angeles|Capernaum is under the sea.]] | |||
==What William Branham taught== | ==What William Branham taught== | ||