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The Seven Churches Ages: Difference between revisions
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:''...What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto [[Ephesus]], and unto [[Smyrna]], and unto [[Pergamos]], and unto [[Thyatira]], and unto [[Sardis]], and unto [[Philadelphia]], and unto [[Laodicea]].'' | |||
:''...What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches '''which are in Asia'''; unto [[Ephesus]], and unto [[Smyrna]], and unto [[Pergamos]], and unto [[Thyatira]], and unto [[Sardis]], and unto [[Philadelphia]], and unto [[Laodicea]].'' | |||
:''The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.'' | :''The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.'' | ||
:::<small>Revelation 1:11b, 20</small> | :::<small>Revelation 1:11b, 20</small> | ||
=Problems with William Branham's interpretation= | |||
There are a number of prblems with William Branham's interpretation of the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation. Here are a few of them. | |||
==Seven Church '''Ages'''?== | ==Seven Church '''Ages'''?== | ||
Ages. | |||
'''Ages.''' | |||
Its a small word. It seems harmless enough. But it's extra. | Its a small word. It seems harmless enough. But it's extra. | ||
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Other than Irenaeus and Paul, none of these individuals set foot in Asia. | Other than Irenaeus and Paul, none of these individuals set foot in Asia. | ||
==Messengers were prophets. Or maybe not?== | |||
William Branham stated that all of the messengers were prophets, which he then used to make himself a prophet. Why was William Branham constantly pointing to himself? | |||
:''and… see the plummet in the hands of Zerubbabel with whose—with those seven; these are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. '''The seven eyes—eyes mean seeing. Seeing means prophets, seers.''' This Lamb had seven horns, and on each horn had an eye: seven eyes. What is it? Christ and His Bride. Seven Church Ages, '''out of there was seven prophets that went forth, seven seers, eyes. So the last one must be a seer.''' All right.<ref>63-0317E - The Breach Between The Seven Church Ages And The Seven Seals</ref> | |||
But the very next day he said that some of them weren't prophets (but he again makes it clear that he thinks he is a prophet): | |||
:''The reformers came to reform the last fallen church age preceding them. And then after the reformers come and reform the—the church age from where it was and is went back into the world, then they start a new church age: always done it, always. Now, we went through that. See? In other words, here'd been a Catholic church age, of the Roman Catholic church. Along come Luther, a reformer. He's called a reformer. And what does he do? He starts right out there a-hammering away, and when he does, he protests the church, and the first thing you know, what does he do? He builds the same thing that he come to drive out of: another church. Then they have another church age. Then the first thing you know, here comes… The church age is in such a mess, along comes John Wesley, another reformer (See?), builds another church age. Get what I mean? Another church age is built up. They're all reformers. | |||
:''Notice. This last message of the last church age is not a reformer; he is a prophet, not a reformer. Show me where one prophet ever started a church age. He's not a reformer; he is a prophet. '''Others was reformers but not prophets.''' If they would've been, the Word of the Lord comes to the prophet; that's the reason they continued on in the baptism in Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and all these other things, because they were reformers and not prophets. But yet they were great men of God and saw the need of the day that they lived in, and God anointed them, and they sent out there and tore those things to pieces. But the full Word of God never come to them, because they was not prophets. They were reformers. 194 But in the last days it'll have to be a prophet to take up the mysteries of God, bring it back, because the mysteries was only re—known by prophets. So it has to be this fellow come. See what I mean now? He can't be a reformer; it's got to be a prophet, because it's got to be somebody that's gifted and set there that catches the Word.<ref>63-0318 - The First Seal, para. 191-192</ref> | |||
==Do the messengers match the ages?== | |||
William Branham stated that: | |||
:''And, remember, '''the messenger is always comes at the end of the Message.''' We know in the church ages there how we got that.<ref>William Branham, 62-0909M - Countdown, para. 60</ref> | |||
:''Remember, Paul come at the end of the age. '''All the messengers come at the end of the age.''' It's at the end time, when these things are—are brought forth.<ref>William Branham, 62-1230E - Is This The Sign Of The End, Sir?, para. 271</ref> | |||
:''Each messenger has had his message, and the—the message and the messenger of the age. And it is most remarkable that each messenger… We even found in the church ages (and tonight we'll go back in the Old Testament and find that it's the same thing) that '''God sends the messenger of that age at the end of the time; always at the end, never at the beginning.''' At the end!<ref>William Branham, 63-0116 - The Evening Messenger, para. 79-80</ref> | |||
So did the messengers that William Branham picked meet that criteria? | |||
#Ephesus - 53 - 170 A.D. Messenger - Paul (born circa 5 A.D. - died circa 67 A.D.) | |||
#Smyrna - 170 - 312 A.D. Messenger - Irenaeus (born c. 130 A.D. - died circa 200 A.D.) | |||
#Pergamos - 312 - 606 A.D. Messenger - Martin (born c. 316 A.D. - died 397 A.D.) | |||
#Thyatira - 606 - 1520 A.D. Messenger - Columba (born 521 A.D. - died 597 A.D.) | |||
#Sardis - 1520 - 1750 A.D. Messenger - Martin Luther (born 1483 A.D. - died 1546 A.D.) | |||
#Philadelphia - 1750 - 1906 A.D. - Messenger - John Wesley (born 1703 A.D. - died 1791 A.D.) | |||
#Laodicea - 1906 - present - Messenger - William Branham (self- proclaimed) (born circa 1909 A.D. - died 1965 A.D.) | |||
Every one of William Branham's messengers was at the beginning of the age with two exceptions: | |||
#Columba - he was born in another age and never even made it to "his age" | |||
#Branham - he thought he was at the end of his age, but it turned out he was wrong. | |||
==Messengers Outside Their Ages, Messengers Confronting Heresies== | ==Messengers Outside Their Ages, Messengers Confronting Heresies== | ||
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John was told to write to each churches. William Branham said that each church represented an age, and that each age had a messenger. So, you would expect that each messenger would have lived within the correct church age... but this is not the case with William Branham's "messengers". | John was told to write to each churches. William Branham said that each church represented an age, and that each age had a messenger. So, you would expect that each messenger would have lived within the correct church age... but this is not the case with William Branham's "messengers". | ||
===Paul=== | |||
*[[Paul the Apostle]] was martyred between 68 and 73 AD. | *[[Paul the Apostle]] was martyred between 68 and 73 AD. | ||
*John wrote the Book of Revelation from the Isle of Patmos around 95 AD. | *John wrote the Book of Revelation from the Isle of Patmos around 95 AD. | ||
If William Branham was correct, then Paul had been dead for over 20 years when John sent him the letter. I guess he never got the memo. | If William Branham was correct, then Paul had been dead for over 20 years when John sent him the letter. I guess he never got the memo. | ||
===Irenaeus=== | |||
Message Believers cringe when people speak against William Branham's doctrines. A common complaint is, '''"don't judge".''' What they do not realize is that [[Irenaeus]] taught against the Serpent's Seed doctrine. He labeled it a heresy. And William Branham said you had to believe the Messenger for your Age in order to be saved. | Message Believers cringe when people speak against William Branham's doctrines. A common complaint is, '''"don't judge".''' What they do not realize is that [[Irenaeus]] taught against the Serpent's Seed doctrine. He labeled it a heresy. And William Branham said you had to believe the Messenger for your Age in order to be saved. | ||
===Columba=== | |||
*William Branham said the Thyatira Age started in 606 AD. | *William Branham said the Thyatira Age started in 606 AD. | ||
*William Branham named Columba as the messenger to the Thyatira Age. | *William Branham named Columba as the messenger to the Thyatira Age. | ||
*[[Columba]] died in 597 A.D., 9 years before the Age was supposed to start. | *[[Columba]] died in 597 A.D., 9 years before the Age was supposed to start. | ||
===John Wesley=== | |||
[[John Wesley]] labeled William Branham's understanding on the Godhead as ''"...Blasphemy, joined with consummate nonsense."''<ref>~ Thoughts on the writings of Baron Swedenborg, by John Wesley, Wakefield, May 8, 1782.</ref> We know this because William Branham's doctrine on the Godhead was very close to Emmanuel Swedenborg's doctrine on the Godhead, and John Wesley also concluded the following about Swedenborg's doctrine: | [[John Wesley]] labeled William Branham's understanding on the Godhead as ''"...Blasphemy, joined with consummate nonsense."''<ref>~ Thoughts on the writings of Baron Swedenborg, by John Wesley, Wakefield, May 8, 1782.</ref> We know this because William Branham's doctrine on the Godhead was very close to Emmanuel Swedenborg's doctrine on the Godhead, and John Wesley also concluded the following about Swedenborg's doctrine: | ||
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[[Category:William Branham pointing to himself]] | [[Category:William Branham pointing to himself]] | ||
[[Category:The Message]] | [[Category:The Message]] | ||