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What were the Seven Visions?: Difference between revisions
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#Copies of those records, made subsequently, for newspaper articles and wider dissemination. | #Copies of those records, made subsequently, for newspaper articles and wider dissemination. | ||
#The recorded sermons in which he spoke of the visions. | #The recorded sermons in which he spoke of the visions. | ||
#William | #William Branham's book entitled 'An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages' (the Church Age Book). | ||
===The original written record=== | ===The original written record=== | ||
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It is not as though this was a small matter - seven visions, seven prophecies which would prefigure the coming of the Lord in the Rapture and the end of the church ages. One would have thought that recording, copying and publicizing these climactic claims would have been the order of the day. One would assume that the content of the visions would be documented and available for review in a wide variety of formats ñ but no! There are assertions of, but no evidence of, any attempt to secure the content of these visions. | It is not as though this was a small matter - seven visions, seven prophecies which would prefigure the coming of the Lord in the Rapture and the end of the church ages. One would have thought that recording, copying and publicizing these climactic claims would have been the order of the day. One would assume that the content of the visions would be documented and available for review in a wide variety of formats ñ but no! There are assertions of, but no evidence of, any attempt to secure the content of these visions. | ||
Following William | Following William Branham's death, none of these records were produced by the family or executors. | ||
This means that the primary record of the content of the visions is missing and that secondary records need to be found to attempt a reconstruction. | This means that the primary record of the content of the visions is missing and that secondary records need to be found to attempt a reconstruction. | ||
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William Branham claimed on many occasions that there were people in the congregations who were present in the meeting that he held in 1933 on Meigs Ave in which he explained the visions and the 1977 prediction e.g. in reference to that meeting: | William Branham claimed on many occasions that there were people in the congregations who were present in the meeting that he held in 1933 on Meigs Ave in which he explained the visions and the 1977 prediction e.g. in reference to that meeting: | ||
::And here comes around and shows. And then I predicted. I never said the Lord told me that, but, standing that morning in the church, I said, ìThe way progressÖî I got back to one end of their wall, and run to the other end of the wall. I said, ìThe way progress is going on, | ::And here comes around and shows. And then I predicted. I never said the Lord told me that, but, standing that morning in the church, I said, ìThe way progressÖî I got back to one end of their wall, and run to the other end of the wall. I said, ìThe way progress is going on, Iíll predict that the timeÖI donít know why Iím saying it. But I predict that thatíll all happen between right now, 1933, and 1977.î<ref>''Seventieth Week of Daniel 1961''</ref> | ||
He is talking about the 1933 meeting. But there are no testimonials from that meeting of what he said about the visions. There is no list of the visions or details of their content. Again, we are asked to accept that there were visions and that they were related to a congregation, but with no corroborating evidence. | He is talking about the 1933 meeting. But there are no testimonials from that meeting of what he said about the visions. There is no list of the visions or details of their content. Again, we are asked to accept that there were visions and that they were related to a congregation, but with no corroborating evidence. | ||
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A main source of a description of the visions are in the recorded sermons. When making reference to the visions in a sermon it would be expected that his description would always be consistent ñ after all, the visions were only received once, there were no additions and no updates. And yet in the sermons, one is presented with partial descriptions, with descriptions that contain conflicting information and with changing detail. | A main source of a description of the visions are in the recorded sermons. When making reference to the visions in a sermon it would be expected that his description would always be consistent ñ after all, the visions were only received once, there were no additions and no updates. And yet in the sermons, one is presented with partial descriptions, with descriptions that contain conflicting information and with changing detail. | ||
Here is one example of his descriptions of the | Here is one example of his descriptions of the Hitler or World War II vision: | ||
::I'd like to read you a prophecy that was given... This one first. I speak this in the Name of the Lord. The president which now is, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Now remember, this is twenty-eight years ago.) will cause the whole world to go to war. (Now, look what happened now.) In...President Franklin D. Roosevelt took America to England's tea party. That's right. Germany never picked on us; we picked on them, throwed the whole world into a war, to cause a world war."<ref>''Condemnation by Representation 1960''</ref> | :And in 1933 when the vision of the Lord came to me up here and predicted that, Germany would rise up and have put that Maginot Line there. Many of you remember. And how they'd be all fortified in there, and the Americans would take a great beating right there at that lineNow, you remember; that's THUS SAITH THE LORD."<ref>''Why we are not a Denomination 1958''</ref> | ||
:I'd like to read you a prophecy that was given... This one first. I speak this in the Name of the Lord. The president which now is, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Now remember, this is twenty-eight years ago.) will cause the whole world to go to war. (Now, look what happened now.) In...President Franklin D. Roosevelt took America to England's tea party. That's right. Germany never picked on us; we picked on them, throwed the whole world into a war, to cause a world war."<ref>''Condemnation by Representation 1960''</ref> | |||
:How many remembers that vision, here in the church? Sure. Said that, how Öeleven years beforehand, it said that "We'd go to war with Germany, and Germany would be fortified behind concrete," the Maginot Line. It happened just that way.<ref>''Ephesian Church Age 1960''</ref> | |||
:I seen it, thirty--1931. Seven things happened. I got it right on paper here with me, wrote it in 1931. How that I said, "This President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, he will cause all the world, help do it, send the world to war." Hadn't come to war yet, during times of depression. I said, "Another thing..." And my mother, a square-back Democrat, if she didn't look at me hard when I said that. I said, "I don't care if there's a Republican or if he was a Socialist or whatever he is, this is THUS SAITH THE LORD."<ref>''Jezebel Religion 1961''</ref> | |||
:1933, the Holy Spirit came one morning and told me seven things that would take place before this nation was destroyed. One of them is that. It's on old paper there at the church, many has looked at it. How that we would go to war with Hitler and they'd... How Germany would fortify and build a Maginot line, or the Siegfried line, I believe it was, eleven years before it was ever thought of. ÖMany, many years before it happened perfectly on the dot. And it's never failed, and it won't fail, because it's THUS SAITH THE LORD.<ref>''Once More 1963''</ref> | |||
:How that the Americas would go to war with Germany, they'd take an awful beating at a place called, a great line where there would be concrete fortified in there, I believe it's called the Siegfried line. And there's one called Maginot, I believe that was the French. Was that right? And the Siegfried line was the German line. And the Lord let me see that, eleven years before it was built. And they never would admit getting a beating on it, the Americans wouldn't, till they almost sunk the complete army. When they went in there, the Germans had their guns just trained right out on that fleet, and let it get right in there, and almost sunk it. And I seen that, eleven years before the line was ever--ever a foundation was ever poured for it, or anything, the Siegfried line.<ref>''Shalom 1964''</ref> | |||
What could be made of this? During the war where did the Americans take a beating, was it at the Maginot or Siegfried fortification? Who caused the world to go to war, Hitler or Roosevelt? Were the Siegfried Line guns ever trained on the American fleet? | What could be made of this? During the war where did the Americans take a beating, was it at the Maginot or Siegfried fortification? Who caused the world to go to war, Hitler or Roosevelt? Were the Siegfried Line guns ever trained on the American fleet? | ||
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The arguments presented in the ëCritiqueí section will also demonstrate the impossibility of confidently constructing a list of the visions and their content from the sermons. | The arguments presented in the ëCritiqueí section will also demonstrate the impossibility of confidently constructing a list of the visions and their content from the sermons. | ||
===An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages | ===An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages ñ William Branham's book=== | ||
This is the last possible source of a description of the visions. Fortunately, it suffers from none of the drawbacks and uncertainties of the other four sources. | This is the last possible source of a description of the visions. Fortunately, it suffers from none of the drawbacks and uncertainties of the other four sources. | ||
The book was written by William Branham with assistance from a friend and co-worker, Lee Vayle, to summarise fifteen messages he preached in December 1960 which addressed the Seven Church Ages and other topics in the book of Revelation. These sermons have been published as a series entitled | The book was written by William Branham with assistance from a friend and co-worker, Lee Vayle, to summarise fifteen messages he preached in December 1960 which addressed the Seven Church Ages and other topics in the book of Revelation. These sermons have been published as a series entitled ëThe Revelation of Jesus Christí. | ||
The list in this book (in the chapter ëThe Laodicean Church Ageí) should be an accurate record of the 1933 visions because the original written records of those visions would have been available to ensure that the list was correct. Further, they are unambiguously and succinctly stated and ordered and there are seven (and only seven) unique visions. It would be obvious, therefore, from this work, what the visions were, how many there were and their order and timing. | The list in this book (in the chapter ëThe Laodicean Church Ageí) should be an accurate record of the 1933 visions because the original written records of those visions would have been available to ensure that the list was correct. Further, they are unambiguously and succinctly stated and ordered and there are seven (and only seven) unique visions. It would be obvious, therefore, from this work, what the visions were, how many there were and their order and timing. | ||
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The visions documented in the Church Age Book ought therefore to be definitive. This list was authored by William Branham and if it is not correct then there is little basis for deciding what the visions actually were. In fact, considering the time that elapsed from the original sermons in December 1960 to when the book was published, after 1966, there could be no excuse for a failure to ensure that the visions were documented as originally recorded. Therefore, there is no room, today, to say that in some way these particular vision statements are inaccurate or incomplete. | The visions documented in the Church Age Book ought therefore to be definitive. This list was authored by William Branham and if it is not correct then there is little basis for deciding what the visions actually were. In fact, considering the time that elapsed from the original sermons in December 1960 to when the book was published, after 1966, there could be no excuse for a failure to ensure that the visions were documented as originally recorded. Therefore, there is no room, today, to say that in some way these particular vision statements are inaccurate or incomplete. | ||
This also means that any new or any changed detail suggested in sermons post | This also means that any new or any changed detail suggested in sermons post 1933 would have to be viewed as additional to the originals, with the obvious question ñ how could there be additions to the visions unless there were additional visions! | ||
Note also, that if you prefer another list ñ say the one in the ëLaodicean Church Ageí sermon itself or that in ëThe Seventieth Week of Danielí then further lists of variations to those lists could be highlighted and would need to be explained in the same way that departures from the Church Age Book list need to be explained. | Note also, that if you prefer another list ñ say the one in the ëLaodicean Church Ageí sermon itself or that in ëThe Seventieth Week of Danielí then further lists of variations to those lists could be highlighted and would need to be explained in the same way that departures from the Church Age Book list need to be explained. | ||
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| Prediction || The Laodicean Age began around the turn of the Twentieth Century, perhaps 1906. How long will it last? As a servant of God who has had multitudes of visions, of which NONE has ever failed, let me predict (I did not say prophesy, but predict) that this age will end around 1977. If you will pardon a personal note here, I base this prediction on seven major continuous visions that came to me one Sunday morning in June, 1933. The Lord Jesus spoke to me and said that the coming of the Lord was drawing nigh, but that before He came, seven major events would transpire. | | Prediction || The Laodicean Age began around the turn of the Twentieth Century, perhaps 1906. How long will it last? As a servant of God who has had multitudes of visions, of which NONE has ever failed, let me predict (I did not say prophesy, but predict) that this age will end around 1977. If you will pardon a personal note here, I base this prediction on seven major continuous visions that came to me one Sunday morning in June, 1933. The Lord Jesus spoke to me and said that the coming of the Lord was drawing nigh, but that before He came, seven major events would transpire. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | Mussolini || The first vision was that Mussolini would invade Ethiopia and that nation would ìfall at his steps.î But the vision also said that Mussolini would come to a horrible end with his own people turning on him. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | Hitler|| An Austrian by the name of Adolph Hitler would rise up as dictator over Germany, and that he would draw the world into war. It showed the Siegfried line and how our troops would have a terrible time to overcome it. Then it showed that Hitler would come to a mysterious end. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | Three ISMs || The third vision was in the realm of world politics for it showed me that there would be three great ISMS, Facism, Nazism, Communism, but that the first two would be swallowed up into the third. The voice admonished, "WATCH RUSSIA, WATCH RUSSIA. Keep your eye on the King of the North." | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | Scientific Progress || The fourth vision showed the great advances in science that would come after the second world war. It was headed up in the vision of a plastic bubble-topped car that was running down beautiful highways under remote control so that people appeared seated in this car without a steering wheel and they were playing some sort of a game to amuse themselves. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | Women and morals || The fifth vision had to do with the moral problem of our age, centering mostly around women. God showed me that women began to be out of their place with the granting of the vote. Then they cut off their hair, which signified that they were no longer under the authority of a man but insisted on either equal rights, or in most cases, more than equal rights. She adopted men's clothing and went into a state of undress, until the last picture I saw was a woman naked except for a little fig leaf type apron. With this vision I saw the terrible perversion and moral plight of the whole world. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | Powerful woman in America || Then in the sixth vision there arose up in America a most beautiful, but cruel woman. She held the people in her complete power. I believed that this was the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, though I knew it could possibly be a vision of some woman rising in great power in America due to a popular vote by women. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | America destroyed || The last and seventh vision was wherein I heard a most terrible explosion. As I turned to look I saw nothing but debris, craters, and smoke all over the land of America. | ||
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