William Branham's View of Himself: Difference between revisions

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'''(a)''' Will you accept William Branham's statements and conclude that he was God himself - greater than Jesus, equal to the Holy Spirit, infallible, and above reproach? 

==He did not rebuke people who bowed before his photograph==

:''Little Sister Burns, that rests with God tonight, was standing in her home, took that little picture with the Angel of the Lord on the top of it, and knelt down before It and said, "O God, help me to find Brother Branham for my dear husband."  (April 7, 1957, William Branham, Sermon: Then Jesus Came)

==He said he was the Holy Ghost==

==He claimed to do things that Jesus could not do==

==If you disagreed with him you were blaspheming the Holy Spirit==

:''...She said, '''"Reverend Branham, if I want somebody, talk to me about like that, I'll get somebody that's got some sense; not you."'''

I said, "Very well. I have done all I can do. '''Remember, sister, you--if you blaspheme the Holy Ghost, you'll never be saved.'''"<ref>53-0611 SHOW.US.THE.FATHER.AND.IT'LL.SATISFY.US_ CONNERSVILLE.IN</ref>

:'''Call Me fanatic if you wish to and blaspheme the Holy Ghost.'''<ref>61-0411 BUT.IT.WASN'T.SO.FROM.THE.BEGINNING_ BLOOMINGTON.IL</ref>

==He said he was born a prophet==

:''Now, I--I believe that it was borned as--as a prophetic utterance. Oh, many people call it one thing, and another thing, and so forth. I don't know what it is, just so the Lord loves me, and I love Him, and settles it with me. Don't have to be anything, call it anything, just so it gets the results for the Lord Jesus and for His people. That's the main thing. It has caused many others, Brother Roberts for one, Brother Jaggers, most all of them, they come set right where you're setting. They seen the Lord working; it inspired their faith, and said, "Here we go." And they went out and done something for the Lord. I hope there's fifty comes out of this meeting the same way. That's right. Go out and do something. It's all for the Kingdom of God, all for His Glory.  <ref> HOW.THE.ANGEL.CAME.TO.ME_  OWENSBORO.KY  SATURDAY_  53-1107 </ref>

==He said he was an Old Testament Prophet in the New Testament==

:''They'd always go down and find out where this prophet was. A seer means--a seer means to either "foretell or tell forth," he is a seer that sees things that's going to happen. And he predicts it to the people. And the Bible said, "If it doesn't come to pass, then don't you hear him." It has to be every time. God cannot fail, see. "And if it doesn't come to pass," then He said, "He wasn't with that person." So upon that, the people knew that the Word of the Lord was with this seer that He had, the Old Testament seers. <ref> THE.SIGN.OF.THIS.TIME_  NY.NY  V-18 N-8  WEDNESDAY_  63-1113 </ref>

:'''''Now the Holy Spirit doesn't change that trend.'''

:''Now, see, I never said I was a prophet; he said it.  And the prophet, the word prophet, "seer," Old Test-... Now, the English version of prophet means "a preacher." But the Old Testament seer was a man who had "the Divine interpretation of the Word," and was proven by the Word coming to him and foreseeing it. That was what...<ref> THREE.KINDS.OF.BELIEVERS_ JEFF.IN V-3 N-6 SUNDAY_ 63-1124E </ref>

:''But, Lord, You promised that You would be the Word, and You are the Word. "And I will come to you, and make Myself known unto you." We find that Your systems, Your system, never changes.  When You come in the Old Testament, You said, "The Word came to the prophets." And when It did, they prophesied and It come to pass, because It was God. <ref> THE.WORLD.IS.AGAIN.FALLING.APART_ SHP.LA V-17 N-4 WEDNESDAY_ 63-1127 </ref>

:''He did it at the beginning; He does it same today. Each one of the prophets was separated from unbelief. They, reason they did that, is because the Word of the Lord came to them. Now, I believe in a night, somewhere, perhaps was here Sunday or last night, that I was speaking what the word "seer," in the Old Testament, meant. It meant a man, "a diviner, a man that would tell the future events that were coming to pass." And then when they come to pass exactly, without failure, come to pass exactly what he said, then God said, "Listen to this man, or hear him, fear him, for I am with him." Then he had the Divine interpretation of the written Word, for that was his credentials of identification, that he was God's prophet and the Word come to him. That's right. <ref> GOD'S.WORD.CALLS.FOR.A.TOTAL.SEPARATION.FROM.UNBELIEF_ PHOENIX.AZ V-3 N-20 TUESDAY_ 64-0121 </ref>

:''When God makes a promise and God says... In--in the beginning, in Genesis, He lotted His Word to each age as It come down from the beginning to the end. And, down through these ages, the church world has got all these things all mixed up by traditions, and so forth, and God always sends on the scene, down through the Old Testament and New, prophets! And the Word of the Lord comes to the prophet. <ref> GOD.IS.HIS.OWN.INTERPRETER_ BAKF.CA  V-8 N-6  WEDNESDAY_  64-0205 </ref>

:''But when you see the man speaking what's going to happen, in the Name of the Lord, and it happens day in and out, week in and out, month in and out, year in and out, then you know that come from God. See? That's God's credentials to the man, that he is the interpreter of the written Word for that day, because God sent the man to do it. If the churches only had some good, sound teaching on these things, see, they would understand It.  

:''...I hope that my class under-... Do you understand what I mean? Raise you hand so... See? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] And, understand, you must understand. Friend, This is your Life. See? This is your Life. Yes.

:''His credentials is that God has a vindicated this person to be a seer. Now the English word, a prophet, just means a "preacher." See? Anybody, every preacher is a prophet, 'cause he is foretelling something. Preaching the Word, under inspiration, is called a "prophet."

:''But in the Old Testament, they were more than that, they were seers. See? They were man who told things that was coming to pass, and it happened. That give him the rights to be the--the interpreter of the Word for that day, because God took the Word of that day and interpreted It, Himself, through that man. And that's what he come on the earth for, he is always a sign, when a prophet comes to the earth. Just watch as we go through it, and see if it isn't so. He always sends His prophet. When you see a prophet rise on the scene, [Brother Branham snaps his finger--Ed.] look out. We're looking for one to come now, you know. And then when you see it, you just remember it's something is fixing to happen. This is his credentials, then God interprets His Word by him and through him. Numbers 12:6 tells that.

:''And, remember, the entire Bible was wrote by the prophets. Why? The Word of the Lord came to them after they was vindicated. <ref> THE.VOICE.OF.THE.SIGN_  TULARE.CA  V-22 N-12  FRIDAY_  64-0214 </ref>

:''Now the English word, prophet, p-r-o-p-h-e-t, means, "a preacher," just anybody a preaching.  But a seer of the Old Testament, which was referred to as a prophet, he was the one that foresaw things. He said, "If there be one among you who is spiritual, or a prophet, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him. And what he says comes to pass, then hear him; but if it doesn't come to pass, don't hear that prophet, see, 'cause he's prophesying falsely. But if I have sent him, that'll be My identification, what he says will come to pass. He is born in the world, ordained, foreordained of God to do that." Cause, "All gifts and callings are without repentance." They are foreordained of God. <ref> THE.IDENTIFICATION.OF.CHRIST.IN.ALL.AGES_  BIRMINGHAM.AL  THURSDAY_  64-0409 </ref>

:''"The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged Sword, and a discerner of the thoughts that's in the heart." That's what them prophets were. They, that's where they foresaw things, you see, and it was exactly right, because it was the Word for that age. If you understand that, just raise your hand, silently. So, see, it was the Word for that age. That's what identified them the prophet.

:''...Hebrews, 1st chapter, "God, in sundry times and divers manners spake to the fathers by the prophets."  And those prophets! The church got all so twisted up that when... Those prophets, those daring messengers of God, come without church, without denomination, without organization, without anything; defied kings, kingdoms, churches, and everything. When the priests was brought before... They was brought before the priests, they wasn't ashamed, because they had directly THUS SAITH THE LORD.

:''If you notice, the prophet, in one sense of the word, in the Old Testament, when he said THUS SAITH THE LORD, now watch him, he goes right into the phrase of taking the place of God. You notice, when he placed out before him, THUS SAITH THE LORD, he fell right into God, and he acted as God. Then he gave his Message, which was God speaking through him, "THUS SAITH THE LORD!" <ref> ASHAMED_  JEFF.IN  V-3 N-9 SUNDAY_ 65-0711 </ref>

==He thought he was the Elijah prophet in fulfillment of Malachi 4==

:''Now, anyone knows that Amos 3:7 says that God promised that He would never do nothing until first He revealed it to His prophet. Through the church ages we've had reformers; but promised by Malachi 4 that there would be a prophet in the land in the last days (because it has to fit that pattern, see) before the end time come. <ref> TRYING.TO.DO.GOD.A.SERVICE.WITHOUT.IT.BEING.GOD'S.WILL SHP.LA 65-1127B </ref>

===He was the last sign===

===He said that all of his visions and prophecies were fulfilled===

:''Comes, many, many, times and tells things. And I don't live far from here, a hundred and nineteen miles. You can go to my home town and find it one time, in all the times that It's ever told anything, that didn't come to pass just exactly the way It said. Now, you pin a sign on my back as a false prophet, and I'll walk through your streets. 'Cause it's not myself, I'm a man, but He's God. And He's the One Who does the saying. If I would say it, it could be a lie, 'cause I'm subject to any--any mistakes, lies, anything else, like anybody else. <ref> DO.YOU.NOW.BELIEVE_  OWENSBORO.KY  FRIDAY_  53-1106 </ref>

:''Now in the days that we're living, any historian here knows that any revival only lasts about three years, and then out of that revival comes an organization. Brother, sister, in this great fifteen-year revival that I have lived in, been privileged to live it with you, there hasn't been an organization come out of it. There is no more organizations. There won't be. There is the last. Now, Pentecost had to be there to protect this. Where would we have went with a Message like this if there hadn't been a Pentecostal to believe it? Now go back to the Ohio River, in 1933. See?

:''Excuse this, but I want you to know the Truth. And I haven't got much time left, you know that, I'm fifty-five. But these tapes will live when I'm gone, and you'll see whether it's right, or not, if I be a true servant or a false prophet. I've never told you nothing yet but what happened, so will this happen. <ref> THE.HARVEST.TIME PHOENIX.AZ  64-1212 </ref>

===He said his words were God's words===

:''Remember, I'm not a false prophet. I tell the truth. God wouldn't lie. And see if it isn't going to be greater that it has ever has been at any time. <ref> GOD.HATH.A.PROVIDED.WAY_ JEFF.IN  SUNDAY_  56-0108 </ref>

===His interpretation of the Bible was correct===

:''Now, let us all pray. Lord, with our heads bowed, just now, it's got to be known that Your Scripture's the truth, and I've told the truth of It, or either, I am wrong and a false prophet, or Your Scripture has misled us. Now, Lord, we know that that's not so. We know that Your Scriptures are Truth. <ref> LED.BY.THE.SPIRIT_ LA.CA TUESDAY_ 59-0407 </ref>

===Deuteronomy 18:22 Applied to William Branham===

:''The Bible said, "If there be one spiritual or a prophet, and what he says comes to pass, then believe him." Is that right? Well, I'm with that. "But if it doesn't come to pass, don't believe it." Those things are born; you're born to do that. <ref> THE.ANGEL.OF.GOD_ TOLEDO.OH FRIDAY_ 51-0720 </ref>  

:''Then somebody--spiritual judgment, raise up and say, "Was of that of the Lord?" Each one. If three good men will stand and say, spiritual judges say, "That was of the Lord," then the church receives it; and everybody in that end of town moves out, gets away from it for that time. Then if it doesn't come to pass you'd better check that person. You've got another spirit among you. But if it comes to pass, then bless God and thank God for letting you escape the wrath that was to come. See? Watch those things. That's the church in order. <ref> QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.2  JEFF.IN  COD  54-0103E </ref>

:''"If I am the truth..." The Bible says, "There be one spiritual prophet among you, and if he declares something, and it doesn't come to pass, don't you listen to him, because he's false. But if does come to pass, know that I spoke through him." Is that right? <ref> THE.MIGHTY.CONQUEROR_ EDMONTON.AB THURSDAY_ 57-0808 </ref>

:''I want you to take It to record. The Bible said, "If there arise one among you, and he says such-and-such, and it doesn't come to pass, don't hear it, for I haven't spoken. But if he speaks in My Name, and what he says comes to pass, then hear It." Amen. "For I am with that prophet, or preacher, whatever it may be. If what he says comes to pass, then hear him." <ref> HEBREWS.CHAPTER.TWO.2  JEFF.IN   57-0825E </ref>

:''Because he was called "god," because he packed within him the Word of God, THUS SAITH THE LORD. Therefore, the word "prophet" means a... His--his interpretation isn't to be mingled with. See? If the God... He says, "If there be one among you who's spiritual, a prophet, I the Lord will speak to him. What he says comes to pass, then hear him because I'm with him. But if it doesn't come to pass, then don't hear him; I haven't sent him. That's the way you know it. <ref> THE.REVELATION.OF.JESUS.CHRIST JEFF.IN 60-1204M </ref>

So many prophets today, telling so many different things, gets the people confused. Don't presume. Just watch His vindicated promise. Let's see.  Deuteronomy 18:22, God said, "If there be one among you spiritual or a prophet, and what he says comes to pass, then you hear him. If it doesn't come to pass, then don't hear him."  

==He was not subject to the judgment of the church==

:''Now, those are the spirits of the gifts that's in the Church. But the only person that has a right to say, THUS SAITH THE LORD, is an a vindicated prophet. You never seen anybody judging Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or those people. They were prophets, foreordained and borned in the world to be prophets. And they foresaw the thing by a vision, and then said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD," for the Lord had already said it.

:''Who ever stood to judge Isaiah, to see whether his prophecy was right or not? They knowed from his time through that he was a prophet. Who stood to say to Jeremiah, when God told him He made him a prophet before he was born from his mother's womb. And all those who lived right, they knowed he was a prophet.

:''For a when a gift of prophecy come to a man, they declared him to be a prophet. Now, that's wrong. There's quite a difference between a gift of prophecy and prophet.  A gift of prophecy is in the church. But a prophet is borned a prophet. See? That's the difference. So as any man at... This man might prophesy tonight; he might never prophesy no more. It might be on that woman over there the next night, and this man back here the next night, and that one over there. See?

:''But when the gift of prophecy is operating, it cannot be received unless two or three judge it, to see whether it's right or not. But a prophet, singular, p-r-o-p-h-e-t is borned a prophet, comes up a prophet. Everything he says in the Name of the Lord is absolutely truth, if he's prophesying.

:''God in sundry times spoke to the fathers through to the prophets, these last days through His Son, Jesus Christ. A gift of prophecy is in the Body and two or three has to set before it to see if it's--to be judged when it's spoke. But you've never seen nobody stand before Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Korah tried to stand before Moses one day, and the world swallowed him or the earth swallowed him up. See? But a prophet is born, election. All through life it's the Word of the Lord just as it comes to them. Now, He reveals.

:''There's quite a difference between gift of prophecy and a prophet. The gift of prophecy has to be judged by three good spiritual judges, before the church can receive it, according to Paul's writing in Corinthians. The judges has to judge this, has to judge the interpretations of tongues, 'fore the church receives it, because they wouldn't know wh... But now, you take a person that would a prophet like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses. No one stood before them to judge whether it was right or not. They were borned in this world prophets. The Word of God was with them.

:''God told Zechariah, said, "Before you was even formed in your mother's womb, I knew you, and sanctified you, and ordained you a prophet to the nation. Is that right? All the way up they had, THUS SAITH THE LORD, not... No judges standing before them. They had the Word of God. That's right.

:''And there's a vast difference between a gift of prophecy and a prophet. A gift of prophecy will act on one and then another and it's to be judged. But a prophet has the Word of the Lord. And a prophet is a borned a prophet. See?

:''Now, the gift of prophecy has to be judged by judges before it could be announced to the church. It might be on this one tonight, that one tomorrow night, that one the next night, that one... It's a gift in the church. But a prophet is born from the mother's wombs a prophet. The Bible said that John the Baptist, being a prophet, seven hundred and twelve years before he was born Isaiah saw him and said, "He's the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Is that right? Moses was borned a prophet, had no choice of it.

:''Now, there's a difference between a prophet and a gift of prophecy. Gift of prophecy can be on one, then the other; then it still has to be judged before three judges before the Church can receive it. But not the prophet of the Old Testament, he was born a prophet. He always was a prophet. He had the Word of God. And after he's dead, he's still a prophet. Did that bother you?

:''And Paul said, "You all may prophesy." Now, them's not all prophets; that's the gift of prophecy. A gift of prophecy, it has to be judged by two or three judges before it can even be given to the church, or past upon. But if God sends a prophet, it's borned a prophet, always, with THUS SAITH THE LORD. See?