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OR A Prophet With The "Messiah Second Coming Sign"?  More Than Spiritual Gifts!
"And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue (strength) is gone out of me."
Allow me a few minutes of your time
to highlight
incidents of the "supernatural" which vindicate
that this Ministry
which God has sent our way, was more than a "Gift of
Healing". To find
comparisons to this Ministry we have to go back into
the Scriptures -
to the Personal Ministry of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Apostle Paul and
the Old Testament Prophets such as Elijah, Elisha,
Samuel, Daniel,
Ezekiel, etc. Such was the Anointing and Power upon the
Ministry of
William Branham. An "Open Vision" Ministry has
been given to the
Church through this man.
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At the end of one of his campaigns he was conducting a Water Baptismal Service in the presence of all these people. As he was about to baptize the seventeenth person, he heard a still small Voice say, "Look Up!" Looking up he saw It descending toward him - It looked like a blazing Star, a Pillar of Fire. It descended with the sound of "rushing wind". Almost 4000 people witnessed this. They heard the wind and they saw the Pillar Of Fire. Many ran in fear while others knelt in prayer. This Supernatural Pillar of Fire hovered just above William Branham and a Voice spoke out of the Pillar saying.....
This incident caused such a stir that it was reported in the local paper and the report even found it's way into a Canadian newspaper in Ontario. But What a statement!
We would all do well to take heed and seriously consider the Ministry of which we speak. "Whether we hear it or reject it, yet shall we know that there has been a Prophet in the land" ( Ezekiel 2:5). |
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In Scripture we find many examples of Angels appearing to the Prophets, giving them their commission or a Message from God to the people. On page 1291 of the Scofield Bible, Dr. C. I. Scofield, D.D., in his footnote on Angels says:
Therefore it would not be unusual for God, in this Age to ordain, commission and vindicate His Servant through the manifestation of the "Supernatural". From the time that he was seven years old and throughout his life, Brother Branham has heard the audible Voice of an angel speaking to him. Prior to 1946, he had never seen that Angel. But the time was approaching when the Angel would take a more active role in guiding and directing the Ministry committed to William Branham. It was May 7th, 1946. Brother Branham was preparing to take a short fishing trip. He walked out into the yard and as he passed under a maple tree, a mighty rushing wind broke loose in the top of the tree. It seemed as if the tree would be torn apart. Brother Branham staggered under the impact. Running toward him, his wife and friends thought he was sick. But turning to them he said, "For over twenty years I have not been able to understand this ministry and all these strange things. I can't go on like this." This man was desperate to know what the Ministry was all about. What was the purpose of this call of God on his life? This was no ordinary Ministry. The extra-ordinary things happening in his life surely signified more than the ministry of an Evangelist or Pastor. He cancelled his fishing trip and went to his secret cave, near the Ranger's cabin in Green's Mill, Indiana. There he fell on his face prostrate before God, seeking the answers to his questions. After he had spent much time calling on the Lord, he sat up and waited for an answer. It was about the eleventh hour that he saw a soft Light appearing before him. He looked up and rose to moved toward this Light and there hung that Great Star again. It didn't have five points like a star - it looked like a ball of fire, with little licks of fire shooting out from it. Then he heard footsteps, and a man of great stature approached him. According to Brother Branham, the man appeared to be about two hundred pounds in weight, had a dark complexion, no beard, with shoulder-length hair. As the man caught his eye, Brother Branham became very fearful. But the stranger looked at him in a kindly manner and began to speak, saying:
Then the Angel gave further instructions concerning "Two Signs" he would be given to get the people's attention:
Continuing His instructions the Angel told him of how far-reaching his ministry would be:
1. The Pillar Of Fire
hovers over
him at birth.
2. He receives his
first vision at
the age of seven. The vision was fulfilled 22 years
later.
3. From early childhood,
he remembers the
sound of "rushing wind" coming down, or the
"Voice of an Angel"
speaking to him.
4. The Pillar Of Fire
comes down and
hovers over him during a Water Baptismal service.
5. In 1933 he received
6. Visions became a
normal part of his
every day life - Visons of the past, the present and
the future.
7. Now, an Angel From
the Presence of
God appears to him and instructs him concerning his
Ministry.
8. In 1955 the Angel
appears again
with further counsel regarding the first, second and
FINAL Phase of
his Ministry. Bro. Branham referred to these three phases
as three
"Pulls".
9. In 1963 Seven Mighty
Angels came
to him with instructions concerning the 'endtime' Mystery
of God (Rev.
10:7). Life magazine (May 1963) carried a picture of
the Cloud of
Angels.
10. Just an Angel came
to Daniel
with the
Revelation of the Mystery of God for Israel (Daniel
9:20-23), these
Seven Mighty Angels came from Eternity to give
Bro. Branham the
Revelation of the Mystery of the Seven Seals
contained in Scripture
(Rev. 5-10).
11. Just as an Angel
stood by Paul
Acts 27:21-26). and gave him instructions, so
these Angels stood
by Brother Branham and gave him instructions
concerning the final
phase of his Ministry.
What a ministry we have before us.
God forbid that
we should ignore this ministry. We are duty bound
by the Word of
God to accept God's Choice. God
told us in his
Word: "Believe in the Lord your God, shall ye be
established; believe
His Prophets, so shall ye prosper.." (2nd. Chron.
20:20).
REMEMBER! The Word always has and always will COME TO THE
PROPHET. |
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Two Signs Given Now notice that God not only sent an Angel to be with Moses, He also gave him two perfect miracles as signs and proofs to the people that God had appeared to him and commissioned him, under divine guidance, to be their deliverer ( Exodus 4:1-31). Moses' first sign was that of his rod becoming a serpent, and the second sign was that of putting his hand in his bosom and having it become "as leprous as snow," etc. God said to Moses, "It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the latter sign" ( Exod. 4:8). In the last three verses of this chapter we read that when these two signs were repeated "in the sight of the people, the people believed... and they bowed their heads and worshipped." It's the same in this Age. When God sent William Branham to this generation with a Message, He not only sent an Angel to be with him, but He also gave him "Two perfectly miraculous Signs" as proof that God had commissioned him. These signs served a "Twofold Purpose". First, they have served to raise the faith of thousands to believe God for their healing. Secondly, the "signs" got the attention of the people that "The Man Sent From God" might give them "The Message" he had received from God. Of course, as is the pattern through the Scriptures, most of the people "ACCEPT the Signs" of the Prophets BUT they REJECT their MESSAGE". It was same when our Lord Himself appeared in flesh almost two thousand years ago. When He Spoke the Message to line the people up with the Word of God for "that day", they said, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" Responding to their unbelieving attitude, Jesus said, "Doth this offend you?" But most of the religious people were offended by the Truth which Jesus spoke, and "From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." (John 6:60-66). The test of their discipleship was whether or not they could accept His Doctrine - His teaching. A change of dispensations was at hand but the people, then, like now, refused to change. They fail to realize that we are also living in a 'changing time'. It's so hard to change the people's thought's, especially in the area of spiritual things. Stephen found the same thing as he attempted to expound the Message to the people in his day. Stephen said, "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do ye." (Acts 7:51). |
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The First Sign With sign in his hand Branham was able to detect the affliction, disease or spirit that was troubling the individual. When the individual place their right hand in his right hand, Bro. Branham would feel a vibration in his own hand (something like an electric current) and certain swellings would appear on the back of his hand. This power was so real that it would cause his wrist watch to stop instantly. But after rebuking and casting out the evil spirit though prayer, his hand would return to normal. Of course Bro. Branham's hand would be numb for hours after he had finished praying for a number of people. At no time did this sign ever fail to be exactly right. It most certainly got the attention of the people. Some recognized it as being God; others called it 'the Devil'. If it was the Devil then the Devil must have been converted because "The Voice" behind the sign constantly called out against sin, exposed Satan's influence on the people, and called men and women to turn from their sin and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. |
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The Second Sign This Second sign was NOT as some mistakenly called it "Discerning of spirits". This sign was beyond that. It was exactly as the Angel had said, "And it shall come to pass that you will know the very secret of the heart." This sign made William Branham "A Seer" before the people. This sign proved Jesus Christ to be "the same yesterday, Today, and Forever." Truly, the Son of Man, even Our Lord Jesus Christ was revealed in this sign. (Luke 17:30). When the Lord Jesus was here 2000 years ago, He performed this same sign. He was the WORD made flesh to dwell among (WITH) us. NOW He is the WORD, by the Holy Ghost, IN us (John 14:17). In Hebrews 4:12 we read, "For the Word of God is quick (living), and powerful (vindicating itself), and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Jesus Christ has shown Himself alive in this age of the Resurrection, through His servant and Prophet, in this "Messiah Sign" - discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. Look at John 4:7, 14-19,25-26. It's the story of Jesus and the Woman at the well. He discerned the very thoughts and intents of her heart. She said, "I perceive that thou art a Prophet." As He continued to talked to her she called the others in the city saying, "...is not this the Christ?" It's amazing that this ill-famed woman recognized the "Messiah Sign" BUT the religious leaders called it the Devil. Remember! Our opinion of it TODAY, manifested in the Ministry of William Branham, would have been our opinion 2000 years ago if we were there to see it in the Ministry of Jesus. The SAME ONE that did it then is the SAME ONE that has performed the same thing today. William Branham said many time, as he stood on the platform, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart, "This is not me, this is HIM. A man can't do that. it's our Lord Jesus." Night after night on the platform, God's Prophet stood under the Anointing of Jesus Christ and discerned the 'thoughts' and 'intents' of the hearts of the people. By the Holy Spirit, he went back into their past life, bringing out things that wasn't 'under the blood' or revealing things that had happened to them, even from earliest childhood, even things they had forgotten; Time after time even future events were seen and made know to many individuals. One vision after another came, showing the Prophet even the very INTENT of the hearts of the people. He would tell them what sickness they had etc. Not one time did it fail to be right. Time after time, when Brother Branham became conscious of the Presence of the Angel on the platform with him, he would make this statement, "I now take every spirit in this building, under my control, in the Name of Jesus Christ, for the Glory of God." At that moment he said, "You couldn't hide your thoughts, even if you tried". This was more than the ministry of an Evangelist with a 'gift of healing'. This was the gift of healing PLUS. Indeed this was the Ministry of a Prophet, one called from the womb to do God's bidding. No doubt, throughout the Church Ages, a number of Christians here and there, have been endowed with the "Gift of Healing" which is listed among the nine spiritual gifts in the 12th Chapter of I Corinthians, each of which is defined as "The manifestation of the Spirit." (I Cor. 12:7-11) But Brother Branham is a channel for more than the mere gift of healing; he is also a Seer as were the Old Testament Prophets. He sees events before they take place. A Brother asked him, "What do you mean, 'you see these things'? How do you see them?" He replied, "Just as I see you; only that I know it is a vision." Just as clearly as one sees material things around them, Brother Branham, while in prayer during the day, would see in a vision some of the principal miracles before they take place. There were times when he would (beforehand) tell certain people exactly what would take place in certain services: who would be there, where they would be sitting and what they would be wearing. He has seen people coming before they even got to where he was. Backed up by the vision, he would say, "Thus Saith The Lord!" Surely Brothers and Sisters, we know that God didn't just send this ministry for the sole purpose of praying for the sick. This ministry has a greater significance than that. |
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A Scriptural Sign Jesus told the Woman At the Well all that was in her heart. Jesus told Nathanael, "Before Phillip called you, I SAW YOU when you were under the fig tree." (John 1:47-50). When the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus' garment, Jesus said "Who touched me?" Jesus FELT not the physical touch but the 'touch of faith'. He said, "Virtue (strength to heal) has gone from me." (Mark 5:30) One time in the Louisville meeting, while he was praying for the sick on the platform, he felt a steady pull of faith from the audience, and as soon as the pulling ceased, he pointed in that direction and said, "A lady right back there has just been healed of a cancer." And she was. While reading the Scripture to another audience, he stopped and pointed to a man he never saw before, and said to him, "Brother, your faith has just now healed that running cancer between your knee and your ankle." The cancer dried up on the spot. While praying for those in the healing line in a Flint meeting, he stopped and pointing up toward the second gallery to his right, said, "I have just now had a vision of a lady dressed in a blue suit wearing a striped waist coat. She has just been healed of a cancer." The woman sprang to her feet and with great joy said, "I am the lady." Her faith did for her in the second gallery what faith was doing for those on the platform. A young lady who was born with her eyes crossed and who was attending Bible School in Fort Wayne during the meeting there said to Mrs. Bosworth who was back at the book stand, "I can't see how I can ever get into that healing line, there are so many." Mrs. Bosworth said to her, "You won't need to. You just sit back here and ask God to lift your faith to the healing level, and you will pull from the gift the healing virtue." She did this, and during the service Brother Branham stopped and pointed in her direction and said, "A young lady way back there was just now healed of crossed eyes." Her eyes have been straight ever since. A young lady was carried into the meeting on a cot. She was dying of leukemia. Both at Johns Hopkins and at the Mayo Clinic she was told that everything possible had been done and that there was no hope of her living. Her mind had begun to give way. Bro. Bosworth slipped off the platform to her cot and told her to be praying that God would lift her faith to the healing level and that it would either operate the gift or pull Brother Branham down to her. He (Bro. Bosworth) watched her lips moving in prayer and all at once Brother Branham felt the pull of faith, jumped off the platform and went to her cot, prayed for her, and said, "In Jesus' name arise from your cot, receive divine strength and be well." She obeyed and with hands uplifted and with tears of joy and worship flowing down her cheeks, she walked back and forth before all the people and down the aisles. Her sister told me afterwards, "My sister is wonderful." We could take page after page of testimonies, telling of the marvelous things that have taken place in this Ministry BUT sufficient has been given to show us clearly that "There has been a Prophet in the land" and we would do well to seek out and search the Message left in the wake of all these Signs and Wonders. AMEN! |
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