William Branham believed that the 7th Church Age Angel (Revelation 3:14) and the 7th Angel of Revelation 10:7 were one and the same individual. He implicated himself as this individual and said that his mission was to "finish all of the mysteries that have been lost" through the ages. His Message would include revealing such "mysteries" as Serpent's Seed and Marriage and Divorce. But he did not complete his self-appointed task. There are at least three major mysteries that Mr. Branham left unfinished. These are the source of many contentions within the ranks of his followers. They are:

1. The Seventh Seal: Mr. Branham believed that his interpretation of the 7 seals (Revelation, chapters 5-8) was essential in preparing his followers for Christ’s soon return. He spent the week of March 18 thru the 23, 1963, "revealing" the meaning of the first 6 seals from Revelation 6. However, on the evening he was to reveal the 7th seal, he did not explain its meaning. It remains a mystery to his followers to this day.
2. The Seven Thunders (Revelation 10:3,4): Likewise, Mr. Branham spoke of the 7 Thunders, but never revealed what the voices spoke.
3. The Third Pull: Although not a biblical mystery, Mr. Branham created a new mystery, speaking of a future phase of his ministry which he called the Third Pull. Not only did he fail to say what this phase of his ministry would accomplish, but he never fulfilled it before his death.

To this day, followers of the Message cannot agree on what these mysteries mean.

If one is diligent to study Mr. Branham’s Message in any detail, it will be discovered that many of his teachings contradict previous viewpoints he had on a variety of given subjects. At times his beliefs seem to vacillate between one point of view and another. One such example is illustrated in his teachings on Daniel 9:24-27.

In 1961, Mr. Branham preached a series of sermons on the 70 Weeks of Daniel. During the series, he made clear that the 70th week starts after the Rapture of the Church. He said that the Tribulation starts in the midst of the 70th week. He reiterated this view at least 11 times during the course of the series, referring to specific verses from the Bible for support.

In 1963 and 1964 he taught a different version of Daniel's 70 Weeks, (see, "Evening Messenger," 63-0116; "Conduct, Order and Doctrine II," 64-0823m, page 953). In these instances, Mr. Branham said that the first half of the 70th week represents Jesus' 3 1/2 year ministry, after which he is cut off, or crucified. The second half of the last week starts at the beginning of the Tribulation. He uses no scriptural references.

In August, 1964, ("Conduct, Order and Doctrine," 64-0830m, page 1125-1126), a question from the audience addresses the discrepancy between this and his 1961 interpretation:

Q: [Mr. Branham reads the question] "Brother Branham, when you gave the message on the seventy church weeks--seventy weeks (Pardon me.) of Daniel, I believe that you mentioned that the full--the full last week or last seven years will begin when the Bride was taken in the rapture."

A: [Mr. Branham answers] No, no, no, no, no, nah, nah, nah. You got that wrong (See?), not the full seven weeks. The--the week started when Jesus came on earth. He said, "The Messiah, Prince, shall come and prophesy, and in the midst of the seven weeks, He'll be cut off." And Jesus preached exactly three and one half years, which is half of the seventy weeks, the seven days, week--weekdays. See? And there's three and one half years left...it's a very nice question, but (See?) you didn't get it, just what I said. Never did I believe that the whole seventy weeks would be over here. Messiah's cut off. How many remembers that in preaching up here? Certainly. See? Seven weeks.
"Questions and Answers #3," Conduct, Order and Doctrine #2, (tape #64-0830M)

The questioner was correct. Mr. Branham's answer just contradicted his entire 1961 series on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel. To make matters worse, his revised teaching is in conflict with the text of the Scriptures. According to Daniel 9, the Messiah is cut off at the end of 69 weeks. It is in the midst of the 70th week that the prince from Daniel 9:26 causes "the sacrifice and the oblation to cease . . ." Mr. Branham's interpretation was more correct when he used the Bible as his guide.

William Branham taught that God, as a being, is not omnipresent (everywhere at once):

"Now, you cannot be omnipresent without being omniscient. God's not even omnipresent; God's omniscient. Omniscient which means--makes Him omnipresent (He knows all things). But in order to be a being He has to be in one being."
The Masterpiece, 1964 (tape #64-0705)

"He's [God]--He's infinite, and He's--He's omnipresent, omniscient, therefore He knows all things. He can't be present everywhere. By being omniscient, knowing all things, then He can be present everywhere."
The Harvest Time, 1964 (tape #64-1212)

Mr. Branham's view is that God only seems omnipresent because he is omniscient (knows all things). But as a being, He cannot be everywhere at the same time. Now let's read what the Bible says:

Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

The Bible clearly says that God is literally omnipresent, everywhere at once!

William Branham taught that when God created Adam in Genesis 1, Adam was formed as a spirit being without a body of flesh. Mr. Branham called this spirit body of Adam a theophany (the theological term theophany actually refers to the visible or auditory manifestation of God Himself. Mr. Branham obviously did not understand this). He said that later, in chapter 2, God created Adam's body of flesh. Naturally, Eve's body could not have been formed from Adam's rib until then. But Genesis 1:27-28 says that God created them male and female. This would indicate that Adam and Eve were created in physical form in chapter one. Further evidence that chapter one deals with the bodily creation of Adam and Eve is that God told them to be fruitful and increase in number. If God had created only Adam in spirit form at this point, God's command would be unfeasible. Furthermore, if Adam were created as a spirit being first, and then as a man of flesh, it would contradict what Paul said when he wrote, "Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy: the second man [Jesus] is the Lord from heaven." (1 Corinthians 15:46-47)

Genesis 1:29 says that God gave every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit to them for food. If Mr. Branham were to remain consistent with his claim that this chapter pertains to Adam's spirit form, then he would have to believe that God provided food for this theophany. But Mr. Branham said this about the nature of theophanies: "Theophany is a human body that's glorified, not exactly with flesh and blood like it will be in its glorified stage, but it is of a form of a human body that doesn't eat, neither does it drink, but it's--it's a body..." (Hebrews Chapter 2, part 3, page 80). In other words, God would have provided every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit as food to a creature that could not eat!

Genesis 1:30 says that God saw all that He had made and it was very good. By the seventh day, God finished the work He was doing and rested (chapter 2:1,2). Again, to remain consistent with Mr. Branham’s claim that Adam was only a spirit in chapter one, we would conclude that Adam’s and Eve’s physical bodies were not formed until after God's rest. This would contradict Mark 10:6, where it says that, "from the beginning of creation [not after it was finished] God created them male and female."

The only sound interpretation of the story of Creation is that Genesis 2 recounts the events of chapter 1, which includes a detailed description of the creation of Adam and Eve. Mr. Branham's teachings are in clear conflict with sound biblical teaching.

William Branham did not believe that Hell is eternal. He said,

"...and then the Bible doesn't teach an eternal hell; it teaches an everlasting hell. That might be for ten thousand million years; I don't know, but it has to cease."
"Pergamean Church Age," The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 1960 (tape #60-1207)

"And there's only one type of Eternal Life, we found. Is that right? God has that Eternal Life alone. Is that right? Only one type of Eternal Life... There is no such a word as 'eternal punishment,' 'cause if you're to be punished for eternity, you've got to have Eternal Life to be punished eternally; you'd have to have eternal. And if you got Eternal Life, you can't be punished. See? If you got eternal... 'He that heareth My Words, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath Everlasting Life.' Is that right? Eternal Life, because you believe. Well, if you got Eternal Life, you can't be punished, because you got Eternal Life. So then, if you're going to suffer in hell forever and forever, you got to have Eternal Life."
Hebrews Chapter 7 #2, 1957 (tape #57-0922)

"You cannot have eternal hell, and the Bible plainly says that, 'hell was created'! And if it's created, it isn't eternal."
"The Smyrnaean Church Age," The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 1960 (tape #60-1206)

Mr. Branham did not realize that the Greek word translated in the King James Version of the Bible for eternal (42 times) and everlasting (25 times) is "aionios," which indicates the unending state of something, not that it did not have a beginning. It is used to describe the eternal quality of God and to portray the endless state of hell. Vine's Dictionary of Biblical Words says that aionios should always be translated "eternal", wheras the only word to be correctly translated "everlasting" is aidios. Aidios is used only twice in the Bible.

This being the case, would an eternal existence in hell mean that one would have eternal life as Mr. Branham said? He once correctly said that death means eternal separation from God. The Greek word for death is "thanatos." One meaning of thanatos is "the separation of man from God." Vine's dictionary says, "'Death' is the opposite of life; it never denotes nonexistence. As spiritual life is 'conscious existence in communion with God,' so spiritual 'death' is 'conscious existence in separation from God.'" Therefore, an eternal existence in hell is biblical and by no means implies that one burning in hell for eternity has Eternal Life.

Did Mr. Branham know the same God we do? He frequently said that God told him things that He told nobody else. If Mr. Branham had such an intimate relationship with the Lord, why did he not know God’s true biblical name, JHVH (pronounced Jehovah, or Yahweh)? Mr. Branham knew the Lord as JVHU. He said:

"That great Name that He appeared there, and no scholar yet has ever been able to interpret it. J-v-h-u, no one... They call it Jehovah, but it wasn't."
God Keeps His Word, 1957 (tape #57-0407M)

"Even the--you who read the Lexicons and so forth, there has never been a man who could makeout... It's J-v-h-u. And even the Hebrew scholars could never pronounce it. That burning bush there, that day when He met with Moses, It was J-v-h-u. So they pronounced It 'J-o-h, Jehovah,' but It isn't 'Jehovah.' J-v-h-u (See?) no one knows."
"Questions and Answers on Hebrews #2," Hebrews, 1957 (tape #57-1002)

"The translators could never translate it. It's spelled J-u-h-v--J-v-h-u, I mean. It isn't Jehovah. They couldn't touch it. They don't know what it is. Called it Jehovah, but it wasn't His Name."
"The First Seal," Revelation of the Seven Seals, 1963 (tape #63-0318)

It stretches credibility to suppose that a prophet with the end-time Message of God misunderstood the LORD's true biblical name.

William Branham said:

"Look at Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was justified when he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as his personal Saviour: Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot was sanctified in John 17:17 and was given power in Matthew 10 to go out and cast out devils. And Judas Iscariot come back, after he healed the sick and cast out devils, and he come back rejoicing and shouting just as much as any good holy-roller you ever seen. Is that right? The Bible said so."
"Questions and Answers #2," Conduct, Order and Doctrine #1, 1954 (tape #54-0103E)

Was Judas justified? Did he accept Jesus as his personal Savior? Jesus said:

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. . . Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. (John 6:63,64,70,71)

Are we to believe that Judas, being a devil, accepted Jesus as his savior? Romans 8:30 says, "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Judas? Glorified? No, Judas was not justified as Mr. Branham said.

Was Judas sanctified by Jesus’ prayer in John 17:17 as Mr. Branham alleged? Recall that Judas had already left the twelve to betray Jesus in John chapter 13. In fact, in John 17:12 (just 5 verses before John 17:17), Jesus says:

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

No, Judas was not included in Jesus' prayer as one to be sanctified as Mr. Branham indicated.

Was Judas one of those who came back rejoicing and shouting that they could vast out devils? Mr. Branham once said,

"And Jesus said, ‘Don't you rejoice because the devils is subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in the Book of heaven.’ Is that right? And Judas Iscariot was with them, one of them, called-out, sanctified, and his name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Read Matthew 10 and see if that's not right. He called each one of them, and Judas and every one of them, right down there. He sent them out, give them power against unclean spirits."
"Questions and Answers (Genesis)," Conduct, Order and Doctrine #1, 1953 (tape #53-0729)

A reading of the entire account will demonstrate that is not right. Matthew 10 records the commissioning of the twelve apostles. Chapter 9 in the book of Luke is the parallel account of this passage. Luke 10 is where Jesus appointed another 70 disciples besides the apostles. It was the other 70, not the apostles, that came back rejoicing and of whom Jesus said had their names written in heaven (see Luke 10:17, 20).

According to the Bible, Mr. Branham was wrong when he indicated that Judas was saved. One would not expect a true prophet of the Lord to make such an error where the Gospel of Salvation is concerned.

William Branham said the following regarding the Deity of Jesus Christ:

The man, the body was not Deity, but Deity was in the body.
God’s Gifts Always Find Their Places, December 22, 1963 (tape #63-1222)

Jesus was not God, but He was God. He was a Man, yet He was God. He could cry, and yet He could raise the dead. He could cry for a man being dead and raise him back up again. He was Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-rapha, Jehovah Manasses; He was Jehovah, all completely. He was Jehovah, and yet He was a Man.
Questions and Answers #3, August 30, 1964 (tape #64-0830M)

Jesus was not God before His baptism--

He was--He was Jesus when He was born. But when the Holy Ghost came upon Him after His baptism, He was anointed with God. God was in Him, 'cause He come to fulfill the Word.
The Messiah, January 17, 1961 (tape #61-0117)

And this little Boy, twelve-year-old Child, no wisdom at all, why, but just a twelve-year-old Boy... The Father didn't dwell in Him at that time, because He come on the day when He baptized Him; he saw the Spirit of God coming down (See?), and went in Him.
Paradox, February 6, 1964 (tape #64-0206B

The Spirit left Jesus in Gethsemane and He became just a man-- When God looked down upon the body... (The Spirit left Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; He had to die a man.)
It Is the Rising of the Sun, April 18, 1965 (tape #65-0418M

These are a few examples which give us a clue as to what William Branham really believed concerning the Deity of Jesus Christ. Mr. Branham explained that Jesus was specially created in Mary's womb as a sinless body of flesh, untainted by Serpent's Seed, designed for the Spirit of God to inhabit. He believed that Jesus was not God Himself, but a body with its own will and consciousness. This body did not become God until the fullness of the Godhead entered Jesus at His baptism. When it came time for Jesus to be crucified, the Spirit of God left Jesus’ body at the Garden of Gethsemane. Only the body of flesh we know as Jesus was crucified since God could not die, according to Mr. Branham.

The Gospel of John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:1, 14). Clearly, Jesus Christ was not merely a body of flesh in whom God dwelled for a period of time, but the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. He was God before He was born in the flesh, and He remains God!

William Branham said:

Woman was made for man and not man for woman. That's the reason under the old laws that polygamy was legal. Look at David setting down there with five hundred wives. And the Bible said he was a man after God's Own heart with five hundred wives, and Solomon with a thousand, but not one of them women could have another husband. . . That whole five hundred women was just David's wife. It was a type--when Christ sets on the throne in the millennium, His Bride will be not one person, but it'll be tens of thousands, the Bride, all in one. And David had many wives as individuals but only--all of them together was his wife. Like the whole body of believers is the Bride of Christ.
The Choosing of a Bride, April 29, 1965 (tape #65-0429E)

When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that [are] about me. . . Neither shall [the king] multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away...(Deuteronomy 17:15, 16a)

William Branham said:

I believe tonight, that every man and woman, every boy and girl that's borned of the Spirit of God, is a Nazarite unto the Lord; because they have separated them things--themselves from the cares of the world and whatever the world has got to say.
God’s Word Calls for Total Separation from Unbelief, January 21, 1964 (tape #64-0121)

A hair to a woman is a Nazarite vow. Hair to Samson was a Nazarite vow. And when a woman cuts off her hair she--she absolutely denies her Nazarite vow that she is a Bride to Christ, because there, that one thing, she spoils the whole picture. Correctly. A Nazarite is "one that is consecrated for a purpose."
The God of This Evil Age, August 1, 1965 (tape #65-0801M

The Bible mandates that several requirements be met for one who has decided to make a Nazarite vow in Numbers 6:2-21. Among the instructions to one (male or female) who has made such a Nazarite vow are the following:

1. He/she must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. (verse 3)
2. He must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. (v. 4)
3. No razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. (v.5)
4. He must not go near a dead body. (v. 6)

Many other ceremonial laws are involved in taking a Nazarite vow. In light of the fact that those who follow the Message follow almost none of the requirements of a Nazarite, it is incorrect of Mr. Branham to say that he or any of his followers have taken a Nazarite vow.

The problem with Mr. Branham's view of a "Nazarite Vow" for a Christian is that he seemed to think it was a mandatory lifetime commitment for every Christian. The true Nazarite vow was most often a temporary vow and not required by anyone but the person who took the vow. The OT gave specific regulations to follow if one were to take such a vow. Mr. Branham clearly was not concerned with any of them except for the abstaining of alcohol and the non-cutting of the hair for women only. Since there is no basis for a Christian being required to take a "Nazarite Vow" (or even the Jews, for that matter), it is clearly an optional act of devotion to the Lord.

William Branham had the following to say about Michael the Archangel:

"'And at that time Michael shall stand, the great prince.' Michael was Christ, of course, Who fought the angelic wars in heaven with the devil. Satan and Michael fought together, or fought against each other, rather."
Beginning and Ending of the Gentile Dispensation, January 9, 1955 (tape #55-0109E)

"Notice, Lucifer in the last days is doing as he did at first. What did Lucifer do? The first thing that Lucifer done to separate the fellowship of God and man, he wanted to build him a united kingdom of greater splendor and seemingly more cultured, a greater kingdom than Michael, Christ had. You got it? Now, now, if you miss it, just hold up your hand and I'll say it again. You see? See? Lucifer at the beginning, his purpose in heart was to achieve a brighter and greater thing in heaven than Christ had (Is that right?) by seemingly a more cultured, more beautiful, more splendor than the Kingdom of Christ."
Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed, July 28, 1963 (tape #63-0728)

"I'll say something here, maybe I oughtn't to say, but yet I believe I ought to say it.  If you noticed, Lucifer is exactly doing the same thing today that he did at the beginning. See? Lucifer, at the beginning, wanted to build himself a kingdom which was greater and more beautiful than Michael's Kingdom, Christ. He want... That was his ambitions to achieve something like that."
There is Only One Way Provided by God for Anything, July 31, 1963 (tape #63-0731)

We may never know what Mr. Branham meant by his remarks because he didn't explain them. He merely parroted a borrowed doctrine from the teachings of previous false prophets and left his followers with yet another ambiguous, unbiblical doctrine to contend with.