William Branham and His Message
William Branham and His Message

An examination of the prophecies, teachings and experiences of William Branham
from the perspective of a former follower who has found new life in Jesus Christ


AboutControversial PropheciesControversial TeachingsIssues & Events in WMB’s LifeKey Message ScripturesWilliam Branham Quote Book  


William Branham*

"I've got to leave here. You've got to leave here. And if I go as a false prophet, I'll lose my own soul and lose yours with me."
--William Branham ("Questions and Answers on the Holy Ghost," tape #59-1219)

 

This Website, combined with our Discussion Forum (which began in 2001), contains an abundance of resource information,
including more than 3,600 discussions on virtually every topic William Branham either spoke or wrote about.

   Contents
  • Introduction
  • My Testimony
  • Controversial Prophecies of William Branham
  • Controversial Teachings of William Branham
  • Issues and Events in William Branham's Life
  • Jesus According to William Branham
  • The Holy Spirit According to William Branham
  • Key Passages of Scripture
  • Wm. Branham Quote Book
  • The Acts of the Prophet, by Pearry Green
  • Essential Christian Doctrines, by CARM
  • "Examining the Message" Forum
  • What is the Gospel If it's Not the Message?
  • Contact
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    Recent Topics Discussed at Our Forum:

    Wm. Branham: Jesus Was a Sinner

    Flawed Man Needed to Finish Jesus' Work

    William Branham Indicts Himself for Unbelief

    Wm. Branham the Private Interpreter

    Sharks Not in L.A./Billy Paul Dies at 88

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    Articles by John Kennah:

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    More articles by John Kennah as they've appeared in Christian Awareness Fellowship's newsletter, The SERVANT:

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    Message Related Links:

    Please see four informative videos on
    Understanding & Answering William Branham,
    by Tim Martin & CFAR:

    And this helpful resource by my friend, Paul Carden:
    World Religions Made Easy
    (Includes an entry on William Branham)

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    Books that provide further insight into William Branham and his teachings:

    • All Things Are Possible: The Healing and Charasmatic Revivals in Modern America,
      by David Edwin Harrell, Jr. (Indiana University Press, 1975)

    • The Healer Prophet, William Marrion Branham: A Study in the Prophetic in American Pentecostalism,
      by C. Douglas Weaver (Mercer University Press, 1987)

    • Legend of the Fall: An Evaluation of William Branham and His Message,
      by my good friend, Peter Duyzer (Independent Scholar's Press, 2014)

    • A Man and His Angel: A Biblical Examination of William Branham's Practices and Teachings,
      by Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason Ministries, 2019)

    • Modern Divine Healing,
      by Waymon Doyne Miller (Miller Publishing Co., 1956)

    • The New Charismatics: A Concerned Voice Responds to Dangerous New Trends,
      by Michael G. Moriarty (Zondervan Publishing House,1992)

    • The Pentecostals,
      by Walter J. Hollenweger (Hendricksons Publishers, 1988 [originally published in 1969])

    • Quotations of William M. Branham,
      by Robert Moore (no publisher, no date)

    • Spiritual Warfare: A Struggle for Truth,
      by Russell Sharrock (Lulu Enterprises, Inc., 2007)

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    William Marrion Branham (often referred to at this Website as WMB) was a main figure of the Pentecostal movement's healing revivals of the late 40's and 50's. Many believe that his was the most dramatic healing ministry of the revivals. His followers believe he was a Major, or "Word" prophet (that is, a prophet who receives direct revelation from God to be given to the Church). William Branham's followers believe (based on his teachings, known as The Message) that he is the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5,6. William Branham taught that the seven churches in Asia from the book of Revelation represent the history of the Christian Church in 7 specific dispensations or ages. William Branham implied that he was the angel (messenger) to the Laodicean Church Age.** As such, his followers believe he was the 7th angel referred to in Revelation 10:7, sounding (i.e., revealing) the mysteries of God (which he believed to be apostolic teaching) that had been lost to the Church over the centuries.

    But William Branham could not have been a true prophet of the Lord by biblical standards. In his lifetime he made several prophecies that did not come to pass (see Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Indeed, there is no evidence he ever prophesied an event that came to pass as predicted, and the majority of his most well-known prophecies were shared with his followers only after the predictions had already "come to pass." Even if it were possible to prove that he ever made a prophecy that later came to pass as predicted, he would still be shown to be false because he pointed his followers to a different Jesus (see Deuteronomy 13:1-3. See also, Jesus According to William Branham). Much of his theology is based on misinterpretations of Scripture, new extra-biblical "revelations," or those which he borrowed from other false teachers and cults (see Jeremiah 23:30-32). The source of much of his dispensational theology and eschatology come from the Schofield Reference Bible and the writings of Clarence Larkin.

    William Branham said that the Lord revealed to him that as John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah to forerun the first coming of Jesus Christ, so he was sent in the spirit of Elijah to forerun His second coming. His Message was to restore the Word of God that had been twisted and manhandled through centuries of denominational Christianity. Emphasis is not placed on evangelizing the lost for Christ but on preparing the Bride (his followers) for the second coming of Christ.

    My name is John Kennah. I created this Website in 1999 (based on a booklet I wrote in 1990) as an outreach to people who follow the false teachings of William Branham, for those beginning the process of escaping "the Message," and as a resource for those who want to know more about "Brother Branham" and his Message. May this Website glorify Jesus Christ by proclaiming His Gospel and alerting the world to the false gospel of William Branham.

    Doctrines

    William Branham's most controversial doctrines are said to be apostolic teaching which lay between the lines of Scripure but whose meaning had been lost during the early years of Church history. He believed that God sent him as a prophet to restore those lost "mysteries" to the Church. Some of his most well known teachings include:

    1. God is not a Trinity. There is no disctinction of persons within the Godhead. God is one person who has made Himself known to the world in three separate manifestations:
      1. As Father in the Old Testament;
      2. As Son (that is, indwelling the body of a man named Jesus) in the New Testament;
      3. As Holy Spirit in His Church.
      He taught that God was not omnipresent. Since God is a being, He could not be everywhere at once. He also said that the incarnate Jesus was not God until the Holy Spirit indwelt His body at the time of His baptism. When His earthly ministry had come to a close, Jesus was again reduced to a mere mortal man as the Holy Spirit left His body in the Garden of Gethsemane so He could be crucified and die as a man, since God cannot die.
    2. The fall in the Garden of Eden was a result of an adulterous affair between Eve and the Serpent. This doctrine is known as Serpent's Seed. As a result of this affair, Cain was born (i.e., the Serpent--not Adam--was Cain's true father).
    3. William Branham purported to have received a supernatural revelation of the meanings of the Seven Seals from the book of Revelation which he made known to his followers in a series of sermons in March, 1963.
    4. The Catholic Church is the fulfillment of Mystery Babylon from the book of Revelation. Mystery Babylon is the mother of harlots. Her children are our present protestant denominational churches. He believed that Revelation 18:4 was a call for Christians to leave their denominational churches and come to his Message, the only true revelation of Jesus Christ.
    5. Hell is not eternal.
    6. William Branham taught that his Message represents the required truth necessary for members of the Elect Bride of Jesus Christ to accept in order to make the Rapture.
    7. Members of the Bride are Eternal, having "theophanies" (their glorified bodies waiting for them in heaven) which had no beginning and will never die.
    8. Christians who reject the Message are lost. Christians who are ignorant of the importance of the Message may be saved as lower class believers if they treat Message believers kindly. They will not make the Rapture, however, but must endure the Great Tribulation while followers of the Message are Raptured.

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    * Still shot from the Voice of God Recordings film, "The Twentieth Century Prophet" (1953).
    ** During a prayer line, William Branham once said, "You, setting here in front, you believe me to be God's prophet? A prophet is a messenger to an age. You believe I have God's message?" (Discerning the Body of the Lord, August 12, 1959, tape #59-0812).


    What is the Gospel If it's Not the Message?    For the answer, click here!


    Anyone is welcome to use or distribute any of my work from this Website and our discussion forum without permission, but please be sure to properly cite your sources. I am happy that the Lord has used our Website to expose the false nature of the Message through the Websites of others who came after us. We hope that if anyone finds our Website useful in their research, they would properly credit our Website so that others would visit us and allow us to minister to them, as well. If you're not sure what it entails to properly cite your sources, please click here.

    Please watch:

    Here are a few excellent videos produced by one of my favorite evangelistic ministries, "Living Waters."
    Click on the image to watch any one of them for free!


    Contact Information:

    Email: JohnK63@comcast.net

    Bible quotes at this Website are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise indicated immediatley following the quote or at the bottom of any particlular page, except when they appear in a WMB quote.

    Quotes from William Branham at this Website are taken from the Voice of God, Inc. sermon search engine, "The Table," unless otherwise indicated.

    © 1990-2024 John Kennah


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