William Branham Historical Research
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William Marrion Branham (A.K.A. William Marvin[1] Branham, 1907[2]-1965) was a Pentecostal [3] minister from Jeffersonville, Indiana credited by some as initiating the Post WWII Healing Revival.[4] The first of ten children of Charles and Ella Branham, Branham claimed to have been born in Cumberland County, KY [5] and reared in the booming Southern Indiana casino town directly across the river from Louisville, KY. He was also a "doomsday prophet", [6] predicting several years that he claimed to be the End of Days. When American Prohibition disrupted the thriving liquor industry of the local area, Branham's family became poor and destitute. Branham's father, employed as a driver for Otto Wathen [7] of the R. E. Wathen Distilleries, was arrested for violation of the liquor laws, worsening their hardship. At the time, William was in critical condition in the Clark Memorial hospital after being shot. [8] The Ku Klux Klan came to the rescue, paying his hospital bill and making an impact on his life that he would never forget.[9] Shortly after the Klan was exposed for taking control of the Indiana government, Roy E. Davis came to Jeffersonville claiming to be a Christian evangelist and becoming a choir leader for Ralph Rader. Davis was at one time an official spokesperson for William Joseph Simmons' 1915 revival of the Klan,[10] as well as a high-ranking member. He was also affiliated with other white supremacy groups Simmons created such as the "Knights of the Flaming Sword." [11] Shortly after being appointed as an elder of the Rader Gospel Tabernacle, past crimes of swindling, fraud, and multiple violations of underaged sex caught up with him.[12] Davis was terminated from Rader's church, and started a Pentecostal church taking several members from Rader's congregation. It was at this Pentecostal church that Davis claims to have converted William Branham into his first Pentecostal Assembly.[13] According to William Branham, Davis was his mentor, the one who baptized him, imparted the "Holy Ghost," and appointed him as a minister. Shortly after, Davis was extradited by the Governor of the State of Indiana to the casino town of Hot Springs, Arkansas on charges of grand theft and connection to murder. William Branham seized the opportunity, taking control of Davis' rowdy church and forming the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle in 1936. A year later, the 1937 Flood demolished the town of Jeffersonville. The once thriving casino town nicknamed "Little Vegas" that once attracted the likes of Al Capone and John Dillinger suddenly was leveled to a desolate wasteland. Later that year, Branham's first wife Hope died from a disease she contracted in January of 1936, [14] and his daughter died shortly after.[15] In 1944, Roy E. Davis joined forces with former Congressman William D. Upshaw in an operation under the disguise of a children's orphanage in San Bernardino California. Soon after the orphanage was exposed for swindling thousands of dollars from the Los Angeles area and being the defendant in a highly publicized criminal lawsuit, [16] Davis introduced Upshaw to William Branham. [17] A year later, in 1945, William Branham began his evangelistic "healing" ministry, and Upshaw (who had witnessed been physically running since 1936) entered one of Branham's meetings as an "invalid" in a wheelchair. When Upshaw was "healed" from his "bedridden" condition, Branham's fame in the faith healing business quickly spread. By 1947, William Branham had embellished many events of his "life story," removing the details that would raise skepticism and adding "supernatural" aspects. He started claiming to have had several conflicting "commissions" by God,[18] and introduced a tragic but partially fictional story of his life. Over time, his stage persona began to include stories of being born under a supernatural sign, having a prophetic gift as a toddler, fatherless at an early age, and more. Even the tragic death of his wife was embellished to become part of the story. It was such an interesting tale that he became the side show for Little David Walker, the 12-year-old boy preacher. Before long, William and his brother Howard Branham, who ran a Jeffersonville nightclub, started touring the country to participate in the "healing revival". His new stage persona, combined with Upshaw's "healing," was very powerful in lifting Branham to the top of the revival. He had a very successful series of meetings throughout parts of the United States and Canada, but his success began to fade shortly after when ministers began to notice many people "healed" were dying or worsening in condition. Roy E. Davis , who had not been (directly) involved with the Branham campaign, wrote a letter to the Voice of Healing publication produced by Branham's campaign managers to cross-promote Branham's and his own evangelism. But by this time, William Branham had started distancing himself from many churches, claiming to be the return of "Elijah the prophet." Telling his listeners that he had buried his prophecies in his Jeffersonville Tabernacle in 1933 (the church he purchased in 1936), Branham used the grip of fear from the Second Red Scare to create a following that would replace his quickly diminishing listeners. During the birth of the Civil Rights movement, Branham began leaning back towards his Ku Klux Klan roots. He began claiming that Martin Luther King was "communistic inspired," African Americans should "forfeit their rights" and be "satisfied in the state [they are] in," and that "hybreeding" (interracial marriage) was an unpardonable sin. Like other ministers supportive of white supremacy, Branham taught that the doctrine of a superior "super race". But he continued the "Elijah" claims as well, eventually convincing his listeners that the "Elijah of this day" [himself] was the return of Jesus Christ. After Branham's death in 1965, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's query into the Kennedy Assassination exposed the fact that Roy E. Davis was in fact the Imperial Grand Dragon of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, [19] as well as a strong leader, promoter, and supporter of several white supremacy groups. Many who were with William Branham during the early years agree that William Branham's doctrinal teachings were destructive, and for that reason was constrained to "healing" and not "preaching." Testimonies from Ern Baxter,[20] Alfred Pohl,[21] Gordon Lindsay, [22] and others refer to Branham's "Message" cult with distaste, and many examinations of the fruits of Branham's ministry have produced confirmation of its destructive nature. William Branham was directly responsible for igniting the ministry of Jim Jones in Indianapolis.[23] From 1956 through 1957, Branham and his campaign team held meetings with Jones at Peoples Temple and the Cadle Tabernacle, [24] and Branham held private consultations with members of Peoples Temple. There are deep concerns when you compare Branham's "Message" to Jim Jones' "Message." Branham-focused communes in Prescott, Arizona[25] and Colonia Dignidad [26] have exposed the sexual molestation, abuse and rape that have been hidden behind closed doors. It was Branham's version of the Joel's Army, Manifest Sons of God theology that empowered Jones. [27] Branham's "Message" cult following has been labeled as a destructive or heretical cult by many apologetics and cult watch groups, such as Watchman Fellowship. References [1] Draft Card Serial 2342. 1940, Oct 16. Clark Co. No.1 Ind. [2] Three birth years are used by William Branham and/or his parents on government documents and to newspaper reporters. The earliest and most likely of the three is 1907 [3] Warranty Deed. 1936, Nov 9. Clark County Courthouse. "The Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle church and their successors of Jeffersonville, Indiana, of Clark County" [4] The Healing Revival 1947-1958 - An Overview. Accessed 2020, Sept 8 from http://www.voiceofhealing.info/02_1947-1958/overview.html. "William Branham is the person universally acknowledged as the revival's "father." The sudden appearance of his miraculous healing campaigns in 1946, including an astonishing use of authentic spiritual gifts (notably discernment of spirits, the word of knowledge and healing) ignited the dry tinder of American Pentecostalism and fanned its flames into a mighty fire." [5] Branham, William. 1950, Aug 20. My Life Story. "I was borned in a little log cabin, way in the mountains of Kentucky, Cumberland County, near a little creek called Renox." [6] Example: Branham, William. 1961, Aug 6. The Seventieth Week Of Daniel. "Now, counting the time, we find that we have exactly (Listen.) seventeen years left, and we will have the same span of time given to us as God dealing with us in the power of the Holy Spirit since A. D. until 1977, the same span of time of 1954 years. God deals with us the same as He did with the Jews. See? How about that? Now, mark down in your book a little Scripture here I want to give you. Leviticus 25, begin with the 8th verse. God calls a jubilee every forty-ninth year; the fiftieth year was the jubilee. We know that. We understand that. From the first jubilee of Leviticus 25:8, in 1977 will be the seventieth jubilee, making exactly 3,430 years. Jubilee means the going up, the release." [7] Branham, William. 1959, Apr 19. My Life Story. "Mr. Wathen kept ice out there in the country. And Father was a-a chauffeur for him, a private chauffeur. 59-0419A" [8] Branham, William. 1956, Feb 29. Being Led Of The Holy Spirit. And I remember a preacher shooting at some birds and seventh shot hit me in the leg. [9] Branham, William. 1963, Nov 10. Souls That Are in Prison Now. " the Ku Klux Klan, paid the hospital bill for me, Masons. I can never forget them. See? No matter what they do, or what, I still…there is something, and that stays with me, see, what they did for me." [10] Associated Press. 1923, Jan 13. Says Ku Klux Not Anti-Negro, Jewish, Catholic. Times Herald. [11] Associated Press. 1925, Jan 23. Fraternity Attacked as Making Money Order. Lead Daily Call. [12] Pastor Held in Mann Act Case. 1930, October 12. The Courier Journal (Louisville, KY). [13] Davis, Roy. Wm. Branham's First Pastor. 1950. The Voice of Healing. "I am the minister who received Brother Branham into the first Pentecostal assembly he ever frequented. I baptized him, and was his pastor for some two years. [14] Death Certificate: Hope (Brumbach) Branham. 1937, July 21. "Date of onset 1-1936" [15] Infant Follows Mother to Grave. 1937, Jul 26. Jeffersonville Evening News. "Sharon Rose Branham, 8 months old daughter of the Rev. William Branham" [16] Witnesses Say Davis Claimed to be F.B.I. Man. 1944, Apr 22. The San Bernardino County Sun [17] Branham, William. 1959, Apr 19. My Life Story. "Doctor Roy Davis. Sister Upshaw, the very one that sent Brother Upshaw over to me, or talked to him about me, Doctor Roy Davis. 59-0419A - My Life Story" [18] Example: Branham, William. 1954, Jul 18. "And a strange thing of that, that you might not know, the very day the Angel of the Lord called me out, May the 6th, 1947, and issued the gift to pray for the sick, was the very same day that Israel become a nation for the first time for twenty-five hundred years. " [19] Assassination of President Kennedy. 00-2-34030. "On December 9, 1963, Inv. Brumley, Intelligence Unit, Dallas Police Department, discussed this case with the reporting agent, and he through that Earl Thornton, Klansman, and former associate of Rev. Roy Davis, might be suspect in this case. Thornton offered to allow Davis to use his printing equipment when Davis was in business as Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Brumley, who knows Davis personally, doubted however that Davis printed these leaflets." [20] "New Wine Interviews Ern Baxter", 1978, Dec. New Wine Magazine. Christian Growth Ministries, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, pp. 4-7, 22-24. "Branham as a teacher was outside of his calling. The fruits of his teaching ministry are not good. Ern Baxter" [21] Why I Left the Tongues Movement. Accessed 2020, May 17 from http://www.bereanresearchinstitute.com/03_Doctrines/D.0030_14_Why_I_Left_the_Tongues_Movement_-_Alfred_H._Pohl.html. "Time went on, the campaign ended, and Mr. Branham and his party were gone. Then we began to see the results being tested by time. It was a difficult time for us, and particularly for me. For one by one these that I had personally seen "healed" and declared so by the "healer," died. Our faith was severely tested. Relatives of the deceased ones would ask, "Why?" What could we tell them?" [22] Hagin, Kenneth. 1992. He Gave Gifts unto Men, pg 164-170. "Then brother Lindsay related something else to me that had happened regarding this same prophet. He said to me, 'This past year, I was praying with my wife and sister Schrader about the work of the ministry. (Sister Schrader was a prophetess who has since gone on to be with the Lord.) We were praying about different projects in our ministry. Right in the middle of the prayer, Sister Schrader blurted out, 'Go warn Brother [Branham]… he's going to die.' Brother Lindsay said, 'I was busy, and I let that get by me, and I didn't go warn him like I was supposed to. Then later, my wife and I and Sister Schrader were again praying about ministry projects. Again Sister Schrader blurted out right in the middle of prayer, 'Go warn Brother [Branham]… he's going to die. He's walking in the way of Dowie.' After his morning meeting, Brother Lindsay said, "I talked to him as the Lord had instructed me, but I saw that he wouldn't listen…" [23] Reiterman, Tim. Raven. 1982. Penguin Publishing Group. "To draw the crowds, Jim needed a religious headliner, and so he arranged to share the pulpit with Rev. William Branham, a healing evangelist and religious author as highly revered by some as Oral Roberts or Billy Graham." [24] The "Full Gospel" Origins of Peoples Temple. Accessed 2020, Sept 24 from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=92702 [25] People vs. Loker, S045060. California Supreme Court. "Leo Mercer, a self-proclaimed minister, ran the park. After Brother Branham's death in 1965, Mercer gradually became more authoritative, employing various forms of punishment. He would ostracize people from the community and separate families. Children were beaten for minor infractions like talking during a march or not tying their shoes. Mercer would punish girls by cutting their hair, and force boys to wear girls' clothing. There was also evidence that Mercer sexually abused children." [26] Victims of paedophile sect led by one-eyed German Nazi who oversaw daily torture and abuse of child slaves over three decades in Chile hope to finally see justice with legal bid. Accessed 2020, Sept 24 from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3561040/Victims-paedophile-sect-led-one-eyed-German-Nazi-oversaw-daily-torture-abuse-child-slaves-three-decades-Chile-hope-finally-justice-legal-bid.html [27] Joel's Army: The Manifested Sons of God. Accessed 2020, Sept 24 from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=102213
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