Starting To Search
What is the “Message of the hour”?
What is a “vindicated prophet”?
How is a prophet vindicated?
What is our Absolute?
Are we sola scriptura?
These are just a few of the questions we have recently begun asking ourselves after stumbling across various websites and forums challenging the teachings of William Branham.
When we see elders in this message who have actively participated in our churches for 30 and 40 years walk out the door and tell us they were wrong, that we’re ALL wrong, it catches our attention. How is this (the message) possibly wrong? If you take the time to read their posts, email them, or phone them, they are more than happy to share their testimonies. These ex-believers bring up a number of questions and concerns about what vindicates Brother Branham’s message to be truth. In the end, all of the challenges boil down to a single question:
“Was Brother Branham a vindicated prophet to our generation?”
Amongst other things, former believers point to the lack of evidence, or problems with evidence related to many of the events that are used to vindicate Brother Branham’s Message. Some believers say we should ignore these critics and just believe what Brother Branham said because he is a vindicated prophet. These same believers have no problem promoting the photo of the pillar of fire, the document signed by George Lacy, nor the photo and article on the cloud.
Message believers have traveled from all over the world to Jeffersonville, Indiana to get a glimpse of the settings from the stories to make them come to life. They visit the municipal bridge, the foot of Spring Street, and the grave sites. They stop in at Schimpff’s to buy a can of red-hot candies. They visit Voice of God Recordings and wait in long lines just to shake hands with the children of the prophet. During these visits, they are able to see photographs of Brother Branham, his typewriter, pages of his notes, the pulpit that rose with his bible on it during the flood, and many other artifacts. They visit the prophet’s home, meet eye witnesses, and see things he used in his daily life to vindicate to them that there was indeed a prophet to our generation. They can see his hunting trophies, and listen to his tapes. Believers are told his life story to bring him down to their level. They buy their children “Stories”, and a replica briefcase with artifacts from Brother Branham’s life.
We were raised in the message and taught these things from our youth. Like many believers, we’ve made our trips to Jeffersonville to view all the artifacts and historical sites. With great excitement we read our quotes and followed the trail of sites teaching our children, just as we were taught. We have hung the pillar of fire picture and the cloud in our homes, and hung crosses on our rear view mirrors. We’ve purchased the books, played the tapes, and bought “The Table”. We’ve sat in the tabernacle trying to imagine what it would have been like to be there when he spoke.
Believers do all these things to vindicate to themselves the reality in which they believe. All of these are proof of the message presented to us who were not there in person to experience these things first hand. Who hasn’t taken a photo at one of the memorials or stood with one of his children and felt happiness in their hearts because “This is what he was talking about!” or “This is right where he was!”?
When confronted with these challenges to the message, our natural reaction is to desire to prove the ex-believers wrong. Can we? Where does one even begin to answer these questions? How hard can it be to take what we have been taught back to the Bible and line it up? Brother Branham told us the Bible was our Absolute. It’s the Urim Thummim for today. He also said he preached what Paul preached. It should be possible to take what we believe back to the Bible, and as a matter of fact, there are a number of scriptures that admonish us to do so. As a result, we began searching, studying, and praying.
We’ve reached out to a few people who we thought might be able to help answer some questions. Most of the answers we have received up to now have been disappointing. We were given a quote or two, a single verse without context, and once in a while a personal testimony about how it was “revealed” to them. Some have told us not to look, to “Only Believe”. Some have told us we just need more revelation.
After receiving the latest “Catch the Vision” which attempted to address the concerns of the people, our hearts sank. Reading this update strengthened our conviction that we really needed to search for vindication of these things on our own. To that end, we have invested countless hours researching what Brother Branham said about various topics and searching out objective, relevant evidence from primary reference sources in our search for vindication.
We are starting this blog to present you with truth and evidence that was not hidden nor destroyed. We will do this in love and respect according to Scripture. Our mission and heart’s desire is to present truth with no room for ignorance. We have stepped out on faith searching for answers. We offer our findings to you; our brothers and sisters in Christ. You may read them, ponder on them, pray about them, and do as you are led. We do not wish to open a door for anger, bitterness, name calling, or bullying. In fact, these things won’t be tolerated in our comment threads.
Let your hearts be settled and your faith vindicated by the Holy Spirit. We offer our help in any way we can provide. We love you and hold you in our prayers. Peace be to you on your journey to walk in the calling He has chosen for you.
“Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” (2 Timothy 2:7)
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