William Branham was one of the most humble men to live in the past century. He was also one of the most gifted men on the earth, since Jesus Christ. He was born in a lowly log cabin in Owensboro, KY in 1909. When he was born, a light came into the room a settled over him. He began seeing visions as early as 18 months old and astonishing to his parents, they came to pass.
Brother Branham was not raised in a Christian home and didn't surrender his life over to God until his teenage years. As a small child, God came to him in the form of a whirlwind and spoke out in an audible voice and said, "Never drink, smoke or defile your body in any way, for their will be a work for you to do when you are older."
In 1933, while baptizing down hundreds of people in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, a pillar of fire swooshed down out of the sky and appeared over his head. Everyone on the bank saw this and was a witness, as well as the newspapers packed the story all over North America. The voice said, "As John the Baptist was sent to fore run the first coming of Christ, your message will fore run His second coming." Well, for obvious reasons, many of the people on the bank fainted.
He began his healing ministry in the 1940's, taking God at His Word, that "They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover," and "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever." Multitudes were healed.
In 1947, the Angel of the Lord met him in a little cave in southern Indiana and told him many things. One of the things he told him was, "If you can get the people to beleive, nothing will stand in you way, not even cancer. You will be given two signs - the first will be a sign in the hand and the second will be knowing the secrets of men's hearts." Well, many ministers even alive to this day, can testify to the sign in the hand. Some of the men who travelled with him could tell what the disease was even before he spoke it to the person, just by watching the vibrations or discolorations of his hand.
As for the gift of knowing the secrets of the heart, multitudes stood before him and he would accurately tell them their name, address, doctor's name, family member's name, even what they prayed to God the night before. This is recorded for all to hear and I have listened to many of these recorded accounts and her each person say, "that's right, that's right". Even to some people of a foreign nation, he would spell out their name or street if he couldn't say it.
His visions were always accurate. He would often tell his son and the men travelling with him who would be in the meeting that night or when they would be going to someone's home to pray for a sick person, he would describe with great detail and accuracy what the home would look like, a picture on the wall, where a hat would be laying, etc. It never failed.
I remember one recording in a prayerline where a woman was standing before him. He said, "You're name is Mrs. Stout. Wait, I'm sorry that wasn't correct. You're Mrs. Strong." He went on to explain that sometimes he would see a vision not wait for the complete interpretation of that vision... for instance in this case, he saw a strong arm and when he said "Stout" the Angel of the Lord corrected him.
This Angel of the Lord that stood by his side was photographed on multiple occasions. The most famous picture of Brother Branham was taken in Houston, TX. It was during a series of meetings where a local minister had come to challenge him on Divine healing. The preacher had hired a camera man to take pictures for the newspaper to criticize him. When the photographer got to his dark room, all the film was black as if it had been exposed to sunlight except for one picture. The picture showed a halo of Light over Brother Branham's head. This picture was examined by Washington D.C. in the lab of the FBI and confirmed to be a supernatural photo, untouched and unaltered.
Another photo was taken by a man in Texas as Brother Branham exited the meeting after praying for many people. The Pillar of Fire was seen resting on Brother Branham's right shoulder. Yet, another was taken in Lakeport, CA. showing the Pillar of Fire all around him and if you examine the photo closely, you can make out the Angel of the Lord standing behind him.
The testimonies could go on and on and take many days and weeks to share. So, what was Brother Branham, then? Many people took away from their experiences that he was more than a man. Some believed he was God. Others believed he was deceived and had a demon.
My father was in a number of his meetings and told how this gentle man never showed a bad spirit when confronted by someone who didn't agree. He saw many great things take place in this man's life. But his belief was just what the Angel told Brother Branham in 1933 - that he was a forerunner. He believed God was showing our generation that God can use a person who's willing to sell out. That the same works Jesus did 2,000 years ago, not only CAN He do them, but that HE will do them.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
Hebrews 13:8
For more information on William Branham, go to: http://www.branham.org
