William Branham's Basic Beliefs

William Branham is touted as the most influential healer in Pentecostal circles, yet many are satisfied with his exhibition of miracle powers, and words of knowledge without knowing what he really believed.

As a child he heard a voice instruct him that never identified itself. In his own words he said: "The first thing I can remember in life is a vision. I was eighteen months old..." He often heard sounds like a whirlwind or see pillars of light with voices coming from it. At age seven A audible human Voice commanded him, "Don't you never drink, smoke, or defile your body any way. There'll be work for you to do when you get older."

Later on a LIGHT came into the shed and it formed a Cross, and a VOICE from the Cross spoke in a language he could not understand. Assuming it was the Lord he asked for it to come back. He then has a spiritual experience, In his own words he said, "Then it seemed to me that there had been a thousand pounds lifted from my soul." Something swept over him and he experienced an exquisite feeling he had never know before. He said it felt like rain was pelting down on his body. He knew then that God had forgiven him of his sin and baptized him with the Holy Ghost. Nonetheless he was paralyzed with fear from this disembodied spirit. Branham later on claimed he he needed to wait for the angel to show up before his power worked.

• Branham denied the Trinity and took a modalistic view like the Oneness Pentecostals. He claimed Jesus never said He was the Son of God and even claimed he had no pre-existence.
• He taught that there was no eternal son of God.
• that God in all ages had skin on him -even before the incarnation.
• Branham taught that Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) was sexual sin, Eve was seduced into a sexual relationship with the serpent  that Cain was the offspring of an illicit affair Eve had with Satan (known as the serpent seed doctrine). 
•  He believed in three Bibles; the Scripture, the Zodiac and the pyramids were other revelations of God that preceded the Bible. This shows that he went beyond scripture into occult concepts.
• That the Magi were practicing astrologers (not astronomers)
• He taught vigorously that denominations were abominations. He taught on Joel 2:23 that the "latter rain" he identified as the neo-Pentecostalism of his time, he taught that God's promise to restore what the locust, cankerworm, caterpillar, and palmerworm had eaten, would be the "restoration" of the Church out of denominationalism, which was the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation. Anyone belonging to any denomination had taken "the mark of the beast." 
•  That a woman cutting her hair was grounds for divorce.
• That unborn children are not alive until their first breath.
• Branham prophesied that the end of the ages would be in 1977.
• Branham believed in annihilationism, that there was no eternal hell, that anything created is not eternal.
• That nature was God
• Judas Iscariot was the Devil that came from hell.
• Branham believed "The Angel of the Lord" visiting him was not Jesus.
• That he was one of many Elijah's but he was for the last days church.

• Branham claimed that the angels (messengers) to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation were men who appeared at various times throughout Church history bringing new revelations that led the Church into progressive stages of sanctification. As his pyramid tombstone indicates, Branham was thought to be the angel to the Church of Laodicea-the end time Church. written on it is the 7 messengers -Rev.3:14, 10:7 Ephesian-Paul; Smyrnea-Ireneaus; Pergamean-Martin; Thyatirean-Columba; Sardisean-Luther; Philadelphia-Wesley; Laodicea-Branham.
• He became convinced that he was the "Messenger of the Covenant" the 7th angel in revelation, the angel of the church of Laodicea.” He was the end-times "Elijah" and the true "Messenger of the Covenant" He also stated “Now remember this Seventh angel is on the earth at the time of this coming.” (The Revelation of the Seven Seals, p.74) Since this did not happen, Jesus did not come, it should be obvious that he was neither Elijah as he claimed nor a true prophet or teacher of the word- he was WRONG. He had other prophecies that were also wrong.

In contradiction to the clear word of God and Jesus being the only one worthy to open the seals Branham said he saw seven Angels in a form of a pyramid that swept down and picked him up. “And I was brought east to open the Seven Seals for God .  Rev. 5:1-9 says that Jesus opens the seals and it did not take place yet. It happens in the Tribulation.  

While conducting healing services Branham would often fall into a trance during which his angel would work through him. Asked once if the healings were done by the Holy Spirit, Branham replied, "No, my angel does it." Branham could not do any healing until the angel would show up. Branham assumed this angel was Jesus (the angel of the Lord) the one who guided him through his life since his childhood. but Jesus is no angel and he did not personally show up at Branham's meetings.

When Branham died in a car crash many of his followers waited for him to resurrect 3 days later. It of course did not happen. Some latter rain b promoters tried to resurrect him.

 To this day many are convinced of his claims, his teachings and prophecies are accurate despite the Bible's clarity speaks the opposite of what Branham had taught on these subjects.