Introduction

The story of the life of William Branham is so out of this world and beyond the ordinary that were there not available a host of infallible proofs which document and attest its authenticity, one might well be excused for considering it far-fetched and incredible. But the facts are so generally known, and of such a nature that they can be so easily verified by any sincere investigator, that they must stand as God's witness to His willingness and purpose to reveal Himself again to men as he once did in the days of the prophets and the apostles. The story of this prophet's life--for he is a prophet, though we infrequently use the term--indeed witnesses to the fact that Bible days are here again.

The writer is keenly conscious of his own lack of literary qualifications to properly depict and tell the story of this great ministry. However, he is aided considerably in that not a little of the narrative has been told in the words of Brother Branham himself, and by certain others who have been associated in this ministry. The clear, simple style of Rev. Branham possesses its own charm, and though he himself boasts no cultural advantages, this style, though at times rugged, is always dramatic and has a distinction of its own.

To know Brother Branham is to love him. His nature is tender and kind and his sensibilities react deeply to the suffering and pain of others. So great has been his compassion for the sick and afflicted, that he permitted his own health to suffer while praying long hours for endless lines of sick. For a time he carried, as it were, the weight of a suffering world upon his frail shoulders, until God made it known to him that this responsibility must be shared by others. Since he has returned to the field, he has complied with the requests of those who labor with him to conserve his strength, and not to go beyond what his constitution will stand. Divine healing does not make a man immortal in this life, and even Jesus bore the weight of weariness.

It is true that Brother Branham lives in a different world than that of the average Christian. In the affairs of this world he is admittedly unsophisticated and is not prepared to match wits with those who too often seek selfish and subtle advantage of him. On the other hand, in that world in which he truly lives, his spiritual senses have been quickened to a point that has enabled him to move farther out into God, and has caused him to be more conscious of heavenly realities, than perhaps any man now living. It is this amazing spiritual sensitivity that has caused his ministry to be so revolutionary. He indeed brings no new doctrine to the church, but rather a fresh revelation of the reality of the power of God and the intrinsic truth of the miraculous in the Scriptures.

Together with this spiritual acumen, there is another characteristic of his ministry that makes him so intensely loved by the multitudes who hear him--it is his simple humility. Nobody is jealous of the successes of the little man who for long years fought a losing battle with life--one who through much of his life has known nothing but the pangs of poverty, hardship and crushing sorrows, a man who has had even the little of life wrenched from his grasp, until his very soul was left bare, and it seemed as if heaven itself had conspired against him. We may thank God for the compensations Divine Providence has given him since, and rejoice with him in his victories. Perhaps in the ministry of no other man has death in this life been so strongly symbolized; this, of course, to the purpose that God may show forth to His people, the new or resurrection life.

Brother Branham fully recognizes his limitations, and frequently apologizes to his audiences for his lack of cultural qualifications. Readily he tells of his humble origin, his long struggle with poverty. There are no pretensions. Only when it comes to the matter of his own call is there no doubt or hesitancy. Of this he must speak to fulfill the commission which has been given him. His message and the exercise of his gift must be made known to the world.

When it comes to the consideration of doctrinal points, it is a different matter. He does not consider himself a theologian or an arbiter of theological controversies. Despite his great influence with multitudes of people, he does not lend that influence to press home his own views on doctrinal points. Some unauthorizedly have attempted to use his name as a means of promoting their own personal views. He has been forced to kindly but firmly repudiate such attempts. His mission is to unite the people of God, not to further divide them in doctrinal controversy. "Knowledge puffeth up but love edifieth"

It is this simple humility that has charmed his audiences wherever he has been. Though the fulfilling of his calling demands that he minister to the great crowds, his sincere desire is to preserve the simplicity of his life. He knows full well that great men of God in the past have found that both their power with God and their anointing were lacking when they lost the simplicity of their Christian experience and the spirit of humility they once possessed.

That he withdraws himself from the throng is not because he shuns people, but rather because he finds that is the only way he can possibly continue his ministry. He has found that all his time and more would soon be taken up by the countless people who wish to see him, confer with him, give him advice, or seek his counsel. There would be no time left to wait on God, and he well knows that he, of all men, is most dependent on the anointing of the Spirit. Without that anointing he is helpless. He does not have natural talents that he can fall back upon if that all important element should be missing. Some people, of course, misunderstand this and are greatly disappointed when they are not permitted a personal interview. Scarcely a day passes in which there are not some who feel that they have an urgent message to give to him, that only they can convey.

But though he must live in a different world, so that he might bring inspiration and blessing to his fellow men, there is no one who is more human and understanding than Brother Branham. He intensely desires to please all, and he longs to do any favor that comes within his power. Indeed, on this one point he cannot trust himself, for he knows that his desire to please may lead him into making commitments which there would be no possibility of fulfilling. Nothing could distress him more than to know that he was unable to keep his word. Thus he has placed his business arrangements into the hands of his associates, so that they may carry out in orderly fashion what mutual agreements seem necessary in the conduct of his campaigns.

To understand Brother Branham, one needs to know something of his background. As he himself tells the story, his family was the poorest of the poor. At the time of his marriage, his living was precarious. For a long time he was unable to afford the most meager of household conveniences. Once he lost to a finance company an easy chair, not being able to keep up the payments. 

He preached in his own tabernacle for years, not accepting any compensation, believing that his congregation was too poor to keep up the expenses both of the church and his family. To pay expenses he worked as an Indiana game warden, but was too kind hearted to impose fines, although that was his only source of income as a game warden. Consequently (and it does sound fantastic, but it is true) he had to work at still another job, that of patrolling the high lines--a work he could do in connection with his game warden job--in order to make a living for his family. But in his own battle he was brought in intimate touch with the suffering and sorrow of humanity. And in the honored position that God has now called him, he is still able to feel intensely for those who also must tread as he did, the dark and lonely path of sorrow.

There was another reason why God chose William Branham for the great task of calling His people to unity of spirit. The Lord knew that he would never attempt to start another organization of his own. This he could have done. But to such suggestions he never gave one moment of consideration. His message was not to bring something new to the Church, which would involve the creation of a new organization. That was not his vision or desire--rather it was that the people of God who had separated themselves one from the other, would now recognize the fact that they were of one body and become united in spirit in anticipation of the return of their Lord Jesus Christ. He sought not only the healing of the physical bodies of believers, but also the healing of the Mystical Body of Christ--which is His Church. One is reminded of the Apostle Paul who pointed out that the cause of so much sickness and premature death in the Church was due to their "not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep." We know that this scripture refers primarily to the physical Body of Christ, symbolized in the Broken Bread of the Lord's Supper. But the passage must also have reference to the Mystical Body of Christ, for immediately Paul begins discussing this subject, and indeed the theme occupies the entire 12th chapter of I Corinthians. He concludes this discussion by showing the solemn urgency of the members of the body of Christ to properly recognize each other's place in the body. "And whether one member suffers all the members suffers with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ and the members in particular." The Church, or Body of Christ, is sick because its members are out of harmony one with the other.

Now speaking briefly concerning the ministry of William Branham--be no longer attempts to pray for all that throng his meetings; he has found that the limits of his physical strength makes this impossible. He has to restrict his ministry to ministering to a limited number each night. But that does not mean that all cannot receive healing in his meetings. The sick in the audience are encouraged to reach out in faith and receive their healing while in their seats. And indeed, as a result of this instruction, the number of testimonies being received of those who are thus healed is astonishing. Such healings do not involve merely minor ailments, but deliverances are just as apt to be from organic ailments such as cancer, tumor, tuberculosis and so on. Time after time Brother Branham has, by the operation of his gift, discerned such diseases and announced the deliverance, though the person receiving healing may be seated well back in the audience.

Another great purpose of the Branham meetings is to bring inspiration to the ministry, not to encourage a great number to attempt to conduct vast campaigns, but that many with new inspiration will go back to their own churches and begin a real ministry of deliverance. Too long have substitutes been used to draw people to the church, until worship in many of our congregations has been submerged to a purely human level with the element of the supernatural completely gone. The healing ministry is the Bible way at last to reach the multitudes for God. What wonderful ministries have been born in the lives of some we know, who, after attending the Branham meetings and returning home, have locked their doors and refused to emerge until they had heard from heaven!

As for the Christians themselves, how their lives have been enriched as they have beheld before their very eyes, often for the first time, the working of a miracle! How skepticism and unbelief have been challenged and put to flight! God is no longer a vague and distant God, but One Who is nigh and ready to reveal Himself to the sons of men! When Modernism with its blighting unbelief meets this challenge, it is put to instant rout. No honeycombed words or cunning oratory can fool a normal person who has seen God work before his very eyes. Men as never before are brought to the realization that the Bible is true, God's power is real, Heaven and Hell are real!

In another sense these great meetings have a missionary character. The large population in the country rarely touched by Full Gospel meetings is reached in the Branham campaigns. The altar calls are made up of many of these people. Although they do not return to swell the numbers of the local churches, they are, nevertheless, a priceless addition to the kingdom of God. It goes without saying, of course, that many from the cities are also converted and become candidates to increase the congregations of enterprising pastors who have the initiative to follow up and encourage these converts. One pastor told us that immediately after a Branham meeting in his town he received one hundred new members into his church. Of course, the whole campaign is a mighty witness to the entire community of the truth and reality of the Full Gospel message.

The personal testimony of the writer is that the ministry of William Branham has powerfully affected his own. Though he practiced the ministry of healing and his own church enjoyed the benefits of this glorious truth to a large degree, yet it was not until after he had witnessed the ministry of Brother Branham that he received faith to minister to the deaf, the dumb, and blind, and see immediate results. In such meetings that he has conducted, he has been gratified by the considerable success he has experienced, and would no doubt he fully engaged in his own campaigns at the present time, having many calls, were it not for the fact that in the Providence of God, as editor of THE VOICE OF HEALING, his time and strength seem to be demanded in the coordination and encouragement of those engaged in this great visitation that has come to the land. That in this work he has the honor to be associated with William Branham, he considers a reward in itself.

Looking back to the beginning of this visitation, we may point to May 7, 1946, when the angel of the Lord speaking to William Branham in person told him that if he would remain faithful, this great spiritual move would shake the world. We are seeing that prediction fulfilled. But speaking for us all, as well as our beloved Brother Branham, and looking a step farther beyond frail human instrumentality, we see the inscrutable purpose of the Almighty, Who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! To Him be all the glory.