In the late 1940s, and into the 1950s, the world reeled with the consequences of World War II. Poverty, hunger, and sickness were widespread throughout the world; America was similarly affected. But, in the midst of all this, new hope was born with the news about a little man from a small, virtually unknown Midwestern town who met an angel: William Marrion Branham from Jeffersonville, Indiana. As in the past, God had chosen an unlikely candidate as a prophet.
People who witnessed the great gift God sent to mankind stood breathless and amazed at the wonderful fruits of that gift. In the presence of all these events, many turned to Christ confessing there is a living God. It almost seemed like the world returned to the time when Jesus Christ walked on earth, preaching the Kingdom of God, healing the sick, and doing great signs and wonders. After the Topeka and Azusa Street Revivals at the turn of the century, a revival, called “Healing Revival,” blazed across America and then spread worldwide. Most of the leaders of this Healing Revival considered William Branham its catalyst, and most of them drew their inspiration from him. During 1955, God showed William Branham a vision which initiated the changes that were to come in his ministry. The vision also declared events and happenings that would be far greater than anything else that had happened in his life to that point, and depicted the different stages in his ministry. Each step was symbolized by different images, such as a little bit of shoelace and
a baby shoe, or a fishing rod and a lure. God’s prophet spoke about this vision for the first time in the message Why Are People so Tossed About? preached January 1, 1956. This vision has come to be best known as the “Tent Vision.” It was this period of his ministry that William Branham would later call the “Third Pull.”
The ministry of William Branham was not limited to praying for sick people or discerning the thoughts and intents of the people’s hearts. Throughout his ministry, he confessed that God had a special purpose for his life and one day he would move westward to fulfill that purpose. With the unmistakable leading of the Lord, He moved His prophet West in 1963.
A Prophet to our Generation
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet …Malachi 4:5
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel …Revelation 10:7
Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed …Luke 17:30
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets… Amos 3:7
ARISE, shine; for thy light is come… For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee…Isaiah 60:1-2
The Voice of the Sign, February 14, 1964
“The coming of a prophet is a sign that God is ready to speak.”
The Feast of the Trumpets, July 19, 1964
“A prophet doesn’t only mean ‘a seer, a forth teller,’ it means ‘a revealer of the Word that’s written.’ In his own life, his own works, reveals and vindicates the Word of that day; like Noah building the ark; Moses down there; whatevermore; and any promise, the promised Word for that hour.”
Things That Are to Be, December 5, 1965
“A prophet is a reflector of God. He is made so that he cannot speak his own words. It has to be God’s Words that he speaks. He’s just like a reflector, and he is God’s mouthpiece.” Things That Are to Be, December 5, 1965
Laodicean Church Age, Church Age Book
“Now this messenger of Malachi 4 and Revelation 10:7 is going to do two things. One: According to Malachi 4 he will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. Two: He will reveal the mysteries of the seven thunders in Revelation 10 which are the revelations contained in the seven seals. It will be these Divinely revealed ‘mystery-truths’ that literally turn the hearts of the children to the Pentecostal fathers.”