Branham, William: William Branham was a preacher who gained international fame in the 1950s for his faith healings. Tent meetings with Branham drew thousands. He has been credited alongside Oral Roberts as one of the “two giants” of the post-World War II healing revival. Branham died in 1965 in a car crash, but his ministry has flourished well past his death due in part to recordings of his more than 1,200 sermons. His followers believe he was God’s prophet.
Bride of Christ: Message followers believe they are God’s “elect” or the true “Bride of Christ.” That means they believe they are God’s chosen people who will go up to heaven first in the rapture at the end of the world. The rest of the world will go through a period of judgment where God determines whether they go to heaven or hell. Message churches differ on whether all Message churches are considered part of The Bride or whether their congregation alone is the true Bride. Most believe the former.
Cloud: On Feb. 28. 1963, a ring-shaped cloud appeared very high in the sky above Arizona. William Branham later claimed the cloud was a constellation of angels, who facilitated the revelation of the secrets of the Biblical Seven Seals to him. The cloud is a symbol of Branham’s ministry, featured on posters, often with an image of Jesus’ face in the middle. Federal officials later acknowledged the cloud was the result of a rocket launch from a California Air Force base.
End Times: Message followers believe that we are in the “End Times,” meaning that the end of the world and the rapture is imminent. Branham preached that the world would be “blowed (sic) to bits” by atomic bombs and that gentiles or non-believers would be “nothing but atomic fodder ”or “cannon fodder.” He predicted that the world would end by 1977. Message believers prepare for the approaching apocalypse as part of their faith.
Healing Revival: An evangelical movement that started in 1946 after World War II characterized by a burst in faith healings and other miracles. Throughout the 1950s, tens of thousands would gather for Pentecostal tent meetings to see charismatic preachers such as William Branham and Oral Roberts perform divine healings and convert people into the faith.
Malachi 4:5-6 prophet: Malachi 4:5-6 in the Bible mentions a prophet, Elijah, who will come before the end of the world and usher in Jesus Christ’s second and final coming. Most Message churches believe Branham to be this prophet. Branham did not claim to be Elijah, but he described characteristics of this messenger and all of them matched himself.
(The) Message: An offshoot of Pentecostalism that the late Rev. William Branham started in the 1930s. The religious movement, also known as “The Message of the Hour,” grew after Branham’s death in 1965 in large part due to audio recordings of his more than 1,200 sermons. The nonprofit Voice of God Recordings estimates that The Message has about 3 million followers worldwide who believe Branham to be a prophet. The rough count is based on the number of people who receive the nonprofit's religious materials and is not necessarily reflective of those who believe the faith.
Oneness doctrine: Oneness doctrine, also known as the “Jesus Only” movement or Oneness Pentecostalism, is the belief that there is only one God as opposed to the belief in the Trinity, or the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Oneness Pentecostals are against this division of the Godhead into distinct individuals. They believe there is one God who manifests into different forms. Some believe Jesus Christ is the one God, and that Jesus sometimes takes the form of the Father or the Holy Spirit. Many Message churches follow this doctrine or variations of it. For instance, many Message churches baptize people “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” like Branham did, rather than “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
Pentecostalism: A religious movement within Protestant Christianity that focuses on charismatic expressions of faith such as speaking in tongues, faith healing, prophesy, visions and other gifts from the Holy Spirit. The Message is an offshoot of Pentecostalism. Branham founded his ministry in the Pentecostal tradition but split off from the broader movement later in his ministry as he developed controversial doctrines such as serpent’s seed (see below). A few Message churches have members who speak in tongues, but Branham discouraged ecstatic forms of worship in the later years of his ministry. But Message followers believe Branham had powers of prophetic visions, healing and revelations from God.
Progressive revelation: As this generation’s prophet or voice for God, Branham claimed to receive “revelations” or messages directly from God about certain doctrines or ways his followers should live. This allowed him to create new rules from God that believers needed to follow, although Message followers claim Branham was simply interpreting scripture, not adding to it. Progressive revelation or continued revelation is a prophet’s practice of “revealing” new teachings from God. Some believe Branham’s later sermons carry more weight because they are the newest revelations, and therefore override any contractions in previous messages.
Serpent’s seed: A controversial Branham doctrine that reinterprets the story of the original sin in the Bible. Branham preached that Eve had sex with the serpent in the Garden of Eden and produced Cain, an evil twin. Abel, the good twin, was the byproduct of Adam’s seed. Cain murdered Abel out of jealousy, and Adam and Eve had another good son, Seth, to replace him. This sets up the world with two bloodlines: one good from Seth and one evil from Cain. Branham doesn’t say who the evil descendants of Cain are. The teaching was described by one minister as a “filthy doctrine” that “ruined (Branham’s) ministry,” according to a book on Branham called “The Acts of the Prophet.”
Seven Seals: The Seven Seals described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation play a central role in William Branham’s ministry. In 1963, Branham said the mysteries of the Seven Seals were revealed to him, and he preached each seal’s secrets in a series of sermons that year. Message followers believe the secret of the “rapturing faith” was contained in these revelations.
Seven Church Ages: Adapting the church ages referenced in the Book of Revelation, Branham preached about the Seven Church Ages in 1960. Each church age was accompanied by its messenger. Although Branham didn’t directly say so, Message followers believe that Branham was the messenger of the seventh and final church age.
The Table app: A free app produced by Voice of God Recordings that contains the audio and text of all of Branham’s sermons, including sermons translated into more than 70 languages. The messages are searchable by keywords.
“Thus saith the Lord”: This was a phrase Branham would use to indicate to his followers that what he was preaching came directly from God. For instance, Branham said in 1948: “It’s thus saith the Lord, your baby’s going to live.” Branham is declaring that the baby will heal or he’s a false prophet. He would use “Thus saith the Lord” to declare that certain doctrine or prophesies were infallible.
Voice of God Recordings: A nonprofit that distributes Branham’s more than 1,200 sermons globally. The organization was established as a nonprofit in the ‘80s and has since been sending translations of Branham’s sermons in written booklets, cassette tapes, CDs, mp3 players and now computer tablets across the world. It is run by Branham’s son, Joseph Branham.
About this series
Lee Enterprises investigative team and the Arizona Daily Star interviewed more than 50 former and current Message followers, experts and religious leaders for “Twisted Message.” The series examines the lack of accountability in a Christian religious sect called “The Message.” Some groups that claim to follow the faith have become controlling or destructive, including a Tucson church accused of being a “cult,” an Arizona trailer park commune that physically and sexually abused children in the 1960s and churches across the U.S. that allegedly treat women as “second-class citizens.” The year-long investigation is the first news-media account of The Message and its global influence.
