William Branham Historical Research

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/branham Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts: https://william-branham.org/podcast In this episode, Charles and John examine William Branham's most notorious connection, his first pastor and mentor, the Rev. Roy E. Davis. We discuss: * Branham's lifelong connection to Roy Davis * Roy Davis's criminal record * What Branham knew about Davis when he began his ministry * What Branham knew about Davis in the early years of his ministry * Strategic campaigns by Davis and Branham's involvement * What others in Branham's team knew about Davis * The overall timeline and agenda of the opposition to Civil Rights * How that timeline coincides with Branham's doctrinal changes * How and why Roy Davis influenced Branham's fictional stage persona

James Gordon Lindsay was William Branham's campaign manager from 1947 until the mid-1950s. Branham and Lindsay published The Voice of Healing magazine and Lindsay was a key figure in The Voice of Healing Revival that merged with the Latter Rain movement. In 1953, Lindsay issued an ultimatum for Branham over doctrinal positions in white supremacy, which led to a heated battle between Joseph Mattsson-Boze's Herald of Faith and Voice of Healing. Lindsay was converted to the Parhamite cult in high school by Charles Fox Parham himself, and In the early 1930s, Lindsay toured the country with Parhamite John G. Lake. Later in the 30s, Lindsay joined Aimee Semple McPherson's cult of personality to become a minister and evangelist for the Foursquare church. Freda Lindsay, Gordon's wife, was a student of McPherson's bible school. Together, Gordon and Freda formed a husband-and-wife evangelistic team. After a series of revivals in Tacoma, Gordon and Freda became co-pastors of the Tacoma Foursquare church. They held that position until February 1939, when Gordon Lindsay was appointed to the position of "field extension work" for the McPherson's Four Square organization. Interestingly, Lindsay's transition came shortly after McPherson appointed Gerald B. Winrod as her temporary replacement in November 1938. Like Winrod, Lindsay was a strong supporter of British Israelism. When Winrod was named a nazi conspirator by the Seventy-Sixth Session of Congress in January of 1940, Gordon Lindsay began touring through the United States and Canada for the "Anglo-Saxon Christian Association" Lindsay also began hosting "America in Prophecy" presentations with End-of-Days scenarios that he claimed to be the result of Biblical Prophecy and numerology.[12] Though Lindsay was not named in the Great Sedition Trial of 1944 along with Winrod, it was very apparent that Lindsay supported Winrod's position. In 1940, Lindsay was the opening speaker for the Anglo-Saxon Christian Movement Convention and held daily meetings to answer questions about the British Israel doctrine. Clem Davies, also a member of the Anglo-Saxon movement[14] and a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan, joined Lindsay in the conferences. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Gordon Lindsay: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/gordon_lindsay

Granville Oral Roberts was a Pentecostal "faith healer" and evangelist ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. Roberts was raised in Ada, OK, just north of Paris, TX. Southern Oklahoma is where both Roy E. Davis and Branham's mother called "home." Roy Davis pastored a church in Idabel when he was promoting the Ku Klux Klan. Roberts was inspired by Branham to become a faith healer. Like Branham, Roberts claimed to have felt "vibrations in his hand" to detect illness. During early versions of Branham's stage persona, Branham claimed to have felt "vibrations" strong enough that he needed a luxurious Longines watch. Roberts was one of the many "Voice of Healing" evangelists included in Branham's "Voice of Healing" publication] collaborating with the Branham campaigns as late as 1964. Branham and Roberts were connected through Demos Shakarian's Full Gospel Business Men's International and held conventions for the FGBMI all throughout the United States.[Roberts, Branham, and the FGBMI were involved with the National Prayer Breakfasts for "The Family". William Branham frequently endorsed Robert's ministry. On many occasions, Branham admitted that Oral Roberts was more familiar with the Bible than himself and could "tie Satain in such a place till he just can't get out of it". Quote: Now, Divine healing, teaching it…Tommy Osborn, and Tommy Hicks, Oral Roberts, many of the other teachers across the world, and Mr. Bosworth, F. F. Bosworth who's one of my field managers…They're great scholars on the Scripture. And they're top men, learned men. And they can take a Scripture and tie Satan in such a place till he just can't get out of it. That's all. I might not be able to do that. - William Branham William Branham used Oral Roberts and Billy Graham as key figures in his Manifested Sons of God theology. While suggesting that he (Branham) was the manifestation of God as the "called-out Abraham", Branham claimed that Roberts and Graham were the Biblical "two witnesses" (Rev 11) sent into Sodom. This, Branham claimed was due to the number of letters in their names; Branham claimed that Roberts and Graham's six characters were significant, but hinted at the fact that the seven letters in "Branham" was more significant. Quote: Now you take Luke 17:30 and read it. Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man.' Just like it was at Sodom. Now, look at the position of the world today: Sodomites. Look at that Billy Graham and Oral Roberts, them two witnesses, down there witnessing to the denominational churches. One to the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian; the other to the Pentecostals. This one, that one, and the other one. But remember, Abraham wasn't in Sodom, he was already called out. - William Branham Oral Roberts: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/oral_roberts

One of the more interesting pieces of information uncovered in the area of white supremacy connected to William Branham’s ministry is that of the original Stamps Gospel Quartet. Branham was apparently ordained, mentored by, and toured with one of the members of the Stamps quartet. In the early 1940s as the Klan was being re-birthed in California, Roy E. Davis and William D. Upshaw re-united in California to sell Mrs. Elizabeth Ussher on the idea of a children’s orphanage. After a very public trial over the mishandling of funds and falsifying information, it looks very much as though this orphanage was a front for Davis’s Klan operation as he started to rise through the ranks of the Klan to later become the Imperial Wizard. Before the orphanage scam was exposed, however, Davis was the M.C. at the Gospel Musician’s Convention. He was well respected in the convention for his work in Texas with the Stamps quartet. According to the announcement, Davis was a member of the original Stamps Quartet when it traveled out of Dallas and which sang on Chautauqua programs. The other members of the quartet included Davis’s former partner in the 1915 Ku Klux Klan, William D. Upshaw, The Klan’s Supreme Religious Chaplain, Caleb A. Ridley, and former Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan. After the orphanage was exposed as a financial scam, and both Davis and Upshaw narrowly escaped prosecution for charges related to impersonating a federal agent, Davis joined the Latter Rain Revivals as a healing evangelist and sent letters to Voice of Healing confirming that he was the minister who ordained William Branham into his first Pentecostal assembly — completely overturning Branham’s conflicting “Life Story” accounts. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org. Roy E. Davis: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/roy_e._davis William D. Upshaw: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/william_d._upshaw Caleb A. Ridley: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/caleb_a._ridley Gospel Music Convention: https://william-branham.org/site/resource?key=df883012-b032-4f39-a6e7-1c3c4a5acd07&parent=roy_e._davis

The May Company was at one time the second-leading upscale department store in the United States. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado by David May in 1877, moved to St. Louis in 1905, and began to spread through the nation in large cities with a customer base that could support its higher prices. It eventually merged with Federated Department Stores, now Macy’s Incorporated) in 2005. It was in the elite shopping district in Los Angeles that William Branham issued a failed prophecy to his son, Billy Paul Branham. He told Billy, “I may not be here, but you won’t be an old man until sharks swim right where we are standing”. The building is still standing today, with no sharks swimming, and has been repurposed for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. I had the opportunity of visiting the building in 2023. There are many interesting details about the failed prophecy. Billy Paul Branham, who was born in 1935, has far outlived what William Branham would have considered to be “old” at the time, outliving William Branham himself. In retellings of the prophecy, Branham added additional details of the alleged vision, claiming that Capernaum — which has never been under the sea — was submerged under the Sea of Galilee. Many people, however, do not consider the fact that Branham was shopping in the elite shopping district of Los Angeles. Branham claimed to have “never taken an offering in his life”, and used the stage persona of a poor, humble, Kentucky bumpkin transplanted in Indiana — not the persona of a person who would shop in stores that many of his followers could not afford to even enter. This, apparently, was the case even from the early days of his ministry. In 1947, for example, a lost-and-found advertisement was run in the Jeffersonville Evening Newspaper for a missing pair of alligator shoes. Apparently, Media Branham lost her expensive shoes near the local Kroger store. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Alligator shoes: https://william-branham.org/site/resource?key=ca09549f-7edb-4c4c-b2b6-24d1a48900a6&parent=william_branham Acts of the Prophet: https://william-branham.org/data/topics/los_angeles_prophecy/publication/acts_of_the_prophet_los_angeles_billy_paul_branham.jpg Los Angeles Prophecy: https://william-branham.org/social/research/topics/los_angeles_prophecy

Dangerous Games is the authoritative book on the trial of Leslie Douglas Ashley in Houston, Texas. Ashley, who was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for the murder of Fred Tones during a transgender prostitution engagement in the early 1960s, was also the center of focus of the “Message” cult in late February and March of 1963. According to the book, William Branham was asked to rally support due to the family’s ownership of the “halo” photograph. Ashley’s stepfather, Jim Ayers, uncle Ted Kipperman, mother Sylvia, and himself worked for Douglas Studios when the halo photo was captured. At the time of the event, Ashley was a 12-year-old prostitute, and working for Douglas Studios to alter photos as they were being developed. Ted Kipperman believed that the photo was the result of a faulty camera, though lighting in the Sam Houston Coliseum suggests it was the result of stage lighting. Kipperman pushed Branham to come to Houston for the execution, which was scheduled for February 28, 1963 — the same day William Branham was supposed to be under the Arizona “cloud” which Branham claimed to be “seven angels” giving him the “Message” of the Seven Seals of Revelation. Ashley claimed to have been saved and to have converted to the Latter Rain “Message”, and his alleged “Salvation” was published in Voice of Healing and in tracts that were spread about Houston. Shortly after, however, Ashley broke out of prison and made the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Leslie Douglas Ashley: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/leslie_douglas_ashley

Alma Bridwell White was the founder of the Pillar of Fire church, otherwise known as the "Holy Jumpers", for their ritual of jumping up and down while claiming to be "moved by the Spirit". The sect was organized in Denver, Colorado, but appears to have been greatly influenced by or cloned from John Alexander Dowie's Christian Catholic church in Zion. In fact, White was often accused of creating a sect that closely resembled Zion. Also like Dowie, White held a different set of standards than her members and did not obey the rules of her sect. Alma White was a strong supporter of the Ku Klux Klan, and the Pillar of Fire church was one of the few churches that publicly supported the white supremacy organization. White often held lectures on the White Knights and their principles. White also published books advertising the Klan, such as Klan in Prophecy, Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty, and Heroes of the Fiery Cross. White was very outspoken against people with black skin and preached sermons such as "America — the White Man's Heritage" that discriminated against blacks. Interestingly, William Seymour visited White's sect shortly before the Azusa Street Revival. Seymour visited several unusual sects on his journey to Los Angeles, and the "Holy Jumpers" was no exception. Seymour was not well received, however, due to his black skin. White later described Seymour as a "very untidy person," who was seeking to create his own following. In her book, Demons and Tongues, she claimed she had "met all kinds of religious fakers and tramps, but felt he excelled them all." There is no doubt, however, that the color of Seymour's skin played a factor in her disgust with him. Seymour, however, appears to have been influenced by Alma White's "jumping" and the religious ecstasy of the "holy jumpers" made its way into the Azusa Street Revival. When Azusa Street broke out in jumping, they began disrupting the peace. Police tried to stop the noise and found that the "jumpers" were being led by "the one-eyed negro" (Seymour). In 1926, the "Holy Jumpers" was labeled "a cult" by newspapers when 22-year-old Ruth Marshall was recruited into the sect and refused to return to her family. Journalists noted that her "eyes burn[ed] with a religious zeal". You can learn this and more on William-branham.org Alma White: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/alma_white

One of the more unusual journeys of pilgrimage made by members of William Branham's cult of personality is to the "Branham Peaks", at the Branham Lakes Campground just southeast of Butte, Montana. "Message" believers are told that the name of the peaks are shrouded in mystery and that no one is aware why they are named "Branham". In fact, some sects of the cult believed that they are actually named after William Marrion Branham due to Branham's unusual statement concerning a visit to the area. Quote: I stopped and looked up on the mountain, and I seen those seven hills. Now, here, if you want to see something: There was seven peaks on top of a mountain, one mountain, that run for several miles. The last mountain before you go into the other country; no more mountains after that. And it was running from east to the west, the mountain set, and it was snowcapped on top. The first two small peaks, and then a large peak; and then another small peak, and then a larger peak; and then a small peak, and then a great, large, long, snowcapped mountain. And I said, 'Lord, I do not understand what that means.' He said, 'How many peaks are there?' I said, 'There is seven.' 'How many letters is in your name? B-r-a-n-h-a-m, M-a-r-r-i-o-n B-r-a-n-h-a-m.' - William Branham William Branham used his stage name, "William Marrion Branham" instead of the name used on government documents, "William Marvin Branham", to claim that there was significance in seven letters. He then applied this to his journey to the Branham Peaks, claiming that he saw exactly seven peaks named after him, which was allegedly a sign given to him by God. Very few of his listeners had visited the area, and were unaware that the region was filled with almost countless peaks; mountain ranges stretch for hundreds of miles in every direction, each having several peaks that could be seen depending upon the location. The surname "Branham" is very common, and there is no mystery as to the name of the lakes and peaks in the region. Branham Lakes was named after the family of Tom Branham, one of the earliest miners and prospectors in Sheridan, Montana. The Branham Peaks were named in March 1933, officially named "Branham No. 1", "Branham No. 2", and "Branham No. 3" until their names changed. Only two of the peaks were grouped in "Branham Peaks" while the other was named after a partner of Tom Branham named "Bradley". "Bradley Peak" also overlooks the Branham Lakes. Quote: Branham lakes at the head of Mill Creek, soon to be reached by a forest road, have long been identified with the history of this section. They take their name from Tom Branham who was one of the early day miners and prospectors of Sheridan. - Madison County Forum (Newspaper) Five years after William Branham died, in 1970, "Message" member Jimmy Harrell of Macon, Georgia, sent a letter to the "Action Line" feature of the Macon News asking where the "Branham Peaks" got their name. He gave an incorrect location, "just west of Butte", and the U.S. Forest Service was unable to find any "Branham Peaks" to the west. After the newspaper responded that they had no information on the "Branham Peaks", news quickly spread through the Branham cult that there was a "mystery". You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Branham Peaks: https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/branham_peaks

In 1965, the FBI's Legal Attaché in London opened an investigation into A. A. Allen's fraudulent claims in his healing revivals. Several members of Parliament in London received letters of complaints during a three-month series of revivals. The letters were forwarded to the British Home Office, and London Metropolitan Police opened an active investigation into Allen's claims. It was then learned that Allen had a criminal record back in the United States, with convictions and charges ranging from several alcohol-related charges to tax evasion. An unnamed informant in one of Allen's 1959 revivals sent information to the FBI that Allen had staged fake healings in his revivals in Texas. Allen apparently planted people in the healing lines that would "hobble to the altar" and suddenly pretend to be healed. Allen's fake healing gimmick was apparently profitable. According to the FBI report, A. A. Allen had been in litigation over unpaid taxes. Allen owed $350,000, which was approximately the same amount Branham apparently owed. Interestingly, A. A. Allen's FBI file also included a request for J. Edgar Hoover to open an investigation into Anton Lavey and the First Organized Church of Satan. The FBI had not yet opened an active investigation into Lavey, but did have correspondence between the A. A. Allen Revivals and the Church of Satan, and also had record of Allens' request for his cult of personality to send him money to fight Lavey.[25] A. A. Allen died of alcoholism at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco, California, on June 11, 1970. FBI documents reveal that Allen was an alcoholic for most of his evangelistic career. His FBI Record lists arrests in 1946 in Las Vegas for drunken driving, 1956, 1959, and 1960 in California for drunkenness, and 1964 in Florida for drunken driving and fleeing the scene of the accident. He was also arrested in Tennessee for drunken driving, though the FBI did not have a record of it at the time of the inquiry. From the report, it appears that failing mental health played a factor in his drunkenness; in 1962 Allen's wife filed a petition to have him committed to a mental institution in Arizona. When he died, the coroner's report stated that Allen died from liver failure brought on by acute alcoholism. The coroner reported that when Allen died, he had a blood alcohol content of .36, which was "enough to ensure a deep coma". Members of Allen's cult of personality, however, are told that the coroner had falsified his report and that Allen died of cardiac arrest. A. A. Allen: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/a._a._allen Declassified FBI Document; https://william-branham.org/site/resource?key=a26177f9-db68-44a1-952b-61997ba95c2f&parent=a._a._allen

Kenneth Hagin is recognized for his claim to have been “saved” by “visiting hell”, which is highly controversial. His conversion story was widely accepted by his cult of personality, though non-cult members recognize the theological issues and logical flaws with his tale. During the Post WWII Healing Revival, as Hagin began touring with other “divine healers”, this theme of curiosity about hell began to spread. People were actually curious to learn more about the torture, heat, and other environmental aspects of hell. As early as December 1948, while Branham was the chief publisher of The Voice of Healing, Branham published articles helping to stir up this abnormal excitement about hell. In an article entitled “A Sermon From Hell”, readers could learn more about hell by comparing passages from the Bible to then current-day global conflicts, environmental disasters, and more. This focus on hell, as it spread through the revival, transitioned Americanized Christianity from themes of the Good News of the Gospel to fear of hell. In some churches, the Gospel itself was not preached; ministers instead warned their congregants that hellfire and brimstone awaited them if they did not obey the rules, which were often extra-biblical. Now, years later, these churches are referred to as the “hellfire and brimstone” churches, and Christians are severed. Those in the “hellfire and brimstone” churches pride themselves to focus on hell, while others wonder why the focus is not on the Good News (Gospel). You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Kenneth Hagin: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/kenneth_hagin

Until his death in 2018, Rev. Billy Graham was almost a household name in the United States. Given the nickname “America’s Pastor”, Graham held massive revivals throughout America waging war against sin and the devil. He is remembered for fighting against evil, spreading love, and promoting equality to unite a very politically divided nation. Billy Graham's racial equality persona appears to have been disingenuous, however. In the 1970s, Graham sided with President Richard Nixon's antisemitism when he said that the Jewish people "swarm around me and are friendly to me", but "They don't know how I really feel about what they're doing to this country." When news of Graham's racist statements reemerged in 2002, Graham pretended not to remember spreading hate speech. Later, Graham finally admitted to doing so in a written apology. James Warren, who first broke the story in 2002 insinuated that the apology was somewhat forced; Graham continued to maintain that he did not recall the conversation with Nixon. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Billy Graham: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/billy_graham

Onward Christian soldiers The song, “Onward Christian Soldiers”, is a tune commonly used in William Branham’s “Message” cult of personality. It was part of the worship service, and in later years, was used as the marching tune for Sunday School. In the Branham Tabernacle, children heard the tune, rose to their feet, and marched to the Sunday School classes where they could learn more about William Branham as the central figure for worship. The tune was also the theme song for Gerald Burton Winrod as he mixed politics, religion, racism, and nazism in his Christian meetings. “Onward Christian Soldiers” blasted from the back of a truck as he staged campaigns against Franklin D. Roosevelt and earned his nickname “The Jayhawk Nazi” and “The Kansas Hitler”. Winrod was one of several people on trial at the Great Sedition Trial of 1944. He was connected directly to Roy E. Davis, Branham’s mentor, through the Fundamentalist League, and held revivals with Paul Rader who wrote William Branham’s theme song, “Only Believe”. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Gerald Winrod: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/gerald_burton_winrod

Finis Jennings Dake was a Pentecostal minister and evangelist. Starting in 1927, Dake was an administrator of several Pentecostal Bible Schools, including the Texico Bible Institute in Dallas, and the Southwestern Bible School in Oklahoma. He is most recognized for publishing the Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, referred to by Chrisma and Christian Life Magazine as "The Pentecostal Study Bible". The Bible, which contained unorthodox and heretical commentaries, influenced several Pentecostal and Charismatic ministers, including Kenneth Hagin, Jimmy Swaggart, Rod Parsely, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Marilyn Hickey, and Ralph Wilkerson. Dake held revivals with "Mr. Pentecost" David Du Plessis, as well as the Full Gospel Businessman's Fellowship International. Dake also held "School of Evangelism" seminars with Rev. Lester Sumrall, Assemblies of God minister who defended William Branham's Latter Rain ministry. Dake was trained in the Glad Tidings Bible Training School of San Francisco and Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Missouri. He eventually was forced to resign from them due to his anti-Biblical tri-theism version of the Trinity and extra-Biblical views of a pre-Adamite world. As an Assemblies of God minister, Dake also founded a Bible School in Zion, Illinois, home of cult leader John Alexander Dowie. His ministry ended abruptly when he pled guilty to violating the Mann Act by bringing a 16-year-old girl into Wisconsin for purposes of sex. Dake served six months in prison for the crime. At Southwestern, Dake taught "Dispensational Truth" classes, apparently named after Clarence Larkin's book on the subject. As a result, many of William Branham's views on Church Age theology and eschatology were closely aligned with Dake. Dake produced drawings, such as his "Plan of the Ages", that were very similar to the drawings made by Larkin in Dispensational Truth. Branham was, fully aligned with Dakes' views of a pre-Ada mite race. Branham believed that before the Garden of Eden, another civilization existed. In Branham's view of the Genesis story, God did not have to necessarily create; God simply reused what was already there. According to Branham, even the "trees and everything" came from seeds that were watered by God. Also like Branham, Dake was a strong supporter of the segregation of races, and published a tract, "30 Reasons for segregation of Races". You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Finis J. Dake https://william-branham.org/site/admin/research/entry/finis_j._dake Audio sample of Dake https://www.dakebible.com/resources/dake-mp3-audio-sample.htm Dake’s 30 reasons for segregation https://thetencommandmentsministry.us/ministry/blog/articles/30-reasons-for-segregation-of-races/ Apologetics Index for Dake https://www.apologeticsindex.org/d47.html

When Charles Fox Parham, the founder of modern Pentecostalism, was organizing the first converts to the Apostolic Faith, he became very impressed with cult leader Frank Sandford. Sandford had convinced numerous converts to give him all of their possessions to join his Shiloh cult, called, “The Holy Ghost and Us Society”, or “The Kingdom”, which apparently had an enticing appeal for Parham. Parham appears to have partnered with Sandford before Sandford was convicted of manslaughter for staving several of his cult members, Parham coordinated efforts between his “Apostolic Faith” and the “Holy Ghost and Us Society”. When Sandford toured through Kansas attempting to persuade several young girls to return with him to his cult commune in Maine, Parham helped recruit young women. In 1900, Parham convinced young Lizzie Bell, daughter of a prominent Topeka Methodist minister, to join him as he went to the Shiloh compound in Maine. Her father was on a mission trip to Africa at the time and was unaware that Sandford (and Parham) had gathered several young women to join Shiloh. Lizzie Bell eventually escaped Shiloh, however, and wandered twenty miles through the woods to flee the clutches of Sandford. She was told that she had a “demonic spirit” and decided it was in her best interests to flee. More than fifty men scoured the woods in search of the young lady. When she was finally found, she exclaimed: “Their prayers were awful. They were enough to frighten anyone. If one dared to have any individual opinions against theirs, they would shout that the devil was in that one, and all would unite to drive the demon out. I was terribly frightened. It was declared that the devil had possession of me. I ran away. I did not know a soul in the state of Maine except those at Shiloh. I had no money. I did not know where I was going, but I could not bear to stay there. I don’t know where I have been, for I never saw the state till I came to Shiloh.” You can learn this and more on william-branham.org. Charles Fox Parham: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/charles_fox_parham Frank Sandford: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/frank_sanford Lizzie Bell: https://william-branham.org/site/resource?key=3bf6978f-80e3-4f83-9ce1-01a9986aa1ac&parent=charles_fox_parham

There were many Christian themes based firmly on the New Testament that were rejected in the Latter Rain movement to support William Branham’s Manifest Sons of God theology. As Branham pushed the idea that God would manifest Himself in the form of a prophet just before the End-of-Days to fulfill Luke 17:30 as a “prophet God”, certain passages of Bible text had to be removed or re-written. One of the most significant themes changed was the “Lamb that was slain” theme for the crucifixion itself. According to Biblical Christian doctrine, God sent His Son to offer Himself as a sacrifice to fulfill the Old Covenant. That sacrifice, according to Old Covenant Law, must be pure; without spot or blemish. Hebrews 9 declares that Jesus accomplished this, through the “eternal spirit”, and was without spot or blemish. Branham, however, claimed that the eternal Spirit was … not … with Jesus at the crucifixion. Instead, Jesus had to die as just a man. According to Branham’s altered and anti-Biblical narrative, the eternal Spirit left Jesus at Gethsemane, and Jesus was required to be offered as an impure sacrifice. Branham fully rejected the book of Hebrews in his theology. Branham’s altered version of the Gospel was widely accepted among his converts to the “Message” cult, and quickly propagated through the Latter Rain revivals. As the group splintered, the new and different Gospel became the standard for many of the groups that splintered from the “Message” and is still taught today. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org. The Bible: For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT offered himself WITHOUT BLEMISH to God, purify our[b] conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:13-14 Branham (Quote): The SPIRIT LEFT HIM, in the garden of Gethsemane. He had to die, a man. Remember, friends, He didn't have to do that. That was God. God anointed that flesh, which was human flesh. And He didn't... If He'd have went up there, as God, He'd have never died that kind of death; can't kill God. But He didn't have to do it. - Branham, 65-0418 Branham (Quote): It wasn’t that he didn’t sin; he did sin. And Christ was…He never…GOD WOULDN'T HAVE SENT HIM TO HELL PURE. He had to send Him to hell condemned - Branham, 55-0227

In 1962, fears of doomsday began to spread with the thought of the five planets aligning. The fear was so real that in India, several people plunged into icy sacred rivers, lit sacrificial fires, and prayed night and day to try and head off doomsday. Thousands of people stayed home, leaving the trains empty and businesses vacant while astrologers, palm readers, and other peddlers raked in small fortunes for their “inside information” on the coming day of destruction. This fear of doomsday was one that quickly spread into the United States through the Latter Rain healing revivals. The very day after news of the panic in India was published in American newspapers on February 3, 1962, William Branham introduced it into the Latter Rain mythology as a “spiritual application”. Branham said that he did not agree with the world being blown to bits as was claimed by certain extremists, but that something “similar to that” would occur when the five planets aligned. According to Branham, there had not been a five-planet alignment for twenty-five thousand years. To the largely uneducated audience in attendance, this would have been a very fearful event. Branham, as leader of the Post WWII Healing Revival and authoritative voice on doctrine and Scripture in the movement, certainly would have appeared to have had the spiritual insight to know what this alleged “uncommon” event meant. Most people in the audience would have at minimum assumed that Branham’s statistic was correct, and that this was a highly unusual event. The truth, however, is that five planets align in a way that can be seen by earth approximately every two years. They are sometimes discussed in newspapers and journals, and experts often mention the events as “not that rare”. Five planets aligned in March 29, 2023, for example, and it was noted that the previous alignment occurred in June 2022. A few months later, in June 2023, the five planets aligned once more, and the world did not end. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Doomsday Predictions: https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/doomsday_predictions

Theodore Mugalu is a William Branham "Message" cult leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo and former DRC ambassador to Tanzania. In 2018, Mugalu made news throughout Africa for his physical violence against members of the Catholic Church when he and several converts to the "Message" stripped the clothes off of Catholics and beat their naked flesh. Taking William Branham's anti-Catholic doctrines literally, Mugalu organized a party of cult members to sabotage a peaceful march by members of the Catholic Church. Mugalu instructed, "There must be fights", and "We must allow our soldiers to intervene". Members of the "Message" in DRC joined Mugalu, and as soldiers, they attacked the Catholics. Mugalu forced 145 Catholic priests and converts to undress and lie on the ground with their hands on their heads. Once prostrate, the cult members began to beat them. At least six people were killed. Mugalu, like many other black converts in Africa, is unaware that Branham's anti-Catholic end-of-days race war theology was rooted in white supremacy. Branham taught the Christian Identity Doctrines of Wesley Swift, which Branham re-branded as his "Serpent's Seed" doctrine. Though Branham did not use the words "black" or "jew" when he introduced Serpent's Seed, Branham traced the lineage of the "evil bloodline" from Swift’s theology through the descendants of Ham, the black-skinned inhabitants of Africa — just as Swift taught. This doctrine by Branham was closely tied to his anti-Catholic doctrine. Branham taught his cult of personality to believe that the Catholic Church would rein over the descendants of the evil bloodline, or "the seed of the Serpent". Though Mugalu’s actions would not be supported by many members of Branham’s cult of personality back in the United States, his charge to be bold was one that Branham himself supported on recording. Branham often rebuked ministers for not being more like Jesus beating the money changers out of the temple, and tied it to his “Ahab” doctrine against the Roman Catholic Church. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Theodore Mugalu: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/theodore_mugalu

Clem Davies was a white supremacist and public supporter of the Ku Klux Klan from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He earned his fame in Victoria, BC, in the early 1920s as pastor of the Centennial Church, and in the 1920s, he was quite popular. His sermons were unlike that of other preachers of the time, making his sermons appealing to those who were tired of the traditional sermon. Similar to William Branham’s “Message” doctrine, Clem Davies’ version of Christianity was militant and against organized religion. Davies became so popular using this strategy that his congregation grew until it filled the Victoria City Temple. In the Victoria City Temple, his sermons continued to stray even further from the ordinary. They began to include discussions on sex, race, and bloodline. It also included the fundamental elements of his Christian Identity doctrine, which appears to be closely aligned with or the foundation for William Branham’s “Serpent Seed” doctrine. Clem Davies’ sermons had to be censored, and at times, children under 16 were forbidden. Davies was deeply involved with White Supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan, and the Klan agenda made its way into his sermons. In 1924, he threatened that the Ku Klux Klan would become militant if the "Oriental problem" was not stopped. In 1925, he began preaching about joining the Ku Klux Klan, apparently holding membership drives. Along with being a Klansman, Clem Davies was a prominent British Israel preacher. He was a lecturer on British-Israelism, which gained an even more diverse crowd. Rev. Gordon Lindsay, Branham's campaign manager, was active in Davies' British-Israelism. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Clem Davies: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/clem_davies

John Robert Stevens was the central figure of "The Walk", a splinter group of the Latter Rain version of William Branham's "Message". Stevens was an Assemblies of God minister raised by his parents according to the doctrinal teachings of Aimee Semple McPherson, and a disciple of William Branham. When the Assemblies of God denounced Latter Rain in 1949 and the Assemblies began to split, Stevens chose the Latter Rain side of the split. As a result, he was defrocked in 1951. Stevens began his career at age 14 as a youth evangelist for the Foursquare Church. He was trained in the ministry by his father, William J. Stevens, according to McPherson's Foursquare cult theology. William Stevens was a graduate of McPherson's LIFE Bible College. In 1946, John Robert Stevens moved to Los Angeles and became the pastor of the Lynwood, California Assembly of God Church. After the Latter Rain Revival broke out, Stevens adopted several key concepts from the movement including restorationism and the very destructive Manifest Sons of God. In 1951, Stevens founded The Living Word Fellowship, the headquarters for his cult of personality collectively called "The Walk." The movement is widely recognized as a destructive cult.[10] Living Word Fellowship closed in November 2018 after several allegations of sexual misconduct. Lawsuits were filed claiming that underaged girls were sexually abused. Stevens's theology included attributes of the biblical Elijah account, which was likely a result of Branham's doctrine. He claimed that "the greatest thing that has come in this generation is the Word of God being preserved on cassettes", a statement familiar to those in the "Message" who purchase recordings of "The Spoken Word" of Branham from "Voice of God Recordings", or the recordings of Kenneth Hagin's "Rhema" (The Spoken Word). Members of The Walk listen to recorded sermons of Stevens nonstop. Stevens claimed that like Elijah, he would be lifted from this world to the next. He predicted that his cult of personality would through "convulsive prayer and spiritual intensity" cause him to rise into heaven. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org John Robert Stevens: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/john_robert_stevens

Rev. William W. Freeman was a Latter Rain evangelist from Missouri that rose to almost overnight fame through advertisements in William Branham's Voice of Healing publication. When William Branham was forced to leave the revival trails due to mental health issues in June of 1948, Freeman was the obvious replacement. Their ministries were almost snapshot replicas of each other. Both men claimed to have been commissioned by an "angel”, a prophetic ministry, and God’s choice to warn others of the end of the “age”. Though Freeman was not as popular as Branham initially, he would eventually outpace Branham in the revivals. Freeman held revivals with as many as 300,000 in attendance In July of 1950, Freeman surpassed William Branham's fantastic claims when he baptized "two hundred men, women, and children" in Lake Michigan as 5,000 people watched the ceremony. (Branham had claimed that he baptized five hundred people in the Ohio River in 1933 as ten thousand people watched, though according to the newspaper accounts, only fourteen people were converted in Branham's revival). Freeman estimated that he had converted 12,000 people to the Latter Rain movement in Chicago during the July revivals. In 1953, Freeman found himself at the center of assault and battery charges when one Richard Schnell and Robert Howard were assaulted by six men during a revival in Chicago. Schnell apparently heckled Freeman during the meeting, angering Freeman. According to Schnell, Freeman and Rev. Orval Ross of Chicago forced him into a small room and began to beat him. This testimony was confirmed by Howard, who suffered fractured ribs. Interestingly, this was not the only fist fight to break out in the Latter Rain Revivals; several people were beaten during a debate between William Branham, F. F. Bosworth, and Rev. W. E. Best in Houston just three years prior. In 1956, William Branham began prophesying that "1956 is a turning time", and that the healing movement would be over in 1957. This prediction apparently had a severe impact on Freeman's ministry; in 1956 Freeman canceled his overseas revivals, ended his magazine, closed down his ministry, and became a pastor of a church in Chicago. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org William W. Freeman: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/william_w._freeman

A hunter. Not a killer. Nothing I don't eat. #williambranham #themessage #branhamtabernacle #cult #igotout

C. I. Scofield was the author of the Scofield Reference Bible, which was widely used and advertised among Christian Fundamentalist, Pentecostal, and Latter Rain sects. Scofield's reference notes focused heavily upon dispensationalism theology, and were often quoted in sermons and literature for these sects, especially for those advertising angelic visitations for the current "dispensation". According to Scofield, "angels" were to come in "human form", giving credence to William Branham and other Post-WWII Healing revivalists who claimed to have been visited by "angels". C. I. Scofield was a probate attorney in Kansas who served under the Republican Ticket as Representative of the 8th District for President Ulysses S. Grant and later as United States Attorney for Kansas. He devised a railroad scam luring prominent Republicans who invested thousands of dollars. As a result, Scofield's political career was short-lived. Scofield was forced to resign from federal office and fled the state of Kansas to St. Louis, Missouri where he continued swindling people out of money and was forced to flee to Illinois. He was eventually arrested in 1878. While incarcerated for forgery, Scofield began claiming to have been "born again" and converted to the Congregational Church. A band of female Congressional missionaries began visiting Scofield in jail, one of which became Scofield's mistress. Scofield abandoned his first wife and two daughters for the woman, later abandoned her, and married another. The conversion story, however, was continued as Scofield entered the Congregational ministry and started pastoring a church in Dallas. The church was so successful that it became one of the wealthiest and most aristocratic church organizations in the State of Texas. So much so that he attracted the attention of famed evangelist Dwight Moody, and Scofield suddenly found himself on the board of Moody's Northfield Bible School, and pastor of the Northfield Congregational Church. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org C. I. Scofield: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/c._i._scofield

By 1950, every man, woman, and child was aware of the destruction caused by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Though the estimated number of fatalities would later be reassessed and almost double, initial estimates counted over a hundred thousand dead. When President Truman on September 23, 1949, announced that the Soviet Union had successfully produced and detonated an atomic bomb, fear began to spread that major cities in the United States would be obliterated. It began a debate, a very public debate, as to whether or not to proceed with the production of a thermonuclear device, referred to as a “super bomb”. ⁠It was predicted that the nuclear explosion of hydrogen would produce a blast a thousand times greater than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and would totally destroy everything within a hundred-mile radius. This was all that was needed for the Latter Rain Revivalists to capitalize (and monetize) that fear. A flurry of new “prophecies” began to emerge among leaders of the revival that the End of Days was imminent, and news of Russia’s atomic bomb began to spread through sermons, books, and magazines published by the evangelists. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org

One of the more unusual phrases of overloaded language introduced in the Latter Rain Movement was “The Spoken Word”. For most Christians, the “Word” (capitalized) is used in conjunction with the Bible, specifically referring to the “Words” of Jesus Christ. Many Christian ministers hold their Bibles up in the air, pointing to “The Word of God”. But for the Latter Rain movement, the Bible came secondary to “The Spoken Word”. This was a new “Word”, meaning new revelation, vision, prophecy, teaching, doctrine, or combination of them all. This phrase was introduced very subtly. Leaders in Latter Rain knew that they couldn’t very easily recruit Christians to devalue their Bibles for “new revelations”. William Branham, the leader of the revival, often told his audience that the “Spoken Word” came to the “prophet” for the “age”, and warned his listeners that he was “God’s Voice to them”. Kenneth Hagin, who was deeply involved with the movement, used the Greek word “rhema”, which simply means, “any spoken word”. Hagin emphasized his importance in the “Fivefold Ministry” as a “prophet”, alleging that he had the “rhema”, or “the spoken word”. Hagin’s “Rhema Bible Training College”, and “Rhema Ministries” are the Latter Rain counterpart to Branham’s “Spoken Word Publications” and “Voice of God Recordings”. All bear names with similar meanings. Jim Jones, who was a leader in the Latter Rain movement in the 1950s also used the phrase while recruiting for Peoples Temple. Jones said, “We’re not in a praying house here, we’re in a speaking house. The Spoken Word is here. The Word is made flesh. We don’t pray and beg anymore, we don’t grovel around on our knees anymore, we can talk to God face-to-face, and we can hear God with our own ears, and with our own understanding.” You can learn this and more on william-branham.org Kenneth Hagin: https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/kenneth_hagin Spoken Word Publications: https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/spoken_word_publications Voice of God Recordings: https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/voice_of_god_recordings Quote: Jones: (Lower tone) Hallelujah hallelujah. Hallelujah hallelujah. (Pause) [Jesus] Said the time’s gonna come when you no longer pray to me, you’ll speak to the Father directly. [He] Said you’ll no longer ask me to go to the Father, but you’ll speak to the Father directly. We’re not in a praying house here, we’re in a speaking house. The Spoken Word is here. The Word is made flesh. We don’t pray and beg anymore, we don’t grovel around on our knees anymore, we can talk to God face-to-face, and we can hear God with our own ears, and with our own understanding. (Pause) (Softly) So glad that I know this truth. (Pause) The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own unders — authority or understanding. The Father dwells in me, he’s doing the speaking. But when you see your Father, you see me, you’ve seen the Father, and vice versa. (Pause) If you just believe in me, I can give you the keynote to salvation. I’ve got it. I’ve got it. (Pause) You just believe in me. - Jim Jones https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27429

In 1947, William Branham began publishing The Voice of Healing, which was advertised as an “Inter-Evangelical Publication of the Branham Healing Campaigns.” It was published by William Branham himself from Shreveport, Louisiana, and Gordon Lindsay, Jack Moore, and Anna Jeanne Moore assisted Branham by editing the publication. When William Branham and Gordon Lindsay started The Voice of Healing, the magazine was introduced at an introductory rate of $1.00 per year. Initially, the magazine was created to promote William Branham’s ministry, but as time went on and other stage acts were introduced, The Voice of Healing became the primary organ for the Healing Revivals. In just seven months' time, the magazine had 28,000 subscribers, bringing in $28,000 per year. In today’s money, that is over $372,000 a year. By the second year of publication, the subscriptions nearly doubled. According to Doug Weaver, there were 40,000 subscribers of The Voice of Healing by 1949. In today’s money, that is over half of a million dollars coming in per year — just for the magazine subscription. This number does not include any additional money sent to the addresses listed as tithe, freewill offerings, or other donations and does not include the large sums of money collected during the revivals. You can learn this and more on william-branham.org.