message issues

a simple summary of concerns that should not be ignored

Identifying the Issues with the Message

Morning Mercy has never been about dealing with the specific doctrinal issues of the message. There are many websites that deal with breaking down the issues (many of which I will cite in the content below). However, in the past years, I have wanted to leave a record of why I left the message.  The following page will not be a comprehensive list of issues (that would be extremely long and detailed), but gives a very brief explanation of my concern.

 

These are the highlights of what personally impacted me, leading to my leaving the church: 

The Compounding Problem

Individually, issues that arose regarding William Branham or any perceived “failure” were not deeply concerning.

As a believer, one is already convinced of his vindicated, prophetic authority as God’s most important messenger. In relation to that absolute estimation of William Brabham, a recognized ‘mistake’ (or even several) does not give you authority to challenge it. You only position is to stand down; because the alternative is to expose yourself as an unbeliever and a. Even a major accusation (such as ‘the cloud’) was easy to spin as further vindication of our vindicated prophet.

This is a ‘baked-in’ defense. After all, the doubters always mocked and rejected God’s anointed servants. 

The problem for me came two-fold. 

First of all, the people presenting the issues were good friends. Given their dedication to sharing the message through missionary efforts, I was shocked they were expressing doubt.  Secondly, they weren’t just raising a mere handful of concerns. They were suggesting the issues were extensive and pertained to core tenets of the Message . 

There was no single issue that would have been enough to scare me. However, William Branham didn’t have a single-issue problem; he had a compounding problem. 

The Cloud

I heard about the cloud issue a couple years prior to it becoming a mainstream issue on Believe the Sign. It came as an absolute shock; I had never even heard of or had any concern over the event of the cloud appearing 

  • William Branham identified the cloud in the photo, claiming it was the same one he was standing beneath it as it was ascending.
  • He could not have been. On the day it was photographed, he in a location 200 miles away.
  • Furthermore, the cloud appeared a full week before William Branham was even there for his hunt.
  •  

The Response from Message Ministers

In defense against the critics,  message ministers have tried to dismiss the importance of the cloud. Some tried to offer alternative timelines and super-spiritual explanations (eg. him being caught up in another dimension). More simplistically, it’s been suggested the cloud was not important to the vindication of the prophet at all, and the revelation of the message was in the teachings (word), not in the signs. 

The problem is, until the discrepancy was exposed, the cloud had remained a centerpiece in the showcase of message teaching. Furthermore, to dismiss it’s importance would be to ignore the very words of William Branham himself. It was expressed as being pivotal evidence of the importance of his ministry. 

Why would sometime so rooted and integral in the message become so suddenly dismissed when shown to be an impossible claim?

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William Branham
Designer
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William Branham
Designer

A Message to Former Followers of William Branham

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