The following article is part of my “Barriers of Exit” series. These barriers are cognitive hurdles that make it extremely hard to question or leave the Message. For a questioning individual, they may have...
Read MoreThe 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.
Issues that initially added to my pile of growing concern:
To mention all the issues would be impossible, but these were a catalyst for deeper investigation.
- The Cloud
- The Municipal Bridge Prophecy
- The Ohio River Baptism
- Danny Morton
- The Boy from Finland
- Inexplicable Inconsistencies / Embelishments
- The Flood & the Death of Hope
- Clarence Larkin Plagerism
- Church Age Messengers
- The Unchallengeable Prophet
- The Man from Winsor
- The Multiple Commissions
- Alfred Pohl
