It was not until after he had start preaching in 1933 that the Lord informed him of “the importance” of the ministry he would fulfill. While baptising converts in the Ohio River, the Pillar Of Fire descended from the skies and hovering over Brother Branham, a Voice spoke and said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, even so, you are sent with a Message to forerun His Second Coming.” Still, there was no indication of the “type” of ministry it would be or “how” it would climax.

On the Life of William Branham

One thing we must remember when dealing with God’s servants is that they are men.  They always have been men, and they always will be men.  Legitimate men and women of God were used, some with substantial flaws, all throughout the Bible.  And, while some ended well, some did not.  Of those that ended well, most of them also had serious issues along the way.  Of all the notable persons of the Bible, there are only a small handful of which very little negative was said.

1 Kings 13 tells of a true prophet of God who was deceived by an old prophet.  Why the old prophet lied to the young prophet leading him to get killed is not indicated in scripture, but it does call both of them prophets.  Yet, the young prophet, who was told not to eat nor drink on his mission from God, listened to the deception of the old, and was killed by a lion as a result.  He was a prophet; he delivered a right word from God correctly but got side-tracked and lost his life prematurely because of it.

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