The Basics: Jehovah's Witness
William Branham promoted the idea that Jesus Christ of the New Testament was Jehovah
of the Old Testament, which is the fundamental teaching of Charles Taze Russell.
While Branham taught that Jesus was the fullness of God, he also taught that Christ
was not eternal.
According to Branham and Russell, Jesus was the archangel Michael, who fought the
angelic wars in heaven. Satan, who was equal in rank to Michael, became consumed
with his beauty and was cast down from the heavens. While Michael remained at the
side of the throne, Branham taught that Satan designed women, caused her to fall,
and turned the entire earth into his own "Eden."
Branham taught that Christ was born by immaculate conception, yet was nothing
more than a man. It was not until his baptism that God "poured Himself" into the
man, Jesus Christ, and according to Branham, this is when Christ became the "god-man."
But this "god-man" was limited in power. According to Branham, Christ did not have
the power to heal unless first having seen a vision from the Father. And at an ultimate
showdown in the Garden of Gethsemane, angels sat around watching as the "god-man"
was changed again into a mortal human being. Jesus, according to Branham, died as
nothing more than a man.
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Branham's statements regarding Christ:
What's the matter today, we got... Our churches has got away from It. It's exactly
right. Reminds me of what we try to do is build a big fine church, put fine pews,
get the very best of this, and somebody to sing like angelic choir. See them stand
up on a platform, sing with painted-up faces and everything else, and sleeves up
around their — their arms like this, and their naked knees almost showing; go out
on the street and light up cigarettes. And call the angelic choir? What's the matter
with you women and men? Call yourself Christian. Act like it then. By their fruits
you shall know them. But we compromise. Remember, beauty from the eye is what Satan
does. In the beginning, he... Way back in the beginning, he tried to make a better
place than what Michael had. Down, he come down into Cain, tried to use the same
thing, yet he offered God a sacrifice. He done the same thing that Abel did, but
without the blood. True.
50-0115 BELIEVEST.THOU.THIS
Now, I do not believe in eternal sonship. That's even radical to even mention such
a thing, eternal sonship. How... He had a eternal sonship...?... way, it's even
eternal sonship, how could He be a Son? He had to have a beginning. See?
50-0815 WHO.IS.GOD
And remember, in glory the first thing that ever caused the first sin, that Satan
wanted a little better things than what Michael had, went over and set himself up
a — a better, beau — more beautiful kingdom. See? That's beauty. Here it falls right
down into his son, Cain, coming right on down. And he decorated his altar, beautiful.
But here comes Abel dragging a little old lamb behind him. I don't see nothing so
pretty about that. They didn't have any ropes in them days, I guess, so they had
a vine, maybe, wrapped around his neck, because it was — it was Christ. That's Who
It was. For they led Him away like a La — Lamb to the slaughter. They put a rope
around his neck. And here he come, leading this little lamb, bleating, pulling back.
He laid him upon a rock. Perhaps didn't have any sharp knives in them days. Probably
took an old sharp rock, and held his little head back, and begin to beat his little
throat; Abel did. See? And the blood begin to spurt out of his little arteries in
his neck. Did you ever hear a lamb dying? Most pathetic thing you ever heard is
to hear a lamb die. How it bleeds and bleats.
50-0819 SHOW.US.THE.FATHER.AND.IT.SUFFICES
And remember, in glory the first thing that ever caused the first sin, that Satan
wanted a little better things than what Michael had, went over and set himself up
a — a better, beau — more beautiful kingdom. See? That's beauty. Here it falls right
down into his son, Cain, coming right on down. And he decorated his altar, beautiful.
But here comes Abel dragging a little old lamb behind him. I don't see nothing so
pretty about that. They didn't have any ropes in them days, I guess, so they had
a vine, maybe, wrapped around his neck, because it was — it was Christ. That's Who
It was. For they led Him away like a La — Lamb to the slaughter. They put a rope
around his neck. And here he come, leading this little lamb, bleating, pulling back.
He laid him upon a rock. Perhaps didn't have any sharp knives in them days. Probably
took an old sharp rock, and held his little head back, and begin to beat his little
throat; Abel did. See? And the blood begin to spurt out of his little arteries in
his neck. Did you ever hear a lamb dying? Most pathetic thing you ever heard is
to hear a lamb die. How it bleeds and bleats.
50-0819 SHOW.US.THE.FATHER.AND.IT.SUFFICES
Could it be our Lord Jesus Christ? Could the Angel of the Lord Who appeared to Paul
out there, Who told Peter on the housetop, all these things, like He did in the
days of Agabus, and so forth? Isn't that the very analysis, the very symptoms, the
very same thing that He did in the days, in the New Testament? Then look, Christians,
Holy Ghost filled people look this way. Then the sign of the Old Testament, Jehovah
God, the Pillar of Fire, is with us. And the same God that was with the apostles,
our Lord Jesus Christ, is with us undisputably through science, through the world,
through the Christians, through the church, through everything is perfectly a vindicated.
It's the same today. The both New and Old Testaments... God of the Old Testament
was Jesus of the New, and the Holy Spirit of today. You know that. Don't you believe
that? To blaspheme the Holy Ghost today, is just the same penalty, or worst, than
blaspheming Jesus Christ, or God the Father. Don't you believe that?
52-0713A EARLY.SPIRITUAL.EXPERIENCES
According to the Bible and Jesus' Own Words, He did not do one thing without first
the Father showing Him by a vision what to do. Is that right? How many believes
that's true, now? Read it. Saint John :19, or, Saint John 5:19 and 20; you'll see
it: Jesus said, "I can do nothing within Myself, but what I see the Father doing,
that I do also."
52-1027 JESUS CHRIST THE.SAME YESTERDAY TODAY AND FOREVER
God of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ of the New, and the Holy Spirit of this day
is the same Jehovah God living down through the age. See?
53-0509 THE.PILLAR.OF.FIRE
And there He come out. There was nothing. And then here come the Logos. That looked
like a halo hanging yonder. No man has seen God at any time now, eye to eye. And
here's the Logos. Looks like It's a supernatural Being. It's a Halo. That's the
Son of God. Not eternal Sonship, 'cause the words don't go good together. That's
Catholic doctrine, but... Eternal, how could it be a Sonship and be eternal? If
He's a Son, he'd had to have a beginning of time. Eternal's forever. See? So eternal
Sonship, there's no such a word to make that sensible. But it was the Logos that
went out of God. And there He was playing out there in space just like a child before
the door. I can see Him draw the whole picture in His mind of the Kingdom and what
it might be.
53-0611 SHOW.US.THE.FATHER.AND.IT'LL.SATISFY.US
And now in Josephus, his writings, he said... Now, here was his interpretation of
these "sons of God" that take daughters of men. He said that the fallen spirits
that were on the earth... Now, you know the — in the Revelations the 11 chapter — or — or
the 7th... No, beg your... 12th chapter of Revelations, the woman standing in the
sun... "The red dragon put his tail around two thirds of the stars and pulled them
to the earth." We realize that Satan in the beginning set up a kingdom in the northlands
to be more beautiful than what the — than what the Michael was, and there was a day
he declared war in heaven. And he pulled two thirds of the angelic beings with him.
Is that right? That's the reason we're only a minority. I mean the — the — the side — the
small side of the people this morning, in the Christian realm, the Holy Ghost born
people, because they are in the — the — the little part. That's right.
54-0103M QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.1
And Michael, the archangel, the great one that stands in the Presence of God, and
His angels, fought against Satan and his angels, the red dragon. And that was the
Church that's led by the Holy Spirit and the angels of God, fought against the organization
and it's angels and ministers of light. See how it's just perfect? If they're speaking,
not of something up into glory; it's speaking of spiritual beings in Rome: the red
dragon that stood before the woman to devour her child. Now: And they prevail not;
neither was their... found place any more for them in heaven. And the great dragon
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the
whole world:... That Roman power going into every nation, that city that rules over
all the earth. He deceived it, many churches organizing just like him, see, making
a image unto the beast. And was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast
out with him.
54-0516 QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.LAW.HAVING.A.SHADOW
"And at that time Michael shall stand, the great prince." Michael was Christ, of
course, Who fought the angelic wars in heaven with the devil. Satan and Michael
fought together, or fought against each other, rather. And now... "And at that time,"
He said, "as many was found written in the book was delivered, and those who had
done righteous..." Watch at this. And they that — and they that be wise shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament; and as the — and they that turn away many to
righteousness as the stars for ever.
55-0109E BEGINNING AND ENDING OF THE GENTILE DISPENSATION
The right hand man of Almighty God was Lucifer, the son of the morning. The first,
God granted him almost co-workers with Him; he was a co-worker, partly equal with
Him; only Satan could not create. God is the only Creator, but Satan took something
that God created and perverted it back into something else, evil. And now notice,
when Cain and Abel, a very beautiful picture of it... Cain and Abel was nothing
more than the prefigure of Judas and Jesus. Now, being uneducated, like my brethren
are educated, I teach the Scriptures from types, shadows. And if I know what the
shadow of anything is, I'll have some understanding of it. If I see what the shadow
looks like, I can pretty well tell what it's going to look like. And if we could
foresee by the shadow, what these evils are, then we can pretty well tell what they're
going to be when we look at them. And without education, then I have to teach it
from typology. Paul did a lot of that too, did you know it, in the book of Hebrews.
55-0311 THE.SEAL.OF.THE.ANTICHRIST
Did you know that in heaven, that the devil was God's right hand man in the beginning,
that Lucifer, the son of the morning, was given power? And the reason that he brought
sin into the world, he was able to take something that God had created, and pervert
it back into an evil thing, which started all this trouble in the beginning. Then
God, back before the foundation of the world was ever laid, when He seen what Satan
done... In his pride went over in the north, and set up a kingdom, and fought against
Michael and his Angels... Do you see it? The right hand man of Almighty God was
Lucifer, the son of the morning. The first, God granted him almost co-workers with
Him; he was a co-worker, partly equal with Him; only Satan could not create. God
is the only Creator, but Satan took something that God created and perverted it
back into something else, evil. And now notice, when Cain and Abel, a very beautiful
picture of it... Cain and Abel was nothing more than the prefigure of Judas and
Jesus. Now, being uneducated, like my brethren are educated, I teach the Scriptures
from types, shadows. And if I know what the shadow of anything is, I'll have some
understanding of it. If I see what the shadow looks like, I can pretty well tell
what it's going to look like. And if we could foresee by the shadow, what these
evils are, then we can pretty well tell what they're going to be when we look at
them. And without education, then I have to teach it from typology. Paul did a lot
of that too, did you know it, in the book of Hebrews.
55-0311 THE.SEAL.OF.THE.ANTICHRIST
And when Jesus, a carpenter's Son, physically speaking, when He come to the earth
here that's all He was known of, and the day that when John baptized Him, God a
vindicated Him. God spoke from the heavens. John saw Him coming in the form a dove,
and said, "This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm pleased to dwell." The right translation
there is, "In whom I am pleased to dwell in." Jesus immediately anointed with God,
He was just a man till that time, but now He becomes the God-man. Someone telling
me here not long ago, as I many times referred to it in this shiftless day, that
He was just a prophet, He was a good man. He was more than that. He was the anointed
God. The Bible said, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." God in
Christ. Amen.
55-0806 JESUS CHRIST THE.SAME YESTERDAY TODAY AND FOREVER
In the Old Testament He was Jehovah-jireh, the Lord's provided Sacrifice. He was
Jehovah-rapha, the Lord that healeth thee. In the Old Testament in His compound
names He was the Healer of Jehovah-rapha. In the New Testament He's Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, today, and forever, the preparation. We could take it from both
the Old and New Testament, pat them together. That's the reason, mostly, I got to
the Old Testament to pick out a text, because I bring it over to the New Testament,
and pull it together, and show you, it's the same Breasted God. The same One that
escaped Daniel from death by sending an Angel is the same God that's in here this
morning. Is the same God that gave blind Bartimaeus his sight, that healed that
little German girl. He never fails. He's God Jehovah. He can't. He makes a preparation.
And He's provided a way for every one of us. He's provided an escape. And He told
Abraham, "I am the Breasted One. Now, Abraham, the only thing you have to do is
just keep nursing, nursing."
56-0108 GOD.HATH.A.PROVIDED.WAY
A son has a beginning, and the Son had a beginning. That, some of you dear Catholic
people, I got your book, Facts Of Our Faith, said, "The Eternal sonship of God."
How you going to express that word? How you going to make it have sense? How can
it be Eternal? That's not the Bible. That's your book, "Eternal sonship." They don't...
That word is not right. For, anything that's a son had a beginning, and Eternal
has no beginning, so it isn't Eternal sonship. Christ become flesh and dwelt among
us. He had a beginning. Wasn't no Eternal sonship. It's the Eternal Godhead, not
sonship. Now, He came to redeem us, and He did redeem us.
57-0908M HEBREWS.CHAPTER.FIVE.AND.SIX.1
And Satan and — and the dragon fought, and then... Or Michael and — and the — the dragon
fought and Lucifer. And Lucifer was cast out with all of his children, all of the
angels that he had deceived, and those angels come to the earth and was subject
then to become human. And when they did, that's when the sons of God saw the daughters
of men was fair, and took unto them wives. They are sons of God. Every man that's
born in this earth is a son of God. Regardless of whether he's sinner or what he
is, he's a son of God, created in the image of God for the praises of God; he's
created that way. But God in the beginning knew who would receive Him and who would
not receive Him. Therefore He could predestinate, or not predestinate, but by foreknowledge
He could tell who would be saved and who wouldn't be saved, for He knew which person
would take up which spirit.
57-1006 QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.ON.HEBREWS.3
And Satan and — and the dragon fought, and then... Or Michael and — and the — the dragon
fought and Lucifer. And Lucifer was cast out with all of his children, all of the
angels that he had deceived, and those angels come to the earth and was subject
then to become human. And when they did, that's when the sons of God saw the daughters
of men was fair, and took unto them wives. They are sons of God. Every man that's
born in this earth is a son of God. Regardless of whether he's sinner or what he
is, he's a son of God, created in the image of God for the praises of God; he's
created that way. But God in the beginning knew who would receive Him and who would
not receive Him. Therefore He could predestinate, or not predestinate, but by foreknowledge
He could tell who would be saved and who wouldn't be saved, for He knew which person
would take up which spirit.
57-1006 QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.ON.HEBREWS.3
How many knows that Jesus saw a vision before He done any works? I just quoted it,
"I do nothing till the Father shows me first." Therefore, He couldn't lie; He was
God, so He could not lie.
58-0301E HEAR.YE.HIM
Satan was literally cast out of heaven by Michael the Archangel and God. And he
was cast to the earth, come to the earth, got into the serpent, deceived Eve, and
then has got into men, women, all down through the age on the same thing he started
at the beginning: a great big kingdom, prettier than the other fellow's, be governor
over all, know-it-all. "Our denomination is the biggest; it's — predo — it's — a — it's
predominant over the others." You've heard them say, "Why, we have so many hundred
preachers in our organization. We got the biggest churches there is in the city."
The only one thing that spells is S-a-t-o-n to me. That's right. That means the
devil to me. When you get men that'll break up and organize, and break up brotherhood,
and say they'll have nothing to do with the little church...
59-0628E QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS
Want to ask you, some of you precious Catholic people, who call that, "The Eternal
sonship of God; God, Eternal sonship of Jesus Christ with God." How can you say
such a word? I'm a dummy, with a seventh-grade education, but I know better than
that. The word son has to have a beginning. So how can He be Eternal and be a son?
Eternity has no beginning or end. So, He can't be a son, an Eternal son, and then
have a beginning, 'cause there is no such a thing as a Eternal son. A son had a
beginning, so he can't be Eternal. You see, He is the Eternal God, not the Eternal
son. Glory! The Almighty, Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-rapha, made manifest in flesh,
"In Him dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
60-1204M THE.REVELATION.OF.JESUS.CHRIST
Now, we find out that because that Cain listened to the enemy, then what happened?
He become the first murderer. He become the first one that had jealousy on earth.
Tell me where that pure line from God to Adam... That's the only connection. Adam
was the son of God. Bible said so. Then where did that jealousy come from? Where
did that murderer come from? Where did all that kind of a spirit come from? Out
of Adam? Couldn't have. Come from Satan. It's exactly where it come from. Now, we
find out he was the first murderer. And he was the first one to have jealousy. And
Lucifer got jealous of Michael, brought it right down to the earth and transferred
it into man. And Satan... Cain by taking on this evil, took the first mark. God
marked him. No one was to kill him. Let him alone. But you remember, he — as soon
as He marked him, he went out from the Presence of God. Hold onto that now. Oh,
we don't have time to give it a real thorough study because, oh, brother, we could
dig this here for six months (See?), and never touch the outsides of it. See?
61-0216 THE MARK OF THE BEAST AND THE SEAL OF GOD.1
Jesus, we'll think, never performed one miracle until God showed Him, not told Him,
but showed Him by a vision, or the Bible told something wrong; Jesus told a lie.
So He couldn't do it; He's God. Jesus said in Saint John 5:19, "Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing,
that doeth the Son likewise." See if that's not in your Bible, King James, or Moffatt,
or any translation you want to take. See if it isn't the same thing. Get the original
Greek diaglott if you want to. You'll find the same thing. "I do nothing until the — I
see the Father..." In other words, He acted out in drama.
61-0412 A.GREATER.THAN.SOLOMON.IS.HERE
This great, first battle that was ever fought, begin in Heaven, when Michael and
His Angels fought against Lucifer and his angels. It first started, the first battle
was in Heaven. So, sin did not originate on earth, it originated in Heaven. And
then it was thrown down from Heaven, cast out of Heaven, to the earth, and fell
on human beings. Then the battle, from angels, become human battles. And Satan come
to destroy God's creation, what God had created to be for Hisself. He had, Satan,
come to destroy this. That's what his purpose was, was to destroy it. Then the battle
begin here on earth, and begin in us, and has been raging ever since.
62-0311 THE.GREATEST.BATTLE.EVER.FOUGHT
And it was Michael... Trying to raise a war with Michael in heaven... was kicked
out... That these sons of God saw the daughters of man, and that these giants was
in the land at that time, that they pressed themselves into human flesh. If you
do that, you make Satan a creator. You can't do it.
64-0823M QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.1_
Let me show you something in the Scripture. I got to take you back to Scripture,
and you draw your opinion as you look at it today. Satan is the one who features
that kind of beauty. If we'll notice, he was the most beautiful of all the Angels
in Heaven. Is that right? And he desired to make Heaven a more beautiful place than
the kingdom of Michael. Is that right? Also, to show that Cain was his son, he offered
a more beautiful worship, decorated his altars with fruits and flowers, and so forth.
Is that right? Beautiful! Sin is beautiful, what we call beauty today. And sin is
deceiving, by beauty. You'd never look at a woman going down the street and tell
what's in her heart. See? But I wanted to say these things so that you could see
why that Satan is her designer. That's exactly right, his own son proved it, Cain.
Now, she is beautiful so she can deceive.
65-0221M MARRIAGE.AND.DIVORCE
Let me show you something in the Scripture. I got to take you back to Scripture,
and you draw your opinion as you look at it today. Satan is the one who features
that kind of beauty. If we'll notice, he was the most beautiful of all the Angels
in Heaven. Is that right? And he desired to make Heaven a more beautiful place than
the kingdom of Michael. Is that right? Also, to show that Cain was his son, he offered
a more beautiful worship, decorated his altars with fruits and flowers, and so forth.
Is that right? Beautiful! Sin is beautiful, what we call beauty today. And sin is
deceiving, by beauty. You'd never look at a woman going down the street and tell
what's in her heart. See? But I wanted to say these things so that you could see
why that Satan is her designer. That's exactly right, his own son proved it, Cain.
Now, she is beautiful so she can deceive.
65-0221M MARRIAGE.AND.DIVORCE
Did you know Satan was co-equal with God one day? Sure was, all but a creator; he
was everything, stood at the right hand of God, in the Heavens, the great leading
Cherubim. Notice the reason that she did this, she was not in the original creation.
She is not in God's original creation; she is a by-product. Therefore, "at the beginning,"
as Jesus referred to it, she was not original creative being of God. She is a by-product
of a man, when Jesus referred to "the beginning."
65-0221M MARRIAGE.AND.DIVORCE
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. But,
remember, He went there with you in Him. See, God had never separated the Bride
from the Groom, yet. So when God looked down upon the body of Christ, He saw both
male and female. It was all redeemed in that one body. See? They are one, same,
same Word. The same Word, spoke of the Groom, speaks of the Bride.
65-0418M IT.IS.THE.RISING.OF.THE.SUN
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