Memories and images from the people who were
witnesses to many of the events that transpired during William Branham's
33 years of ministry.
William Branham's entire life was guided by the
supernatural. At his birth, an unexplainable Light appeared and hung
over the bed where he lay in his mother's arms. Throughout his
childhood, the visions that he saw often frightened him, and he
struggled to cope with these strange events that no one was able to help
him understand.
At the age of twenty-two, the peace that he was
looking for became his when he welcomed Christ into his heart. A short
time later, upon receivinf the baptism of the Holy Ghost, once again a
Light appeared before him, and a Voice told him that he was to preach
the Gospel and pray for the sick.
After spending a decade as the pastor of a small,
independent church, his ministry was propelled into the public spotlight
after a visitation by an Angel of God, who informed him that his gift
was to be used to inspire the faith of the people for healing, and that
it would be revealed in two stages. The first was by means of a sign in
his hand, which allowed him to identify diseases; the second part was
the ability to discern the innermost secrets of a person's heart.
When this remarkable gift was first demonstrated
publicly in 1946, the effect was explosive. Immediately the reports of
miracles and healings began circulating among the Pentecostal churches.
Nothing like this had been seen since the days when Jesus walked the
earth! Within a few months the greatest healing revival the world has
ever known was underway, and it was destined to change the face of
Pentecostalism forever and go on to become the largest religious
movement of the twentieth century.
Many were inspired by this mighty demonstration of
God's power to heal, and soon scores of evangelists were crossing the
counry and traveling the world conducting healing campaigns that
attracted tens of thousands of people. Oral Roberts and T.L. Osborn were
to become the best-known personalities of the movement, but even though
they all exhibited the gift of healing in differing degrees, none were
ever able to match the proven 100 percent accuracy of the gift that was a
hallmark of William Branham's ministry. It remains unequaled to this
day.
For the next 20 years, William Branham traveled the
world, preaching the Gospel and praying for the sick. He warned people
against all man-made doctrines, and pointed them to the infallibility of
God's Word. His message never changed, and his gift remained
incontrovertible.
Since 1965, William Branham's ministry has continued
to expand globally. A large library of his recorded sermons has been the
vehicle through which millions have become acquainted with this
singular work of God, and has brought an outpouring of the Spirit and a
deeper understanding of the Word to a new generation.