William Branham : Dictionary of Christianity In America
Date: Friday, March 19 @ 20:16:51 EST
Topic: WMB1
William Branham : Dictionary of Christianity In America : 1990 Intervarsity Christian Fellowship of the USA, Downers Grove, Illinois
Page 182
Branham, William Marrion (1909-1965).
Healing* evangelist.* The post-World War 2*
healing revival* in Pentecostalism* began in the
ministry* of William Branham, an independent so-
called "Holy Ghost" Baptist* minister* from
Jeffersonville, Indiana. In 1946 Branham claimed
that an angel commissioned him to be a prophet
with the message of divine healing. From 1946 to
1955 Branham conducted a healing ministry that
only Oral Roberts* could match. The Pentecostal
masses revered his legendary healing gifts, the
ability to detect diseases by the vibration of his
hand and the ability to discern the secrets of a
person's heart.
As healing revivalism transformed into the
broader charismatic movement,* the unsophisti-
cated Branham did not readily adapt. Attempting to
cope with declining popularity, Branham increas-
ingly asserted doctrinal revelations regarding the
end-time message of God. The most controversial
revelation was his claim to be the end-time
prophet to the Bride of Christ. Since his death in
1965, Branham's followers have partially or totally
deified him and have given his sermons scriptural
status, the voice of God to this last generation.
See also FAITH HEALING; PENTECOSTALISM.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. D. E. Harrell, All Things Are
Possible (1975); C. D. Weaver, The Heater-Prophet,
William Marrion Branham: A Study of the Prophet-
ic in American Pentecostalism ( 1987).
C. D. Weaver
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