What is the Message of the Hour?

In this article I want to establish that God indeed promises in Scripture that he would send a message to the generation that would witness the return of Jesus Christ. While it is true that God is no longer adding to the canon of Scripture and all truth that God desires us to know as Christians is in the Bible, it is also true that the Church fell away from the original doctrine of the apostles. Since the Reformation God has been continuously restoring the Church back to the pure Gospel. To put it in another way God is continually unfolding what is already contained within Scripture. Prophecy is not always immediately understood when written or spoken by a prophet or apostle, but as time goes on God reveals it.

It started with John Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and on down the line. While each of these leaders sent from God had a glorious truth to proclaim it was not all that Christ was seeking to accomplish. He continued to work as the years went by, each leader was anointed by the Spirit and sent for a specific purpose. So in our generation has there been a leader sent from the Lord to gather together all these truths taught by the various reformers.

In each generation he sends men to stand as a beacon to reveal what God had in mind for that period out of the scriptures. He requires that truth from our mouths. If someone were to hear the message of Martin Luther in his days, “the just shall live by faith” and reject it they would be rejecting the gospel. Even if they continued in the current religion of the day, which was Roman Catholicism. They were rejecting the word. So is it today when God restores more of His truth to his church. If you reject the word of God in this day you are rejecting the Gospel of Christ. Just because something is not mainstream does not make it wrong. John Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin were by no means mainstream Christianity. They were viewed by mainstream Christianity as heretical.

So then what is the message?

In order to comprehend that there is a message you must first understand who the messenger was. William Branham lived from 1909 to 1965. He had many supernatural experiences throughout his lifetime leading to his calling and ministry. Click on the name above to learn more specifics about the mighty signs and miracles God did through him. William Branham went forth with mighty signs and wonders showing that he was a teacher sent from God. This is not about that specifically, it’s about the restoration of the Church to the doctrine of the apostles. To listen to any of the sermons of William Branham you can go to his ministry website at http://branham.org/MessageAudio.

In 1933 while he was baptizing new converts in the Ohio River a supernatural light appeared above him and said to hundreds of witnesses, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ you are sent with a message to forerun his second.” These points us to scripture in Malachi 4:5-6 and it says this, “Behold, I will send unto you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers’ lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

Now, first of all, understand that this is a two fold prophecy with a fulfillment in two specific prophets. First, John the Baptist and second William Branham. To prove this lets read Luke 1:17, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Here we see John is to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” The Scripture does not say that John turns “the hearts of the children to their fathers.” He turns the hearts of the fathers to the children. John the Baptist does not complete the prophecy of Malachi. So another prophet is going to fulfill the last part of the prophecy.

How did John the Baptist Fulfill Malachi’s Prophecy?

John was the link to the changing dispensations. He preached the baptism of repentance and called the religious leaders vipers. He was called to turn peoples hearts from the doctrine of the Jewish “fathers” to the apostolic “children”. He went before Jesus the Christ as a forerunner to his coming and turned their faith off of the traditional doctrines on to the true faith of Israel and in the coming Messiah.

Then the next part of Malachi’s prophecy does the reverse. It turns the heart of the children to their fathers. Here we see the children whose hearts were turned away from the doctrine of their fathers. There was a restoration needed just as in the days of John the Baptist.

Starting after the death of the first apostles of Christ there was a gradual shift away from the original apostolic doctrines. There are many specific examples and there are other articles written on these specific topics, but two specifics are the doctrine of the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. The Gentile believers began to unwittingly apply Greek philosophical thought to scriptural teaching. Thus began the shift from believing in the one God of Israel and his Son, Jesus the Christ to a belief in three co-equal, co-eternal Gods. This is not a Jewish biblical teaching. It is the result of combining Greek philosophy, Gentile religion and Christian teaching. The second, water baptism is a result of this shift from the one holy Name, the Lord Jesus Christ to the titles, Father, Son and Spirit.

The church also shifted from the teaching of justification by faith alone through the sovereign grace of God. They taught that certain works needed to be done in order to complete salvation.

These shifts away from the bible caused the necessity of God bringing forth the Reformation and all the resulting denominations from them. Most denominations have some form of truth that they focus on and is a teaching that God desired to restore to His elect. However, it was not God’s purpose that each of these truths be divided and separate into various factions. He wanted this truth to all be there and available for his elect to embrace and proclaim. This was the purpose of God in William Branham. He came and turned “the hearts of the children (of God) to their (apostolic) fathers.” His ministry has turned the Church back to the original faith and doctrine of the apostolic fathers. He told us to get back to the Bible over and over again.

Each denomination has their own take on what the bible teaches. So how do we know the difference? God proved the difference by manifesting himself and showing that William Branham was a teacher sent from God. He was a man approved of God among us by signs and wonders which God did through him.

Of course the objection tends to come up, “why have I not heard of this?” There’s a very good reason for that, but first let’s explore the times when Jesus Christ was here ministering on earth. First of all, was he rejected? Yes, he most certainly was, only the minority of simple people who were not religious authorities accepted him. Second, who were the people that hated him so much that they sought to kill him? Again, it was the religious authorities who were in power and were afraid of losing their power and control over the people.

Search through the Scriptures and find out if any prophets who were totally accepted and applauded by the “orthodox” church, synagogue or temple leaders. Of course they were not accepted by the majority because their ministry came as a rebuke to that majority.

Is different in this day? Unfortunately it is not. William Branham came with a strange ministry to most people. He did not join with any organization or group. He heavily criticized them and was in turn rejected by them, but that did not stop God from accomplishing his purpose through that ministry.

Now, William Branham has been dead for 40 years and MOST people refuse to accept his ministry. Things have not changed, but there are a few who receive the benefits of what God has revealed to us.

Remember, the man is just a means for God to accomplish his purpose. He is simply a chosen vessel God uses for his eternal glory.

What specifically is the message?

The message is what the end-time Elijah is sent for…to bring the Church back to the original faith as taught by the apostles. John 1:5 tells us, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” There is no traditional darkness in God. He is Light! “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” If God is light and the light is what is made manifest then the message itself is a manifestation of God himself.

The message makes manifest God himself as He brings the Church back to the original Bible faith and life of the Gospel.