Ewald Frank

preached on 19. 04. 1992, 14:00, Salzburg,

Topic: "What God needs today, in these times, are people who believe as the Scriptures say!"

broadcast on 14. 11. 2026

Our God is a faithful God. Even today we commemorate in a special way what God has done. There is no time of the year that holds such significance for us as believers as Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We are deliberately reminded of what happened for us on the cross of Calvary. We believe with all our hearts what God has said in his Word, but even more than that, we want to experience it. We believe that Bible promises must become a lived reality in our lives. The same applies to the revealed Word, to the message that has become so precious and valuable to us. And I shall tell you straight away why.

When God shows mercy to a person, he makes his ways known to them. He made his ways known to Moses and his deeds to the children of Israel. [Psa 103:7] When God speaks to a person and reveals his Word to them, thereby making his will known, this is a sign that God has a plan for that person.

We have heard our brother’s testimony. He put it clearly. He said: “I had resolved to serve God.” And when we look at the whole of the Christian and non-Christian world, that is, the entire religious world, we see that many wish to serve God. In Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, people wish to serve God. But they do not know who God is. They have not recognized him. They go their own ways, believing they are serving God.

How wonderful that by grace we can bear witness that we have recognized God in Christ, that we have experienced the testimony Paul gave, and that it has become our own testimony by grace. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.” So it is written in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 19. How wonderful that as those reconciled to God, we can be united with him, that we understand him through his Word and through his Spirit, and that through revelation we are led into the deepest depths of God and his plan of salvation for humanity.

I believe it is a special grace when people in this generation truly listen to the voice of God. And we do not pass judgment today. And if we were to do so, we would have to be very careful. But merely as an observation, let us please take a look at Christianity. Not only in the Catholic Church, but in all the other churches too, people wish to serve God. There are over 300 different denominations, but only one Bible, only one God, only one salvation. Yet all these different groups are convinced that they are right and are convinced that they are serving God. And prayers are offered everywhere. But the Lord says, “God seeks worshippers who worship him in spirit and in truth.” [Joh 4:23-24] In Mark 7 it says: “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.” [Mar 7:7]

Through Brother Branham’s preaching or ministry, we have in fact received a great gift from God. Simply a man sent by God, who did not represent the teachings of a church or a denomination, but was a mouthpiece of God. A divine message was addressed to us in this age amidst all the many voices and movements. God raised his voice and by his grace showed us the divine direction. And let us walk faithfully along this path and thank the Lord that it came to pass.

When we refer to Brother Branham, we do so only in the same way that we refer to Moses or Elijah or other men of God. In doing so, we are not preaching a man, we are proclaiming the original Word of God. Yet we are grateful for every man of God whom the Lord has sent, whom he could use to raise a voice in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Lord and to lead those who are willing to listen to him as a people well prepared. [Isa 40:3; Luk 1:17] This was indeed already the case in the ministry of John the Baptist. God sent him, and the beauty of a divine commission is that such men do not sound their own trumpet, nor do they present their own agenda, but on God’s behalf proclaim the Word for the hour and God’s whole plan of salvation.

Paul was able to say: “I have declared unto you the whole counsel of God.” [Act 20:27] We may say the same in this generation.

Our brother has after all borne witness to all those years of study. And what was the point of it? It was time wasted and squandered. When God comes into our lives, as Brother Müller read from Colossians 3, “when Christ is to be revealed in our lives, then we too shall be revealed with him in glory.” [Col 3:4] Just as surely as God has revealed himself in Christ, so surely will Christ reveal himself in us. And the Word of the hour is not merely a theory, not merely a doctrine or teaching. It has become flesh within us. We are part of the revealed Word inasmuch as we have now been granted the grace to witness the final chapter of the plan of salvation. We are not merely spectators. We are privileged to witness what God is doing in these days.

Brother Branham once said if the Lord had asked him at what time he would have liked to have lived on earth, he would have said, “Now. I would have chosen this time.”

And I believe that we would all do well to realize what a blessing it is to be living at this very time when God is unfolding the plan of salvation and bringing the work of redemption to a close with the church.

You all know, those of you who are familiar with the ministry that God has given, we have truly received a full introduction to the Word, to the whole counsel of God. And I have said it time and again: I would not know many things if God had not sent Brother Branham with a direct commission to send a message forerunning the second coming of Christ just as a message foreran the first coming of Christ back then. In the Gospel of John, in chapter 1, it is written: “that all men through him might believe.” [Joh 1:7] One might say, one man, and everyone is to listen to him? Yes, when God speaks through one man, it is not that one man who is the focus. It is God who has made the choice.

There was only one Moses, only one Elijah, only one Abraham, only one Noah. There have always been God’s spokesmen at various times who were to proclaim what God wanted to say. And we are indeed glad that the Lord in his grace has also spoken to us.

Beloved, this may sound presumptuous, but let me say it plainly: God no longer gets a word in edgewise. The preachers, the priests, the pastors, the entire clergy have their studies on their minds, and what is preached is no longer the original Word of God. Verses are taken from the Bible, and then a little or a great deal is added to them. And I said this yesterday in Bratislava, and a brother asked me after the sermon how I could possibly have the courage to make such a statement at all. I shall repeat it in similar terms.

The greatest deception takes place in the name of God within so-called Christianity. That is where the greatest deception lies. When communists or atheists deceive, they do so without God. Yes, many deceive without God. But in so-called Christianity, people are lied to and deceived using God, using God’s Word, in the name of God. They are led astray and believe they are on the right path. We do not say this because we wish to condemn others. We say this only so that it may sink deep into our hearts and make us realize what a blessing it is that in the name of the Lord we have heard the divine original truth of which it is written, “Ye will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [Joh 8:32]

God is in the truth. Jesus himself said in John 18: “I was born for this, and I came into the world to bear witness to the truth.” [Joh 18:37] We have been born again to bear witness to the truth as well. We are here to take in the divine truth of the Word so that it may become true within us. After all, the entire proclamation is not to be passed on as theory or as a theoretical lesson. Rather, everything that God has given in Christ is to be bestowed upon us and is to become divine truth that we have experienced and confirmed.

If we may now turn very briefly to God’s message, I would also like to make a clear statement in this regard. Our purpose is to place everything within the context of Holy Scripture and to preach only what we can preach from Holy Scripture. Whatever we cannot preach from the Word, we should please refrain from doing so. It is written in 2 Timothy chapter 4: “Preach the word. Be instant, in season or out of season; preach the Word.” [2Tim 4:2]

Some brothers who also believe the message, as they say, are very resentful and very angry with me, because they reproach me and say, “You are taking the liberty of preaching the Bible freely.” And one of them even said to me, one of the key leaders: “You have no right to take a scripture and preach on it, if Brother Branham did not take it and preach on it.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I felt more like crying. One can do with men of God exactly the opposite of what God intended. One can honor them, revere them, whitewash and adorn their graves, and yet overlook what God did and intended through them.

No, we believe with all our hearts that God has led us back to the original Word through the prophetic ministry, that the truths written in the Bible are revealed to us, that from the hidden treasure simply emerges and is distributed that which can only be given by God through revelation. All theology has missed the mark when it comes to every divine revelation, for God is not to be found in explanations. God reveals himself to whomever he wills, and Jesus said: “No one knows who the Father is except the Son, and who the Son is except the Father, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” [Mat 11:27; Luk 10:22] It is divine revelation from beginning to end, and we would do well to allow God to reveal himself in our lives.

There are of course people who say, “Whoever does not believe the message will not be saved.” Holy Scripture says: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ…” [Act 16:31] In this regard too, one must not put the cart before the horse, but the horse before the cart. One must arrange things in a divine order. Many believe the message, as they say, yet have had no personal experience with God, and so they repeat things, take them out of context, and turn them into something quite different from what God originally intended.

One more remark concerning this divine message. I believe I can say without exaggerating that I am qualified to form a sound judgment on the entirety of God’s message. Firstly, because I have listened regularly to Brother Branham’s sermons since 1958, and I have personally translated most of them. I really know them inside out. But it would be of no use whatsoever to me or to you unless God were able to reveal himself in our lives, unless we were born again from the seed of the Word unto a living hope, so that a connection might be established from God. [1Pet 1:3] And what unites us is not a doctrine, but the Spirit of God, who has revealed the Word and leads us into all truth. [Joh 16:13]

So, when certain things are preached—and I wanted to mention this, a brother whom I hold in high regard from Virginia in the USA told me, and the brother did speak for several hours—and he told me that the Lord had already come, that the rapture had taken place, and so on. And then I asked, “Well, please, how is that supposed to have happened? Where are the graves that would have opened?” He said, “Huh, the graves, those are the denominations, and we have come out of the denominations; that is the resurrection.” And he was letting his imagination run wild, until I finally said: Enough, not like that. For it is written that “the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who are alive and remain will be transformed, and together we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.” [1Cor 15:51-52; 1The 4:16-17]

And I said to him—he is about ten years older than me—I said to him: “Listen, you are standing in front of me, just as always. Where is the transformation?” “Huh,” he said, “God has struck you with blindness; you can’t see that.” No, God has struck someone else with blindness, not me. I believe God’s Word, and I won’t let any man on earth pull the wool over my eyes.

For me, the matter of God is too serious, and the responsibility for preaching the revealed Word too great. And if anyone thinks that I am sometimes unloving, it is not towards brothers, but towards every false teaching. And we are well aware that we can love all our brothers from the heart. But if one were to pass on or preach everything that is preached, then people would clasp their heads in their hands or fold their hands over their heads and go on their way.

No, we believe that God is bound by his Word. We believe that God must do all things in accordance with the Word. When I say the word “must”, I do not mean that we wish to put pressure on God, far from it. But God has committed himself to his Word, and as regards the coming of the Lord, I was recently given a sermon precisely by Brother Branham, one of the seven sermons on the seven church ages, from the Sardis church age, on page 13, where Brother Branham says: “The Lord will not set his feet on this earth until after the rapture.”

Look it up; look it up.

And then there are people who were even in my office, and I was indeed with my back to the wall. And there is a statement by Brother Branham in which he says: “Revelation 10 is fulfilled during the time when the seventh church angel is on earth.”

And by that he meant, “The Lord has come down, has set his foot upon the land and sea, and that is all over.” And then he asked me, “Do you believe what the prophet said?” What was I to say in reply? I knew what Brother Branham had said. And yet God was gracious to me and gave me the right answer even at that very moment.

For even today we are still living in the time when the seventh messenger brought the message to the church, and this time will continue until the fulfillment comes. God is, after all, far above our shortsightedness.

And let me add one more thing. When God does something, we will not need to discuss it. It will then be a reality that has been fulfilled. As long as people are still discussing things, they do not yet exist at all. Once they have happened, we have them in our hearts, we have them in our hands. Then there is no need to bear witness; on the contrary, what God does is itself the testimony in that what he has said is fulfilled.

Please take these remarks as they have been given. I have done so solely out of a genuine sense of responsibility towards God. And we all believe that the Lord’s return is truly imminent. We can see it in all the signs of the times.

We cannot go into the developments in detail today. But let us be honest, when we look at the state of Europe over the last few years, particularly since 1989, and see how everything has changed, how the impossible has become possible, we ask ourselves, “Why has this happened?” The answer is simple: so that Scripture might be fulfilled.

It simply must come to pass that there are not a few great powers here and there, but that, as Daniel wrote in chapters 2 and 7, there would be these four world empires on earth, and the last of these is the Roman Empire. And it must come to pass that all these great empires are brought low, so that this overall constellation of a single great Europe can come into being at all. And this is happening right before our very eyes.

I do not know to what extent you have all been observing these developments in this way, here in Austria, or in our own country, or anywhere else. I would indeed have become a politician had I not been called to preach the Word. That is what truly runs through my veins. But anyone who has observed this closely, particularly in 1989, when Bush visited the Pope, and three weeks later Gorbachev visited the Pope, when the announcements were then made regarding the reunification of the two German states, would have seen that all our politicians were taken by surprise. The signal did not come from East Berlin or from Bonn. The signal came from somewhere else entirely.

Have you all observed this? Do you still remember the 9th of November 1989, when Helmut Kohl, our Chancellor, delivered his speech from Berlin, from the Brandenburg Gate, which was broadcast on television? And in that televised address he quite officially thanked a single person on earth for his contribution to the reunification of Germany. And who do you think he thanked? Not Gorbachev and not Bush, but the Pope. Quite officially, in his televised speech on the 9th of November 1989, our Chancellor thanked the Pope from the bottom of his heart for his part in the reunification.

If we are to understand history, we would have to go back quite a long way to when Otto I was crowned German Emperor over the entire empire. And when we see today that this empire is emerging once more, it was there, then it was not, and it will be again, as Holy Scripture says. [Rev 17:8] And then there is Brother Branham’s statement from March 1962, exactly six months after the Berlin Wall was built, in which this man of God said: “When East Berlin returns, the Roman Empire will be re-established just as it once was.”

Who would have thought back then that such a thing was possible? At that time Russian and American tanks were facing each other at the Brandenburg Gate, ready to open fire at any moment.

God is making history in these days, and believe me, even what is now happening throughout Europe is not happening because you and I want it or do not want it. It is happening so that Scripture may be fulfilled and everything may be united under one roof. And people do after all speak and write of the pan-European house. This total union does exist.

Do not be angry with me, beloved brothers and sisters in Austria, we love you very much and we value your independence and much more besides, including in Switzerland. All that is a thing of the past. No one can opt out. Everything is included. It is simply part of it.

There were countries, such as England for example, which fought tooth and nail and won elections precisely because they were opposed to a united Europe. And what is the situation today? Today everyone is on board.

And we can also see on the whole that the great empires have collapsed. The greater German empire has collapsed. The great British empire with its 49 colonies has collapsed. Everything has collapsed. Now even the great Soviet Union no longer exists. The map can be completely rewritten, redrawn.

What has all this meant? The great empires have collapsed so that this one world empire can emerge and come into being. For it is written that even the ten horns will hand over their power to this beast, this world power, until the words of God are fulfilled. [Rev 17:17]

Then there were numerous experts, there always are and why not. And they counted the countries that belonged to the EC, the Warsaw Pact and so on. Sometimes there were seven here and sometimes ten there and one could always interpret it so nicely, as long as the numbers added up. And what of today, when these numbers no longer add up? Has any of the interpreters corrected this? No, they have walked away quite smugly with a comforting thought that people are forgetful. One must bear that in mind after all and will no longer remember what was once said or written.

Whether there are seven or 70, ten or 35 states in the whole of Europe, it really doesn’t matter, but there will be seven leading heads. [Rev 13:1; Rev 17:3] Yes, that is good enough. That is all one needs to know. How many there are in total is of little consequence. The question is, which of them have a role to fulfill in the end-time prophecy. One must read the book of Revelation through the light of Revelation and thus be led by the Spirit of God into the depths of the Word and the plan of salvation.

We are not at all concerned about that. We have a completely different concern. And do you know what that is? In a nutshell, Matthew 25 will be history. Today we cry out: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!” and so on. [Mat 25:6] But then it will have happened. And what then?

Our concern should really be: “Lord, make me ready, grant me the grace to escape all that is to come upon the earth, so that I may appear before You, the Son of man.” [Luk 21:36] I believe that should be our primary concern, that we now, to use the imagery of the Bible, trim our lamps, so that the light we have received may shine brightly. [Mat 25:7] No matter how beautiful the light may be, if the lamp is not clean, but sooty and so on, then it does not shine well. We are to trim our lamps, fill our jars with oil and thus raise our voices in cry: “Behold the Bridegroom!”

Actually, anyone who wishes to read it out carefully can do so. The punctuation in Matthew 25 must be as follows: “Behold the Bridegroom! Come and go out to meet Him.” [Mat 25:6] Here too, God has granted clarity by His grace. For some say, as I mentioned earlier: “He has come.” No, “Behold the Bridegroom! Come, go ye out to meet Him.”

It will be an event, the greatest event at the end of this time of grace. And as has already been said, when the Lord returns, it will be the dead who have fallen asleep in Christ who will be the first to realize it, for they will be raised. [1The 4:14, 16] And there is this marvelous verse, which some probably deliberately overlook. Just as we believe that Christ died, I shall read this verse to you, so that you know I am not quoting, but reading from Holy Scripture, from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 14:

[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

There was a brother who was so keen to tell me that the Lord had come, so I asked him quite seriously: “If the Lord has come, where are those who have fallen asleep in Christ whom He will bring with Him when He comes?” You see, on this point too, one must read God’s Word carefully and believe it exactly as it is written, leaving the interpretation to all those who have not become one with the Word, but go their own ways and have their own thoughts. God has destined us to walk in His way and to believe His Word just as it is written. I think that is the joy of us all. Is that not so? That we can simply say: “We believe as the Scriptures have said.”

For that is indeed what it says in John 7. Our Lord said: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said” [Joh 7:38], not whoever believes as they please, but he that believes in accordance with Scripture, that is the faith wrought in you and me by the Spirit. This living faith simply embodies the living hope in the living God. And the faith that comes from Scripture, from the Word, leads us back into the Word. And then we have an open book. The written Word becomes the living, revealed Word, and so we are introduced into the whole counsel of our God.

I have sometimes said, and I would like to mention this here in closing: God does not need a great man in these days. God has sent His prophets and apostles and also His messenger in this last generation. What God needs today are people who believe as the Scriptures say, who simply respect the Word and leave it as it is written, do not interpret it, do not add to it, and do not take anything away from it, but simply respect the Word and leave it as it is written.

Jesus said at that time, “Did not everything have to be fulfilled what was written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms?” [Luk 24:44] You can read about it in Luke 24. And then in 1 Corinthians 15, probably verses 3 and 4, Paul writes: “Christ was crucified according to the Scriptures and rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

How grateful we can be that we have the certainty that God keeps His Word and will do everything in accordance with it. It will happen just as the Lord has told us and as He has promised. May the faithful God bless us all, draw us closer to Himself and unite us more intimately with Him so that we have not merely heard words but have taken them into our hearts where they have become spirit and life within us and have ensured that it is not merely a letter over which we might even still argue but that God’s Word might become lived truth in your life and mine by grace. That we might be that open letter written in the Spirit that people might see in us the confirmation of which Holy Scripture speaks. [2Cor 3:2-3] That we might be living testimonies to the grace of God that we have experienced. That God’s Word might be confirmed as true in us. Do we all have this desire? God will grant it to us by His grace. Amen. Let us stand and pray together.

As we bow our heads, close our eyes and open our hearts, I would like to ask if there is perhaps anyone here who would like to dedicate their life to God or who has a special prayer request. Do not be ashamed about raising your hand as a sign that you wish to be included in this prayer. As we remain in silent prayer, I would like to ask who wants to serve the Lord completely, truly and wholly and be at His disposal. Who wants to experience Him, please raise your hand briefly. God bless you. Thank you.

Heavenly Father, You have seen their hands and their hearts. Beloved Lord, in these days we remember You, because You have remembered us. Beloved Lord, You died on the cross of Calvary. As the Lamb of God, You bore our sins. You took our guilt upon Yourself, becoming a curse. According to the scripture, “cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Deu 21:23; Gal 3:13] It was You who were nailed to the cross in our place, as it is written: “Thus, sin entered into the world through one man, and in the same way through one man came reconciliation.” [Rom 5:12, 18-19] Beloved Lord, You are the second Adam. You have brought a new divine offspring into being. You have bestowed grace and salvation. You have led people to the new birth. You have worked through Your blood, through Your Word and through Your Spirit and have placed new life within us.

Lord, Almighty God, bless all who have raised their hands. O God, You know their concerns and needs. Bless also all those who do not have the courage. O God, may we all raise our hands to You and earnestly ask You to be gracious to us, to reveal Yourself in our lives so that we too may be revealed with You in glory. As it is written, “it does not yet appear what we shall be, but when You appear, we shall be like You.” [1Joh 3:2]

Beloved Lord, together we thank You today for the great privilege of hearing Your original Word, not interpretations, but Your original Word as it came forth from Your mouth. We give thanks for the restoration. We give thanks for the prophetic ministry. We give thanks that You allow us to share in the plan of salvation, beloved Lord. We also give thanks that we are now able to recognize the manner in which Your Word is being fulfilled in every respect among the people of Israel, amongst the nations, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, everything as You foretold, and then also concerning peace and safety, beloved Lord. [Mat 24:6-7; 1The 5:3] Your mouth has spoken it, and so it is. Your Word is eternally valid. We thank You that we can believe in You and trust You.

Beloved Lord, have Your own way with us. May Your will be done in our lives, and may Golgotha have an impact on our lives, so that we too may say like Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” [Gal 2:20] O God, grant this to us by Your grace. Here we are. We pray You, have mercy on us. Be gracious to us. Work mightily in all of us, so that we too may be ready when You come and may be counted worthy to escape all that is to come upon the earth, so that we may be allowed to appear before You. [Luk 21:36]

We also thank You for Your servant and prophet, brother Branham. You have always sent people through whom You could speak in a special way. We thank You for the Word that has been revealed to us through Your Holy Spirit. Please accept us all. Once again we bring before You all those who have a request, who have now dedicated their lives to You. Lay Your blessing hands upon each and every one of them Yourself. May they now feel Your presence, Lord, which is so comforting. May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding of man, enter into all hearts, so that we too may say: “Now I have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Rom 5:1; Phi 4:7]

Beloved Lord, we thank You for the forgiveness of all guilt, for the cleansing from all sin, for complete reconciliation with God. We thank You for having overcome death and hell, for having risen victorious. You said: “I live, and ye shall live also.” [Joh 14:19] You said: “Behold, I was dead, but I am alive for evermore, and I hold the keys of death and hell.” [Rev 1:18] Beloved Lord, we are Your own. You have accepted us, saved us, and glorified us. We thank You from the bottom of our hearts for this. In Jesus’ holy name. Hallelujah. Amen.