CIRCULAR LETTER December 2015

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Heb. 13:8)

Heartfelt greetings to all of you with the Scripture from Acts 26:22:

“Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come …” Amen! It has come to pass, in particular at the first coming of Christ, when more than 100 prophecies were fulfilled, and it is happening now, as the last prophecies are being fulfilled.

We know that God has a Plan of Salvation that He announced through His prophets and is bringing to pass in the day of salvation, in which we are living: “For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isa 14:27).

Paul had a calling (Acts 9) and thus a direct responsibility before God, which is expressed in all of his Epistles. He was able to say, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27). And, in like manner, the entire Plan of Salvation was declared unto us anew through a divinely commissioned man and was revealed by the Holy Spirit in this time.

According to God’s promise in the Old as well as in the New Testament (Mal 3:23; Mat 17:11), the faithful Lord has sent a prophet before His coming as heavenly Bridegroom in order to restore all things in His Church and to return her to the original condition.

Let us note the biblical pattern of a divine calling and commission:

Moses could say, “… I AM hath sent me unto you” (Ex 3:14), for the Lord Himself had spoken to him: “… I will send thee into Egypt.” (Ex 3:10-12; Acts 7:34).

Isaiah responded unto the question of the Lord “Whom shall I send …?” with the words, “Here am I; send me.” (Isa 6:8). To Jeremiah He said, “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” (Jer 1:7).

The Lord gave Paul the directive to set out, “… for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21) “… to open their eyes …“ (Acts 26:17‑18). This took place through the proclamation of the Word.

In John 13:20 the Lord Jesus emphasized, “… He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” In John 20:21 the risen Lord said to His disciples, “… as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

As Son of Man, He Himself testified more than 20 times from Jn 4:34 to Jn 17:8 that He had been sent.

In reference to His coming, the Lord said in Mal 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger, …” and in Mal 4:5 we find the next promise: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet …”

In all, Brother Branham referred in his 1,200 sermons about 200 times to Mal 4:5 with regard to his sending, where the Lord Himself said, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord …” This Scripture has been fulfilled in our time. Through the promised ministry, all things that were originally present in the Church in doctrine and in practice were to be restored; that is how the Lord confirmed it in Mat 17:11: “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.”

John the Baptist also knew which Word of God applied to him; therefore, he could say, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (40:3).” (Jn 1:23). In Mat 11:10 the Lord Jesus Himself showed the context of his ministry: “For this is he, of whom it is written (Mal 3:1), Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.”

In this exposition, it is neither about the ministries that God has placed into the Church, namely apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists, nor is it about the elders and deacons, or about the gifts of the Spirit in the Church, but instead about the last sending, the last message, which must be preached not only in a local church but worldwide so that the Church of Jesus Christ is restored into its original condition.

As certain as John the Baptist could testify, “… but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me …” (Jn 1:33), so could Brother Branham testify what was said to him on June 11, 1933, namely, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, so you are sent with a message that will forerun the second coming of Christ!” He was able to bear witness to the direct sending and also to the supernatural experience on May 7, 1946, when he was commissioned for the ministry. The angel, who entered the room in the supernatural light, stood before him and said, “Do not fear; I am sent from the presence of Almighty God!” He gave him instructions and said, among other things, “You’ll be given two signs as the Prophet Moses was given two signs …” It was a supernaturally confirmed ministry through the extraordinary healings of the sick. The healing miracles were to direct the attention of the people to the presence of God and the message that he had to bring.

The special ministry of Brother William Branham has been the subject of our expositions many times. As an eye- and ear-witness, I can confirm that God indeed used and blessed him as an evangelist and prophet unlike anyone else in our time and confirmed His Word. However, now it is no longer about the time span from 1933 to 1946 or the period from 1946 to 1965, in which this man of God became known throughout the world on account of the special revival and healing campaigns that took place in 12 countries. Now it is about the special time period in which we are living. God, Who has purposed His Plan of Salvation from eternity, shall bring it to pass until the end according to His Will. The ministry of John the Baptist ended in a way that is incomprehensible to us, by being beheaded (Mat 14:1-12). Brother Branham passed away on December 24, 1965, because of the injuries he had sustained in a severe car accident on December 18, 1965, caused by a young drunk driver. God does not make mistakes. Obviously, whether or not we can understand it, the ministry of Brother Branham had been completed but not the calling out and preparation of the Bride Church. The message still had to be carried into all the world, and all peoples, tongues, and nations had to be reached.