Ewald Frank
Sixty Years in the Service of the LORD
I wish to extend heartfelt greetings to all of my brothers and sisters in the Name of our LORD Jesus Christ. As an introduction, I would like to quote the words of the Apostle Paul, who had received a direct commission and was called to the ministry, as found in 1 Tim 1:12:
“And I thank Christ Jesus, our LORD, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry …”
As you all know, I dedicated my life to the LORD back in 1949 at the Pentecostal Conference in Hamburg. At the same time, I came to know of Brother Branham’s special ministry. In 1955 I had the privilege of participating in his meetings in Karlsruhe, Germany, and there got to know him personally during our first conversation.
After exactly 60 years, I am now referring once again to the extraordinary experience of Monday, April 2, 1962. I speak the truth before God. It happened before sunrise: Coming from the right side of the window, the LORD spoke these words: “My servant, your time for this city will soon be over. I will send you to other cities to preach My Word.” I raised my hands and said, “LORD, they will not hear me ...” The LORD replied, “My servant, the time will come when they will hear you. Store in food, because a great famine is coming. Then you shall stand in the midst of the people and give out the food ...”
In December 1962, I visited Brother Branham in Jeffersonville. Through divine revelation, he repeated word for word in English what the LORD had commanded me to do on April 2 in German. The two brothers Fred Sothman and Banks Wood were also present and witnessed it. Then he explained to me, “The food you are to store in is not natural food, as you thought, but the Word promised for this time, which is in the sermons that are recorded on tape. But wait with the giving out of the food until you get the rest that belongs to it.”
We all know that Brother Branham, the promised prophet (Mal 4:5), was told on June 11, 1933, “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 himself emphasized repeatedly, “Not I, but the message will forerun the second coming of Christ.” God used him to reveal all of the mysteries and store up the spiritual food. On June 11, 1958, in Dallas, Texas, at the end of our conversation, he said to me, “Brother Frank, you will return to Germany with this message.” From then on, his sermons were regularly sent to us on tape and I began translating them.
As sure as the LORD gave me the commission, I have certainly carried it out in every detail. Since Brother Branham’s passing, I have proclaimed the Word of God in all the world. On my missionary journeys, I generally preached only two or at most three sermons in one city and then traveled to the next one. Local churches were then established by the brothers who lived there.
April 2, 1962, was the day when the LORD gave me the commission and placed me in His service. Over the course of the 60 years, He has repeatedly given me audible instructions related to my ministry. I want to make it clear that it never happened in a dream, but always in the awake state. I can name the day, the place, and the hour for each time. Thus, on September 19, 1976, in Edmonton, a Sunday morning, the LORD spoke the following words in a commanding voice: “My servant, I have ordained you according to Mat 24:45-47 to give out the food in due season.” Anyone who reads this Scripture will find that verse 47 states, “… He (the LORD) shall make him ruler over all His goods.” In our time, the whole Counsel of God has been revealed unlike ever before. Like Paul, I can also testify, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27). Indeed, every biblical topic has been covered in my sermons, brochures, books, and circulars.
In Mat 24 our LORD foretold not only the destruction of the temple, the dispersion of Israelites, and, in the parable of the fig tree, their return to their homeland (v. 32); He also predicted what will happen in the end times, namely wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. This also includes verse 14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come …”, as well as what is written in verses 45 to 47, namely both the proclamation of the Word and the giving out of the spiritual food.
We are truly still living in Bible days, in which the LORD Himself sent His servant and prophet with a message and instructed me to preach the revealed Word and distribute the stored up food – the hidden manna. The ministry that the LORD gave me is directly connected to the ministry of Brother Branham, just as Joshua’s ministry was connected to the ministry of Moses. Moses led the people out of bondage, as the LORD had promised to Abraham in Gen 15:13, and Joshua led the people into the Promised Land. We are children of promise (Gal 4:28) and believe what is written in 2. Cor 1:20: “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” We believe all of the promises God has given us in His Word and will see and experience them in the fulfillment.
Let me be clear: It is not about Brother Branham and not about Brother Frank, but about the promises – the Word for this time. Whomever God chooses for a particular task is decided by Him alone, all the more so when it is a commission that is directly connected to God’s Plan of Salvation. Paul did not ask for a calling; Brother Branham did not ask for a calling; I did not ask for a calling. But God planned it this way from eternity, and that is how it happened in our time. What our LORD said still applies today: “… He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (John 13:20). Those who bypass what God does according to His Word also bypass God and build their own kingdoms, just like all the others in the denominations.
In 1962, when the LORD commissioned me, I was almost 29 years old, now I am almost 89 and may look back with gratitude on the many years in His service. I do not bear witness concerning myself, I only testify before the Almighty God of what is part of the commission and what the LORD has done in all countries of the world. The everlasting message of salvation with all of the biblical doctrines has been proclaimed worldwide. The LORD said, “... and then shall the end come.” We who believe the end-time message can testify that God has revealed to us all the mysteries of the Word, of the Plan of Salvation and has restored all things.
I ask you to carefully read the following Scripture, which also applies to my commission: “… the church, whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory …” (Col 1:25-27).
God has led in such a way that through the missionary journeys over all these years, personal contacts have been established across the globe, so that now, with worldwide broadcasts of the sermons in all languages, all true believers can hear what the Spirit has to say unto the churches, thus bringing His Church back into alignment with His Word, as it was in the beginning.
In the Mission-Center in Krefeld, it will probably no longer be possible to hold international meetings in the same manner they were arranged over the past 40 plus years. Nor will I be able to make any more missionary trips. Now, wherever it is possible, all believers gather to pray and to listen to the sermons, and wherever they are, they will take part in what God is doing in the completion of His Work.
We are grateful to the LORD for our brethren who ensure that the sermons are broadcast, as well as for the brethren who translate into the various languages, and also for all the ministering brethren who share the same Word, the pure spiritual food, with the people of God worldwide. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Mat 4:4). The priority now is that all those who belong to the Bride Church are led by the love of God through the Holy Spirit into the divine unity, so that each individual finds the connection to God, experiences his or her personal preparation and all of the experiences of salvation as in the beginning, and waits for the rapture in complete agreement with every Word of God (Mat 4:4).
Brother Branham has done his part; I have done my part. The LORD Himself will complete His work of redemption through a mighty move of the Holy Spirit in the Bride Church, so that she will be ready to meet the Bridegroom (Mat 25:10; 1 Ths 4:15–18; 1 Cor 15:51-58).
We see how the Scriptures for this time are fulfilled before our eyes, and we may lift up our heads, for the redemption of our bodies is close at hand.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.” (Rev 22:17a). “Amen. Even so, come, LORD Jesus.”
By His commission
Br. Frank