The special experience of my commission and sending to the ministry on April 2, 1962, is known to everybody. I had already been preaching since 1952 because I felt that I had been called to do so. However, on that day, I heard the all-penetrating, commanding voice of the Lord saying 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 replied, “Lord, they will not listen to me. They have an abundance of all things and are living a life of comfort.”

Thereupon the Lord responded, “My servant, the time will come when they will hear you. Store in food and groceries, for a great famine is coming. Then you shall stand amidst the people and give out the food …” This was followed by the directive: “My servant, do not establish any local churches and do not publish a song book for it is a sign of a denomination.”

Since natural food products such as potatoes, flour, and oil were mentioned, we actually stored groceries in the basement. We expected a major catastrophe because it was the time of the Berlin Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the climax of the Cold War. After all, the Berlin Wall had been built in August 1961, and the people in East and West Germany and in all of Europe were anxious to see what would happen next.

As the months passed by and no famine came, I fell into such despair that I no longer wanted to preach. In November I called Brother Branham and urgently asked for a meeting. This took place on Monday, December 3, 1962, in the presence of the two brothers Fred Sothman and Banks Wood. I sat across the table from Brother Branham and could recognize that he was seeing a vision, causing his right eye to close slightly. At that time, he repeated the exact wording of my commission. Then he explained to me that it was not about the earthly food and famine, as I had assumed, but about the promised Word for this time – the spiritual food – which I was supposed to store in.

In his sermon on April 1, 1962, he spoke about having been commanded to store in food in Jeffersonville. This was taking place through the sermons, which were being recorded on tape. Therefore, every sermon was sent to me. He further told me that I should wait with the giving out of the food – not with the preaching of the Word – until I received the rest of the food that belonged to it. At the end, he also asked me whether I could speak in his stead before the Christian Businessmen Fellowship with Demos Shakarian in Los Angeles because he was preparing for his move to Tucson, Arizona. Since my return flight was planned via Los Angeles anyway, I readily agreed.

It means a lot to me that I was in personal contact with Brother Branham, visited his home, ate with him, and drove with him in his car. I also have fond memories of our phone conversations and treasure the 23 letters I received from him – the first was dated November 11, 1955, and the last one September 30, 1965. The most important thing, however, was the connection on the spiritual level, which God had ordained.

As for all those who were close to Brother Branham, his sudden death came as a great shock to me as well, even though I had seen him in a vision on December 24, 1965, as he was taken up on a cloud. One day before his burial, on April 11, 1966, I was allowed to see Brother Branham one more time in the funeral home: With a soft smile on his face, he was lying in the coffin, without any visible injuries. At the cemetery, the brother who officiated the funeral greeted the mourners with the words: “We are here because of the resurrection of the prophet.” The people who had gathered there on that Easter Sunday in 1966 were counting on his resurrection. But it did not come to pass, and so his mortal remains were placed into the grave while the crowd continuously sang “Only believe, only believe…” I felt as if my spiritual world and all my hopes which I had tied to the ministry of Brother Branham were falling to pieces. But when I returned to my hotel room, a profound peace came over me and it spoke in my heart: “Now your time has come to go from city to city and from country to country to preach the message.”

On the following days, April 12 and 13, I called the brethren in Jeffersonville together. All the others from out of town had left for home in disappointment after the funeral, except Lee Vayle, the author of the book The Exposition of the Seven Church Ages. In the English language, there were only the book about the Church Ages and the 48-page brochure “The Laodicean Church Age” at that time, as well as the books Twentieth Century Prophet and A Prophet Visits South Africa. Not a single sermon by Brother Branham had been printed yet, and it had not even occurred to anyone to do that. I suggested that Roy Borders, who had been Brother Branham’s secretary and whom I also knew personally, should take on that responsibility. We agreed that the taped sermons were to be printed and published as brochures so that they could be translated into other languages.

In the first brochure that I published in the English language, “Only Believe the Thus Saith the Lord,” I introduced the ministry of Brother Bran-ham. The total print run of 85,000 copies was mailed out with the Jeffersonville address into all of the countries in which I had preached. In this way, all who were interested could get the printed sermons in English from the USA. In Krefeld we started with the translation and publishing of the printed sermons in the German language.

Already in 1966/67 I had meetings in 25 cities across Western Europe, in which also Brother Pearry Green, at my invitation, testified of what he had experienced in the meetings of Brother Branham. Thereupon, brothers began to translate into other languages as well. Thus the verbal dissemination of the message was accompanied by the circulation of the printed sermons after the passing of the prophet. Beginning in 1968, I also preached in all of Eastern Europe, including Moscow. Then followed Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, and many other places on all continents where I could preach the biblical message. Those 14 years were a blessed and remarkable time under the direct guidance of the Lord which brought forth much fruit for the Kingdom of God across 85 countries.

Then came the year 1979, when the forces of hell were unleashed to destroy me and the Work of God through the worst slander and deliberate character assassination. Even the divine commission was a target of blasphemy; it was called into question. But thanks be to God and His grace, the enemy was unsuccessful in destroying the Work of God.

A new chapter began during which it was manifested that two different seeds were coming forth: one of the Word-seed, the other of the seduction. Both pray to God, as Cain and Abel did; both sing the same spiritual songs. But the difference is plain to see: Some slander, the others are slandered; some hate, the others are hated; etc.

Under the wrong influence, there was confusion and division so that in some places even multiple so-called message churches emerged. A split is never caused by divinely appointed ministries. The distinguishing mark of the ones who are under the wrong inspiration and who present their own doctrines is that they draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:30). To justify their private doctrines, the advocates hide behind the prophet, who is always used as their excuse. “Because,” this is their argument, “all have the Bible, but no one has understood it.” Thus the things the prophet said are not taken back to the Bible and their correct, divine placement therein but are elevated above the Bible, even though the prophet strongly emphasized the words in Rev 22 dozens of times: “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city …”

No one could be more thankful for the ministry of Brother Branham than I am; after all, his ministry bore a resemblance to the one of our Lord. The man William Branham was the consecrated vessel which the Lord used. The infallibility and the supernatural that took place in his ministry can and may only be attributed to God; therefore, all the glory, all thanksgiving, all worship belongs to God Alone in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the teaching ministry goes along with the prophetic ministry so that everything is placed in its biblical context and divine order, according to God’s Plan of Salvation. It was the Lord’s decision to commission me to preach the revealed Word as the last message to all peoples. I did not want it and did not ask for it. But this must also be said once more: Just as there would not have been a message without a messenger, the world also would never have heard of the message without this divine calling.

Brother Branham left this earth 50 years ago; he himself cannot, as it is falsely being claimed, forerun the second coming of Christ, which we are waiting for. But the biblical message that he preached is being proclaimed to all nations. The Lord had taken His messenger, but the message was continuingly carried to all parts of the world. The message is that what is written in the Word of God – not the interpretations of what Brother Branham has said.

Naturally, even until the end he had great hopes to see fulfilled in his time the things which God is going to do, and we are going to experience all of this and see the fulfillment of what God has promised in His Word. Quote:“There’ll be a power put into the Church, and now is coming in, that the Holy Spirit will so anoint the people, till they’ll speak the Word and It’ll create Itself right there. ... the placing of the Church in position, where the fullness of the power of the Holy Ghost comes into the Church. … It’ll be a short time. … Notice, it won’t last long, but it’ll be here.” (March 13, 1960).

Quote: “But when that time comes, when the squeeze comes down, then you’ll see what you have seen temporarily, be manifested in the fullness of its power.” (December 29, 1963).

As it could be said in the time of Joshua, that is how it will be at the end: ”There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” (Jos 21:45).

The special experience of my commission and sending to the ministry on April 2, 1962, is known to everybody. I had already been preaching since 1952 because I felt that I had been called to do so. However, on that day, I heard the all-penetrating, commanding voice of the Lord saying 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 replied, “Lord, they will not listen to me. They have an abundance of all things and are living a life of comfort.”

Thereupon the Lord responded, “My servant, the time will come when they will hear you. Store in food and groceries, for a great famine is coming. Then you shall stand amidst the people and give out the food …” This was followed by the directive: “My servant, do not establish any local churches and do not publish a song book for it is a sign of a denomination.”

Since natural food products such as potatoes, flour, and oil were mentioned, we actually stored groceries in the basement. We expected a major catastrophe because it was the time of the Berlin Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the climax of the Cold War. After all, the Berlin Wall had been built in August 1961, and the people in East and West Germany and in all of Europe were anxious to see what would happen next.

As the months passed by and no famine came, I fell into such despair that I no longer wanted to preach. In November I called Brother Branham and urgently asked for a meeting. This took place on Monday, December 3, 1962, in the presence of the two brothers Fred Sothman and Banks Wood. I sat across the table from Brother Branham and could recognize that he was seeing a vision, causing his right eye to close slightly. At that time, he repeated the exact wording of my commission. Then he explained to me that it was not about the earthly food and famine, as I had assumed, but about the promised Word for this time – the spiritual food – which I was supposed to store in.

In his sermon on April 1, 1962, he spoke about having been commanded to store in food in Jeffersonville. This was taking place through the sermons, which were being recorded on tape. Therefore, every sermon was sent to me. He further told me that I should wait with the giving out of the food – not with the preaching of the Word – until I received the rest of the food that belonged to it. At the end, he also asked me whether I could speak in his stead before the Christian Businessmen Fellowship with Demos Shakarian in Los Angeles because he was preparing for his move to Tucson, Arizona. Since my return flight was planned via Los Angeles anyway, I readily agreed.

It means a lot to me that I was in personal contact with Brother Branham, visited his home, ate with him, and drove with him in his car. I also have fond memories of our phone conversations and treasure the 23 letters I received from him – the first was dated November 11, 1955, and the last one September 30, 1965. The most important thing, however, was the connection on the spiritual level, which God had ordained.

As for all those who were close to Brother Branham, his sudden death came as a great shock to me as well, even though I had seen him in a vision on December 24, 1965, as he was taken up on a cloud. One day before his burial, on April 11, 1966, I was allowed to see Brother Branham one more time in the funeral home: With a soft smile on his face, he was lying in the coffin, without any visible injuries. At the cemetery, the brother who officiated the funeral greeted the mourners with the words: “We are here because of the resurrection of the prophet.” The people who had gathered there on that Easter Sunday in 1966 were counting on his resurrection. But it did not come to pass, and so his mortal remains were placed into the grave while the crowd continuously sang “Only believe, only believe…” I felt as if my spiritual world and all my hopes which I had tied to the ministry of Brother Branham were falling to pieces. But when I returned to my hotel room, a profound peace came over me and it spoke in my heart: “Now your time has come to go from city to city and from country to country to preach the message.”

On the following days, April 12 and 13, I called the brethren in Jeffersonville together. All the others from out of town had left for home in disappointment after the funeral, except Lee Vayle, the author of the book The Exposition of the Seven Church Ages. In the English language, there were only the book about the Church Ages and the 48-page brochure “The Laodicean Church Age” at that time, as well as the books Twentieth Century Prophet and A Prophet Visits South Africa. Not a single sermon by Brother Branham had been printed yet, and it had not even occurred to anyone to do that. I suggested that Roy Borders, who had been Brother Branham’s secretary and whom I also knew personally, should take on that responsibility. We agreed that the taped sermons were to be printed and published as brochures so that they could be translated into other languages.

In the first brochure that I published in the English language, “Only Believe the Thus Saith the Lord,” I introduced the ministry of Brother Bran-ham. The total print run of 85,000 copies was mailed out with the Jeffersonville address into all of the countries in which I had preached. In this way, all who were interested could get the printed sermons in English from the USA. In Krefeld we started with the translation and publishing of the printed sermons in the German language.

Already in 1966/67 I had meetings in 25 cities across Western Europe, in which also Brother Pearry Green, at my invitation, testified of what he had experienced in the meetings of Brother Branham. Thereupon, brothers began to translate into other languages as well. Thus the verbal dissemination of the message was accompanied by the circulation of the printed sermons after the passing of the prophet. Beginning in 1968, I also preached in all of Eastern Europe, including Moscow. Then followed Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, and many other places on all continents where I could preach the biblical message. Those 14 years were a blessed and remarkable time under the direct guidance of the Lord which brought forth much fruit for the Kingdom of God across 85 countries.

Then came the year 1979, when the forces of hell were unleashed to destroy me and the Work of God through the worst slander and deliberate character assassination. Even the divine commission was a target of blasphemy; it was called into question. But thanks be to God and His grace, the enemy was unsuccessful in destroying the Work of God.

A new chapter began during which it was manifested that two different seeds were coming forth: one of the Word-seed, the other of the seduction. Both pray to God, as Cain and Abel did; both sing the same spiritual songs. But the difference is plain to see: Some slander, the others are slandered; some hate, the others are hated; etc.

Under the wrong influence, there was confusion and division so that in some places even multiple so-called message churches emerged. A split is never caused by divinely appointed ministries. The distinguishing mark of the ones who are under the wrong inspiration and who present their own doctrines is that they draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:30). To justify their private doctrines, the advocates hide behind the prophet, who is always used as their excuse. “Because,” this is their argument, “all have the Bible, but no one has understood it.” Thus the things the prophet said are not taken back to the Bible and their correct, divine placement therein but are elevated above the Bible, even though the prophet strongly emphasized the words in Rev 22 dozens of times: “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city …”

No one could be more thankful for the ministry of Brother Branham than I am; after all, his ministry bore a resemblance to the one of our Lord. The man William Branham was the consecrated vessel which the Lord used. The infallibility and the supernatural that took place in his ministry can and may only be attributed to God; therefore, all the glory, all thanksgiving, all worship belongs to God Alone in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the teaching ministry goes along with the prophetic ministry so that everything is placed in its biblical context and divine order, according to God’s Plan of Salvation. It was the Lord’s decision to commission me to preach the revealed Word as the last message to all peoples. I did not want it and did not ask for it. But this must also be said once more: Just as there would not have been a message without a messenger, the world also would never have heard of the message without this divine calling.

Brother Branham left this earth 50 years ago; he himself cannot, as it is falsely being claimed, forerun the second coming of Christ, which we are waiting for. But the biblical message that he preached is being proclaimed to all nations. The Lord had taken His messenger, but the message was continuingly carried to all parts of the world. The message is that what is written in the Word of God – not the interpretations of what Brother Branham has said.

Naturally, even until the end he had great hopes to see fulfilled in his time the things which God is going to do, and we are going to experience all of this and see the fulfillment of what God has promised in His Word. Quote:  “There’ll be a power put into the Church, and now is coming in, that the Holy Spirit will so anoint the people, till they’ll speak the Word and It’ll create Itself right there. ... the placing of the Church in position, where the fullness of the power of the Holy Ghost comes into the Church. … It’ll be a short time. … Notice, it won’t last long, but it’ll be here.” (March 13, 1960).

Quote: “But when that time comes, when the squeeze comes down, then you’ll see what you have seen temporarily, be manifested in the fullness of its power.” (December 29, 1963).

As it could be said in the time of Joshua, that is how it will be at the end: ”There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” (Jos 21:45).