Brothers in various cities have been asking repeatedly about the vision in which Brother Branham saw the Bride. They would like to know how the Bride in Europe fell out of step and what it means in regards to the church in the U.S.A. which Brother Branham saw in a vision in a miserable state and being led by a witch. In the seven messages in Rev. 2 and 3, the LORD Himself, Whose eyes are as flames of fire, judges the individuals and the church as a whole. HE also spoke about the hour of temptation that would come upon the entire earth (Rev. 3:10). The church age of Philadelphia was spared, but the church age that followed, Laodicea, had to endure that. The thought about the temptation brings us back to the very beginning, where the first temptation is recorded. The enemy pulled Eve into a discussion about what the LORD God had said to Adam. In the temptation of our LORD, the enemy always came with Scripture, saying, “It is written …” (Mt. 4:1-11; Lk. 4:1-13). That is the actual temptation: The Word is always being questioned and whatever God has said is overshadowed by doubt and replaced by interpretation!

All other things are human trials and temptations through which we all have to go. Ever since the beginning, the enemy has always sneaked up and meddled with God’s children by using the phrase: “It is written”, all the while re-interpreting every Scripture. Satan needs no schooling; he is well-acquainted with all the various faiths and beliefs. He will always appear in a manner that is accepted in that particular church. For instance, if the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not in use, he will not dare to imitate those gifts. On the other hand, wherever the gifts of the Holy Spirit are present, he will undoubtedly make use of the person that is officially recognised as having that spiritual gift. This is the only way he receives their full attention.

If we would not currently be in the last part of history and if no divine call would have come forth, the hour of temptation would not have come upon us. The intention of the adversary was not only to rid himself of the ministering brethren in the local church, but to destroy the Work and the Church of the living God. The subsequent statement was openly declared, “This work must be destroyed …” Following the successful action, which was well-planned, the rumour was widely circulated in and around the Krefeld Mission Center that it was all over, for good. Those who still came were sent away. Only a few people remained, they assembled on the balcony. The main auditorium was empty. This tragic development is only mentioned because it clearly shows the tactics of the enemy — to destroy in the hour of temptation by misapplying the Word.

In the U.S.A., Rev. Gordon Lindsay, who published the book “William Branham — a man sent from God”, and Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who initially called Brother Branham the “Father of the healing revival”, indicated after Brother Branham’s death that they were supposed to warn the prophet in the name of the LORD, otherwise he would disappear from the scene. At the “Voice of Healing” convention in 1958 in Dallas, Texas, I met both of them. They were the first ones to spread the news that Brother Branham had to be taken off the scene because he had lost his commission and caused confusion with his controversial doctrines. In the book “God’s Generals” by Roberts Liardon we find their attack on Brother Branham and his gift in the following statement: “God had given Branham a great gift, He couldn’t take it back. That gift was misleading people, causing them to follow Branham’s doctrine, so God practiced His sovereign right in 1. Cor. 5:5, ‘To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the LORD Jesus.’” (pg. 343). It is inconceivable to quote that allegation any further.

Consider the following: On one hand, they viewed Brother Branham as a man of God, a prophet, a seer with a divine call and commission and with an incomparable ministry; on the other hand, they pronounced that sort of judgement upon the greatest man of God since the days of our LORD, although they had only come in contact with the supernatural through his ministry. They assumed the right to deliver unto Satan this man sent from God. The intention Satan harboured is obvious — he wanted to destroy the God-given influence of this special ministry. Brother Branham said, “They try to destroy the influence; they try to destroy everything, because it is nothing but jealousy. It started in Cain and proved that it was jealousy and it is still the same thing today when the natural, the carnal and the spiritual meet together.” (“Does God ever change His Mind?”, Jeffersonville, 4-18-65).

The healing evangelists in the U.S.A. did not recognise God’s merciful visitation. Some of them imitate the gift Brother Branham had and call it the “Word of knowledge”, but all are united in the Trinity doctrine and triune baptism, and therefore they remain in the captivity of church traditions. They have managed to get the attention of the people through signs and wonders in their charismatic meetings and therewith keep them tangled up in the traditional heresies. They did not reject Brother Branham because he prayed for the sick, but because he was a promised prophet and because of the message he had to bring to the people. Their chief complaint was that he should leave the women in peace and not criticise them on account of their short hair, their make-up, the way they dress, and their behaviour in general, instead he should pray for them to receive spiritual gifts. But we acknowledge that servants of God cannot simply choose a subject. Just like Paul had no choice, neither did Brother Branham — he had a divine mandate. Paul was not a woman-hater when he wrote, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (1. Tim. 2:14). Whoever reads the many Scriptures wherein the women were shown their rightful place must respect the fact that the LORD thought it to be necessary. In 1. Cor. 14 the Apostle Paul told the women to be silent in the church. They were furthermore advised in 1. Cor. 11:5+15 to cover their faces with their hair when they would pray or prophesy in the early church. When Brother Branham had to speak out against the spirit of this time he made the various statements only because the Spirit of God bade him to do so. As it was in the beginning, likewise now at the end the true divine order must be established. Men were also shown their rightful place, they have to submit themselves to Christ, their head.

At the height of the blessed ministry after Brother Branham’s departure, Satan once again launched his attack, by using the same Scripture, 1. Cor. 5, in Krefeld. What had been done with Brother Branham in the U.S.A. in order to kill and to destroy the influence of his ministry was carried out here once more. The evangelists in the U.S.A. were not ready during Brother Branham’s lifetime and are to this day not ready to submit themselves under God and to accept doctrinal correction. They preferred to discredit the man sent from God in the eyes of the people, stating that he had lost his commission. He had to “disappear”, so that they could have influence over the believers whom they are misleading. Is not the same thing still happening now, through all those ministers in the message who do not respect the God ordained ministry and therefore cut off fellowship among believers, stating they are not even to eat at the same table?

We are actually not dealing with flesh and blood, but with the powers and principalities, with the evil spirits in the air, with Satan himself, the accuser of the brethren who has murdered those who were sent by God, to kill the influence of the Word. Those who submit to the enemy and excommunicate the servants of God are convinced that they are rendering a special service unto God, as our LORD already said (Jn. 16:2). At that time the action was directed against the messenger, now it is against the one who carries the message into all the world. Actually no one on earth would have come to know what God has done, if the LORD Himself would not have made provisions beforehand. Through the attack of the enemy the character assassination was used to kill the influence of the God-given ministry and to hinder the spreading of the message. But Jesus Christ is the Great Conqueror and whoever is born of God and on God’s side has the assurance that scriptural belief has conquered the world and Satan (1. Jn. 5:4).

Since the well-planned destruction, which was announced as “cleansing”, an enmity was established that goes beyond death. Brothers and Sisters, who for years had been singing the same hymns, had received the same illumination, had tasted of the heavenly gift, had received the same Word and the same blessings, and had been kept in step by God’s grace, were derailed with a single blow (Heb. 6:4-5). Grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation were put aside and are now only extended to those who agree to the uprising. The people who have remained faithful have to suffer this direct enmity. When encountered, they are not even being greeted. Hatred, like it happened with Cain and Abel, with Ishmael and Isaac, is a daily experienced occurrence. The following Scripture is written for all of us, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer …” It is furthermore written, “… And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1. Jn. 3:15).

It is time for everyone to realise that Satan is a master deceiver, who is re-interpreting every Scripture and misusing it in order to destroy. We know that he has been a liar and a murderer right from the beginning. What did Brother Branham or any other servant of God have to do with 1. Cor. 5? The matter at hand back then was a man who lived with his stepmother and, as found in Lev. 18:8 and Dt. 27:20, was under a curse. According to 1. Cor. 5:11 the slanderers who are now on the move will have to face God’s judgement and will be excluded from the Kingdom of God (1. Cor. 6:10), since they are trying to exclude someone else. It can happen very quickly, as the Apostle Paul writes, “for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself …” (Rom. 2:1). Anyone who places blame on the elect of God and accuses them is demon-possessed and in the service of the accuser, for according to the testimony of the Scripture there is no longer any condemnation for them (Rom. 8:28-39; a. o.). True believers are changed into a new individual, into a peacemaker (Eph. 2:15). Anyone creating strife is not yet renewed in Christ, that person is just wearing a religious mask. The Scripture does not speak vain words. Enmity only comes to life where the enemy gets people under his control. And such people are speaking about the rapture!

If the Apostle Paul was here today, he would surely ask, “Who has bewitched you?” (Gal. 3). Under the influence of the evil one, the many wrong teachings were introduced. The end-time preachers are not ready to abide by God’s Word. They quote the prophet, whose statements they twist as they see fit. There is no sense in reading those Scripture passages which refer to Babylon, which speak about the nations that were bewitched and deceived, and about the blood of the martyrs that was shed (Rev. 18:23-24). We must have the courage to look within our own ranks, to find out how the doctrines are handled, look at the way things are done and examine them by the Holy Scripture. Deception, sorcery, and poisoning go hand in hand with character assassination. It is tragic what Satan has done worldwide within the end-time message. The Bride Church has fallen out of step and the influence of the true proclamation of the Word is being hindered. We have to thank God, because Brother Branham also saw in his vision that the Bride was brought back into step again. That is happening right now! The condition is not that we should agree with a brother or his teaching, but rather that Bride and Bridegroom are as one in agreement within His Word!

Brothers in various cities have been asking repeatedly about the vision in which Brother Branham saw the Bride. They would like to know how the Bride in Europe fell out of step and what it means in regards to the church in the U.S.A. which Brother Branham saw in a vision in a miserable state and being led by a witch. In the seven messages in Rev. 2 and 3, the LORD Himself, Whose eyes are as flames of fire, judges the individuals and the church as a whole. HE also spoke about the hour of temptation that would come upon the entire earth (Rev. 3:10). The church age of Philadelphia was spared, but the church age that followed, Laodicea, had to endure that. The thought about the temptation brings us back to the very beginning, where the first temptation is recorded. The enemy pulled Eve into a discussion about what the LORD God had said to Adam. In the temptation of our LORD, the enemy always came with Scripture, saying, “It is written …” (Mt. 4:1-11; Lk. 4:1-13). That is the actual temptation: The Word is always being questioned and whatever God has said is overshadowed by doubt and replaced by interpretation!

All other things are human trials and temptations through which we all have to go. Ever since the beginning, the enemy has always sneaked up and meddled with God’s children by using the phrase: “It is written”, all the while re-interpreting every Scripture. Satan needs no schooling; he is well-acquainted with all the various faiths and beliefs. He will always appear in a manner that is accepted in that particular church. For instance, if the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not in use, he will not dare to imitate those gifts. On the other hand, wherever the gifts of the Holy Spirit are present, he will undoubtedly make use of the person that is officially recognised as having that spiritual gift. This is the only way he receives their full attention.

 If we would not currently be in the last part of history and if no divine call would have come forth, the hour of temptation would not have come upon us. The intention of the adversary was not only to rid himself of the ministering brethren in the local church, but to destroy the Work and the Church of the living God. The subsequent statement was openly declared, “This work must be destroyed …” Following the successful action, which was well-planned, the rumour was widely circulated in and around the Krefeld Mission Center that it was all over, for good. Those who still came were sent away. Only a few people remained, they assembled on the balcony. The main auditorium was empty. This tragic development is only mentioned because it clearly shows the tactics of the enemy — to destroy in the hour of temptation by misapplying the Word.

In the U.S.A., Rev. Gordon Lindsay, who published the book “William Branham — a man sent from God”, and Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who initially called Brother Branham the “Father of the healing revival”, indicated after Brother Branham’s death that they were supposed to warn the prophet in the name of the LORD, otherwise he would disappear from the scene. At the “Voice of Healing” convention in 1958 in Dallas, Texas, I met both of them. They were the first ones to spread the news that Brother Branham had to be taken off the scene because he had lost his commission and caused confusion with his controversial doctrines. In the book “God’s Generals” by Roberts Liardon we find their attack on Brother Branham and his gift in the following statement: “God had given Branham a great gift, He couldn’t take it back. That gift was misleading people, causing them to follow Branham’s doctrine, so God practiced His sovereign right in 1. Cor. 5:5, ‘To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the LORD Jesus.’” (pg. 343). It is inconceivable to quote that allegation any further.

Consider the following: On one hand, they viewed Brother Branham as a man of God, a prophet, a seer with a divine call and commission and with an incomparable ministry; on the other hand, they pronounced that sort of judgement upon the greatest man of God since the days of our LORD, although they had only come in contact with the supernatural through his ministry. They assumed the right to deliver unto Satan this man sent from God. The intention Satan harboured is obvious — he wanted to destroy the God-given influence of this special ministry. Brother Branham said, “They try to destroy the influence; they try to destroy everything, because it is nothing but jealousy. It started in Cain and proved that it was jealousy and it is still the same thing today when the natural, the carnal and the spiritual meet together.” (“Does God ever change His Mind?”, Jeffersonville, 4-18-65).

The healing evangelists in the U.S.A. did not recognise God’s merciful visitation. Some of them imitate the gift Brother Branham had and call it the “Word of knowledge”, but all are united in the Trinity doctrine and triune baptism, and therefore they remain in the captivity of church traditions. They have managed to get the attention of the people through signs and wonders in their charismatic meetings and therewith keep them tangled up in the traditional heresies. They did not reject Brother Branham because he prayed for the sick, but because he was a promised prophet and because of the message he had to bring to the people. Their chief complaint was that he should leave the women in peace and not criticise them on account of their short hair, their make-up, the way they dress, and their behaviour in general, instead he should pray for them to receive spiritual gifts. But we acknowledge that servants of God cannot simply choose a subject. Just like Paul had no choice, neither did Brother Branham — he had a divine mandate. Paul was not a woman-hater when he wrote, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (1. Tim. 2:14). Whoever reads the many Scriptures wherein the women were shown their rightful place must respect the fact that the LORD thought it to be necessary. In 1. Cor. 14 the Apostle Paul told the women to be silent in the church. They were furthermore advised in 1. Cor. 11:5+15 to cover their faces with their hair when they would pray or prophesy in the early church. When Brother Branham had to speak out against the spirit of this time he made the various statements only because the Spirit of God bade him to do so. As it was in the beginning, likewise now at the end the true divine order must be established. Men were also shown their rightful place, they have to submit themselves to Christ, their head.

At the height of the blessed ministry after Brother Branham’s departure, Satan once again launched his attack, by using the same Scripture, 1. Cor. 5, in Krefeld. What had been done with Brother Branham in the U.S.A. in order to kill and to destroy the influence of his ministry was carried out here once more. The evangelists in the U.S.A. were not ready during Brother Branham’s lifetime and are to this day not ready to submit themselves under God and to accept doctrinal correction. They preferred to discredit the man sent from God in the eyes of the people, stating that he had lost his commission. He had to “disappear”, so that they could have influence over the believers whom they are misleading. Is not the same thing still happening now, through all those ministers in the message who do not respect the God ordained ministry and therefore cut off fellowship among believers, stating they are not even to eat at the same table?

We are actually not dealing with flesh and blood, but with the powers and principalities, with the evil spirits in the air, with Satan himself, the accuser of the brethren who has murdered those who were sent by God, to kill the influence of the Word. Those who submit to the enemy and excommunicate the servants of God are convinced that they are rendering a special service unto God, as our LORD already said (Jn. 16:2). At that time the action was directed against the messenger, now it is against the one who carries the message into all the world. Actually no one on earth would have come to know what God has done, if the LORD Himself would not have made provisions beforehand. Through the attack of the enemy the character assassination was used to kill the influence of the God-given ministry and to hinder the spreading of the message. But Jesus Christ is the Great Conqueror and whoever is born of God and on God’s side has the assurance that scriptural belief has conquered the world and Satan (1. Jn. 5:4).

Since the well-planned destruction, which was announced as “cleansing”, an enmity was established that goes beyond death. Brothers and Sisters, who for years had been singing the same hymns, had received the same illumination, had tasted of the heavenly gift, had received the same Word and the same blessings, and had been kept in step by God’s grace, were derailed with a single blow (Heb. 6:4-5). Grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation were put aside and are now only extended to those who agree to the uprising. The people who have remained faithful have to suffer this direct enmity. When encountered, they are not even being greeted. Hatred, like it happened with Cain and Abel, with Ishmael and Isaac, is a daily experienced occurrence. The following Scripture is written for all of us, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer …” It is furthermore written, “… And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1. Jn. 3:15).

It is time for everyone to realise that Satan is a master deceiver, who is re-interpreting every Scripture and misusing it in order to destroy. We know that he has been a liar and a murderer right from the beginning. What did Brother Branham or any other servant of God have to do with 1. Cor. 5? The matter at hand back then was a man who lived with his stepmother and, as found in Lev. 18:8 and Dt. 27:20, was under a curse. According to 1. Cor. 5:11 the slanderers who are now on the move will have to face God’s judgement and will be excluded from the Kingdom of God (1. Cor. 6:10), since they are trying to exclude someone else. It can happen very quickly, as the Apostle Paul writes, “for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself …” (Rom. 2:1). Anyone who places blame on the elect of God and accuses them is demon-possessed and in the service of the accuser, for according to the testimony of the Scripture there is no longer any condemnation for them (Rom. 8:28-39; a. o.). True believers are changed into a new individual, into a peacemaker (Eph. 2:15). Anyone creating strife is not yet renewed in Christ, that person is just wearing a religious mask. The Scripture does not speak vain words. Enmity only comes to life where the enemy gets people under his control. And such people are speaking about the rapture!

If the Apostle Paul was here today, he would surely ask, “Who has bewitched you?” (Gal. 3). Under the influence of the evil one, the many wrong teachings were introduced. The end-time preachers are not ready to abide by God’s Word. They quote the prophet, whose statements they twist as they see fit. There is no sense in reading those Scripture passages which refer to Babylon, which speak about the nations that were bewitched and deceived, and about the blood of the martyrs that was shed (Rev. 18:23-24). We must have the courage to look within our own ranks, to find out how the doctrines are handled, look at the way things are done and examine them by the Holy Scripture. Deception, sorcery, and poisoning go hand in hand with character assassination. It is tragic what Satan has done worldwide within the end-time message. The Bride Church has fallen out of step and the influence of the true proclamation of the Word is being hindered. We have to thank God, because Brother Branham also saw in his vision that the Bride was brought back into step again. That is happening right now! The condition is not that we should agree with a brother or his teaching, but rather that Bride and Bridegroom are as one in agreement within His Word!