Since the Lord Jesus Christ made the promise in John 14:3, “… if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” the true believers have waited for that great event. The disciples were told after the Master had been taken up in a cloud: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

This has been the actual hope of the saints of God from the moment the promise was given. Paul concludes one of his epistles with the Aramaic word “Maranatha”, which means, “Our Lord cometh!” It was a common salutation amongst the believers in the first century, for the expectancy in them was so great that Paul writes: “… Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. … and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed…” (1 Cor. 15: 51-52)

Perhaps Paul never thought for a moment that nearly 2000 years would elapse between the first and the second coming of Christ, for he included himself in 1 Thessalonians 4, “… then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Was Paul wrong because he expected this event and wrote about it? No! The Spirit of God is not bound to time limits. Things may be revealed and made known as though they were to take place within the imminent future. There is nothing wrong with expecting the fulfilment of God’s promises, but only if God’s time has come, things will take place. The trouble begins once people start to set dates. There is something in the human being that desires to look beyond the curtain of time. Some have come to a shameful end and were disillusioned because they have set the time for the return of Jesus Christ. Our main concern should be to walk with God as Enoch did and set our lives in order. Not those who think they know the time, but those who are ready will go into the marriage supper of the Lamb (Matth. 25:10).

We were pleased when the book, THE EXPOSITION OF THE SEVEN CHURCH AGES came off the press in 1965. The tapes had been of tremendous blessing to us and we were certain, these messages in print would lay a firm foundation of the scriptural doctrines revealed in our generation. But then, while translating it into German, we realised that several points did not fully agree with the taped messages. With certain reservations in my heart, I had the book printed, but I placed the sole responsibility of its contents upon the editor. (May I add here that I did not omit anything in the German edition) The book has undeniably been a blessing to many.

In April 1966, I brought some points in question to the attention of our dearly beloved brother. I felt I owed it to the Lord and His people to correct at least the controversial statement regarding the year 1977. We published a circular letter in German and other European languages containing the three actual quotes of Bro. Branham made on the “Church Ages” tapes.

The statement in the book THE EXPOSITION OF THE SEVEN CHURCH AGES, Pg. 322 reads as follows:

“Based on these seven visions, along with the rapid changes which have swept the world in the last fifty years, I PREDICT (I do not prophesy) that these visions will have all come to pass by 1977. And though many may feel that this is an irresponsible statement in view of the fact that Jesus said that ‘no man knoweth the day nor the hour,’ I still maintain this prediction after thirty years because, Jesus did NOT say no man could know the year, month or week in which His coming was to be completed. So I repeat, I sincerely believe and maintain as a private student of the Word, along with Divine inspiration that 1977 ought to terminate the world systems and usher in the millennium.”

The verbal quotations of the three statements found on the tapes are:

EPHESIAN CHURCH AGE – “… And at 1906, the Laodicean Church Age set in, and I don’t know when it’ll end but I predict it’ll be done by 1977. I predict, not the Lord told me, but I predict it according to a vision that was shown me years ago…”

THYATIREAN CHURCH AGE – “… I saw, looked like just stumps a burning; rocks, blown out; and the whole United States just looked bare, laying like that, as far as I could see where I was standing. And I said, I predict, according to the way time is moving, it’ll be sometime between this year 1933 and 1977. And it’ll have to squeeze awful hard to get through there.”

LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE – “We believe that the Laodicean church started in A.D. 1906. I predict … Now remember, ‘predict’, especially you listening at the tape. I don’t say it will be, but predict that it will end by 1977, that the church will go completely into apostasy and she’ll be ousted out of the mouth of God. And the Second Coming of Christ, or the Rapture, might come anytime. Now, I could miss that a year, I can miss it twenty years, I could miss it a hundred years. I don’t know where it … But I just predict that according to a vision He showed me…”

Things shown in a vision are “Thus Saith the Lord!”, but a prediction as to the time of their fulfilment cannot be given. The Church Age Book is written in the first person and it is widely believed that Bro. Branham is the author. Precious children of God don’t dare to question anything, lest they sin against the vindicated prophet. Perhaps some even look upon the book as being equal to, or even surpass the contents of the Bible.

Dear reader, I am certain the book has answered many a question that may have been on your heart; no doubt, it has been a blessing to many, but if we have any question about anything, are we not duty-bound to go back to the tapes if the things were actually attributed to Bro. Branham?

In His sermon, A MAN RUNNING FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD – Jeff. IN. 1965-02-17, Bro. Branham said:

“…And you know, you can preach a sermon; there’s one thing, and then write a book is another … So I got Bro. V. to kind of help me with this and keep the line of the same thought and give it grammar … And in that, I think our precious brother must’ve picked up a little extra inspiration somehow, and he said he was going to write a couple of books of his own off them like. And so he wrote one called, I believe, TWENTIETH CENTURY PROPHET and another one, LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE, I believe, or something like that … And we hope you enjoy it. And if you do, shake Bro. V’s hand back there and tell him how much you appreciate it. I’ve never read it myself. If I’d read them I might change my mind about that, so I’ll try to read them this week while I’ve got a chance if I can.”

Bro. Branham desired to have the grammar corrected, but also keep the same line of thought as to the doctrines taught on the tapes, but above all, have every point fully agree with God’s holy Word.

Wouldn’t it have been advisable for “Spoken Word Publications” to also correct the grammar of the sermons as they appear in print? Didn’t the prophet say, “And you know, you can preach a sermon; there’s one thing. And then write a book is another…”? At the time he preached this sermon, the Church Age Book was in print. “And then the Seven Church Ages have been finished … and on print now.” Bro. V’s booklet the LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE, also containing the controversial paragraph regarding 1977, became part of the named book.

I believe the Church Ages and also the testimony of our dearly beloved Bro. S. Jackson, who says, “Bro. Branham told me, Seven Church Ages are, Thus Saith the Lord!” I also believe the testimonies of those who say they have read certain portions to him, but I must be at liberty to take all things back to the holy Scripture.

In addition to the quotations, I checked whatever Bro. Branham has said in regard to the year 1977. In all the available sources I had access to, I found that not one time did he say or imply that the world systems ought to terminate and the millennium be ushered in by 1977.

I wrote the dear brother, asking on which tape Bro. Branham had made the statement found in the Church Age Book. His reply of January 17, 1972 amongst other things was:

“I believe with the prophet that 1977 ought to wind it all up and put us in the millennium, but I don’t say much about it”.

Rather than allow Bro. Branham to be labelled a false prophet, I’d rather be criticised for making this correction. By now, time itself has disproven the statement. Because people were led into believing that 1977 ought to terminate the world systems and usher in the millennium, they have set dates for the return of Jesus Christ. At first, some allowed the period of seven years after the rapture, setting the date for the year 1970. When that time expired without the fulfilment of their predictions, new speculations were in the making, wherein the quotations about the three and a half year period were used to set the date 1973. Now that even this span of time has expired, there is a silence on earth. No one, however, has had the courage to admit and correct the errors, perhaps hoping that it will soon be over anyway. What will be, if even the year 1977 comes and goes? Why don’t we simply believe what the Scripture says; remain sober, make use of the time to take the Word of God to the ends of the earth and keep occupied until the Lord comes?

We are looking forward to the glorious return of Jesus Christ at any moment. Yet, there is no need for anyone to be sidetracked from the middle of the road and act irresponsibly. The second coming of the Lord will be right on schedule, just as His first coming was. God won’t acknowledge our calculations anyhow, so let us remain sober, go about our daily business and be ready at any time.

In the year 1966, we were told by the brethren from the USA, that amongst other events, Bro. Branham was to have seen a calendar flipping its pages, stopping at the year 1977. Later it was published in the book entitled THE ACTS OF THE PROPHET. We didn’t question this and believed what was said, and had 50, 000 copies of a brochure containing the calendar vision printed. The recorded tapes of these meetings were also sent to the German-speaking people everywhere.

In the years that followed, we were frequently questioned on which tape Bro. Branham mentioned such a vision, and no one was able to locate it. Bro. Green traced this incident back and found out that it had been a rumour. To my knowledge, he openly corrected it. We published a circular in German to clarify the issue. Shouldn’t the same have been done in English with the statement about the termination of the world systems and the ushering in of the millennium by 1977 and the calendar vision? Sometimes even silence speaks.

I believe that the year 1977 will be a year of great significance, but I am not willing to go beyond that.

The visions Bro. Branham had in 1933 were “Thus Saith the Lord!” and will surely come to pass in God’s time and season, but if we have a preconceived idea as to when, where and how things will take place, we’ll definitely miss the mark. No man knoweth the day nor the hour of the return of Jesus Christ. Should we be here after 1977, the scoffers will certainly arise and take advantage of the situation to fulfil the Scripture, saying: “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2. Pet. 3) They’ll knock on our doors and may even bring the Church Age Book with them. In the past, time and again, believers had to correct themselves; otherwise they were corrected. If we neglect to do the it, it will surely come upon us. May God help us to receive correction. Even Bro. Branham has had to correct himself on some of his previous teachings, and so must we today.

Every minister has the right to his own convictions and his stand on the Word. I personally esteem every brother highly, even if he does see things from another viewpoint, but I believe no one should give the impression that Bro. Branham has said something he didn’t say. With all respect to any brother, we are at liberty to ‘check it all with the Word!’

I’d like to deal with another subject found in the Church Age Book, where we read:

“Now we do not need to guess about those who in the second resurrection are given life. We are told it is given to them on the grounds that they have been kind and good to the ‘Brethren.’” (SARDISEAN CHURCH AGE – page 278)

The scriptural reference given is Matthew 25: 31–46. But this Bible passage does not speak about the Bride at all, but of ‘the Brethren’ – the Jews. When Jesus Christ will make Himself known to the brethren as Joseph did in the Old Testament, it will be to the Jews. One can only receive eternal life by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and not by any kind deeds.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:11–13). “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

A Bible subject speaks for itself: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father … Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me…” (Matth. 25:31–46).

This will take place after the wedding supper at the time of the ushering in of the millennial reign. The Lord Jesus Christ is not spoken of as a ‘Judge’ here, but as ‘The King’. “… Then shall the King say…” (vs. 35). Please note that the nations, not individuals are gathered before Him. No books are opened here and neither is a resurrection mentioned here. He is spoken of as ‘The King’ in reference to the kingdom, which is nothing else but the thousands-year-reign. Those nations or individuals, who have taken up for the Jews in the time of their greatest trials and troubles will be rewarded then and be in the millennial reign. It does not say that they were born again or had received eternal life, it simply says: “And these went into eternal life.” (See Israel in Prophecy).

True believers do not receive eternal life at the judgement, but by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If someone has done good to those who belong to the Church-Bride, that will not be enough for them to enter there. But those who helped the Jews in their time of greatest need and thus risked their lives will be rewarded by the Lord.

Had there been any other way than by the blood of Jesus Christ, He has died in vain.

Since the Lord Jesus Christ made the promise in John 14:3, “… if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” the true believers have waited for that great event. The disciples were told after the Master had been taken up in a cloud: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

This has been the actual hope of the saints of God from the moment the promise was given. Paul concludes one of his epistles with the Aramaic word “Maranatha”, which means, “Our Lord cometh!” It was a common salutation amongst the believers in the first century, for the expectancy in them was so great that Paul writes: “… Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. … and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed…” (1 Cor. 15: 51-52)

Perhaps Paul never thought for a moment that nearly 2000 years would elapse between the first and the second coming of Christ, for he included himself in 1 Thessalonians 4, “… then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 

Was Paul wrong because he expected this event and wrote about it? No! The Spirit of God is not bound to time limits. Things may be revealed and made known as though they were to take place within the imminent future. There is nothing wrong with expecting the fulfilment of God’s promises, but only if God’s time has come, things will take place. The trouble begins once people start to set dates. There is something in the human being that desires to look beyond the curtain of time. Some have come to a shameful end and were disillusioned because they have set the time for the return of Jesus Christ. Our main concern should be to walk with God as Enoch did and set our lives in order. Not those who think they know the time, but those who are ready will go into the marriage supper of the Lamb (Matth. 25:10).

We were pleased when the book, THE EXPOSITION OF THE SEVEN CHURCH AGES came off the press in 1965. The tapes had been of tremendous blessing to us and we were certain, these messages in print would lay a firm foundation of the scriptural doctrines revealed in our generation. But then, while translating it into German, we realised that several points did not fully agree with the taped messages. With certain reservations in my heart, I had the book printed, but I placed the sole responsibility of its contents upon the editor. (May I add here that I did not omit anything in the German edition) The book has undeniably been a blessing to many.

In April 1966, I brought some points in question to the attention of our dearly beloved brother. I felt I owed it to the Lord and His people to correct at least the controversial statement regarding the year 1977. We published a circular letter in German and other European languages containing the three actual quotes of Bro. Branham made on the “Church Ages” tapes.

The statement in the book THE EXPOSITION OF THE SEVEN CHURCH AGES, Pg. 322 reads as follows:

“Based on these seven visions, along with the rapid changes which have swept the world in the last fifty years, I PREDICT (I do not prophesy) that these visions will have all come to pass by 1977. And though many may feel that this is an irresponsible statement in view of the fact that Jesus said that ‘no man knoweth the day nor the hour,’ I still maintain this prediction after thirty years because, Jesus did NOT say no man could know the year, month or week in which His coming was to be completed. So I repeat, I sincerely believe and maintain as a private student of the Word, along with Divine inspiration that 1977 ought to terminate the world systems and usher in the millennium.”

The verbal quotations of the three statements found on the tapes are:

EPHESIAN CHURCH AGE – “… And at 1906, the Laodicean Church Age set in, and I don’t know when it’ll end but I predict it’ll be done by 1977. I predict, not the Lord told me, but I predict it according to a vision that was shown me years ago…”

THYATIREAN CHURCH AGE – “… I saw, looked like just stumps a burning; rocks, blown out; and the whole United States just looked bare, laying like that, as far as I could see where I was standing. And I said, I predict, according to the way time is moving, it’ll be sometime between this year 1933 and 1977. And it’ll have to squeeze awful hard to get through there.”

LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE – “We believe that the Laodicean church started in A.D. 1906. I predict … Now remember, ‘predict’, especially you listening at the tape. I don’t say it will be, but predict that it will end by 1977, that the church will go completely into apostasy and she’ll be ousted out of the mouth of God. And the Second Coming of Christ, or the Rapture, might come anytime. Now, I could miss that a year, I can miss it twenty years, I could miss it a hundred years. I don’t know where it … But I just predict that according to a vision He showed me…”

Things shown in a vision are “Thus Saith the Lord!”, but a prediction as to the time of their fulfilment cannot be given. The Church Age Book is written in the first person and it is widely believed that Bro. Branham is the author. Precious children of God don’t dare to question anything, lest they sin against the vindicated prophet. Perhaps some even look upon the book as being equal to, or even surpass the contents of the Bible. 

Dear reader, I am certain the book has answered many a question that may have been on your heart; no doubt, it has been a blessing to many, but if we have any question about anything, are we not duty-bound to go back to the tapes if the things were actually attributed to Bro. Branham?

In His sermon, A MAN RUNNING FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD – Jeff. IN. 1965-02-17, Bro. Branham said:

“…And you know, you can preach a sermon; there’s one thing, and then write a book is another … So I got Bro. V. to kind of help me with this and keep the line of the same thought and give it grammar … And in that, I think our precious brother must’ve picked up a little extra inspiration somehow, and he said he was going to write a couple of books of his own off them like. And so he wrote one called, I believe, TWENTIETH CENTURY PROPHET and another one, LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE, I believe, or something like that … And we hope you enjoy it. And if you do, shake Bro. V’s hand back there and tell him how much you appreciate it. I’ve never read it myself. If I’d read them I might change my mind about that, so I’ll try to read them this week while I’ve got a chance if I can.”

Bro. Branham desired to have the grammar corrected, but also keep the same line of thought as to the doctrines taught on the tapes, but above all, have every point fully agree with God’s holy Word.

Wouldn’t it have been advisable for “Spoken Word Publications” to also correct the grammar of the sermons as they appear in print? Didn’t the prophet say, “And you know, you can preach a sermon; there’s one thing. And then write a book is another…”? At the time he preached this sermon, the Church Age Book was in print. “And then the Seven Church Ages have been finished … and on print now.” Bro. V’s booklet the LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE, also containing the controversial paragraph regarding 1977, became part of the named book.

I believe the Church Ages and also the testimony of our dearly beloved Bro. S. Jackson, who says, “Bro. Branham told me, Seven Church Ages are, Thus Saith the Lord!” I also believe the testimonies of those who say they have read certain portions to him, but I must be at liberty to take all things back to the holy Scripture.

In addition to the quotations, I checked whatever Bro. Branham has said in regard to the year 1977. In all the available sources I had access to, I found that not one time did he say or imply that the world systems ought to terminate and the millennium be ushered in by 1977.

I wrote the dear brother, asking on which tape Bro. Branham had made the statement found in the Church Age Book. His reply of January 17, 1972 amongst other things was: 

“I believe with the prophet that 1977 ought to wind it all up and put us in the millennium, but I don’t say much about it”.

Rather than allow Bro. Branham to be labelled a false prophet, I’d rather be criticised for making this correction. By now, time itself has disproven the statement. Because people were led into believing that 1977 ought to terminate the world systems and usher in the millennium, they have set dates for the return of Jesus Christ. At first, some allowed the period of seven years after the rapture, setting the date for the year 1970. When that time expired without the fulfilment of their predictions, new speculations were in the making, wherein the quotations about the three and a half year period were used to set the date 1973. Now that even this span of time has expired, there is a silence on earth. No one, however, has had the courage to admit and correct the errors, perhaps hoping that it will soon be over anyway. What will be, if even the year 1977 comes and goes? Why don’t we simply believe what the Scripture says; remain sober, make use of the time to take the Word of God to the ends of the earth and keep occupied until the Lord comes?

We are looking forward to the glorious return of Jesus Christ at any moment. Yet, there is no need for anyone to be sidetracked from the middle of the road and act irresponsibly. The second coming of the Lord will be right on schedule, just as His first coming was. God won’t acknowledge our calculations anyhow, so let us remain sober, go about our daily business and be ready at any time.

In the year 1966, we were told by the brethren from the USA, that amongst other events, Bro. Branham was to have seen a calendar flipping its pages, stopping at the year 1977. Later it was published in the book entitled THE ACTS OF THE PROPHET. We didn’t question this and believed what was said, and had 50, 000 copies of a brochure containing the calendar vision printed. The recorded tapes of these meetings were also sent to the German-speaking people everywhere.

In the years that followed, we were frequently questioned on which tape Bro. Branham mentioned such a vision, and no one was able to locate it. Bro. Green traced this incident back and found out that it had been a rumour. To my knowledge, he openly corrected it. We published a circular in German to clarify the issue. Shouldn’t the same have been done in English with the statement about the termination of the world systems and the ushering in of the millennium by 1977 and the calendar vision? Sometimes even silence speaks.

I believe that the year 1977 will be a year of great significance, but I am not willing to go beyond that.

The visions Bro. Branham had in 1933 were “Thus Saith the Lord!” and will surely come to pass in God’s time and season, but if we have a preconceived idea as to when, where and how things will take place, we’ll definitely miss the mark. No man knoweth the day nor the hour of the return of Jesus Christ. Should we be here after 1977, the scoffers will certainly arise and take advantage of the situation to fulfil the Scripture, saying: “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2. Pet. 3) They’ll knock on our doors and may even bring the Church Age Book with them. In the past, time and again, believers had to correct themselves; otherwise they were corrected. If we neglect to do the it, it will surely come upon us. May God help us to receive correction. Even Bro. Branham has had to correct himself on some of his previous teachings, and so must we today.

Every minister has the right to his own convictions and his stand on the Word. I personally esteem every brother highly, even if he does see things from another viewpoint, but I believe no one should give the impression that Bro. Branham has said something he didn’t say. With all respect to any brother, we are at liberty to ‘check it all with the Word!’

I’d like to deal with another subject found in the Church Age Book, where we read:

“Now we do not need to guess about those who in the second resurrection are given life. We are told it is given to them on the grounds that they have been kind and good to the ‘Brethren.’” (SARDISEAN CHURCH AGE – page 278)

The scriptural reference given is Matthew 25: 31–46. But this Bible passage does not speak about the Bride at all, but of ‘the Brethren’ – the Jews. When Jesus Christ will make Himself known to the brethren as Joseph did in the Old Testament, it will be to the Jews. One can only receive eternal life by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and not by any kind deeds. 

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:11–13). “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

A Bible subject speaks for itself: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father … Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me…” (Matth. 25:31–46).

This will take place after the wedding supper at the time of the ushering in of the millennial reign. The Lord Jesus Christ is not spoken of as a ‘Judge’ here, but as ‘The King’. “… Then shall the King say…” (vs. 35). Please note that the nations, not individuals are gathered before Him. No books are opened here and neither is a resurrection mentioned here. He is spoken of as ‘The King’ in reference to the kingdom, which is nothing else but the thousands-year-reign. Those nations or individuals, who have taken up for the Jews in the time of their greatest trials and troubles will be rewarded then and be in the millennial reign. It does not say that they were born again or had received eternal life, it simply says: “And these went into eternal life.” (See Israel in Prophecy). 

True believers do not receive eternal life at the judgement, but by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If someone has done good to those who belong to the Church-Bride, that will not be enough for them to enter there. But those who helped the Jews in their time of greatest need and thus risked their lives will be rewarded by the Lord. 

Had there been any other way than by the blood of Jesus Christ, He has died in vain.