“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
Amos 3:7
God works by a pattern
Before God judges a generation, He sends a messenger with a Word for that hour. He has never changed that way of working. Noah preached to the world before the flood (Genesis 6; 2 Peter 2:5). Moses was sent to Egypt before the plagues fell and Israel was brought out (Exodus 3). John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord before the first coming of Christ (Malachi 3:1; Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:10–14).
In each case the messenger was vindicated by God, rejected by most of the religious leaders of his day, and received by a small group who believed the Word for their time.
The promise for the last days
The Bible promises that the same pattern will repeat at the end of this age:
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5–6
John the Baptist fulfilled the first part of this promise, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children (Luke 1:17). The second part, turning the hearts of the children back to the apostolic fathers, was left for the time just before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
Revelation 10:7 speaks of the same ministry from the side of the church: “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” The seventh angel is the messenger to the seventh and last church age, Laodicea (Revelation 3:14).
Jesus also said that the last days would be like the days of Sodom, when the Son of man would be revealed (Luke 17:28–30).
William Branham
We believe that William Marrion Branham (1909–1965) was the messenger God sent to fulfil Malachi 4:5–6 and Revelation 10:7. His ministry was confirmed by signs that the Bible says would mark the last days, and his teaching called the church back to the original faith of the apostles: the Godhead, water baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the revelation of the Seven Seals, and the preparation of the Bride.
We do not worship a man, and Brother Branham never asked anyone to. A prophet is a voice. The Word he brings points to Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever (Hebrews 13:8). Every teaching we hold must stand on the written Word of God in the Holy Bible.
Scriptures to study
Amos 3:7; Malachi 3:1, 4:5–6; Matthew 11:10–14, 17:11; Luke 1:17, 17:26–30; Revelation 3:14, 10:1–7; Hebrews 13:8.