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William Branham is probably one of the most famous leader figures in the Pentecostal movement, he was also a British Israelist pyramidologist with ties to Freemasons and the Klu Klux Klan (who had their own pyramid wing under San Jacinto Capt). Masons and the KKK paid William Branham's medical bills and his sister Delores was an Eastern Star (female Mason). His imagery is full of Masonic symbolism. I don't know where he picked up his pyramidology but it could have been David Davidson or any Freemason British Israelist pyramidologist, or perhaps the Klu Klux Klan which has pyramid links to David Davidson. Either way, pyramidology entered Pentecostalism. Websites dedicated to exposing Branham's teachings say he got his pyramidology from Freemasonry. And interestingly, Branham was influenced by Charles Taze Russell, so could have gotten his pyramidology from him. Branham is buried under a pyramid grave.
https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/pyramid
William Branham taught that the Great Pyramid of Giza was a "bible", and that it perfectly mapped the years to his various doomsday predictions. The Gospel of the Pyramid was closely tied to his Zodiac teaching, was the foundation for his version of rapture theology, and many, many doctrines were built on top of its foundation. It was not widely accepted, however, and Branham was careful to avoid teaching the doctrine when speaking to certain audiences. In some cases, Branham denied teaching it when certain people were present in his revivals or church services.[1]
Branham claimed that the pyramid was the time marker for the world's doomsday clock, and in the mid-1950s began claiming that the clock had reached the pyramid's "King's Chamber," signifying the end.[3] Almost seventy years later, most leaders in Branham's cult either try to explain why the "doomsday clock" failed or try to hide this doctrinal teaching from their congregations.
One of the more unusual doctrines that William Branham introduced into the Latter Rain Revivals was that of the "Capstone of the Pyramid". Built upon his doctrine that the Great Pyramid of Giza was God’s second Bible, Branham claimed that the top of the pyramid symbolically represented Jesus. Repurposing a passage from Psalm 118 mentioned by Jesus in Mark 12, Branham claimed that the "stone that the builders rejected" was both Jesus and the capstone of the pyramid.
Besides the obvious problems with claiming that the tomb of Khufu was in any way related to Christianity, there is also an archeological problem with Branham’s extra-biblical claim: The “capstone” of the Great Pyramid of Giza was not rejected. The ancient Egyptians used the stone in honor of the god Atum, the supreme sun god of creation. The name used by the ancients, "ben-benet", was named after the sacred ben-ben stone in Heliopolis, the oldest city of sun god worship.[5]
The "capstones" of the pyramid, or "pyramidions", were made of solid granite. For conservation reasons, they have been moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[6]
William Branham's "pyramid Bible" doctrine was commonly believed among converts to the British Israel doctrine. Key figures in Branham's campaigns were supporters and promoters of British Israelism, including Gordon Lindsay who spoke at conferences for the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America.[7] British Israel converts adopted the pyramidism doctrines of John Taylor, who published The Great Pyramid in 1859. Taylor mistakenly believed that the Pyramid was constructed using the English inch-based measurement system, and developed absurd mathematical calculations to prove it. Eventually, British Israelites came to believe that the Pyramid was an ancient "Bible" of sorts, mapping out the timeline for the final destruction of the world systems.
https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organizations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. It is a secret society that is deeply embedded into United States History. Thirteen of the thirty-nine men who signed the U.S. Constitution were in the Masonic Order, including George Washington, James Monroe, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Paul Revere.[1] William Bramham owed a debt to the Ku Klux Klan and the Freemasons after both groups paid his hospital bill.
Some religious leaders consider the Freemasonry groups to be either anti-Christian or incompatible with Christianity. A number of conspiracy theorists claim that Freemasons worship everything from Lucifer or Satan to Baal, Baphomet, Dajjal, or Rahu.[3] Many 19th-century Masons were occultists, and though many other members were not, the occultists being permitted in the Masonic Order led to a number of religious conspiracy theories.[4] Those theories are often supported by former Masons who claim to have discovered the anti-Christian themes deeply embedded into Masonic ritual. According to Jack Harris, former "Worshipful Master" of a Masonic lodge,[5] "Freemasonry considers Jesus Christ to be no greater than Moses, Elijah, Mohammed, or Buddha."[6]
In some versions of his stage persona which used themes from his Manifest Sons of God doctrine, William Branham also considered Jesus to be nothing more than a prophet. In those versions of the stage persona, Branham misinterpreted John 5:19 to claim that Jesus Christ was powerless unless having first seen a "vision" and then parroting what was seen in that vision.
Whether intentional or not, there are several Masonic symbols, themes, and numbers used in William Branham's cult. After Roy E. Davis transitioned church leadership to Branham, and before the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle was erected, Branham's meetings were in a Masonic building.[7] When the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle transitioned to "Branham Tabernacle" and a sign was hung above the door with that name, a pentagram was displayed on the front of the building. The star was tilted slightly right as is done in the Masonic Order of the Eastern Star. William Branham's sister Delores was a member of the Eastern Star,[8] and the pentagram suggests that Branham himself was involved.
Branham also created a fictional timeline for his stage persona, claiming to have buried a paper containing a list of "seven prophecies" in the cornerstone of his church in 1933.[9] The transition that occurred after the 1934 Burning of the Church of Roy E. Davis' Pentecostal Baptist Church of God Sect, invalidates that timeline, but the fact that Branham chose "33" can also be interpreted as symbolic of Freemasonry. In the Scottish Rite, the highest rank is 33rd degree.
Though William Branham never openly admitted to being a Freemason, many of his mentors[10] partners,[11] and leaders of his sect[12] did. Masonic symbolism exists throughout Branham's extra-biblical doctrines and religious propaganda, especially in Branham's use of the pyramids as religious symbolism. The Great Pyramid of Giza, with four equilateral triangles, carries great significance in Freemasonry. According to the Masonic Dictionary, "There is no symbol more important in its significance, more various in its application, or more generally diffused throughout the whole system of Freemasonry, than the triangle. An examination of it, therefore, cannot fail to be interesting to the Masonic student."[14] Freemasons associate this symbol with "the Deity".
Whether it was learned from one of his mentors or William Branham himself was a Mason, Branham integrated this Masonic theme about the pyramid into his cult doctrine. According to Branham, the pyramid was a "bible", and it was allegedly the most perfect object on the earth. Branham (incorrectly) claimed that the Great Pyramid of Giza was in the geographical center of the earth's axis — an cast no shadow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Branham
Eschatology and the Seven Seals[edit]
In his later years, Branham began to preach almost exclusively on biblical prophecy. In 1960, Branham preached a series of sermons on the seven church ages based on chapters two and three of the Book of Revelation. The sermons used the dispensational system of C. I. Scofield, Clarence Larkin, and Jehovah's Witness founder Charles Taze Russel.[219] As in their dispensational systems, Branham said each church represents a historical age, and that the angel of each age was a significant church figure. Branham identified historical Christian figures as church age messengers, naming some of the same men as Russel.[220]
Whereas Russel had claimed to be the seventh messenger himself during the 1890s, Branham's sermons differed and he described his own characteristics as the attributes of the Laodicean Church age messenger; Branham believed the age would immediately precede the rapture.[221] Branham explained the Laodicean age would be immoral in a way comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah, and it would be a time in which Christian denominations rejected Christ.[222] As described by Branham, the characteristics of the Laodicean age resemble the modern era.[221]
Branham also asserted the final messenger would be a mighty prophet who put the Word of God first, that he would be a lover of the wilderness, that he would hate wicked women, and be an uneducated person.[223] Branham compared the messenger to this last age to John the Baptist and said he would come in the spirit of Elijah the prophet and cited the Book of Malachi 4:5–6 (3:23–24 in Hebrew) as the basis for claiming the Elijah spirit would return.[203][224][225][203][226]
Branham preached a series of sermons in 1963 on the Seven Seals, which he regarded as a highlight of his ministry.[227] Branham believed the sermons would produce "rapturing faith" which was necessary for his followers to escape the tribulation, and that the sermons contained "the complete revelation of Jesus Christ".[228] Weaver wrote that "the importance of the revelation of the seals to Branham's 'prophetic' identity cannot be overestimated".[228] Branham viewed the revelation of the seals as the crowning achievement of his ministry and the ultimate fulfillment of his purpose as a prophet.[228]
According to Weaver, the sermons were primarily "a restatement of the dispensationalism espoused in the sermons on the seven church ages".[229] The sermons focused on the Book of Revelation 6:1–17, and provided an interpretation of the meaning of each of the seals, which Branham connected with his prior sermons on the church ages. Like his sermons on the church ages, Branham's sermons on the seals were largely borrowed from the writings of Charles Taze Russell and Clarence Larkin.[227]
Branham claimed the sermons were inspired through an angelic visitation and the appearance of what he believed to be a supernatural cloud in Arizona that was visible in the American Southwest on February 28, 1963. Branham interpreted the cloud to be the face of Jesus Christ, and a fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 4:16: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout". Branham believed the events of 1963 indicated the rapture was imminent. As a result of his teachings, many of Branham's followers believe that Jesus Christ returned in some form in 1963.[177]
By 1987, it was widely known the cloud Branham believed to be supernatural had been manmade and was reported as such by Weaver in his first biography of Branham.[177] James McDonald of the University of Arizona Institute of Atmospheric Physics was present when the 1963 cloud phenomena appeared. He investigated the phenomena and discovered that the cloud had been created by an exploded Thor rocket carrying a classified spy satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base that failed to make orbit.[230][177][231]
The United States Air Force later declassified the launch records and acknowledged the manmade origin of the cloud. Military personnel involved in the launch stated that they had "immediately recognized the McDonald cloud as from an explosion of a rocket the afternoon of 28 February 1963".[232][229][233] Branham claimed to his audiences that he was hunting in Arizona when angels appeared to him and created the cloud overhead. Peter Duyzer presented evidence that Branham falsely claimed to be hunting in Arizona when the cloud appeared, and was actually in Texas where he was assisting with efforts to have the death sentence of Leslie Elaine Perez overturned.[234]
In his sermons on the seven seals, Branham again indicated he was a prophet who had the anointing of Elijah and was a messenger heralding the second coming of Christ.[172][235] Branham did not directly claim to be the end-time messenger in either of his sermons on the church ages or the seven seals.[236][207] Weaver believed Branham desired to be the eschatological prophet he was preaching about,[236] but had self-doubt.[237] At the time, Branham continued to leave the identity of the messenger open to the interpretation of his followers, who widely accepted that he was that messenger.[237]
Beginning in 1958, Branham began to claim Luke 17:30 was being fulfilled. By the 1960s, he began to make frequent references to the scripture claiming that through his ministry the "Son of Man was being revealed".[223][i] According to Weaver, Branham's "obsession with Luke 17:30 and Malachi 4:5–6 dominated the end of his ministry".[238] In 1964 and 1965 he began to make special emphasis that the Son of Man could only be revealed through the ministry of a prophet. Branham's teachings on the subject caused confusion among his followers who repeatedly asked him to clarify his relationship to Christ. Some of his followers believed he was claiming divinity and were prepared to accept his claims.[239]
Branham's responses and statements on the subject of his divinity were contradictory leaving his followers divided on the subject.[239] In his final revival meetings before his death, Branham stated "The Elijah of this day is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is to come according to Luke 17:30. The Son of Man is to reveal Himself among His people. Not a man, God. But it'll come through a prophet."[239] His final statement on the subject convinced a number of his followers he was indeed claiming divinity.[239]
Anti-denominationalism[edit]
Branham believed denominationalism was "a mark of the beast", which added to the controversy surrounding his later ministry.[195][172][j] Branham stated that he was not opposed to organizational structures; his concern focused on the "road block to salvation and spiritual unity" he believed denominations created by emphasizing loyalty to their organizations.[195] Branham's doctrine was similar to the anti-Catholic rhetoric of classical Pentecostalism and Protestantism, which commonly associated the mark of the beast with Catholicism.[240]
Branham, however, adopted the teaching of Charles Taze Russell which associated the image of the beast with Protestant denominations.[241][k] In his later years, he came to believe all denominations were "synagogues of Satan".[192] Branham's teaching was particularly damaging to his relationship with Pentecostals denominations who were angered that he would associate them with the mark of beast.[179]
Scholar Robert Price and Doug Weaver suggested that Branham's stance on denominations was developed in response to their rejection of his teachings in an attempt to maintain the loyalty of his closest followers.[179] Throughout the 1960s, Branham demanded his listeners leave any denomination they were part of to demonstrate their loyalty to him and his message.[242] He argued that continued allegiance to any denomination would lead to an acceptance of the mark of the beast, which would mean missing the rapture.[243] He insisted the prior healing revival when he cooperated with denominations had been a preparatory step to get the attention of God's chosen people, so he could eventually inform them of their need to exclusively follow his teaching ministry.[182]
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