Ewald Frank

preached on 30. 12. 1990, 19:30, Krefeld, Germany

Topic: “Brother Branham's Calling as a Prophet!”

broadcast on 24. 6. 2026

Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 14

[14] I know that whatsoever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it. And God does it, that men should fear before him.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished. [2 Tim 3:16–17]

If we speak very briefly today about the ministry associated with Brother Branham, then we must state quite clearly that it was not Brother Branham himself, but that he merely made himself available as an instrument. It is much easier for all of us to believe that the Lord appeared to Moses, that he was present in the pillar of fire and cloud, that prophets were seers, that they heard the voice of the Lord, and so on. We also read in the New Testament that the Lord met Saul on the road to Damascus. We believe all that, for it happened a long time ago, so it presents no difficulty for us at all. It was the same in the days of the Lord: they believed in Abraham, in Moses. And the Lord said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” [Jn 8:58]

He wanted them to believe what God had done at that time. I ask you to understand this properly. From the very beginning, God has used instruments. And he has sent these instruments, spoken and worked through them, and demands that we simply accept and respect this. The Lord said of those whom he sends, “Whoever hears you hears me, and whoever receives you receives me.” [Mt 10:40, Lk 10:16]

As for Brother Branham’s calling, you will hear it for yourselves later. He says the first thing he can remember in his life was a vision. He saw visions at the age of 3, at 5, at 7, at 12, throughout his life. As far back as he can remember, he has been shown visions from God. He was in fact, if one wishes to put it that way and also justify it biblically, ordained by God as a prophet from the womb.

I shall read Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 4.

[4] Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

[5] Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Those are God’s decisions, which we must respect fully, for we have read that what God does is eternal, and nothing may be added to it, nor taken away from it. When our Lord was on earth, he carried out his ministry among the people of Israel and then also among the Samaritans, and he fulfilled the prophetic sign of the Messiah as a seer to whom the thoughts of the heart, the lives of people, and all circumstances were shown and revealed.

I would like to point out that when the angel of the Lord came to Brother Branham on the 7th of May 1946, he saw him in bodily form for the first time. And before I go into this in more detail, I would like to point out that the New Testament actually begins in exactly the same way as it now ends. In Luke chapter 1, verse 11, the following is written: Luke 1, verse 11:

[11] And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

[12] And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

[13] But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard…

and so on.

I’m reading from chapter 2. Chapter 2, verse 9. Luke chapter 2, verse 9:

[9] And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

[10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Verse 13.

[13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

[14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

We know that the angel also came to Mary and brought her the message. Luke 1, verse 28:

[28] And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee…

But not only here, but also later in the book of Acts, we find a number of passages in which supernatural events are reported that God has done. Acts chapter 12, verse 7. Acts chapter 12, verse 7:

[7] And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison…

This is very important, because this is exactly what Brother Branham reported on the 7th of May 1946 at around 11 p.m. He had been praying and then stood up and sat down, and lo and behold, light came into the room. It grew brighter and brighter, and he saw the figure descending in this light. And then touching the floor. Brother Branham describes the size, the weight, the appearance, and all the details. And the angel of the Lord began with the words, “Fear not, I have been sent to you from the presence of Almighty God.” And gave him then the details concerning his commission.

From Acts 27, I would like to read verse 23. Acts 27, verse 23:

[23] For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

[24] Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

[25] Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

Hebrews 1 says that “angels are ministering spirits sent out for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” [Heb 1:14]

In Revelation chapter 1, verse 1, it says… Revelation 1, verse 1:

[1] The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.

Revelation 22, verse 8. Revelation 22, verses 8 and 9:

[8] And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.

[9] Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

I have read these Scriptures with the intention of laying a biblical foundation. All things that God does, he does in accordance with his Word, and we find these confirmed in Holy Scripture. When it comes to the Lord’s ministry, he had to have the ministry of a prophet.

I shall read from the book of Acts, chapter 3. Acts chapter 3, verse 22, referring to the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18, verses 15 to 19. Acts 3, verse 22:

[22] For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

[23] And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

So our Lord had to be a prophet, a seer. He had to be shown in visions and see what God was about to do. And on this subject, I read from the Gospel of John, chapter 5, verse 19. John chapter 5, verse 19:

[19] Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Did you hear that, or read it? “What he sees the Father doing.” The prophets were seers. They saw events in visions, and then they heard the voice of the Lord. I shall read on from verse 20.

[20] For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

So in his ministry as a prophet, the Son of man had to wait until God showed him and revealed to him what was now to happen and what he has to say. When the angel of the Lord came to Brother Branham, he referred to the Bible and quoted a number of passages from the Holy Scriptures. He began with the Gospel of John, chapter 1, with the account as described in verse 40. Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 40.

[40] One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

[41] He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

[42] And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas…

That was the Lord’s first encounter with Simon. And before they had even exchanged greetings, the Lord said to him, “You are Simon, and you are the son of John.”

The angel then mentioned the second example. Namely, that of Philip and Nathanael, as we find described in the following verses. I shall read from verse 47.

[47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

[48] Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

“I saw thee.” He was a seer, he was prophet. And it was precisely this ministry that upset the scribes. Even their own thoughts and plans were not hidden from him. And the Lord said, “Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” [Mt 9:4]

Our Lord was able to say to the disciples, “Go into the village, and there you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Say to him, The Master wishes to hold the Passover in your house.” [Mk 14:13-14]

He was able to say to Peter, “Cast out your line, and the first fish you catch, open its mouth, and take the coin, and pay the tax for me and for yourself.” [Mt 17:27]

Then the angel of the Lord also mentioned John 4, specifically, the conversation with the woman at the well. And on this occasion, whilst speaking of this, he gave the following explanation that the Lord had said at that time: “Go not into the way of the Gentiles… but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [Mt 10:5–6]

And the Lord gave this sign of the Messiah, the prophetic sign, only to the Jews and the Samaritans, but never to the nations. And the angel went on to explain that now is the end of the time of the nations. And thus the same sign of the Messiah would be given to the church as the final and concluding sign, just as it was given to the Jews and the Samaritans back then.

You all know the story. Jesus said to the woman, “Go, call thy husband.”

She says, “I have no husband.”

He replies, “You have spoken righly: Thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.”

And she says, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” [Jn 4:16-19]

And then in verse 25 of John 4 we read:

[25] The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

[26] Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

As mentioned earlier, the scribes spent a great deal of time on this and spoke blasphemously about it. And Jesus said, “Every blasphemy will be forgiven… even that against the Son of man, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” [Mt 12:31–32]

If then the Holy Spirit has worked and brought about the same things in our generation as he did in the Lord’s ministry back then, then all glory belongs to our God and not to the weakest vessel he has chosen. But that is simply how it is with God: he takes the most unfit to make a vessel for his glory.

I hope that will suffice for now. We shall see and hear the rest in due course. Perhaps only from the prophet Daniel, for you will see that Brother Branham grows weak after he sees visions and the supernatural working of God begins. In the prophet Daniel, we have in three consecutive chapters, chapters 8, 9, and 10, the account that an angel visited him.

Daniel chapter 8, verse 15:

[15] And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

Angels generally take the form of men. Cherubim and Seraphim are a completely different category, but angels have exactly our form. And here he says “he had the form of a man.”

I shall read from chapter 9. Daniel 9, verse 21:

[21] Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

In chapter 10, in verse 4, we read:

[4] And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel.

That is today’s Tigris River, and curiously enough, it is also in the present-day Iraq.

[5] Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz.

Then comes the full description. And in verse 7 it says:

[7] And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

And anyone who reads on will find that Daniel did indeed struggle for several days. In verse 10 it says:

[10] And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

There were supernatural works of God in both the Old and New Testament. And for that we are actually grateful, for we could after all do everything else or much else ourselves, but there are things that only God alone can do.

I’m thinking now of January 1950, when Brother Branham spoke at the Houston Coliseum. And there was a large gathering there. He had reported that when he prays for the sick, a supernatural light appears over the brother, over the sister, over the man or woman for whom he is to pray.

And then he simply had to pay attention to what was shown to him, and pay attention to what was told to him.

But when the light, and you will see this in the film today as well, when the light came over a person, he knew exactly: This is the person with whom God is speaking, and dealing, and working at this very moment.

People did not want to believe that. And lo and behold, Reverend Dr. Best, a Baptist preacher from the city of Houston, had invited the press, and Mr. Kipperman and Mr. Ayers as press photographers, and they were to take plenty of pictures.

Brother Branham did not take part in the discussion which went on for a long time, but then came up to the podium after all and said just a few words by way of explanation.

While he was standing at the front, this photograph was taken, which you are all surely familiar with, showing the supernatural light above the head of the man of God.

At midnight they went to see him at the hotel and told him that there was a supernatural light above him, asking if he was aware of it.

And he said:

I know. It did not happen for my sake, but for yours, who cannot believe.

Then came a special day, that was the 28th of February 1963, when a supernatural cloud descended, in which there were seven angels.

I have deliberately brought the US weekly magazines with me. This is the original issue of Science magazine with the supernatural cloud on the front page and the article inside.

I have deliberately brought Life magazine with me. Here Mr. Rockefeller is shown with his new wife on the cover, and here the cloud and a brief description are published in one of the USA’s largest weekly magazines, Life magazine, dated 17th of May 1963.

We have no need to invent things. We have only one task: to tell truthfully and sincerely to all who wish to hear that the Lord God has worked in a supernatural way in our generation, as early as June the 11th, 1933, when this man, as a newly ordained Baptist preacher, held his first evangelistic meeting.

Several hundred were baptized biblically in the Ohio River on that Sunday.

And as he was about to baptize the 17th person, he prayed, “Lord, just as I baptize with water, so may you baptize me with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

And it came to pass that the same supernatural light descended, visible to over 4,000 people.

People fainted, fell to the ground. Some prayed, others wondered, ‘What does this mean?’ And the voice from this supernatural light spoke the words:

“Just as John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, so you are sent with a message that will forerun the second coming of Christ.”

In March 1966, I myself saw between 10 and about 14 people—it may have been 12— raise their hands when asked if anyone present at a large gathering had been there on June the 11th, 1933, when the supernatural event took place.

And as I said, it was impossible to count them quickly, but in any case, between 10 and 15 hands were raised.

God has acted. He has spoken. There’s just one more verse from the prophet Isaiah, which is then quoted in Romans, that prompts the question:

“Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” [Isa 53:1, Rom 10:16]

May God bless us and be with us.

And should anyone not understand something, God was patient with us. We too did not understand everything at once.

Please leave it at that and pray about it until you gain clarity.

May the Lord now bless us.

As for the quality of the film, of course, please bear in mind this kind of technology was only just beginning in the early ’50s, and so the quality is, of course, far below today’s standards by a wide margin.

And yet we are grateful. For 300 sermons do not carry the weight that this one film has as a document. And we are very grateful to God.

Quality aside, what matters to us is what God has wrought and done, and that is always of the highest quality.

Blessed is the person who can agree with what we have read from Ecclesiastes: “whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it.” [Eccl 3:14]

May God bless us all. Amen.