Why I Am Not A Message Believer By Ron Cox
What I mean by this for those of you that are not familiar with what a message believer is, in the context for which it is meant, means that I am not a believer in everything that William M. Branham taught which is known as the “Message of the Hour”.
First I want to tell you something about my background, my relationship with William Branham and the prime reason why I had become a true believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I knew William Branham because of the relationship that he had with my Grandparents, Roda and Ella Cox who lived in Jeffersonville Indiana. How and when my Grandparents became to be associated with William Branham I do not know. I do know that my Grandfather became a Deacon and a member of the board of trustees of the Branham Tabernacle for some time and was the secretary treasurer of William Branham’s Evangelistic crusades up until William Branham’s death in 1965.
Since I was raised by my Grandparents who were close friends with the Branhams and was friends with his son Billy Paul while we were teenagers, I began hearing from my grandparents about the amazing ministry that he was involved in and from William Branham himself in the frequent visits he had to our home.
I don’t remember at what age I began to study the bible and William Branham’s ministry, But over the years until after his death I became completely versed in his bible teaching and believed everything that he taught. If there was a group at that time which were known as “Message Believers”, I was one of them without realizing it.
Over many years I engaged in intense bible study based upon the teachings of William Branham and as my faith increased in both God’s Word and the accuracy of William Branham’s teaching and his ministry, I know that only by hindsight that God was preparing me for a ministry of my own.
Then the day came in 1991 when I was at that time 55 years old, when God spoke to me and opened a door for me to begin the ministry that He had prepared me for. As I was preparing for the first message that I was to give, God spoke to my heart that whatever I was to say, I had to be prepared to defend my words by using scripture for the basis of my messages. That was when God revealed to me that I could not depend on what I had learned from William Branham for the defense of my teaching because a lot of what he preached was in direct conflict with what bible scripture stated.
That realization certainly put me in a state of disillusionment and depression and I didn’t want to believe that my friend William Branham was in error over so many things. I remember just begging God to not show those things to me because of my faith in his teaching over so many years. Nevertheless, God showed me that if I was to engage in the ministry that He had given me, I had to base my teaching on what was in scripture, without any man’s interpretation being a part of it.
Here was a man that I admired and grew to love him as a brother in Christ. Here was a man that was the epitome of a true man of God, that God was revealing Himself through his ministry. Here was a man that I trusted and because of his ministry my faith increased a hundredfold. Then God had to show me that he was in error in his teaching of scripture and it felt to me as though my World had just collapsed around me.
Over the years it became aware to me that not one church that I was familiar with was not in error at least in one thing that they were teaching for doctrine. If they could be in error in one aspect of scripture interpretation, they could also be in error in many things.
When it came to William Branham’s teaching, he based it on his own interpretation of what the scripture says by doing what he called “reading between the lines of scripture”. He stated that the real message was not on the lines of scripture, but was between the lines and unless it was revealed to everyone, the truth would not be understood. The problem with this is that everyone would have to base their understanding on the revelation that he received. This just cannot be, because each person must have their own revelation of the truth of scripture and not just blindly accept a revelation from someone else. Reading between the lines is nothing except saying, here is my interpretation. Although the bible says that scripture is of no private interpretation.
As time went on, God showed me that William Branham’s commission from God and his ministry was evangelistic in nature and preaching the Gospel of Salvation was what he had been called to do. At no time, according to William Branham’s own words did God ever change his calling from being an Evangelist to being a Teacher or a Prophet. William Branham wasn’t equipped with the knowledge of scripture needed or prepared to get into another calling. He wasn’t educated enough to be a Teacher and wasn’t anything like what the Old Testament Prophets were like. As a matter of fact, he was totality out of character to be a prophet of God as was demonstrated by what the Old Testament prophets were.
I believe that William Branham may have become sidetracked in his teaching with a mistaken interpretation of the scriptures in Matthew 16: 15 thru 18. Jesus said that it was revealed to Peter by God that Jesus was the Son of God. That is when Jesus said: “upon this rock I will build my church”. I believe that William Branham took this passage to mean that the church would be built upon revelation. I see the meaning of this scripture a different way than he did. In my understanding Jesus was saying that His church would be built upon the fact that He was the Son of God. This may have been a revelation for Peter to understand who Jesus was, but it doesn’t take a revelation for us to see who Jesus was. His identity is clearly shown in the scriptures we have that Jesus is truly the Son of the living God. A revelation is not needed to understand that.
William Branham in my estimation believed that everything you learn must come by revelation and he said many times that “the church is built upon the spiritual revelation of God's Word (Amen.), the spiritual revealed truth from God's Word, coming from God out of heaven to every heart. Amen.” He said many times that you cannot understand the meaning of any scripture in the bible without a spiritual revelation of what it means. But I contend that just can’t be true. Most of the scripture in the bible is straight forward and requires no revelation for you to understand what it means, but it must be taken in context with other relevant scripture. Scripture must interpret scripture.
I have said and William Branham has said that if any revelation you receive is not backed up by scripture or contradicts scripture the revelation is wrong.
So that is why I am not a “Message Believer”. I believe that the scripture says what it means and means what it says without having to receive a revelation about it. William Branham let what he called spiritual revelation about the meaning lead him into error in most of his teaching. This can be understood by reading many of the articles I have posted on this blog site. If you want to see the truth of God’s Word, then go read them. If what I say is not backed up by scripture, not by reading between the lines, but reading what it plainly written on the lines, then don’t believe me. If Bible truth, without someone’s interpretation of it is not of your liking then leave the blinders on your eyes and avoid the truths that are presented to you.
When I was a “Messenger Believer”, or anyway a follower of William Branham’s ministry, I didn’t realize that other messenger believers didn’t believe the Gospel of Christ as the scriptures present it. I’m talking about the part where it states that Jesus was the Son of God, just as it was revealed to the Apostle Peter. So my hope is that God will open their eyes and include them in the Body of Christ. The bible says that you must believe the Gospel in order to be saved and the Gospel states that Jesus is the Son of God and not God the Father Himself.
Choose this day who you will stand with, the bible truth as it is written, or the interpretation of some man.
Click Here
click here
10 comments:
What makes you think that message believers don't believe the gospel?
Why don’t I believe that Message Believers believe the Gospel? Very simply, the Gospel states that God sent His only begotten Son and Jesus is His Son. If Jesus is the Son of God, then he cannot be God Himself as Message believers are taught. If they believe that Jesus is God, then they don’t believe what the Gospel says.
Let’s look at some facts presented in the bible.
Fact #1 The Angel that spoke to Mary said that her son would be the Son of God.
Fact #2 If Mary would serve only as an incubator and God placed the egg in Mary and fertilized it, then Jesus could not be a kinsman redeemer for His people the Israelites. To be a kinsman redeemer, He would have shared the bloodline with His ancestors.
Fact #3 Jesus called Himself the “Son of man”. To be a son of man, He would have to have a bloodline connection to Mary’s ancestors.
Fact #4 If Jesus was God and not man, there would be no reason for Him to be baptized by John.
Fact #5 When Peter confessed that Jesus was in fact the Son of God, Jesus admitted that to be the truth.
Fact #6 For anyone to believe that Jesus was all man and all God cannot be true. If He was all God, 100% God, then He couldn’t be 100% man. One hundred percent is the most anyone or anything can be.
Fact #7 If Jesus was already God in the flesh when He was baptized by John, it wouldn’t be necessary for the Holy Spirit to come upon Him, He would already be filled with the Spirit.
Fact #8 If the child that Mary carried was God in the flesh, then Mary would in fact be the mother of God and the scripture says that God had no beginning or end and no mother and father.
Fact #9 When Jesus was born, He had a spirit of man in Him, His own personal spirit and did not receive God’s Spirit until after He was baptized by John.
Fact #10 If Jesus was God in the flesh, He could not have died on the cross. Some say that the Spirit of God left His body in order for Him to die. Then what was left hanging there, just a hunk of flesh with no spirit in it. Absolutely not, Jesus had a spirit of His own, the spirit of a man, when God’s Spirit left Him on the cross.
Fact #11 Jesus instructed His followers to worship God His Father because His Father was greater than He was. Jesus said that God was a Spirit and should be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Truth because as the gospel states Jesus was the Son of God.
Fact #12 Jesus said that the Father sent Him and He would return to the Father when His work was done. Then He took His place on the throne of His Father, on the right hand of God. Clearly two separate persons sitting on the throne, not one.
Fact #13 Jesus said He could do nothing on His own, that the Father who was in Him did the works. If He was all God, then He wouldn’t have to rely on anyone to do the works through Him.
This explanation could go on and on, but it’s up to every person to chose to believe, either what the scriptures say or what some false doctrine has been taught.
It’s not just “Message Believers” that have this misunderstanding. Every other church that teaches that Jesus is God have adopted this false doctrine thanks to their mother harlot the Roman Catholic Church.
Just one comment. It was the fact that God became flesh, like us, they made him a kinsman redeemer. God in spirit form could not feel what we feel,or suffer as we suffer, or bleed as we bleed. But when God became flesh, he was able to do this. This is what made him a kinsman to us. Just like when he died on the cross, it says he took on our infirmities, the very feeling of our pain. He then felt the pain of death. He did all of this for us. Then He shed His own blood to redeem us. Remember the Word of God says that we were with Him from the foundation of the world. He says He has a body waiting for us. He came and died to feel what we feel, but He rose again and took on a new body to show us that because he redeemed us back unto himself, we will also raise again with Him and take on that eternal body!
I'm going to study your questions for I would like to participate in this discussion if that is alright?
Your participation is welcome on any subject and at any time. Please refer to my last comment on your site for a complete detail of my intent to respond.
Your comment that stated the following cannot be substantiated by my using scripture.
I quote William Branham as saying: if you get a revelation or a prophecy that does not agree with written scripture then it is wrong. Also Paul the Apostle stated that if any man or an angel from Heaven comes preaching any other gospel than I have preached, let them be accursed.
Your statements were:
The fact that God became flesh
That made him a kinsman redeemer
He (God) shed His own blood to redeem us
We were with Him (God) from the foundation of the world.
I hope you can understand that if I disagree with some of your understanding, I am not attempting to be disagreeable. With regard to what William Branham said about prophecy and revelations having to agree with scripture, which I agree with, that must I hold to.
You stated that “it is a fact that God became flesh”. I find nothing in scripture that supports that premise.
You stated that because God became flesh “that made Him a kinsman redeemer”. If I would agree that God became flesh in a body that He created, He still could not be a kinsman redeemer unless He was a blood relative with those He was to redeem. Unless a person shares a blood linage with another, they are not physically related. Only the man Jesus could have been a kinsman redeemer because He was born of Mary and shared a blood connection with the Israelites.
You stated that “God shed His own blood to redeem us.” To start off with, Jesus stated that “God was a Spirit” and Spirits have no blood, if they did they would possess a corruptible body which they do not. In addition the bible states that it was the blood of Jesus that was shed to provide the atonement for our sin.
You stated that “we were with God from the foundation of the World”. This use of the word “from” in scripture has misled bible readers for years because of a poor translation from the Greek language. It’s too complex to explain in a blog comment so I would invite you to read the article I have written concerning this word “from”.
Please check it out on the following link.
Click Here
hanks
I am going to start a new blogpost on my site that proves that Jesus was God. Please read and comment.
Just wanted to follow up on my last comment that I thought was an extreme statement to make. That is the one where you stated that God felt the pain of death and died on the cross. Now surely no one could possibly believe that God died on the cross or could die at all.
This premiss that God and Jesus were the same person has confused so many people that it is a shame. I hear so many preachers during their sermons use God and Jesus interchangably so much that it appears that they don't know what they are talking about.
Take for instance William Branham. Once he decided that Jesus was God in the flesh, that seemed to be the dominate factor throughout all of his sermons. He started doing this back in 1949 and was mentioned in every sermon he ever preached.
This Catholic dogma appears to have been adopted by many, many preachers, that Jesus was God and Mary was the Mother of God.
Now those same preachers state that Jesus was God but Mary was not His Mother because God doesn't have a Mother.
Confusion after confusion, the blind leading the blind and all will fall into that ditch called the Lake of Fire unless they repent of their false doctrines.
Oh yes grammyof6 I visited your post on that subject concerning the proof that Jesus was God and you did a good job of presenting your case.
I hope you'll forgive me for saying that I was not convinced and I hope my comment on your site might cause you to rethink your conclusion.
We all have a problem with so many interpretations that prove nothing. That is why we must hold to the facts stated in the scriptures that require no interpretation or revelation from God to understand them.
Thanks for your comments
It appears that grammyof6 invited me to her blog site and to comment on what she wrote, but didn't like my comments so she deleted all of them.
It appeared that what the bible actually says about what she wrote doesn't carry any weight and any comments made that disagree with what she believes are forbidden on her site.
Clearly a result of someone having a closed mind, not willing to consider another person's views.
This is typical behavior of a "message of the hour" believer. If William Branham said it, they believe it to be true. How sad!
Post a Comment