The Evening Light

There were many titles William Branham chose from scripture to apply to himself and his ministry, indexes from verses in prophetic scripture that Branham taught was being fulfilled before the eyes of his congregation. One of those verses applied as a title is Zechariah 14:7:

And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

According to William Branham, this statement was proclaiming the end-time messager, and his "message" was the "evening light" to the world before the coming day of destruction. Taking the prophecy from Joel describing the "former and latter rain," Branham claimed that this evening light was associated with the latter, while the "morning light" was the former.

"The evening Lights," the Bible said, "would shine in the last days." The evening Light is the same Light in the West, that was the same Light that was in the East. And the same Light that shined in the East, that brought forth the first Church that the Romans cut down by their--their pagan worship and so forth, in the evening Light is the same Light. Now notice, the same Light! And what's the evening Light come out for? What is the evening Light for? To restore. Whew! You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] The evening Light is for the same purpose the morning Light was for, to restore what was cut down by the Dark Ages, through Rome. God is going to restore, by shining forth the evening Light (what?), restore the whole Word of God again, the full manifestation of Christ in His Church. Everything that He did, just exactly the way He did, it would be again in the evening Light. See what I mean? Oh, isn't that wonderful? ["Amen."] And to know we're living right here to see It now, the evening Light, exactly according to prophecy. The evening Light come out to restore what? To restore what the bugs had eat up.
62-0422 THE.RESTORATION.OF.THE.BRIDE.TREE

There are many scriptures describing this light, the "Day of the Lord" that comes before this light, and the events that come after the light has shone. When you study the sermons of William Branham, you will quickly notice that all of those specific verses are being applied to his "message" or his ministry.

The prophecy in Zechariah is describing the coming Day of the Lord, specifically a terrible event that is in the future for the Jews in Jerusalem. It comes towards the end of the scroll, which originally did not contain any chapters, verses, or lines. The scroll itself contained several prophecies, each prophecy given from the Lord describing the reason for the prophecy and the people to which it was given. Chapter 14 is a continuation of the Word that came as described in chapter 12.

The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’
Zechariah 12:1-5

Throughout the context of this prophecy, the Word includes the phrase "on that day," describing the coming Day of the Lord. In each section of the prophecy, the focal point is the coming Messiah and his work on the cross. The greatest Gift was about to be given to the world, and that gift was a savior whose side would be pierced:

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10

Continuing into the 13th chapter, God describes how the day of the prophets will end, just as described in Luke 16:16:

And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
Zechariah 13:2

"The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it."
Luke 16:16

Immediately after describing an end to the prophets, God describes how the Good Shepherd will be struck, and the sheep scattered. Again, all of this is to happen "on that day," the Day of the Lord:

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Zechariah 13:7

Zechariah 14, the chapter containing the title that William Branham applied to himself and his ministry, contains much more description regarding the "evening light" than you will find described in the sermons that make use of that title. The chapter begins by describing the Roman invasion of Jerusalem, and all of the events that will take place before the coming Day of the Lord:

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zechariah 14:1-2

While many of the "evening light messengers" that have risen through the years to form groups of separation apply this "Day of the Lord" and the "Evening Light" to their own following, the verse immediately before Zechariah 14:7 describes the settings to identify this day. It would seem from the prophecy given that this was a day in time rather than an "age," "dispensation," or even time period. Zechariah 6 says, "On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost."

But the interesting part of this prophecy when compared to the statements given by William Branham are found immediately after the verse describing the Eventing Light -- statements that are seemingly overlooked by most of the following.

If one attempts to apply the single verse to William Branhm, then they are faced with a series of questions that are very difficult to describe anything other than the day when Christ ascended to the Throne.

Has living waters flowed from Jerusalem since William Branham's "message" went forth?
Has the temperature remained cold in the summer, as it is in winter?
Was the Lord made King on the day William Branham's message went forth? Is that the day the Lord became One and His Name became One?
Has the environmental conditions of the land surrounding Jerusalem changed because of a man in Jeffersonville, Indiana?
Is Jerusalem now dwelling in security?
Do we see the flesh of those who rage war against Jerusalem rotting and falling from their bodies? Their eyes falling from their sockets or their tongues rotting in their mouths?
Do we see plagues striking the livestock, from the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and any other beast in the camp?
Do nations present themself Holy on the day of the Feast of Booths?
Do those who refuse live in drought and famine?
Did William Branham cleanse the temple of commerce? Or was it Christ who overturned the tables of the money changes?

All of these things are proclaimed in the prophecy of Zechariah, concerning the coming Day of the Lord. The evening light was not the focus of the prophecy -- most Christians would agree that the greatest event described in this Word from the Lord was the Day when the Lord would be One and His Name One. The Day Christianity was born!