Leaving the Message 01 - Introduction to Leaving the Message
Leaving the Message Podcast:https://william-branham.org/social/support/ltm
Leaving the Message Podcast:
https://william-branham.org/social/support/ltm
It is time to go back to the beginning.
Several people have reached out to us for the past few weeks concerning "leaving the 'Message'". Some of them have already left, some of them are considering leaving, and some of them are in the process of planning their escape. The problem that seems common among all of them is this: It is overwhelming. It is troubling. It is offensive. A person reached out to us just last night, explaining that they really didn't know where to even begin.
When this site first began, as "Seek Ye The Truth", things were different. People who had escaped or were escaping worked together to help one another learn. Men and women researched and learned from each other. Support networks were created, and an "underground railroad" of sorts was established to assist people who were escaping Branham's personality cult and the many sub-sects created as a result of his cult to freedom. It was a collaborative effort and bore many good fruits.
Today, things are different. The information available is overwhelming, and there are many new faces explaining the troubling issues created by William Branham. Last week, multiple people explained to me how aggressive it was becoming, and how they found it difficult to listen to or read some of the information. For them, it was becoming abrasive. There are people directly challenging ministers in the "Message". There are people claiming that the people in the message are "bringing damnation upon themselves", pronouncing judgment upon the very people they are trying to help. In many ways, it resembles the early stages of a "holy war", and looks nothing like a means to help people. One person told me, "If Christianity looks like this, I want no part of it".
When "Seek Ye The Truth" transitioned into "William Branham Historical Research", the transition had two purposes. First and foremost, we wanted to provide resources to help people who had been bruised by the "Message" and similar destructive cults. Secondly, we wanted to create a place where everyone felt welcome to look at the research. If you were a Christian, you were welcome. If you were disgusted with Christianity after being bruised by the cult's version of "Christianity", you were welcome to examine the resources and see why the Bible's version of Christianity differed from that of the cult. No matter what, you were welcome. So far, we have been very effective at making people feel welcome, and have had great success in making the resources available.
That mission should never change. People in the "Message" believe they are Christians and are told that they are serving God as He intends. Where they are in their journey is not for us to decide; if God has the power to lead them, He will. Ministers in the "Message" are not our "enemies" -- many of them were just like us: indoctrinated to believe a false version of Christianity. Yes, they are doing real harm, but they are unaware that they are doing so. Insulting them has no effect in persuading them to reform. There are a handful of men that are fully aware of what they are doing, but the vast majority of leaders in the cult have been fully programmed and indoctrinated to say what they say and do what they do. Those who are involved with illegal activities will eventually be condemned by the government. Those who are involved with spiritual offenses will eventually be condemned by God. It is not our place to pronounce judgment; people change, and people reform. The old proverb is very applicable: "you attract more flies with honey".
Today, we go back to where it all began. How do we leave the "Message"? How do we find healing after leaving?
Episode 1: Introduction to Leaving the Message
Leaving the "Message" is hard. Many former members have told me that it was the single most difficult thing they have had to do. In the "Message", we were very close. Most of our family was in it, most of our friends were in it, and in many cases, most of our lifestyle was bound strongly to the "Message".
Over the years, we have worked with many people who have escaped. We quickly learned that every individual who left the "Message" was different and unique. There is no standard answer that can be given for the question, "Why did you leave?" Some people left because they found a specific doctrine that was in disagreement with the Bible, or that was hurtful to other Christians. Others left when they learned that some of the things William Branham said were untrue, and they knew that those things were fundamental to the "Message". Some people left because they were abused, physically and/or sexually, and learned that William Branham supported abuse and harbored men in his inner circle who were abusers. Others began to recognize the patterns of speech used in Branham's sermons and began to realize that verbal and emotional abuse was a significant part of his ministry. Some people experienced what they described as simply "waking up", and wanted to learn more about why they were "asleep" and how any of this made any sense to them. After a person leaves the "Message", it takes a very long time for people to begin to understand what had happened to them and why. Only after several months, sometimes years of examining the facts, do those who escape start to realize that they were taken advantage of. Those who escape and remain Christian then reassess why they left, and very commonly revise their answer to this common reason: William Branham's "Message" was fully intended to sever the Body of Christ,
Christians who come to this realization also begin to notice passages from the Bible that describe exactly what happened to them. Some of those passages, when read in today's language instead of the Queen's English of the 1600s, suddenly come alive. Colossians 2, for example, describe the Message almost in its entirety:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. - Col 2:18-19
Whether you are a Christian and are thinking of leaving the "Message", you have become disgusted with Christianity having been unduly influenced to believe that the "Message" theology is "Christian", or have just learned that the "Message" was destructive and corrupt, you have one thing in common: you need resources and you need to heal. Then you begin searching.
When people who were unduly influenced by the "Message" begin searching for answers, there is another thing they find in common: the information is overwhelming. There are SO many articles on several websites or blogs, and at first, none of them make any sense. Some topics seem so inconsequential and do not seem like something worth even mentioning. Others seem infinitely complex, and seem like they need an advanced level education in "Message" history to unravel.
Leaving The Message is a podcast intended to help people who have been influenced by the ministries of William Branham, his successors, or destructive religious groups that formed as a result of William Branham's ministry and revival meetings. William Branham was a very Charismatic minister and evangelist from Jeffersonville, Indiana, who was lifted into popularity among many Christian denominations as the leader of the Post WWII Healing Revival. Using various stage personas, Branham tailored his speeches to fit his intended audience, resulting in confusion and ultimately splinter-groups based on Branham's own cult of personality. Our goal is to examine this confusion, educate others as to why each issue was important, and simplify each detail for researchers and cult members alike. For those about to "leave the message" we will examine the most important question:
"Was I trained to believe something that originated by God or the Bible? Or was it simply the result of one man's mission to become the central figure of a personality cult designed to influence a nation during political turmoil?"