John Collins Featured in NRK Report on Norwegian Followers of William Branham and the Global Spread of The Message

John Collins, founder of William Branham Historical Research and a former lifelong adherent of William Branham's Message movement, was featured in an NRK long-form report examining Norwegian followers of William Marrion Branham, the ongoing translation of Branham's sermons into Norwegian, and the international influence of Branham's recorded teachings decades after his death.

The report, published on March 18, 2018, focused on David Forsberg of Varteig, Norway, who leads a local Branham fellowship and has taken responsibility for helping translate and record Branham's more than 1,200 sermons into Norwegian. The report described Forsberg listening to Branham's sermons while working as a painter and identified Branham's recorded voice as central to the worship life of the Varteig fellowship.

NRK described a meeting in the old town hall in Varteig, where approximately 40 people gathered for prayer, Bible reading, singing, and then the playing of a recorded sermon by Branham, who died in 1965. Forsberg introduced the recording by giving the pulpit to "God's prophet, Brother Branham," demonstrating the central role Branham's voice continues to play for followers who regard his sermons as authoritative.

The report explained that Branham visited Norway in 1950, where Norwegian health authorities restricted him under the country's law against unlicensed healing practices. Branham was allowed to speak but was not permitted to lay hands on the sick. The report noted that Branham later became increasingly radical, teaching that he was an Old Testament prophet sent to earth, promoting Serpent Seed theology, and making statements interpreted by many followers as pointing to judgment around 1977.

NRK also examined the scale of the Branham movement. Researcher Robert Williams Kvalvaag of OsloMet described Branham's recordings as comparable, for followers, to papal speeches for Catholics. Kvalvaag explained that Branham's words are treated as uniquely authoritative because followers believe Branham alone correctly interpreted the Bible. The report estimated between 200 and 300 active Branham followers in Norway, while the movement itself claims millions of adherents globally.

Collins appeared in the report as a former insider from Jeffersonville, Indiana, the international center of the Branham movement. He described leaving the movement with his wife and children on January 1, 2012, after a sudden awakening from a lifetime shaped by Branham's recorded sermons. Collins explained that he had listened to Branham's sermons throughout childhood and believed that constant exposure to the recordings functioned as a form of brainwashing.

Collins stated that he had once been deeply committed to the movement and would have defended it at great personal cost. He described growing up with the belief that Branham followers possessed knowledge other Christians lacked and that they would be taken to heaven while others were left behind. After leaving, Collins experienced separation from family members who remained in the movement, including relatives connected to Branham's inner circles in Jeffersonville.

In the NRK report, Collins warned about the danger of placing extreme weight on decades-old audio recordings. He stated that Branham's sermons often contain extreme messages and hate speech, especially toward women. Collins cited Branham's teaching that women were created by Satan to tempt men, and explained that because he had heard such teachings repeatedly, he had once failed to recognize their severity.

The report contrasted Collins's warning with the Forsberg family's commitment to Branham's message. David Forsberg and his wife Ellen described their translation project as a life mission. After being contacted by the movement's headquarters in the United States in 2009, they began working to make all of Branham's sermons available in Norwegian. Their home basement was converted into a recording studio where Forsberg listens to Branham's English sermon audio and records the same sentences in Norwegian.

NRK reported that Forsberg and his wife had spent seven to eight years translating and recording slightly more than 100 sermons, with more than 1,000 still remaining. At their current pace, completing the full translation project would take close to 100 years. Forsberg described the work as a calling and stated that making the sermons available to Norway would fulfill their part of the mission.

The report also included the experience of a former Norwegian Branham follower identified anonymously as "Inga." She described how one man's voice had controlled many life decisions and said that although followers often deny exalting Branham, in practice they do. She described restrictions on women concerning clothing, hair, makeup, organized sports, education, and separation from the world. After leaving, she became involved in helping others exit religious communities while continuing therapy to recover.

NRK connected the Norwegian movement to wider public controversies, including reports from London, Ontario, where Branham followers had publicly demeaned women over clothing. The report noted that former followers recognized the same rhetoric from Branham's teachings and from Message communities, even when individual fellowships distanced themselves from extreme public behavior.

The report also included Forsberg's denial that his fellowship should be described as a sect or cult. He emphasized his public involvement in the local community, charity, business, and sports, while acknowledging that Branham was radical. Forsberg rejected the idea that he worships Branham, stating that he worships the God he believes operated through Branham. He also rejected criticism that repeated listening to Branham's sermons is brainwashing, describing it instead as spiritually healthy.

Following publication, Voice of God Recordings in Jeffersonville responded to NRK by urging readers to judge The Message by the Bible rather than by criticism found online. The response compared criticism of Branham's ministry to criticism of Jesus and stated that criticism should be expected when doing what is right.

By including Collins's perspective alongside active Norwegian followers and academic commentary, the NRK report presented a detailed picture of the continuing global influence of William Branham's recordings. Collins's comments highlighted the risks of authoritarian religious audio culture, repeated indoctrination, misogynistic theology, and the long-term psychological effects faced by former members who leave The Message.

The report underscored the importance of public awareness, historical research, and survivor testimony in understanding how Branham's sermons continue to shape communities in Norway and around the world. Collins's work through William Branham Historical Research remains dedicated to helping former members, informing the public, and documenting the historical and doctrinal problems within Branham's Message movement.