George Hawtin
George Hawtin was a former Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada pastor and co-founder of Sharon Orphanage and Schools whose post-1947 embrace of William Branham's healing revival helped ignite the Latter Rain Movement, especially its teachings on restored ministries, Joel's Army, overcomers, and the Manifested Sons of God; his later writings and sermons reveal how Latter Rain restorationism could merge end-time revival language, spiritual elitism, anti-denominationalism, anti-Catholic "Mystery Babylon" teaching, and Christian Identity-style racial hierarchy, making Hawtin a key example of how the movement's promise of a supernatural "super race" could carry both charismatic revivalism and white supremacist theology into later restorationist and prophetic streams.
George Hawtin was a former pastor of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Together with Percy G. Hunt and Herrick Holt, Hawtin formed the Sharon Orphanage and Schools at approximately the same time Roy E. Davis and William D. Upshaw formed the Ussher-Davis Children's Orphanage. Hawtin is credited as the founder of the Latter Rain Movement. In 1947, after Branham held a series of meetings in Canada, Hawtin, Hunt, and Holt supported and promoted William Branham's ministry and doctrine.
A major feature Hawtin's religious movement would be the "Manifested of the Sons of God" or "Joel's Army". Many leaders within the Latter Rain movement taught that as the end of the age approached, the "overcomers" would arise within the Church who could be identified by their ability to perform divine healing and other miracles. A "Super Race", the "Manifested Sons of God" would become like Jesus was when he was on earth and would complete the work of God and usher in His millennial reign. Extremist leaders within the movement used this notion to promote their own deity within their sect, claiming that they were "God made flesh". Hawtin described the themes of white supremacy used for this "Super Race" in a 40-page booklet describing "God's Wisdom" by "creating people with black skin to serve people with white skin."
George Hawtin of Battleford, Sask., issued a written apology for distributing the 40-page booklet after a complaint about it to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. Entitled “The Living Creature: Origin of the Negro”, the booklet says God created a superior race of whites who are meant to rule. Blacks were created “in God’s wisdom” to serve whites, it says.
- A Lesson for Racist. 1989, May 11. The Province
As did Branham's publicist Lee Vayle and others, Hawtin strongly supported William Branham's views on Christian Identity and its association with "Mystery Babylon". According to this theology, Mystery Babylon of Revelation 17 referred to the Catholic Church, and the "colored people" were rising to make war with God's chosen.
The Mystery of the Resurrection and the coming of the Lord. The putting on of incorruption and immortality. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Then there's this great mystery that we're considering now. The mystery of Babylon. The most deceptive of all the mysteries. And until you see that, it seems just about impossible to really see anything else. That spirit of Babylon is the spirit of confusion. That's why you have so many ideas in the world. Everybody thinking he's right. Everybody forming his own way and thinking it'll work. And then you have this great confusion of something like a thousand different denominations. They tell me that every day in the United States a new denomination is registered with the government. A new sect. A new set of ideas. And then to make things far worse, there's this hoards of colored people that are coming into the country from India and Vietnam, and from Africa and the islands of [intelligible]. And they're coming in to teach our children.
- George Hawtin