George Warnock
George Warnock was a key Latter Rain figure whose work as Ern Baxter's secretary placed him near William Branham's healing-revival network before he joined the Sharon Orphanage and helped systematize the movement's restorationist theology. His 1951 book, The Feast of Tabernacles, framed Israel's feasts as a prophetic pattern for church history culminating in the Manifested Sons of God, a doctrine teaching that end-time "overcomers" would come into unity, embody Christ's mind, and establish God's kingdom on earth. Although Warnock is often credited with creating the doctrine, the timeline suggests that Branham had already been teaching core concepts of supernatural manifestation and "sons of God" before Warnock's formal involvement at Sharon, making Warnock less the originator than the theological organizer of ideas already circulating through Branham's ministry and the early Latter Rain movement.
George Warnock was a personal secretary for Ern Baxter, who toured with William Branham in the late 1940s and early 1950s.[1] Warnock was present at the Sharon Camp Meeting in July 1948, where he first examined the notion that the third of Israel's feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles, was yet to be fulfilled. Based upon this premise, Warnock and he began to associate the Feast of Tabernacles with the end-time ministry of the Church, and the concept of restoration. In the fall of 1949 Warnock moved to the Sharon Orphanage to assist with the administration of the school, local church, and Latter Rain movement in general. Throughout his life, he continued to believe that William Branham was a Christian, a prophet of God, and considered him to be the "greatest prophet of the last century"[2] referencing versions of the "Life Story" used by Branham's stage persona as evidence.[3]
In 1951 Warnock authored a book entitled, "The Feast of Tabernacles." The book described William Branham's Manifest Sons of God doctrine, which later became a smaller movement within the Latter Rain sect of Pentecostalism. William Branham and Jim Jones would further this doctrine, Branham using it to allege that his "spirit of Elijah" was the "Son of Man" (Jesus Christ) for the current "Age". Warnock's book and doctrine implied that the three great annual feasts in Israel's worship (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles) pre-figure and typify the whole Church Age, beginning with the death of Jesus on the cross, and consummating in "the manifestation of the Sons of God" - the "overcomers" who will establish the Kingdom of God on earth.[4]
Warnock taught that his doctrine would be accomplished through the restoration of the Church. He alleged that once the Church was in unity, the saints will "eat the Lord's Supper in reality". To achieve this, followers were instructed to "put on of the mind of Christ" so that we all think, say, believe, and confess the same things, a doctrine that William Branham used throughout his healing campaigns.
While Warnock is generally credited with the creation of the Manifested Sons of God doctrine, the timeline and details given in testimonies from those involved suggest otherwise. It appears that Branham transferred this knowledge to members of the Sharon Orphanage where Warnock studied to develop the "Feasts" doctrine, and Warnock simply augmented Branham's creation with his own addition. Because of the destructive nature of the Manifested Sons of God doctrine and other doctrines foundational to this movement, a massive split was formed among Pentecostalism giving a black eye for several denominations that participated in Latter Rain. As a result, much history seems to have been erased. To re-establish the history and timeline, one must examine the dates of Branham's teaching of the Manifested Sons of God while comparing it to Warnock's own history.
In Branham's April 1947 sermon, he described his "supernatural ability", without prayer, as an example of his own manifestation.[5] He also described his "supernatural ability" of metaphysics,[6] which the son of Raymon Haas confirmed Branham teaching the group.[7] Predating Warnock's involvement with the Sharon Orphanage, Branham taught that Jesus was a "manifested son of God, and was a vessel for manifestation rather than the Biblical "Son of God" as described in the New Testament. This vessel, according to Branham, became a "Son of God" because of the "Manifestation".
They didn’t believe Him to be the Son of God, but God manifested Hisself through Him and proved it by signs and wonders. He promised in the last days that there’d be a church of scoffers. We’ve got them. And He promised there’d be a Church that signs would be following it. We’ve got it. That’s right. So it was on one side of the other tonight. And each one of us in here are either on one side or the other. That’s right."
Branham, William. 1948, March 5. At Thy Word, Lord (48-0305).