Illegitimate Children

Most versions of William Branham's stage persona rejected the New Covenant of Grace and taught that Christians were still living under specific parts of the Old Covenant Law.  Though William Branham was himself less than three generations descended from a child born out of wedlock, most versions of his stage persona taught that Deuteronomy 23:2 of Old Covenant Law was still in effect. According to the Mosaic Law, a child born out of wedlock could not enter the congregation of the Lord for ten generations.  William Branham called those children, "illegitimate".  This is in stark contrast with the New Covenant of Grace, wherein no child is "illegitimate", and "whosoever will"[1] can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.[2]

Though William Branham was himself less than three generations descended from an illegitimate child, most versions of his stage persona taught that Deuteronomy 23:2 of Old Covenant Law was still in effect. According to the Mosaic Law, an illegitimate child could not enter the congregation of the Lord for ten generations.[3] In some instances, Branham preached that this law was in effect for fourteen generations.[4]

And they'd intermarry, among one another. The Bible said they would. And look at them today. Your boy go with a Catholic girl; when they go to get married, they have to promise to raise their children Catholic; see, vice versa. See, it's to break the power of the other. But what is it? The Bible claims the whole thing's a prostitute. Now what are you going to do? That's right. And how the sins of the people will be visited…We went back in Deuteronomy, and showed that a illegitimate child, bastard child, could not even enter the congregation of the Lord for fourteen generations. That was under the law. And Christ come to magnify the law. How much more is it now?
Branham, William. 1958, Sept 28. The Serpent's Seed. 58-0928E

Branham's great-great-grandmother, Nancy Branham, gave birth to Lewis Branham out of wedlock, placing William Branham under the Old Covenant curse for illegitimate children. [5] In versions of his stage persona where Branham made an attempt at preaching New Covenant Grace and an end of Old Covenant Law, Branham's curse would be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Not all versions of his stage persona accepted the New Covenant and an end of the Old Covenant, however, and Branham would frequently ask his congregation (and theologians among the audience) to show him where the Old Covenant Laws changed.

Statistics shows, in the United States, that there is more illegitimate children born than there is holy wedlock children. Did you know the Bible said, in Deuteronomy 14:2, that "an illegitimate child, it would take four hundred years for that to run out"? Their children's children's children's children's children cannot stand in the congregation of the Lord, four hundred years, ten generations. Forty years in a generation. Their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was an illegitimate child, he's out of the picture! Now what? Show me where it was changed.
Branham, William. 1959, Mar 1. Strait is the Gate. 59-0301M.

Branham's doctrine for illegitimate children became problematic for specific members of his congregation; some of his followers were either born out of wedlock or were less than ten (or fourteen) generations descended from an illegitimate child. In November of 1960, the question was raised privately to William Branham, [6] and Branham claimed to have supported the New Covenant of Grace.

November 12, 1960.

Sister Dalton,

Sitting here alone with Brother Branham. Ed, Gene, and I heard him explain a bastard child. It was, in the Old Testament, a type of us under grace. Brother Branham said [that] we are all bastard children and are brought to God by Christ. We must be re-bred by the Truth and being born again. Our [being] born again of Christ changes everything. It changes us from illegitimate to legitimate sons and daughters of God. In Adam, we were of hybrid birth. In Christ we are of True birth. Brother Branham herewith signs this statement for you in the denroom of his home.

Rev. William Branham.

"Do not fear, Sister Dalton, your new birth, or anyones new birth, corrects it all!"

As the battle for Civil Rights and desegregation of schools intensified, however, William Branham began repurposing the passage from Deuteronomy to apply to the offspring of interracial marriage. Shortly after the letter to Sister Dalton, Branham began preaching that the Old Covenant curse for illegitimate children was still in effect, and rebranded the doctrine under the name "hybreeding". According to Branham, an interracial marriage produced a "hybrid" child, and began offering the African American bloodline education - which Branham claimed prevented the "true moving of God".

In the Old Testament a child that was hybrid, borned out of holy wedlock could not even come in the congregation of the Lord for ten generations: took ten generations to breed it out. That's four hundred years to breed out a illegitimate child; could not even come into the congregation of the Lord; hybreeding: a woman vowed to her husband and live with another man and have a baby by him: a horrible thing. Today, we have so much fussing and stewing about this segregation of white and colored and everything. Why don't they leave it alone? Let it the way God made it. Tell me what real good, smart, intelligent, beautiful, colored woman would want to have a baby by a white man to make it a mulatto? Not sense. Many thing the colored people has is far beyond the white man. I think of that colored minister stood down there that day in Shreveport. He said, "I never was ashamed of being a black man. God made me a black man, and I appreciate my Creator making me this way. It's the way He wanted me." But said, "Today, to see my people acting the way they are, then I'm ashamed I'm a black man." God bless his loyal heart. Certainly. What good would a white woman want to have a baby by a colored man making him a mulatto child? It's not sensible. If God wanted a man brown, black, white, whatever color He wanted him, that's God's creation. That's the way he wanted it. He wants white flowers, blue flowers; God's a God of variety. He likes big mountains, little mountains, deserts, plains, white, black, short, fat, and indifferent. God's a God of variety. If I was a colored man, or a brown man, or a yellow man, or a red man, I would be just as happy about it. Yes, sir. I sure would. That's the way that my Maker wanted me and that's the way I am. Right. Why does man want to tamper with anything for? When man gets into it, he ruins it. Let it alone the way God made it. Let a man be what he is; by the grace of God let him be. But he has to cause great fusses now calling our… causing riots, and big fusses, and everything else across the nations, and across the world just because he wanted to stick his head out about something. That's the ignorance of the man. That's right; hybrid again. Instead of leaving it the way God wants it, he wants to make his own way. He has to do something about it, you know. He has to make his own self a name. God be merciful to him. It's a pitiful thing. All right. Now, the Word that God told Eve then Satan come around and admitted that part of that Word was right, but said, "Surely this part's not right." Now, isn't that just exactly like some theological seminaries teach today? "Oh, there is a God. We believe in Jesus. Sure, He's the Son of God. I believe that. Oh, I believe in His visible appearing. But now, when He comes to be a Healer or all that Holy Ghost stuff, I-I-I… Huh-uh." See, that's that same hybrid. The Bible spoke of them, said they'd be in the last days heady, high-minded. Here not long ago I was invited to speak at a school. And when they found out I had a seventh grade education, said, "Oh, we couldn't put that before our students." They couldn't put it before the students. How much different it was from Paul. Paul said, "I never come to you with wisdom of men, enticing words, that your faith would be built upon the wisdom of men, but I come to you with the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost, that your faith could be built in God." Amen. Today they want to make an educational school out of it: reading, writing and arithmetic. When I got to Africa amongst my colored brethren, what did they know? Reading, writing, and arithmetic, they had no business for that. That's the reason when they seen a real true moving, God come into the midst of the people, thirty thousand accepted Christ at one altar call: Durban, South Africa. The book gives it there. See? That's right.
Branham, William. 1961, Apr 11. But It Wasn't So From The Beginning. 61-0411

In 2014, "Message" cult pastor Donny Reagan found himself at the center of attention for his support of William Branham's alignment with white supremacy doctrine. Shortly after Reagan's sermon on "hybreeding", videos clips of the sermon went viral and Reagan disallowed public viewing of his sermons on the Happy Valley Church of Christ website. In his sermon and response, Reagan failed to mention Branham's association with and mentorship from high-ranking members of the Ku Klux Klan, such as Roy E. Davis and William D. Upshaw.