By Roscoe Barnes III
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The
Man Behind Christ the Healer
Copyright © 2018
#FFBosworth
#ChristTheHealer
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| Evangelist William Marrion Branham |
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Here’s something I’ve been
meaning to share for some time. It’s a piece about William Branham (1909-1965),
who was a close friend of F.F. Bosworth (1877-1958), author of Christ the Healer.
Branham, who was always a
controversial figure, was known for having reports of unusual miracles of
healing in his ministry. On some occasions, people reported seeing a
supernatural light, appearing sometimes as a halo, in his presence.
W.V. Grant Jr. reported in
October 2015 that he was the photographer who shot a famous photograph of
Branham that shows the “pillar of fire” – a “supernatural” light -- on his right
shoulder. His report, however, seems to contradict the claim made by Branham’s
organization, which states the photograph was shot by “a newspaper
photographer.”
Readers of Pentecostal
history will easily recognize the name, William Branham, who was famous as a
prophet and healing evangelist in the 1940s and 1950s. Some believe he led the
movement of divine healing during that time. He inspired many evangelists to
launch divine healing ministries using tent meetings and city-wide revivals in
churches and open fields.
Branham was a simple man
who claimed a special gift of healing. Scores of people in the United States
and abroad testified to being healed through his ministry. Gordon Lindsay, his
manager, wrote about his ministry and publicized the reported miracles. Lindsay,
who wrote, William Branham: A Man Sent
From God, also wrote about the so-called supernatural light that was seen
in various photographs of Branham. One such photograph was shot on March 8,
1964. Branham and his followers contend the light on his shoulder was a divine
“pillar of fire.” According to WilliamBranhamHomepage.org (See here.):
“Brother
Branham had just finished ministering to the sick in a prayer line, at W.V.
Grants Assembly, in Dallas, TX. March 8, 1964. Leaving the platform, he exited
through a back door. A newspaper photographer asked permission to take a
picture. Always the gentleman that he was, he graciously consented. The result
was the picture shown to the left.
“The Pillar
of Fire is seen resting on Brother Branham's 'right' shoulder. When
Brother Branham was shown this picture a few weeks later, he
said, "Put it on the shelf. They didn't believe the others and they
won't believe this one either".
“This Pillar
of Fire had been with Brother Branham since the time of his birth. During
his ministry it was photographed several times. When praying for the sick he
would watch the Pillar of fire move around the building from one person to
another, revealing the "thoughts and intents" of the heart,
the past, the present and the future.”
As we can see in the first
paragraph, Branham’s organization claims the photograph was shot by “a
newspaper photographer.” But when Grant shared the photograph on Facebook in
2015, he said that he was the one who shot it, and that he was only 17. At the
time, he said, Branham was standing behind the building of his father’s (W.V.
Grant Sr.) ministry. The TVD on the door stands for The Voice of Deliverance, the name of his father’s magazine.
A number of people have
made an effort to debunk the claim of the light being a supernatural force or a
pillar of fire. For instance, the writer for Believe the Sign suggests the
light can be easily explained. The writer notes that one of the photographs of
Branham is cropped, but another one, that shows the full picture, reveals the
source of the light:
“Please
note the door is slight ajar in the top left of the photograph letting in a
small stream of light which hits William Branham on his shoulder with a very
small amount spilling onto his tie. The
conclusion: There is a light on William Branham's shoulder, but it is
sunlight. There is nothing supernatural about this photograph.”
For a look at more
commentary on Branham’s photographs, visit Believe the Sign at: http://en.believethesign.com/index.php/Supernatural_photographs
Since this report of
supernatural light is so easily debunked, I wonder about the role of Lindsay in
promoting some of these claims. Lindsay, by most accounts, was a man of
integrity. He had a good reputation. But I would hate to think that he knowingly
set out to mislead people and that he intentionally used the photographs to
deceive multitudes.
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Would you like to
know more about F.F. Bosworth?
Visit the F.F.
Bosworth page here!
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For more information:
Visit: ffbosworth.strikingly.com. Questions about
the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via
email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com
or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For
updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on
Twitter. #ChristTheHealer
