We claim to believe as the Scriptures say, and we acknowledge with grateful hearts that we are now close to Christ’s return. We see biblical prophecies being fulfilled as they were at His First Coming. The New Testament began with the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and will end in the same way. The promise that there would be a voice crying in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3) and that the Lord would send his messenger to prepare his way (Malachi 3:1) became a visible reality in the ministry of John the Baptist, confirmed in Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:1-4; Luke 1:16-17; John 1:19-28.

As our brethren were granted in the beginning, to experience the fulfillment of biblical prophecies and place them accurately, so it is with us now. John the Baptist appeared on the scene before the day of salvation began. His ministry was carried out in the spirit and power of Elijah, and many believed his message (John 10:41-42). “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:” Malachi 4:5. According to 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”. None of his promises will remain unfulfilled. Because of the importance of the last promise in the Old Testament, our Lord repeated it in the New Testament: “And he answered and said unto them, Elias shall come first, and restore all things”; “And he answered and said unto them, Elias shall come first, and restore all things”. Consequently, these scriptures authorize no interpretation, for it is common knowledge that this announcement was made long after the end of John the Baptist’s ministry.

As true as John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come before the first coming of Christ, it is also true that the promise concerning the Elijah who was to come before the great and terrible day of the Lord remains. Through his ministry, all things will be put in order and in place. This promise has been fulfilled in our time. Because of the many deviations, there must be a total return to the original teachings and practices of the Bible. The Church of Jesus Christ in the end must have the same teaching, the same life as it had in the beginning. God himself promised times of spiritual refreshment that were to come from his presence. The apostles clearly understood the promises in the right way and ordered them accordingly. In his second sermon after Pentecost, the apostle Peter spoke of the time of refreshment in connection with Christ’s return “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3: 19-21. This is the “Thus saith the Lord” in his Word, he watches over his Word to execute it when the time is fulfilled.

Whenever something related to the plan of salvation was accomplished, it was accompanied by the supernatural. The birth of John the Baptist, and of course the birth of our Lord, was announced by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1+2). When Saul was called and commissioned, the Lord appeared to him as in the time of Moses in a supernatural light, as recorded in the book of Acts chapters 9, 22, and 26. Therefore, we should not be surprised that the same thing has happened in our time. On the contrary, it confirms that the God of truth is the only One who reveals Himself and, who executes all things in relation to the plan of salvation, even now in the time of the end.

It really happened on June 11, 1933, at around 2 p.m., in the presence of some 4,000 people, when the supernatural light broke through the clouds and descended on the young preacher William Branham. At that moment, he was about to baptize the seventeenth person in the Ohio River. seventeenth person in the Ohio River and the voice from that light spoke to him: “As John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner of the first coming of Christ, so the message given to you will be a forerunner of the second coming of Christ”. During the 1966 Easter meetings at the Branham Tabernacle, Reverend Ewald Frank saw at least twelve people who testified to this event. In William Branham’s ministry, we are dealing with a divine commission, the fulfillment of Elijah’s ministry.

William Branham also referred to the experience he had had on May 7, 1946, when supernatural light illuminated the room, he was in and the Angel of the Lord he accurately described stood before him, saying “Fear not, I am sent from the presence of God to speak to you of your commission…” Just as has been every call we find in the Bible; this one is also true because it is a direct fulfillment of the promise God made. I, Ewald Frank, believe the testimony of this man of God firstly because I accept its truthfulness, secondly because it is a fulfillment of scripture, and thirdly, because I have had the extraordinary privilege of experiencing this God-given ministry of Reverend Branham, as an eyewitness to the things I heard with my own ears over a period of ten years.

Lest there be anyone in this generation who is without excuse, the following happened: on January 24, 1950, supernatural light descended during a meeting at the coliseum in Houston, Texas, where some 8,000 people had gathered to hear William Branham preach. Press photographers Mr. Ayers and Mr. Kippermann took pictures. And as Mr. Ayers was developing the film at Douglas Studios, he noticed that only one photo came out with the supernatural light on Reverend Branham’s head. This happened after a debate between Dr. Best, who denied any supernatural happenings in our time, and Reverend Branham’s fellow servant, Reverend F.F. Bosworth. At this point William Branham came to the pulpit and said, “I don’t need to defend myself. He who called and commissioned me will confirm it.” At the same moment Mr. Ayers pressed the button on his camera and took the picture. The FBI’s sworn expert in charge of doubtful documents, Dr. George J. Lacy, confirmed on January 29, 1950 that the negative was absolutely authentic and that the light was present enough for the mechanical eye to pick it up. Clearly, in this age of technical inventions, God has allowed unbelievers to confirm his presence among believers.