What We Believe

The Foundation of Faith

The Holy Scripture is the only source and complete foundation of our faith, the only guideline in teaching and life. God through His prophets in the Old Testament and by the apostles in the New Testament has left us all we need to know. The Bible contains the whole testimony of God whereunto nothing can be added or subtracted.

Only what the apostles left behind in the New Testament is indeed "apostolic teaching." Only what the Bible truly teaches is "biblical." Only what originates with Christ Himself is "Christian." Statements of faith declared at different councils in the course of church history are rejected as additions and forgery of the original Word.

This is the oldest documented scriptural statement of faith coming directly from the lips of God Himself. The belief in one true God besides Whom there is no other — Who manifests Himself in all His attributes as Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, King, and Judge — is for us the only binding and valid foundation of faith.

The Lord Jesus Christ

The "I am," the Logos, the Word, the One Who spoke all things into existence, the One revealing Himself is always the same. The Lord/Yahweh of the Old Testament is the Lord/Jesus in the New Testament. In the Old Testament He was in a spirit body; in the New Testament in a body of flesh.

The Fall and Redemption

God created man in His own image to have fellowship with Him. The relationship between the Creator and those created by Him was broken through the fall. The fall culminated in the beguiling from which a seed came forth. Therefore the Lord directly had to put enmity between the two seeds and pronounced judgement upon Eve who would give birth to her children with pain. In the same connection the first promise was given with view of the Redeemer — that the Divine Seed would come through the woman and bruise the head of the cursed serpent (Genesis 3:13-17).

At the beginning of the natural creation, Satan — through deceiving Eve and pulling Adam into the transgression — drew all humanity into the fall. In this wise Satan received influence and power over the whole creation, which by disobedience and transgression was separated from God and thrown into death.

At the beginning of the supernatural creation, God took fallen humanity back from Satan through the second — the last Adam — overshadowing Mary and by begetting of the Holy Ghost the Son of God was born into this world. Through redemption and reconciliation the damage was made good and the fellowship with God was re-established and we received the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-7).

The secret of redeeming the lost humanity is found in the fact that the Redeemer Himself — as the Word, which was at the beginning — became flesh, fully human being. So in His body of flesh He could die vicariously, then going down conquering death and hell and manifesting the new life by His resurrection. Because the fall had been in the body of flesh and blood, the redemption of fallen humanity also had to be done in a body of flesh, so the holy Blood wherein divine life was could be shed on the Cross of Calvary.

Baptism in Water

Baptism is administered after the apostolic pattern with those who believe according to the Word of the resurrected Lord:

"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing of the Word of God." (Romans 10:17). Baptism takes place by immersion, as it was also done through the first centuries after apostolic times. The sprinkling and the pouring of water and the reciting of a triune formula came about in the epoch when Christianity was forced upon nations and are therefore rejected as not having a biblical foundation.

The Witness of the Apostles

Peter, the man of the first hour, said on the first day when the New Testament Church was established with divine authority under the guidance of the Holy Spirit:

For thus it is written: "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations." (Luke 24:47). Also after the preaching ministry of Philip in Samaria, those who believed were baptised, as we can read in Acts 8:16: "…only they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus."

To establish this important teaching we call upon a third witness to complete the testimony. After the Apostle Paul preached, of course baptism took place, as stated in Acts 19:5: "When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus."

The Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

In baptism the believers testify that they have received the forgiveness of their sins and are now confirming it in obedience to the great commission. The early apostles and Philip as well as Paul preached and administered baptism precisely according to Matthew 28:19. They did not repeat the text as a formula, but rather had apparently understood what the Lord meant when He said, "…baptising them into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…" — namely that the New Testament covenant name Jesus was the emphasis in the commission.

The one true God revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to Whom applies the name which is above every name and in which all salvation lies. God is Father, but that is not His name. "Son" is not a name but what He is, and "Holy Ghost" is not a name. The one name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost into which the apostles were commissioned to baptise — then and now and forever — is Lord Jesus Christ.

That is the true doctrine and practice of the apostles, documented by the witnesses in the New Testament. At the beginning of Christianity all believers were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, even Paul himself (Romans 6:3). This baptism is also confirmed in church history as being practised long after the apostles. There is not a single place in the Bible where baptism was administered by just repeating the text of Matthew 28:19.

William Branham and the Prophetic Ministry in End Time

We claim to believe as the Holy Scripture says and acknowledge with thankful hearts that we are now living close to the second coming of Christ. We see Bible prophecies fulfilled as it was at His first coming.

The New Testament began with the fulfilment of scriptural prophecies and ends the same way. The promise that a voice would cry in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3) and that the Lord would send His messenger to prepare His way (Malachi 3:1) became a living reality in the ministry of John the Baptist. This we find confirmed in Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:1-4, Luke 1:16-17, and John 1:19-28.

The Promise of Elijah

As it was given to our brethren at the beginning to experience the fulfilment of Bible prophecies and to rightly place them, it is now with us the case. John the Baptist appeared on the scene just before the day of salvation commenced. His ministry was done in the spirit and power of Elijah and many came to believe because of his message (John 10:41-42). But there remains also the promise:

According to 2 Corinthians 1:20, "…all promises of God in Him are 'Yea' and in Him 'Amen' unto the Glory of God by us." Not one of His promises can remain unfulfilled. Because of the importance of the last promise in the Old Testament, our Lord repeated the same in the New:

It is noteworthy that this announcement was given after the ministry of John the Baptist had long finished. As certain as John the Baptist was the Elijah at the first coming of Christ, it is certain that the promise remains about the coming of Elijah before the great and dreadful day. Through his ministry all things will be put into the right order and place. This promise was fulfilled in our time. Because of the many deviations, a total return to the original teachings and Bible practices had to take place. The Church of Jesus Christ at the end must be the same in teaching and life as she was at the beginning.

The Time of Refreshing

God Himself promised the times of the spiritual refreshing that would come from His presence. The apostles apparently understood the promises in the right way and placed them accordingly. In his second sermon after Pentecost the Apostle Peter spoke about the time of refreshing in view of the return of Christ:

The Calling of Brother Branham

Every time when something pertaining to the plan of salvation took place, it was accompanied by the supernatural. The birth of John the Baptist and 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 in the supernatural light, as recorded in Acts 9, 22, and 26. We therefore should not be astonished that the same has happened in our time.

It truly happened on 11th June 1933 at about 2:00 PM in the presence of approximately 4,000 people when the supernatural light broke through the clouds descending over the young preacher William M. Branham. At the moment he was about to baptise the seventeenth person in the Ohio River. The voice from this light spoke to him:

Brother Branham also referred to the experience he had on the evening of 7th May 1946, when the supernatural light illuminated the room and the Angel of the Lord stood before him, saying, "Fear not, I am sent to you from the presence of God to tell you of your commission…"

The Houston Photograph

On 24th January 1950, the supernatural light descended during a meeting in the Coliseum in Houston, Texas, where about 8,000 people were gathered to hear William Branham preach. The press photographers Mr. Ayers and Mr. Kippermann took many photos. As Mr. Ayers was developing the film in the Douglas Studio, he noticed that only one picture had come out with the supernatural light about the head of Brother Branham.

After a debate took place between Dr. Best, who denied any supernatural to take place in our time, and the co-worker of Brother Branham, Rev. F. F. Bosworth, it happened. At the moment William Branham came to the pulpit, he said, "I do not need to defend myself. He that called and commissioned me will also confirm it." Mr. Ayers pressed the button of his camera. The official expert of FBI for questioned documents, Dr. George J. Lacy, confirmed on 29th January 1950 that the negative was absolutely genuine and the light had to be there in order for the camera to catch it.

Now according to Matthew 24:45, in all faithfulness the spiritual food is given at the right time. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. It is the spiritual manna for our soul.

The Rapture of the Bride

We have the complete revelation of the six first seals which were sealed, and we believe that:

• The seventh seal of Revelation 8:1 was not revealed
• The mighty Angel of Revelation 10:1 has not yet come down
• The seven thunders of Revelation 10:3-4 are not yet revealed
• We do not yet know the new Name of Jesus

We are still in the day of grace. The intercession for the Saints shall end when the last elect is united to the body of the Bride — and then the Rapture will take place.

The Third Pull

The third Pull is a special anointing that will be manifested in the universal church, and we are waiting for it.

The Return of Christ

We believe that the return of Jesus Christ as repeatedly promised in the Holy Scripture is close at hand. The promise came from the lips of our Lord Himself:

Our Lord emphasized that we should watch the signs of the time:

In Luke 21:28-36 we are also told about the events predicted for the end-time: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near."

The Day and the Hour

The day or the hour of His return of course cannot be known, but as Bible prophecies are coming to fulfilment, we look upon them as signs in the end-time predicted by our Lord and are taking place now. The Apostle Peter writes:

In 2 Peter 3:3 we are told in advance: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming…'" In verse 9 he gave the answer: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

The First and Second Resurrections

The return of Jesus Christ is identical with the first resurrection. The heavenly Bridegroom will take His earthly Bride home (Matthew 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 19:1-9). Before the Millennial Reign commences, the martyrs from the tribulation period are added:

The second resurrection will occur after the one thousand years' reign of Christ, when all people who ever lived on earth will be summoned to the last judgement (Revelation 20:11). Thereafter God Himself will create the new heavens and the new earth:

Our Tenets of Faith

The doctrine of the church is the teaching of the Scripture given in that church — the interpretation of the Word accepted, the truth for that church. The following are the tenets to which we hold:

1. The BIBLE is our ABSOLUTE.
2. Every man is a liar, and God only remains TRUE — INFALLIBLE.
3. The TRINITY of the functions of the same God: FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT.
4. JESUS CHRIST is the Son of God, incarnated in human flesh — the fullness of Godhead.
5. Our salvation is based only on the work of redemption fully accomplished by Christ on the cross of Golgotha.
6. The church was inaugurated on the day of Pentecost, which is the model during the time of the Gentiles.
7. The church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ being the corner stone.
8. Christ is the Head of the church, which is His body, and of which He is the Savior.
9. We are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; the fullness of the Godhead is in the church, not in one member.
10. We have three commands that we ought to accomplish as types: the baptism of water by immersion in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the washing of feet, and the Lord's Supper.
11. The baptism of water introduces us into the Lord's church communion, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit introduces us into the Body of Christ.
12. The Apostle Paul was the vessel chosen by the election of God and sent to the church of the Gentiles to put it in order.
13. William Marrion Branham is the prophet of Malachi 4:5-6, the messenger to the Laodicea church of Revelation 3:14, and the seventh angel of Revelation 10:7.
14. In the interpretation of the Bible according to the end-time message which God entrusted to His servant William Marrion Branham.
15. Every church has its doctrine, order, and conduct.
16. Our Tabernacle is interdenominational. Anybody coming to worship with us is most welcome no matter his or her membership to another church, but he or she ought to respect our order.
17. The pulpit of our Tabernacle should be open only for ministers who preach the Word of God according to sound doctrine.
18. Everybody is free to choose his or her own church — a place to feel at home, pay tithe, and help support the cause.
19. The church of the living God is the highest place of judgment, and the Pastor is the highest order in the church.
20. The Son of Man is Jesus Christ in our age. The Son of Man was revealed; now we are waiting for the second coming of Christ in a physical body and the resurrection of the dead with glorified bodies before the rapture of the bride.
21. We have the complete revelation of the six first seals which were sealed, and the seventh seal of Revelation 8:1 was not revealed. The mighty Angel of Revelation 10:1 has not yet come down; the seven thunders of Revelation 10:3-4 are not yet revealed; and we do not yet know the new Name of Jesus.
22. We are still in the day of grace. The intercession for the Saints shall end when the last elect is united to the body of the Bride, and then the Rapture will take place.
23. The third Pull is a special anointing that will be manifested in the universal church, and we are waiting for it.
24. We are after the beginning, in this second covenant after the fall, where God has placed the woman under the man's authority and allowed polygamy.
25. The woman must be submitted to her husband, she must not cut her hair, and every husband should honor his wife.
26. Every Christian is responsible before God and before the world to live a life worthy of the Gospel.
27. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance — irrevocable.
28. In offices: nine gifts for the common profit to the local church, and fivefold ministries of the Word for the edification of the body of the church.
29. A member ought to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be a minister or to hold an office, and no woman is allowed to be a minister of the Word or be elected to the offices in the church.
30. The engaged couple should be faithful to their promise; they should never live as husband and wife during the engagement time.
31. Never should a Christian on any account marry an unbeliever or a divorced woman. They should always marry between born-again believers confessing the same faith.
32. The minister of the Word should marry a virgin.
33. Those who hold offices in the church should be husbands of one wife.
34. The church should be together in communion, but each local church is sovereign. It ought to be submitted to its pastor and vice versa.
35. In democracy in the church — to vote for every decision involving the church. Only the members, those who attend and support the church by tithe and offering, have a legal voice.
36. In voting according to biblical criteria and the interpretation of the end-time message concerning offices in the church.
37. The church can revoke any office which is no longer working according to the required conditions or no longer defending sound doctrine.
38. The local church can leave the Pastor if he leaves the Word of God.
39. The Word of God has power above the law.
40. Whatever a member has done, as long as he lives, we should do all our best to bring him back into relationship with God.
41. A member can be put out of the church by the church for impure life, according to biblical principles.

Illustrated Teachings

The following charts and illustrations are used in our teaching to help visualize the unfolding of God's plan through the ages. Click any image to view it in full size.

The Seven Church Ages

Revelation 4:7

Israel Camping & the New Jerusalem

Numbers 2:3-30 · Revelation 21:9-14

The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18