Support the show:
https://www.patreon.com/branham
Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts:
https://william-branham.org/podcast
Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCGGZX3K
Come Out of Her, My People:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZRMM8WQ
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVZHKD5Q
John and Charles investigate the connections between William Branham's ministry and the mob, including those closely associated with him. Thanks to a hand-written letter from Graham Snelling, former pastor of the Branham Tabernacle, Branham's criminal tax fraud is exposed. The discussion highlights long-held rumors and unverified stories about Branham's connections to questionable activities, which have not been fully documented. The hosts carefully present an argument, noting that while they cannot definitively prove these allegations, the sheer number of witnesses involved lends some credibility to the claims.
The conversation expands on how Graham Snelling, after years of working with Branham, took over as pastor of the Tabernacle in the late 1940s. However, after a series of tumultuous events, Snelling resigned in 1951. His resignation letter reveals internal disputes, including allegations of mishandling church funds and Branham’s tendency to force out other leaders. The episode underscores the complexity of Branham's operations and the conflicts between public perception and private realities, particularly regarding financial transparency and church leadership.
00:00 Introduction
02:00 William Branham's Research Approach and Early Rumors
03:30 Introduction to Graham Snelling and His Role in the 1930s
06:00 Leadership Changes and Internal Disputes in Branham Tabernacle
09:30 The Alleged Firing of Bernice Hicks and the Search for a New Pastor
12:30 Graham Snelling's Pastoral Role and His Resignation Letter
16:00 William Branham's Tax Evasion and Financial Discrepancies
19:30 Allegations of Money Mismanagement in the Branham Ministry
24:00 Details on Branham's Leadership and Church Structure
27:30 Revelations About Financial Misconduct
31:00 Historical Ties Between William Branham, the Mob, and the Liquor Trade
36:00 The Exploitation of Graham Snelling and Leadership Failures
42:00 Connection Between Bernice Hicks and Branham’s Early Ministry
48:00 Paul Cain and the Development of Branham's Successors
52:00 Reflection on the Legacy of Branham’s Ministry and Its Influence
______________________
– Support the channel: https://www.patreon.com/branham
– Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSpezVG15TVG-lOYMRXuyQ
– Visit the website: https://william-branham.org
– Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBranhamOrg
– Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@william.m.branham
– Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wmbhr
– Buy the books: https://william-branham.org/site/books
https://www.patreon.com/branham
Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts:
https://william-branham.org/podcast
Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCGGZX3K
Come Out of Her, My People:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZRMM8WQ
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVZHKD5Q
John and Charles investigate the connections between William Branham's ministry and the mob, including those closely associated with him. Thanks to a hand-written letter from Graham Snelling, former pastor of the Branham Tabernacle, Branham's criminal tax fraud is exposed. The discussion highlights long-held rumors and unverified stories about Branham's connections to questionable activities, which have not been fully documented. The hosts carefully present an argument, noting that while they cannot definitively prove these allegations, the sheer number of witnesses involved lends some credibility to the claims.
The conversation expands on how Graham Snelling, after years of working with Branham, took over as pastor of the Tabernacle in the late 1940s. However, after a series of tumultuous events, Snelling resigned in 1951. His resignation letter reveals internal disputes, including allegations of mishandling church funds and Branham’s tendency to force out other leaders. The episode underscores the complexity of Branham's operations and the conflicts between public perception and private realities, particularly regarding financial transparency and church leadership.
00:00 Introduction
02:00 William Branham's Research Approach and Early Rumors
03:30 Introduction to Graham Snelling and His Role in the 1930s
06:00 Leadership Changes and Internal Disputes in Branham Tabernacle
09:30 The Alleged Firing of Bernice Hicks and the Search for a New Pastor
12:30 Graham Snelling's Pastoral Role and His Resignation Letter
16:00 William Branham's Tax Evasion and Financial Discrepancies
19:30 Allegations of Money Mismanagement in the Branham Ministry
24:00 Details on Branham's Leadership and Church Structure
27:30 Revelations About Financial Misconduct
31:00 Historical Ties Between William Branham, the Mob, and the Liquor Trade
36:00 The Exploitation of Graham Snelling and Leadership Failures
42:00 Connection Between Bernice Hicks and Branham’s Early Ministry
48:00 Paul Cain and the Development of Branham's Successors
52:00 Reflection on the Legacy of Branham’s Ministry and Its Influence
______________________
– Support the channel: https://www.patreon.com/branham
– Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSpezVG15TVG-lOYMRXuyQ
– Visit the website: https://william-branham.org
– Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBranhamOrg
– Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@william.m.branham
– Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wmbhr
– Buy the books: https://william-branham.org/site/books
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00You
00:30Welcome to another episode of the William Branham historical research podcast. I'm your host John Collins
00:38The author and founder of William Branham historical research at William dash Branham org and with me
00:44I have my co-host researcher minister and friend Charles Paisley
00:48the founder of Christian gospel church org and the author of come out of her my people and
00:54And together we're examining the history and the intersections in history
00:59Between William Branham and other key figures that either influenced or were influenced by the post-world war to healing revivals
01:07Charles I am so excited for today. There are a number of things that I have held back for years
01:15Because there were things that I knew
01:18they could be considered rumors, but
01:21Considering the people that I heard them from you could almost say it was
01:25Maybe not a direct source, but almost a direct source
01:29But because of what it is and because that there is no way to document this I've kind of had to hold some of it
01:37back
01:37but
01:39there are things that I have known for years that people wonder why I chose the approach that I did with my
01:47Historical research, you know, they the guilt by association claims always come out
01:52Why did you why did you connect William Branham to his father Charles to the mob that kind of thing?
02:00but there was so much more that
02:03That I knew and as you get as you dig deeper into this you start to realize
02:08Once you can critically examine everything that you know
02:12Everything that you heard and then tie each one of those pieces to critical analysis instead of cult
02:19brainwashed way of thinking
02:22Suddenly you start to see the picture that is not the picture of a Christian minister. I'll just say it like that
02:29Well, John we have a really interesting episode today and and we have a piece of documentation that we're going to
02:36mainly build the episode around today and we're going back to the
02:401940s and before I I tell you
02:44You know dive in just a little bit let's just say what we got we have a copy of Graham Snelling's
02:50resignation letter from the Branham Tabernacle and
02:54You know on research is still really ongoing into all of this stuff
02:58You know from the message and you know as more people leave the message as more people reach out
03:03They're leaving with more evidence
03:05And they're reaching out with more we're always glad to have
03:09People send stuff in and we've had lots of stuff sent in but this one was was significant enough
03:15You know, we felt the need to just do a whole episode on it
03:19As it there's there's some fairly notable things in this letter that I think are really worth
03:24Pointing out to people now before we start going through the letter itself
03:28Maybe and just kind of pointing out the the notable things in it. I thought I should maybe talk just a few minutes about
03:36Graham Snelling's position and the whole message and and everything that happened during his time before and after he left that way
03:42People can kind of get some context for this. So Graham Snelling
03:47Had been
03:49Connected to William Branham since the 30s. Okay, so there was a relationship that existed with them since the 1930s and
03:57When William Branham had his 1933 tent revival meetings Graham Snelling along with George D
04:03Ark were basically the two other
04:06Elder figures they are helping him do his 1933
04:09Tent meetings where the baptism happened, you know, and the light supposedly came down from heaven and all that Graham Snelling was there
04:16He's actually one of the only
04:18Eyewitnesses to that event that is known to the message community
04:22So he's at that event
04:25After they start the Branham tabernacle
04:28George D. Ark really serves as kind of the first assistant pastor
04:33George D. Ark though dies in 1937
04:36They go into a period where
04:38From the best we know
04:40It seems like Bernice Hicks is actually the second most senior minister in the church for a period of time
04:46Yeah, and it continues that way up until
04:5019
04:51roughly 1945 1946 there's hints in William Branham's 1945 of
04:57Commission vision that he's having problems in his church. Okay, and so he's having these problems
05:04He goes out on the road and starts touring doing his revival stuff
05:08And this is a famous message story John. Hey, I
05:12Wasn't there but this has been told to me by people our families were there. Our friends were there
05:17I'll put it that way people we know were there
05:19somewhere in
05:211946 or
05:221947 William Branham comes back to the Branham tabernacle after a meeting and he hides in the back room John
05:29This is the story. He hides in the back room. He waits for Bernice Hicks to get up and start preaching and
05:35As she starts preaching he don't like she don't know he's there
05:38He bursts out of the back room and he says aha
05:42I caught a woman preaching and I knew you was a woman preacher and throws her out of the church
05:46This is a famous
05:48This is a very well-repeated story by people that at our church and this is how Bernice Hicks gets kicked out of the church
05:551946 for early 47 something like that and at that point
06:00They need a new pastor
06:02So the the person they select is his name is brother McCullough. He becomes pastor
06:08he's pastor for maybe six months and William Branham suddenly has a vision that he was committing adultery and
06:15He had to go
06:17Okay, this is a pattern John, isn't it? Yeah
06:21And he has to go
06:24Next in line comes Graham Snelling. Okay, so it's by 1947 Graham Snelling then comes in and he's the next pastor of
06:32the Branham tabernacle
06:34Okay
06:34and he remains pastor into 1950 and this the letter that we're gonna read talks about the terms under which he became pastor and the
06:41Things that maybe led up to him leaving. Well what we know in the message is in
06:461951 William Branham published his book a man sent from God. I got a copy at a bottom my shelf
06:52Maybe I'll get you a copy you can put up but his famous 1951 biography a man sent from God was published in
06:591951 and
07:01News came back to Graham Snelling that William Branham had begun to exaggerate the 1933 baptism story
07:08John the light came down and there was 10,000 people and the voice thundered from heaven and Graham Snelling says
07:15That's not what happened. I was there
07:19In Graham Snelling started saying that publicly, oh, that's not what happened guys, you know, I was there and
07:28William Branham had a vision that Graham Snelling was committing adultery
07:32And then with the little gift of the Holy Spirit I talked to those men just you know
07:39How and determine just a little way to find out and one of them was a genuine Christian
07:45and he was a real servant of Christ and the other one was a hypocrite and
07:51One of them the one that was the hypocrite was living with a black-headed woman
07:57Running around with a blonde and had children by her
08:00So
08:02This is the pattern, okay
08:05So
08:06This is happening right and from what I read in this letter. Apparently William Branham decided to make life
08:14Unpleasant for Graham Snelling until he resigned. I think that's what we're gonna see as we read this letter today
08:19So that's the backstory leading up to Graham Snelling's resignation letter in 1951. Yeah
08:26It's so weird and complicated and funny
08:29it it's like if you took Kramer from the Seinfeld show and put him in as a religious figure and
08:36Mixed in the mob and the Klan and all of these different parties and turned it into a very untasteful sitcom
08:42That's really what this is
08:44but
08:45you know
08:46So I knew some of these pieces that we're about to talk about and we're gonna get into the money which everybody's been dying
08:52For years for me to talk about and I hold my tongue because
08:57even still there are pieces of it that I'm not yet ready to open up about and
09:02I've made very careful that certain figures that are working with me in various locations
09:08They each have a just a small piece of the puzzle so that you know
09:13We keep all things safe and on the up-and-up. But anyway
09:17My family knew about the money
09:19and
09:20The irony is they were so indoctrinated that when they would talk about it
09:25They really didn't critically think about wait a minute
09:28That's a heck of a lot of money and what's happening with it?
09:31And so my grandfather was the pastor at the Branham Tabernacle 50 years. He's William Branham's deacon
09:37I can't say that he is a direct source, but I can also say that it's not hearsay because he was there
09:44he was with them and
09:46I knew if you know Sarah Branham even mentions this in her letter
09:51So I guess you can say that that is a direct source
09:53But I knew that the sons got a heck of a lot of money from William Branham
09:59We're talking millions of dollars which in today's money. It's that's an astronomical figure. I knew about the money
10:05I knew about some of the connections, but
10:09I've been in contact with Graham Snelling's offspring for years now
10:13Some of them I've been in contact with up until they died and they died years ago
10:18so they have given me bits and pieces of information that they knew and
10:23again, they you know, they weren't Graham so it's not a direct source, but it is the closest thing you can get to and
10:30from a
10:31Historical perspective. I can't call it factual what they've told me which is why I've not really talked about it
10:38But from a biblical perspective we have the mouth of not just two or three but
10:44Charles it's a lot of witnesses of what we're gonna about about to talk about today. I know John I
10:51I think the first really interesting thing
10:55I would like to point out in this letter is actually on the fourth and final page
11:00I'm sure John you're gonna post this whole letter up on your website where
11:04People can go read this whole thing for themselves
11:06So, I don't know that we're necessarily gonna digest every piece of it. But on the fourth page of the letter
11:13Graham Snelling gives an accounting of the Branham Tabernacle Church Treasury
11:20I'm gonna read some of it to you. He says
11:24First the estimate of the average income for the church was
11:28$277.12 per month
11:30But they took it over the last few months which was during
11:34the time of the Schuller meetings. Now when I started in
11:401947 there was $700 in the Treasury and we spent about
11:44$350 for repairs and so
11:47Graham Snelling had direct knowledge of the money that was in the Branham Tabernacle Treasury
11:54He was the pastor
11:55That's what I want to point out to you and I want you just to see these numbers as he
11:59Accounts for it
12:01That left us about 350 to go on. Since then the church has been redecorated that cost about
12:07$120 plus new seats at $1,000 and a new furnace and house for it to go to ground and to build it on at a
12:15cost of about
12:16$1,600 plus $1,000 plus $350 for a total of
12:20$2,950
12:22Plus all the expenses paid and $450 for Brother Branham this month of July
12:28And then he goes on more or less to say there's only
12:33$32 he's being told $32 left in the Treasury
12:37Okay, so in 1951
12:38He seems to be indicating there is a grand total of $32 and all of the money that's came in and out is what he's
12:45Just noted that he is aware of
12:48So there's a problem there. It's a really big big big problem there
12:54William Branham
12:56If everyone remembers got sued for tax evasion
13:00He got charged with tax evasion the IRS came after him on tax evasion charges
13:06starting in 1956 and
13:09William Branham's defense for those charges was that he was
13:15Putting all of the money which he received on the road into the Branham Tabernacle Treasury
13:22Tabernacle Treasury and therefore it was not taxable. It was all charitable donations to the Tabernacle Foundation is the word he used
13:31But Graham Snelling here in 1951 is telling us that is not the case
13:36Graham Snelling is telling us
13:38No, only thing in the Treasury is what we collected in tithes at the church
13:42Yeah, William Branham said on recording it was either three hundred and fifty thousand or three hundred thousand dollars
13:47But he owed the government three. We'll call it three hundred three hundred thousand dollars in taxes the other day
13:54coming in on
13:56There was a question brought up about something about someone had given me a check
14:03And said personally exactly just to me and me only
14:07Tax-paid free everything else
14:09Well, we went and Billy knew that I kind of had need of that check
14:14He went and asked the attorneys if we could cash it he said why he's American citizen
14:19Why can't he cash it see says tax paid and everything else free any citizen can do that?
14:24So then he couldn't be satisfied with that Billy. So he goes to the public accountant
14:29He said why certainly he could cash that that he's a citizen United States
14:34So well, he couldn't think good about that. So he called Merle Miller. That's the head of the
14:39the tax
14:41Association at
14:43Indianapolis there was our attorneys and so I said Miller. So sure. It's all right. Hey here. He can have that check
14:50It's it's uh, it's made out to him and Dorsey only I can only one can endorse it
14:56So forth and it couldn't be stamped with RC. I don't cash no checks
15:00That's what they got me for the other time
15:02Somebody bring in a bunch of checks and say here brother Bram at the meeting
15:05I'd say William Branham William Branham
15:07Well, the government's taking care of all that a whole time and I signed it to myself and it's paying the debts out there
15:11But they said I would delinquent taxes on all of it. Anyhow
15:15$300,000 in today's money. That is almost four million dollars in taxes and
15:21Everybody who's on who's listening and is aware how taxes works. You're taxed on a percentage
15:27So, I don't know what his rate is it maybe it was 20 30 percent whatever it was
15:33That's how much he brought in we're talking it would have been in the billions man
15:37There was a heck of a lot of money that came into this thing. So
15:41What Graham Snelling is saying is that out of all of these millions of dollars in today's money this little tiny?
15:49fraction
15:50That's leaving the church with what $32. That's all that's being left to run the church
15:56You're right John and and this is very significant because I'm gonna read you a quote from William Branham
16:02This is from the 1962 sermon called all things
16:05paragraph 29 William Branham says and the federal government income tax collector said that those checks of mine
16:13personally
16:14No matter what I do them with them if like some brother signed a check at the window for so many thousands of dollars for
16:20An overseas trip then he signed it just to pay from his foundation to the order of William Branham
16:26I signed it and I put it in the tabernacle foundation
16:29We kept every checked everything brought it back
16:33He said but when you signed it, it was yours. Then you turned it over the tabernacle. There's no way of beating it. That's all
16:41So what you see in that quote and quite a few others like it William Branham is telling his audiences
16:46All the money I received on the revivals. I put it into the tabernacle
16:52Therefore it went to a charitable organization. It's not taxable
16:55This was a huge part of his defense, but the federal government the whole time is saying no you did not do that
17:01You kept all the money yourself and you have to pay taxes on it. Okay
17:07Graham Snelling confirms to us William Branham is lying through his teeth
17:11He did not put that money into the tabernacle Treasury the Treasury of the tabernacle had
17:19$32
17:211851 right and and had a high point I think and through all those years maybe had three grand plus some expenses of
17:29He basically confirms to us
17:32William Branham was not routing this money in the way that he told his audience
17:36So when William Branham here says all these times that he's justifying these people I put it all in the tabernacle foundation
17:41I put all my checks there when Bram's lying John
17:45He was bold-faced lying, you know
17:48Like I said, I've known about the money for a long time and
17:52The things that are happening with money are unusual like one
17:56I'm not gonna give the person's name but a person who is a
18:00The offspring of somebody who everyone in the cult knows it's from the main sect and it is a very important person
18:08They even after the person died
18:11They had checks written out of a designated amount for I don't know how long I think they said over
18:17years
18:18to be put back into
18:21to be put back into the voice of God recordings and
18:25Branham tabernacle foundation, whatever. I have a feeling the only thing Branham deposited was IOU
18:32Well, the money was moving out and that see that's the real crux of this and that people ask me
18:38Why did I take the path of examining the liquor industry in Indiana?
18:44You know William Branham claims that he was disconnected from it
18:48He said from what I think age seven or something, but that's not what the newspaper said
18:53This is connected directly to Al Capone, man. We're talking the big-time mob and
18:59what I have known for years and have just kind of
19:03Avoided the subject is that didn't stop when William Branham become a minister
19:09And there's some pretty clear evidence that something is happening with the money
19:13the next really interesting thing I'd like to point out in this letter John is
19:18Let me see if I can find it
19:20Do you do yep? It is on the second page of his resignation letter. So in this letter
19:29Graham Snelling also explains
19:33Who were in what positions in the Branham tabernacle in?
19:371951 he says I was told when he left by brother Branham himself that I could put the deacons back after he was gone
19:44But instead he chose brother Seward as senior deacon and brother Doc Branham as the general
19:51Overseer of the church which took all the authority of a pastor from me
19:56so
19:58What Graham Snelling is saying right there? Is that William Branham's brother doc Edgar Branham?
20:04Was put in the position of general overseer
20:09in
20:10in 1951 roughly and so
20:14Again, I think that is so interesting because John who do we know that was using the title general overseer?
20:23General overseer
20:25Was the position of Roy Davis when he planted all these churches that was Roy Davis's title
20:32It was his position John. I don't really know
20:37Methodists don't have general overseers
20:39Baptists don't have general overseers Catholics don't have general overseers Jehovah Witnesses don't have general overseas
20:45This is not a normal thing. This is not a normal thing. This is a unique thing
20:51How how is it that the tabernacle ends up with the general overseer position?
20:58Obviously they are following the same model of governance that was created by Roy Davis
21:04Right there. This is a very good clear example that
21:09organizationally structurally they are a continuation of Roy Davis's
21:15Movement what he planted here in this area, right?
21:18And that's why people have often asked me the next question. Why did I continue tying Davis to Branham?
21:26During the years whenever Branham allegedly parted ways from him and
21:32You know, we found that newspaper article from I think it was the 1950s where Branham is holding a Pentecostal Baptist revival in, Indiana
21:40this is after latter rain has
21:43Exploded and faded, you know, the Pentecostal movement split in half over latter rain doctrines
21:50And this theme has continued
21:53Davis planted the church. He set up the general overseer to watch the church and govern the church
21:59but he planted many of these things and remember in the years that we're talking about
22:04Davis is
22:06attempting to rise in power as the national leader of the Klan and he needs funding and
22:13Where does the money come from? No, I've not been able to answer that directly for years
22:18I know where it came from or some of it came from but that's the big question
22:23Everybody has wondered, you know, how did Davis do this? It takes money to do the things that he did
22:28where did the money come from and
22:31Like like the Deacons you can go to the
22:35Resignation page on my website of my grandfather all the Deacons saying where is the money going?
22:42In the resignations the Deacons have
22:46Been unable to fulfill all their duties for a while
22:50because the treasurer
22:53trustee has
22:54Said there is no funds available to help those in need
22:59The question is where is the money?
23:03You know, you speak about money a little bit and and and I said, you know, I made the point
23:08Graham Snelling says there's 32 bucks left in the Treasury, you know, it is entirely possible. We don't we don't know it's entirely possible
23:16They were lying to Graham Snelling about what was in the Treasury, right? It's entirely possible
23:20They had a boatload of money in the Treasury
23:22Maybe William Brennan really was putting the money in there, but then they're lying to Graham Snelling about it, right?
23:27That that's possible like we don't exactly know right?
23:31All we know is Graham Snelling as far as he knew they had about 32 bucks left in Treasury in
23:371951
23:38but
23:39But William Brannan says oh I put all of the millions in there from the revival. So
23:44Something there's something weird there John, right? Some there's something weird there and
23:50Somebody's lying to somebody obviously
23:54Else I would like to share about Doc Brannan
23:58But I got to do it in a little bit of a roundabout way John
24:00So what I before I share this about Doc Brannan, I want to read to you something from
24:05Billy Paul's testimony
24:08So if you go back
24:10There's a book the book title is Generations
24:13The book is wrote by Angela Smith who would be I think she's like the sister-in-law of Rebecca Branham
24:20If I'm right Angela Smith, you'd probably confirm that John so she would be Rebecca Branham sister-in-law
24:25so she wrote a book called Generations in which she
24:31Recorded
24:33Testimonies of all kinds of people in the message. It's it's actually a really interesting book a great resource
24:40For information from the early days of the message
24:43It lots of good stuff in there. I want to read to you out of that book John
24:49Just a little bit of Billy Paul's testimony, okay
24:53Starting about the 10th or 12th paragraph Billy Paul. This is Billy Paul's testimony in
24:59Generations by Angela Smith. He says before I was saved. I enjoyed playing cards and gambling
25:07Sometimes I could play cards all night and I was good enough that I could play in some of the big games
25:13one night I heard of a big poker game that was coming to town to Jeffersonville a
25:19Group of players came from Chicago for this game and there would be a lot of money involved
25:25Of course all of this was completely illegal
25:29And when I went back when I went to the back of the room where they were playing
25:34There was a guard at every door looking out for the police
25:40All right, normally everyone knew each other but that night there was a new dealer at the table
25:46he told me this is a closed poker game week we could go on to read it, but
25:52John
25:54What does it sound like Billy Paul is describing there?
25:58Yeah, I know I know exactly who it who and what it sounds like but like you I'm I'm not gonna go too far because
26:05I think it's probably best if we avoid some of this but
26:10So after my grandfather took over the church as head pastor
26:14There wasn't a clear structure of the general overseer at least I never heard grandpa mentioned that
26:20So if it did exist he was unaware and we do know that
26:25From based off of the court filings, etc. That it wasn't a normal church structure
26:29I'll just say it like that and you can look up the Branham Tabernacle
26:33filings on the website, but
26:36According to my grandfather and others. It wasn't just grandpa that had this knowledge
26:41but there was a period of time when my grandfather was head pastor in which there's
26:47Large sums of money disappearing from the tithe baskets and
26:51one of Branham's brothers
26:53Not going to say which one but one of them
26:57apparently was
26:59funnily to some men and
27:01they were down by the river and a group of the
27:04Brethren from the church had to go rescue said man because they were gonna kill him
27:09And it's it's a crazy story, you know, the people that were telling it when I was growing up
27:15They were indoctrinated. So they saw this as a holy thing. The demons are coming. They're trying to attack the church
27:21Whatever is the nonsense that was in our heads. I had it too. I was indoctrinated
27:26But after I left and critically thought about that scene what that what all that implies
27:32Then connect it back to the fact that William Branham's family
27:36Lived in the casinos with Otto Wathen the kingpin of the liquor industry who is supplying
27:43The Chicago the Newport mobs Cincinnati mob all of these different
27:48organizations with liquor back in prohibition during prohibition and
27:53Then realized that wait a minute. This is still continuing and the church isn't operating as a church and they're not financially responsible
28:00and
28:02You know, you look at the you look at the money that
28:05Branham
28:06Spent I mean, it's not he's got a small house. He's got
28:10He does have a Cadillac, but he's got multiple cars vehicles
28:14But there's no there's no way to account for in today's money. What would have been
28:20billions of dollars that money went somewhere Charles
28:24We know for sure that William Branham's father and some of his brothers were working
28:31with the Chicago mob in the 1920s in
28:35the 1930s in
28:37the 1940s
28:39And it also seems for sure into the 1950s, I mean something now it was William Branham
28:45I don't know where's his family? Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure
28:50Absolutely, right now now this is all in the past
28:53And so I'm I'm I just I'm reading this to you
28:57So Billy Paul is talking about being at the poker game with the big guys from Chicago with people and guns at the door
29:03guarding the doors
29:04now
29:05The reason I point this out to you in relation to this letter is as you read on through Billy Paul's testimony
29:11He seems to indicate this card game is happening at Doc Branham's house
29:16Which is across the street from the Branham Tabernacle, okay. Yeah, so
29:21So this is who William Branham has made general overseer of the Branham Tabernacle in 1951
29:28His brother doc now John I I think you know probably so doc Branham after William Branham died doc
29:36Branham and his family
29:38Primarily came to Faith Assembly primarily came to my church
29:41Okay
29:41So they married into our sect of the message and their family still I believe in our sect of the message of the present day
29:47So, you know
29:49we actually have fairly quite a bit of familiarity with with doc Branham and his family and in my sect of the message and so
29:55Doc Branham from everything I ever heard was a very nice man. I never heard anything negative about him, but I'm just pointing out to you
30:03Billy Paul's testimony there
30:06The fact that doc Branham is the general overseer of the tabernacle here in in 1951
30:14And his house is right across the street from the tabernacle and Billy Paul seems to indicate that card game happened at his house. So
30:22There is you're right John
30:23There's a whole lot a person could say and I know I up to this point have been incredibly reluctant to talk about this aspect
30:30of things but I'm just
30:32I'm cracking the door open just a little bit here to let people see
30:37there is
30:39Something here and there is plenty of evidence
30:43If you actually want to look down on it, but for someone who values his life, I'm not gonna talk about it too much. Okay
30:52Have you ever wondered how the Pentecostal movement started or how the progression of modern Pentecostalism
30:59transition through the latter reign
31:01Charismatic and other fringe movements into the New Apostolic Reformation
31:06You can learn this and more on William Branham historical researches website
31:10William dash Branham org on the books page of the website
31:15You can find the compiled research of John Collins Charles Paisley
31:19Stephen Montgomery John MacKinnon and others with links to the paper audio and digital versions of each book
31:27You can also find resources and documentation on various people and topics related to those movements
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31:49We want to thank you for your support
31:52So let's take a moment Charles and let's just sum this up from
31:55From the early days until what we are just beginning to understand from the letter from
32:02Graham Snelling to the church in the early days William Branham and his father are producing liquor in an illicit
32:10liquor ring in Jeffersonville, Indiana
32:12That is supplying directly the Chicago mob
32:17Al Capone with liquor there's clear-cut evidence and William Branham is doing this until
32:24About age 16
32:26according to the newspaper reports that we have and
32:31Regardless of what his fictional life story says. I think he says it he was six or seven, but he was 16 and
32:39The Klan comes in raids the place. They
32:42They they claim that they eradicated the liquor in Jefferson, but I don't know if they did or not
32:46but the Branham family had
32:49Previous previously lived on the on the Wathen farm
32:54which was the big casino during the days when you know liquor is going on and in Jeffersonville and
33:01In Louisville, they're cleaning it up. But Jeffersonville is where you came for all the dirty stuff
33:05So the family is working directly with that William Branham's brother kills a man in a gunfight
33:12his other brother
33:14becomes in
33:16In even up through the latter rain years Charles his other brother owned a bar
33:21It was Howard Howard Branham owned a bar in Jeffersonville and worked with friends and family, etc
33:27They owned a bar his sister Dolores
33:30I believe if I remember if I recall correctly
33:34She owned a bar that was just up the street from the Branham Tabernacle
33:39I had to do some title searching to find it the other brothers holding card games
33:44And we're not talking about you know years before William Branham's conversion
33:50Howard Branham toured with William Branham while selling liquor
33:54In the in the latter rain years and all this time Branham's got this
33:58Fictional stage persona where he's against all of this stuff and he's right in the heart of it man back in Jeffersonville
34:05Duck Branham's house was across the street from the Branham Tabernacle
34:08So I think one last
34:12One last thing I want to point out about Graham Snelling's letter
34:15And maybe this is the most important thing of all in everything that Graham Snelling
34:21Actually shared in here, you know as you read through this letter by Graham Snelling
34:27You know just it's it's it's in cursive. So unless you can read English cursive real good
34:33It might have a trouble reading it. I I had to make it basically a typed up transcript of it to analyze it real well, but
34:41It's very clear in this letter that
34:45William Branham is making life hard for Graham Snelling
34:49perhaps on purpose probably on purpose in order to drive him away and
34:54That he has really taken bad advantage of Graham Snelling all through this thing
34:58It's really pretty obvious that he has just used
35:01Graham Snelling and now that Graham Snelling has built the tabernacle up a little bit and got some
35:07Congregation back to it that William Branham's kicking him to the curb
35:11And taking all the hard work that he did for himself. It's really clear. That is what?
35:15William Branham is doing Graham Snelling in here explains how
35:20When he took over the church John, I believe he says there's something like
35:2440 people left at the Branham tabernacle when he takes it over, right?
35:28Because again that matches what we understand from when Hicks left the church the story there
35:33from her side is that the majority of the
35:35Congregation left with her and went over and they went on the path that made the Christ gospel cult, right?
35:40That that matches that and so Graham Snelling saying hey
35:42We there's just a handful of people the Treasury was empty
35:46The building was in shambles and he's through this letter
35:49Explaining how he fundraised and he spent money out of his own pocket and how he helped redecorate and fix up the building
35:57How he you know put in the you know
35:59The elbow grease to build the congregation back up and how he got it back up the two
36:04I believe you want to I said somewhere around I believe
36:07175 people is what he had built the congregation back to and the income coming in had just finally reached the point where the church
36:16had enough income to cover its expenses and now maybe he could start to get a
36:23Salary out of it that was better than what he's putting in
36:26So that's the way that this is is going and he had obviously looked at it as I'm gonna come
36:31I'm gonna do the hard work to get this thing going and then I it's gonna turn into a church that I can be a
36:36Pastor of and you have to remember Graham Snelling had his own church in Utica before this thing started
36:42He could have stayed at his church in Utica and did this exact same thing, right and built the congregation, right?
36:49But instead William Branham offered him a sweetheart deal as you read through here William Branham says I'm leaving the Branham Tabernacle
36:56I'm never coming back. You can have the Branham Tabernacle
36:59That's basically how he how he explains it
37:03So he thought he was coming and gonna have his own church
37:06And but here then brewing brand swoops back in steals it all from him and all that work
37:11he could have put in at his church in Utica is lost right and
37:15William Branham just takes the fruit of his ministry from him. That is what is happening here in this letter. And that's that's
37:23In a way John that's really dirty, isn't it? I mean it is so dirty
37:27It's just using somebody we Brown just used this man took him away from his own church with with false promises
37:34Right and then kicks him to the curb a few years later and steals essentially steals all the hard work
37:41that Graham Snelling had put in to the Branham Tabernacle and I want to take a moment and pause a bit and
37:48Emphasize something that you said we have a lot of listeners now that are have escaped the International House of Prayer cult
37:56And they're starting to notice similarities between
37:59Many of the things that we have talked about previously and what we're discussing on this show
38:04I'm not gonna get into any of that right now
38:06But one of the one of the big things that you mentioned was that William Branham had Bernice Hicks
38:14who is helping pastor the church and
38:17I've not said much about it. I've known this for years, but I've not said much about it because William Branham claims falsely
38:25That the reason why he separated from Davis is because Davis was ordaining women preachers and he uses that word women that phrase women
38:33preachers
38:34But that's not true
38:36Bernice Hicks who started another cult an international cult just up the road from the Branham Tabernacle
38:43Christ Gospel Church International
38:45She was a a cult leader who got her start in the Branham Tabernacle
38:50When Paul Cain called me and we talked about many things that some of which I've said some of which I
38:57Have not and I'm not sure I will everything
39:01But Paul Cain was William Branham's protege
39:04he
39:06Advertised himself as a second Branham and you and I talked about this just what was it last night?
39:12There were many ministers in the Branham community who were very angry that he was calling himself a second Branham
39:18He went on to help start, you know, it's through Paul Cain and Bob Jones that I hop really came to be
39:25Paul Cain was with William Branham from the early years of latter rain
39:30He got his start as a minister in the early years and he told me
39:35Confirming what you have confirmed and what others knew that Bernice Hicks?
39:41Was the the I think he said assistant pastor. I'm not certain that is correct
39:47maybe it is but anyway, she was a minister in the Branham Tabernacle and
39:52what happened was like you said the church split they became their own cult and there was a
39:57strong division because they the people just
40:02some people sided with her and
40:04According to the Snelling family what they've confided in me is it wasn't just the Snelling's that noticed the money issues
40:12There were many people in the church who really desperately needed help
40:17Financial help there were hard times and William Branham while he's got the lights cameras action
40:23Glory, and he's wearing wristwatches that in today's money. These are $10,000 wristwatches
40:29His his poor congregation is just suffering and so many people did split and they started a different cult
40:37Right, you know the the Bernice Hicks split off is interesting stuff John and I think the way I understand it
40:44You know haven't spent a lot of time looking into it and I cover this in in my book come out over my people a fair
40:50bit
40:51when William Branham
40:53Went on the road the church the tabernacle was in crisis
40:57And I think Bernice was intended Bernice Hicks was intended to just stay behind as a Sunday school teacher
41:03But while William Branham was gone
41:05She you know Sunday school preachers are the brand of tabernacle basically our preachers they preach an hour-long sermon before the sermon and
41:13so
41:14She took on I think in his absence
41:17She started preaching the main service too, and I think that is what?
41:22You know a William Branham objected to like the pastor position was vacant and needed filled and she
41:28Maybe
41:29Usurped to the pastor position. So when he came back and threw her out for taking the pastor position
41:35And then brought in brother McCullough to to replace it, you know, and I suspect he probably
41:43It seemed like he had an axe to grind against Bernice Hick all along right?
41:47And so he just used that as his opportunity you read his 1945 vision letter
41:53Something's going on at the brand of tabernacle his people don't want to eat his bread remember
41:58Yeah, there's something going on there and God's they're all you know, but were they blackbirds or crows or something in there?
42:06He basically threw the brand of tabernacle under the bus in that vision, right?
42:11It said yeah, they're all they're all lost. They're going to hell, right?
42:15Well, it's Bernice Hicks is the lady running the church really at that point. Okay. Yeah
42:20One of the funniest pieces of evidence as well you and I talked about
42:25briefly the Sarah Branham thing and anybody who's well
42:29I'm not gonna get into her disappearance and all of that stuff
42:32You can go to my website and you can find that but she was working with Gerald Walker
42:36Gerald Walker was investigating the finances and he found some very criminal things which we've included in that research
42:43but Walker was also the person who investigated the full gospel businessmen's organization and
42:50found all kinds of issues with money there and
42:54FGBMI for anybody who doesn't realize they're connected directly to Washington and they
43:00Even though the National Prayer Breakfast is held by the Fellowship Foundation
43:04There's another there's another kind of prayer breakfast that works in collaboration with this and that's the FGBMI breakfast
43:11We've got photos of you know, even Nixon
43:14I think I've got Reagan at those things that you can go dig into that research, but in
43:211946 in May of 1946
43:23Bernice Hicks
43:25Who's working with Branham preaching in the Branham Tabernacle?
43:28She is the secretary of the full gospel businessmen's chapter in Louisville
43:34This it's in the Courier Journal May the 3rd
43:381946 and it's talking about the all-denominational services sponsored by the Krishna's businessmen's
43:45That's the group that sponsored William Branham
43:47So Branham trusted Hicks enough to place her as president or secretary of the chapter in Louisville as he is
43:55Developing his stage persona worldwide. I think it's worth pointing out, too
44:00I think we've said this probably somewhere along the podcast, but if not, I'm gonna say it
44:04You know, we talked about Demas Shakerian was the founder of the full gospel businessmen, that's true
44:09But there was a co-founder, right?
44:11There was another key man who started it with him and his name was Minor Argenbright. Minor Argenbright was
44:17co-founder of the organization and the
44:20International vice president. He was Demas Shakerian second-in-command
44:24Well, guess where he's from Georgetown, Indiana
44:27Guess where he went to church at the Branham Tabernacle
44:31Okay, so the the Branham Tabernacle and and the local message community
44:38was connected to the very top levels of
44:41The full gospel businessmen from the beginning ladies and gentlemen. I mean, I think I think that that is
44:49It's just indisputable, right and the Argenbright family remains in the message to the present day along with several other people who were high-ranking
44:57Members of the full gospel businessmen. They were also parts of William Branham's cult personality coming back to the to the letter
45:05I just want to say again
45:06It's really I think it's really telling when you read this letter and you just consider the way that William Branham
45:14used Graham Snelling like when you read this letter just notice that he's
45:19He's promising Graham Snelling things are gonna be one way
45:23He lets Graham Snelling do all of this hard work to build everything up and then he steals it all from him at the end
45:28okay, that is that's the way to read this letter and
45:32Just notice that William Branham did that and notice how dirty that is
45:35and and as you let that sink in come to realize William Branham did that over and
45:41Over and over and over and over again to all kinds of people John
45:46I mean all kinds of people you could truthfully say that's what he did to Fred Softman
45:50He bled Fred Softman dry Fred Softman was a wealthy man from Canada with vast
45:57Real estate holdings William Branham bled Fred Softman dry, you know
46:01You can go down the list of people you can read Gordon Lindsay's testimony about working with William Branham in the business meet in business
46:08side of stuff
46:09He would he took terrible financial advantage of Gordon Lindsay over the years
46:14Really if you read what he did with Gordon Lindsay, you read the stuff also with like earned Baxter when William Branham went off the field
46:21in 1948
46:22William Branham had convinced Gordon Lindsay and earned Baxter
46:26To resign their positions as pastors in their church with good regular paying salaries to come work on his team, right?
46:33And he says yeah, we're gonna do the voice a healing bit
46:36He said he's basically promising these guys fame fortune money, right? And then a few months later. What does he do?
46:43He shuts everything down that screw you all I'm going to have a mental health break
46:47I don't know you guys can know what eat. Hey, right, you know
46:51that's basically what William Branham did right and you gotta look William Branham did this stuff over and
46:57Over and over and over again through his ministry John
47:02This was a continual pattern for this man. And this is not good stuff. This is
47:08corrupt
47:09Behavior from William Branham over and over and over again and you got to take off the message glasses to look at this
47:16This is not godly conduct that William Branham did here. It's ungodly wicked conduct
47:20It's basically stealing. So Charles, let's think about this a minute
47:24I was fully unaware that Bernice Hicks the founder of the Christ
47:30Gospel International Church cult was a minister in the Branham tabernacle
47:35Until I I received a phone call from Paul Cain and
47:39Paul Cain gave me a lot of things that are just kind of unbelievable
47:45Paul Cain was a very talkative person. I'll just say it like that Paul Cain also recorded every conversation
47:51He had with every single person he had through his entire life
47:56So there's probably a recording of this phone conversation that exists out there somewhere and I have a strong suspicion
48:02I know who has that recording
48:04But all that aside Paul Cain is the one that informed me that Bernice Hicks was the
48:11Was a big name in this religion. She was a minister and she was preaching in the Branham tabernacle and
48:18At the time he said it I honestly Charles. I didn't believe it. I had no way to confirm it
48:23all I knew was that Bernice Hicks was a
48:27Piano player that's all that I knew and I knew that from both from her cult and from ours
48:32I had people that said this I did not know she was preaching until Paul Cain told me and then I started digging and
48:39You know the from your testimonies that you've collected and from the things that I have discovered. It's pretty evident
48:46That's what was going on
48:47but the key part of this Charles is
48:50By Paul Cain telling me this that he was there when the female was preaching
48:56That predates William Branham's first introduction to Paul Cain
49:00I think it was it was May of 1951. I just had to look it up. So before May of
49:061951 Paul Cain was actually attending or visiting the Branham tabernacle
49:11He was there when the female preacher was so that places him in the beginning
49:16Which means that he is aware of many of the things he was aware of many of the things that we're talking about
49:21He saw the different phases and iterations. He saw the stage personas as they changed and evolved over time
49:28He saw the money he knew how much money was coming into this and
49:33Think about what happened
49:34So he sees this he wants to become a second Branham and he starts he helps start the International House of Prayer
49:42Which is Branham ism 2.0 effectively
49:45We've had many people come in and give their stories and they're they're like shocked to find this
49:51Paul Cain tried to recreate this mess that we have talked about in this and for the people who
49:58escaped that cult
50:00Many of the details that we're not saying I've heard from the cult members. So they know that
50:05It was almost a complete clone of everything that we've talked about here
50:10John the more I read and learn about the NAR I have to say the more shocked and offended I
50:17am by it
50:20What in the world you guys think you're restoring the apostles and prophets and of the fivefold ministry
50:26Don't you guys realize the message did that in the 60s and 70s? What what in the world?
50:30What what do you mean? You're restoring it the message restored it in the 50s and 60s
50:36Did you guys like miss out on that somehow, right? I know my sect of the message headed had created an
50:44international fivefold ministry with with apostles over all the regions and and all the offices
50:51By the mid-70s John, yeah
50:54And and these guys in the 90s start thinking they're rebuilding the fivefold ministry
51:00What in the world do you guys realize that you guys just stole our ideas?
51:06And went over on the parallel and started trying to do the same thing
51:09I mean and here's the thing John and I I've mentioned this to you
51:14We knew in my sect of the message. We knew that they were stealing this stuff from the message from the beginning
51:20We sent spies of the Toronto blessing. We were watching Paul Cain the whole time
51:25I mean and in our parlance, you know, William Branham talked about there would be false anointed ones at the end time
51:30Who would create a false message basically and we said you guys read that's what we said
51:35That NAR was we said the NAR these these these people out there in the vineyard movement and everything back in those days
51:42We said these guys are the false anointed ones creating a false message. They've stolen our message
51:48They're building the false message and we said you guys are actually fulfilling William Brown of prophecies about the false anointed ones making a false message I
51:57Bet you the people in NAR have absolutely no idea about any of that. Do they right because Paul Cain
52:03I'm sure never told you all that part, even though he was still coming to our churches while we was preaching that part. So it's
52:11Anyways we could talk so much about that stuff John so much about that stuff
52:16But it the context that they have is so unusual so unusual. It's so unusual
52:23It's crazy man. I mean think of this these people come here to grave-soak William Branham's pyramid grave
52:30Why aren't they going to grave-soak Al Capone's grave or DC Stevenson?
52:34I mean if you really understand where all of this came from
52:38This is the biggest mess Charles and even the grave-soaking. It's so stupid. Colonel Sanders tomb is right across the river
52:45You don't find me going there so that I can make better fried chicken
52:49but these guys want to build this fictional reverence with this spiritualism and nonsense and
52:55They're not telling the people in the NAR where this mess came from. It's something else. I
53:02Just don't even have words like it blows my mind like that. This could even happen, right?
53:07But hey, it happened right and you know the people in the message. Oh, you know what I have done
53:11I have just told them how to fulfill a Branham prophecy
53:14With the if they hadn't heard that of course my sect already believed it. So I'm sure it's out there anyway
53:19But this is you guys. I mean, it's uh, I don't even know what else to say John
53:25I just got it, but I'm so thankful for this Graham Snelling letter. Thank you for sending this in
53:30This is a an incredibly important piece of history documentation
53:35Ladies gentlemen go out to the research website read it for yourself. See what you think
53:40I think we pointed out some really interesting takeaways from it
53:44So yes by the time this episode launches if you go to William dash Branham org
53:49there's a big search bar at the top and if you can type in Graham Snelling and
53:54The website is divided into different categories of information. One of them is publications
53:59So if you're on the mobile, there's a little button at the bottom that gets you into the folder
54:03So if you're in the website, you just click on publications and it's published in there and everybody can read it
54:09Like Charles said it is in cursive. So it's a little bit difficult to read but all this is out there
54:14This is crazy stuff. This is what the NAR
54:18Ultimately developed from this is the mess that created it
54:22So if you've enjoyed our show and you want more information, you can check us out on the web
54:26You can find us at William dash Branham org for more information about the history of William Branham and the healing revivals
54:33Read come out of her my people
54:36Available on Amazon and Kindle for more about the dark side of the NAR read weaponized religion from Christian identity
54:43to the NAR
54:45available on Amazon Kindle and soon audible
55:05You
55:35You