William Marrion Branham was born in 1909 in Burkesville, Kentucky. According to accounts he later shared, a light entered the room at his birth and hovered over him — an event he interpreted as the beginning of a divine calling. From an early age, Branham claimed to hear voices, including one that warned him against drinking and smoking. He grew up in extreme poverty and later described his family as being involved in criminal activities, such as bootlegging.
At the age of 14, Branham was shot in both legs in what he described as a hunting accident. His family could not afford medical treatment, but his hospital bills were paid by the Ku Klux Klan. This act of support left a lasting impression on him. Branham maintained lifelong associations with the Klan and often spoke favorably of them in later sermons, describing them as defenders of Christian values in the face of what he viewed as moral decline.
In 1929, Branham returned to Jeffersonville, Indiana, after a period working on a ranch in Arizona and briefly pursuing a boxing career. He came home for the funeral of his brother, and it was during this time that he heard a prayer for the first time. Not long afterward, he was overcome by gas fumes at work and hospitalized. During his recovery, he reported hearing a voice that led to a religious conversion.
Following this experience, Branham began attending the First Pentecostal Baptist Church of Jeffersonville, led by Roy Davis, a founding member of the KKK and at one point its National Imperial Wizard. Davis played a key role in Branham’s early spiritual formation, ordaining him as a minister. This connection would shape both Branham’s theological trajectory and his network of early supporters.
In June 1933, Branham held a series of revival meetings in Jeffersonville. He claimed that while baptizing converts in the Ohio River, a light descended upon him and a voice proclaimed that he was a forerunner to Christ’s Second Coming, in the manner of John the Baptist. After Davis was arrested and extradited on criminal charges, Branham assumed leadership of the church in 1934.
The original church building was destroyed by fire, and a new structure was erected, later known as the Branham Tabernacle. That same year, Branham married Amelia Hope Brumbach, with whom he had two children. In 1937, both Hope and their youngest daughter died from tuberculosis. In 1941, he married Meda Marie Broy, and they went on to have three children.
Branham’s ministry began attracting national attention in the mid-1940s. In May 1946, he claimed to receive a visitation from an angel who confirmed his role as a divine forerunner and granted him two gifts: healing and the word of knowledge. These claims marked the beginning of Branham’s prominence in what became known as the post-World War II healing revival.
His meetings, which often included reports of supernatural healings and prophetic visions, drew large crowds. With the assistance of his campaign manager and publicist Gordon Lindsay, Branham co-founded the Voice of Healing magazine in 1948, which helped expand his influence. He conducted healing campaigns across North America, Europe, Africa, and India, and his ministry played a formative role in the Latter Rain Movement and the emerging charismatic renewal.
By the early 1950s, Branham was widely viewed by supporters as a prophet. However, by the mid-1950s, his popularity began to decline. Financial constraints, internal disputes, and decreasing support from Pentecostal denominations contributed to a shift in his focus from healing revivals to doctrinal teaching.
Branham’s theology — later labeled “Branhamism” by observers but not by Branham’s own followers — became increasingly unorthodox. He combined elements of Calvinism and Arminianism with dispensationalism, apocalyptic prophecy, and an overtly anti-denominational stance. Among his most controversial teachings was the serpent seed doctrine, which alleged that the biblical fall was caused by a sexual encounter between Eve and the serpent. He also taught that membership in denominational churches constituted the “mark of the beast.”
These positions alienated many within the Pentecostal and charismatic mainstream. Still, his closest followers, who began calling themselves Message Believers, remained intensely loyal. Many treated his sermons as authoritative scripture and circulated his teachings through printed tracts and audio recordings. A cult of personality began to form, with some fringe followers even baptizing converts in Branham’s name or identifying him as a divine figure — claims he personally rejected.
Despite increasing isolation, Branham’s ministry claimed more than a million conversions. He also became the subject of criticism for embellishing biographical details and faced legal and financial scrutiny, including tax-related investigations. One of his failed prophecies — that the world would end in 1977 — was later downplayed by his followers as a personal opinion rather than a divine revelation.
On December 18, 1965, Branham and his family were involved in a head-on collision with a drunk driver near Friona, Texas, while en route to Indiana for Christmas. He was critically injured and remained in a coma before dying on December 24, 1965. His unexpected death caused shock among his followers, some of whom believed he would rise from the dead in fulfillment of a vision he had reportedly received. His burial was postponed until April 1966.
Branham’s teachings continue to be disseminated by various groups, including the William Branham Evangelistic Association, which reported distributing material to over two million people in 2018. While largely rejected by mainstream denominations, his influence endures in various independent charismatic, apostolic, and restorationist movements.
Key Sources:
Bergen, R. (2025). Under the halo: Examining the Legacy of William Branham. FriesenPress.
Collins, J. (2020). Preacher behind the white hoods: A Critical Examination of William Branham and His Message.
Dyck, C., & Mission, W. T. (1984). William Branham: the Man and His Message. Saskatoon: Western Tract Mission.
Weaver, C. D. (2000). The healer-prophet: William Marrion Branham : a Study of the Prophetic in American Pentecostalism. Mercer University Press.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 