"Some ministers and believers live in fear of witchcraft, and believe that it can harm them. We are in the midst of high idolatrous people and religions. Can they harm us?"

Answer:Witches are a great challenge to the ministry and church of Christ, if they are not fully equipped by the Spirit, Word and faith, through the Blood of Jesus Christ. Demons cried and went out of the demon possessed in the Presence of the Lord Jesus. He was fully equipped. They recognized authority and power by the Holy Ghost, and confessed that Paul and Jesus they know, but tore, wounded and stripped naked the seven sons of Sceva, and asked them, "Who are you". A young woman followed Paul and Silas for several days saying that they were servants of God. Paul, grieved by the cries of the maiden, cast out the spirit of the devil. The early Apostles and believers were fully equipped against witches and witchcraft, and never lived in fear of such evils. Phillip the evangelist went down to Samaria without fear of witchcraft and even the witch doctors. The entire city was bewitched by a notable sorcerer named Simon. He was subdued by the power of the Word and the Blood of Jesus Christ.

The people who follow the message of the prophet are a long way from such faith and power of the Holy Ghost. Thus, both ministers and believers are afraid and live in fear of witches and witchcraft. Some do not even understand the power of the blood and its protection, but there was a man in the twentieth century who knew where he stood, and took up the challenge of many witches and prevailed over them. He had the genuine article of Pentecost, the identical article of the apostles and prophets, "the fullness of God". He was sent as a sheaf-wave offering, a true seed of God that came to maturity in our age. His name is William Branham, a true manifested son of God. He took up the challenge of the witches in Germany and in different parts of Africa and fearlessly and victoriously prevailed against them

Quote: E-58 "There set a medium, setting over there with his eye cast on me. He said,…"I'll call a storm out of the skies," and "I'll cause it to tear that place down." And the thunder was a roaring, the lightning a flashing as hard as it could…and he made his threat wrote it out... That didn't matter to me what he said. And when I seen the storm coming and people getting nervous and one constant roar of lightning after the other one like that, I looked around, and I seen where he was setting. I said, "You child of the devil, you may be able to perform miracles, that's right…but you're afraid to touch the supernatural of God."…"Because you done this, you'll pay for it." They packed him out that night as a cripple. And…the storm cleared away, and she begin to shine out real pretty." (The Supernatural56-0129).

The reason that ministers and believers fear witches and their witchcrafts, is simply because they do not possess what the early church had: A five-fold ministry set in order and nine divers gifts in operation. They seek a place to hide at the challenge of the witches. They know that they are not ready to go to the fields and pick up the challenge of sin, demonic power, sicknesses, and all the powers of Satan. It takes the Kingdom of God to cast out the kingdom of Satan. It is advisable to such people who fear the power of evil, through witchcraft, to first have a revelation of the Blood of Christ and its protection. Great faith is lacking in the provisions of the cross, for the church, when ministers live in fear and dread of evil. Psalms 23 must become alive to them as well as Psalms 91. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me." (Psalms 23:4).

Unbelief brings demons into people's lives, their homes and the church. When ministers fear and are dominated by unbelief, they will pass that spirit on to the congregation, because they draw their inspiration from them. Ministers who fear Satan, his agents and evil power, lack faith, revelation and the power of the Holy Ghost. They are not yet delivered from bondage of superstition and fear of the devil, and needless to say, that they are not yet ready to be missionaries and evangelists to heathen nations.

The anointing of fear, unbelief and lack of faith in the Blood is responsible for bringing to pass the evil spells of witchcraft upon Ministers and church members. If one will believe and continue to believe, that they are sick with some fatal disease, like cancer or heart problem etc., they will get sick. Yes, witchcraft can harm you if you are not under the Blood, witch craft can harm you if you fear it, witchcraft can harm you if you lack faith, and it can harm you if you believe that it can. Whatsoever is done without faith is sin. All things are possible to them that believe. A child of God, minister or believer who stands steadfast in his heart by faith in the Blood of Christ is protected from every evil. Satan cannot touch him with witchcraft in any way, Nevertheless, he should not challenge such powers of the enemy until he knows where he is standing and should do so only by the command of God, even like when Elijah challenged Jezebel prophets and over-came them. That was the first show-down at Mt. Carmel. The last show-down will be at Mt. Zion, the bride of Christ versus the kingdom of Satan, before the rapture of the church. It comes by another outpouring of the Holy Spirit like the day of Pentecost.

171-1 "In these last days the true Bride Church (Christ's seed) will come to the Headstone, and she will be the super church, a super race, as she nears Him. They in the bride will be so much like Him that they will even be in His very image. This is in order to be united with Him. They will be one. They will be the very manifestation of the Word of the living God…Then in the latter rain will come a Mount Carmel showdown…The first showdown was Mount Carmel; the second was the Mount Transfiguration, and the third will be Mount Zion." (Church Ages pg. 171-174).

Question#279:"Can the Hour of Birth determine my whole life, like it was with Brother Branham; either a good influence or a bad one will follow a person if they become a believer or not?"

Answer:This understanding seems to be based generally upon the experiences of Brother Branham's life, born under a certain sign, for a certain purpose and his success was to be in the west. According to the witch that made these things known to him on a bus, Brother Branham said that she was right. But if we notice carefully, Brother Branham asked her to predict the future of a soldier on the said bus, at the said time, and she was unable to do that. This proves that Brother Branham was in a different category; a predestinated prophet, and the stars were pointing out his ministry, not necessarily his everyday life, faults, failures, sins or bondage of wrong or right doing, because such things are determined by freewill, but the ministry was predestinated and written in the stars. We cannot use that as a standard for each person. Jesus was born at a certain time, April, when lambs are born. A star appeared in the heavens, the Magis (Astrologers) knew that the King of kings was born. The star pointed out his ministry on earth, not necessarily his sinlessness or his unrighteousness, as he was sinless.

This teaching leans too far on astrology and the influence of the stars upon the lives of people and not enough on the Scriptures and the message of the hour. There is a true understanding of astrology which each Christian must understand to have it well balanced with the gift of freewill, election and predestination, and the simple fact which balances that doctrine is in Genesis, that the sun, the moon and the stars were given for signs and for seasons, days and years etc. Perverted astrological teachings made it a direct influence instead of a sign of what a person is capable of doing, his nature, likes and dislikes, passions, weaknesses, his strength, and personality in general. While the signs that we were born under point out these things, we are not helplessly influenced by them, or our free wills would not be our own. We would be stars motivated robots. God knowing, that we were all born with evil natures, possessed by various spirits of Satan's kingdom, will have weaknesses, passions, personalities, etc., etc., of various kinds, hence he predestinated us to be saved by His grace and the Blood of Jesus Christ, because He foreknew that we would choose, by our freewill, the way of life when we hear the gospel. Example: Jacob (a schemer), Peter (Hot tempered), Thomas (a scientific mind) and many others with various problems in their individual natures, but all were saved by the grace of God and used in their particular ministry for the benefit of Christ's Kingdom. Sons of God are led by the Spirit, not a star.

Question#280:"Can the sins of the ancestors, three or four generations back, be inflicted upon the children now?"

Answer:The Bible said, "The iniquity of the fathers shall be visited upon the children"; Brother Branham confirmed the same. But it all depends upon how we understand these things. Does it simply means that the Lord is punishing me for the sins of my parents, or that their sins, evil habits and wrong doings are haunting me, and that I am helpless before them? If that Scripture is understood in that light, then Christ died in vain; and He did not, but He died to take away our sins. There are other Scriptures that must be considered when we deal with the above.

"What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die…Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, [and] hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:2-4, 19-20).

The Lord declared that the parents will bear their own iniquity and the children their own, but yet He promised to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation. Placing that in its right context simply means that the evil that a man does lives after him and affects his family in various ways. Example: Adam and Eve. Their sins affected all women to bring forth children in pains and sorrow, and likewise affected all men to eat bread by the sweat of their brow, and brought death on all mankind, but they bore their own punishment for their own individual sins and will answer to God as individuals. Cain will answer for the murder of Abel. He never inherited that murderous spirit from Adam nor Eve, but the Devil. He had a freewill to accept or reject. Abel obeyed, while Cain was rebellious, even to God. Adam was not. Sicknesses came upon all mankind because of Adam and Eve, but we all don't have to be suffering from the same sicknesses. Jesus went to Calvary and died for that original sin, and forgave all mankind who would accept it by his freewill (John 3:16). We sometimes inherit sicknesses from our parents as it traveled down through the bloodstream, like sin traveled through the bloodstream of Adam to the whole world, but it does not mean that God is punishing me for my parents' sin as a Christian. My sins are forgiven. I can be healed from that sickness through the cross, if I exercise faith.

In the case of the unregenerated, each generation gets worse and worse as Brother Branham said oftentimes about the prostitute; "Her mother was a flapper and her daughter was a chorus girl, and the fourth generation will be a striptease". Only the Blood of Jesus Christ can stop the iniquity that runs through that generation. "He was bruised for our iniquity and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed".

When we are saved, we received grace for a change of nature. We are not like our parents who are sinners. The Spirit of God brings into us a holy nature and we change the course of our fathers, though we would have many battles, personality problems, passions and evil characters inherited from our parents, which we must overcome. There is a reward for overcoming. We are not robots, motivated by the stars or sins of ancestors, but are commanded to work out our own salvation, and we are rewarded when we overcome (Revelation 3:22). As long as we get these things balanced in our minds, as Christians, we will press into the Kingdom of God with full assurance of faith, having this confidence that the just shall live by faith and not the influence of a star, nor fail to achieve salvation through the sins of our ancestors. He said, "Whomsoever will may come and drink of the water of Life freely"

Question#281:"Suffers very much because of the fact of being born illegitimate; up and down in spiritual life. When backslidden; hard to come back. No great sin committed."

Answer:The prophet answered a question about an illegitimate child going in the rapture. The rapture and being saved are two different things, and a child, and someone who comes to the age of accountability are two different things.

Quote: 1035-Q-308 "Dear Brother Branham, if a baby is born out of wedlock, can this child ever be saved or go in the rapture? Saved? Why sure, I believe the child could be... The child can't help what's been done. That is true. But I... About going in the rapture... Saved, I'd say, "Yes." But in the rapture it's a predestinated seed that goes in the rapture. And I can't believe that adultery was a predestinated seed. You understand? See? I believe the baby can be saved; it has no rights of its own. It's a awful act and things. But now, in the Old Testament when a baby was born a bastard child, it could not even enter the congregation of the Lord for ten generations…That's right. But you see, there was nothing there strong enough to forgive that sin. The blood of the Old Testament did not forgive sins; it covered sins. But the Blood of Jesus Christ divorces it. That's different now. When the Blood of Jesus Christ comes in, it's the different." (Questions & Answer 64/8/23).

Quote:41 "The Bible said that an illegitimate, called "bastard child," could not enter the congregation of the Lord for ten generations, which would be four hundred years that an illegitimate child could not come into the congregation of the Lord….But that doesn't apply to this age. You have a new birth now. They had just one birth back there, that was the actual sexual breeding. We have this new birth now which is the spiritual, that breeds out all the cull. And we are new creatures in Christ Jesus, born again of the Spirit of God: new creatures. And the word "creature," comes from the Greek word of "a new creation." Oh, the same as you are a creature here born sexually, you are then a new creation born heavenly…in God's new creation of a new man. New creation, that's a birth. But it has to be a birth. Just the same as the natural birth is necessary, the spiritual birth is just as necessary as the natural birth. (Ten Virgins 60/12/11).

Question#282:"Do Churches have spirits? I am pursued by an evil spirit. Does the enemy have this right concerning me or has the battle become harder that things like this are dragging on?"

Answer:Yes, churches have many spirits. Every church that perverts the Word of God, is dominated from hell and a host of demons. The answer to this question is included in your suggestion: "If Satan has the right or not?" The Lord tries us and our faith many times, and allows spirits to come and try us like they tried the Lord in the wilderness. But in most cases, evil spirits torment Christians because they do not know their rights. Thus, when the enemy comes, they accept him and his torments and feel helpless. But if they will stand steadfast in faith believing, and be fully conscious in their hearts that they are under the Blood, Satan has no right to torment a child of God. Then they will resist Satan and he will flee from them.

Some make excuses for the enemy to be present around them, their homes and in their lives, suggesting that it is the influence of the stars or ancestral punishments inherited. Thus they stand helpless, but such could be changed if they understand that their sins are forgiven them, Satan has no power over them, but they have power over him; for greater is He that is in them than he that is without. People, tormented in their dreams and other sightings of demons, should become tired of that and let Satan know their rights, and ask him to depart in the Name of Jesus Christ. They should go to sleep with faith in their hearts, and when they are tormented at night or day, that faith will rise up in their subconscious and do battle with Satan, and he will flee from them. Faith is the strong man of the house. We must bind him first before the thief spoils the house. So the battle is over. The just shall live by faith.

Question#283:"I want to know that my sins are completely forgiven: those that I am aware of and those I am not aware of (The inherited ones and the acquired ones)."

Answer:Inherited sins were forgiven at Calvary. They were committed by our forefathers. The only visitation of such sins that the human race or any individual is left with is the world we live in, sicknesses and death, which were paid for by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and we would be free from such very soon by full restoration.

Another factor, as I stated above, is if the individual inherited some sickness that travelled through his parents to him, and even in such case, under discernment, Brother Branham prayed for people and they were made whole. The same prayer of faith, without discernment, will heal another person if they would believe through the Blood of the cross. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." (James 5:15)

Sins, aware and unaware: I John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (Both aware and unaware). The only way that a Christian knows that their sins are forgiven is by faith in the promise of God. He said, "If you confess them, He is faithful and just to forgive them." We take Him at His Word. Stand on that solid foundation, because your sins are cast into the sea of forgetfulness and He would remember them no more.

Satan provokes a man to sin, like he did David, and uses that to accuse him and torment him all the days of his life. Thus, to have victory over the enemy and the assurance of sins forgiven, faith in our salvation and confidence to go in the rapture, we must correct any sin that was done and which Satan is using to torment us. Certain sins which involves our wife, husband, children or brethren, requires confession to the individual. In the case of adultery (to our marriage partner), or offence to children, brethren or unsaved. If any thing is hanging, it should be made right. Other matters are between Christians and the Lord. After they have made such things right, any voice which torments them about their sins is the accuser of the brethren, Satan, the devil. Stand on the merits of the Blood, grace and the above Scripture. Faith is the victory. Amen!

"Should Christians be superstitious?"

Answer:There are many Bible believers and some message believers who are bound by superstitions. They regard omens, superstitious signs, believes in many old wives fables and mythical stories of Ghost under different titles. Many of those believers were once associated with religions and organizations, which promote such superstitions. Such evil traveled down from old pagan religions, Baalamism, Babylonianism and Romanism, which eventually was heaped up in Catholicism and branched of into other organizations. Seeds of superstitions are sown into the tender hearts of children by superstitious parents and other people. They are molded up in fear and truly believe such superstitions which become part of their daily lives. Such seeds are in people when they become Christians.

Certain titles which are used in the Caribbean to describe evil Ghosts traveled down through customs, for generations. Much of it came from India, Africa and many other parts of the world. The mythical phantom is popular on magazines, newspapers, movies etc. We heard the names of other Ghosts for generations: La Diablesse: portrayed as a woman with an animal hoof, Lougaroo: in the form of a man who is supposed to be dragging chains at night, Douens: in the form of a crying baby in the woods. Soucouyant: portrayed as a flying woman with a mysterious light, who has the power to take of her skin and store it in a mortar, when engaged in her duties of sucking the blood of certain women, and selling it to the devil. Certain aged people are always identified as Soucouyant and persecuted. Witches: are always spoken about as riding on broom sticks and flying from house to house. Certain men having the powers to be transformed into beasts and roam the streets at night. Many of these stories can be identified in ancient mythologies. Zeus, which is said to have had the power and turned into a white Ox and the beautiful woman rode on his back name Europa, whom, he ravished, and had a son by her. This symbol is becoming very popular in Europe to stimulate the revival of the Roman Empire.

Superstitions which have their roots in pagan religions and mythology, have bound billions of people in the past, and most of the world is yet bound, bewitched, and live in fear and dread of evil forces. Their religious leaders sell certain prayers, candles, chains, rings, and millions of other items to such people, with the promise that they will be protected by them. Christians are under the blood and no evil shall harm them if they exercise faith in Christ and the blood of the cross, and it is free.