Is the Prophet Infallible?
Look, brethren, Moses disobeyed God at Meribah (Numbers 20:12). David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), committed adultery (2 Samuel 11:4) and even murder (2 Samuel 11:15). Jonah ran from God’s command (Jonah 1:3). And consider Peter. He walked with Jesus, ate with Him, listened to His preaching first-hand, saw the miracles with his own eyes. And yet he denied the Lord three times (Luke 22:61). Paul even had to confront him publicly for hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11) — and this was after Pentecost!
And yet, we still love these men. We respect them. We learn from them. Men are not infallible! God allows these mistakes to happen so that our faith will not rest in man, but in Him alone. If we ever elevate a man above the Word, if we place his words above Scripture, we are stepping into a dangerous error. The Word is our Foundation, our Urim and Thummim, and no man, no matter how faithful, can take that place.
Men are not infallible, but God is. Man, you get your mind on a man, he'll make a mistake. Maybe not willfully, but he'll do it. God permits him to do it so that He can shake your faith away from man. Our faith is not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's where the true Seed of Abraham rests their promise. Because, they can only be the Seed of Abraham when they receive the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit they're not the Seed of Abraham. That same faith that was in Abraham comes into the believer. No matter what takes place or how contrary, the believer marches right on.—“Possessing The Enemy's Gates”, para. 35
So please don't mistake me as an anti-prophet when I say that our prophet is a man, and just like us, is fallible. He said this himself:
Now, I'm—I'm finite, and He is infinite, so He cannot make a mistake, I can, you can, our brethren can, we can all make mistakes, we are finite. Today, if I don't know more than I did last year, I'm not progressing any, but God cannot progress, because He is perfect to begin with, and every decision is perfect. —“Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever”, para. 61
Brother Branham making mistakes doesn't make him less of a prophet. He is the seventh and the last messenger of the Last Age. There's no doubt about that. I want you, my brother or sister, to understand this, because this is important. I am bringing this up because I want you to understand that our prophet is just a man. The only man to be never has flaws in Him is Jesus Christ:
“Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”—1 Peter 2:22
Which is a quote from prophet Isaiah:
And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.—Isaiah 53:9
All Have Sinned And Fall Short
Understanding this biblical truth is essential to recognizing man's inherent tendency to make mistakes. Even the prophet spoke of this many times:
He can't change because He's God. His first decision is perfect. He cannot change it. We are—we are finite. We make all kinds of mistakes. He's infinite and perfect. His first decision is a perfect decision, and has to ever remain the same, and we know it, Father.—“The Countdown”, para. 137
Now, yes, I meant…Forgive me, please. I…And—and, brethren, you on the tape out there, and friends, listen. I didn't mean to say that like that. I—I—I'm a minister of the Gospel. I, many times as I have preached that, I knowed that was seven thousand. I just happened to say seven hundred. I didn't mean just seven hundred. I meant, you…I just didn't read it out of the Scripture. It just come to my mind while I was talking, and I just said seven hundred instead of seven thousand. I make them mistakes all the time. I'm—I'm sure a dummy, so you forgive me. See? I didn't mean to do that. —“Questions And Answers On The Seals”, para. 230
Brethren, to teach and dogmatize that Brother William Branham was infallible is blasphemy! It does not honor the prophet. No, it dishonors him. It contradicts many of the very messages he preached, and more importantly, it contradicts the Word of God. This kind of thinking is no different than Muslims deifying Muhammad as infallible, or Roman Catholics placing the pope above the Word. The prophet never claimed such a thing. To elevate any man above the Scriptures is to step into error and open the door to deception. God alone is perfect, and His Word alone is absolute.
But the Lord sent me to pray for His sick children. And in there, what I do know about Him, I love to express it with all my heart. If I make mistakes, you pray for me. I'm not infallible. I'm your brother. And now I trust that God has done something; if He hasn't, may He do it yet tonight, speak some word or something that will cause you to believe on Him.—“Calling Jesus On The Scene”, para. 19
Now, we ourselves are finite, we can make many mistakes, and I make more than all, because we are finite, but He is infinite, and He cannot make a mistake. Now, I can promise you something, and with the very best of my ability I can say, "I really mean that," and then, but not be able to fulfill what I promised, because circumstances would alter cases, but not so with God, He cannot make a promise that He cannot fulfill.—“Sir, We Would See Jesus”, para. 43
To understand clearly that the prophet was a man like any other, see this page for his own words. And for the Word of God on the matter of infallibility, consult this page for Scripture passages that show plainly, no man is beyond error; only God is perfect.
