“Brown Bear” Prophecy
William Branham claimed God showed him a “prophetic vision” that foretold he would kill a “great huge brown bear.” He spoke about it in three different sermons in 1962, as follows,
“Coming home the other night, or the other day, or just 'fore I come home, I was--fell into a vision; and I seen some little fellows, thin, looked like young boys or something, had on caps. And we were standing hunting. And I'd shot a mammoth, big, brown-looking bear. And then, they turned around and said to me, said, "But there's some confusion about the meeting." And I said, "No matter what the confusion is, if I was supposed to go, wherever it was, I'll go anyhow. (See?) It doesn't matter." And the vision stopped. I don't know where that's at, but this is on tape. It's going to happen. See? Just remember; it's going to happen; it's a vision.” “Wisdom versus Faith” (62-0401).
“Many of you remember the vision that I had, where I had shot the grizzly bear, nine-foot grizzly bear (And the church remembers me telling it here.) and the caribou. I had another. Remember it's on tape here, I seen a great huge brown bear. That might be a Kodiak and it wouldn't have worked down there in Canada, 'cause they're not there. You see? But wherever it will be, it'll be. It will be; that's THUS SAITH THE LORD. It will be. See?” “Possessing All Things” (62-0506).
“Now, I'm going back into the country, that you might know, when I come back next year. I'm going to get a brown bear that's almost twice that size. You see if it's right or not. I seen it. When we was standing, put my hands on his haunches laying on the ground, like that. And I could put my hands on his hips like that, and him laying down. Now, you find out if that's right or not. There's a whole lot to that. But I just happened to think, I'm supposed to be teaching Sunday school. See? Oh, friends. You all see these little visions around here? No wonder you minister brothers sometimes get suspicious. "Well, it might be mental telepathy. It might be psychology." Show me somewhere else it's going on. What about these great psychologists, telepathists? They guess. It sometimes happens, sometimes it never. And it's this, that, or the other. But God's perfect and never fails.” “Presuming” (62-0610M).
Although William Branham killed a nine-foot grizzly bear, as he stated, he did not ever kill a “huge brown bear” after making the above “Thus Saith the Lord” prophecy and before he died on December 24, 1965.
Because his “prophetic vision” was never fulfilled, it is not possible for God to have shown it to him or for any of his claims below to be true about his visions never failing,
“But when you speak, 'THUS SAITH THE LORD,' it's not you. Watch on the platform. Have you ever seen it fail? THUS SAITH THE LORD is perfect, never has failed. And as long as it is THUS SAITH THE LORD, it can't fail.” “Is This The Sign Of The End, Sir?” (62-1230E).
“A vision has never failed. Now I'm going to tell you, Jean, it's THUS SAITH THE LORD! See?” “The Evening Messenger” (63-0116).
“Now, I'm an old man now, and I've--I have never one time, and can call the world to a--to a standstill, and ask them, 'Put your finger on one thing that He ever told me as THUS SAITH THE LORD, in the Name of the Lord, but what was absolutely the truth and fact, and come to pass," out of the thousands times thousands of things.'” “Spirit of Truth” (63-0118).
“And I remember I went there in Arizona and everything; I was trying my best to... scared to death. I went to Phoenix meeting. And you remember I preached the sermon, "Sirs, What Time Is It?" You remember that? I said that I seen that, I said, "Before it comes to pass, remember, THUS SAITH THE LORD, something's going to happen." You've probably got the tapes in your library of tape now. And there I said, "You remember now the visions that never fails. Something's going to happen. Remember." “Trying to Do God a Service Without Being the Will of God” (65-1127B).
“Now, those things are not mythical. In contact with the Holy Spirit, I'm an illiterate person. That's true. There's nothing to me. But when I come under His anointing, and He takes me away and shows me things, I just got perfect confidence that it's just exactly right, 'cause it's never failed. And He will never say one thing outside what's written in this Bible. That's right. You watch it. Through the years, He's never said one thing at any time, unless it was absolutely Scripturally based on the Bible, THUS SAITH THE LORD.” “Shepherd of the Sheepfold” (56-040).
“Many, many years before it happened perfectly on the dot... And it's never failed, and it won't fail, because it's THUS SAITH THE LORD. And it's not contrary to these Bible. It's got to be.” “Once More” (63-1117).
“I prayed for a woman at the platform who had a horrible stomach disorder and could not eat nothing. And the Holy Spirit told her, 'THUS SAITH THE LORD ...' You have your record here, if you want to see what He says. Said, 'THUS SAITH THE LORD, you're healed of that stomach trouble.'
When you hear that come forth, brother, I lay my life right there, it's going to be just that way. I'm forty-five years old, seen visions since I was a baby, and have never seen one time or challenge anybody to mention one time that it never spoke in that way, that it did not come to pass just exactly the way He said it. That's right. Just ask anywhere; take any recordings you want to and find out. When you hear Him speak out like that, it's not exactly exactly that way. “Divine Healing” (54-0620E).