“Man Raised from the Dead in Shawano”
Ten different people were allegedly raised from the dead during William Branham's ministry. (A list of all ten people can be viewed here.)
One of the ten people was an elderly man who he claimed had “fallen dead with a heart attack” in a meeting of his in Shawano, Wisconsin.
There were only two meetings that William Branham held in Shawano, Wisconsin and they were the ones held in an auditorium of Shawano High School on the evenings of September 30, 1955 and October 1, 1955, as the catalog of his 1,205 recorded sermons here reflects.
As is evident in the transcripts of the two meetings here and here, there was not a single statement made about or related to a man dying and being “raised from the dead.”
Had such an extraordinary “miracle” occurred in the first meeting, William Branham would have likely mentioned it in the second meeting. However, he not only made no mention of it then, but he never claimed it happened until three years later.
In fact, it wasn't until December 21, 1958 that he made his first claims of an “elderly man” being “raised from the dead” in Shawano, Wisconsin. (He did so in his sermon, “Where Is He, King Of The Jews?” that he preached to his congregation in Jeffersonville, Indiana.)
Not only did he not mention anything about the “miracle” until three years later, but there evidently was never any local or national news outlet that ever published anything about it, despite the widespread attention that such a story would have been sure to receive.
The unfounded nature of William Branham's claims is further evident from the statements that a man named Ernest Fandler made in his book entitled, “Almost Home.” Therein, Fandler makes it known that “many people got saved and healed at those meetings” in Shawano, Wisconsin, but he indicates nothing about a man being “raised from the dead” at the time.
The most significant miracle in the meetings that stood out to him was apparently a blind woman receiving her eyesight, as follows,
“When I arrived at Brother Branham's room he already knew what I wanted, and said that he would be glad to come for some meetings in Shawano. So if he was willing to come, I was willing to do all I could, and spent hundreds of dollars for advertising that- “The Blind See, the Deaf Hear," and I wasn't afraid anymore either to say it.
Many people got saved and healed at those meetings. The last night someone brought a blind woman to the prayer line. As she stood there, I went over and looked in her eyes. There were no eyeballs. Her eyes were half-closed and there was just a little white there. She was the last one in the prayer line and I was kind of hoping the meeting would close before she got there to be prayed for because I had advertised that the blind would see, but I didn't expect something like this. When we got to Brother Branham, he said: "Here is a another blind woman, everyone bow your heads."”[1]
As the man who invited William Branham to Shawano and helped make his appearance in the meetings there possible, Ernest Fandler certainly would have known about a man being “raised from the dead” there, if it ever happened.
Because he did not corroborate William Branham's claims of the extraordinary “miracle” and it was never substantiated by anyone else, the claims remain unfounded and questionable.
A “miracle” of such “supernatural” significance certainly would have been one of the greatest of all miracles in William Branham's ministry and something to which he would have called a great deal of attention, as he often did with other “miracles.” However, he mentioned the alleged “miracle” in only four of his 1,205 recorded sermons, as follows,
“Now I would just like to give a little brief report on our last meeting, if it's all right at this time. You people are the one who prays and holds onto God, for me to go out into these services. And I would just like to give just a little summary of just the last meetings.
One of the outstanding events of the last meeting happened in Shawano, Wisconsin. It was at the high school auditorium, the new high school auditorium, when we were just about ready to pray for the sick. I had just made the altar call, and many had raised their hands, to accept Christ as their personal Saviour. And then it was that I noticed something taken place, which was right out in the audience, a little piece from me. And it was a man of about seventy or seventy-five years old. He fell dead, died with a heart attack. The froth poured from his mouth, and the water broke over his clothes. And his wife real frantically rubbed his face.
And I knew that was the trick of the enemy. He does those things just to get the people upset (see), and then, when he does that, it goes to a frantic. It's happened many times in the meeting. Just recently in New England, it happened like that again, just before that call.
And so to keep the people from being excited, I.... In those kind of times, you must keep your wits, to see what the Holy Spirit will say. Because, we are taught in the Scriptures, that “All things work together for good to them that love God.”
And there was many of God's children, lovers of Him. And I kept looking at the man, seeing he had done got frothy in the mouth. And as anyone knows, when death strikes a person, usually water breaks, you see. And his wife rubbing his face, and she was just going like that. Now, to keep the people from noticing her, I said, “Your husband, would you want someone to get him a drink of water?” to get her attention.
And she said, "Brother Branham, I just leave it all up to you." And she was a Lutheran, by denomination.
And then I thought I would call the prayer line, and get the people up, to pray for them. But instead of doing that, the Holy Spirit begin to move out into the meeting, over the people, just calling them. And it passed over the old fellow, about twice. And then, all of a sudden, I said, "We will just pray."
And when I started to pray, I heard myself praying, which said to this death, "Turn him loose." And no more than it was said that, till the man came back to life again, and raised to his feet. And the whole city went like frantically about it, what the Lord had did.” “Where Is He, King Of The Jews?” (58-1221M).
“Here not long ago, I was in a meeting, just getting ready to make an altar call. And an old fellow pitched right over in the floor, dead as he could be, see, in a heart attack. And all the place was disturbed. And I forget…It was at Shawano, Wisconsin. I thought, "God, what can I do?" I looked over here, and I seen the old man in a vision, walking out the door. I know what to do then.” “Awakening Jesus” (63-0117).
“Then at Shawano just recently in a--oh, I'd say, in the last, about, four years ago or five... I was speaking one night at the armory. And there was a great crowd of people and a elderly man of some eighty years old, I guess, and his lovely wife... They were Lutheran by faith, go to that great famous Lutheran church there. I forget the name of it now. It's the largest Lutheran gathering in America, at one single gathering, of church membership. And it's a great country for the Lutheran. And while I was speaking, I noticed the fellow, head going back like that; and his hands went out; and he pitched forward, dead in the chair. And his wife begin screaming, and she screamed out, "Somebody help me! Somebody help me!"
And I looked; I said, "Just everyone, keep seated. Be quiet." See? I waited for the Lord to give me a word. And--and I... Satan... I was just fixing to make the altar call, and that's just when he wants to show hisself.
So... Did you ever notice when you start to make a altar call, even little babies will start screaming and things like that? That's Satan. You who are spiritual understand.” “The Flashing Red Light of the Sign of His Coming” (63-0623E).
“Talking to my little friend, Ernie Fandler. I guess some of you out on the hookups will remember Ernie, how he was converted, how he was led to the Lord. He doesn’t talk good English, or I’d like to have him come say a word. And he gets his we’s and W’s all mixed up. He was asking me if I remember the time at the Shawano where he lives. There was a man died right in the meeting, dropped over in his seat dead, Lutheran. We had everybody keep quiet. Spoke the Word of the Lord over him, he come back to life, come right up over him. They’ve never got over that, wants us come back again.” “God's Only Provided Place Of Worship” (65-1128M).
In the stories above, it is apparent that William Branham directly contradicted himself by claiming that the man “pitched right over in the floor, dead as he could be” and “he pitched forward, dead in the chair” and “dropped over in his seat dead.”
Based on the contradictory and unfounded nature of William Branham stories, which cannot be substantiated with any evidence or witness testimony, it is not reasonable to accept and believe them to be true.
It is also not reasonable to accept and believe them to be true because the stories he told of the other seven people being “raised from the dead” during his ministry are shown to be untrue on this website at the following links,
Baby Raised from the Dead in Mexico
Boy Raised from the Dead in Finland
Edmund Way Raised from the Dead
Elijah Perry Raised from the Dead
Hartford Woman Raised from the Dead
Hattie Waldrop Raised from the Dead
Woman Raised from the Dead in Jonesboro
Footnotes:
[1] Source: Fandler, Ernest. “Almost Home”, Chapter 5 (1977).