David Berg and William Branham: The Prophetic Roots of the Children of God

David Brandt Berg was the central figure behind the Children of God cult, also known as the “Jesus Freaks” and later rebranded as The Family International. Under Berg’s leadership, the movement became notorious in Southern California for recruiting new members through sexual activity. The group publicly described itself as “Happy Hookers for Jesus,” a strategy that provoked backlash from evangelical Christians who objected to the method and from prostitutes who reported economic harm caused by the movement.[1]

According to Berg’s own later accounts, William Branham prophesied over his ministry during the Latter Rain phase of Branham’s public persona, an event Berg cited as foundational to the emergence of the Children of God. From its inception, the movement adopted an apocalyptic, anti-establishment posture consistent with Latter Rain revivalism and postwar prophetic expectations.[2] Notably, Berg resided in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1947—directly across the Ohio River from Branham’s hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana.

I had to get out & I was forced to go back to college--I didn't even want to but I had to--living on $25 a week, which was a lot of money in those days, in a way, but barely supported us, living in somebody else's borrowed little 14-foot trailer with a family of a wife & three children! It was pretty rough, hand-to-mouth & living by faith, but it was the making of things, because it was from there we went to build a church in Arizona & had all those experiences & Branham prophesied over me & it was from there I got out of the church entirely, broke loose, & joined Fred Jordan. He was another rebel, he'd broken with the churches & was really preaching the Truth, the facts.[3]
- David Berg

Early Ministry and Removal from the C&MA

Berg was originally ordained as a minister within the Christian and Missionary Alliance and worked as an evangelist alongside his mother, Virginia Brandt Berg, during the early years of his ministry.[4] While she preached, Berg sang gospel music and relied heavily on visual teaching aids to communicate biblical themes,[5] frequently emphasizing apocalyptic scenarios centered on nuclear annihilation.[6]

In the early 1950s, Berg pastored the Community Church in Valley Farms, an assembly affiliated with the C&MA.[7] In 1951, he was accused of sexual misconduct and subsequently expelled from the denomination, effectively ending his relationship with institutional evangelical Christianity.[8]

The “Philadelphia Prophecy” and Latter Rain Alignment

Shortly after his removal from the C&MA in 1951, Berg attended a William Branham meeting. At the conclusion of the service, Berg received a prophetic blessing from Branham that he later labeled the “Philadelphia Prophecy.” Berg described this experience as a decisive turning point that deepened his disillusionment with denominational Christianity and redirected his ministry trajectory.[9]

Following this experience, Berg increasingly identified with Latter Rain circles. In November 1951, he conducted a series of nightly lectures at Leroy Kopp’s Calvary Temple in Los Angeles,[10] the same church that promoted Branham’s ministry through the film Twentieth Century Prophet.

Branham as Theological Authority

Throughout his life, Berg consistently portrayed William Branham and the Latter Rain evangelists as extraordinarily effective soul-winners. He credited Branham with possessing a powerful “word of knowledge”[11] and repeatedly interpreted contemporary political developments through the lens of Branham’s prophetic claims. Following the election of President Bill Clinton, for example, Berg asserted that Hillary Clinton fulfilled elements of Branham’s alleged 1933 prophecies.[12][13]

The Churchianity system spends so much time & money getting ready, on preparation, that they never get the job done! One little hick evangelist like Tommy Hicks or William Branham who had no education & who butchered the King's English, could go out there & win hundreds of thousands to the Lord, heal thousands & accomplish more than these guys with all of their education, & these denominations with all their church buildings! It's pitiful![14]
- David Berg

Use of Branham Narratives Within the Cult

Berg studied Branham’s sermons closely and paraphrased large portions of them for members of The Family International through his nearly 3,000 “Mo (Moses) Letters.” In many cases, the manner in which Branham was referenced suggests that Berg was reinforcing previously established narratives familiar to his followers. He frequently cited his December 1979 letter Millions of Miles of Miracles, which reproduced the Life Story associated with Branham’s stage persona.[15]

Berg also adapted Branham’s childhood anecdotes and personal stories as illustrative material for his own doctrines.[16][17] He repeatedly reflected on Branham’s life, including its tragic elements,[18] and claimed that a personal interaction with Branham left a lasting impression. Berg stated that Branham’s physical affection—specifically a kiss—confirmed divine approval, asserting that “the Lord sent him across my path.”[19]

HE THREW HIS ARMS AROUND ME & HUGGED ME & kissed me & said, "Don't worry, son, don't worry. Everything's going to be all right." Then he quoted that same little verse from the Philadelphia Prophecy. (See Letter No.695.) He said, 52. "THE LORD IS GOING TO OPEN UNTO YOU A GREAT DOOR THAT NO MAN CAN CLOSE. He's going to close all these other doors that no man can open. Don't even try to open them. The Lord's going to open unto you a great door, greater than anything you ever dreamed of!--A door that no man can close!"[20]
- David Berg

Supernatural Claims and Angelology

Berg accepted as genuine Branham’s so-called “halo photograph,” interpreting the image as evidence of an angelic presence rather than a product of stage lighting at the Sam Houston Coliseum. Similar to Jim Jones of Peoples Temple,[21] Berg embraced Branham’s UFO theology, teaching that unidentified flying objects were angels rather than extraterrestrial phenomena.[22]

He instructed his followers to “believe that halo represents at least your Guardian Angel”[23] and frequently used Branham’s halo narrative to reinforce this belief.[24] When describing angels, Berg relied on one of the variable physical descriptions attributed to angels by Branham’s public teachings.[25][26]

Eschatology and Doctrinal Borrowing

Berg showed particular enthusiasm for Branham’s sermon Future Home of the Heavenly Bridegroom, which itself was derived from the work of Clarence Larkin. He expressed a preference for a “mansion in the city” constructed according to Branham’s imagery and described heaven to cult members using Branham’s detailed depictions, including references to animals in the afterlife.[27]

AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, IF YOU WANT MY MANSION IN THE CITY, YOU'RE WELCOME TO IT! I'LL TAKE THE COUNTRY!--Ha! Remember William Branham's dream about Heaven?--He had a little cottage out in the country & he had his old rocking chair just like he used to have. He was a country boy, you know, very country!--In fact, he really talked like an old country hick, which he was. But he was a mighty power, a man of God, & he did a great work for the Lord & even had a part in mine. So I'm sure he's working for me even now & probably enjoying that little cottage out in the country.[28]
- David Berg

Doctrinally, Berg adopted numerous concepts from Branham. Like Branham,[29] he rejected use of the term “Trinity,” arguing, “You can't find that word in the Bible.”[30] Also consistent with Branham’s teaching,[31] Berg asserted that God possessed a Trinity that Satan subsequently counterfeited.[32]

Berg accepted Branham’s end-time prophecies involving Communist Russia and a coming race war.[33][34] Both Berg[35] and Branham[36] spoke harshly against Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, framing their opposition as prophetically mandated. Berg incorporated Branham’s 1933 prophecies concerning Rome and the World Council of Churches into his own eschatological system.[37]

Berg extended Branham’s themes of British Israelism and Christian Identity, though his rhetoric was considerably more explicit. While Branham employed indirect antisemitic language—such as claiming “the Gospel was not for the Jews” and asserting divine segregation[40]—Berg openly declared, “I’m an anti-Semite because God is! Yes I’m a racist because God is!”[41]

AMERICANS, AS WILLIAM BRANHAM SAW IN HIS VISION, WILL BE THE MOST POPULAR SLAVES IN THE WORLD & sold at high prices. In the most powerful countries, the most intelligent countries, the most civilised countries, the leaders of the Communist World such as Russia, etc., Americans will be their prize slaves because of their high level of intelligence & education & technical skills & music & [DELETED] beauty. [DELETED] The dances they're learning now are going to be tools of their trade in that day. The [EDITED: "other social"] skills they're learning now are going to be tools of their trade in that day to help them survive & have favour of their masters & win their hearts & their souls as well, PG! "Hear ye the true words of thy father![42]
- David Berg

Points of Divergence

Despite extensive borrowing, Berg ultimately rejected certain elements of Branham’s theology. Berg interpreted the Seven Churches of Asia Minor in the Book of Revelation as literal historical congregations,[43] whereas Branham followed a dispensational framework shaped by Cyrus Scofield, Clarence Larkin, and Charles Taze Russell. As a result, Berg rejected the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture.[44] He nevertheless retained Branham’s expectation of global atomic destruction.

Public Activism and Final Developments

In 1962, Berg gained national attention in Miami-Dade County for opposing the teaching of evolution in public schools. He argued that biology textbooks presented evolution as established fact rather than theory and mobilized evangelical opposition to their use.[45] Berg enlisted support from the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association International, the same organization that sponsored William Branham, and nineteen FGBMI ministers appeared at the school board meeting in protest.[46]

During the 1970s, the Children of God carried out a mass departure from the United States, mirroring the migration of Peoples Temple under Jim Jones.[47] While this relocation aligned with Branham’s 1977 doomsday prediction regarding the United States,[48] it also coincided with increasing scrutiny from cult deprogrammers and investigations by New York’s charity-fraud bureau.[49]