1946 Commission: Backdating the Alleged Gift of Healing
William Branham later claimed that an angel commissioned him on May 7, 1946 and bestowed on him the “gift of Divine Healing,” even tying this event to the (incorrect) date he said Israel became a nation, despite Israel’s actual declaration of statehood occurring in 1948. Yet archival evidence, early tracts, and contemporary reporting show Branham advertising healing as early as 1936 and place his supposed “gift” two years earlier than 1947, revealing serious contradictions between his stage persona, his followers’ timelines, and the historical record.
In later versions of his stage persona, William Branham claimed that he was "commissioned" by an "angel" on May 7, 1946,[1] at which time he was allegedly given the "gift of Divine Healing". This claim appears to have been introduced shortly after his 1945 Healing Revival which was detailed in an early publication entitled "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision". In some accounts, Branham claimed that his "gift" was given to him the same day that Israel became a nation, which was historically inaccurate. (On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel.)[2]
Remember the Jewish people was declared a nation 1946, on April, May the sixth, on 1946, and the Angel of the Lord appeared to me on April, on May the seventh, 1946.[3]
Interestingly, Branham cult headquarters still continues to sell recordings of Branham's faith healing meetings that were held before this alleged "commission" came. In "The Table", the collection of William Branham's recorded sermons and transcripts, Voice of God Recordings lists the earliest Branham healing revival as being held in Oakland, California on April 12, 1947.[4] (Note that the 1945 tract "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision" is not listed in the store)[5]
This version of his stage persona, however, is also historically inaccurate. Branham was allegedly healing the sick as early as September 1936, as a Pentecostal minister at the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle.[6] Healing was an advertised part of Branham's early Pentecostal ministry. It also differs from the timeline given by the campaign managers of other stage personas. In July 1947, W. E. Kidson, informed reporters for the St. Louis Post Dispatch that William Branham had been given the "gift of Divine Healing" two years prior.[7]