The negative was submitted to Mr. George J. Lacy, Examiner of Questioned Documents, to establish whether the ray of light could have been caused by a flaw in exposure, development, or if the negative had been retouched. The examination fully confirmed that the exceptionally bright area was caused by light striking the negative. It was reported that Mr. Lacy said: “Mr. Branham, you will die one day, like all mortals, but as long as there is a Christian civilization, your photo will survive.” ​

 

This takes place in January 1950. The place is Houston, Texas, in the USA. Once again, God is going to confirm the life and ministry of His servant and prophet. Brother Branham has just returned to the evangelistic field, after having interrupted the supernatural ministry he had exercised without relief for nearly three years, which had exhausted him physically and emotionally. HOWEVER, if there are any questions as to whether God is still with His servant, the series of meetings in Houston will provide the answer. ​

 

The series of meetings begins slowly, but before the end of the series, remarkable events will take place. It becomes evident that the Lord has sent His servant back into the field with even more anointing. This time, he came not only with the “sign” in his hand and authority over demons, but NOW, the very “secrets” of the hearts are revealed. A new manifestation comes to light. Brother Branham has entered into what he would later recognize as the second “pull” (stage) of a ministry whose climax was to be a third “pull.”

 

The manifestation of this “second pull” included the revelation of the “thoughts and intents” (Hebrews 4:12) of the hearts of the people, a revelation that NEVER ONCE failed to be accurate. The people of Houston had the privilege of seeing the manifestation of the “sign of the Messiah.” God was accomplishing through this ministry EXACTLY the same works as in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ 2,000 years earlier (John 4:25-26). ​

 

In the prayer lines, Brother Branham, under the anointing, tells people things about their past life, which greatly encourages their faith and often allows them to be healed without even a single word of prayer. Conversely, those who slipped into the prayer line without wanting to be right with God, or who are living the life of an indifferent backslider, who have committed sins that have not been sincerely confessed to God, those are rebuked by the Spirit of God, right on the platform. Sins are uncovered, secrets of the hearts are revealed, and almost every time, the persons thus rebuked immediately make a confession, brokenhearted and in tears. At that moment, the person is usually healed on the spot. ​

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THE ASTONISHING PHOTOGRAPH ​

 

Toward the middle of the Houston campaign, a remarkable thing occurs that will be a divine confirmation of Brother Branham’s ministry. A very hostile clergyman, opposed to divine healing, denounces the statements of Pastor F. F. Bosworth (who preaches at several of the day meetings) and issues, in the newspapers, a public challenge to Pastor Bosworth to oppose him in a debate on “Divine Healing through the Atonement.” With Brother Branham’s agreement, Pastor Bosworth accepts the challenge, though Brother Branham had warned him against any debate over the Word. The matter makes the headlines of the Houston newspapers. ​

 

On the appointed evening, the meeting begins, and it is clear that the vast audience is almost entirely on the side of the visiting evangelists. Many people, coming from the very denomination of the clergyman who issued the challenge, stand up to testify that they believe in divine healing and that they have indeed been healed. This feeling grows as the meeting progresses. ​

 

Now, it so happens that the clergyman who opposes divine healing has hired the services of two professional photographers, Messrs. James Ayers and Ted Kipperman, who are to take a series of photographs of him while he speaks. This done, the photographer decides to take one more photograph, this time of Brother Branham, who says a few words just before the end of the meeting. ​

 

That evening, upon going to the darkroom of his studio, Mr. Ayers, one of the photographers, decides to develop the exposed negatives. To his great astonishment, all the negatives are completely blank, except for the one showing Pastor Branham. His astonishment turns to amazement when he realizes that the negative bears, right above Pastor Branham’s head, what appears to be a supernatural halo of light. Mr. Ayers calls his studio colleagues to come observe the negative, but after observation, they all remain puzzled: none of them can explain the presence of this halo. ​

 

The next morning, the photographer informs Pastor Branham of the strange phenomenon appearing on the photograph taken the night before. Brother Branham then explains to the young man that he is not too surprised by it. He indicates that just before that photograph was taken, he had heard the Pillar of Fire come down into the hall with the sound of a rushing wind. Of course, this was not the first time such events had occurred in our brother's ministry. ​

 

In Camden, Arkansas, for example, a photographer took a picture of him, and once the film was developed, a strange light was seen around Brother Branham which, according to the photographers, could not have come from the hall's lighting. (This photograph is found in this book.) Many other similar things had occurred in his ministry. The photograph taken in Houston was undoubtedly the most extraordinary and spectacular of these supernatural manifestations, because of the unique circumstances in which it was taken. ​

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NEWSPAPER ACCOUNT OF THE MEETING IN HOUSTON

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The very morning the photographer brings the news of the strange phenomenon appearing on the photo, Houston daily newspapers feature detailed front-page articles about the previous night’s meeting. (Of course, the newspapers are not yet aware of the astonishing photograph.) It is interesting to note that Mr. Ayers, one of the photographers hired by the hostile clergyman, had himself expressed his doubts regarding Brother Branham’s ministry, and these doubts are now reported in the newspapers. The fact that the photo comes from that very photographer only makes the whole thing more astonishing and confirms, if any further proof were needed, the absolute authenticity of the photograph. ​ ​

 

Here are, highly condensed, a few of the newspaper articles reporting on the meeting that appeared the following day:

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(EXCERPT FROM THE "HOUSTON CHRONICLE" OF JANUARY 25) (CONDENSED)

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“They lay on stretchers under the glaring spotlights of the Sam Houston Coliseum Tuesday night; paralyzed, sick, crippled people who had lost almost all hope of recovering physical health. They lay there, resting. They waited while the theological debate raged around them. A debate that, for some, was beyond them. ​

 

It is they of whom Pastor F. F. Bosworth, a visiting evangelist in the city, claims that they can be healed of their infirmities by the divine power of healing transmitted through Pastor William Branham, an associate of Pastor Bosworth. But Pastor W. E. Best, leader of the Houston Tabernacle Baptist Church, contends that all such ‘miraculous healings’ ceased after the time of the Apostles, and he challenges Pastor Bosworth to prove the contrary. ​

 

Mr. Bosworth, supported by the shouts of encouragement and the ‘amens!’ of an audience of over 8,000 people, quotes numerous passages from several sources which prove, to his mind, that Christ died not only for the sins of men, but also for physical sicknesses. Repeatedly, he quotes this Scripture passage: ‘Christ took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.’ Each time he repeats this passage, a great shout of approval rises from the crowd, and the trace of a smile lights up the faces of some of the occupants of the stretchers. ​

 

The listeners hear Mr. Best’s vehement sermon, and they do not appreciate everything the speaker says. They do not appreciate his saying: ‘I contend that no man living today has the power and the gift to heal as was the case with the apostles.’ ​

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COURTESY ​

 

Pastor Raymond T. Richey urges the listeners to hear each of the two speakers with courtesy. "When you agree with the speaker, say: "Amen!", and when you disagree, say: "No!" ", he asks. For nearly four hours, the "Amens!", then the ‘Noes!’ will vibrate through the auditorium. When Pastor Best makes a point, Pastor Bosworth rushes to the microphone set up on the platform where the speakers are standing to earnestly ask the listeners who have already been healed by faith to stand up. Hundreds stand up. ​

 

Each time, hundreds of listeners stand up. ‘How many of you are Baptists?’ shouts Pastor Bosworth. More than a hundred people stand up. ​

 

— No one has the power to heal! declares Pastor Best. To Mrs. W. E. Wilbanks, who resides at 712 Teetshorn Street, Pastor Best is mistaken in his judgment of the dark-haired little evangelist who has preached to crowds of 5,000 people every night.

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HERSELF A BAPTIST ​

 

"I am a Baptist myself," says Mrs. Wilbanks. ‘Brother Branham does not claim to have the power of divine healing. What heals people is simply faith and the Spirit of God working through him. In attacking Brother Branham, Pastor Best is not representative of Baptist sentiment.’

 

Usually, miracle healings are produced in the following manner: listeners write their names on numbered cards. Pastor Branham chooses a number and prays for the healing of the person in question. Sometimes he chooses a person at random. Listeners are informed that Brother Branham may not get around to praying for them individually that evening, but they return, night after night, in the hope of seeing their turn come.

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BORN AGAIN ​

 

Mrs. Mary Georgia Hardy, residing at 708 Columbia Street, says she has been ‘born again’ for three years, but had experienced the wonders of faith healing 18 years ago already. ​

 

"After the birth of my second child, I was nervously exhausted, but I was restored through faith healing, and since then, I have had two other children," says Mrs. Hardy, who attends the Assembly of God at the corner of 18th Street and Ashland Avenue, in the Heights area. ​

 

Next to her sits Mrs. Gray Walker, residing at 2501 Bloodgett Street, who points to her four-year-old granddaughter, Diane Cox.

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HEALED ​

"Diane was born with a clubfoot. A doctor wanted to put a brace on her, but our pastor, J. C. Miner, of the Assembly of God, suggested we try prayer, which we did. And little by little, in a few weeks, Diane’s foot became straight again. Now she is fine." ​

 

A week ago, during a collective prayer by Pastor Branham, Mrs. W. E. Miller, who resides on Genoa-Alameda Road, was suddenly healed, she says, of chronic sinusitis. She adds: ‘I was simply praying for other people when it happened.’ ​

 

When Pastor Best cries out: "There are those who use witchcraft to bewitch people: these are sincerely misled and think it is the power of God," James Ayers, a professional photographer who lives at 1610 Rusk Avenue, agrees: "Branham is acting, he says, he manages never to get to the crippled and people suffering from arthritis. He hypnotizes his audience, that’s all."

 

N. B.: Mr. Ayers, mentioned above in the Houston Press article, is the photographer who will discover, a few hours later, the supernatural light above Pastor Branham’s head in the photograph.)

 

After consulting Brother Branham, Gordon Lindsay has the negative handed over to Mr. George Lacy, who is recognized as the foremost examiner of questioned documents in the region. Mr. Lacy then conducts thorough scientific tests on the negative. Pastor Branham is certain the negative is authentic, but considers it wise to obtain absolute scientific proof of its authenticity.

 

After a meticulous and complete examination, Mr. Lacy drafts a certified statement (reproduced in this book), showing that all tests proved the negative to be absolutely authentic, and that it had not been ‘tampered with’ or retouched in any way, nor had it undergone a double exposure. [Click here to see the full text of Mr. Lacy’s statement] God permitted the Pillar of Fire to be photographed with His prophet at the Sam Houston Coliseum, in the city of Houston, Texas, on January 4, 1950. The only supernatural Being ever photographed whose authenticity is certified appears above Brother Branham’s head.

 

The same Being had appeared in 1933 before hundreds of people, and had said to him:

“As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, you will forerun His second coming.” The brothers traveling with Brother Branham said of this twentieth-century man of God: The Bible, speaking of John the Baptist, says this: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” We believe this statement applies to our beloved Brother William Branham as well.

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To God be the glory ​ The details of this event are set forth by Brother Branham himself on the tape recording of the message “We Would See Jesus,” preached in Columbus, Ohio, on March 14, 1954.