3 CURTAINS

A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

PRO 16:28

The Mysterious Cloud - 28th Feb 1963

Posted: 12 February 2013

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Firstly, I would like to greet our Chinese readers a very blessed Lunar New Year, welcoming Spring, when Life begins. Brother Branham clearly tells us that Jesus was born in Spring like all Lambs, in April......when the Shepherds were out in the field even by night. They were watching their flock, pasturing the sheep and the Heavenly Host sang their first Noel announcing the birth....Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill toward men. The Angel of the Lord came to them because they were Shepherds and the Lamb of God was born in a manger, not in a king’s palace. The only begotten Son of the Father, King of kings and Lord of Lords birthed NOT within the confines of a luxurious antiseptic maternity room but in a stinking, manure laden barn. What contrast and humility, that the Great God. Jehovah became our Saviour in this manner. He did this by showing us that there is none worthy to be our Kinsman Redeemer except He be worthy first to be one born like one of us.
No wonder the songwriter was inspired to pen the following words in "Down From His Glory: :-

What condescension,
Bringing us redemption,
That in the dead of night;
Not one faint hope in sight,
God gracious tender,
Laid aside His splendour;
Stooping to woo, to win
To save my soul.

Oh, how I love Him
How I adore Him,
My breath, my sunshine
My all in all.
The great Creator,
Became my Saviour
And all God's Fullness,
Dwelleth in Him.

He could not have been born in December, which is Winter in Jerusalem /Bethlehem, as the country side would be crusted and covered in snow. Sheep would not be able to graze without grass.

In trying to fit His 3 1/2 years of ministry, some assumed that Jesus started His ministry on His 30th birthday, but careful study will show us that it was about half a year before His 30th birthday, as He was crucified on exactly the passover week, when Moses Lamb was killed in like manner in Egypt. The blood sprinkled on the door posts by the common weed plant, hyssop. Most historians would confirm that He was born in 4 BC, when Herod the Great was the king mentioned and when Augusta Caesar imposed the tax laws. He was crucified when He was 33 years of Age, lifted and hung on the Cross between heaven and earth, killed by a cruel Roman spear. The spear punctured His heart and His precious blood flowed to pardon all those who would accept His pardon and applied the blood on their sinful heart’s door. He was made Sin for us as Moses made the lifted Brazen Serpent on a Brazen pole, showing the double cure, His pardon and healing of our sicknesses. He was crushed, He was wounded, the chastisment of our peace was upon Him and He bore our iniquity upon the Cross. The Serpent representing SIN and Brass representing Judgment. Yes, He stood the wrath of the winepress of God.

In this article, we will examine the critics who falsely accused Brother Branham of embellishing the facts of the Mysterious Cloud over Arizona taken in the evening of the 28th of February 1963. Search Mysterious Cloud Over Arizona or in 1963 in the internet, and you will not fail to find many articles on this mysterious cloud which is the same size as the map of Singapore!! Amazing how these false accusers claimed that the cloud was formed by moisture or debris from explosions created by a tiny rocket?? Their mind sure take in a lot of fabrications and distortions of the truth. How can such a Ring of Cloud be formed by an explosion unless that explosion is of the magnitude of at least 2 to 3 atomic bombs exploding in succession, one after the other? Even then, there would be a flame like burning or like the Cobalt bomb testing, an eerily beautiful bluish tinge in the sky!

It was estimated that should the Yellowstone volcano erupts, it would be equal to the power of one nuclear bomb which would spew debris 80,000 feet upwards. Now if 10 feet is approximately 3 meters, then 80,000 feet would be 24 Kilometers which is about 15 miles. But this cloud formation over Arizona is double the height and more than five times the width which is not dense cloud but hazy cloud spread over a perimeter of 100 miles and at least 2 miles thick (in fact. the astrophysicist put it as 5 miles thick, like the ream of a doughnut). Common sense will tell you that roughly that equates to 200 sq miles of moisture or debris.........From a tiny rocket explosion? (now I am just using approximate figures, if we calculate the actual figure, it would be mind boggling for such false accusers to even suggest such a thing. Even the Astrophysicist would not dare to venture to suggest such a possibility).

Yes, that Mysterious Stratosphoric Cloud still remains a mystery to the scientific world which need to be further studied by Astro Physicists...with proper facts. As it is, the facts are not sufficient for them to draw any conclusions and it remains a MYSTERY today. So how can anyone claimed they know the scientific explanation? Sadly, the only scientist who took it upon himself to study this phenomenon was still gathering data when he shot himself, the death not related to this astrophysical study.

I was just thinking what article should I post this month as there are so many thoughts and ideas going through my Christian experience. I have to be selective and the fact that for the first time in papal history, or for the last 600 years, another pope has announced his intended resignation and had chosen the date 28^th Feb. It is no mere coincidence for me. It would be the fiftieth year since the picture of the mysterious cloud was taken on Feb 28^th 1963 but published in Life magazine on May 17^th.

Brother Owen Jorgensen, who had written the complete biography of Brother Branham’s ministry comprising 6 volumes of condensed books, commented on this as well in his (or he was using that website) website, “Smorgaasbord”. Like my previous posting of Brother George Smith (residing in Arizona) letter to Brother Joseph Segal (residing in Melbourne, Australia) we must be careful not to add our own interpretations or thoughts without any scriptural or message background. In the case of Brother Smith’s letter, he highlighted that Brother Branham was caught into the supernatural realm suggesting of another dimension. This is correct, as all supernatural encounters by Brother Branham was in that realm as was Paul’s encounter with the Lord Jesus on the way to Damascus/ Possibly, in a different sphere or dimension. However, without the Thus Saith the Lord to confirm this, we can only say Brother Branham indeed had this encounter with the 7(seven) Angels visiting him to commission him to preach the Seven Seals and that each of these Angels would come to him from the 19th to the 24th of March, 1963 to show him the revelation of the seals and the unwritten thunders, as he said, these angels hold the thunders. In our last article on the Seven Thunders, we highlighted the fact that the Thunders were not written in the scripture and therefore it takes a prophet to reveal the truths (Amos 3:7) in what the Thunders said because John heard them too but was told not to write what they said.

Someone once tried to trap Brother Branham by saying that he could explain the Thunders and almost write an entire new bible on it, but he knew it can’t be done because whatever the Thunders said must also be scriptural and will not be exo-scriptural or outside the bible. And it had to be by prophets.............so who are the Angels, certainly they could not be the reformers.........or theologians. Scripturally, we have account of only two chief princes (angels), Michael and Gabriel who was used to announce the prophetic events pertaining to the Messiah or pertaining to Israel as prince Michael was to Daniel and Gabriel was to make Daniel and Zacharias understand the Coming of the Messiah and his forerunner John the Baptist.

Dan 10:13

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

In Brother Owen’s article, he posted these remarks :-

During my research into this topic, I contacted Arizona’s Game and Fish Department. Melissa Swain, who is their librarian, sent me a copy of the 1963 Arizona hunting regulations for javelinas. In 1963 the hunting season for javelinas began on Friday, March 1, and ended on Sunday, March 10. Since William Branham said he shot his javelina the day before the angels met him, if we put him out there hunting on the same day the mysterious Cloud was photographed, that would mean he was illegally hunting on the 27th and 28th of February. Speaking from my 23 years of researching this man’s life, I can guarantee you he respected the law. As a young man, besides preaching and working full time for the public utility district, he had a part-time job as a game warden. He received no direct pay as a game warden, but was supposed to receive a portion of the fines when he ticketed people for violating the state’s hunting laws. He worked as a game warden for many years, but he never wrote anyone a ticket. When he caught poachers, he explained to them the importance of obeying hunting laws, and then let them go with just a warning. That was the kind of man he was.

However, I don’t just have circumstantial evidence. William Branham actually said he was NOT hunting in the Sunset Peak area on the same day the mysterious Cloud was photographed. Three months after the seven angels met him, while speaking at a house meeting in Tucson, he told his audience about the day when he first saw the pictures of the mysterious Cloud in Life Magazine. He said, “…Right there was them angels just as plain as they could be, setting right there in that picture. You see? I looked to see when it was, and-was time-same-about day or two before, or, day or two after I was up there. I looked where it was at-northeast of Flagstaff-or Prescott, which is below Flagstaff. Well, that’s just where we was at, (see?) just exactly.”(Sermon: “Come Follow Me,” 63-0601, E-7). This statement tells us that he knew from reading the article in Life Magazine that the pictures of that mysterious Cloud were not taken on the same day the seven angels met him. Speaking impromptu to that audience (six or seven weeks after he read the article in Life Magazine), he couldn’t remember if the mysterious Cloud was photographed before or after he was hunting near Sunset Peak, but he knew for sure it was not the same day. At the same time it was clear to him that the mysterious Cloud pictured in Life Magazine looked exactly like what he saw on the morning of March 8 when the seven angels left him and rose into the sky.

I have taken the liberty to copy the article published in the “Only Believe” magazine, when Sister Rebekah was the editor and you can view the scanned pages in the “photo gallery” webpage of this website. Go to the page under the Photo section, and clicked on “Pictures Related to Articles” as follows:-

You should copy the pages to your documents or picture folder and enlarge the print to make it more readable. I believe this article was published in the late 1980’s under the heading title, “Road to Sunset”.

Brother Owen went on to say :-

In his sermon “Standing in the Gap”, preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana, on July 23, 1963, he said, “How many saw, “A mysterious Cloud in the sky?” You see the hands. And now the Life Magazine picked it up, and I have the-the article here this morning, in the Life Magazine, of-to show. Now here it is-the same time I was there. See the pyramid of the Cloud? I was standing just below this. And there, see the distinctive angel on the right-hand side? See the pointed wing of it? Just exactly what was said. And here it’s in the view of Mexico and different places from where they took the picture.” (63-0623M, 82).

This certainly sounds like he is saying he was standing directly below this Cloud when it was being photographed. But that can’t be what he is saying because the mysterious Cloud was photographed at least a hundred miles northwest of Sunset Peak. Is William Branham making something up? No he isn’t. The answer is obvious when you compare this statement with the one I quoted previously. Look more closely at what he said in “Come Follow Me.” Referring to the pictures of the mysterious Cloud in Life Magazine, he said, “I looked to see when it was, and-was time-same-about day or two before, or, day or two after I was up there.” You see, he is using the term “same time” in a slightly broader sense than what we originally assumed. He means that it all happened in the span of about a week (as opposed to two events happening months or even years apart). Notice he does the same thing with the location where the mysterious Cloud was photographed. He said, “I looked where it was at-northeast of Flagstaff-or Prescott, which is below Flagstaff. Well, that’s just where we was at, (see?) just exactly.” Here again he is using location in a broader sense, meaning that it happened in the same area of Arizona where he went hunting (as opposed to the mysterious Cloud appearing over, say, Tallahassee, Florida, or San Pablo, Brazil, or anywhere else in the world, for that matter. The world is a big place when compared to a 30-mile-long Cloud).

I would like to expand on this further. When Brother Branham said, it was either a day or two before or after he was up there. He meant what he said. So the word “same time” was used to indicate this fact, a day or two before or after he was there. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not necessary to assume he meant about a week ….......as this thought was what Brother George Smith wrote in his letter telling us that the prophet said, the angels were there waiting for him.........This we cannot confirm without going through the complete message thoroughly so I rather leave the statements by Brother Branham as they are, without adding or subtracting from them as it is important else we make the tape say something it don’t say at all.

It also became evident that the same whirlwind came back again in 1964, the day before Good Friday, when he was commanded to throw the rock into the air, triggering a larger whirlwind and there were three loud blasts, bang, bang, bang followed by a Voice. It was an unknown tongue which he knew the interpretations of but the many brethren gathering with him there that morning were told to hide because “something was fixing to happen” and these blasts came. He knew the interpretation, but said he could not tell them as it would alarm the people. He kept it till the event happened and that was the greatest Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 on Good Friday, March 27th at about 5:30 pm. This earthquake was captured in camera, the first time that ever happened and we can see the video of it in youtube. The three blasts and the Voice interpreted was “Judgment is striking the Westcoast”. Later, Brother Branham tell us in another sermon, that was the tail formation of the earth (the dragon formation) and he said, it would be worse when the head formation moves. I will post the exact words later as it will take me a while to find it.

More could be explained but I rather not go into those things as we move forward into the future, final events waiting to be unfolded as the Mighty Angel of Revelation 10 declared "there shall be time no longer". This message brings us back to the faith of the Apostoic fathers and we should concern ourselves with getting our loved ones saved and press into the Kingdom. To descent to the level of the critics is to condescend to their level of looking back where they came from but we have more pressing matters to attend to. Let them have their few moments of infamy. Leave it in God's hands. Consider these quotes:-

RECOGNIZING.YOUR.DAY.AND.ITS.MESSAGE_ JEFF.IN V-5 N-1 SUNDAY_ 64-0726M
198      I know I've kept you a long time. It's twelve o'clock now. But, I like this Food, This is Life. It is. It is, to the believer. Recognize the day that you're living, and the sign of the time.
199    See where everything is at: Israel; where the church; where the immoral; where the Bride is standing. What's left? The next thing, taking up of the Bride. Course, every church is looking for a great thing. The Pentecost say, "Glory to God! There will come a day that they're going to do this, and they're going to do that." See, they are professors. They do believe.
200    Like, one time, Caiaphas said, "Isn't it right that one man should die, and not the whole nation perish?" He was high priest, the Bible said, the reason he said that. He prophesied, not knowing what he was saying. But did he realize the real truth of it, that he was sacrificing the very God that he claimed to be the high priest of?
So is it, today! They're looking, yonder somewhere, for a--a great time to come.

GOD.HIDING.HIMSELF.IN.SIMPLICITY.THEN.REVEALING.HIMSELF.IN.THE.SAME_ JEFF.IN SUNDAY_ 63-0317M
18-6 {103}    We're--we're in teaching, and you can realize what a great strain it is on me (See?), because if I teach anything wrong, I'm going to have to answer for it. See? And so I must not take what anyone says; I must--it must be inspired. And I believe that the Seven Angels who's holds these seven thunders will grant it. See? And I'm...

19-1 {104}    Now, in Isaiah the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the first verse or two. I want to ask this question. Now, this is not pertaining to the Seven Seals at all. This is just a message, for I knowed I had to have dedication; I couldn't go into that because I wouldn't have time. But I thought, just for a little dedicational service, little memorial service for this church (or a little dedicational service, rather) then they--they wouldn't be time then to go into what I want to say (See?), on this opening of this Book. So I will tonight.

19-2 {105}    And now, this is just a little service that--it--it'll blend right in with it though, so listen to every word. Catch it. And--and if you're taking it on tapes or anything, then you stay right with that tape teaching. Don't say nothing but what that tape says. Just say just exactly what the tape says (See?), now because some of those things... We're going to understand a whole lot about this now, why it's misunderstood. See? And you be sure to say just what the tape says. Don't say nothing else (See?), 'cause... I don't say that of my own. It's Him that says it. You see? And... So many times confusion, people will raise up and say, "Well, so-and-so said it meant so-and-so." Let's just leave it just the way it is.

I have to caution those who try to damage or cast aspersions into the believers mind. What we should concern ourselves with is how is our standing with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour? Do we love Him more now then before. Did the message help bring us closer to the Lord Jesus. If it does, that is all that matters. No books but the bible, no law but love and no Creed but Christ. Our eyes stayed on Him.

Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV
(13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
(14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.