Memorial Issue - Only Believe Magazine

7/30/2019 Memorial Issue - Only Believe Magazine

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A L L T H I N G S A R E P O S S I B L E

Only Believe

ANNIVERSARY ISSUE


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JUST BEYOND THIS LAST BREATH

by William Branham

The other morning I was lying on my bed, and I wondered what I would be like in that theophany, orcelestial body. Would it be that I would see my precious friends, or would I see a little white fog going byand say, There goes Brother Neville? Could he say, Hello, Brother Branham? I often thought aboutthat I raised up on my pillow and put my head against the headboard of the bed, and I heard a voice say,Would you like to see just beyond the curtain?

I said, It would help me so much. I looked, and in just a moment - one breath - I had come into whatlooked like a great big grassy field. I looked back and there I was, lying on the bed. I said, This is astrange thing.

I looked this way and that, and people were coming by the thousands, running, screaming, Oh, ourprecious brother. Young women, maybe in their early twenties, they were throwing their arms around meand screaming, Our precious brother. Then came young men in the brilliance of young manhood. Theireyes glistening, looking like stars on a darkened night, their teeth as white as pearl, and they werescreaming and grabbing me saying, Oh our precious brother.

I stopped and looked at my hands, and I was young! I looked back at my old body lying there on the bedwith my hands behind my head, and I said, I dont understand this.

And then that voice that was speaking up above me said, You know it is written in the Bible that theprophets were gathered with their people.

I said, Yes, I remember that in the Scriptures.

He said, This is when you will gather with your people.

I said, Then they will be real, and I can feel them?

Oh yes, he said.

I said, But there are millions, and there arent that many Branhams.

And that voice said, Theyre not Branhams. Theyre your converts, the ones you have led to the Lord.Some of these women that are so beautiful were better than ninety years old when you led them to theLord. No wonder they are screaming My precious brother.

I said, Where is Jesus? I want to see Him so bad.

Now, He is just a little higher, right up that way. You were sent for a leader, and some day God willcome and He will judge you according to your teaching.

I said, Does every leader have to be judged like that?

He said, Yes.

I said, What about Paul?

He said, Hell have to be judged with his.

Well, I said, if his group goes in, so will mine, because Ive preached exactly the same Word.

And millions screamed out, all at once, saying, Were resting on that!

All fear of death is gone. It would be a pleasure to be taken from this corruption and disgrace. I wish therewas some way I could explain it to you, but just beyond this last breath is the most glorious thing. Onevisit there has made me a different man. I can never, never, never be the same Brother Branham that Iwas.


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William Marrion BranhamApril 6, 1909 December 24, 1965

In order to proclaim the doctrine of the Scripture, to injectthis, make it real again and show the people the hour wereliving in, God sends His prophet to manifest present tense.

Taken from Instructions To Lee Vayle Concerning The ChurchAge Book; A tape letter from William Branham; 1965


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T H E P A S S I N G O F A P R O P H E T

he distance to Jeffersonville, Indiana, fromTucson, Arizona, is one thousand, seven hundredand fifty miles. It takes two and one-half days tomake the journey by car, along what is known asthe northern route - up through New Mexico, and

straight across the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Missouri,

and the southern point of Illinois, into the Ohio Valleyregion of Southern Indiana.

For the Branham family, the road was thoroughlyfamiliar. Since moving to Tucson almost exactly threeyears before, they had returned several times to theirJeffersonville home, especially during summer vacationsand school holidays. During this visit, Brother Branhamplanned to preach at least two services.

A few days before their scheduled departure fromTucson, Brother Branham asked Billy Paul to contactBanks Wood, a trustee at the Tabernacle inJeffersonville, to have him make arrangements for therental of the Parkview Junior High School auditorium

for the meeting. He said that one of the subjects hewanted to speak on was The Trail Of The Serpent.

Tucson had been rainy for several days, and badweather was being predicted for parts of New Mexicoand Texas. The evening before leaving,

Brother Branham and Billy Paul decided that theywould wear hunting clothes (Levi jeans and jackets)during the trip, something they ordinarily would not dowhen traveling with the family.

Brother Branham liked to start early, and by sixoclock on the morning of December 18, 1965, the twocar caravan had already passed the Tucson city limits,

heading east on Interstate 10. Leading the way in a brightred 1965 Chevrolet was Billy Paul, his wife, Loyce, andtheir oldest son, four-year-old Paul. The baby, thirteen-month-old David, had stayed in Tucson with his babysitter, Betty Collins.

Following closely behind was Brother Branham,

Sister Branham, Sarah, and Joseph, in a light tan Fordstation wagon. The car was a 1964 model and had nearlyfifty-five thousand miles on the odometer, but it lookedlike new. Brother Branham was very particular about hiscars, and he kept them spotlessly clean and in perfectrunning order. He normally traded every two years, andthe new 1966 wagon that he had ordered was now readyto be picked up in Jeffersonville.

In the back seat, fourteen-year-old Sarah carefullyinserted the two prongs of a retainer into the propergrooves on the new braces that covered her teeth, andthen fastened the strap around her head that held theuncomfortable apparatus in place. She wore the retainer at

night, and occasionally during the day, even though itmade speaking difficult. But she remembered that theorthodontist had told her that the more frequently shewore it, the sooner she could get the braces removed, andshe smiled as she snuggled down on her half of the seat tocatch a few more winks of sleep before the breakfast stop.

At the other end of the back seat sat ten-year-oldJoseph. He wasnt sleepy and had no intention of lyingdown, but he checked to make sure that Sarah hadntcrossed that invisible barrier down the middle of the seatthat separatedyours from mine.

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It wasnt often that he was able to claim an entirehalf-seat as his own, and he planned to enjoy it.

Normally, the car would have had one morepassenger, but nineteen-year-old Rebekah remainedin Tucson, even though it would be her first time tobe away from the family at Christmas. But she hadtwo reasons for staying behind, the principal onebeing that her fianc, George, would be in Tucson fora two-week leave from the Army.

The second incentive for staying had been asuggestion by Brother Branham that she and herfriend Betty, who was baby sitting little David, usethe time while the remainder of the family was inJeffersonville to move all the clothes and householditems from the small apartment on Park Avenue totheir new house in the foothills. The furniture for thenew home, which Brother Branham and Rebekah hadchosen during a special buying trip to Phoenix onDecember 10, was scheduled to be delivered before

Christmas. It sounded like the perfect plan: When thefamily returned to Tucson on New Years Day, itwould be their first day at the new address.Everything would be ready and in place.

Meanwhile, inside the station wagon, thewrapped gifts which the family would exchange onChristmas day had been carefully placed on top ofthe suitcases to avoid being crushed. The largestboxes were the presents which Brother and SisterBranham had purchased for one another: A newchocolate-colored brown suit from JC Penneys forhim, and a colorful, quilted robe for her. BrotherBranhams tan leather briefcase containing his Bible

and the sermon notes for the message he planned topreach in Jeffersonville was wedged securely againstthe back seat.

hen the travelers came out of therestaurant after breakfast in the smalldesert town of Benson, Arizona, themorning sun was hidden by low-

hanging clouds. Paul was overjoyed that he wasbeing allowed to ride in his Grandpas station wagonwith Joseph for a few hours, and he spent the entiremorning going back and forth from the front seat,between Grandpa and Grandma, to the back seat,

between Sarah and Joseph. After lunch inAlamogordo, New Mexico, when Billy Paul directedPaul into his own car for an afternoon nap, BrotherBranham interceded saying, Thats okay. Let himride with me.

It was just after six oclock in the evening whenthe family stopped at Dennys restaurant in Clovis,New Mexico, for supper. They had already traveledover five hundred miles that day, and would try to

reach Amarillo, Texas, nearly one hundred milesfurther down the road, before stopping for the night.The weather had turned cold, and the radio said a lightsnow was already falling in Amarillo.

After the meal, which, for Brother Branham,consisted solely of a piece of lemon pie, Billy and hisfather spoke together briefly concerning the distanceyet to be traveled. As the group made their way backtowards the two automobiles, Joseph turned to go withBilly Paul, then hesitated and looked towards his father.

Rarely had he been allowed to ride in Billys car inthe past, but today Paul had already altered the travelroutine they generally followed, which was stay in yourown car. Can I ride with Paul now? he asked.

Brother Branham looked at Billy to see his reaction,then replied, Sure, you can ride with him for a while.

It was seven oclock when they pulled out of therestaurants parking lot. Once again, Billy Pauls carwas leading the way as they headed out of town. The

two boys talked quietly in the back seat. In the stationwagon that was following closely behind, Sarahstretched out along the entire back seat and was soonasleep. The retainer, which she had dutifully worn allday, lay forgotten in its holder.

Eight miles down the road, just outside Texico, acity that straddles the line dividing New Mexico andTexas, was a particularly difficult intersection, wherethe road turned north and joined highway 60, the roadto Amarillo. Billy Paul made the turn around the trafficisland smoothly. After all, he and his father hadtraveled this way many times, and both knew the routewell. But as he glanced in his rear view mirror, he was

surprised to see that Brother Branham, just a few carlengths behind, had missed the turn entirely and wasnow heading out of the city in a southerly direction.Quickly, Billy Paul pulled to the side of the road towait, knowing that within moments the mistake wouldbe discovered and corrected. But nearly five minutespassed before Brother Branham made his way back towhere Billy Paul was waiting, and they were able tocontinue.

t was seven twenty-five, and the sliver of moonthat was visible overhead did little to relievethe blackness of the night. The two-lane stretch

of highway between Bovina and Friona, Texas,was flat and straight, with wide shoulders on eitherside of the blacktop. The speed limit was sixty-fivemiles per hour, precisely the speed Billy Paul wastraveling as he passed the car in front of him, andthen quickly returned to the right lane. Momentslater, coming towards him, he saw what he thoughtto be the single

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headlight of a motorcycle, weaving back and forthdown the center of the highway. Within seconds thevehicle was near enough that he could see it was not amotorcycle, but a car with a missing headlight on thedrivers side. More than half of the vehicle was in his lane,and coming straight towards him. He jerked the wheelviolently to the right, causing his car to go completely offthe road and into the dirt beyond the shoulder. In the splitsecond it took him to regain control and return his car tothe road, the out-of-control vehicle that he had barelyavoided, virtually exploded into the front of the car justbehind him.

In his rear-view mirror, Billy Paul witnessed themoment of impact. The sound of the crash ripped through

the cold night air of the Texas prairie like the thunder ofwar, wrapping itself around him and sealing the echoes ofits roar into his mind forever.

Loyce began to scream, Its your daddys car! Itsyour daddys car!

He hit the brake pedal and spun his car into a sharp U-turn, heading back towards the collision site. The car I

just passed was between me and Dad! It was a franticresponse that was both a question and a desperatesupplication. As the beam of his headlights pierced thedust and debris-filled air, large pieces of wreckage, stillspinning from the force of the impact, came into view.Scars in the asphalt and a dark oily streak led towards theditch to his left, so he aimed the car in that direction.

Billy Paul Branham

Dad and I traveled many milestogether, and we saw lots of things,lots of accidents. I had seen peopledie.

When my headlights hit Dadscar and I could see him, I knew hewas gone, because his eyes wereopen, and his face looked swollen. Itwas a sight that I had seen before.

He was so caught in the car towhere he couldnt move. His leftarm was in the door, and the metalwas just jammed in on it. His left legwas wrapped around the column of

the steering wheel. Most of his body,his head and shoulders, wereprojected through the windshield,lying on the hood.

I need to add in here just a littlesomething that had taken place a fewweeks before, when Brother GeneNorman, Brother Don Werts,Brother Brewer, and myself wenthunting with Brother Branham inNorthern Arizona. I became ill onenight (I have a nervous condition),and I left the campsite and walked

up into the hills, crying because Iwas feeling so badly, and I lost mysupper. A while later, still sick, Icame back into camp. I saw Daddytake off his hat and bow his head, ashe stood there by the fire, and in justa few minutes, all my sickness wasgone.

He had been unable to eat his

supper, and a bit later I asked him if Icould fix him some soup or something.He said, No, and he took off, walking

down the road. When he came back ashort time later, I could see that therehad been tears in his eyes. He walkedback to the fire, and I stepped over tohim and said, Dad, are you feeling allright?

He said, It is okay. Just before wewent to bed that night, he saidsomething that I could not rememberever hearing him say before. He spoketo the brothers and said, Did you seeBilly go up into the hills a while ago?

They all said, Yes.

He said, You see, that is the reasonBilly likes to always be with me. Heknows that if I will just pray for him, itwill be all right

Brother Norman, he continued,do you remember a few weeks agowhen you fell off that fence while wewere hunting, and you tore up yourankle? You didnt thinkthat you would be ableto walk on it for many,many days. I just laidmy hand over on you,

prayed for you, and in acouple of days you wereback to work. BrotherNorman acknowledgedthis to be true.

Dad said, I washunting several monthsago, and I just made alittle wrong step and

sprained my ankle. Then he startedunloosening his boots and he said,Look at this. His entire ankle was

still black and blue.He said, Billy was so nervous

that he didnt think that he could makeit, but you are okay now, arent youPaul?

I said, Yes.He said, It is just that little touch.

Yet, I have prayed for this ankle, andit is still the same. I have prayed formy nervous condition, and it is stillhere. The gift is not for me. It wassent for you.

Ill admit that it was just words to

me then, but the night of the accident,he looked at me and said, Can youget me out?

I tried, I really tried. No, I cant,I told him. I had his head in my hands,and I said, Dad, look at me. Heopened his eyes. You speak theWord, Dad, and you will come out of

there.He turned his head

to the right. He neverspoke a word, but justturned his head from

me, and then I knewwhat he meant when hesaid it wasnt for him, itwas for us.

Taken from:A Personal

Testimony by Billy Paul

Branham; Phoenix, Arizona:January 26, 1966.


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ithin the boundaries of the light was a pictureof total devastation. The tan station wagonlay at an angle to the road, facing east and

still upright, but the drivers side of the vehicle had beentransformed into an eruption of mangled steel and wires.There were no seat belts or passenger restraints, that, ifpresent, would have given some degree of protection to theoccupants of the vehicle. Of the three passengers, onlyBrother Branham was visible, his lower body trappedbetween the crushed door and the steering column, and hishead and shoulders projecting through the shatteredwindshield. The harsh glare of the headlights highlightedhis face, which was turned outward. When he saw hisfather, Billy Paul exhaled his pent-up breath in a chokingcry, He is dead!

By the time the car came to a complete stop at the sideof the road, Loyce had opened her door and was runningtowards the wrecked station wagon. Instinctively, BillyPaul instructed the boys to stay in the car and lock the

doors, then, sick with dread, he raced to BrotherBranhams side.

Before he could reach him, Billy Paul saw BrotherBranhams head drop forward, and a second later he wasable to stretch his arms across the twisted framework ofthe car to cradle his fathers face in his two hands. Fromthe parked Chevrolet came a childs terror-filled screamas Josephs young mind began to assimilate thefrightening, violent scene before him. Unexpectedly,Brother Branham spoke, Who was that?

In a shaking voice, Billy Paul replied, That wasJoseph, Daddy.

After a moments hesitation, Brother Branham

responded with, Tell Joseph everything is okay.The car with the single headlight was a 1959

Chevrolet, driven by a seventeen-year-old farm laborernamed Santiago Luis Ramos. Less that thirty daysbefore, Ramos had been released from a statereformatory, and only three days prior to the accident hehad purchased the automobile, making a down paymentof $100. He and the three friends riding with him hadbeen drinking alcohol, and they had alcohol in the carwith them at the time of the crash. Now, Ramos bodylay face-down in the middle of the road. He was dead,and his three companions were seriously injured.

The driver of the car traveling just behind Brother

Branham, a Mr. Busby, was attempting to aid thepassengers of the Ramos vehicle. Several other passers-by stopped, and others called out that they were going forhelp. Friona, the nearest city, was six miles further east.

From the floorboard behind the front seat, Billy Paulheard Sarah as she began to groan under the luggage thathad been hurled forward. On the other side of the stationwagon, Loyce called out, Billy, your mother is dead.He hurried around to where Sister Branham lay indarkness on the floorboard under the dash, pressed

between the seat and the car heater. Desperate momentsticked by as he searched for a pulse in her neck and thenat her wrist, but to no avail.

Rushing back around to the other side of the car andbending down as closely as he could over his father, BillyPaul whispered, Dad, I know that you are hurt really bad,but I dont know how to get you out without hurting youeven worse. I have to wait until help arrives. I can hearSarah, and I think she will be okay. But Dad, I think Momis dead.

Brother Branham lifted his head slightly and asked,Where is she?

She is over to your right, Billy Paul replied.His left arm was tangled in the wreckage of the car

door, and even the slightest movement must havemultiplied a hundred-fold the fiery agony he was suffering,but somehow he stretched out far enough with his righthand that he was able to touch his wife. In a soft voice heprayed, Lord, dont let Mommy die. Be with us at this

hour.Within moments, Sister Branham began to move, and

then Billy Paul heard her moan. He asked whether or nothe should now try to get his mother out of the car. No,

just leave her, his father instructed, and leave Sarahalso.

Highway 60 wreck These two automobiles were involved in ahead-on collision on Saturday night six miles west of Friona.

The driver of the Chevrolet, top, was killed. Three passengers inthat car and three members of an Arizona family who wereriding in the station wagon were critically injured.

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The sustained wail of an ambulance siren could beheard, pressing its way through the darkness.

Sister Branham and Sarah were the first to betaken to the hospital, while highway patrolmen andother emergency service operators that had arrived onthe scene worked with Billy Paul to remove BrotherBranham from the wreckage. The ambulance made asecond, and then a third trip from the crash site to thehospital in Friona with the dead and injured from theRamos vehicle. Forty-five minutes had passed, andstill all efforts to free Brother Branham had beenfutile. Every means at their disposal had been used totry and remove the drivers door, but without success.Rescue workers knew that immediate action needed tobe taken if there was to be any hope of survival.

From the line of traffic, which extended six milesin each direction from the wrecked vehicles, a mandriving a four-wheel-drive truck, equipped with a

logging chain for heavy pulling, offered his vehiclefor the rescue operation. In a desperate and dangerousmove, a wrecker secured its chain to the rear bumperof the station wagon, and the logging chain on thevolunteered truck was attached to the brace thatextended from the roof to the hood of the car, on thedrivers side. On Billy Pauls signal, the car waspulled simultaneously from both directions, causingthe broken front end to give slightly. In the fractionalspace that was created, he was able to crawl over hisfathers shoulder and reach under the dash to untanglethe left leg that was wrapped around the steeringcolumn. Brother Branham was free at last from the

steel trap that had held him. Catch me Paul, he said,as he fell into his sons arms and was pulled from thecar.

It took the ambulance only five minutes to deliverthe last and most seriously injured patient to theemergency room of the small hospital in Friona. BillyPaul was allowed to ride next to his father for theshort trip. Fully conscious, but in a voice that wasgrowing sluggish, Brother Branham questioned, Do Ihave on my hairpiece?

In the months preceding the accident, BrotherBranham had donned the small toupee with increasing

frequency, but in the back of the speeding ambulancehis inquiry sounded alarmingly irrational. Even moresurprising was his reaction to Billy Pauls affirmativeanswer. Take it off, he directed.

Tenderly, Billy Paul put a shaking hand on hisfathers head and tugged several times at the well-stuck hairpiece, not enough to hurt, but enough that itcould be felt. Its on too tight, Dad. We can get it offlater.

Take it off This time it was not a polite request.

Squinting against the semi-darkness of theirsurroundings, Billy Paul tried in vain to see hisfathers eyes, knowing well the piercing look thataccompanied that authoritative voice. Withouthesitation, he pulled the wig from the prophets head.

ister Branham and Sarah had already beentaken downstairs for x-rays when the lastambulance arrived at the hospital. Loyce andthe children were in the waiting room, being

cared for by a local family who had witnessed theaccident and then stayed nearby to offer what comfortthey could. Even after his father was taken into a roomfor examination, Billy Paul could not allow himself tosuccumb to the debility which he felt. He found aphone booth and made a call to his home in Tucson,where his sister Rebekah was staying with her friend,Betty.

The medical staff on duty that night was not able

to offer any words of encouragement regardingBrother Branhams condition. Realizing they were ill-equipped to handle such serious injuries, as soon ashis x-rays were completed, they prepared to have himtransferred as quickly as possible to the NorthwestTexas Hospital in Amarillo, seventy miles away. But,contrary to their plans, several hours would passbefore the transfer could be made.

A dangerous reduction of blood flow throughoutthe body tissues produces a condition that is known asshock. Unless the victim receives an immediateinfusion of blood, the prognosis is coma and death.Billy Paul had just hung up the telephone when one of

the doctors on duty called him over to one side. Son,we dont give your daddy much of a chance. Hemaybe going into shock and we dont have enoughblood on hand to help him much. I need to know yourblood type.

Although at first it seemed likely that Billy Paulwas an acceptable blood donor under these desperatecircumstances, the cross-matching which was quicklyperformed as a precautionary measure revealed thatalthough they shared the same blood type, Billy Paulsblood contained Rh-factors that made it incompatiblewith his fathers. The local sheriff, who also had thesame blood type, was cross-matched at the same time,

and thankfully he was declared to be a compatibledonor.By the time the first pint of blood had been

prepared, Brother Branhams blood pressure was soextremely low that in order to even receive thetransfusion, he was first placed on a bed that had beenadjusted to where he was nearly standing on his head.Over the next eight hours, they were able to give himthree pints of blood.

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Rebekah Smith

George and I had been invited tothe home of Pearry and Janice Greenfor the evening of the 18th, and when

he came to Billy Pauls house to pickme up (Betty and I were staying therewhile the family was away), it wasalready dusk. This worried mebecause neither one of us had been tothe Greens home, a very remoteranch house on Tucsons far east side,and I was afraid that we wouldnt beable to find the place in the dark. Onehour later we were stopping for thethird time to ask directions, and I wasin tears. George reassured me, Iknow were almost there, but I justwanted to go home. It really didnthave anything to do with not beingable to find the Greens house, I justwanted to be home, on Park Avenue,and I didnt know why. It was seven-thirty when we finally found the turn-off wed been looking for, and I driedmy eyes and decided I was being silly.

We stayed until just after nineoclock, and approximately forty-fiveminutes later we were back at BillyPauls house on Edison Street. Bettycame to the door as soon as she heardus pull up, and she called out,

Theres been an accident! Billy Paul

will be calling back in afew minutes!

Billy had called just asGeorge and I were leavingthe Greens, and Bettyhad been pacing the floorever since, waiting for meto get home. Then wepaced together, becauseuntil Billy Paul calledback, all we could do waspray and wait.

I just couldnt believe that the acci-dent was serious. I told myself thatmaybe Billy Paul just wanted to tell meto hurry up and move our things intothe new house because they haddecided to come back to Tucsoninstead of going on to Jeffersonville.

Dad was very particular about hisautomobiles, and I knew if hed hadeven a minor fender-bender, he wouldwant to have it repaired immediately.

I went into the bedroom to wait forBillys call, which came just a fewminutes later. I can remember, but Icant describe how he sounded. Hedidnt give me many details of the acci-dent, just that Dad, Mom, and Sarahwere hurt, and it was serious. Get thefirst flight out in the morning forAmarillo, he told me.

Maybe it was a form of denial that

caused me to ask him,Wouldnt it be better ifI just stay here and makethings ready for whenthey get home? Iwanted so badly to hearthat they would be wellenough to come home ina few days!

Sis, listen to me,he said. I cant tell youover the phone just how

bad things are just now, but you needto be here.

Dont come on a small plane, Iknow how Dad feels about smallplanes and he wouldnt want you to beon one, but get on the firstcommercial flight available. We will

be at the Northwest Texas hospital.And Sis, pray harder than youve everprayed before in your life.

Already certain of the answer, Ihad to ask him one more questionbefore I hung up. What time did ithappen?

Seven twenty-five, he told me.The telephone rang throughout the

night. No one wanted to believe whattheyd heard. The next morning whenGeorge and I boarded the AmericanAirlines flight, there were several

familiar faces in the crowd.

When the doctors realized that it would be sometime before Brother Branhams condition could bestabilized sufficiently to allow him to be moved to theAmarillo hospital, they quickly decided to send SisterBranham and Sarah on ahead. They had given bothpatients what preliminary care they had to offer, butthey too were in need of the emergency treatment thatwas only available at the larger facility. Both themother and the daughter were unconscious, andexaminations revealed a concussion, lacerations, and

broken bones. Their x-rays were placed in an envelopeat the end of each stretcher, then the patients werecovered with an extra blanket and wheeled into thewaiting ambulance.

Billy Paul was now alone in the hospital waitingroom. It was quiet, except for the sound of his ownheart beating against his ears. He knew that by nowmany people were on their knees in prayer for theBranham family, and it was a great consolation. Loyce

and the two children had accepted an invitation from acharitable family and had gone home with them for afew hours of rest. The doctors came in to report thatBrother Branhams blood pressure was up slightly, andshortly he would be ready for the trip to Amarillo,where the hospital staff had been alerted and wereprepared and waiting for his arrival. Billy Paul, who hadnot slept in over 24 hours, was offered a seat in the backof the ambulance with his father and a nurse. Heaccepted gratefully. It was six oclock in the morning,

Sunday, December 19.

pon arriving at Northwest Texas Hospital, SisterBranham had been taken to the Intensive CareUnit. She was diagnosed as having a severeconcussion, lacerations on her head and body ashattered bone in her left leg, and a deep puncture

wound, also in her left leg. Her face was swollen beyondrecognition, and she remained unconscious.

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Sarah was semi-conscious, and was placed in a privateroom on the second floor. Already several orthopedicspecialists had closely examined the x-rays that had beentaken in Friona and were tentatively encouraged by whatthey saw. Although there were fractures in seven of thevertebrae of her back, the spinal cord did not appear to bedamaged, and she did have feeling in her legs and arms.For the present, all they could do was immobilize her headand spine, and prescribe heavy dosages of drugs. Once shecompletely regained consciousness, the pain would beunbearable. Her road to recovery would be a long one.

Sarah was also suffering from a second injury thatneeded specialized attention, her mouth. Thrown violentlyforward at the moment of the crash, her face had pressedso forcefully into the rear of the font seat that her braceswere now imbedded in the flesh of her lips. Anorthodontist had been called to the hospital for the tedious

job of cutting the wiring from the braces so that her mouthcould be treated. Without the braces, she would

undoubtedly have lost most, or even all, of her teeth.Conversely, had the retainer (which she had negligentlyleft off) been in place, and its sharp prongs been driveninto her mouth, the results could have been deadly.

At seven-thirty, the ambulance carrying BrotherBranham arrived at the hospital and he was takenimmediately into surgery. After checking on his motherand sister, Billy Paul found a phone booth and begancalling friends and relatives with an update of everyonescondition. Totally exhausted, he was hardly aware whenBrother Pearry Green from Tucson, Arizona, walked intothe room thirty minutes later and put his arm across hisshoulder. Brother Billy, youve done enough, he said,

and he took the phone from Billy Pauls hand.

he large waiting room adjoining the IntensiveCare Unit where Brother and Sister Branham werebeing cared for, filled quickly as friends andfamily members began arriving from across the

United States. By mid-afternoon, there were thirty anxiousfaces waiting to question the one visitor that the hospitalallowed each hour into the ICU to see the prophet and hiswife.

Rebekah and her fianc, George Smith, arrived at thehospital at three in the afternoon. There were still thirtyminutes remaining until the next visitor would officially be

permitted into the ICU, but the nurses thoughtfully madean exception and permitted her to see her parents.There were twelve patients being cared for in the large

open room that was the Intensive Care Unit, every bed wasfilled. The nurses station was located just to the right ofthe door, and straight ahead was a row of six beds,separated from one another only by a white curtain.Brother Branhams bed was the one nearest the nursesstation.

His left arm and leg were being field in traction, but nocasts had been applied. The bones of his arm were brokenin so many places that doctors did not yet know if theycould ever be re-aligned properly. His head was veryswollen, and his eyes were open but not focused (asymptom of the head injury). A tracheotomy had beenperformed, which made every breath sound like a struggle.He no longer responded to external stimuli, and the doctorsfelt that he was now in a deep coma.

Sister Branham occupied the third bed to the left, andshe remained unconscious, her condition still listed ascritical.

Sarah was conscious, but the only motion she couldmake was to move her eyes. No words could be formed byher lacerated mouth, and even a slight adjustment to theblanket that covered her caused pain that was morepowerful than the morphine could control.

Through the window of the ICU waiting room, theheavens looked dismal and foreboding to the brethren as

they continued their vigil. They simply would not allowthemselves to think the unthinkable. Earnestly they prayed,and watched for a sign from their beloved prophet.

n Tuesday Sister Branham regainedconsciousness, but her thinking remainedconfused. She had no recollection of theaccident, but she was able to recognize friends

and family members. Constantly she asked, WheresBill? Her question would be answered frankly, butmoments later she would repeat again, Wheres Bill?She was moved from ICU to a room near Sarah on thesecond floor.

On Wednesday, December 22, the fourth day, visitorsnoticed a marked swelling of Brother Branhams left eye.The doctors had been closely monitoring the eyescondition for the past forty-eight hours, and after a seriesof tests, they determined that it was caused by the swellingof the brain. They sought the familys permission tooperate immediately in order to remove a portion of theskull, just above the left temple, to give the brain morespace. If the brain was allowed to touch the skull, theyexplained, death would be instantaneous.

There were sixty-five brothers in the waiting roomwhen Billy Paul announced that an immediate surgery wasnecessary, and he asked the saints to pray with him before

he signed the papers which would allow the doctors toproceed. After the prayer, they softly began to sing On TheWings Of A Snow White Dove. Through the window, abright shaft of sunlight, that had miraculously slippedthrough the endless gray clouds that stubbornly coveredthe sky, filled the room where they were standing with acalming light. It was the first encouraging sign theyd seen.

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According to the doctors evaluation, the surgerywent well, and Brother Branham was returned to theICU. His head had been shaved for the surgery, and acoating of protective ointment covered his left eye,which remained open.

Several of the brothers took turns answering thespecial telephone that had been installed to handle allthe inquiries concerning Brother Branhams condition.Day and night, from around the world, calls came intothe hospital from shocked and grieving followers:Was it true?! Of course, Brother Branham would behealed, wouldnt he?! This would be the greatestmiracle of his entire ministry, just wait and see!

Thursday, Doctor Hines, a bone specialist, spoketo the family concerning Brother Branhams left arm.From a condition that he had considered to behopeless on Sunday, the bones had now alignedthemselves to the place where he felt the arm could be

saved. If all went well, in a couple of days he wouldbe able to place it in a cast. It was the first good newstheyd had, and for the first time in five days, therewas something to smile about.

t four thirty-seven, on the morning ofDecember 24, Brother Branham stoppedbreathing on his own and was placed on arespirator. The nursing staff realized that the

end was very near, and they tried in vain to preparethe family for the hours ahead. But they remainedsteadfast in their belief that God would provide themiracle that was needed. Sister Branhams conditionwas improving slowly, and Sarahs orthopedic bracewas providing a measure of relief. Momentarily theyexpected to hear that Brother Branham had made anastonishing recovery.

Jack PalmerIt was about two in the morning,

December 19th, when we received acall from friends in Tucson tellingus about the wreck. I made adecision to go to Amarillo to lendwhat support I could to the family,and I left my home in Macon byeight oclock that same morning.

When I arrived in Amarillo andwalked into the terminal, twobrothers from Phoenix, the

Moseleys, walked up to me andoffered me a ride to the hospital.When we arrived, we found aboutthirty people already there.

As inquiries began coming infrom all over the USA and aroundthe world, the hospital staff soonrealized that they had a veryimportant patient in ICU, and theyeven turned over their chapel to usfor prayer vigils. Of all the hospitalsthat I have visited, there have beennone as friendly, helpful and

courteous as the staff a NorthwestTexas Hospital.

The nurses in the ICU seemed totake a special interest in us. I recallgoing in one morning and the super-visor of the day shift walked over towhere I was standing and said, Wenurses have had a little conferenceand were trying to figure out who

you folks are. She began to smileand said, I said that you areMormons. Are you?

I said to her, No, were notMormons, were Bible believingChristians, and werenondenominational. She seemed alittle disappointed that they hadbeen wrong, but they began to bringcakes and make coffee for us.

It was the evening of the fifth

day before I was permitted to visitBrother Branham. There was noresponse whatsoever when I spoketo him, and I cannot find the wordsto describe my feelings as I stoodalone with him. You see, BrotherBranham was not only Godsprophet for our day, and the SeventhAngel Messenger, but he was like a

father to me and I loved him. Hesaid to me one day, Brother Jack, ifyou ever need me, call and Ill try tohelp you. Not once did he ever failto keep that promise.

Friday evening, the 24th, I was inthe hospital cafeteria with somebrethren when someone came in andsaid, Brother Branham just passedaway. There was just a stunnedsilence for a minute or two, then Ireturned to the ICU waiting room. I

was asked to take charge of thetelephone and was given a list ofcalls to make, people waiting tohear any news about the prophet.There were more than thirty num-bers on the list, and it wasChristmas Eve. The telephonecircuits were very busy, but when Iwas finally able to get an operator, Iasked her if she would stay on theline with me, as I had so many callsto make. She said that she would behappy to, and I remember that

between two calls she said thesewords to me, Rev. Branham musthave been a wonderful man. I said,Yes, he was a wonderful man.

I placed one call to Venezuelawhere five hundred people had beenpraying around the clock. But it wastime for Brother Branham to go.


12/15

When we were called into the room atthe time of Brother Branhams passing,

as far as I could tell, his head wasturned to the east. The expression on hisface reminded me of a gallant soldier.

The firm look conveyed these words tome: I have fought a good fight, I have

finished my course, I have kept thefaith.

We gathered around the bed andsoftly sang Only Believe. There was areal peaceful feeling in the room.

We left to drive back home thatsame day, and there was such a silencein the car. None of us wanted to believethat this had really happened, andnobody was expecting it to turn out thatway. I remember looking at the moonand the evening star. They were so

close together and so very bright.Back in July of1965, several

brothers and myself were in Tucsonand Brother Branham took us to aMexican restaurant for lunch. After-wards, in the car, he spoke to us aboutthe three baptisms: the baptism ofwater, the baptism of Spirit, and thebaptism of death. He was driving andhe turned around and said, You boysknow I cant be with you muchlonger.

He took us to his new home andshowed us around. In the front yardthere was a wagon wheel and a cattleskull that had been placed against apile of rocks. He pointed to it and said,This is where an old prospector cameto the end of his trail.

Richard Blair

But the doctors reported no change in BrotherBranhams condition throughout the day. At suppertime, Billy Paul was in the hospitals dining roomwhen he received word that Doctor Hines wished tospeak with him. He hurried back to the ICU waitingroom, and the nurse on duty escorted him into theglassed-in consultation room next to the nursesstation. He could see that the curtain around BrotherBranhams bed was drawn closed, but that was notunusual. The family had been called into theconsultation room on several prior occasions, andnow Billy Paul told himself that there was no need for

alarm. Doctor Hines was only the orthopedicspecialist, not the neurologist, who handled the realproblems.

Doctor Hines walked into the room. Mr.Branham, I have sad news to tell you. Your fatherpassed away at five forty-nine this evening.

When speaking to his friends, on severaloccasions Brother Branham had told them, If youever hear that I am gone, just stop for a minute andsing one chorus ofOnly Believe in my memory. Now,in the waiting room, sixty-five men stood to their feetand began to sing the familiar words and melody,

Only believe, only believe, all things are possible,only believe. And, somehow, they seemed to findconsolation in the words, while in their hearts theywere asking, God, now what?

Hanging low against the western horizon, thesetting sun, the moon, and the evening star appearedto be within touching distance of one another.

After the prophets passing, the ICU staff grantedpermission for seven friends of the prophet to gather

at his bedside for a final time before his body was taken bythe funeral director. Grateful for this thoughtful courtesy,Billy Paul turned to Brother Pearry Green, who was at hisside, and asked him to name seven from among the sixty-five men present. Turning his back to the room, BrotherGreen named off the first seven names that came to hismind: Holin Hickerson, Vernon Mann, Orlin Walker,Richard Blair, Welch Evans, John Martin, and Earl Martin.

On December 19th, when Brother Branham wasbrought to the ICU, there had been eleven other seriouslyill or injured patients also being cared for. During theapproximate one hundred thirty hours he spent in the

Intensive Care Unit, not one death occurred, even thoughone mans heart stopped beating five times in a singlenight. Most of the patients had already been moved out ofthe ward, and the room was quiet as the friends gatheredaround the prophets bedside.

Quoting from Second Kings 2:11, one of the brothersechoed the words of Elisha: My father, my father, thechariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

As soon as the seven brothers left the ICU, BrotherBranhams body was placed on a stretcher and coveredwith a deep red-colored blanket. Once again, Billy Paulturned to Brother Green, who had been his friend sincethey were in Bible school together, and said, Pearry, take

Daddy home.

Before he left Amarillo with the prophets body,Rebekah gave Brother Green the box containing the brownsuit which was to have been Sister Branhams Christmasgift to her husband. He delivered it to Mr. Coots, thefuneral director in Jeffersonville.

The casket that was used to transport the prophetsbody from Amarillo to Jeffersonville was later used by Mr.Coots for the burial of a pauper.


13/15

Pearry Green

At first I was shocked and un-decided when informed that the

body must be embalmed forshipment across the country, butthen I remembered the Scriptureswhere Lazarus was bound withgrave clothes and how Jesus hadbeen embalmed. According to theWord of God, this had not hinderedthem. Resolutely, I turned to thefuneral director and signed thenecessary papers to have the em-balming performed.

Brother Billy Paul hadsummoned me to the motel room,but before I went, I asked-the

funeral director to place the body ina separate room and lock the doorfor the period that I would be gone.Truthfully, I did not expect BrotherBranham to be there when Ireturned.

Then the time arrived when Iwould have to leave with theprophets body to fly toJeffersonville. I was uneasy aboutgoing alone, and Brother Collinsagreed to come to the airport withme. When we arrived at the funeralhome, the body had been placed in alittle gray casket, the lid had beenclosed. I felt it important that therebe a witness that the prophets bodywas still in that casket, therefore, Iasked that it be opened so thatBrother Collins could view it. Thiswas done. The scene is indeliblyimpressed on my mind: BrotherBranhams body was dressed in awhite robe, his face glistening withoil, with such a glow from his face

that it seemed to illuminate theroom. I could think only of BrotherBranhams own description of thosebeyond the curtain of time. Hisbody was loaded aboard the TWAflight, after the final loading ofpassengers and freight. I obtained aseat as close as possible to the areawhere the prophets body rested inthe baggage compartment. Howoften had I prayed before, uponentering an airplane, that the Lordwould give me a safe journey, take

me and use me, and bring me backsafely to my family. This time wasdifferent; I said, Lord, if you wantto take Your prophet in a ball offire, even as you did Elijah, it wouldbe my pleasure to go with him.

We deplaned in St. Louis, the

prophets body and I, for a layoverperiod until the proper type ofaircraft would be available tocontinue the journey. I never left theside of the casket, even as it waswheeled out across a vast airport toa warehouse. It was in thiswarehouse that I was to take up avigil of six hours, with my earpressed to the casket. Each moment,I expected to hear that prophet say,Brother Green, get me out ofhere. It was cold and lonely in thatwarehouse. Thoughts raced throughmy mind, questions, morequestions,...now what?

Again the faithful Word came tomy rescue: Though one rise fromthe dead, they would not believe.

After all, what would I do if he wereto speak to me? Would anyonebelieve me if he did arise? WouldBrother Billy Paul believe me?Would Brother Borders? or wouldthey all blame me if the body was toturn up missing? At that time, I feltto ask the Lord whether I was beingshown that he was to come forthwith all the dead in Christ. Then Isaid, Lord, dont let him rise herewith just me. Wait until there arewitnesses. I feared lest men would

not believe me. And according tothe Word, they would not - unlessthey were already predestinated tobelieve.

The Acts Of The Prophet, by PearryGreen; pg. 172 - 174.

On the day of BrotherBranhams funeral, city streets

surrounding the Tabernacle were

closed in order to provide extra

parking space for the overflow

crowds.


14/15

he following day, transportation arrangementswere made for Sister Branham, Sarah, Billy Paul,Loyce, Rebekah, Joseph, and George. Two smallplanes, especially equipped to carry stretchers

were hired, and on Sunday morning the family began thelast leg of their fateful journey to Jeffersonville. Sarahssturdy back brace, an aluminum frame covered withleather, held her body rigidly in place from her neck tobelow her waist. Tightly rolled blankets prevented herfrom moving as the stretcher was being loaded aboard theairplane.

The nurses helped Sister Branham into her new quiltedrobe before she left the hospital. She had asked to beallowed to wear it, even though she still was not able to situp and would be making the trip on a stretcher.

Friends who were returning to Tucson took Paul homewith them and cared for him there until the family arrivedback into town.

The funeral service for Brother Branham was held onDecember 29 at the Branham Tabernacle. Hundreds ofpeople crowded into the sanctuary and overflowed into theparking lots to pay their final respects to a man whose lifeand ministry heralded the Second Coming of the LordJesus Christ.

Upon arriving in Jeffersonville, Sister Branham andSarah had been taken by ambulance to Clark CountyMemorial Hospital. They were not able to attend thefuneral service.

Even though he knew that to delay the burial of theprophets body would likely give rise to rumors that could

quickly be blown out of proportion, Billy Paul felt that theright to choose where Brother Branham should be buriedbelonged to only one person, Sister Branham. Certainly, itwas not a decision to be made without carefulconsideration, even by an able person, and the factremained that she simply was not capable of making thedecision at that time. Although her condition wasimproving steadily, the doctors informed Billy Paul that itwould be weeks before she was sufficiently recovered tounderstand fully what was being asked of her.

The only logical choice was to delay the burial untilshe was able to make the decision on her own, which isprecisely what was done. Following the service at the

Tabernacle, the casket bearing the prophets body wasreturned to Coots Funeral Home in downtownJeffersonville where it was kept in a vault for a period of

just over one hundred days.

On April 11, 1966, Brother Branham was buried inEastern Cemetery, which is located just one block from theBranham Tabernacle.

Epilogue

Sister Branham was released from the hospital onJanuary 15, 1966. Her recovery from the leg injury tookseveral months, and the effects of the concussion lastedmore than a year. She never recovered her memory of thedays immediately proceeding the accident, or of theaccident. Sister Branham went to be with the Lord on May12, 1981. She was buried next to her husband.

Sarah remained in the hospital until March 5, 1966, butshe continued to need the orthopedic brace for eleven moremonths.

Today, Sarah is married and has eight children.

The family moved into the new house in Tucson,Arizona, on October 23, 1966.

Now he belongs to the ages.

Spoken by the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton at the

deathbed of Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865.

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T his Corruption has got to put onincorruption, this mortal has got to put on

immortality. And its just one breath

between here and there. From old age

to youth, from time to Eternity

W illiam Branham

Published by

Believers InternationalPO Box 1000

Elizabethton, TN 37644-1000

Documents

Memorial Issue - Only Believe Magazine