Episode 50 - An interview with Pastor James Manuel of South Africa (Part 1)
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James Manuel
Rod interviews former message pastor James Manuel of Cape Town, South Africa. James was in the message for almost 40 years. He believed it, he lived it and he preached it. The message was all his wife and children knew and it was all he knew.
Since leaving the message, James has embarked on a mission to expose the lies, deception, fraud and corruption in the message wherever and whenever he gets an opportunity. He has challenged message ministers all over the world to prove the message correct and as a result has had some threaten his life.
He has stated that he is willing to publicly repent, recant and return to the message if anyone can convince him with hard evidence that his claims are false. Likewise, if you fail to disprove what he claims, are you willing to turn your back on the message and follow the Lord Jesus Christ?
Episode 48 - A Biblical view of the Seven Church Ages - An Interview with Andrew Loza (Part 1)
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Rod and one of our listeners, Andrew Loza, a former police detective, discuss growing up in the message and what led him to leave the message. They also begin a discussion of the doctrine of the seven church ages.
Sermon quotes played in this podcast:
William Branham, The Invisible Union Of The Bride Of Christ, 65-1125, para. 240.
Chad Lamb, Believers Christian Fellowhip, The 7 Seals, part 14, Sept. 27, 2017
Chad Lamb, Believers Christian Fellowhip, The 7 Seals, part 16, October 8, 2017
Episode 47 - How to defend William Branham... poorly (Part 5)
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Rod & John continue to examine Wisper Gwena’s defence of William Branham. In this episode, Pastor Gwena’s defense of William Branham is challenged on the basis that:
All of William Branham’s prophecies are “after the fact” and even some of those he gets wrong.
William Branham made no valid “before the fact” prophecies on any of his publicly recorded sermons.
Pastor Gwena is from Waltham Abbey (North London), UK where he is the pastor of Spoken Word Ministry church. Joining Rod is John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website and grandson of Willard Collins, the former pastor of Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Music – Doctor my eyes from the album, Jackson Browne, by Jackson Browne – available on iTunes
Episode 46 - How to defend William Branham... poorly (Part 4)
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Rod & John continue to examine Wisper Gwena’s defence of William Branham. They examine what cognitive dissonance is and discuss Pastor Gwena’s claim that he is not the one suffering from cognitive dissonance, rather it is John and Rod that are the ones that are experiencing cognitive dissonance. But is this really the case?
Pastor Gwena is from Waltham Abbey (North London), UK where he is the pastor of Spoken Word Ministry church. Joining Rod is John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website and grandson of Willard Collins, the former pastor of Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Music – Cognitive Dissonance by Brad Wray – listen to the entire song on YouTube.
Episode 45 - How to defend William Branham... poorly (Part 3)
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Rod & John continue to examine Wisper Gwena’s defence of William Branham. Pastor Gwena is from Waltham Abbey (North London), UK where he is the pastor of Spoken Word Ministry church. Joining Rod is John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website and grandson of Willard Collins, the former pastor of Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Rod and his daughter, Anna, share stories from our listeners about their experiences with celebrating (or not celebrating) Christmas in the message. Rod ends the podcast with a description of what Christmas is really all about.
Episode 43 - How to defend William Branham... poorly (Part 2)
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Rod & John continue to examine Wisper Gwena’s defence of William Branham. Specifically, they examine a number of significant problems with William Branham such as the lack of newspaper articles which William Branham said appeared across the US and Canada; his lies about travelling around the world seven times; his visit to Pigalle; the problems with Congressman Upshaw; William Branham’s first commission which he stopped talking about after he changed his story; and the failed healing of Donny Morton. Detailed links are below.
Pastor Gwena is from Waltham Abbey (North London), UK where he is the pastor of Spoken Word Ministry church. Joining Rod is John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website and grandson of Willard Collins, the former pastor of Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Music – Jesus is the Answer by Andraé Crouch from The Definitive Greatest Hits (2005) – available from iTunes
Episode 42 - How to defend William Branham... poorly (Part 1)
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In this episode, Rod responds to a defense of William Branham that was presented by Wisper Gwena, pastor of Spoken Word Ministry church, Waltham Abbey (North London), UK. Rod is joined by John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website and grandson of Willard Collins, the former pastor of Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana. John is also the author of two books, “Stone Mountain to Dallas: The Untold Story of Roy Elonza Davis” and “Jim Jones – The Malachi 4 Elijah Prophecy”.
In this episode, Rod & John discuss the following:
Personal accusations made by Pastor Gwena.
Is there a difference between facts and the truth?
Is the research contained on the Seek The Truth and Believe The Sign websites error-free?
Several weeks ago, we received an email from a listener. Here is an excerpt from that email:
In a nutshell, I feel like I am in the very beginning stages of “Message Recovery”… terrified of attending “any church”, still struggling with fear of “damnation” and “total confusion” of who/what God is vs. the Indoctrination of the Message.
Your Podcasts were my turning point….thank you so much for putting them out there….
Thank you, I wait every Sunday for a new one to be released….they are my Lifeline right now. Struggling with severe depression, but the Podcasts have helped immensely.
I am looking forward to the subject of “Message Recovery, you have decided to leave….now what….where do we go…what do we do…where in society and the non-message church world do we fit in?”
I FEEL LIKE AN ALIEN, I never felt comfortable and like I measured up or fit in at the Message Church or among the people….and felt like a person caught in between worlds outside…always awkwardly never finding the place for me…and always critical, filtering other churches against Message standards….so I just want to sit down in the middle of the street a cry….I am a lost sheep.
One thing I discovered….when you push WMB out of the way….it is startling that behind him the entire time there was Christ on the Cross…!! WMB was impeding and interfering with my ability to function or having a relationship with Christ. I was too busy trying to meet the Message Criteria, and give reverence to the Message and the Prophet….which seemed to totally exclude the Simplicity of God’s Love and the Salvation Christ alone offers!
We have reached out to a number of people that have left the message and asked them for their thoughts on the question posed by our listener – “You have decided to leave….now what….where do we go…what do we do…where in society and the non-message church world do we fit in?”
This podcast seeks to answer our listener’s question.
Episode 40 - Interview with Paul & Kathy Jenkins (Part 2)
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This is part 2 of the interview with former message followers, Paul & Kathy Jenkins. Paul’s father, Lonnie Jenkins, was a well known teacher in the message and Paul was also the worship leader for many years at Believers Christian Fellowship in Lima, Ohio. Paul is the brother of Jeff Jenkins, who we have interviewed several times on Off The Shelf.
Episode 39 - Interview with Paul & Kathy Jenkins (Part 1)
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In this episode, Rod talks to former message followers, Paul & Kathy Jenkins. Paul’s father, Lonnie Jenkins, was a well known teacher in the message and Paul was also the worship leader for many years at Believers Christian Fellowship in Lima, Ohio. Paul is the brother of Jeff Jenkins, who we have interviewed several times on Off The Shelf.
Episode 35 - Interview with John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website
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In this episode, Rod talks to John Collins, author of the Seek The Truth website and grandson of Willard Collins, the former pastor of Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana. John is also the author of two books, “Stone Mountain to Dallas: The Untold Story of Roy Elonza Davis” and “Jim Jones – The Malachi 4 Elijah Prophecy”.
In this episode, John talks about, among other things:
Growing up in the message (followers of William Branham refer to themselves as being “in the message”).
How is being born into the message different from those who came into the message later in life?
Is the message a cult?
His recent interview on CBC Radio regarding the message street preachers in London, Ontario;
Episode 34 - Abdu Murray - A former Muslim discusses the doctrine of the Trinity (Part 3)
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In this episode, Rod concludes his interview with well known apologist and author, Abdu Murray.
For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim who studied the Qur’an and Islam. After a nine-year investigation into the historical, philosophical, and scientific underpinnings of the major world religions and views, Abdu discovered that the historic Christian faith can answer the questions of the mind and the longings of the heart.
In this episode, Rod and Abdu discuss the doctrine of the Trinity including:
whether analogies are useful in understanding the Trinity:
baptism in the name of Jesus Christ;
whether a person is required to believe the doctrine of the Trinity to be considered a Christian; and
what it means to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.
Episode 33 - Abdu Murray - A former Muslim discusses the doctrine of the Trinity (Part 2)
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In this episode, Rod continues with part 2 of his interview with h well known apologist and author, Abdu Murray.
For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim who studied the Qur’an and Islam. After a nine-year investigation into the historical, philosophical, and scientific underpinnings of the major world religions and views, Abdu discovered that the historic Christian faith can answer the questions of the mind and the longings of the heart.
In this episode, Rod and Abdu discuss the doctrine of the Trinity, including:
the biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity;
the logical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity;
how the doctrine of the Trinity proves God to be the Greatest Possible Being over and above a Oneness or Islamic conception of God;
the concept of persons in the Trinity and perichoresis;
Specific issues raised by Oneness Pentecostals or modalists, including:
Isaiah 9:6
John 10:30
John 12:45
John 14:9; and
the charge made by modalists and Islam of tritheism.
Episode 32 - Abdu Murray - A former Muslim talks about the doctrine of the Trinity (Part 1)
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In this episode of Off The Shelf, Rod talks to Abdu Murray, a well known apologist and the author of two books, including his latest, Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews.
For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim who studied the Qur’an and Islam. After a nine-year investigation into the historical, philosophical, and scientific underpinnings of the major world religions and views, Abdu discovered that the historic Christian faith can answer the questions of the mind and the longings of the heart.
Abdu has spoken to diverse international audiences and has participated in debates and dialogues across the globe. He has appeared as a guest on numerous radio and television programs all over the world.
Abdu holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. As an attorney, Abdu was named several times in Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyer. Abdu is the Scholar in Residence of Christian Thought and Apologetics at the Josh McDowell Institute of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
In this episode, Rod and Abdu discuss:
Abdu’s journey from Islam to Christ;
The mission of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; and
Is the doctrine of the Trinity inconsistent with the unity of God and the Shema of Deut 6:4 which states “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Episode 31 - Sylvia Perkins - Why I left the message (Part 3)
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This is part 3 of our interview with Sylvia Perkins. Sylvia attended Branham Tabernacle as a child. She was in a myriad of William Branham’s services and even watched TV with Joseph Branham, the youngest of the Branham children.
She was at the funeral of William Branham and attended Lee Vayle’s church for 18 years following the William Branham’s death. She was at the opening of the opening of the cornerstone of Branham Tabernacle after it was struck by a car and saw what it contained. She even had an interview with William Branham and he told her she was a prophetess.
Join Bryan and Rod as they discuss the many astounding things that Sylvia had the opportunity of seeing and why Sylvia ultimately had to leave the message. We know you will be as surprised as we were at the many revelations and insights into the life and ministry of William Branham.
Episode 30 - Sylvia Perkins - My Years in the Message (Part 2)
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This is part 2 of our interview with Sylvia Perkins. Sylvia attended Branham Tabernacle as a child. She was in a myriad of William Branham’s services and even watched TV with Joseph Branham, the youngest of the Branham children.
She was at the funeral of William Branham and attended Lee Vayle’s church for 18 years following the William Branham’s death. She was at the opening of the opening of the cornerstone of Branham Tabernacle after it was struck by a car and saw what it contained. She even had an interview with William Branham and he told her she was a prophetess.
Join Bryan and Rod as they discuss the many astounding things that Sylvia had the opportunity of seeing. We know you will be as surprised as we were at the many revelations and insights into the life and ministry of William Branham.
Episode 29 - Sylvia Perkins - Growing up in Branham Tabernacle (Part 1)
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Sylvia Perkins attended Branham Tabernacle as a child. She was in a myriad of William Branham’s services and even watched TV with Joseph Branham, the youngest of the Branham children.
She was at the funeral of William Branham and attended Lee Vayle’s church for 18 years following the William Branham’s death. She was at the opening of the opening of the cornerstone of Branham Tabernacle after it was struck by a car and saw what it contained. She even had an interview with William Branham and he told her she was a prophetess.
Join Bryan and Rod as they discuss the many astounding things that Sylvia had the opportunity of seeing. We know you will be as surprised as we were at the many revelations and insights into the life and ministry of William Branham.
Episode 28 - Were some Christians required to believe Satanic doctrine to be saved?
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Did you you know that William Branham taught that some Christians were required to believe Satanic doctrine in order to be saved? This podcast outlines William Branham’s teaching on the subject with direct quotes from his sermons.
This number 10 (and the last) in our summer series of podcasts that we have entitled “Summer Shorts”. They are only 5-10 minutes long… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about.
Episode 27 - William Branham's visit to the graves of Buddha, Confucius and Muhhamad
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William Branham stated on several occasions that he had visited the graves of Muhammad, Buddha and Confucius. But did he? We looked at the issue to determine whether William Branham actually visited these famous graves.
I think you will be surprised at what we found… well, maybe not if you’ve been listening to our podcasts.
This podcast is number 9 in our summer series of podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They are only 5-10 minutes long… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about.
Episode 26 - Did William Branham travel around the world seven times?
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William Branham stated on numerous occasions that he had traveled around the world seven times. We had a question from a listener asking if we had ever checked whether this was the case. So we did some research to determine whether William Branham actually went around the world seven times.
I think you will be surprised at what we found… well, maybe not if you’ve been listening to our podcasts.
This podcast is number 8 in our summer series of podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They are only 5-10 minutes long… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about.
William Branham stated many times that the Bible compared God’s prophets to eagles. However, he never provided one scriptural example of where this was the case. So we thought we would check out whether what he said was actually based in the Bible.
I think you will be surprised at what we found… well, maybe not if you’ve been listening to our podcasts.
This podcast is part 7 in our summer series of short podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They will only be 5-10 minutes… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about. Some may be the two of them, while others may just be solo.
Episode 24 - The significance of a seven-lettered name
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William Branham stated that there was significance in names name ending in H-A-M. It was also significant that Billy Graham’s name was six letters, the number of a man, but Branham was 7 letters, which was perfection. Really?
William Branham also stated that his ministry and Billy Graham’s were the only worldwide ministries of anyone with a name ending in H-A-M. But he obviously did not know about Frank Boreham.
This podcast is part 6 in our summer series of short podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They will only be 5-10 minutes… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about. Some may be the two of them, while others may just be solo.
Episode 23 - To Message Followers: God commands you to answer the questions of skeptics!
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In this podcast, Bryan & Rod provide scriptures which specifically require message believers to provide answers to the questions that researchers into the message have been publicly asking for the past 5 years.
This podcast is part 5 in our summer series of short podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They will only be 5-10 minutes… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about. Some may be the two of them, while others may just be solo.
Episode 22 - Did William Branham have any real prophecies??
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We have been unable to find a single occurrence where we have a clear prophecy recorded on tape that was later clearly fulfilled.
This is a test for anyone that is a follower of the message of William Branham. Did William Branham make any REAL “before the fact” prophecies in any of his tapes?
THIS IS THE CRITICAL QUESTION – Can you provide us with an unambiguous prophecy made by William Branham that was recorded publicly before the fact (i.e. we can verify on a tape) and that was later fulfilled in a clear manner? Surely, somewhere between 1946 and 1965, there is at least one clear prophecy that was made and fulfilled.
We will publish any such prophecy and its fulfillment on our website. Surely somewhere on a tape between 1947 and 1965, there is a prophecy that he recorded before the event that was later clearly fulfilled. However, to date, no one has brought us such a prophecy and we have been unable to find a single one.
This podcast is part 4 in our summer series of short podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They will only be 4-5 minutes… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about. Some may be the two of them, while others may just be solo.
What do you get when you add William Branham to Jesus? Is it the Gospel that Paul preached? Or is it something different?
William Branham stated that “the Word in the days of the apostles does not work in this day.” Is that what Paul preached?
This podcast is part 3 in our summer series of short podcasts that we are calling “Summer Shorts”. They will only be 4-5 minutes… just enough to get you thinking about something that you might not have thought about. Some may be the two of them, while others may just be solo.
