6-Broadway Tabernacle Days

 

The days at Broadway Tabernacle were busy for my father, Ramon A Haas, as he helped frequently with outreach campaigns. This meant our family was at the church quite often. He was also deeply involved in many other church organizations in the Seattle area. Philadelphia Bible College, Kings Gardens, Kings Teens, Campus Crusade for Christ, Full Gospel Businessman's Fellowship, David Wilkerson Crusades, Billy Graham Crusades, Nicky Cruz Crusades, Union Gospel Mission and many many others. It seemed he was seldom home.

In 1965 Bill Bright; a then famous tract writer; introduced a brand new tract called "The Four Spiritual Laws". I came home from school one day and several cases of this new tract had been delivered to our house. My father, it seemed, was spearheading an effort to distribute these tracts to all of the major churches in Seattle and it was partly his role to go from church to church, speak with the pastors about the tract, and hope they would order more to distribute widely. 

My father was also intensely involved with visiting and preaching at the local missions so my brother and I spent many nights locked in the church basement while he ministered in the streets of Seattle. Rarely was our father home for any length of time and, when he was at home, it was usually to study or hold a meeting with college kids from Philadelphia Bible College.

The tools used by the Assembly of the Body of Christ to conduct Greek Word Studies were developed during these Broadway Tabernacle days. James A Watt, emboldened by Ern Baxter in his quest to develop an exhaustive Greek study method, worked diligently on a workbook named "Through the Word, Word by Word".  It was essentially a reprinting of select pages of a book by John Stegenga called "An Analytical Concordance of the Greek-English New Testament". This book allowed a person to read a scripture in context then write the applicable section on the page.

The "Through the Word..." book listed scriptures found in the bible for repentance, faith, baptism, etc. as found in Hebrews 6:1-2. It also showed the Greek derivatives, tenses, mood and context for each.  It was an attractive book with a red and black cover depicting a microscope and a telescope on the cover. The connotation of the cover design was that it was possible to examine the bible microscopically with this book but in doing so see God telescopically and more clearly. Our family spent quite a few hours in the church basement collating and stapling these booklets together for mailing.

My father and Watt were quite excited about this new method of study and began a "Through the Word, Word by Word" class at Philadelphia Bible College in Seattle. The school was hesitant to allow the class initially but, after an experiment using the Greek word "Dorea", or gift, the class was deemed a success and was allowed on a limited basis.

Several students from the college wanted more from the Greek so my father began a special meeting, once per week, on Thursdays, for college students at our home. Since we had no table big enough to handle the large group, each week my father would bring out a large plywood sheet, lay it over our dining room table, and the group of students would then pore over Greek word studies, have lively discussions about the words and seemed to have a great time. I recall there was lots of snack food consumed. Several years after the formation of the ABC, this "Through the Word…" booklet was reformatted into a loose-leaf notebook renamed "The Foundation Truths". It is essentially the same book, usually distributed at cost of printing and is an important part of being a member of the ABC.

The development of the "foundation" book has been attributed erroneously to my father. In reality, it was James A Watt, and a few others, who developed the method of using John Stegenga's book. It was James A Watt who developed the original foundation booklet and my father later adopted this book for the Assembly of the Body of Christ. Derek Prince has also recreated this in a book he titled, "The Foundational Truths" which can be found at Amazon or most other bookstores.

In the ABC it is general practice to read three or four scriptures every day out of this book, then write them down. Many complete these books over and over, year after year, but once you have completed the entire book at least once you are considered to have “completed your foundation". 

Another project James A Watt completed while we were at Broadway Tabernacle is the "Daily Reading Card shown here. (Click to enlarge.)

This Daily Reading Card, developed by Watt, allows a person to read the entire Bible through in one year while alternating between Old and New Testament books. The Assembly of the Body of Christ simply adopted this card without revision as seen below.

The only thing changed was the removal of James A Watt's name and address. (Click on picture to enlarge)

The Broadway Tabernacle days lasted just shy of four years then ended suddenly with our move from the Seattle area to San Juan Island in the middle of Puget Sound. The reason for that move will be the subject of my next post and I will delve into the catalyst that caused my father to move away from Broadway Tabernacle and into strictly home based meetings. The concept of home-based meetings would later be incorporated as a doctrine of the "The Assembly of the Body of Christ (ABC)", despite the actual beginning to be in a steepled church building initially. This all changed due to a conflict with the Superbowl.

 

Directly after the formation of the ABC the teachings moved rapidly towards isolationism and forbidding of contact with any other church. Also forbidden was the reading of other church publications or Christian books. From here followed the banning of any viewpoint other than the ones espoused by my father. One soon learned that to express an alternate viewpoint would cause one to  suffer extreme discipline measures including shunning for a set period and/or total ex-communication. A learned silence soon enveloped the members. The philosophy also developed that any person not directly associated with the ABC was unsaved or "in Mystery Babylon". It was highly discouraged one should associate with a person “in the world” or “in Mystery Babylon” or "in the wilderness" unless it was to bring them into the “safety” of the ABC. Isolationism is a prime marker of a cult. 

NEXT POST

5-A Quick Synopsis

 

I step back for a moment to provide a quick synopsis of the timeline of major events so far. 

In 1906, a small church on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California became the scene of a revival known as "The Latter Rain Movement".  From this revival were born several new denominations, the most prominent being Assemblies of God, United Pentecostal Church and the Pentecostal Church of God. The Pentecostal Church of God, which formed at the Sharon Bible School in Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada, is directly in the birth lineage of the Assembly of the Body of Christ (ABC) denomination. It was this new denomination in Canada that gave rise to the doctrines my father adopted prior to his formation of the ABC.

There were several individuals directly connected with the Sharon Bible School who passed on many of the doctrines incorporated into the Assembly of the Body of Christ (ABC) denomination. The most prominent of these individuals were Derek Prince, James A Watt, and Ern Baxter. These men had been trained by, and taught at, the Sharon school in Saskatchewan Canada and were influenced in their path by William Branham; known also to many as Brother Branham.

The teachings of Branham influenced these men greatly and they began what would later become known as "The Latter Rain Revival" movement. These men envisioned this movement as a renewing of the Azusa Street revival that took place in 1906 in Los Angeles California. They felt then, and even now, this new movement would spread like wildfire through Canada, then to the US, then to the rest of the world.  That did not happen as predicted or prophesied. Some years ago year it was predicted again there would be a revival of the Latter Rain movement in Canada that would then spread to the U.S. then to the rest of the world. This too has not happened as "prophesied" and several of these "prophets" have passed on with no fulfillment of their prophesies. For further study of the Latter Rain Revival movement there is a great treatise at Birthpangs.org which goes into detail about this movement and its doctrines; the ABC being one of its many vehicles.

My father spoke frequently of the Azusa Street happenings throughout my life. He held high regard for the Latter Rain movement and considered himself to be one of those who would bring about this renewal. He envisioned the ABC would somehow play a major role. Below is a picture of one of the ABC tape lists where one can see the teachings of Brother Branham held a prominent place on the list. (Click on Tape List to Enlarge)

 

To encapsulate this further, my father, Ramon A Haas, steeped in the teachings of William Branham and others,  pursued a lifetime goal of becoming a Pentecostal minister when I was very young. To fulfill this goal, he attended two seminaries then teamed with a Pentecostal minister named Donald McGregor in Noti Oregon at the Noti Pentecostal Church. When we left Oregon he then began working with James A Watt in Seattle at Broadway Tabernacle.

We had moved to the Noti Oregon area when I was about age one and  moved away when I was approaching my ninth birthday.  Noti is one of the first moments in my life of which I am personally aware and, even though our days in Noti were ones of extreme poverty and hardship, I remember them as some of the best years of my life. We lived in a series of ramshackle dwellings and survived mostly on what we could grow, government food commodities and donated food. The welfare safety net, present since the Johnson era, did not yet exist. My father rotated from job to job and we got by. 

 

When offered a permanent job in Seattle with American Sterilizer Company he moved us to Seattle and it was in Seattle my father encountered James A Watt on a personal level. He was  immediately attracted to his church because Watt had been taught by Branham, was part of the Latter Rain Revival movement, had been at Sharon Orphanage in the very beginning and was well connected to multiple other religious organizations. I will list some of those organizations in a later post.

James A Watt was directly connected to the Sharon Orphanage, Derek Prince, Ern Baxter and William Branham. This encounter at Broadway Tabernacle was more of a reuniting of my dad with the Branham and Sharon Orphanage teachings as my father had been a follower of Branham in the late forties, prior to my birth, and Branham had directly influenced the formation of the Latter Rain Revival movement. He was quite happy he had reconnected with these base teachings and the Greek Word Study method would come a bit later at Broadway Taberncle.  At this point he still taught a "sinner's prayer" salvation by grace alone doctrine.

My father spoke often of Branham and retold the stories of Branham’s “miracles”.  His favorite Branham miracle story is that of a time when Branham allegedly entered a field, in 1945 in Macon Georgia, and was about to be killed by a large bull. As Branham recounted the story he rebuked the bull, it pacified, then lay down under a tree. Branham could then safely cross the field unharmed. There were no witnesses to this event but Branham followers, and my father, accepted it as absolute truth.  If one researches Branham there is solid evidence of many false miracles.

Shortly after our move to Seattle, James A Watt acquired Broadway Tabernacle from Derek Prince. After a week or two Prince left Seattle for Chicago to start a tape and broadcast ministry and Broadway Tabernacle then became Watt’s new pulpit. Here is a short excerpt from Wikipedia: 

"In 1962, the Princes moved to Canada, and from there to a pastorate at Peoples Church in Minneapolis, becoming US citizens. From here they moved to Broadway Tabernacle in Seattle where he ministered along with James A Watt whom he had met in Canada. During this time Prince was becoming widely known through his cassette-tape Bible lectures, and he became involved with the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International. This led to a move to Faith Tabernacle in Chicago..."

James A Watt and  Derek Prince; both close friends with Ern Baxter;  left the Sharon Orphanage and School about the same time. Their intent was to bring the Latter Rain message first to Vancouver British Columbia, then to Seattle Washington then to the rest of the world. There were also stopovers in Portland Oregon at the church pastored by a man named Wyatt. My father, a previous Branhamite, joined himself to Broadway Tabernacle church in Seattle and once again began to study the Latter Rain and Branham influenced teachings and doctrines under James A Watt's tutelage. 

To this point it can be demonstrated there is a direct lineage tying the roots of the ABC to those of William Branham, Ern Baxter, Derek Prince, James A Watt and the Latter Rain Revival movement at the Sharon Orphanage.  The Latter Rain Revival Movement had ties to the Azusa Street movement in Los Angeles California, which itself had ties to persons and movements all the way back through history.  As stated in Proverbs there is nothing new under the sun and all denominations, including the ABC, have roots in this history and not a single one popped onto this earth from a vacuum.

In my next post I will cover the Broadway Tabernacle days in more detail, then move on to the sudden split between my father and Watt. This split eventually caused the Assembly of the Body of Christ (ABC) denomination to form and it was then patterned exactly after James A Watt's church and Bible study method, but in a home-based setting instead of a brick and mortar church. This move to home-based was an accident caused by the Super Bowl and I will cover this later.

NEXT POST

4-The James Watt / Ern Baxter Connection

 

Across from the Post Intelligencer building in Seattle Washington, with its large blue earth globe, was a two story square brick church named “Broadway Tabernacle”. The building no longer stands but this is where we attended church shortly after moving to the Seattle area from Noti, Oregon. At Broadway Tabernacle my father worked closely with James A Watt on various church projects. This close association, and the fact my dad was very proficient mechanically, meant some of his weekends would be spent at the church performing maintenance duties. One particular Saturday, March 18, 1967, my father and I were at Broadway Tabernacle to change the light bulbs in an enormous chandelier that hung from the high vault ceiling. To change the bulbs we climbed through a small doorway, just off the pulpit area, then up a narrow wooden stairway that wound its way high into the attic, about thirty feet above the main floor. Once there it was possible to crank the chandelier down to the main floor on a cable so we could easily change the bulbs. It was quite an adventure for an eleven-year-old kid.

We cranked the chandelier down, changed the bulbs then, just after returning to the main floor from the attic, James A Watt, the pastor, met us as he came out of his study. He was quite excited about a new method of study he felt the Lord had just given him. He stated to us this new study method used a set of books he had just recently acquired and he was excited to show my father his discovery. 

It remains a vivid memory for me but it is best described in James A Watt’s own words. (Link follows)

"On Saturday morning March 18, 1967 I was preparing for our Sunday services at Broadway Tabernacle, Seattle. Totally unexpectedly—in a split second I saw how to use the works of Englishman's Greek Concordance, John Stegenga's Greek Concordance, and Panin's New Testament numeric Greek and English texts to produce Greek word studies in a new format, but easily usable by lay leaders. It took me two hours to write up the insights given to me by the Holy Spirit." (Link)

I recall sitting in Mr. Watt’s study that day, to the left of the platform, for an extended period while he showed my father this new study method using a new book by a man named John Stegenga. Mr. Watt later wrote, when describing the 4000 page manuscript that took shape after this moment:

The idea for these 4000 MS. pages came to me in a split second on March 18, 1967. At the request of Pastor W.J.Ern Baxter, we prepared these papers. We started out with a research committee of some 40 helpers, but this soon dwindled down to one – Dean Finnestad. The main leg-work and production of this research was carried on by my associate Dean. 

Mr. Watt began this work immediately after that day and my dad was part of this original team of 40 helpers. The last remaining member,  Dean Finnestad continued the work and here is an excerpt from a writing by Dean Finnestad:

________

The Word Study Format

I have received several requests regarding the word studies and books which God has had me working on for the past 25 years. The first book “Foundation Truths” was done at the request of W.J. “Ern” Baxter who felt that the basic words listed in Hebrews 6:1, 2 are foundational for the Christ-like walk. This book uses lesson plans to discuss and develop the concepts involved in each of the major Greek words used in this passage of Scripture. I have since completed a book about angels entitled “Angels in Charge” which uses the word studies to develop a subject rather than an exposition of Scripture. In any case there are over 50 projected books based upon this word study format. Please keep in mind that although these books, and indeed all the word studies, can be studied by an individual they are really designed to be used in a group as a study guide.

The purpose of the word study is to help us focus on the definitions of words and relate them to our understanding of and relationship with God. Language is communication and understanding Scripture is a key to communicating with God. If we just open our minds and our hearts while studying His Word in this unique way we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us. And He is the best teacher of all!

One of the biggest problems facing the church today is the mis-use and mis-translation of the original languages used in Scripture. For the most part, our modern translations of Scripture have been done by men who don’t really know God. They have a head knowledge but no heart knowledge. They have intelligence but no wisdom. They have reason but no spiritual insight. Thus, their work reflects much doctrinal bias and it is this doctrinal bias which has lead to an apostate church, i.e. a church that has fallen away from the truth.

Lately God has shown me that this was all part of His plan. The Word of God is full of mysteries and these mysteries are only revealed by the Holy Spirit to men who seek for truth. He has kept the truth covered through the medium of language in order to shock the world as He begins to reveal the truth in His people in these last days.

God has also shown me that these word studies which He has inspired are a tool for His people to use to open and uncover and manifest and reveal His truth. A unique principle behind these studies and their related books is that once you have learned how to use them you become a teacher, able to pass on God’s truth to others as well as giving them this tool so that they, in turn, become teachers. Wasn’t this Paul’s commission to Timothy, to teach others to be teachers? This is how the nations of this earth will be brought into the Kingdom of God!

This is not a knowledge game. The goal is not to know more than others. The goal is that the truth of God will shine in His people and radiate His glory to all of creation. God’s people must not just know the truth, we must live it, and in living it we will attract the lost of this world just like a light in the darkness attracts insects.

The pages below have been taken from “Foundation Truths” and tweaked just a bit to give you a better understanding of how the word studies are created. After reading this article please read “A Sample Study” also found on this website.

Tools Used To Produce Greek Word Studies

1. John Stegenga's "Greek/English Analytical Concordance."

This unique concordance combines all Greek words into some 1619 root words. A root word is the basic word from which other parts of speech are derived. The root is sometimes a part of speech which isn't even used in the New Testament, yet other words which come out of the root are used. By looking at any word in the Greek text we are able to trace it to its root word and examine all the different parts of speech, i.e. verbs, nouns, adverbs, adjectives, etc. By examining these different parts of speech, each in its own context, we are able to produce accurate definitions through usage rather than preconceptions.

1. Englishmen's Greek Concordance

This concordance, which uses the same Greek text (Stephanus) as Stegenga, takes the various parts of speech and then lists the verses in which the word is used. A short section of each verse is listed with the word under consideration in italics. This concordance establishes a common and consistent phrase for each reference in our word studies in the King James Version. However, we use any translation which is useful in creating a good title.

1. Panin's Greek Interlinear New Testament

This Greek text is our ultimate plumbline. Every reference we use is checked against Panin's Greek. If a reference is missing from Stegenga or Englishmen's we add it. If a reference is omitted in Panin we omit it from our study (hence, the notation "omitted in best mss"). If the Greek case form is changed by Panin we change it for our study. Panin also provides extremely accurate contexts. (See "Numerics vs. Numerology" for more about Panin.)

1. Kittel's "Theological Dictionary of the New Testament"

We use this work as a plumbline to our accuracy in evaluating the meanings derived from our approach. The exhaustive scholarship that has gone in to this work makes it a worthy comparison. Any conclusions based upon a word study which do not agree in essence with Kittel are suspect.

1. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

This work provides a rapid reference for our word studies. It is useful in quickly providing basic definitions of words used with the word study being done. It is also a good reference to double check meanings which emerge from the word study.

1. A Note about Strong's Concordance

This concordance is such a popular one and again is based on the Stephanus manuscript. While we do not consider this book one of our vital resources, we do include the cross numbering system found in Strong's on the root word outline from Stegenga in case anyone wants to use Strong's numbering system as a resource. Doing a word study using Strong's can be extremely tedious just trying to track related parts of speech. Our word study approach supercedes Strong's in that the tedious research has already been done. Using Strong's would only be a duplication of our work.

7. Another work we strongly recommend is "KJV Hebrew-Greek Study Bible" by Spiros Zodhiates. Not only does this study Bible reference all of Strong's numbers for both Hebrew and Greek words but Mr. Zodhiates also indicates by bold type those words which carry significant theological value and for which he has created his own index of special thoughts and definitions.

If one compares this method of study, described by Watt and Finnestad along with Ern Baxter in Canada, with the method of study used by the Assembly of the Body of Christ, you will find them identical in every way.  This is  because they stemmed from precisely the same place; James A Watt, Ern Baxter and teachings that flowed from the Sharon Orphanage Latter Rain Revival movement. 

 

Ern Baxter once pastored the largest church in Vancouver, British Columbia and was the primary Bible Teacher for the William Branham Crusades in the early days. Ern was an individual who considered books to be "friends" and felt they could, in his own words, "enlighten mankind about great people and ideas". It was, in fact,  Ern Baxter who encouraged James A Watt to further develop this method of study using John Stegenga's "Greek/English Analytical Concordance", in companion with the other books mentioned. My father, being part of James A Watt’s "team of 40", and our family spent many hours in the basement of Broadway Tabernacle collating and stapling the first version of his book based on these studies.  Being prior to the age of PC's and word processing a large type machine had been rented that would type the Greek words onto the pages. The book was entitled "Through the Word, Word by Word" was eight and a half by eleven in size, red and black in color and had a microscope and telescope on the front cover. These were produced and mailed to churches all over Seattle in the hope they too would adopt this new method of study. 

 

Watt's method of study was fully adopted by my father, Ramon A Haas, and was used extensively during the formation of the "Assembly of the Body of Christ" denomination. This method of study is still used exclusively today and using any other books or method of study can carry with it the possibility of admonishment or severe discipline by the leaders of the ABC. Nearing the end of my time in the ABC, I witnessed one individual; a newcomer; be chastised very strongly for using the wrong translation of the Bible.  These harsh words hurt that individual so badly they never came back.

Using Watt's study method comprises much of the purpose of the ABC. They derive most of what they teach from these Greek Word Studies, all based around He 6:1-2. This focus on Hebrews 6 is a direct carryover from the Sharon Orphanage days. 

 

This study in the Greek carries with it much more importance than seeking kindness, granting mercy and showing tolerance and love. Love is the greatest commandment yet it takes a back seat to these Greek word studies. To study and learn is not a bad thing, however when love, justice, mercy, tolerance  and respect for one another takes a back seat to this endless pursuit of knowledge it is evidence there is a great error in purpose.

Who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6 

From my observation this endless pursuit of perfect knowledge through books is to no real profit without the weightier matters of the law; justice, mercy and faithfulness. This ill focused pursuit has caused the destruction of many over the decades and I have witnessed major quarrels develop over the proper interpretation of a single Greek word. Some quarrels took on Hatfield-McCoy status as long-lived feuds that lasted months, or even years, and always ended with ex-communication. The pursuit of knowledge, when kept in a proper perspective, is a wonderful thing, but I defer to the wisdom of my good friend Solomon. Some consider Solomon to have been the wisest man who ever lived. He wrote near the end of his book of Ecclesiastes;

“This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.” Ecc. 12:13-14.

Solomon showed he was a wise man because he realized that "

furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Ecc. 12:12

and knew that

"our sufficiency is from God; who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Paul emulated these thoughts as well when he wrote to the Corinthians

"Such confidence we have through Christ toward God; not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God; who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.2 Co. 3:4-6.

Solomon knew when books and studies outpaced love, mercy and kindness to one another…"there will be many words that create vanity”. Ecc. 6:11.

 NEXT POST

3-The Sharon Orphanage Connection

Before I was born my father Ramon A Haas, founder of the ABC, studied at two seminaries under the G.I. Bill, earning a degree in religious studies. His intent was to become an ordained Pentecostal minister and at this time he also began learning from a man named William Branham, a famous Pentecostal minister. One of Branham’s teachings was the ability to use the “Spirit of God” to make things move on their own accord and my father related to me he tried this just once. He said things in the room did in fact move on their own but the air also became cold, dark and heavy. This scared him so he never tried it again. As time passed he partially rejected the teachings of Branham, but still maintained some of the principles taught by him through the Latter Rain Movement. He incorporated many of these Branham / Latter Rain Movement principles into the fabric of his teachings in the Assembly of the Body of Christ and, in this way, helped carry  forward some of  Branham's doctrines.

One of my father’s favorite songs, and one we sang often, was the tune "This is the Promise of the Coming Latter Rain. Lift Up Your Eyes Behold the Ripening Grain, Many Signs and Wonders are in His Holy Name, Drink Oh Drink My Brothers, For This is Latter Rain". I have searched for the origin of this song but it has no popular source in Christianity. I can deduce from that fact this song sprang from the Latter Rain movement alone. In his heart my father had every intent to restore and revive the "Latter Rain" movement he learned about in his young adulthood. He  spoke often to me of the Latter Rain movement and the restoration of the "latter rain" and it is still a common thread among groups like the ABC. A quick web search will give a review of many of these sects. 

Branham History

William Branham was born in 1909 in Kentucky. It was commonly reported on the day he was born a halo formed above his head.  His mother, not a Christian, and one heavily involved in fortune telling and the occult, decided after this sign her best option was to take him to a Baptist church in the community for a blessing. She and her family did not continue at this church during Branham's childhood but it still made an impression on him and he grew up to  became a Baptist preacher.

In 1948, Branham, left the Baptist church to become a Pentecostal minister and soon acquired a faithful group of followers. My father, not long back from the war, was one of those followers. These followers declared Branham to be “the apostle of the final church age” and when my father started the "Assembly of the Body of Christ" he also declared himself to be “an apostle of the final church age”, just like Branham.

Branham believed the church was in the seventh and final church age and in this teaching, taught God’s kingdom would soon return to earth, leaning heavily on the scripture in Joel 2:23 that speaks of the latter rain. This movement would become known as "The Latter Rain Revival" movement and the "Sharon Orphanage" in Battleford Saskatchewan would be the match that lit that fuse in many places. More on that later.

While it appeared on the surface Branham had immense healing power this was later proven to be a scam. He alleged to hear “The Voice” and this "voice"  instructed him on how he should live his life. “The Voice” remained with Branham his entire life and he claimed it revealed itself to him as an angel at times in physical form. Angel means messenger and, if we are to believe scripture, there are messengers of good as well as messengers of evil so it is highly doubtful to me this "voice" came from God.

Branham’s life ended in a tragic head-on collision in Arizona. His followers believed he had come in the spirit of Elijah so fully expected he would soon rise from the dead and kept a vigil by his grave . He, of course, did not rise from the dead as was assumed which should have debunked some of his teachings but they still live on in many movements today, including the ABC.

The principal vehicle for carrying some of Branham’s message forward was the Sharon Orphanage and Schools in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. One student at this school was a man named George Hawtin; a man my father knew personally. I had an opportunity to speak to George Hawtin on the phone, not long before he passed away. He was not happy with the outcome of the teachings that emanated from the Sharon Orphanage and was quite animated in his comments to me about the subject.  Hawtin had befriended several other men at the orphanage and it was these men who would  bring the Latter Rain doctrine to Seattle; primarily a man named James A Watt. Watt would be one who would have the greatest influence on the doctrines of the ABC but more on that later.

The first spark for the Sharon Orphanage Latter Rain Revival movement was struck in the fall of 1947 when a group at the Sharon Orphanage and School; some of whom had personally been at Azusa Street;  traveled to Vancouver BC to hear Branham speak. They returned to Saskatchewan excited by the new ideas they heard and so developed a plan to rebuild the "Latter Rain Movement" started at Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Since this group held the belief the Pentecostal church, which they had recently left behind, was "stale, dry and lacking in spiritual gifts", they felt a revival of the "Latter Rain Movement", initially begun at Azusa Street, was the only means to bring life back into the church. First in Canada, then the U.S., then to the rest of the world. Not many years ago a group celebrated the seventieth anniversary of this tent meeting, and committed themselves to a renewing of the revival movement. This time, seeing the vision through. James Watt was one of those men present and he passed away without ever seeing that vision fulfilled.

By 1949, the Pentecostal church had begun an effort to squash this new movement. Not much later the Assemblies of God also tried to put it down. They were mostly unsuccessful and it led to a great deal of wranglings and loss of respect between previously amicable friends. The "Latter Rain Revival" movement continued to spread and ministers left the Pentecostal and Assemblies of God churches to take active roles in this new movement but by the 1950s the movement had lost most of its steam and run its course. Most of the men who had been in the forefront faded into the distance, or died, but many of the doctrines they taught are still alive and well today, for good or for bad.

One doctrine that carried through from this era to the present is “the five-fold ministry”. This doctrine teaches the church must have an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor and a teacher. There is also an emphasis on restoring, and observing, the feasts of Israel, with a very heavy emphasis on teaching primarily the foundation truths found in Hebrews 6:1-2, while ignoring Christ’s original message of tolerance and love. These things, love, acceptance and tolerance were Jesus' main message. Paul, the apostle, battled this tendency in his era as he often mentions those who followed the law and were becoming mired again in legalism.  There is no problem with following the foundation teaching, the issue is one of "this you should have done but not left the other undone; love and tolerance".

The next few paragraphs are excerpted from the Apologetics Index. I provide links after. Links change and move at times and I attempt to update these whenever they change but it can still be challenging. 

 

These paragraphs show some principal players in the birth of the ABC; Ern Baxter, William Branham, James A Watt and Derek Prince and I will show later there is a direct connection between James Watt and my father Ramon A Haas. All had direct or indirect ties to the Sharon Orphanage and schools.

A significant event in the history of Sharon Orphanage and School was its July 7-18, 1948 Camp Meeting, during which thousands of people from Canada and the United States flocked in hopes of receiving something special from God. Residents from at least twenty states attended, and the great Latter Rain Movement burst upon the world.

 

From that time the movement spread rapidly and Sharon shortly became just one of many centers of teaching for the Latter Rain Movement. Link

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Among those present at the Sharon Camp Meeting in July, 1948, was George Warnock who at one time had been personal secretary to Ern Baxter (an associate with William Branham's healing ministry).  At this meeting one of the teachers, James Watt, made a passing remark that the third of Israel's feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles, was yet to be fulfilled.  This struck Warnock and he began to associate it with the end-time ministry of the Church, and the concept of restoration.

In the fall of 1949 Warnock took up residence at Sharon, "assisting in the office work, and helping in the Bible School and in the local church."

 

In 1951 Warnock wrote his book, 'The Feast of Tabernacles,' in which he layed out a specific doctrine for the Latter Rain Movement, and those who came after. He taught that the Church was about to usher in the completion of God's feasts for Israel, through perfection of the saints and their dominion over the earth.

 

Essentially, this Latter Rain teaching implies that the three great annual feasts of the Lord in Israel's worship (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles) pre-figure and typify the whole Church Age, beginning with the death of Jesus on the cross, and consummating in "the manifestation of the Sons of God" - the "overcomers" who will step into immortality and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

 

Warnock teaches that this will be accomplished through the restoration of the Church in unity and, once done, the saints will "eat the Lord's Supper in reality." (as if we are not doing so now).

 

"Unity" as defined by Kingdom Theology entails the putting on of "the mind of Christ" so that we all think, say, believe, and confess the same things. What we will think, say, believe, and confess will be told to us by the apostles and prophets.

 

Unity without regard to "doctrine" (except the doctrine of those imposing the unity) is the great cry among those today who think that the Body of Christ has thus far failed in its commission. We will deal with these teachings in more detail later. Link

 

Note: To delineate further the tie-in the ABC has with these “Latter Rain” doctrines please reference this link to the official site of the ABC  Jewish Calendar. About the time I was being pushed out of the ABC, these feasts were being physically observed by the men at three yearly special gatherings. This was a new development.

 

Additional information and resources regarding the Latter Rain Revival can be found at this link.

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