William Branham Historical Research

• Deliverance or Damage: Mental Health Crisis Among Cult Children - With Jennifer Johnson

  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/branham Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts: https://william-branham.org/podcast Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962 Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCGGZX3K John invites Jennifer to share her story about growing up in a small religious group affiliated with Faith Assembly, a movement shaped by Hobart Freeman’s teachings. Jennifer describes her experience from childhood through early adulthood, revealing how the group’s strict beliefs and practices impacted her mental, emotional, and social development. As a child, she was taught to fear the outside world, suppress her individuality, and conform entirely to the expectations of the group. The pressure to be spiritually perfect led her to internalize guilt, reject personal passions, and even hide medical treatment to avoid judgment. She reflects on how the doctrine’s emphasis on isolation, obedience, and fear shaped her worldview and arrested her development well into adulthood. As Jennifer recounts her teenage years and early departure from the group, she describes the emotional toll it took, including anxiety, hyper-vigilance, and disordered eating. Encounters with people outside the group, especially those who genuinely showed compassion while defying the group’s standards, began to chip away at her conditioned beliefs. Eventually, through professional counseling and increasing distance from the group, Jennifer found clarity and healing. Her story captures the internal conflict faced by many who grow up in closed communities—where fear is spiritualized, emotional needs go unmet, and questioning is suppressed. Her journey reveals the slow, painful, but redemptive process of rebuilding identity after years of control.

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• The Faithful Servant or Master Manipulator: Ewald Frank and the Message

  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/branhamAvailable on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts: https://william-branham.org/podcastWeaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962Come Out of Her My People Vol II: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNFN2XYR John and Charles explore the life and influence of Ewald Frank, a central figure in the global expansion of the Message following the death of William Branham. The discussion begins with Ewald Frank's early association with Branham as a translator in Germany and gradually unveils how Frank's actions played a significant role in shaping the post-Branham Message movement. The episode uncovers how Frank's missionary work, strategic control over foreign language literature, and cooperation with major sect leaders allowed him to become one of the most powerful figures in the movement.As the conversation deepens, they examine a series of troubling incidents, including claims of misleading followers with embellished stories, manipulating translations to push a singular narrative, and maintaining control through psychological and institutional pressure. The latter portion of the discussion delves into a major scandal that led to the collapse of Frank's original congregation, exposing methods of enforced public confessions and alleged cover-ups. The episode closes with a look at how Frank rebuilt his influence using global missionary networks, hinting at darker developments yet to be discussed in future episodes.

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• Craving Controversy: 1 Timothy's Rebuke of False Teachers - Chino Ross

  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/branham Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts: https://william-branham.org/podcast Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962 Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCGGZX3K John and Chino discuss the extreme healing doctrines taught by Hobart Freeman and how these beliefs impacted the lives of his followers. The conversation begins with a personal reflection on minor illnesses and segues into the problematic theological assumption that miraculous events in the Bible must be normative for all believers. Chino shares how Freeman’s teachings, particularly on healing and the rejection of medicine, led to serious consequences—including people avoiding basic treatments like wearing glasses or seeking help for life-threatening conditions. The discussion critiques how specific verses—such as those about Moses’ eyesight or Paul’s handkerchiefs—were used to create rigid, harmful doctrines. John and Chino unpack how misinterpreting isolated biblical stories into universal rules fostered cognitive dissonance and spiritual control. They reflect on how these interpretations promoted fear, secrecy, and even legal violations, like driving without a license. The conversation closes with a sobering look at the human cost of bad theology and a call for common sense, humility, and context-based biblical reading.

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• Selling Heaven: Poverty, Power, and Prophets - Jed Hartley - Detangling IHOPKC

  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/branham Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts: https://william-branham.org/podcast Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962 Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCGGZX3K John and Jed discuss how wealth is accumulated and obscured within authoritarian religious movements, drawing from their personal experiences in Branhamism and the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC). They discuss a pastor who secretly died with $4 million, exposing how perceived poverty can be used to mask extreme wealth. The conversation shifts to IHOPKC, where Jed describes the dual system of control: most members live in poverty, relying on food banks and subsidized housing, while leaders quietly acquire wealth through donations, real estate, and shell nonprofits. This disparity creates dependency, making it hard for followers to leave, as their housing, finances, and community ties are tied to the organization. The hosts analyze how these financial dynamics form part of a broader authoritarian structure. They explain how IHOP used manipulative systems of guilt, false spiritual elevation, and hidden assets to maintain power, even when the organization was collapsing. As they expose the deceitful practices—such as laundering money through shell organizations, undervaluing assets, and silencing dissent—they call attention to how difficult it is for victims to recognize abuse in the midst of desperation. Their critique expands into a condemnation of organized doctrinal manipulation, equating it to a form of spiritualized organized crime that benefits leaders at the expense of devoted followers.

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• Gospel For Asia: A Whistleblower Comes Forward - Our Stories

  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/branham Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts: https://william-branham.org/podcast Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735160962 Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCGGZX3K John and Ralph discuss what appears to be one of the largest financial and spiritual scandals in modern religious history, tracing a network of evangelical institutions that supported Gospel for Asia (GFA), a missionary organization founded by K.P. Yohannan. Ralph, a former insider with extensive experience in Charismatic, Pentecostal, and Vineyard churches, recounts how he was pulled into GFA through trusted Christian networks and unknowingly promoted it to others, only to later uncover the deception. The story unfolds to reveal that GFA manipulated supporters with stock photos, misrepresented how funds were used, and operated like a cult, complete with a secretive compound and spiritual control tactics. The scale of fraud shocked even the whistleblowers, with funds totaling over $1 billion, supported by prominent evangelical leaders including Chuck Smith and Francis Chan. The conversation also connects the scandal to other movements and figures like Mark Driscoll, and explores how the evangelical infrastructure—from church boards to conferences—may have enabled or overlooked financial corruption. Ralph details how he worked with the GFA diaspora and investigative blogger Warren Throckmorton to expose the fraud. Through lawsuits, leaked documents, and firsthand testimonies, the scope of deception and spiritual abuse comes into sharp focus. What began as a well-meaning attempt to support missions turned into a painful lesson in manipulation, whistleblowing, and the hidden machinery behind many large Christian organizations. LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This podcast, its host, partners, and affiliates are not responsible for the information presented in this podcast or the links provided

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