Baxter and Branham: were they Latter Rain men?

Ern Baxter (left) and William Branham

"During his years in ministry, Ern Baxter participated directly or indirectly in Classical Pentecostalism, the Healing Revival, the Latter Rain Movement, and the Charismatic Renewal" - S. David Moore, The Shepherding Movement: Controversy and Charismatic Ecclesiology

What made Baxter useful - and prominent - in each of those movements was his "unique blend of what he called 'Word and Spirit'" (Moore, page 36).

While not formally trained, Baxter was always a student of the Scriptures and theology (over 4,000 of the books he collected are now housed in the Ern Baxter Memorial Library in Mobile, Alabama ---  UPDATE: In 2015, the entire collection was donated to The King's University in Southlake, Texas); thus, he was a man of the Word. But at the same time, he was passionate for the gifts and work of the Holy Spirit. He was equally at home in his study preparing masterful teachings or serving as William Branham's right hand man as Branham prayed for the sick and cast out demons; thus, he was a man of the Spirit.

While Moore is correct that Baxter preached in many classical Pentecostal and Latter Rain churches, Baxter is best known for - and most accurately identified with - the Healing Movement of the 1940s and 50s and the Shepherding Movement of 1970s.

And he is a useful figure for untangling popular notions about Branham and the Latter Rain Movement. Branham, who had one of the most - if not the most - powerful healing ministries in the mid-twentieth century, is often blended into the discussion of Latter Rain topics on the internet. It is even frequently asserted that he was the leader of the Latter Rain Movement.

Baxter is immediately helpful as one broaches that topic, as he informs us that Branham was not even really a Pentecostal, saying in a December 1978 interview with New Wine magazine:

"He and I had many sessions that were hours long. During one of these, he told me he didn't believe that tongues was the evidence of the baptism. So I asked him about speaking in tongues, and he said that he had gone to a Pentecostal mission and had told God, 'These are apparently the only people that will accept my [healing] gift - let me talk in tongues so I will be acceptable.' And he said that God let him talk tongues, but he never talked in tongues again. That seemed to be his introduction to the Pentecostals, and they apparently accepted him because of it. Few people would know that story, but I mention it because as his gift became more apparent as he grew older, he saw that the Pentecostal people were probably the only ones that would receive it.... He was a missionary Baptist, so his tradition would not link him into historic Pentecostalism."

So, those that assert Branham's leadership of the Latter Rain Movement are confronted with some difficulty right off the bat because Branham's sentiments are certainly not in keeping with Latter Rain beliefs.

Then, as we observe how Baxter came to work closely with Branham for the better part of a decade

more light is shed on the Branham/Latter Rain assertions. Ministers in Vancouver (where Baxter pastored the large Evangelistic Tabernacle) wanted to bring Branham and his dramatic healing ministry to their city in 1947:

"I was asked to lead the meetings, which I did," Baxter told New Wine, "Later, Branham asked to see me personally. He said that he had been in prayer and the angel of the Lord had spoken to him and told him that I was to be his companion in ministry. He invited me to join him.... I started to travel with him as often as I could be away from my church. One year I was away eight months.... I was with Branham from 1947 until I had to leave him, in about 1953 or 1954."

According to Robert K. Burkinshaw, "Branham had attracted overflow crowds to Vancouver's Exhibition Garden in late 1947 with what appeared to many to be genuine demonstrations of miraculous powers of insight and physical healing. The 'North Battleford brethren' (as they came to be known) and many others viewed the events of the Branham meetings as evidence that old-time Pentecostal power and fervour could be revived" (Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestantism in British Columbia, 1917 - 1981).

James Watt

They were influenced by what they observed in Branham's meetings, but they had no relationship with him - he certainly was not their leader. Jim Watt, another of the leaders in North Battleford, confirms this on his website:

"Some years later Winston Nunes (now deceased) sought me out as the last living elder of the seven. He sought confirmation to his theory that William Branham, J. E. Stiles and Franklin Hall were the three catalysts that God used to launch the 1948 Northern Canada Revival. I agreed that these three were certainly key principles that motivated the prayer and fasting that birthed this move. But I pointed out that there were other principles equally critical. There was the Presbytery revelation itself; the 5-fold ministry emphasis of Ephesians 4:11-12; the high point of worship through the Heavenly Choir; the 'team spirit' operating within the eldership; the humility and teachability of the leadership; the sensitivity to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit."

Interestingly, after the outbreak of revival at the Sharon Orphanage and Schools in North Battleford, on February 12, 1948, leaders from that site (such as George and Ern Hawtin) traveled back to Vancouver to minister in November - but did not do so at Baxter's church, but at Glad Tidings, pastored by Reg Layzell.

Baxter and Branham were Voice of Healing men (VOH being the loosely federated ministries led by Gordon Lindsay and that included men like Branham, Oral Roberts, A. A. Allen, and Jack Coe). The Hawtins, Jim Watt, Reg Layzell, and others were Latter Rain men (those at the North Battleford site actually prefer the term, 1948 Move of the Spirit, wanting to distance themselves from teachings and practices that occurred later as the revival spread across the world).

While with Branham, Baxter was the 'Word' man - he taught in afternoon sessions, while Branham

Ern Baxter (1914-1993)

flowed in the gifts of the Spirit in the evening meetings.

"Branham had a tremendous word of knowledge," Baxter told New Wine, "Before praying for a person, he would give accurate details of their lives - their home town, activities, actions - even way back in their childhood. Branham never once made a mistake with a word of knowledge in all the years I was with him. That covers, in my case, thousands of instances."

But eventually it became necessary for Baxter and Branham to part. Ernest Gentile says:

"Although Baxter honored Branham for his honesty and handling of money, and felt him to be a sincere and godly man, their doctrinal differences became too great for continued compatibility" (Your Sons and Daughters Shall Prophesy: Prophetic Gifts in Ministry Today).

Branham spoke both of their disengagement from each and of his affection for Baxter during a sermon delivered in Chicago in 1958:

"I haven't got an official campaign manager at these times, since our dear, precious brother Ern Baxter had to return to his church. It was calling for him. His church is almost the size of this auditorium. So to be gadding around across the country with me, his church wouldn't stand for it any longer. He had to return back to them or he'd probably lose his church. A wonderful soul, a wonderful man of God, I love him. But he had to go back and since then I haven't had a campaign manager so I have to try to speak myself" (in Door to the Heart, Chicago, Illinois, January 12, 1958).

Branham died after a car crash in 1965. He was 56 years old.

Baxter, as Moore notes above, was never confined to one movement or one fellowship. Though he was primarily with Branham and the Voice of Healing crowd in the period of 1947-1954, he was also impacted by the revival that occurred in Saskatchewan (read: Latter Rain, if you will). In a sermon where he laid out a sketch of his long ministry (EB001 in the Broken Bread Teaching collection), Baxter said:

"Another momentous thing happened - at least for me and many others - and that's something called the Latter Rain.... I went to their second convention in Edmonton, Canada and I never saw such a concentration of the power of God. This was a tremendous movement."

After disengaging from Branham, Baxter went back to pastoring in the Vancouver area for awhile and was often a guest speaker at churches that would have been considered Latter Rain - churches like Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit, Gospel Temple in Philadelphia, Word of Faith Temple in New Orleans, Louisiana, Bible Temple in Portland, Oregon, and Inland Christian Center Church in San Bernandino, California. During these years he would often preach a much-loved message, Life on Wings (EB201 in the Broken Bread Teaching collection), which used the development of an eaglet as the metaphor for growth in the Christian life.

In 1974, Baxter became deeply involved in the Charismatic Renewal. He committed himself to be a part of Christian Growth Ministries - joining forces with Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Don Basham, and Charles Simpson. The Charismatic Renewal encompassed much more than CGM and its adherents, of course, but CGM was a very focal segment of the Renewal.

According to the New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, the "initial thrust of CGM was to bring Spirit-baptized Christians to maturity and to teach church-building". However, the five also promoted a concept of church leadership that was labeled Shepherding and/or Discipleship. Despite the Biblical usage of those terms, in practice the oversight in believers' lives often became overly authoritarian by those the CGM leaders had set in authority.

In 1975, he moved to Ft. Lauderdale where CGM was headquartered. It was also in 1975 that he preached the message that he is probably best known for, Thy Kingdom Come (EB202 in the Broken Bread Teaching collection).

During this period of his life Baxter enjoyed immense popularity in the United Kingdom. In this 

Ruth & Ern Baxter

video, British charismatic leader Terry Virgo tells of Baxter's impact in the U. K., referencing Baxter's teaching series, The King and His Army (recordings EB701 - 706 in the Broken Bread Teaching collection).

Although the ministers of CGM had a very high profile and much influence during much of the 1970s, Moore recounted in an article in Minstry Today magazine how things unraveled:

"In 1975, several high-profile charismatic leaders accused the five of trying to take over the charismatic renewal and dominate the lives of their followers, charges the five always denied. Rumors abounded as many unsubstantiated allegations were made against the movement and its leaders.

"The heated controversy divided the renewal for more than a decade, and the dispute was never satisfactorily resolved. Even among the five leaders there were conflicts, and Derek Prince quietly withdrew from the group in 1984. Two years later the other four broke formal ties and ceased publication of New Wine, ending the Shepherding movement as an expression of the five men's shared commitment."

But the total scope of Ern Baxter's life is captured by this eulogizing statement that was until recently posted on the website for his memorial library:

"For more than 60 years, Ern Baxter served the Lord as an evangelist, pastor, teacher, musician, and prophetic leader. He was one of this generation’s outstanding Bible teachers. Ern went to be with the Lord on July 9, 1993."

Baxter and Branham in Battle Creek 1952 · Wed, Aug 13, 1952 – Page 8 · Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, Michigan) · Newspapers.com Baxter preaching for Leonard Fox in 1971 Sat, Mar 27, 1971 – Page 16 · The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, California) · Newspapers.com Baxter & Branham (1954) Sat, Aug 21, 1954 – 27 · The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

The Latter Rain Movement in its context

The momentous events that followed World War II were dizzying for their number and impact - Billy Graham's ministry was launched, a healing revival was sweeping the land, deeply spiritual revivals were occurring on evangelical college campuses, the State of Israel was born in 1948 ... and the Latter Rain Movement exploded onto the scene.

[Historian Richard Riss, a professor at Pillar University, has written books and articles about the revival events in the mid-twentieth century (two are featured in the right hand column of this blog). What follows here is a portion of an article he wrote for New Wine magazine in October 1980 entitled, "The Latter Rain and Healing Revivals". The entire 36-page issue is available in .pdf format for free online.]

THE LATTER RAIN AND HEALING REVIVALS
by Richard Riss

The Latter Rain and healing revivals constituted only two of many aspects of a widespread awakening occurring during the middle of this century. The healing revival was known for its emphasis upon healing, while the Latter Rain Movement was known for its use of the laying on of hands with prophecy. The healing revival precipitated the Latter Rain Movement, but both were really only two aspects of the same move of God.

The Post-war Awakening

In late 1949, revival broke out on the Island of Lewis and Harris, the largest of the Outer Hebridean group in Scotland. Indications of revival in the United States included the Forest Home College Briefing Conferences (which soon helped to bring about the formation of Campus Crusade for Christ) and the Pacific Palisades Conferences, at which scores of pastors and ministers of various denominations, only a few of whom were Pentecostal, gathered together several times a year for prayer and praise in an atmosphere of spiritual renewal.

Spontaneous revival was also breaking out on many college campuses. The revival at Wheaton College (February 5-12, 1950) received national publicity, appearing in the pages of Time and Life magazines. There were well over twenty other college revivals occurring at the same time.

The Healing Revival

Two or three years before these events, the healing revival had already begun to surface. Two of the

Branham, Roberts, Lindsay

earliest and most influential healing evangelists were William Branham and Oral Roberts. Other important figures included T. L. Osborn, Jack Coe, William Freeman, A. A. Allen, and David Nunn. Gordon Lindsay, who helped bring William Branham's ministry into widespread recognition, used his talent to supply the movement with a needed element of cohesiveness.

Branham's healing ministry began on May 7, 1946, when he had an angelic visitation in which he was told that he was to take the gift of divine healing to the people of the world. Within five weeks he was conducting healing revivals in St.Louis, and before long his meetings were attracting enormous crowds.

In 1947, Oral Roberts began his healing ministry. Branham testified that Roberts' "commanding power over demons, over disease and over sin was the most amazing thing he had ever seen in the work of God."

Many of the revivalists of the Healing Movement became associated with The Voice of Healing magazine, published by Gordon Lindsay, the May 1952 issue of which had pictures on its cover of twenty healing evangelists. Two years previous to this time, as many as one thousand itinerant evangelists had attended a meeting sponsored by Lindsay in Kansas City.

The Latter Rain Movement

The Latter Rain Movement was catalyzed, in part, by Branham's campaigns in Vancouver, B. C. in the fall of 1947. His demonstrations of the gift of healing accompanied by knowledge of the illnesses of those present made a deep impression on the teachers of Sharon Bible School in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, who precipitated revival at their school after their return from the Branham meetings.

The Latter Rain Movement originated in the Sharon Orphanage and Schools as a spark igniting an explosion of revival among many Pentecostals. It spread quickly throughout North America and many places throughout the world, including the Middle East, India, Japan, Latin America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe.

In the fall of 1947, George Hawtin, who had been president of a Bible School of the Pentecostal

George Hawtin

Assemblies of Canada, and P. G. Hunt, a former teacher of the same school, joined Herrick Holt of the North Battleford, Saskatchewan Church of the Foursquare Gospel in an independent work that Holt had already established. It was during this time that the students and faculty there began to gather to study the Word of God, earnestly praying and fasting, with fasts lasting many days, and in some cases, weeks. On February 12, 1948, according to George Hawtin's brother Ern, "God moved into our midst in this strange new manner." He continued as follows:

"Some students were under the power of God on the floor, others were kneeling in adoration and worship before the Lord. The anointing deepened until the awe of God was upon everyone. The Lord spoke to one of the brethren. 'Go and lay hands upon a certain student and pray for him.' While he was in doubt and contemplation one of the sisters who had been under the power of God went to the brother saying the same words, and naming the identical student he was to pray for. He went in obedience and a revelation was given concerning the student's life and future ministry. After this a long prophecy was given with minute details concerning the great things God was about to do. The pattern for the revival and many details concerning it were given."

After a day of searching the Scriptures, on February 14 "it seemed that all Heaven broke loose upon our souls, and heaven above came down to greet us." According to Ern Hawtin, "Soon a visible manifestation of gifts was received when candidates were prayed over, and many as a result began to be healed, as gifts of healing were received." This even was particularly significant in view of the scarcity of such manifestations since about 1935. As people became aware of these events, they flocked to North Battleford from all parts of North America and many parts of the world to the camp-meetings at Sharon publicized by The Sharon Star. Before long, these meetings became widely known, and the teachers from Sharon began receiving invitations to minister throughout North America.

At the invitation of Reg Layzell in Vancouver, B. C., George and Ern Hawtin held meetings at Glad Tidings Temple on November 14-28, 1948. Myrtle D. Beall, pastor of Bethesda Missionary Temple

Reg Layzell

in Detroit, Michigan travelled 2,500 miles by car to attend these meetings and returned to her church to spark revival there, attracting people from all parts of the country, including Ivan and Carlton Spencer (the founder of Elim Bible Institute and his son). They were at the Zion Evangelistic Fellowship in Providence, Rhode Island for a Pentecostal Prayer Fellowship gathering in December of 1948 when a latecomer to the gathering arrived and shared what he had heard of a visitation in Detroit. Ivan Spencer and his wife went to Detroit within a few days and returned to ignite revival at Elim Bible Institute.

By 1949, the North Battleford brethren were becoming less central to the movement, and leadership began to emerge in other circles, partly as a result of tendencies toward sectarianism among the North Battleford leaders. It was partly because of these tendencies that involvement in the Latter Rain soon became anathema among many denominational Pentecostals. However, such Pentecostal figures as Lewi Pethrus of Sweden continued to endorse the movement, and as leaders of the Apostolic Church, Elim Bible Institute in New York State and Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit, Michigan continued to move in revival, it progressed with lasting effects. Many of these ministries carried on and developed principles that had arisen in the Latter Rain Revival, becoming part of the Charismatic Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

[The remainder of the article - as well as the entire October 1980 issue of New Wine magazine - can be read for free online.] Hawtins in Vancouver beginning November 14, 1948 Sat, Nov 6, 1948 – 40 · The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Joseph Mattsson-Boze, a thoroughgoing revivalist

The church Mattsson-Boze pastored in Chicago, Illinois (photo courtesy of Winston Mattsson-Boze)

In a ministry that lasted more than five decades, Joseph Mattsson-Boze involved himself in true revivals wherever he found them.

Whether as a pastor, a missionary, or the editor of a magazine, Mattsson-Boze followed and publicized the moving of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph Mattsson-Boze

This brought him into contact - and ultimately, friendship - with many of the household names of revival such as David du Plessis, Lewi Pethrus, William Branham and many more.

And in October 1948, he got involved with the subject of this website, The Latter Rain Movement of 1948.

That revival got its start in North Battleford, Saskatchewan in February of 1948, and the ministers who led the work there (George Hawtin and others) were invited to speak at a convention October 24-31 in Edmonton by Pastor A. W. Rasmussen.

William Faupel, one of the historians who has written about the Latter Rain Movement, says, "One of the persons present, J. Mattson Boze [sic], an Independent Assemblies of God pastor and editor of The Herald of Faith, returned to his church in Chicago, Illinois, transformed. His church would become a strategic center for the Movement and his magazine a leading voice for the revival activity" (in Faupel's Ph. D. dissertation, The Everlasting Gospel: The Significance of Eschatology in the Development of Pentecostal Thought, University of Birmingham, UK, 1989).

The transformative power of the Edmonton meetings was testified to by Ern Baxter, no stranger to the power of the Holy Spirit, having traveled for several years with the healing evangelist, William Branham. In recounting some of the highlights of his ministry, Baxter said,

Another momentous thing happened - at least for me and many others - and that's something called the Latter Rain.... I went to their second convention in Edmonton, Canada and I never saw such a concentration of the power of God. This was a tremendous movement (in recording number EB001, "An Autobio and Intro," on the website, brokenbreadteaching.org).

Richard Riss, whose book, The Latter Rain Movement of 1948 and the Mid-Twentieth Century Evangelical Awakening, is the most complete account to date of the revival, quotes James A. Watt, one of the North Battleford leaders, "Special healings were wrought: deaf heard, blind saw, cancers were healed, and sick bodies made whole. Sinners were saved, and the precious blood of Jesus availed in it all" (in Riss' paper, Singing in the Spirit in the Holiness, Pentecostal, Latter Rain, and Charismatic Movements, 1995).

Watt also reported that the Edmonton meetings were the first time that the phenomenon of the 'heavenly choir' was experienced in the Latter Rain revival. Primarily, the term refers to the harmonious sound created by the gathered worshippers' individually spontaneous songs of worship. Yet, as folks like Watt assert, there is also a supernatural aspect to the phenomenon. He says of the worship experience in Edmonton, "Heaven's very strains filled the whole church. It was as a mighty organ, with great swelling chords, and solo parts weaving in and out, yet with perfect harmony" (in Riss, Singing in the Spirit).

We would like to think that such outpourings and experience of the Holy Spirit would bring tranquility to the Body of Christ, but that is often not the case. Usually, many are being blessed and refreshed, while some are rankled at things that seem new and unfamiliar to them. Such was certainly the case in the Latter Rain revival.

Joseph Mattsson-Boze navigated safely through the choppy waters of blessed Latter Rain co-revivalists on one hand, and suspicious Pentecostal leaders on the other - all the while having to be careful of the occasional Latter Rain adherent who came up with heretical doctrines or fell into immorality.

Winston and his wife Ingrid

In a blog post in 2005, one of Joseph's sons, Winston, wrote, "I'm think[ing] a bit about the accusation that latter rain people are 'neo-montanists.' The Montanists were people in the early centuries of the church who relied on the Holy Spirit more than on the Scriptures. Certainly there are people like that around today, but our tradition has always been to let the Scriptures judge any prophecy or ministry.

"The lists of things they accuse latter rain-ers of seems silly. I grew up in the revival and didn't see those things. I'm sure they existed, but my father stood against them. He had the wisdom to not throw out the baby with the bathwater" (in, "Latter Rain," May 13, 2005).

Just over one year into the revival, some Pentecostals began to break fellowship with others due to concerns real and imagined. On April 20, 1949, the Assemblies of God sent out a six-page "special edition of the Quarterly Letter" for its ministers, warning them of what the AG called, the New Order of the Latter Rain:

For a long time little attention was paid to the reports reaching the headquarters office in Springfield, until finally it was learned that Mrs. [Myrtle] Beall, pastor of Bethesda Tabernacle [sic] in Detroit, Mich., had gone to Vancouver, B. C. and had been prayed with and hands were laid upon her. It is reported that she claims to have received the ministry of laying on of hands and is now exercising this ministry in company with others who are designated as prophets. We hesitate to refer to names and places, but this new order is being propagated from Detroit over four radio stations and on a daily schedule and therefore is being well publicized (in a letter dated April 20, 1949 from the executive office of the General Council of the Assemblies of God). 

By the end of 1949, ministers like Myrtle Beall, Vera Bachle, and Paul and Lura Grubb would be dropped from the AG General Council ministerial list. Stanley Frodsham, the editor of the AG's Pentecostal Evangel, was allowed to resign (but the resignation became necessary because of his Latter Rain involvement). In 1950, Mattsson-Boze wrote a letter to J. R. Flower, general secretary of the AG, defending the ministerial integrity of Winston Nunes, but to no avail, as Nunes would also be censured.

Then in 1956, although Mattsson-Boze was not a member of the Assemblies of God, an AG ministerial letter included a prohibition concerning ministering in his church. The December 5 letter read, "the Philadelphia Church is a non-co-operative [sic] church and ... its teachings and practices are completely out of harmony with the churches of the Assemblies of God."

David du Plessis

But, throughout this period of combined blessing and upset, Mattsson-Boze remained a respected leader even at the highest levels of Pentecostalism. For instance, his friendship with fellow Swede Lewi Pethrus never waned (Pethrus endorsed the Latter Rain revival in 1949, then expressed reservations in 1950).

Also, Joseph was chosen to serve alongside David du Plessis and the others on the executive committee of the 1949 Pentecostal World Conference in Paris.

As friends, Joseph and David shared many things, including a birthday - February 7, 1905; and when Fuller Seminary created the David du Plessis archive, du Plessis "requested that Mattson-Boze's letters be housed with his," according the David Allan Hubbard Library website.

The website tells how Mattsson-Boze also served on the executive committee for the first Pentecostal World Conference (Zurich, 1947) and, "One highlight of the conference for Mattsson-Boze was the agreement he authored with David du Plessis that allowed 'independents,' including Lewi Pethrus and the Swedish churches, to cooperate with the Pentecostal movement."

FRIENDSHIP WITH WILLIAM BRANHAM

Another friendship led down another avenue of revival - his friendship with William Branham from the Healing Revival that swept America in the 1940s and 1950s. Like Joseph's Latter Rain friends, Branham was a controversial figure.

Branham and Joseph

Though it is frequently asserted that Branham was the founder or leader of the Latter Rain Movement, that is not true. But, it is true that Branham's powerful ministry influenced the North Battleford leaders and that he had at least one true Latter Rain friend - Mattsson-Boze.

Proof that Branham's relationship with the Latter Rain revival was tangential is found in a sermon he preached at Joseph's Chicago church called, Philadelphia Church.

In the December 13, 1953 sermon, Branham relates how he had been threatened with the cancellation of a speaking engagement by Voice of Healing ministers if he preached at Mattsson-Boze's church (not something you would do if someone was the leader of a movement; e.g., who would threaten the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God against preaching in an AG church?!)  Branham responded:

"And here's what I want everyone to know from my heart: if you ministers are sitting here ... if you're Assemblies of God, if you're Oneness, if you're Baptist, Methodist ... or if you're first rain, second rain, fourth rain, Latter Rains, how many rains ... I don't care who you are. I don't care what church you represent. I'll go anywhere God leads me to go" (in the sermon, "Exploits of Faith" on williambranham.com).

Joseph reciprocated the loyalty shown by Branham. David Edwin Harrell Jr. notes, "During the 1950s the magazine most loyal to the work of William Branham was the Herald of Faith (1933 - 1970) published in Chicago by Joseph Mattsson-Boze" (in All Things are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America).

The website for the Hubbard library adds, "The Mattsson-Boze papers stand as a rich resource, too, for studies of William Branham, another close friend of Mattsson-Boze's, about whom Mattsson-Boze published monthly articles from 1955 until Branham's death in 1965."

Winston Mattsson-Boze says, "Certainly he considered [my father] and Henry Carlson his most loyal friends!"

Such loyalty to Branham and consistent friendship with him could not have been altogether easy because Branham increasingly became controversial due to aberrant doctrinal beliefs, so much so, that Baxter had to disengage from Branham's ministry.

Joseph, of course, was not oblivious to the controversial side of Branham's ministry. When Branham died at 56 years old in a car crash in 1965, Joseph's tribute in Herald of Faith delicately noted, "there were several points of doctrine where we were a good deal apart, and seemingly could never agree...." (from "William Branham: In Memoriam", in Herald of Faith, February 1966; the complete text can be found below).

LIFE AND MINISTRY

Mattsson-Boze immigrated to the United States from Sweden in 1933 and pastored two churches: Rock Church in New York (four years), as well as, Philadephia Church in Chicago (18 years).

At Philadelphia Church, Clair Hutchins was head of the music department from 1944 - 1947. Hutchins would go on to pastor Beulah Temple in Chicago, as well as, churches in the east. He founded Brooklyn Tabernacle, now pastored by his son-in-law, Jim Cymbala. Carol Cymbala, Hutchins' daughter, leads the famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Winston Mattsson-Boze says, "The Herald of Faith, originally published in Swedish, was originally a marriage of 2 early Pentecostal papers, Trons Harold and Sanningens Vittne (witness to truth). They were begun around 1917. My dad started as editor around 1940."

Herald of Faith merged with Gerald Derstine's Harvest Time magazine in 1970 ("But we kept the Herald of Faith name for our mission," Winston says).

Dan and Viola Malachuk

R. G. Robins adds, "In 1971, Dan Malachuk, a Pentecostal reared in New York's historic Glad Tidings Tabernacle, acquired Herald of Faith, Harvest Time magazine (itself a merger of the Pentecostal Joseph Mattsson-Boze's Herald of Faith and the charismatic Gerald Derstine's Harvest Time, both heavily influenced by the New Order of the Latter Rain). Malachuk renamed it Logos Journal, and turned it into the leading periodical for the charismatic movement" (in Pentecostalism in America).

In 1981, Logos Journal declared bankruptcy, eventually merging into Charisma magazine, according to cmnexus.org.

Like Philadelphia Church, the mission Winston mentions - Herald of Faith - continues to this day (Winston is currently chairman of the board). According to Herald of Faith's website, "Our founder, Joseph Mattsson-Boze, decided in 1959 to base this ministry on training village pastors, and we continue to see that as our bedrock mandate and all consuming passion. We exist today to develop pastoral leaders and strengthen local churches – worldwide!"

The Herald of Faith missions initiative was started after Mattsson-Boze resigned his Philadelphia Church pastorate in 1958. He launched "the east African work, where he and [T. L.] Osborn saw millions come to Christ. That was post-Latter Rain, but in fact started with a prayer God gave [my father] in 1949," Winston says.

He further explains:

In 1949, Dad had a prayer in his heart to preach to people who had never heard the name of Jesus. It stayed with him. In 1953, he heard the word Mombasa as he was studying late at night. He made inquiry and found Elim engaged in Kenya. In 1955, he held the first ever crusade in Mombasa. After a meeting, 3 African women came and asked if this man Jesus was an American. They had never heard the name before. That led to asking Osborn to go in 1957.

Marion Meloon's writings add:

The 1957 T. L. Osborn Crusade precipitated a flurry of training seminars for nationals, for the purpose of spreading the spiritual explosion effected by the Crusade. These were first held in Mombasa, then in other key cities; Nairobi, with missionary Paul Johansson as host, and Kampala, Uganda, with Arthur Dodzweit. American assistance in finances and teaching ministry came through Joseph Mattsson-Boze, Charles Weston, and others. Extension seminars fanned out through bush country where these hurriedly taught flaming national evangelists had multiplied themselves many times over. According, the number of bush churches zoomed from handfuls, to hundreds, to over 2000! (in Ivan Spencer: Willow in the Wind).

"In 1958, Dad resigned Chicago and held the first training," says Winston. "Near the venue was a monument to Ludwig Krapf, stating his prayer 100 years previously that Africa would be evangelized from the east coast. [Krapf] and his family are buried nearby."

Joseph Mattsson-Boze died in January 1989 at age 83. His wife was the late Daga Mattson-Boze, and besides Winston, they had a son Howard, and daughters Britt Lillian, Grace, and Joy.

Following is the complete text of, "William Branham: In Memoriam", from the February 1966 edition of Herald of Faith:

It is almost impossible to believe that William Branham is not with us any longer.

As the whole world knows, William Branham and your Editor were very close friends. We were "real buddies". In spite of that there were several points of doctrine where we were a good deal apart, and seemingly could never agree, the warm spirit of fellowship never ceased. For this I am very happy.

Rev. Branham had a great gift from God, but what always impressed me most in his life was his big warm heart. He had time for the smallest ones as well as the biggest ones. He gave out of his life from the river of God that flowed through him to the poorest of the poor as well as to the richest. But if he favored anyone, it was the poor.

This big warm heart is now cold in death but we, his many friends, will always remember his kind spirit and his willingness to help. We will remember him as Jesus remembered John. Jesus did not point out the weaknesses of John the Baptist in his trying hours, but said about him, "This is the greatest born of a woman." John was not without his faults, but Jesus did not talk about that. He talked about John as John was at the height of his career when he stood there at Jordan and the people flocked to him in repentance.

I can picture the tremendous gatherings and the tremendous results in the great meetings in which I often sat on the platform with Rev. Branham. Sometimes I was scared because of the deep sense of holiness that penetrated the meetings, but I never failed to see the gift of God in operation through His servant and to feel that warmth of love that flowed through his ministry. This is how I remember my friend, Rev. William Branham.

                                  - by Joseph D. Mattsson-Boze

(1953) From left to right: Daga and Joseph Mattsson-Boze, Daisy and T. L. Osborn, Gordon Lindsay, William Branham, and Ern Baxter.

Frodsham , Edwards, Bailey, Mattsson-Boze, Bredesen, Trombley at Elim (1966) Sat, Jul 2, 1966 – Page 4 · Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) · Newspapers.com MATTSSON-BOZE host the Bealls and Elmer Frink (April 1950) Sat, Apr 22, 1950 – 17 · Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) · Newspapers.com DuPlessis & Mattsson-Boze, Henry Redman (1971) Sat, Oct 2, 1971 – Page 6 · The Greenville News (Greenville, South Carolina) · Newspapers.com Mattsson-Boze, "associate editor" of Logos Journal (Oct 1971) Sat, Oct 2, 1971 – Page 6 · Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com