Then I seemed to go into still another higher dimension. The fishing line I had in my hand turned into a shoestring, about one-half an inch in diameter. I was holding a baby’s shoe, with eyelets about an eighth of an inch in diameter. I was trying to put this half-inch shoestring through one of the eighth-inch eyelets, and I had broken many threads in the shoestring. The Angel of The Lord was still standing in front of me, and he asked sternly, yet kindly, “What are you trying to do?” I answered, “I am trying to lace this shoe.” He said, “You are using the wrong end of the string.”

I looked down at the other end of the string and noticed it was reduced and bound with a metal tip that would easily go through the eyelet. I said, “Oh, I’m sorry, Sir, I hadn’t noticed that I was using the wrong end.” He said, “You can’t teach babies supernatural things without causing carnal comparisons!”

Portion of a vision given to William Branham

In understanding this portion of this vision given to William Branham, the most important part is the lesson at the end.  You can’t teach babies supernatural things without causing carnal comparisons.  Jesus indicated that the same was true as He was departing, saying, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12).

This lesson was important for the work of William Branham, and it is important for us to understand the principle as we enter into the deeper things of God today.  Let us consider the parable presented by the angel of the Lord.  As we are faithful with what we have (someone else’s revelations), perhaps God will be so gracious as to give us our own.  Only, let us go on to maturity, holding fast to the head, not forsaking the Word.

First, we have the fishing line from the previous portion of the vision.  Following the same metaphor, the fishing line is the general teaching and general lines of thought and faith that are presented.  They are doctrinal lines, instructional pieces, and other segments of correct theology as a whole.  As the scripture records, it is “line upon line and precept upon precept” (Isaiah 28:10).  Distinct from that is the new revelation, the “shiny” one designed to capture the passing observer who is not yet a part of The Message.  This, the doctrine of the Seven Seals, was aptly called “the lure”.

Here, however, the line has turned into the shoe string, and Mr. Branham is attempting to lace up these baby shoes.  Mr. Branham is attempt to teach.  He is attempting to help equip the saints for the work of the ministry so that the body may be built up (Ephesians 4:12).  The problem is not here, in his desire.  Instead, the problem is where to start.  He is trying to use a large string to put through small eyelets, and causing quite a bit of a mess.

William Branham was a seer, one who sees.  All believers have some ability to see (John 3:3), and, those who are new to the faith may be likened to “pentecostal babies”, or “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1).  This is not to look down on anyone, but merely to indicate that there is a “growing up” and a maturing in the things of the Spirit, that although someone may have a great deal of giftedness even upon conversion, they are not mature in their gifting without a measure of experience in that (and probably quite a bit of it at that!).

William Branham is attempting to take this teaching, take this line of reasoning, and this line of supernatural faith, and He is attempting to thread the “eyelets” of these babies.  He is attempting to tie their shoes, a thing a baby cannot do.  Babes in Christ have “small eyes”.  They cannot perceive many things in the Spirit of God right away.  While some may start out with a great measure of faith, many must take the measure they have, work with it, and grow in the faith until they can perceive more of the deeper truths the Gospels.  What we believe by faith in the Word, we grow more capable to perceive, yet more and more.

So, William Branham is attempting to take the gospel faith line, and thread it through eyes that are too small.  Simply put, their eyes could not handle that much revelation, that heaviness of his teaching, the thickness of insight he was attempting to bring them.  Although William Branham was attempting to feed the thought into their spirits, there was no way they could possibly receive it until they had grown in faith, by seeing the things they could see,  and had grown in the Spirit for a while.  And what was the result?  The line got frayed, many threads were already broken, meaning many of the very doctrinal portions he wanted to bring were being brought to such a point of disregard and disunity, they were so fragmented and unusable by that point, that the whole of the revelation was becoming disunified.  The very true message of sight in the Spirit and true, living, and active faith was becoming damaged by his mistakes in his labor.  This is something it ought not ever have done.  It splintered, as such a rope would, speaking of divisions, factions, heresies, etc.  The one thing God didn’t want in a true faith movement was occurring.

On the other end, however, the line of faith and seer teaching was the right size.  A baby’s shoe is a certain size because, in general, babies are within the same size range.  We all are given some measure of faith.  What was more, there was actually a metal clasp around the string to keep it from fraying as the other did.

This other end, that is the smaller, it appears, is that which Jesus began to teach His disciples in His Earthly ministry.  What He taught them about the Kingdom, they taught to others, and, eventually, faithfully wrote down in the forms of the four Gospels.  This, later, was eventually “cannon”-ized, as the authorized scriptures.  Because we have the cannon of scripture laid out, and it is complete and does not need to be added to nor modified for the fullness of salvation, it is a metal clasp around this end of the string which keeps it from fraying.  There are some who would try to reject portions of the New Testament or other scriptures, but they do so to their own hurt, through deception.  But, what is necessary for the beginning of the understanding of the realm of faith, walking by the Spirit (for which you need good, laced up shoes), is first what is contained within the cannon of scripture.  From there, the “greater things”, which the new believer could not initially vear, can be brought by the Spirit or another Spirit-led endeavor, but still, as always, in accordance with and confirmed by the perfect written Word of God.

This teaching is what Jesus taught His disciples in terms of how to live in the Kingdom.  It is the “right size”, because it is the level of entry, the level of New Birth.  As Jesus exhorted Nicodemus, “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” (John 3:12).  Jesus talked of earthly things to open the eyes to the heavenlies in His parables, and, as people heard them through the eyes of faith, some came to understand.

What we must be aware of is that, as we grow, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, because Jesus promised He would (John 16:13).  We may want to expound on the mysteries of the Kingdom, and to explain the great things the Lord is currently doing in our midst, using spiritual language amongst those who are spiritually mature.

But, as the angel pointed out, if you teach babes, those who cannot bear these things, spiritual things, you will only get carnal imitations, or comparisons.  There is something about the spiritual realm that can innately appeal to the pride of man, to the attention seeking and to those who wish recognition for themselves.  Everyone pays attention when legs start growing out, and other dramatic miracles start happening.  But if that is all your ministry is about, you have missed the very heart, the man who is The Truth.  In doing so, you run the risk of entering in “another way”, and being a thief and a robber.  To use supernatural gifting for anything other than a Kingdom end is robbery and theft.  God is gracious and merciful, allowing us to learn, but it is never “okay” to use the pure, holy things of God with a primary purpose of our own pleasure.

So, what the angel was saying was quite right.  If we try to force all the weightiness which we currently looking at after 20 years in ministry, with no discrimination of how big the eyelets are that we are attempting to feed it into, we can end up scattering instead of gathering, even making some things harder for one who would come behind us.  If, however, we can teach the same principles as Jesus did, offering entrance into the gospel through the cannon-ized, clasped word, it is threaded to be just the right size of the new believer’s eyes, so that they can receive it, so that it cannot be divided nor split, and as the line is pulled through, and as they eye of faith, the eye of the Spirit, the eye of the heart grows, we will find more and more who are taking the full weight of the rope into themselves, able to hold up with all the fullness of the content of the gospel with all diligence.