The magi knew the prophecies would one day come to pass, and for hundreds of years, they searched the heavens for a sign. Then one starry night, as they thought upon the words of the prophet Daniel, they saw the sign: a strange new Star appeared. The seekers’ age-old quest for the truth was reflecting in their eyes as they gazed upwards into the night sky. This is what the prophets spoke of. This is what they had been searching for. They quickly packed their gifts and the journey began.
The wisemen started in the Far East, modern-day India, and followed the Star for two years. We can only imagine the revelation that held strong in their hearts to make such a journey, with their only guide being that special new Star. They traveled by night through the mountains of southern Asia, down rugged slopes to the Tigris River, into the deserts of Arabia, and finally, to Jerusalem. In their hearts, they were seeking the Word of God. That same burning desire has never left the people of India.
Years after the magi presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Lord Jesus, God sent a gift back to India in the form of the disciple, Thomas. Once again, the Indian people’s search found another man who brought the Scriptures to life. But Thomas’ life came to a swift end at the hands of angry pagan priests, who thrust him through with a spear. With Thomas gone, the Gospel he brought eventually faded back into idolatry. Salvation through Jesus Christ was replaced with Hinduism, Mohammedism, Jainism, denominationalism, and the worship of thousands of different gods. Yet with all the confusion, God would again smile upon India.
Almost two thousand years later, the Lord sent another gift to the searching hearts of the Indian people.
The magi originally left their country to see the fulfillment of Scripture, but in this modern time, the Scripture came to them: In 1954, Malachi 4 came to Bombay and the Word was, again, brought to life. Half a million people witnessed sight return to a blind sun-worshipper, and as a result, more than one hundred thousand Indians renounced their pagan gods, and gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus. It was a monumental day for that country, but sadly, history was destined to repeat itself. Angry denominational leaders thrust their spear into the body of the laity. By failing to accept the prophet’s Message, and keep It before the people, they forced the living Gospel to fade away.
What could I do? There wasn't a thing. Perhaps, maybe, say there was, just say, there was a hundred thousand of them. There was no church, nothing I could do. There was nobody to give to them. The Message that I believe, I... There wasn't even a Pentecostal denomination would cooperate with me. And all those souls probably drifted right back into Shiites, Jains, Buddhism, whatever more they come from. No place to put them. Now, that's a shame. That's a disgrace. See? Because, I had no cooperation, because of the stand that I take.
62-0601 Taking Sides With Jesus
The battle for India was still far from over when Brother Branham spoke those words. God was quietly using His prophet to raise up a standard that no denomination or pagan priest could destroy: Almost every time Brother Branham stepped to the pulpit, the tape recorders began turning. The Word on those tapes would one day return to India, where It would introduce hundreds of thousands of people to a living Jesus Christ. The Message would cross all barriers and would never leave the people. It would come to their village and even into their own homes.
Now, in this, it doesn't exactly mean that I'm speaking this to this congregation present, but these tapes go around the world. They're translated in, practically, oh, a great deal of the languages, even into the heathen lands around the world. We send them tapes, free, on a society of the church. And they're translated. And all out through the jungles of Africa, and to India, and around the world, goes these tapes.
65-0429 The Choosing Of A Bride
In 1985, the Indian office was opened in the very city where the apostle Thomas, himself, breathed his last breath: Madras. The work prospered there, but it wasn’t until 1993 that the Lord opened the door for VGR to send massive quantities of material into that country.
We sent our first 40’ container across the ocean with 143,000 cassette tapes in English and other Indian languages. Along with the container, Brother Joseph sent a personal letter to every mailing address on our records. The letter read, “Once again, Malachi 4 is coming to India.”
The work was gathering steam, but there were some imposing challenges waiting: India is a massive country with 1.1 billion people, and they don’t all speak the same language. Although a large percentage of the population speaks English, there are still millions in the rural areas that don’t. To meet the needs of the people, we constructed a fully-equipped recording studio with a staff of seven employees at our main office in Madras to handle the translations, as well as the printing and distribution of hundreds of thousands of Message books. Currently we translate the Message into 10 different Indian languages. An amazing statistic in itself, considering that most countries require only one language translation. Along with the Indian languages, our recording studio and translators are also busy translating into other languages spoken by the surrounding countries, such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Another obstacle to overcome was the drastic demographic changes through the country. India is one of the most diverse countries in the world: culture, languages, traditions, and lines of communication change rapidly from village to village. Even street signs may be in English on this side of town, and Punjabi on that side. Drive down the road a ways, and they will be in Hindi. A few mile’s distance often looks like you are traveling to another country with a vastly different culture. This obviously makes it difficult for missionaries to travel long distances. Our solution: set up a large network of lending libraries, right in their backyards, that have the most commonly-spoken language of that area. Now, no matter where you are in the country, there is probably a VGR library nearby with a language that you understand.
Brother Joel Paramandam had the burden in 1985 to start a VGR office, and he still manages the Indian work.
The VGR office staff.
The enemy is on the run in India, and the results are everywhere. The witchdoctors boast that they can bring an evil spirit, but the Christians are the masters of ousting them. And what better weapon do we have than the Voice of God to this generation?
Once they received the tapes, a church of about 60 people in Bangalore began playing them in the congregation. During an evening service, what seemed to be a normal young lady suddenly started screaming: “STOP THE TAPE! THAT MAN IS DEAD AND GONE! STOP THE TAPE!” The pastor ran to the tape recorder to shut it off, but his daughter compelled him to let the tape keep playing. He took his daughter’s advice and let the prophet continue preaching. While the congregation looked on, the possessed girl ran to the gate of the church, where she fell to the floor in a fit of screaming and frothing at the mouth. As Brother Branham spoke, the evil spirit left the young lady, and her right mind was restored. She took her place back in the congregation where she enjoyed the rest of the sermon. She later made the trip to our office in Madras to testify of her experience.
On another occasion, a pastor made a stand against playing tapes. He said that they were to be played only at home, and never in the congregation. He left town to preach at another church, and while he was gone, his wife had a heart attack. With no phone in the home, she crawled to the only source of comfort she had left: the tape player. She put in a tape, and began listening. The pastor’s wife was healed as Brother Branham prayed for the people. When her husband came back, she told him her testimony. The pastor brought her to our office in Madras and testified of how the prophet, on tape, prayed for his wife.
After thousands of years, the battle for India finally turned. In a broad sweep of His hand, the Lord dealt a crushing blow. The Voice thundered throughout the ancient land, and the enemy began his retreat. He can’t throw the servant to the lions or run him through with a spear like in times past. Even the age-old tactic of waiting until the revival dies down, and then creeping back to destroy the Message in the people’s minds, will not work. Now the messenger is embedded with the people, never to leave.
The seekers of India have found the sign that is leading them to their King. But this time, it is not a Star that leads them thousands of miles by night; it is a Voice, sent right to their front door.
“You might, might be able to silent the body that's speaking, but you'll never silent that voice. It comes from God. They stoned Stephen, but they couldn't stop his Message. It'll move on. Them tapes will be played after I'm gone for years.”
61-0318 Abraham’s Covenant Confirmed