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From 1955, Branham's campaigning and popularity began to decline as the Pentecostal churches began to withdraw their support from the healing campaigns for primarily financial reasons. At the peak of his popularity in the 1950s, Branham was widely adored and "the neo-Pentecostal world believed Branham to be a prophet to their generation". His ministry spawned many emulators and set the broader healing revival that later became the modern charismatic movement in motion. His fame rapidly spread as crowds were drawn to his stories of angelic visitations and reports of miracles happening at his meetings. Branham was the first American deliverance minister to successfully campaign in Europe his ministry reached global audiences with major campaigns held in North America, Europe, Africa, and India.īranham claimed that he had received an angelic visitation on May 7, 1946, commissioning his worldwide ministry and launching his campaigning career in mid-1946. He had a lasting influence on televangelism and the modern charismatic movement and is credited as "a principal architect of restorationist thought" for charismatics by some Christian historians, and has been called the "leading individual in the Second Wave of Pentecostalism." At the time they were held, his inter-denominational meetings were the largest religious meetings ever held in some American cities. William Marrion Branham (Ap– December 24, 1965) was an American Christian minister and faith healer who initiated the post– World War II healing revival, and claimed to be a prophet with the anointing of Elijah, who had come to herald Christ's second coming his followers have been labeled a " doomsday cult".