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But he鈥檚 come to believe it鈥檚 all about the money聽鈥� and his family is a prime example.

Branham was a preacher, faith healer and some say prophet whose tent revivals in the 鈥�40s and 鈥�50s drew thousands.

Moseley鈥檚 family members got to know Branham and hunted for big game with the evangelist. On one hunting trip, Branham mentioned the idea of having a plane to spread his message, to fulfill his vision of a 鈥渕ammoth鈥� global tent revival campaign, larger than anything he鈥檇 done before, and it became the family鈥檚 mission to get him one.

Branham died in 1965. But Moseley said his family didn鈥檛 let the fact that Branham had died get in the way of their dream. So in the '70s, they bought the dead prophet an airplane for his use when he came back to life, as they believe he will.

It wasn鈥檛 just any plane. They bought the DC7 previously used by former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson.

Moseley said unprincipled Message pastors used the plane to raise money. He said one church in Phoenix sold tickets to the faithful for them to use on flights once Branham came back to life.

Three Moseley brothers聽鈥� Moseley鈥檚 father and two uncles 鈥� were supposed to fly the plane together. But Moseley鈥檚 father, who was to be the main pilot, died in 1975. One of the other brothers, Evan Moseley, then took up the mantle of leading the family鈥檚 effort to maintain and refurbish the plane.

Evan Moseley saved somewhere between $5 million and $10 million to repair the plane and get Bramham鈥檚 ministry airborne, David Moseley said, adding that the money is in an 鈥渋ronclad鈥� trust account that can鈥檛 be touched until Branham rises from the dead.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 how deeply this is ingrained in all of us,鈥� David Moseley said. 鈥淥ur family revolved around that airplane. Everything they did, every extra dime they had, they were pouring it into making more money to fly the airplane, in order to get that airplane up to airworthiness.鈥�

To this day, Moseley said the plane still sits at Phoenix Goodyear Airport, waiting for the prophet鈥檚 return.

Moseley said it all points up to the greedy side of The Message, a religious sect that has perhaps 3 million followers on every continent except Antarctica, according to estimates from an organization called Voice of God Recordings.

Since his death, Branham鈥檚 ministry has grown not just in terms of followers, but also in financial scale. The Message has become a multimillion-dollar enterprise comprised of thousands of churches and organizations dedicated to spreading Branham鈥檚 teachings. But critics, like Moseley, say Message leaders only care about profiting off of Branham鈥檚 words.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about money,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd if you step on their money flow, you are in for it. It鈥檚 horribly bad.鈥�

Branham鈥檚 son and Voice of God Recordings president Joseph Branham disputed that characterization.

He declined to be interviewed but answered some questions via email. With about $20 million in revenue each year, Voice of God Recordings is the largest organization associated with The Message today. Joseph Branham said his goal is to continue his father鈥檚 work of connecting people with the Bible 鈥渆xactly as it is written.鈥�

鈥淚 have not found such a ministry like this in all the world and have a burden on my heart for everyone to hear of this ministry,鈥� Branham said of his father鈥檚 religious movement.

鈥淭here are some in the religious community who are in it for the wrong reasons. For instance, one TV evangelist makes approximately $55 million dollars per year, has a mansion worth $10 million, a $68 million dollar private jet, a Lamborghini, a yacht, etc. I don鈥檛 believe in doing that. Rev. Branham always shunned those things. Truly, money can be the root of all evil.鈥�

Alleged financial wrongdoing

A Message pastor in Trinidad walked into a bank in late 2019 with聽, the Trinidad Express reported. Each box contained about $1 million in cash.

Pastor Vinworth Dayal claimed the $28 million in old Trinidad and Tobago paper dollars that he tried to exchange for a new currency was solely tithes 鈥� religious donations 鈥� from his congregants at Third Exodus Assembly church in Longdenville, according to the newspaper. But local police thought otherwise.

Dayal will聽. Authorities say Dayal obtained the money 鈥� worth about $4 million in U.S. dollars 鈥� from criminal conduct.

Dayal was still preaching at the Third Exodus Assembly as of September,聽. The church聽聽and linked to a聽聽echoing the 鈥淓nd Times鈥� doctrines that are a signature of Branham鈥檚 ministry.

It鈥檚 not the first time a Message organization has been accused of financial misdeeds.

In 1997, Voice of God Recordings was accused of accepting a large donation from a follower who obtained the funds nefariously, according to United States Tax Court documents. Voice of God Recordings resolved the dispute by paying the money back.

Wayne C. Evans, a Message follower since the age of 10, was accused of illegally funneling more than $1 million from the Tohono O始odham Nation鈥檚 farming authority to his construction company. Evans then gave $820,000 of it to Voice of God Recordings, according to court records. The tribe sued Evans for racketeering in 1997.

Evans is the father of VGR spokesperson Jeremy Evans and Tucson Tabernacle聽pastor聽Daniel Evans.

鈥淗e never stole money, but he hired his own private construction company to do the work on the Reservation, which was a conflict of interest, and illegal to do,鈥� Jeremy Evans said. 鈥淭he money was earned (there was no issue with that), but Dad broke the law by hiring his own company to do it. Although I am not proud of how he did that, it was completely detached from VGR.鈥�

Voice of God Recordings was also sued, but the tribe did not accuse the nonprofit of knowingly participating in fraud. The FBI investigated VGR and found "there was no collusion," Jeremy Evans said.聽VGR settled the civil case by agreeing to pay the O鈥檕dham Nation $820,000.

鈥淚n good faith, once VGR heard of the case and its verdict, they gave all funds back to the Indian Tribe to reclaim,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淥f course, VGR had no knowledge of any embezzlement scheme until after the verdict was announced and should not be blamed for that.鈥�

Wayne Evans ultimately pleaded guilty to embezzling $1.6 million in 2001. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison with three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $140,000 to the O鈥檕dham Nation.

William Branham also had to pay tens of thousands to settle a financial dispute. He said in a 1962 sermon that the IRS spent five years investigating him for tax evasion. The IRS alleged he owed the federal government more than $300,000 in delinquent taxes 鈥� more than $3.1 million in 2024 tax dollars.

These allegations came about because people donating to his church, the Branham Tabernacle, made checks out to 鈥淲illiam Branham鈥� instead of to the 鈥淭abernacle Foundation,鈥� Branham explained. For the checks made out to him, Branham signed them to endorse them and then transferred them to the foundation. He didn鈥檛 know that signing them made them count as personal income for which he owed taxes.

鈥淭he courts never had a question with regards to any of the funds being misused for personal gain by William Branham,鈥� Jeremy Evans said.

To settle the back taxes, Branham borrowed $40,000 from the bank and used that money to pay the government back in 1962, according to Branham and Evans. Branham said he planned to pay $4,000 each year over 10 years to repay the bank. He died three years later.

Money machine

For decades, Jorge Hernandez Jr. traveled all over Latin America with his father, helping to establish congregations committed to Branham鈥檚 message. Hernandez鈥檚 family is originally from El Salvador but lives in Phoenix now.

Hernandez, 58, left The Message in 2023 after coming to believe Branham was not a prophet and that the churches were operating as money-making machines.

鈥淲hen you hear the word missionary, immediately you think about people helping people 鈥� feeding the poor, clothing the poor, taking medicines,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing like that.鈥�

The primary goal of the missionary work was to start new churches and help the money flow, Hernandez concluded after some soul-searching.

Once a pastor had a substantial congregation of maybe 100 congregants, the pastor could establish new churches and collect tithes from them as well, although they are nominally independent, Hernandez said. It鈥檚 a predictable pattern that happens across Central America, he said.

鈥淭he pastor gets big. He starts opening churches in different cities,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淭hey all have to report to him and send their money to the mother church.鈥�

Money flowed not just to the church and the pastor, but also to Voice of God Recordings, Hernandez said. It was a common rule that the churches would pay a 鈥渢ithe of tithes鈥� 鈥� one-tenth of what the pastor received in tithes 鈥� to VGR鈥檚 office in Jeffersonville Hernandez said.

鈥淎ll of the churches in Latin America and every country in the world, it's a law that when you belong to The Message that you have to send a tenth of a tenth to the Voice of God,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淎nd that's exactly where they get their income.鈥�

Evans vehemently denied the accusation that VGR requires churches to donate. He said VGR believes in the practice of tithing but has never asked people to pay tithes to Voice of God Recordings.

鈥淲hat an absurd statement,鈥� Evans said when asked for comment on Hernandez's description. 鈥淲e have never heard the term 鈥榯ithe of tithes鈥� before. Whoever this man is who made up this statement is obviously not a credible source.鈥�

Joseph Branham said VGR does not engage in fundraising. He added that their products are sold at or below cost and events are free.

鈥淪ince 1981, we have never asked for money through a return envelope in the mail, on the website, or at our events,鈥� he said.

Said Evans: 鈥淲e take the same stance as William Branham took with regards to money: when the funds run out, it is time for us to stop doing what we are doing.鈥�

Massive enterprise

Joseph Branham and Jeremy Evans would not reveal VGR鈥檚 donors but shared information on spending and allowed a Lee Enterprises reporter to tour the nonprofit鈥檚 headquarters in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in January.

A long winding road leads up to the building, which sits on a hill behind a small pond. The sterile lobby has crisp white walls and shiny black tiles that reflect light.聽A photo of William Branham hangs on the lobby wall, and the pulpit he once preached from stands by the glass windows.

Signs聽of Branham are present throughout the facility, but in one hallway, three glass cases are filled with memorabilia. Books, magazines, prayer cards, photos and hand-written letters line the shelves. Visitors can see Branham鈥檚 old typewriter, pen holder and microphone.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not meant to be relics,鈥� Evans says as he describes the cases. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just interesting. People from around the world come here, and they see,鈥� he gestures, 鈥溾�極h cool, Brother Branham鈥檚 hat.鈥欌��

The building also contains multiple office spaces, a lounge with white leather couches and foosball tables, a kitchen area, a small chapel, a mail and packaging center, recording studios and warehouses stacked with boxes. The nonprofit鈥檚 assets, most of which were land, buildings and equipment, totaled $49 million in 2023, according to the nonprofit's 990 tax form.

In one warehouse, more than 3,000 boxes filled with computer tablets sat stacked from floor to ceiling on pallet racks. Some had labels: Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Philippines and Thailand.

Voice of God Recordings planned to ship those tens of thousands of tablets worldwide. Produced in-house at a tablet production facility inside the headquarters, the tablets contained Branham鈥檚 written and recorded sermons, the Bible, children鈥檚 games and other resources, all translated into the language of the recipient.

Voice of God Recordings says it produced more than 62,000 tablets in 2023 at about $200 per tablet 鈥� more than $12.4 million in production costs.

The nonprofit has translated Branham鈥檚 more than 1,200 sermons into more than 70 languages so far, Evans said. Most languages have around 100 to 200 sermons available in text and audio, while some have about 600 sermons translated. Evans said the goal is to translate every Branham message into all languages 鈥� a massive undertaking.

Voice of God Recordings had about $29 million in revenue and $25 million in expenses in 2023, the most recent tax year available, according to the organization鈥檚 990 filings. Most of its expenses go to producing and shipping its tablets. Some money also goes to printing sermon booklets, recording sermons in different languages, running a youth ministry camp and charitable work.

VGR鈥檚 profit fluctuates significantly from year to year, and in some years it has operated at a loss, its tax forms show. Any revenue that nonprofits make doesn鈥檛 go to shareholders or individuals but rather is put back into the organization. Joseph Branham makes a $130,000 salary for running Voice of God Recordings, according to the 990 filing.

For the last 12 years, Voice of God has averaged about $20 million in revenue each year.

About a third of that revenue came from a $100 million donation the nonprofit received from a single individual in the tax year ending in June 2011. Branham declined to share the individual鈥檚 name.

The following tax year, Voice of God Recordings launched the Jehovah Jireh Foundation and transferred the $100 million to the foundation, according to IRS records. Branham said the foundation鈥檚 purpose is to 鈥渂etter manage our contributions and diversify our investments.鈥�

Since its creation, the foundation has incrementally funneled a total of $87 million in cash grants back to Voice of God Recordings.

Hackney said there鈥檚 no threshold for how much nonprofit revenue is too much as long as the nonprofit is still doing charitable work.

VGR provides food, shelter, transportation and thousands in cash to support dozens of Ukrainian families fleeing war-torn areas of their country, Branham said. VGR sent teams to distribute food, clothes and sometimes building materials to families during the aftermath of a recent typhoon in Mozambique, drought in Zimbabwe and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he said.

The nonprofit also paid for the construction of more than 100 homes in Haiti, Branham added.

鈥淎lmost all of the funds that come in here at Voice Of God Recordings are sent to those who can鈥檛 afford the means to hear the gospel,鈥� Branham said. 鈥淲e want to educate them, provide tablets to them, help provide solar energy to them, feed them, make better citizens of them by expressing our love to them in any way we possibly can.鈥�

Message critics

Some former Message followers say there are flaws in the sect鈥檚 religious beliefs that leaders either willingly or naively ignore to protect their money.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a concerted effort to聽shut up people who are speaking negatively about The Message for sure, and they have money,鈥� said former Message believer and Arizona resident Fumiko Tipping. 鈥淭hey are in it for the money.鈥�

A growing group of former believers, including some former pastors, have left The Message and are speaking out against Branham鈥檚 ministry.聽

Former Message believer Rod Bergen started his website,聽, with his son as a pro-Branham site but switched the site to an anti-Branham research platform in 2012.

鈥淚 was trying to prove The Message to be true,鈥� Bergen said. 鈥淎nd I failed. I failed really badly.鈥�

Believe the聽Sign聽and聽, which was started by former believer John Collins, are the two most well-known websites seeking to debunk Message beliefs. But others, such as聽, have sprouted up as well.

The researchers have found factual inaccuracies in Branham鈥檚 life story as well as in his prophecies and visions. For example, Branham claimed he successfully predicted the death of 16 men during the construction of a Jeffersonville, Indiana, bridge. Believers point to聽. But there鈥檚 no record of such an accident happening, and the bridge construction was completed years before Branham said the deaths occurred.

鈥淣obody actually fell and drowned while making this bridge,鈥� Collins said while standing in front of the Municipal Bridge in January. A stone marker on the bridge read 鈥渆rected 1928-1929鈥� 鈥� seven years before Branham said the construction accident happened. 鈥淭he math doesn鈥檛 work.鈥�

This group of researchers and Voice of God Recordings have clashed. In an interview, Evans tried to discredit Collins鈥� character and threatened to sue him over copyright violations.聽Evans said VGR hopes to shut his website down and 鈥渂ury his neck in lawyers鈥� documents.鈥�

Joseph Branham said the criticisms they receive about their finances often come from disgruntled former members.

鈥淲e know people will always be critical of any organization worth a substantial amount, especially in this case, from those who despise William Branham鈥檚 teachings,鈥� Branham said聽via email. 鈥淏ut I honestly can鈥檛 understand how even our greatest critic could accuse us of mishandling funds. That is so ridiculous, to say the least.鈥�

Even some who still believe The Message have a negative view.

Juanito Saucedo, of Phoenix, has traveled the United States and Latin America as an evangelist, preaching The Message of William Branham. He鈥檚 a true believer and an inveterate traveler.

But Saucedo, who began viewing Branham as a prophet when he was a teen in Mexico City, is skeptical of the way he sees The Message being monetized. He noted that around the world the tiny churches that listen to tapes of Branham and have no pastor often tithe to Voice of God Recordings.

鈥淎ll these evangelists have built their kingdoms,鈥� Saucedo said in Spanish. 鈥淏illy Graham has his kingdom. Oral Roberts has his university. And the Voice of God has its own.

鈥淚f Brother Branham were to come to life and see what they鈥檝e built, he would take a shovel and pick and knock down everything they鈥檝e done in his name.鈥�