Marriage and Divorce: Difference between revisions

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It should be added that from earliest post-New Testament days, writers in the early church wrote about divorce and remarriage. Almost always their teaching is about remarriage—rather than merely about divorce.  In almost every case they write against remarriage and mention no exceptions.  When writing about divorce they do quite frequently mention the permission—which they quite often make into a command—to divorce where there has been adultery. The overwhelming majority of them do not allow remarriage in these circumstances. Some specifically prohibit it; others simply say: there should be no remarriage after divorce. They mention no exceptions.
It should be added that from earliest post-New Testament days, writers in the early church wrote about divorce and remarriage. Almost always their teaching is about remarriage—rather than merely about divorce.  In almost every case they write against remarriage and mention no exceptions.  When writing about divorce they do quite frequently mention the permission—which they quite often make into a command—to divorce where there has been adultery. The overwhelming majority of them do not allow remarriage in these circumstances. Some specifically prohibit it; others simply say: there should be no remarriage after divorce. They mention no exceptions.
=Quotes of William Branham=
==Oringinally William Branham appears to have the correct scriptural view on this issue==
''Now. First Corinthians, 7th chapter, 15th verse. Now, the question they asked: '''Brother Branham, does this mean a sister or a brother is free to remarry?'''
''No. See, you don't get his question there and what he's saying. They're not free. See, that would make a contradiction in the Scripture, and the Scriptures doesn't contradict themselves at all. See? Now, let's… You see, like you can make the Scripture, just by reading one verse, say anything you want it to say to fit your thought. But you've got to take the thought that they're talking on. Like if—if I was talking to Brother Neville and you—and you heard me say the word "board." And then you'd go away, you'd say, "You know what he's talking about? We bored him tonight." See? "No," the other fellow would say, "that's wrong; it meant that he—he owed a board bill, he was going to pay it." The other one say, "Oh, no, he didn't mean that, he meant the board on the side of the house." And the other fellow say, "No, I'll tell you what, I believe he was trying—talking about boring a hole." See, see? You got to find out the conversation, then you know what you're talking about, 'cause Paul here sometime is answering back their question.
Sometimes they say the Bible contradicts Itself. I want to find it. It doesn't. I am—I'm thirty-two years behind the pulpit; I've never seen a contradiction yet. See? It doesn't contradict Itself. It's so… It's you that's contradicting It (See?), and not understanding It. The Holy Spirit is a Revealer, the Revelator of the Word. Therefore, the contradiction… See, Paul is writing them people, saying, "You asked such-and-such a thing." Only he isn't just saying you asked it; he's just saying that. Then here he turns around and answers them back, which is contrary to what they asked. They asked, "We do so, and so, and so." And Paul turns around and says something else (See?), looks like it's a contradiction. It's not. If you'll just read the whole verse, the whole chapter, you find out that he's—he's trying to explain what they've wrote him.
''Now, right here that would look like it would give… And that's the way you get contradictions in the Bible, but it isn't so. Now, it seems like here, that the person is wanting to know, or the question what they do want to know…
'''''Is a brother or sister in the Lord, can marry or remarry and be free, if they leave their companion to remarry again?'''
No. Now, let's take… begin at the 10th verse: … unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord,… (See?)… Let not the wife depart from her husband: (See?) But… if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. (That's the Commandments of the Lord. See?) But to the rest speak I, not the Lord:… (See?)… if any brother hath a wife that believeth not,… Now, watch his subject. See? And you read on down in before this, on through the chapter you find that they thought, "If we married a wife and she was… we… I got married and I become a believer, and my wife wasn't a believer, let me put her away." Oh, no. That isn't it. You can't do that. See, see? … if any brother has a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. (That's, not because of marriage; that's because of unbelief. Not "remarry" again. See, stay with her.)
''And if the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. (That's right. See?) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart… Now, if the unbeliever says, "I'm not going to live with you any longer; you've become a Christian." To… A man tells his wife, "Because you've got saved, and going to get out of the world where we was once in, I'm going to leave you." Now, there ain't nothing you can do about it; let him depart. See?
''Or the woman say to her husband, "I'm not going to mix up with that bunch of holy-rollers. I'm not going to do this. I'll separate and leave you." Don't you leave the church, you let her leave. See? A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such case, that is, if your companion is putting you away and wants to depart for it. You don't have to just hold onto them. If they're wanting to leave you and they're going to leave you for the cause of Christ, let them leave. '''But you can't remarry.''' "But God has called us unto peace." See? Now, not that you can remarry again; he's already stated that, but you don't have to live with an unbelieving husband or an unbelieving wife if they are not willing.
''If they're willing, say, "Now, you go on to church. Now, if you want to go down there, that's your business. You want to go to your church, you go ahead. For me, I don't believe It. And I—I'll do anything for you; I'll not stand in your way, you go ahead," then you just remain there, knowing not that your sanctified life will sanctify that believer, cause them to believe. See? Either side, man or woman… See? You… But now just to say, "I… Brother Branham, I got married and my wife's an unbeliever, and here's a sister over here I can marry. I'm going to leave this one and marry that one." Oh, no. No, indeedy. Your vow is until death you separate, and there's nothing else in the world will permit you to marry in the Bible until your companion is dead. That's right. The only grounds… '''There's no remarrying nowhere at all, except a dead companion.''' That's all. See?
''You can't make It contradict Itself. So just read the verses before and after, and you'll catch then what he's talking about. Now, this means here, not… See?
'''''Does this mean a sister or a brother is free to remarry?''' No, sir. See, he explained that first. See: … unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband:… (See?) There's no such things as any believer ever being reconciled to remarriage again, with a living companion.<ref>William Branham, 62-0527 - Questions And Answers, para. 29-46</ref>
==The infamous Marriage and Divorce sermon==
However, in 1965 William Branham preached his sermon, Marriage and Divorce, where he significantly departed from the teachings of Jesus and Paul:
:''Matthew 5:32. I want you to notice here, to support this same idea of "one" and "many." Matthew, thirty-… I think it's Matthew 5:32, 31 to begin with. It has been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 226  That's Jesus speaking, the One said, "from the beginning." Now watch. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving… the cause of fornications, causes her to commit adultery; see, whosoever shall put away his wife, saving… the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: (why? she'll marry again) and whosoever marrieth her that is divorced committed adultery.
:''See, she has got a living husband, so no man can marry her. Care what she does and who she is, she's got a living husband, there is no grounds for her at all. But, it's not, for him. "Causes her," not him. Get it? You have to make the Word run in continuity. '''See, nothing saying he couldn't, but she can't.''' See, "causes her," not him. That's exactly what the Bible says, "causes her." '''It is not stated against him to remarry, but "her."''' Why? Christ in the type.
:''Notice, it is stated that he cannot remarry, only a virgin. '''He can remarry. He can, he can remarry again if it's a virgin, but he can't marry somebody else's wife.''' No indeedy. And if he does marry a divorced woman, he is living in adultery, I don't care who he is. The Bible said, "Whosoever marrieth her that is put away, liveth in adultery." There you are, not no divorcees. <ref>William Branham, 65-0221M - Marriage And Divorce, para. 226-229</ref>


=Video Transcript=
=Video Transcript=