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=History=
=History=


Nestorianism is identified with Nestorius (c.AD 386-451), Patriarch of Constantinople. This view of Christ was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and the conflict over this view led to the Nestorian schism, separating the Assyrian Church of the East from the Byzantine Church.
Nestorius, appointed Bishop of Constantinople in A.D. 428, correctly opposed giving Mary the title “Mother of God,” but in his opposition to this, wrongly held that Mary gave birth to a man who was accompanied by the Logos. Nestorianism, therefore, seeking to do justice to the true humanity of Christ, failed to do justice to the unity of His person and to the union of the Logos with a human nature in Christ. In effect, it made Christ two distinct persons.  Instead of blending the two natures into a single self-consciousness, Nestorianism places them alongside of each other with nothing more than a moral and sympathetic union between them.<ref>Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 301.</ref>


The Nestorians denied the real union between the divine and the human natures in Christ, making it rather a moral than an organic one.  Nestorianism holds to no real incarnation—only to an alliance between God and man.<ref>Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1907), 671.</ref>
Nestorius found formidable adversaries in the patriarch of Alexandria (Cyril) and the bishop of Rome (Celestine I), both of whom convened synods that declared Nestorius to be a heretic. After heated exchanges, the emperor (who favored Nestorius) in 431 summoned the church’s third ecumenical council, held at Ephesus. Before the tardy arrival of the accused’s Syrian supporters and of the papal representatives from Rome, Cyril opened the proceedings. Nestorius was subsequently declared to be deposed and excommunicated.


The motivation for this view was an aversion to the idea that "God" suffered and died on the cross, be it God himself, or one of the persons of the Trinity. Thus, Nestorians would say, Jesus the perfect man suffered and died, not the divine Son of God, for such is an impossible thought -- hence the inference that two "persons" essentially inhabited the one body of Jesus. Nestorius held that Mary was the mother of Christ only in respect to His humanity. The council at Ephesus (431) accused Nestorius of the heresy of teaching "two persons" in Christ.
The Nestorians held a rival meeting that did not discuss the point at issue but which excommunicated Cyril. It was the latter’s gathering (which Nestorius had pointedly boycotted) that was finally held by the Romans to be valid. The emperor Theodosius, whose vacillations during the dispute did him little credit, banished Nestorius first to his monastery in Antioch and later to Upper Egypt, where he died. Rejected by the Roman Empire, Nestorianism not only persisted but expanded in the East, evincing a remarkable missionary activity that extended as far as China. Modern representatives of Nestorianism are to be found in the Persian or Assyrian Church, located in Iraq, Syria, and Iran.<ref>J.D. Douglas, “Nestorius,” ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort, Who’s Who in Christian History (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 503.</ref>
 
=Jesus is God=
 
At the end of the Book of Luke, we read:
 
:''Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.  So t'''hey worshiped him''' and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.<ref>Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), Lk 24:50–52.</ref>
 
By this simple act, we know that Jesus is God because of the prohibition in scripture to worship other gods:
 
:''...for '''you shall worship no other god''', for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God...<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ex 34:14</ref>
 
:''Honour the LORD your God, '''worship only him''', and make your promises in his name alone.<ref>American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), Dt 6:13.</ref>
 
:''Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’"<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mt 4:10.</ref>
 
:''For '''you alone are holy'''.  All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Re 15:4.</ref>
 
:''You are the LORD, '''you alone'''. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ne 9:6–8.</ref>


The problem with Nestorianism is that it threatens the atonement. If Jesus is two persons, then which one died on the cross? If it was the "human person" then the atonement is not of divine quality and thereby insufficient to cleanse us of our sins.


=Nestorianism in William Branham's teaching=
=Nestorianism in William Branham's teaching=
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:''The Spirit left Him, in the garden of Gethsemane. He had to die, a man. Remember, friends, He didn't have to do that. That was God. God anointed that flesh, which was human flesh. And He didn't… If He'd have went up there, as God, He'd have never died that kind of death; can't kill God. But He didn't have to do it. 242 But, remember, He went there with you in Him. See, God had never separated the Bride from the Groom, yet. So when God looked down upon the body of Christ, He saw both male and female. It was all redeemed in that one body. See? They are one, same, same Word. The same Word, spoke of the Groom, speaks of the Bride.<ref>William Marrion Branham, 65-0418M, It Is The Rising Of The Sun</ref>
:'''''The Spirit left Him, in the garden of Gethsemane. He had to die, a man.''' Remember, friends, He didn't have to do that. That was God. '''God anointed that flesh, which was human flesh.''' And He didn't… If He'd have went up there, as God, He'd have never died that kind of death; can't kill God. But He didn't have to do it.  But, remember, He went there with you in Him. See, God had never separated the Bride from the Groom, yet. So when God looked down upon the body of Christ, He saw both male and female. It was all redeemed in that one body. See? They are one, same, same Word. The same Word, spoke of the Groom, speaks of the Bride.<ref>William Marrion Branham, 65-0418M, It Is The Rising Of The Sun</ref>




:''Now, how many knows that Christ is the Spirit of God? We all know that. He's the anointed One. Jesus was the anointed. There's where people who believe that there's three or four different Gods, get all mixed up. See? God is a Spirit. Jesus was the body that the Spirit of God dwelled in, made Him Emmanuel, God, tabernacled on earth. He was God. Jesus Christ was God, yet He was the Son of God. His flesh was the Son of God 'cause God created it, but inside He was God. "It's not Me," said Jesus, "does the works, it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. And that day you'll know that I'm in the Father, the Father in Me, I in you, and you in Me." <ref>William Marrion Branham, 59-1004E, Why Cry? Speak!</ref>
:''Now, how many knows that Christ is the Spirit of God? We all know that. He's the anointed One. Jesus was the anointed. There's where people who believe that there's three or four different Gods, get all mixed up. See? God is a Spirit. '''Jesus was the body that the Spirit of God dwelled in, made Him Emmanuel''', God, tabernacled on earth. He was God. Jesus Christ was God, yet He was the Son of God. '''His flesh was the Son of God 'cause God created it, but inside He was God. "It's not Me," said Jesus, "does the works, it's My Father that dwelleth in Me.''' And that day you'll know that I'm in the Father, the Father in Me, I in you, and you in Me." <ref>William Marrion Branham, 59-1004E, Why Cry? Speak!</ref>
    
    


:''At the day of the baptism, when He received the Holy Ghost on the day when John baptized Him, John said, "I beheld and saw the Spirit of God like a Dove descending from heaven, and a Voice saying, 'This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm pleased to dwell in.'" Jesus said that God was with Him, "I and My Father are One. My Father dwells in Me." Not Jesus, and being one with God; but Je—God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. 143  And you Oneness brethren, many of you get off the wrong track when you try to think that God is one like your finger is one. He can't be His Own Father. He can't be. But He is God. God is Jehovah, the Spirit; Christ was the House that He dwelt in.<ref>William Marrion Branham, 59-0823, Palmerworm, Locust, Cankerworm, Caterpillar</ref>
:''At the day of the baptism, when He received the Holy Ghost on the day when John baptized Him, John said, "I beheld and saw the Spirit of God like a Dove descending from heaven, and a Voice saying, 'This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm pleased to dwell in.'" Jesus said that God was with Him, "I and My Father are One. My Father dwells in Me." '''Not Jesus, and being one with God'''; but Je—God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. 143  And you Oneness brethren, many of you get off the wrong track when you try to think that God is one like your finger is one. He can't be His Own Father. He can't be. But He is God. God is Jehovah, the Spirit; '''Christ was the House that He dwelt in.'''<ref>William Marrion Branham, 59-0823, Palmerworm, Locust, Cankerworm, Caterpillar</ref>
    
    


:''That's the reason people couldn't understand Him. S'''ometime it was Christ speaking… or was the Son speaking. Other times it was the Father speaking. He was a dual Person.''' He was one Man, the Son. God was in him, which was tabernacling in Him. But what did He do? Did He go around saying, "I'm the Healer." Very contrary, He said, "I'm not the Healer." He said, "It isn't Me that doth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me." And in Saint John the 19th chapter when He was questioned for pasting a whole bunch of crippled, lame, withered, halt, blind people, healed one man laying on a pallet, the Father showed Him to go there and heal. Walked away and left the rest of them laying there, they questioned Him. A man packing his bed on the sabbath. Listen to what He said. Saint John 5:19: "Verily, verily, I say unto you: The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what he sees the Father doing, that doth the Son likewise." Is that what He said? "I do nothing till the Father shows Me a vision first what to do."<ref>William Marrion Branham, 56-0429 - Jehovah-Jireh</ref>
:''That's the reason people couldn't understand Him. '''Sometime it was Christ speaking… or was the Son speaking. Other times it was the Father speaking. He was a dual Person.''' He was one Man, the Son. God was in him, which was tabernacling in Him. But what did He do? Did He go around saying, "I'm the Healer." Very contrary, He said, "I'm not the Healer." He said, "It isn't Me that doth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me." And in Saint John the 19th chapter when He was questioned for pasting a whole bunch of crippled, lame, withered, halt, blind people, healed one man laying on a pallet, the Father showed Him to go there and heal. Walked away and left the rest of them laying there, they questioned Him. A man packing his bed on the sabbath. Listen to what He said. Saint John 5:19: "Verily, verily, I say unto you: The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what he sees the Father doing, that doth the Son likewise." Is that what He said? "I do nothing till the Father shows Me a vision first what to do."<ref>William Marrion Branham, 56-0429 - Jehovah-Jireh</ref>




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:'''''Jesus is not deity''', but He was the fullness of the Godhead as deity, which is godhead was within Him, which is a person, '''two persons in one body of flesh'''.<ref>Lee Vayle, Godhead (#12), July 2nd, 2000</ref>
:'''''Jesus is not deity''', but He was the fullness of the Godhead as deity, which is godhead was within Him, which is a person, '''two persons in one body of flesh'''.<ref>Lee Vayle, Godhead (#12), July 2nd, 2000</ref>


==Illustration of this teaching in Vayle's followers==
==Nestorianism in Vayle's followers==


Brian Kocourek, a Vaylite preacherstates the following:
Brian Kocourek, a follower of Lee Vaylestated the following:


:''Now, Brother Branham is letting us know that God and Jesus were one in that '''God was indwelling the Body of His Son'''. But I also want to show you that this Oneness between God and His Son was more than just God indwelling His Son, the fact is that Jesus and God were one because God is the Word and '''Jesus manifested that Word in the same sense that God was One with His Own Word'''.
:''Now, Brother Branham is letting us know that God and Jesus were one in that '''God was indwelling the Body of His Son'''. But I also want to show you that this Oneness between God and His Son was more than just God indwelling His Son, the fact is that Jesus and God were one because God is the Word and '''Jesus manifested that Word in the same sense that God was One with His Own Word'''.