The Apostle Paul starts with one unbelieving partner when he speaks about the possibility of divorce: “But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases; but God hath called us to peace.“ (1 Cor. 7:12-16). In such a case there exists no slavery, or life-long bondage, for either the brother or the sister. Just as there are other wrong decisions in life with believers, it is also possible to have made a wrong decision in getting married. Should this be the case, then the ones concerned already suffer enough and we should not treat them as though they were lepers. They do have their life-long burdens which they have to carry. As we read, if the unbelieving depart in such a case, neither the woman nor the man is bound. The term »until death shall separate you« is not found in the Holy Scriptures, but rather, “what God has joined together, let not man put asunder“ (Mt. 19:6). Indeed there are couples who apparently were not joined together by God. Therefore, the emphasis is upon the statement, “what God hath joined together…“ Whatever God does is well-done.

In some legitimate cases God permitted man to give a writing of divorcement to his wife. “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house“ (Dt. 24). The same God said, “For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away; for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts; therefore, take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously“ (Mai. 2:16). A wilful divorce, the Scripture declares, is an act of violence against the partner. In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord refers to Dt. 24:1, making the condition even harder. “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement;“ and then continues, “But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery“ (Mt. 5:31-32).

God protects a woman who has been divorced without a scriptural cause, and will judge the man for it. People may condemn her, because of wrong teaching, if she remarries. In such a case she is not guilty, but rather the man who caused her to come into this situation, and to live in a second marriage which was not originally planned. God always acts rightly and justly. He will demand that the guilty one answers; in this case, it is the ex-husband. The Lord is true in all His Words and holy in all His deeds.

A separation or divorce, without a cause, is directed against redemption and forgiveness, and is looked upon as an act of violence, for the cross and reconciliation are spurned. The enmity God decreed in the Garden of Eden after the fall then comes into existence again, the cross and forgiveness are being put aside and accusations take their course. For the redeemed, it remains for ever true, that all our sins and guilt were placed upon the Lamb of God. We are free and have peace with God. If somebody rejects reconciliation, and continues with accusations, then the same remains in the fallen state. The redeemed are reconciled with God, they certainly do not carry a grudge in their heart and do not practise enmity even unto death. That would most certainly be a paradox. Whoever does not forgive the other party, rejects reconciliation and does not need to pray for forgiveness, for God does not forgive a person in such a state. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have anything against any, that your Father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father, who is in heaven, forgive your trespasses” (Mk. 11:25-26).

According to John, chapter 8, the Scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They referred to what Moses said in the law that such a woman should be stoned. The question was, “…but what sayest thou?“ Jesus stooped down and wrote with His finger on the sand. While Jesus was writing, the accusers repeated the same question. Finally He stood up and said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.“ He stooped down again and wrote more on the ground. After rising up again all had vanished from the first to the last. “When Jesus had lifted himself up, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.“ (Jn. 8:10-11) If the believers of this day would have as much sense of honour as the blind Scribes and Pharisees had, then they would read the Scripture and hear what the Lord has written and spoken to them. They also would vanish away as the accusers did there. In the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ no one is righteous, all have sinned, trespassed the commandments and have come short of the glory of God.

It is always those who require repentance themselves that keep on requiring that others should repent, without realising that it is only the Spirit of God that leads all to repentance. There are people who do not know the Lord’s prayer and do not even want to live up to and practise it. “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Mt. 6:12). In each case we must note which party is denying salvation to the other, and therefore, acts with enmity, speaks evil about the partner to the extent of committing character assassination. God is the God of peace, and we can have peace within, regardless of the situation. The enemy deceives the peaceless who act with bitterness. Then their mouths become open graves, and their tongues like the bite of a poisonous snake (Rom. 3:10-18 a. o.). Such are the marks of a person who has come under the influence of the enemy. Those who refuse reconciliation sometimes act upon false revelation, and most of the time they cannot be spoken to as the accuser speaks through them. They are under false inspiration, deceived and cannot help themselves and reject the help of the Lord, thinking in their self-righteousness to be right. Forgiveness and reconciliation are bedded in divine love. Arrogant demands are always contrary to reconciliation. There remains one question: What is the actual intention in speaking and acting in such a way? If the matter is against God’s Word, one thing is sure: Satan has begun to destroy.

The Corinthian Church, which had to deal with the special case (chapter 5), was given a thus saith the Lord. “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband; but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband; and let not the husband put away his wife“ (7:10-11). Here, we have a commandment for both, not just a polite suggestion, but rather the Thus saith the Lord. If she breaks this commandment and separates herself, then she must remain single or return to her husband. Should he break the commandment he will be held responsible. A man who divorces his wife without a biblical cause, so that he can marry another one, is guilty before God.

Brother Branham emphasises that, in case of separation or divorce there is a difference in the requirements for the woman and for the man. Quote: “Now, you notice in I Corinthians 7:10, notice, Paul commands the wife that is — that divorces her husband to remain single or be reconciled, not to remarry. She must remain single or to be reconciled back to her husband. She cannot remarry; she must remain single. But notice, he never said about the man. See, you can’t make the Word lie. From the beginning, the sex law by polygamy.“ (pg. 37).

When Brother Branham speaks about polygamy, he does not mean to say that a man should have a whole harem of wives, certainly not. He only wishes to express that if the marriage breaks, especially when the woman is the guilty party, the man can remarry. The word divorcé is not found in the Bible, because God never intended, under no circumstances whatsoever, that a woman would give a writing of divorcement to a man. It is only under the permissive will of God that the man can do it, and this would be because of the hardness of his heart — but under no circumstances can the woman do it.

Quote: “But to get this marriage and divorce straightened out so that you would know which was right and which was wrong … A man can put away his wife and marry another, but not the woman put away her husband and marry another. See all the shadows and types there perfectly balanced out“ (pg. 39).

We must submit to the will of God and not only speak about it. There is a permissive will but also the acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:1). If a woman has separated herself from her husband and rejected him as a husband, and tries to convince herself that this is not a divorce, but just a separation, she is deceived and has no clear judgement any more. The certificate of divorce is just a written confirmation of the already existing separation. If a woman, who has no right to separate or withdraw herself, rejects her husband and thus dissolves the marriage, and leaves her matrimonial home, then she is guilty before God in a most terrible way. Thereby, she demonstrates that she is exercising power over her husband. She may say, “Now I have really shown him.“ God will show her something else, if she does not repent.

The same case applies, when either partner demands that the other one quit their matrimonial home, and thereby humiliates him or her in front of the children. A couple must also agree on the way of bringing up their children, and decide to say the same thing. Otherwise there will be parties within the family If there is a difference of opinion between the couple, the children should not be drawn into it. In a divorce the children suffer the most. All should know in advance, and be very clear about it, that no problem is solved through a divorce, but on the contrary, with the divorce the real problems start for the whole family.

The chosen ones will not permit themselves to be blinded by the enemy in accepting any such wrong action as being right; leave alone supporting it. They are determined at any cost to reach the completion in perfection, and are ready to do the acceptable will of God. For the called ones, the permissive will of God might be sufficient, but if someone acts altogether contrary to the Word of God, they should know that they are neither called nor chosen, but they are utterly deceived.

Brother Branham stated that this complicated matter must be revealed. This revelation came forth through the opening of the seals. Quote: “But now that the Seals are opened, the Spirit of Truth directs us to the Word. That explains why all the mistakes has been down through the ages, because the Seals were not open. This was not revealed. It’s true.“ (pg. 38).

Whoever takes the attitude of having already known all things pertaining to this complicated subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage, should acknowledge as having not yet understood it. The same case applies to the believers in the end-time message, where there is much religious leaven still being held as it was handed down through the traditional deceptive church teachings.

The Apostle Paul starts with one unbelieving partner when he speaks about the possibility of divorce: “But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases; but God hath called us to peace.“ (1 Cor. 7:12-16). In such a case there exists no slavery, or life-long bondage, for either the brother or the sister. Just as there are other wrong decisions in life with believers, it is also possible to have made a wrong decision in getting married. Should this be the case, then the ones concerned already suffer enough and we should not treat them as though they were lepers. They do have their life-long burdens which they have to carry. As we read, if the unbelieving depart in such a case, neither the woman nor the man is bound. The term »until death shall separate you« is not found in the Holy Scriptures, but rather, *“what God has joined together, let not man put asunder“* (Mt. 19:6). Indeed there are couples who apparently were not joined together by God. Therefore, the emphasis is upon the statement, “what God hath joined together…“ Whatever God does is well-done.

In some legitimate cases God permitted man to give a writing of divorcement to his wife. “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house“ (Dt. 24). The same God said, “For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away; for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts; therefore, take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously“ (Mai. 2:16). A wilful divorce, the Scripture declares, is an act of violence against the partner. In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord refers to Dt. 24:1, making the condition even harder. “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement;“ and then continues, “But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery“ (Mt. 5:31-32).

God protects a woman who has been divorced without a scriptural cause, and will judge the man for it. People may condemn her, because of wrong teaching, if she remarries. In such a case she is not guilty, but rather the man who caused her to come into this situation, and to live in a second marriage which was not originally planned. God always acts rightly and justly. He will demand that the guilty one answers; in this case, it is the ex-husband. The Lord is true in all His Words and holy in all His deeds.

A separation or divorce, without a cause, is directed against redemption and forgiveness, and is looked upon as an act of violence, for the cross and reconciliation are spurned. The enmity God decreed in the Garden of Eden after the fall then comes into existence again, the cross and forgiveness are being put aside and accusations take their course. For the redeemed, it remains for ever true, that all our sins and guilt were placed upon the Lamb of God. We are free and have peace with God. If somebody rejects reconciliation, and continues with accusations, then the same remains in the fallen state. The redeemed are reconciled with God, they certainly do not carry a grudge in their heart and do not practise enmity even unto death. That would most certainly be a paradox. Whoever does not forgive the other party, rejects reconciliation and does not need to pray for forgiveness, for God does not forgive a person in such a state. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have anything against any, that your Father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father, who is in heaven, forgive your trespasses” (Mk. 11:25-26).

According to John, chapter 8, the Scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They referred to what Moses said in the law that such a woman should be stoned. The question was, “…but what sayest thou?“ Jesus stooped down and wrote with His finger on the sand. While Jesus was writing, the accusers repeated the same question. Finally He stood up and said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.“ He stooped down again and wrote more on the ground. After rising up again all had vanished from the first to the last. “When Jesus had lifted himself up, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.“ (Jn. 8:10-11) If the believers of this day would have as much sense of honour as the blind Scribes and Pharisees had, then they would read the Scripture and hear what the Lord has written and spoken to them. They also would vanish away as the accusers did there. In the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ no one is righteous, all have sinned, trespassed the commandments and have come short of the glory of God.

It is always those who require repentance themselves that keep on requiring that others should repent, without realising that it is only the Spirit of God that leads all to repentance. There are people who do not know the Lord’s prayer and do not even want to live up to and practise it. “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Mt. 6:12). In each case we must note which party is denying salvation to the other, and therefore, acts with enmity, speaks evil about the partner to the extent of committing character assassination. God is the God of peace, and we can have peace within, regardless of the situation. The enemy deceives the peaceless who act with bitterness. Then their mouths become open graves, and their tongues like the bite of a poisonous snake (Rom. 3:10-18 a. o.). Such are the marks of a person who has come under the influence of the enemy. Those who refuse reconciliation sometimes act upon false revelation, and most of the time they cannot be spoken to as the accuser speaks through them. They are under false inspiration, deceived and cannot help themselves and reject the help of the Lord, thinking in their self-righteousness to be right. Forgiveness and reconciliation are bedded in divine love. Arrogant demands are always contrary to reconciliation. There remains one question: What is the actual intention in speaking and acting in such a way? If the matter is against God’s Word, one thing is sure: Satan has begun to destroy.

The Corinthian Church, which had to deal with the special case (chapter 5), was given a thus saith the Lord. “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband; but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband; and let not the husband put away his wife“ (7:10-11). Here, we have a commandment for both, not just a polite suggestion, but rather the Thus saith the Lord. If she breaks this commandment and separates herself, then she must remain single or return to her husband. Should he break the commandment he will be held responsible. A man who divorces his wife without a biblical cause, so that he can marry another one, is guilty before God.

Brother Branham emphasises that, in case of separation or divorce there is a difference in the requirements for the woman and for the man. Quote: “Now, you notice in I Corinthians 7:10, notice, Paul commands the wife that is — that divorces her husband to remain single or be reconciled, not to remarry. She must remain single or to be reconciled back to her husband. She cannot remarry; she must remain single. But notice, he never said about the man. See, you can’t make the Word lie. From the beginning, the sex law by polygamy.“ (pg. 37).

When Brother Branham speaks about polygamy, he does not mean to say that a man should have a whole harem of wives, certainly not. He only wishes to express that if the marriage breaks, especially when the woman is the guilty party, the man can remarry. The word divorcé is not found in the Bible, because God never intended, under no circumstances whatsoever, that a woman would give a writing of divorcement to a man. It is only under the permissive will of God that the man can do it, and this would be because of the hardness of his heart — but under no circumstances can the woman do it.

Quote: “But to get this marriage and divorce straightened out so that you would know which was right and which was wrong … A man can put away his wife and marry another, but not the woman put away her husband and marry another. See all the shadows and types there perfectly balanced out“ (pg. 39).

We must submit to the will of God and not only speak about it. There is a permissive will but also the acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:1). If a woman has separated herself from her husband and rejected him as a husband, and tries to convince herself that this is not a divorce, but just a separation, she is deceived and has no clear judgement any more. The certificate of divorce is just a written confirmation of the already existing separation. If a woman, who has no right to separate or withdraw herself, rejects her husband and thus dissolves the marriage, and leaves her matrimonial home, then she is guilty before God in a most terrible way. Thereby, she demonstrates that she is exercising power over her husband. She may say, “Now I have really shown him.“ God will show her something else, if she does not repent.

The same case applies, when either partner demands that the other one quit their matrimonial home, and thereby humiliates him or her in front of the children. A couple must also agree on the way of bringing up their children, and decide to say the same thing. Otherwise there will be parties within the family If there is a difference of opinion between the couple, the children should not be drawn into it. In a divorce the children suffer the most. All should know in advance, and be very clear about it, that no problem is solved through a divorce, but on the contrary, with the divorce the real problems start for the whole family.

The chosen ones will not permit themselves to be blinded by the enemy in accepting any such wrong action as being right; leave alone supporting it. They are determined at any cost to reach the completion in perfection, and are ready to do the acceptable will of God. For the called ones, the permissive will of God might be sufficient, but if someone acts altogether contrary to the Word of God, they should know that they are neither called nor chosen, but they are utterly deceived.

Brother Branham stated that this complicated matter must be revealed. This revelation came forth through the opening of the seals. Quote: “But now that the Seals are opened, the Spirit of Truth directs us to the Word. That explains why all the mistakes has been down through the ages, because the Seals were not open. This was not revealed. It’s true.“ (pg. 38).

Whoever takes the attitude of having already known all things pertaining to this complicated subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage, should acknowledge as having not yet understood it. The same case applies to the believers in the end-time message, where there is much religious leaven still being held as it was handed down through the traditional deceptive church teachings.