Spoken Word no. 136
It
wasn’t so from the Beginning
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
December
27, 2009
This morning we will read from paragraph 113 of the
spoken word is the original Seed for our text or from the Voice of God books it
is paragraph 230.
113/230
If the truth of even marriage and divorce was only brought out in its Light
that it's in here in the Bible, it'd break up every church in this city, any
other city: try to get back to it. They're both sides wrong. I can prove it by
the Word. They're both wrong. All right. Whether a man should do this or do
that, or a woman this or that, I'm not going to say it, because I got enough
confusion now amongst them. See? Jesus said, "Let them alone. The blind
leads the blind, why..." They'd just fuss about it; they wouldn't believe
it. If they was born to Eternal Life, they'll believe the Word. See? That's
right. If they don't, God will manifest Himself to them. If they don't believe
it, why, they won't believe it; that's all.
Now, let’s look at this thought here today on Marriage
and divorce for the next few minutes. I
know we took this in quite detail about a year ago, but the question came up
again from
Now, brother Branham is telling us there are two sides
to the issue. One says it is alright to divorce and remarry and the other says
not so under any conditions. That’s the two sides in the debate, but he tells
us that there is a middle of the road in that debate, and that middle of the
road would have an effects in most likely every church there is.
So what is that middle of the road.
I received an email this week from
In fact when he worked on the Church age book with Br.
Vayle there were several doctrinal issues that came up and that book was used
by Br. Branham to nail down the loose ends in his own ministry that he had not
nailed down prior to the book being written.
I do not wish to get into that as we spent some detail
study on that a year ago, but what I wish to get to this morning concerning
Marriage and Divorce is that if we would just read our Bibles and believe what
we read in them we would have our answers as plain as the print in our Bibles.
So the two schools of thought are that one believes
that divorce is permissible and the other that it is not permissible under any
circumstances.
Now, the Truth of the matter is that there is one word
that Jesus used that tells the whole story and makes plain the answer. But we
find that this subject is so important that 3 of the Gospel writers made
mention of it in their writings. So let’s go to the scriptures to see what that
one Word is that tells us the story concerning Marriage and divorce. And let’s
just take the Scriptures as they appear in their order.
First let’s read from Matthew 19: 1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had
finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of
Judaea beyond Jordan; 2 And great multitudes
followed him; and he healed them there. 3 The
Pharisees also came unto him, tempting
him, (that word is peirazo which
means to put to the test, or on trial to see where he stands on this
very difficult issue.) and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for every cause? (You see , for Jesus to answer this question put Jesus on the spot with
the people, because to tell it right, it will hurt the feelings of many, and
since there are two main thoughts concerning marriage and Divorce, they were
trying to split his following in half because they thought he would have to
take one side or the other. But there is one word that clarifies the whole
issue. Just one word.) 4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not
read, that he which made them at the beginning
made them male and female, (I want you to notice how Jesus brings them right back to the beginning,
and that is the one word that is so important in understanding this issue,
because the question is that Moses permitted divorce, and yet Jesus says, alright
if we are to answer this correctly let’s go back to the establishment of
Marriage, let’s go back to the beginning, and look at the purpose of marriage.)
5 And said, For this
cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and
they two shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more
two, but one flesh. What therefore God
hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7 They
say unto him, Why did Moses then command
to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your
hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And
I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth
adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Now, let’s read from the book of Mark 10:1 And
he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side
of
Now, here is where the
two sides develop, since Jesus says God permitted Moses to give them the writ
of divorcement because of the hardness of their hearts, but from the beginning it was not so. And
this is the key to understanding marriage and Divorce, what was it established
to be in the beginning? One man with One woman, but Eve broke that covenant and
that is why Moses because of the hardness of the peoples hearts, he allowed
divorce as Jesus said.
Marriage and divorce 65-0221M P:19 Now, it may be a little lengthy. I don't
want you to be in any hurry and I... Just take your time (all of us) and study
the Word of God truly and thoroughly as we know how to study It. Let's begin
with St. Matthew the 19th chapter, and beginning, I think, with the 8th verse
of the 19th chapter, I wish to start. I might start also with the first and
read down through the 8th verse of the 19th chapter. Now, remember, these
things that I say must come from the Word of God. It can't be my own opinion,
'cause my opinion's just like anybody else's, but it's got to be in continuity with the Word of God. Remember, God keeps everything in continuity. He never changes. (I would like to add,
that man changes but God doesn’t. So how did God establish it at the beginning,
that is our key to understanding the correctness of marriage and divorce.)
Brother Branham continues, “He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
You believe that? He's the same. Now, I shall read from the 19th chapter: And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these
sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coast of Judaea beyond
Jordan; And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them...The Pharisees
also came unto him, tempting him,... (I pause
there so you get the emphasis on who it was that was tempting Him.)... saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife
for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that he
which made them in the beginning
made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Therefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined
together, let not man put asunder. They said unto him, Why did Moses then
command to give a writing of divorcement, and... put her away? And He said unto
them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away
your wives: but from the beginning
it was not so.
Now, in this sermon on
marriage and divorce, brother Branham keeps coming back to this main theme that
we must go back to the beginning to understand this subject correctly.
In paragraph P:31 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M Brother Branham said, “Jesus,
in our text, invites us to go back to the beginning for the true Scriptural
answer.
Now, when He was confronted with this, there was two things in view. The priest
said to Him, "Can a man put away
his wife, marry another for any cause?" And Jesus said, "It wasn't so from the beginning." Then
they said, "Moses suffered us a writing of divorcement" (and to put
her away for anything they wanted to).He said that Moses did that because (I'm
letting that string awhile)--because of the hardness of your hearts, but from, or
at the beginning it wasn't so…”
And again in P:59 of Marriage
and divorce 65-0221M …he says, "From the beginning,"
Jesus said. See? We see it was so now and--from
the beginning and what He's talking about.
And again from P:63 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M brother Branham said, “Jesus told us to go back to the beginning to find it. That's what we're doing. Now, I've had to
hit the high points on a lot of this, and I hope you understand it. And you
people who will be listening to this tape, I hope you understand. Just go back.
It's only to show that Jesus said, "Go
back from the beginning and find out." All things go back to the beginning.”
And in P:64 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M … he said, “So
see, He knows the original creation from
the beginning. He said, "From
the beginning..." They were prophets who the Word came to.”
And again in P:65 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M … William Branham said, “Now,
after the original beginning is over... Jesus said, "It wasn't so from the beginning."
That's when time begin, when God made it first in His original creation. All that
understand, say, "Amen," again. [Congregation replies
"Amen"--Ed.]In the beginning
God created just one male and one female. But then the woman was made different
from the animals, all other animals, for deception. Now, watch. Now, it wasn't so from the beginning.”
And from P:68 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M brother Branham said, “Two covenants... Now, that closes the
beginning of what Jesus said: "It
wasn't so at the beginning." We got another covenant now. Notice, it's
another covenant. Now, there's a covenant for the product and the byproduct.
Notice, the fall brought trouble, death to every creature of the creation,
making a difference in all nature. Now, let us notice what Jesus said about:
"From the beginning it wasn't so."
Now, it is not so from… Now, it is after
the beginning. Now, there's a double covenant.”
And from P:76 of Marriage and divorce 65-0221M brother
Branham said, “Note, let's read this here. I want to get
this to you. Matthew 5, Jesus
spoke here of something that's really of a vital importance. We want to see
it. Matthew 5. I marked out some of
the things I was going to say just to the men, so had quite a little time
saying it just before our sisters. But I want to go out here now before... Now,
sister, I want to put you into the place where God's Word promised you, and you
see then, you stay in that place too. Matthew 5:32. I want you to notice here, to support
this same idea of one and many. Matthew
30... 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: (Now, 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 fornication, 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... marries her
that is divorced committed adultery.
From P:78 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M he said, “Now,
the Word of God runs true with nature of God, runs in continuity. See how there
is one school went east and the other one went west on it? You got to come back
to the truth to find out what it is. It's always been that way. That's the regular covenant with God from
the beginning. First, before the beginning, from the beginning, there's just one and one.”
And from P:103 of Marriage and
divorce 65-0221M he said, “And
in I Corinthians the 7th chapter, the 12th and 15th verse in the New Testament
prophet, Paul, who met the same thing in the church and spoke this: "This
is I, not the Lord." Is that right? Because of the divorce condition. It wasn't so from the beginning. But
Moses was permitted it, and God recognized it righteousness. And Paul also had
a right when he found his church in that condition. Now, you believe this to be
true and believe it to come from God. And by the vindication of His Cloud and
His Message that's brought me this far, should not God upon the mountain permit
me to do the same thing to suffer you to go on the way you are and do it no more. Go with your wives and
live in peace, for the hour is late. The coming of the Lord is at hand. We
haven't got time to break these things up. Don't
you dare try to do it again. I'm speaking only to my congregation. But if
you are married, and God bore me witness to that on the mountain that I could
say this (a supernatural revelation because of the opening of the Seven Seals
and this is a question in God's Word): let them go on in as they are and sin no
more.”
And again from P:104 of Marriage and divorce 65-0221M he said, “It
wasn't so from the beginning. That is right. It wasn't so, and it will not be at the end. But under modern conditions, as God's
servant (I won't call myself His prophet.), but I believe that if I wouldn't be
sent for that, I'm laying a ground for him when he does come. So under the
modern conditions, I command you to go to your home with your wife now. If you
are happy with her, live with her, raise your children in the admonition of
God; but God be merciful to you if you
ever do that again. You teach your
children to never do a thing like that. Bring them up in the admonition of
God. And now that you are as you are, let us go now to late evening hour that
we're living in and press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ where
all things will be possible.”
Now, this is pretty
plain here that whosoever leaves for another partner commits adultery, and that
is why there are two schools here. So let’s look at one more account of this
dialogue from the book of Luke.
Luke 5:31 It
hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing
of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, (notice
Jesus says they say this But I say this. So he is showing where he disagrees
with what they say. And what did Jesus go on to say? )That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.
Now, in the Book of Luke and the Book of Matthew Jesus
is quite specific here, and says there is only one reason that a man may put
away his wife and remarry, and that is the cause of fornication. That is the
only reason.
So then we must know what fornication is because most
people think adultery and fornication are the same thing, but they are not.
They are the same act, but fornication is what you do before you have a spouse
and adultery is the same act with another person who is not your spouse.
From his sermon, Why are we not a denomination? 58-0927 P:52 brother
Branham said, Here
the other day... I'll stop on my subject just a minute if it's possible. I was
reading in a piece of Scripture where that a illegitimate child will not enter
the congregation of the Lord for fourteen generations. How many knows that?
That's right, Deuteronomy 23, an illegitimate child. If a woman is caught in
the field, that's away from the protection of man, and a man overcomes that
woman, that man will have to marry her. And regardless if she becomes a
prostitute, he has to live with her till he dies. And if this woman marries him, pretending that she is a virgin, and she
isn't, then she can be killed for it. And if a man and a woman which are
married, and they bring forth a illegitimate child, that--the congregation of
the Lord he'll not enter to fourteen generations; and forty years is a
generation, be four hundred years before that seed ever gets out of Israel.
And from Questions and answers COD 59-0628E P:107
brother Branham said, “Now, we've got one more
and then that's all. Let's see.91. Brother Bill, what is the difference between
fornications and adultery, Matthew 19:9?Jesus said in Matthew 19:9,
"Whosoever putteth away his wife and marries another, except it be for the
cause of fornications, commits adultery." The difference between
fornications and adultery, the word could be applied either way. But to make
it clear what he was talking of there, that--a woman that's unmarried cannot
commit adultery, because she has no husband to commit adultery against. It's
uncleanliness for her. She has to confess that to her husband before they are
married if she's did that. If not and her husband finds it out later, he has a
right to put her away, because she took a false vow. For the Bible said,
"Be it well..." or ritual says. "Be it well known to you (I have
it in mine) if any couples are joined otherwise than God's Word does allow,
their marriage is not lawful. I will require and will charge you both as you'll
surely answer in the day of judgment when the secrets of all hearts shall be
disclosed, if either of you know any impediment why you should not be lawful
joined together, do you now confess it." There you are. See? So
fornications is what a girl, when she lives unclean, that's fornication, 'cause
she has no husband. But when she's married, and then when she lives like that,
she commits adultery against her husband.”
And from his sermon, Invisible union of the bride 65-1125 P:39 brother
Branham said, “Now,
she has a sacred... One, I want to name three things here that she must not get
away from. Now, I'm speaking, keep the church in mind while I'm speaking this
to the natural woman, as Paul is here, in the 7th chapter of Romans. She has a
sacred trust of virtue committed to her by her Lord: a certain virtue. Nothing
else holds it but a woman. That's right. That's committed to her by God. She
must not defile that virtue. If she even does something wrong, she must
confess that to her husband before he takes her; and make it right. Just
the same as the church that was married to the law has to come also before
Christ, before the second marriage; she has to confess that. If she doesn't
and she lives with her husband for ten years and then confesses it, he has a
right to put her away and marry another woman. That's the Scripture.
Fornication is unclean living. "Joseph, fear not to take unto thee Mary
thy wife, for that which is conceived in her if of the Holy Ghost." He was
minded to put her away privately (See?), after he'd already engaged to her.
When you are engaged to her, as far as God's concerned, you're married to her.”
And from, Questions and answers COD 59-0628E P:108 brother Branham said, “A
woman come not long ago, and she said, "Oh, I've confessed all that." She was nervous, and had a
breakdown, and said, "I confessed
all that to God." I said, "You have to confess it to your
husband. It wasn't God that you committed adultery against; it was your husband." That's right. And if a man marries a woman and she has lived
unclean before she marries him, and then she comes to him, if they've been
married ever so long, and then she comes to him and says, "Honey, I
want to tell you something. I did run out with another man; I never told
you," Jesus said he has a right to put her away and marry another, because
they're not married in the beginning, 'cause she falsely told a
lie against him.
See, if she told a lie to him to get him to marry her,
then they are not married in the beginning because the oath was based on fraud,
and no contract that is based on fraud would be upheld in any court of law.
Let us pray…