3 min read499 words

A Woman Remarried and Had a Child for Her New Husband After Waiting 10 Years for Her First Husband, Father of Her First Child That Travelled Overseas?

Login to save this to your study library.

Answered by True Bible Teachings AI on 6/30/2026

1) Direct answer
She must leave the second union. Before God she is still bound to her first husband while he lives. She should seek reconciliation with her first husband; if reconciliation is not possible, she must remain unmarried. The second “marriage” should be treated as no marriage before God and ended. Care righteously for the child, but do not continue an adulterous relationship.

2) Scriptural explanation
- “The woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth… if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband be dead, she is free” (Romans 7:2–3; also 1 Corinthians 7:39).
- “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6).
- “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery… if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery” (Mark 10:11–12; Luke 16:18).
- If reunion cannot happen, “let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:10–11).
- Provision for the child must continue: “If any provide not for his own… he hath denied the faith” (1 Timothy 5:8).

3) Simple clarifying logic
- Now notice: a valid marriage ends only by death. Feeling, time, distance, abandonment, or mistaken reports of death do not dissolve the covenant. The Bible ties freedom to remarry to one thing—death.
- Therefore, the first marriage was valid from the beginning and remains binding while he lives. The second union began while a prior covenant still stood, so it is not a marriage before God; it should be ended (annulled in biblical terms).
- Right steps:
- Cease marital relations with the second man and separate lawfully.
- Seek reconciliation with the first husband if he will receive her.
- If he will not, remain unmarried and walk clean.
- Provide and care for the child; the child is innocent and must be lovingly supported by both parents.
- Some will say, “But she thought he was dead.” You see, Scripture does not base covenant on what we thought, but on whether the spouse lives. Only death releases.

4) Required conclusions under the marriage rules
- Before/after conversion: Whether before or after conversion, the first covenant stands while he lives.
- Was the first marriage valid? Yes.
- Does it remain binding? Yes, until death.
- Is separation permitted? Yes—she must separate from the second man immediately; if reconciliation with the first is not possible, she must live unmarried.
- Does annulment apply? Yes—to the second union, because a prior living spouse made a true marriage impossible from the start.
- Is remarriage permitted? No, not while the first husband lives (Romans 7:2–3; 1 Corinthians 7:39).

Final biblical conclusion
End the second union, seek reconciliation with the first husband; if reconciliation is not possible, remain unmarried. Provide for the child faithfully. This is the clean, scriptural way back into order.

What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?

Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.

SermonRelevance 53

Questions and Answers, Part 2

Sunday evening, the 23rd of August of 1964 at the Branham Tabernacle in Jeffersonville, Indiana, U.S.A.

64-0823E §99

Looky. You say, "Brother Branham, is that...? You said you'd only answer that by the Bible." Did you want the Bible on it? Raise your hands if you want it. Now, we got about six or eight minutes. All right. "Joseph, her husband, being a just man (her espoused husband, already called her husband) ... Joseph, her husband, being a just man, was 'mindedly' to put her away privately on this wise; but before they came together, she was found with a child of the Holy Ghost. (See?) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him...

Read source context

SermonRelevance 53

Life Story

Sunday afternoon, the 26th of June 1955 in Zurich, Switzerland

55-0626A §22

And then I tried to find my wife. And when I got to the hospital, it was covered over with water. The dike had broke, and all the waters gushed in. Where was my wife and baby? I begin to find people, [Gap in the audio.] see if there was anyone drowned, but they got away on a train. And here I was sitting on an island, by myself. God gave me a chance, whether to call people trash or not. I said, "God, I know I've misbehaved myself. Don't let my wife be killed." Weeks later, when the waters went down, I found her, al...

Read source context

SermonRelevance 53

Life Story

Sunday afternoon, the 15th of April 1951 at the Shriner Temple in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.

51-0415A §58

And I remember I wrote it all out, and I asked her if she'd marry me. And I didn't have nerve enough to give it to her, so I just put it in the mail. So I put it on Monday morning, went on to work. I had a date with her for Wednesday night to go to church. And so I... As Wednesday night begin to come along, I begin to think about it, "What if her mother got a hold of that letter, and that ... and she didn't get it?" And then her dad and I were very good friends. Her mother too, but her dad was just a fine old Dutch...

Read source context

SermonRelevance 52

The Faith Of Abraham

Friday afternoon, the 24th of April 1959 at the Santa Clara County Fairgds in San Jose, California, U.S.A.

59-0424A §40

Now, God did something. Now, I'm going to have to get between the lines with you again, so you just think of it. You know what God did? What He did for Abraham and Sarah, He will do for Abraham's seed from then on. He showed right then what He's going to do for us. Notice what He did. Now every man and woman will have to say that God had to perform a miracle, because he had lived with Sarah since she was a girl. It was his half sister. And he had lived with her, probably since she was a young beautiful woman of abo...

Read source context

SermonRelevance 51

He cares. Do you care?

Sunday, the 21st of July 1963

63-0721 §45

Then what if I come to her with the same irreverence, and say, "Say, old girl, old friend of mine, oh mother of my children, and old sweetheart, you know we been old chums for a long time. Say, what if I put my arms around another woman? And what do you say about it, old kid, would you forgive me?" Imagine how she'd look. She'd think, "What's happened to my husband?" See? Now, the first thing, she's wouldn't know whether I was kidding or whether I wasn't. And you don't go that way to make a confession to your fello...

Read source context