If a Wife Was a Divorcee and Lied to a Brother About It and They Wedded, Is That Marriage Binding on the Brother?
Direct Answer
No—if her first husband was still living when they wed, that union is not a marriage before God and is not binding on the brother. If her former husband had already died, then she was free to marry and the marriage is binding despite her lie.
Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible says a wife is “bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth,” and is loosed only by death (Romans 7:2–3; 1 Corinthians 7:39).
- Jesus said, “Whosoever shall marry her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery” (Luke 16:18; see also Mark 10:11–12). So a civil divorce does not dissolve the first covenant while the spouse lives.
- The “exception” of Matthew 19:9 concerns fornication discovered before the marriage covenant (as with Joseph and Mary, Matthew 1:18–20), not a license to dissolve a true marriage and remarry.
- Fraud or lying does not create or dissolve a marriage. The only decisive question is whether a prior, living covenant still bound her (Romans 7:2–3).
Simple Clarifying Logic
- If her former husband was alive, she was still bound to him; therefore the later wedding did not form a lawful marriage. That means:
- The union should be treated as invalid from the start (annulment).
- The brother is not bound and must cease the conjugal relationship.
- After separation and repentance, he is free to marry “only in the Lord,” because no true marriage ever existed.
- If her former husband had died before this wedding, she was free to marry; the present marriage is valid and lifelong. The lie was sin and must be confessed, but it does not dissolve a valid covenant.
Apply the steps
- Was it valid from inception? Only if the former husband was already dead.
- Does it remain binding? Yes, if valid; no, if invalid.
- Separation permitted? Required if invalid; not permitted if valid (though temporary separation without remarriage can occur for grave necessity, 1 Corinthians 7:10–11).
- Annulment? Yes, if a prior living spouse still bound her; no, if she was a widow.
- Remarriage? The brother may marry in the Lord if annulment applies; if the marriage is valid, neither party may remarry while both live (Romans 7:2–3).
One clear conclusion
- If her first husband is alive, the “marriage” is not binding and should be treated as no marriage at all.
- If her first husband is dead, the marriage is binding for life.
If you can confirm whether her former husband is living, I can state the final binding status immediately.
Ask a Follow-up Question
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.
A Greater than Solomon is here
62-0628 §117
Your wife's in trouble. I don't know her. I've never seen her in my life. She's rather heavy-set, and that's right. And she's suffering weakness, and everything, but her main thing is menopause. Change of life has made her nervous. That's right. Just believe, and it will be all right, sister, all your troubles. God in heaven knows I've never seen that woman in my life. But here was this woman here, standing here. I knowed it must be his wife because I seen him in the house with her. Now he knows that. Just have fai...
Elisha the Prophet
56-1002E §46
And so, standing out there, he said, "Brother Branham, I'm a builder and I build for the government. But, you know, there has been a prophet tell us that I should not go up into, around Dawson Creek or a little above there (I forget the name of the place), to build a post office. For he tells us that the Russians are ready to make a march through Canada to the United States and will clean the whole British Columbia out as they come down." Well, I never want to doubt a man's word. Now, you mustn't never do that. And...
His unfailing words of promise
64-0120 §22
Paul's wife had just give birth to a baby. A fine people, Armenian, and they called down there and asked... The wife was sick and wanted to bring her down. I said, "All right, come on down." So, they brought her down there. And that night... She, and my wife and I, and it might've been Brother Sharrit. I'm not sure. Is Brother Sharrit here? If he was... Was that right, Brother Sharrit, was you there that night? That's right. There is the witness. I was looking to see Brother John, and see if he was here. Now she la...
The flashing red light of the sign of His coming
63-0623E §31
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The Marriage of the Lamb
62-0121E §36
And the other day, I met him. And he said... (Oswald J. Smith, many of you know Brother Smith. He's a great missionary, and he comes to Brother Cobble because he likes him so well.) He said, "Brother Cobble, you know," he said, "I [something about his wife]..." He said, "When I first got married," said, "I felt like, well, if I make a mistake, I'll... Oh, I can get another one," 'cause he was young. But said, "After the children comes along," said, "then it's kind of hard to do without her. Then when you get about...