Could the key to lasting love be hidden in scripture rather than splashed across dating apps? Our podcast peels back the layers of modern dating to reveal the enduring wisdom of biblical courtship. With insights gleaned from Brother William Marrion Branham's teachings, we confront the challenges of casual dating, which often leads to impermanent connections and contributes to today's soaring divorce rates. This episode is a heartfelt invitation to discover God's blueprint for relationships, as we discuss the significance of pursuing a partner with divine guidance at the helm. Love, we argue, is a lifelong covenant, not a temporary thrill—and it's time we returned to that sacred understanding.
Navigating the intricate world of relationships in the digital era can be like walking through a minefield blindfolded. But fear not, for we are here to guide you through the maze with principles grounded in biblical truth. We delve into the complexities facing teens and message believers in an online-driven society, where expressing romantic interest has shifted to 'likes' and 'DMs'. Here, we stress the importance of character and godly principles when choosing a companion, cautioning against the easy deceit of emotions and the ubiquitous snares of social media. As we lay out the importance of clear boundaries and proper conduct, inspired by Brother Branham's example, join us for a thought-provoking journey back to the heart of what makes relationships truly meaningful.
Could the key to lasting love be hidden in scripture rather than splashed across dating apps? Our podcast peels back the layers of modern dating to reveal the enduring wisdom of biblical courtship. With insights gleaned from Brother William Marrion Branham's teachings, we confront the challenges of casual dating, which often leads to impermanent connections and contributes to today's soaring divorce rates. This episode is a heartfelt invitation to discover God's blueprint for relationships, as we discuss the significance of pursuing a partner with divine guidance at the helm. Love, we argue, is a lifelong covenant, not a temporary thrill—and it's time we returned to that sacred understanding.
Navigating the intricate world of relationships in the digital era can be like walking through a minefield blindfolded. But fear not, for we are here to guide you through the maze with principles grounded in biblical truth. We delve into the complexities facing teens and message believers in an online-driven society, where expressing romantic interest has shifted to 'likes' and 'DMs'. Here, we stress the importance of character and godly principles when choosing a companion, cautioning against the easy deceit of emotions and the ubiquitous snares of social media. As we lay out the importance of clear boundaries and proper conduct, inspired by Brother Branham's example, join us for a thought-provoking journey back to the heart of what makes relationships truly meaningful.
In the past century, western culture has undertaken a fascinating experiment, a cultural journey centered around matters of the heart. We witnessed the gradual formation of a mythology that encourages us to follow our hearts, insisting that true happiness lies in falling in love. However, this path often leads to a cycle we call casual dating. In this system, one is free to start at any time, progressing from a date to kissing, heading and eventually to sex. When the initial spark fades, it's on to the next person, repeating the process. What is this model sustainable? Unsurprisingly, it's not rooted in biblical teachings. This cultural experiment has given rise to a divorce rate of 41% in the US. Among message believers, we do not follow the world system, but we're also developing a system that, if we're not careful, will take people in an unbiblical direction. A number of young people have spoken to me recently and they've said that they've never really heard the process of courtship laid out biblically. Join us today as we examine whether these approaches align with biblical principles. If not, it's time to explore the true, time-tested biblical process of finding a life partner. Stay tuned as we unravel the truth of biblical courtship.
Speaker 1:
Greetings Bible believers and followers of the End Time Message, welcome to another episode of the Jason DeMars podcast, the place where we explore the incredible mysteries hidden within the pages of the Bible. I'm your host, jason DeMars. It's time to get started on another journey into the heart of God's Word. If it's your desire to grow in Revelation and see the message in the light of the Bible, you're in the right place. Today, brothers and sisters, we delve into the Scripture guided by the extraordinary revelations that God chose to unveil through Brother William, mary and Branham, a messenger with a unique calling to fulfill Malachi 4 and Revelation 10-7 and unlock the secrets of the End Time Message. Our purpose isn't to have another basic Bible study. We're going to dig deep and peel back the layers of prophecy, decoding the signs and perhaps discovering how the Bible resonates within the very fabric of our present day and time.
Speaker 1:
In this podcast, my purpose is to help you grow in your faith through solid Bible teaching through the lens of the message of Malachi 4. So grab your Bible, a cup of coffee and let's get started. And remember that your feedback, testimonies, questions and prayer requests are always welcome. Please send them on social media or at JasonDemarscom. Before we go into today's episode, I want to share something with you. Head over to JasonDemarscom, where I'm giving away free books. These books have been ordered by believers around the world and many testimonies have been given about the great blessing they have been. I also want you to know that, by God's grace and provision, we are also covering the shipping costs. Free books and free shipping. My purpose is not to sell books, but to proclaim the message of the hour free of charge. I've written these books to build your faith, increase your spiritual revelation and be a witness for God's message in the end time. Here's a list of a few of them A summary of the Revelation of the Seven Seals, the End Time Message Handbook, the Mystery of the Malachi, 4 Elijah, holiness to the Lord and Foundations. Head over to JasonDemarscom right now and claim your free books. With that said, let's get into today's podcast.
Speaker 1:
Finding the love of our lives is the second most important decision we'll make in our lives. Love is a wonderful thing, but we must remember there's a difference between filial love and eros love. There's a difference between lust, or falling in love with someone in an emotional situation, and genuine love, which means commitment, lifelong commitment. When we speak of falling in love, it says, though we've caught some kind of virus. This is infatuation, which can come and go, but this infatuation can often lead a person to giving their heart away to another person. When you give your heart to them, you leave a little bit of yourself behind, and when there's no commitment and they decide they don't want you anymore, you have to move on. This can lead to great heartbreak. This can happen in real life, but it even can happen on social media. I think we have to start from this place. We have to realize that God must be the center of our love story.
Speaker 1:
God's purpose is not for us to jump from person to person trying to find the right one, giving our heart away to a temporary girlfriend or boyfriend in a temporary commitment, and it results in heartache and pain. God's purpose for us is very different. He wants to lead us to the love of our lives. He wants to be the center of our relationships. We surrender ourselves to God and we receive the Holy Ghost, and our desire is to be led by Him. But we have to let Him into every spot. His brother, random, speaks about the doors, the kitchen, but you don't let him in the living room or the bedroom. No, we open every door to him, even the door of our love life and we ask him to leave us. We don't jump from person to person to person, but we seek the face of God and say I'm not giving my heart away until you Show me and lead me to the person that is to be the love of my life.
Speaker 1:
The world says try a lot of different people and then decide. How will you know unless you try a lot of people? Certainly that might apply to worldly people who'd know nothing about the leadership of God and the love of God and the purpose that God has for our lives. God says I will lead you the person that you give your heart to, and I have a process for you to go through to get there. True love is expressed in a lifelong covenant made between a man and a woman, called marriage. How we get to marriage depends on our parents, our upbringing and the convictions we have. As a young person, you can break the rules or you can follow the rules, but the best thing to do is to understand God's purpose for you and to know that it's right and true in your own heart. And then, when you do that, it's not about following or breaking the rules, but it's about trusting From your heart the God that loves you and has a purpose for you. My purpose is to go through the development of the world's current system. I think this help give, helps give us an understanding of Of where we've come from and what we've left, then examine the system that is developing in the message movement. Then I want to give you an outline of how to choose a spouse, the attitude to take during this process and then the process of courtship and engagement. The first thing I want to talk about is the current situation for dating in the world and then, once we do that, we'll talk about dating or courtship in the movement of the message.
Speaker 1:
In an article on boundless, org skip Barzomato writes about a brief history of courtship and dating in America and the link will be in the show notes. As cultural historians Alan Carlos Carlson and Beth Bailey put it in the Mars Hill audio report Wandering toward the altar the decline of America courtship prior to the early 20th century, courtship involved one man and one woman spending intentional time together to get to know each other with the express purpose of Evaluating the other as a potential husband or wife. The man and the woman usually were members of the same community and the courting usually was done in the woman's home, in the presence and under the watchful eye of her family, most often mom and brothers. However, between the late 1800s and the first few decades of the 1900s, the new system of dating Added new stages to courtship. One of the most obvious changes was that it multiplied the number of partners from serious to casual An individual was likely to have before marriage. So one important point to understand right up front, and about which many inside and outside the church are confused, is that we have not moved From a courtship system to a dating system, but instead we have added a dating system into our courtship system. Since most young adults will marry, the process employed in finding a husband and wife is still considered courtship. However, an extra layer, what we call dating, has been added to the process of courting. If you're familiar with computer programming terminology, you can liken dating to a subroutine that has been added to the system of courtship.
Speaker 1:
Now number one is do I agree that this thought of casual dating is an added part of courtship or if it's a new system? So number one is what is courtship? Courtship is the preparation for and proposal of marriage. Is what makes the qualifies as the act of courtship. Another way to look at it is Praying for the will of God for marriage Right. So I'm not sure that I agree that this is an added layer. You can look at it as that way, as an added layer put over the top of Courtship. But if you want to look at it that way, that's fine, it's not so serious. But In many ways I see it as a departure from the biblical model Into completely different and new model that has nothing to do with the word of God. All right, so that is how they define courtship in their article preparation for and proposal of marriage. All right, they go on further.
Speaker 1:
The West, and probably most important change, and probably most important change we find in courtship practices in the West occurred in the early 20th century, when courtship moved from public acts conducted in private spaces, for instance the family porch or parlor parlor, to private or individual acts conducted in public spaces Located primarily in the entertainment world, as Beth Bailey argues in her book from front porch to backseat courtship in 20th century America. Bailey observes that by the 1930s and 40s the advent of the date which we will look at more fully in the next installment Courtship increasingly took place in public spaces such as movie theaters and dance halls, removed by distance and by anonymity, from the shelter and controlling contexts of home, the home and local community. Keeping company in the family parlor was replaced by dining and dancing, movies, parking, all right, so end of quote. So then, when we you look at this development of casual dating that's what I'm terming casual dating that takes place outside of this concept of church and family. It goes into the area of entertainment and from there the norms of sexual behavior change, slowly change to casual sex along with casual dating. Then the concept of finding a wife for a man becomes less important. If he can get what he's looking for without going to marriage, then marriage will become less attractive to him. Even the word dating and date itself come from the 19th century lower-class slang word For booking an appointment with the prostitute. By the 20th century that came to describe men and women going out to dances, parties, movies, etc.
Speaker 1:
Then, in the 1940s, a massive shift took place Due to World War two. We've seen this before when it comes to Modesty in the role of women in the home. The World War one and World War two had a great impact on it. It also had a great impact on dating. Teenagers in the postwar years started to date in more of a non In a different way, I should say. Before the war, a non sexual promiscuous Popularity was the norm. How many girls could you take out and how many boys have taken you out but not related to sex?
Speaker 1:
After the war, this began to slowly change and a new phenomenon took place. It was called going steady. This really caught caught. It caught on in the 1950s so that now you had a new stage in relationships. There had to be the class ring and the Letterman's jacket or sweater. You're now. You're going out or going steady.
Speaker 1:
Most of these relationships did not end in marriage. They lasted days or weeks or months and their purpose was just Fun. You wanted to have somebody you called your own, so you just had fun with them. This goings. You may, may or may not marry them later, but you started dating. This going steady process now included a breakup, which is something completely new. This was probably the biggest factor in increasing Divorce rates, because it trained a person to move on from someone you have been committed to.
Speaker 1:
Now young people are being taught how to deal with breaking up a relationship, dating and going steady. Prepare your heart for disappointment or Breaking up in a relationship when there isn't that commitment, lifelong commitment factor? Once again, skip Bersamato and countless org says. I think the answer is yes, no and I don't know. It appears that the script that has developed in the closing decades of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st is anything goes. And although for many years this was sold under the heading of freedom, I believe young adults over the past decade have discovered that in fact it has caused cultural and relational Vertical not knowing for certain which way is up and or down and not knowing in which direction to move by date, one person at a time or several people, people.
Speaker 1:
How do I know when I'm going out with a person, meeting, dating them exclusively? How do I talk to the other person about our relationship? In modern language, when do we have the, the defining, defining the relationship talk? And what about sex? What qualifies as sex anymore? Only intercourse? How about oral sex? Does that count? For many it's utter confusion. Now, as message believers, we don't follow the world system. We certainly don't, and the system for finding your mate is different. However, there's no doubt that Our system has been impacted by cultural developments.
Speaker 1:
There certainly isn't an overt casual dating that manifests itself in going from girl to girl, taking them out to dinner, taking them out for entertainment purposes, that that might happen, but that isn't the norm. In other words, there isn't a casual, widespread jumping from person to person going out for some form of entertainment without any commitment. That's not really taking place. I'm sure it is in some places, but that's not the norm. However, there's a truth that social media has caused a great shift in how this is done. It's been Facebook I think it's a great thing to do. I think it's a great thing to do and I think it's a great thing to do, but it's a great thing to do and it's still so in some demographics but shifted from Instagram DMs to now snapchat.
Speaker 1:
Then, if you find out you're interested in them through snaps, then the young asked it for her phone number. And then there's an aspect where social media and Youth camps have impacted this, this, this approach in this process, but more than anything, social media has impacted it. So there's this phase you meet them at camp or special meetings, you look them up on social media, you start snap, snap chatting with them or Instagram DMing with them, and you're just getting to know each other casually without really having any commitment. It would be just on a general friend level. Then the statement is often made how would I know if I was interested in this person without this face? Plus, there's a fear that if I make every boy Talk to my dad before we start snap chatting, it will be uncomfortable because I don't want any commitment. Then it seems it can go to the next level of having their phone number texting face timing.
Speaker 1:
This is still for Message believers, often in the phase of figuring out if I want to be exclusive with this person and Of course the purpose of the motivation should be different, for most is different Do I want to marry this person? Nevertheless? This is a different system. After this figuring out if you want to be with them, it either is Leave them alone, ghost them, stop topic to them, ignoring them, or telling them your did Then. But if you are, then comes the talking phase. That's a non serious deciding if you want to take the next step of being in serious court courtship. That phase is usually done with asking permission In younger ages.
Speaker 1:
In the talking stage you decide in if you want to enter the courtship phase, which is prayerfully making a decision about getting engaged. So it seems we've developed this process in the message and I'm open to feedback on this. I asked for feedback from young people from my church and I got quite a bit and I shaped what I'm saying here about the message process Based upon that. So it seems you have, in this process, singling out someone out, starting to message them on social media. Let's start. Step one to is asking for their phone number. Three is getting permission from the father to talk. Four is deciding to break up or moving towards courtship. Five as engagement. Six is marriage. So, before we make any judgments or try to offer Solution about this, I want to be clear that I understand why these things are developing and I understand that this is not completely how the world handles things, but I also want to point out it as we go forward into some, some ways. This is actually precisely how the world is handling things From the, and I'm going to point this out.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to use a source from the website internet matters org, a website founded in 2014 to study internet usage by teens, and it also helps parents increase safety online for their children. So, according to teens, the best and easiest way to meet and engage with love interests is through their social media accounts. We look into the positive teens say they have when in healthy romantic and dating relationships. All right, that's what they say they do, all right. So for teens, for young people, they say the best way is to meet them online or engage them online. This is what message believers are doing also. This is what the world is doing and I'm sad to say, but this is what message believers young message believers are starting to do, being allowed to do it by their parents. Let's put it that way, all right. This website, internet matters org, goes on to say online relationships can remove barriers that children may have when meeting for the first time and allow those who are shy or socially anxious to develop their social skills in a space where they feel safe to do so.
Speaker 1:
Although using social media, social apps and online platforms can help children to maintain relationships, concerns have been raised about teen safety when exploring more romantic relationships online. Of course, this is different. This is probably someone you've learned about From a meeting or you're learned about among message believers and you sort of have sort of have that pre vetting process to know that they're message believers. But still, that does. That isn't harmless, all right. The website goes on to say so. What can be seen as harmless chat can turn into something harmful. If a child is lacking in critical thinking or is considered vulnerable, it may be harder for them to spot when a chat with a new friend can put them at risk of grooming or being lured into sending Nudes, for example. So in the research of this website, it says one in five children are happy to have to have an online only romance. One third of 14 to 17 year olds have sent sexual or nude photos to someone they like. One third of young people have started a relationship with someone they met online. Half of 14 to 17 year olds had at some point chatted online about the kinds of sexual things they would like to do with someone they're interested in. So this opens Young people up to black male and even getting groomed and being trafficked for the sex trade. I'm not saying that's happened, happening amongst message believers, but it's a warning and we have to be careful, especially from overseas Relationships.
Speaker 1:
According to pure research, most teens do not start their relationship online, but social media is the main venue for flirting. So they learn about them and then they reach out to them on social media. Looking at this is research, from pure research again, 55% of all teens ages 13 to 17 have flirted or talked to someone in person to let them know they're interested. 50% of teens have let someone know they were interested in them romantically by friending them on Facebook or another social media site. 47% have expressed their attraction by liking, commenting or otherwise interacting with that person on social media. 46% have assured something funny or interesting with their romantic interest online. 31% sent them flirtatious messages. 11% have made them a music playlist. 10% have sent flirty or sexy pictures or videos of themselves. 7% have made a video for them. All right.
Speaker 1:
So looking at the research, you can see that the process that message believers are engaging in is similar or exactly the same as what the world is doing, and that's a warning to me Not necessarily de facto warning, but it is a warning because the Bible is clear that we do it differently. So in the minds of many young people there's a dividing line between what happens on your phone and what happens in real life, but we have to remember the same God that governs what happens in real life governs what happens on your phone. The same word that applies to real life applies to virtual life online. So I don't want I won't be able to get to the biblical solution to this this time. We're going to do this. We'll do that this next week. This will be at least three, maybe four episodes about biblical courtship, but when we look at this process, that message believers have begun, we want to really examine it and, as parents understand, it's how you drive this forward, especially fathers, what you're going to allow and how involved you are with, with your children, what kind of connection that you have, especially with your daughters.
Speaker 1:
Before we finish, I want to go into the scriptures. Jeremiah 17, 9,. The heart is deceitful, above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? In matters of the heart, matters of love, emotional attachment, this is what we have to understand is God has put a program in place to override the problems of the heart being deceitful. Above all things, we don't follow our hearts, even in matters of love. You know the statement could be made you can't control who you love, you, just the heart loves who it loves. That's not right. That's not true, that's not scriptural. We don't make our decisions based on what the heart loves. We make our decisions based on the Bible and Brother Branham teaches us you make your decision on who you marry based on character, not on the heart.
Speaker 1:
1 Thessalonians 522 says abstain from all appearance of evil. And I bring this because within the courtship process, the same thing would apply to me, applies to young people. I wouldn't go into a room with a woman who's not my wife or my relative without someone else being there to witness. I wouldn't go into a sister's home without my wife coming, or my daughters, older daughters coming, or my or another trusted minister coming as a witness. Even then, I would rather have a female related to me to go there. Brother Branham speaks of this, and so the same thing applies back to courtship and taking sides with Jesus in 1962.
Speaker 1:
Brother Branham says many times I'd go to houses and there are women standing out there and I'd go to the house, knock on the door and a sister would come to the door and say come in, brother Branham, her husband is not there. That's the case of sickness and somebody's with me. I don't go. And then they call me to a hospital or to a room and say Brother Branham, come over here, I'm sister so and so from so and so and I'm here at the hotel. I brought my mother along. She's sick. I take my wife. If I don't, I take some other brother.
Speaker 1:
I don't think it would be alright for me to go in there. But what if somebody seen me go in there? See, what if somebody seen me do it? See, then the first thing you know they would say he went in there with that woman was he's chasing after women. That, see, that would be a thing I shouldn't do. See, you should never do anything like that because you put a stumbling in somebody else's way. See, I don't believe that I would do anything wrong in there. I would and trust God to go in there, no matter what the thing is. I would trust God. But yet, see, and I love the Lord well enough till I wouldn't do it. See, it's a love you have. You'll not do it because it's a duty to you. You do it because you love the Lord. You don't have to, but you do it anyhow. That's critical to understand.
Speaker 1:
Brother Branham, as a prophet, wouldn't go into a place when a woman was that was not his wife, and the same applies in courtship. You wouldn't go with someone else unless there was someone into a private place. Less, someone was with you and you could say, while we drive together in the car. Even that Can, mischief can happen in a car. Many times that's what young people did, that's the, that's the big thing they talked about in the movies. They would go park the car there and go kiss and there's all kinds of things stated, it's even an American phrase and going into the backseat with her. See. So that's not the issue, it's being alone together. Whether it's a car, whether it's a room, whatever it is, there needs to be a witness there with you, just as brother Branham outlined for himself.
Speaker 1:
We shouldn't put ourselves in a compromising position With being alone with the person of the opposite sex. That you're not married or related to it leads to the appearance of evil, but it also leads to temptations, especially when it comes to love relationships. It can lead to a friendship. You know this is even for a minister, even for married people, all kinds of. There has to be a boundary that we set. Whether you're married or not married, whether it's a love interest or not, if you're married, the same boundaries apply and respect and honor to my wife. I wouldn't go into a room or counsel someone in private. So this can learn to emotionally lead to emotional attachment, which still is wrong, and it even can lead to sexual temptation. This thought and the thought that the standards that govern real life also govern virtual life will be how we end this time will continue on courtship next week. So that's the wrap up of the this episode of the Jason DeMars podcast.
Speaker 1:
I hope you enjoyed this journey with me today, hope that it brought new thoughts and I hope it brings a closer walk with the Lord, jesus Christ. Just want to give a big thank you to our incredible patrons that have enjoyed, that have joined the community of supporters Signed up at Buzzsprout to keep this podcast going. If you haven't already, don't forget to grab your free, free books from Jason DeMarscom. I trust it'll be a great blessing To your walk with the Lord. Remember your thoughts, questions and feedback are always welcome. Reach out to me on social media or visit our website, jason DeMarscom. I'd love to hear from you. If you appreciate listening to the Jason DeMars podcast, please take a moment to rate and review it on Apple podcasts. Your feedback not only boosts us in the charts, but also helps others discover the podcast. Head to Apple podcasts, share your thoughts and hit that five star rating To amplify the impact of this podcast. Thank you for joining me on the Jason DeMars podcast. Until next time, may the Lord Originally bless you.