Revelation on Concubinage (see OB 145). Anciently, a concubine was a secondary wife acquired by purchase or as a war captive, and was allowed in the polygamous societies that existed in Biblical times. The Code of Hammurabi illustrates the non-Israelite background of this practice. It was so widespread, however, that the rights of concubines were protected by the preparatory Law of Moses, and where marriages had no heir, wives presented a slave concubine to their husbands in order to raise an heir (Gen.16:2-3). Concubines were often marriage gifts (Gen.29:24,29). The following revelation reveals that concubinage is fully abolished under the New Covenant. There is no place for a 'half-wife' in any marriage relationship based on the fullness of the love of Messiah. The sin of David and Solomon. A tradition that Abraham had several concubines whom he elevated to the status of full wives is confirmed [Oppsal, Oslo, Norway].

1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that concubinage is a form of slavery, on which [subject] I, the Lord, have already spoken (OB 145; 186).

2. And men at sundry times have sought out concubines to satisfy their lusts and unredeemed passions, for which they were cursed as pertaining to spirituality and a heavenly inheritance.

3. Much of the marriage of the world is concubinage for the world seeketh after the flesh and its appetites and marrieth in order to cloak its sin with a mantle of respectability.

4. But I, Yahweh, see the hearts of all men and women everywhere, and the lusts and depravities thereof.

5. But the man whose heart is pure I shall justify, for he seeketh to love, and build-up, and cherish and protect.

6. My servant Abraham purchased concubines according to the custom of his day;

7. But he, being redeemed through faith [in Me] and by a knowledge of My Gospel, made his concubines free, and all sought to remain with him as his wives, because they loved him.

8. Behold, my servant Solomon [1] took many concubines and in this he did sin, saith Yahweh, because his heart was led astray (Dt.17:17).

9. Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and not in part;

10. Have I, the Lord, ever commanded a man to only half love his wife?

11. Ye cannot love anything that ye have taken by force;

12. Nor will that person who hath been taken by force be able to love in return.

13. Concubinage is contrary to the New Covenant Law of Light and is a snare unto the vanity and carnality of man.

14. It breaketh the hearts of the tenderhearted, whose sobbings ascend unto the heavens.

15. I am an Elohim of wholeness, and I desire your complete loyalty, and not a part thereof.

16. Likewise husbands and wives should give each other their full loyalty, not stooping to concubinage which standeth as a testimony against the inability of the sons of men to love and take responsibility like unto true sons of Elohim. Amen.

Footnotes

[1] Solomon had 300 concubines, besides 700 wives, which was an abomination in the eyes of Elohim (1 Ki.11:3): he did not take the counsel of Yahweh (Dt.17: 17). Polygamy, not lived according to Yahweh's strict ways, brings trouble, and often results in sin. If not lived righteously in a spirit of true love, family jealosies arise from it, as with Elkanah's two wives, one of whom is an adversary to the other (1 Sam.1:6; cp. Lev.18:18).

Unlike Islam which limits the number of wives to four in a polygamous household, the Bible makes no such restrictions beyond warning kings not to go to excess (Dt.17:17), for the obvious reasons already given. Barring his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, King David set a good example in not only keeping the number of his wives within a sensible limit (believed to be seven without Bathsheba) but in having the principle and practice confirmed by Nathan the navi (prophet) as a 'gift from Elohim' to the King. He also said that if that had not been enough, Yahweh would have given him more (2 Sam.12:7-8). Obviously if polygamy is a gift from Elohim it cannot be sinful. It follows logically that if Messiah claimed that He had come to fulfil or complete not only the Torah (Law), but also the nevi'im (prophets) (Mt.5:17-20), that Messiah endorsed the practice also.

The same does not seem to have been said for concubinage, though, which expires in the New Covenant according to the revelation here. Polygamy, which is sanctioned in the Bible and blessed by Elohim, will be widespread in the Millennium, if for no other reason than there will be an imballance of men and women: the average family will consist of seven wives to one man (Is.4:1). Clearly, then, such a principle cannot be 'brushed under the carpet' or simply condemned out of fear as it has been by the European Church since the 6th century AD when it was outlawed by the Catholic Church.

Inasmuch as the Christian is enjoined to be prepared for the return of the Master Yah'shua every day then it follows he must be prepared to see the principle instituted at any time, and, if necessary, live it. Even if he is not called to live it he should at least be theoretically prepared for it and seek to overcome whatever prejudices and aversions he may have towards it caused by centuries of Catholic and Protestant gnostic propaganda.

The Chavurat Bekorot has already received revelation for its regulation in the Millennial Zion as well as for those families already living it in the modern world. In the Millennial Kingdom the Deacons (Zadokites) will be limited to four wives, the Elders (Enochites) to seven (the average), and the Patriarchs (those 11,000+ men of the '144,000') to twelve, as a general rule.

Objection to this principle has been raised by references to 1 Tim.3:2,12 and Tit.1:6 which in English translations appear to limit the number of wives to Elders and Deacons (but not, incidentally, to non-Priesthood officers) to one only -- "the husband of one wife". But if polygamy had been adulterous then it would have been forbidden to all, and not just to local assembly leadership. So even the faulty English translations demonstrate that polygamy is not sin or adultery.

But we should look more closely at the Gk. 1 Tim.3:2,12 and Tit.1:6 both say the same thing: "husband of one (Gk. mia: Strongs #3391, 'one of first') wife" (in Gk., literally 'of one or first wife, husband' = 'of the first wife the husband'). Mia is translated as either 'one' or 'first', depending on the context. Where the context does not directly indicate, the translator must choose between the two possible meanings -- thus giving opportunity for personal or cultural bias to distort the translation.

Mia is used as first of a series as in "first day of the week" (Mt.28:1; Mk.16:2; Jn.20:1,19; Ac.20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). In Titus the word mia is used only twice: "If anyone is causing divisions among you, he should be given a first (mia) and a second warning (Tit.3:10, LB; cp. 1:6). In Titus mia means 'first'. Weight of Scripture, rather than personal opinion or cultural bias, should dictate the correct meaning of Tit.1:6 (and the identical phrase in 1 Tim.3: 2,12) as 'FIRST wife'. The phrase should literally read "of the first wife husband".

The Overseer/Pastor/Bishop should be a man known for keeping his commitments, "blameless" -- not open to the charge of having put away his first wife, "the wife of [his] youth" (Mal.2:14-15).

This is soundly based on Yahweh's already stated requirements against unscriptural divorce -- not making some new rule with no precedent anywhere else in Scripture. This rule makes good sense when we consider that we are talking about older men to function as Elders in the Messianic Community. These men would be of an age that might suggest the possibility of more than one wife. Therefore, a requirement to treat the first wife honourably would be in order, meaning that if they took an additional wife or wives the first wife would be also retained. Had it not been for the fact that Roman culture opposed polygamy (yet was predictably promiscuous, like all pagan cultures) the question of polygamy would never have become a NT or modern Church issue" (S.John Butt, An Answer to Critics, Broken Shackles Inc. Website, 1996, with some additions and modifications).

The summum bonum of biblical teachings about marriage is that both mongamy and polygamy are sanctioned and blessed by Elohim with celibacy an alternative for those who thus choose to live. And whilst monogamy was decreed the norm for the vast bulk of humanity, polygamy never was adultery or sin. It was, and is, however, strictly regulated in the New Covenant. It is, furthermore, a sobering thought when one realises that the Millennial world, and therefore presumably heaven, may for the most part be populated by women, or at least in the highest heavens where those of the first resurrection dwell (see Heaven (fn380-p415) Also see Plural Marriage, in Isaiah (fn39-p61f), erroneous Mormon ideas (fn110-p109f), biblical teachings about (fn295-p310f).