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Continuing our discussion from part two, and turning to the New Testament, many of us are familiar with the fact that, in accordance with Old Testament prophecy, Satan inspired evil, selfish King Herod to order the destruction of all the young children of Bethlehem and the surrounding area. This Herod did after having felt threatened upon receiving the news from the three magi, that a new king had been born in Israel. We find the story in the following set of verses:

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."


Of course, we all know that God was one step ahead of Satan. As a result, He warned Joseph in a dream to take Mary and young Jesus, and to escape to Egypt until the death of King Herod. This was done in order that God's wonderful Plan of Salvation might be fulfilled, exactly as God had ordained since before the world began, as we see by the following group of verses:

"And when they [the three wise men] were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Matthew 2:13-15, KJV
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN,"


"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN;"


"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."


Through the previous examples, it is easy to see that Satan is the destroyer of the Lord's children. While I have shared some rather extreme examples, it should be clear to you, the reader, that under normal circumstances, the Devil is the only one who seeks to slay -- or else inspires others to slay -- the Lord's children; even God's unborn children. This, the Devil has been doing for thousands of years, whether it is by way of ancient child sacrifices, or through different modern forms of the same, such as through birth control which seeks to prevent the conception from ever occurring, or through the disgusting practice of abortion, after the Lord's child has already been formed in the womb. The depth of this wickedness is beyond words.

If either of these two methods -- birth control and abortion -- don't work, then that Prince of Darkness will trick women into becoming drug addicts, or perhaps alcoholics, so that their unborn children may face the potential danger of either being malformed, or addicted to heroin from birth. Or perhaps they will suffer from some mental deficiency beginning at a very young age. If all else fails, and that child does grow up knowing the ways of the Lord, he or she still is not safe. He or she may eventually experience some form of persecution by the ungodly children of the world. So you see, Satan never gives up. He wants God's children dead, and he is out to win!

In a few rare cases, we do find examples in the Bible where God either slew a particular child, or else He prevented children from being born altogether, as a direct form of His chastisement against a certain individual. One clear example which immediately comes to mind can be found in the Second Book of Samuel, where David's first wife, Michal -- who was the daughter of rebellious King Saul -- became jealous when David danced nearly naked before the Lord, after the Ark of the Covenant had been returned to Israel. As a result of her jealousy, the Lord struck Michal barren, as we see in the following group of verses:

"And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart . . . Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD . . . Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death."


In another clear example, which also involved King David, as a form of severe chastisement, God smote the king's first son, who was born as a result of David's blatant act of lust and adultery with beautiful Bathsheba, who was the wife of David's faithful general, Uriah the Hittite. In fact, as you may know, David also committed first degree murder, when he tried to conceal his sin by having Uriah purposely placed in the front line of battle where David knew that he would be killed. Consider the following group of verses:

"And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him."


While these two examples may shock a few people, as the Lord Himself tells us through the Prophet Moses, He makes alive, and He also kills. He alone is God, and He can do according to His own Will, and none can stand against Him. Consider the following verse:

"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand."


As this person continued in his letter to me, he informed me that both he and his wife felt very awkward around children. Because of this, they were unsure of how to act when children were present. He made it clear that it wasn't that they don't like children, it was that they just didn't possess a desire to have any of their own. He also mentioned that they seemed to have more of an affinity with senior citizens.

To a certain degree, I can understand how this couple felt. For those of us who do have children, particularly multiple children, if we are honest with ourselves, we will humbly admit that there are indeed times when our children do get on our nerves. Maybe we are simply tired from a long day at work. Or perhaps our minds are preoccupied with a certain problem which is occurring in our lives. Or perhaps we are busy working on a certain project which demands our utmost concentration. During such times, having our noisy children around is the last thing that we need. Right?

There is no need to feel guilty about it. After all, these are all normal situations which happen to all parents. At such times, we may wish that our children were already in bed sleeping, or maybe still at school. Even though we may feel this way at times, this does not diminish our love for them by any means. Raising children is a hard job, and the truth is that sometimes we do need short breaks from them, no matter how much we love them.

However, what this childless couple was expressing to me in their email message went beyond that. In fact, as I already explained, it alarmed me; particularly because at that time, they had only been married for about two years. I was also given the impression that they were a rather young couple. To be honest, their desires simply did not seem natural to me. A young Christian couple which expresses no desire to have a family, just does not seem to conform to the Word or Will of God, in my view. In fact, such an attitude defeats one of the primary reasons for which most people do get married, and it is also contrary to the Lord's command to be fruitful and multiply, as we discussed in part one. Marriage is about procreation, a deep spiritual and physical bond, lifelong companionship, and much more.

As we also discussed in part one, children are the heritage of the Lord. They are His reward which He gives to married couples. Children are also the ultimate fruit of true love, which itself finds its deepest expression in a fulfilling sexual relationship. Children are meant to be a blessing, and not a curse or a burden. They only become a burden when we as parents fail to raise them properly with a fear of the Lord, and a knowledge of His Word. As we read in the Book of Proverbs:

"The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother."


"A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke."


"A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother."


"A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him."


If this couple's unhealthy attitude towards childbearing was the result of some inward insecurity, then instead of trying to ignore the problem, by simply saying that they would have no children, which in my opinion is a very serious decision to make so early in a marriage relationship, I felt that they needed to confront the problem head-on, discover its source, and deal with it, no matter how uncomfortable it might make them feel.

This man then informed me that for a time, his wife had been using birth control pills. However, due to the fact that it made her sick in some way, she apparently stopped using them. That in itself should be a clear sign to any Christian who is sensitive to God's Spirit, that He does not approve of such things. This was not the first time that I had heard of women becoming sick from taking the pill. It seems to be a fairly common occurrence.

As we all know, God Himself has ordained a monthly cycle for women, so that their bodies will have time to produce eggs and be fertile, and then have a time -- usually three days to a week -- in order to flush their bodies of the same, and to cleanse the uterus, when the eggs are not fertilized. In His Wisdom, the Lord has timed this process precisely from month to month. As in all things that the Lord does, it is perfect clockwork, just like the rest of the created Universe.

I know for a fact from talking to women who have used birth control pills, that this natural, Divinely-Designed cycle is both altered and disrupted when those artificial chemicals are introduced into a woman's body. In my opinion, it is not normal; it is not natural; and it is not godly. Furthermore, it is dangerous to tamper with the natural order of things, as they were designed and ordained by the Lord. Doing so can lead to unpredictable, unanticipated and even deadly results.

As I mention in some of my COVID-19 articles, one very clear example of this at this present time concerns the thousands -- perhaps millions? -- of people who have been harmed, or even died, after getting the COVID-19 vaccines and follow-up booster shots. And yet as we approach three years into the pandemic, the powers that be still continue to promote the controversial vaccines, and pressure people to be vaccinated, including very young children. Please refer to the VAERS website and database tool at the following URL to learn more about this subject. VAERS is an acronym for "Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System":

https://vaers.hhs.gov/data.html

Tragically, as you probably already know, as our knowledge and understanding of scientific principles is increasingly expanded, and our methods improved, some men of science are foolishly tampering more and more with the building blocks of God's Creation every day. This includes unraveling the mysteries of DNA and the human genome sequence. As I point out in the article "Science and Technology: The Forbidden Knowledge?", it is my view that there are some things which were simply not meant for mere humans to understand. While modern scientists may not realize it, and while they may think that they are doing good, I suspect that it is only through satanic inspiration that man has been educated in some of these things.

To tamper with the forbidden knowledge, as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden, is utter foolishness. Yet man today has gone way beyond anything which Adam and Eve could ever possibly have done. We have but to look at such things as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl, Three-Mile Island, the effects of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare, ozone depletion, deforestation, oil spills, the extinction of many species, acid rain, drug addiction, inner-city violence and climate change, in order to clearly see some of the negative fruits of man's scientific achievements.

If we honestly do this, if we look at some of the results of such misguided science, then we are forced to ask ourselves a very important question: Does the good we have accomplished through science truly outweigh the bad, or are we just living in a state of self-imposed delusion? Human nature being what it is, I am concerned that we may have already signed our own death warrant. Except for God's mercy and some form of direct intervention, we could very well completely destroy ourselves at some point in the not-too-distant future, through our own madness and selfishness. In a sense, using birth control, and resorting to abortion, is likewise a part of this very same destructive process, because it is slow medical genocide.

Being as this man's wife became very sick after taking birth control pills, he informed me that they decided to take a more permanent approach to fulfilling their desire to not have any children. While he had not yet done it at the time that I wrote the original version of this series in 1999 -- because he was not yet certain that it was God's Will -- this man informed me that he was seriously considering undergoing a vasectomy. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, it is a simple medical procedure whereby a small part of the tubes leading from a man's testes -- or testicles -- referred to as the vas deferens, is surgically removed. This prohibits the flow of sperm-containing semen from the testes, to the ejaculatory duct in the penis, thus preventing a wife from becoming pregnant.

In looking at the Scriptures, we might consider vasectomy to be a less intrusive form of castration. In the latter case, a man's testicles were completely removed for various reasons. In some cases, it was because he worked as a harem attendant, or in some other official capacity, in the courts of Eastern or Middle Eastern royalty. The Bible refers to such castrated men as eunuchs. For example, let us consider the words of the Prophet Isaiah to Judean King Hezekiah, regarding the future of the king's lineage:

"And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."


In other cases, men were castrated and became eunuchs for religious reasons. Jesus Himself spoke of both court eunuchs and religious eunuchs when He stated the following in the Gospel of Matthew. In fact, He even seems to be stating that some men are naturally born without testicles, which proves that, while rare, this medical condition is nothing new:

"For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."


According to the NIH's US National Library of Medicine, this rare affliction of being born without testicles is referred to as Anorchia or Congenital Anorchia. Male infants will be born with both a penis and a scrotum, but they will have no testicles in their scrotum. This rare condition should not be confused with the much more common Cryptorchidism, which occurs when one or both testicles are slow to descend into the scrotum. Once the baby is born, the testicles usually drop into the scrotum during the first three to six months of his life. So Cryptorchidism is only temporary, and is not a permanent condition like Anorchia.

Other than the previous verse that is found in the Gospel of Matthew, the only other place where I specifically found a eunuch being mentioned in the New Testament, is in the Book of Acts, where the Apostle Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch who served under Queen Candace of Ethiopia. From some of the material I have read, it is believed by some scholars that it was this very man who was primarily responsible for the eventual Christianization of Ethiopia. Following are some of the key verses from that story:

"And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship . . . And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? . . . And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? . . . And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing."


Due to the obvious similarities between the ancient practice of performing castrations, and the modern medical procedure known as a vasectomy, as well as Jesus' own words concerning eunuchs, some Christians might be tempted to assume that a vasectomy is an acceptable procedure in God's sight under any and all conditions. However, it is my personal belief at this time that this would be an erroneous conclusion. As I have stated many times before in my writings, we must all be Spirit-led in our interpretation and understanding of the Scriptures. It is imperative that we prayerfully and very carefully compare verse with verse, before arriving at any conclusions. By so doing, we hopefully safeguard ourselves against falling into doctrinal error, and falling under delusion.

In determining the validity of a vasectomy, we need to look at several different factors. Primary among these are who is doing it, when are they doing it, and under what conditions are they doing it. Based upon the Scriptures we have already looked at, as well as others which I will share in a moment, it is my personal belief that the Lord does not condone a married man, who is also a servant of the Lord, undergoing a vasectomy. Allow me to share with you my reasons for arriving at this particular conclusion.

As many Christians know, God is not the author of confusion. He is not in the habit of contradicting Himself. I honestly do not believe that He is going to confuse us by saying one thing in one place in the Scriptures, and then turn around and say something entirely different in another place in His Word. It has been my personal experience, that when there is any confusion in my mind regarding a certain issue, it isn't because the Bible contradicts itself -- as a lot of modern antichrists would have us to believe -- but rather it is due to a limitation in my personal understanding of the matter. That is why it is so very important that we take the time to compare verse with verse, until our eyes are opened, and we find unity in the Scriptures. Let the Bible interpret itself.

Having said the above, I do not believe that God is going to inspire His writers to say "be fruitful and multiply" to the first couple, "children are an heritage of the Lord", that "the fruit of the womb is His reward", and that "they twain shall be one flesh", and then turn around and say that it is okay for a married man to suddenly say to his wife, "Well, sorry honey, but I have just decided to dedicate myself to the Lord. I know that you were thinking about having a few children, but that is now out of the question. I will no longer have the time for them, because I will be too busy working for the Lord. I have decided to become a eunuch."

Personally, I think that this kind of an attitude is really rather selfish. It is obviously unfair to the wife who was expecting a life of motherhood filled with children; and it is totally unscriptural as well. When a man and a woman make a vow to each other to become one flesh through marriage, I believe that the Lord expects them to do their very best to keep that vow for life. In our modern day, this commitment to remain married for life is referred to by some Christians as a "covenant marriage". It's a legal form of marriage that is currently recognized in three states: Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. A covenant marriage is more restrictive than a traditional marriage, and has certain requirements which a traditional marriage does not have.

Sadly, according to my online research, very few people are wed under a covenant marriage, even in the three US states where such marriages are legally recognized. It seems that most people wed through a normal marriage ceremony, because it is more difficult to obtain a divorce when a person weds under a covenant marriage. You will find more information regarding covenant marriages at the following URL:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_marriage

While covenant marriage may seem old-fashioned to some of my readers, as we have already discussed, this type of marriage is in fact Scripturally sound doctrine. As we learned in part two, in quoting from the Book of Genesis, Jesus stated in the Gospel of Mark, "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder".

No doubt some of you married folks, or some of you formerly married folks, or perhaps some of you who have been married on more than one occasion, are probably cringing at my words. But let us be honest with ourselves. Many of us are guilty of these things, myself included. It just seems that some of us -- even those of us who profess to be Christians -- no longer possess the unselfish love and patience that is required in order to sustain a longterm marriage relationship. Some of us even go from marriage to marriage. Now if you personally find yourself in that kind of situation where you remarry while a former spouse is still alive, you should know that according to the Biblical definition of the word, you are an adulterer. As the Lord also said regarding adultery and divorce:

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:‭ But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:‭ But I say unto you, 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."


". . . Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 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."


Considering our mistakes and our sinful condition, the only thing that any of us can do is to cling to the Mercy of God, which is granted to us through the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. If it weren't for that, we would all rightfully be recipients of God's judgment, wrath and chastisement. And because we are all sinners, none of us are in a position to exalt ourselves above others. Regarding marriage vows and other types of promises, in the Old Testament, we find verses such as the following:

"If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth; And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her. But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house."


"When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth."


Please go to part four for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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