While many sweethearts are finding romantic ways to show their love for one another on Valentine’s Day, not all couples are doing so at this time of year. A NY Post article pointed out that the number of requests for divorce lawyers spikes dramatically around Valentine’s Day compared to the previous six months. On average, the increase is around 40 percent, according to Mark Britton, founder and CEO of Avvo, a site that offers ratings and profiles for lawyers and medical doctors. This has become a new trend in the past few years.
In fact, even in the church it has become common for people to get divorced, which is so sad. This of course raises the questions about remarriage afterward, so we really need to know what the mind of God is on this matter. For that we turn to the Word of God, because the Scriptures are our source of truth, wisdom and guidance on divorce. One passage of Scripture that addresses divorce is found in Mark’s gospel.
Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY." But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. "But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery." (Mar 10:2-12)
Let’s look at this passage verse-by-verse.
Is it lawful to divorce your wife?
The Pharisees wanted to know if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus answered with a question. He asked them what Moses commanded, and they replied with a quote from Moses. So they felt that they had established a legal right for this practice.
Hardness of heart
Jesus explained that the only reason Moses wrote this was due to the hardness of men’s hearts. It was not the original plan of God. So when a man or woman files for divorce, it reflects unwillingness on the part of one or both parties to reconcile or resolve the conflicts. Jesus referred to this as hardness of heart.
Incidentally, hardness of heart is not compatible with new life in
Christ. Rather it is associated with rebellion (Heb 3:7,8,15). We are to
be tender hearted, forgiving, and resolve all conflicts with one
another (Lk 17:3-4; Mt 6:14-15; 18:15-17; Eph 5:32). Therefore, no disciple of Christ should claim his own hardness
of heart as an excuse to divorce.
God’s original intention
Jesus went on to explain that what Moses wrote was not a command but rather permission he granted, if they remained hard hearted. Yet God’s original intention for man was that he would leave his parents and become one flesh with his wife. Paul’s statement to the Corinthians makes clear the meaning of "one flesh." He wrote:
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, 'THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.' " (1Co 6:15-16).
My friend, Jim Garrett, made an excellent point about this when he commented, "Here Paul states that when one has sex, he becomes one flesh with the one with whom he has sex. Thus, a man who is a fornicator is one flesh with a lot of women – what a mess. In such a situation, a man becomes one flesh with a woman and there is no covenant (at least objective intentional covenant) involved."
This reminds me of a medieval practice in England, known as Drawing and Quartering, which was used as a punishment for treason. The person's four limbs were tied to four horses. Then as the horses moved away from the person, the poor soul was torn apart. That's what it's like when you join yourself to multiple sexual partners and there is no covenant to keep you together. The Lord intended to protect us from such a situation with His plan for one man and one woman to become one flesh together, and remain together for life.
Let no man separate
Once you begin to get this picture of what really happens to the people involved when a one flesh relationship is torn apart, you can better understand the heart of God regarding separation. You can look at the Greek all you want and try to get around it, but the Word of God from the mouth of Jesus was “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.” In this sentence, He affirmed that it’s God Who joined the married couple together, and He further affirms that no man should separate them. That’s pretty cut and dry, plain and simple. It’s not complicated at all, unless you try to make it that way. His main point was that it’s not God’s will for married couples to separate, in spite of the fact that the Law of Moses permitted it.
The apostle Paul later reiterated this when he wrote to the Corinthians, “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.” (1Co 7:10-11). Again, this is very plain. The wife should not leave her husband and the husband should not divorce his wife.
Marriage after divorce
The disciples further questioned Jesus about this later in the house. His reply was, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.” In another passage, Jesus taught that if you divorce your spouse and they remarry, you are causing them to commit adultery. He said, “but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Mat 5:32). Notice he said that the one who initiates the divorce makes the other person commit adultery. At the most basic level, it’s clear that there is a problem – a sin committed – when a person divorces his or her spouse and marries someone else. The reason a sin is committed is that man separates what God has put together, and then man joins together with another spouse.
To put it differently, God does not want man separating the married couple, since He has joined them together as one. And when man does this and then marries another, God sees it as adultery. How could it be adultery, if they have a legal certificate of divorce, which proves they are no longer married? It’s adultery because God still sees the original couple as one flesh. How else could it be adultery? Adultery can only occur when a married person enters into a sexual relationship with someone who is not his or her spouse.
There are basically three parties who end up committing adultery following a divorce: the person who initiated the divorce proceeding, the spouse who was subject to the divorce, and the person who marries the one who was divorced. So if God considers remarriage after divorce to be adultery, then it’s not desirable to do it. It should be avoided!
The apostle Paul reiterated this when he wrote to the Corinthians, “A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband." Paul’s teaching agrees with Jesus by instructing us not to get remarried after divorce, but rather be reconciled with our spouse.
There was one instance where Jesus acknowledged the legitimacy of
divorce and that is where there has been unfaithfulness, otherwise known
as unchastity or sexual sin (Greek, porneia). Many people have analyzed this and tried to determine what constitutes unfaithfulness. Obviously if
one spouse commits sexual sin during the marriage, such as adultery,
then that is unfaithfulness, which is grounds for a divorce. It does not
mean that God requires the couple to divorce, because if there is
repentance on the part of the offending spouse, then this can be
forgiven and they can be healed and go on together. That is, provided
the offender does not continue in this sin of adultery afterward. So
when there is unchastity, God allows the two to become divorced.
One situation that Jesus did not address explicitly is desertion. When one spouse deserts the other, he or she suddenly separates from the other, and this can sometimes happen without any prior notice or explanation. The sudden and unexpected disappearance of a spouse can be devastating to the one who remains, especially when the remaining spouse was faithful. And in some cases, the one who departs moves far away to another geographical location. What is the remaining spouse to do in such a situation? Obviously, the first step is to pray and seek reconciliation with the offended party. But what if the offended party refuses all attempts at reconciliation? These are the types of things that are not explicitly addressed, but we know that the Lord commands us to forgive and to love. He teaches us how to resolve conflict. So as we read the Word and pray through such situations, the Lord will give direction.
The apostle Paul describes one such scenario where one spouse is a nonbeliever. He says, “But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.” (1 Cor 7:15). In this case, if the nonbeliever leaves, the believing person is no longer bound to stay married to the nonbeliever. He or she is free.
There are all kinds of scenarios in life that can happen, and it’s not my intention to analyze each one. It’s best for you to search the Scriptures prayerfully yourself, reading the passages where Jesus and Paul taught on divorce, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you clearly through the Word. You have got to hear from the Lord on this matter. Afterward, you may sit with a mature believer who is impartial, such as a Bible-believing pastor or elder, and work through your situation with his counsel.
Forgiveness
I want to stress one very important thing. While divorce leads to adultery, which is a sin, it is not the unforgivable sin. If you have done everything to seek reconciliation with your spouse, and in the end, you find yourself divorced without intending to be, there is still hope. If you can still reconcile with your former spouse, you should do so. You should seek reconciliation very diligently! It may require a long process to work through issues with the help of a third party. It will require great mercy, forgiveness, love and patience from both spouses.
A great movie that portrays this is Fireproof. In this movie, the wife has decided to divorce her husband. But he decides to love her unconditionally through it all. He asks her to forgive him for the ways he has offended her. Then patiently waits for her heart to heal and turn back. She eventually does turn back, forgiving him and being reconciled to him once again.
But there comes a point where that might not be possible, due to the hardness of the other person’s heart. In this case, you should just forgive, seek the Lord for help, and cast yourself upon His mercy. Seek His forgiveness for any part you played in the divorce. And then receive it.
In some cases, people were divorced before they became a believer in Jesus Christ, and they cannot go back and change that situation. Sometimes their former spouse is already remarried. This is also portrayed in the movie Fireproof, in which a Christian man had been divorced before he came to know Christ. He is happily remarried, but he has remorse over the fact that he helped bring about a divorce between himself and his former wife before he knew the Lord. Once he came to know Christ, he wanted to reconcile with his wife, but it was too late. She had already remarried. This is another example of a situation that happens.
I would challenge anyone in
such a situation to search the Scriptures and find the verse that allows
them to be remarried, because God will hold you accountable for it. I
cannot think of any verse that would directly allow for remarriage in
such a situation, as long as the person's former spouse remains alive
(Ro 7:2-3). So let's open a discussion about this in the
comments section. You will have to give an account for every action
before the judgment
seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 2Co. 5:10). I suppose some possible
Scriptures a person might possibly rely on in such a situation to indirectly give them hope would be those about God's mercy and
grace. But they must still reckon with Rom 7:2-3. I will cover this in more detail in the next two sections of this
article below, as well as the section on divine revelations.
If you have been divorced and are unable to reconcile with your spouse after all your attempts to do so have failed, the worse thing you can do is go out and try to fill the emptiness by finding a new mate. You need to get healed first. It could take a year, two years or more. You should allow the Lord to do a work inside of you, before you consider ever getting married again. The reason is that your own dysfunctional behavior may have contributed to the divorce. Allow the Lord to search your heart and show you how you may have helped bring about the demise of your own marriage. It’s so important that you identify where you need healing and get it from the Lord before you consider a new relationship.
If you seek the Lord first and seek to be healed, He will fill your being with his love, His joy, and His peace. Find other ways to occupy yourself for the Lord through worship, Bible study, and service in the kingdom. And do this with the attitude that if you must stay single for the rest of your life, then you will do so. If you feel an overwhelming need to be remarried, then cry out to the Lord with that need. Every time it seems to overwhelm you, get on your knees and bring it to the Lord, even with tears if you need to. He will hear and answer.
Restoration and remarriage
I would like to address the matter of restoration and remarriage, but only for those who are in very specific and limited scenarios where that is allowed by God in Scripture. Paul says to those who are unmarried, “Do not look for a wife.” (1 Cor 7:27). That means exactly what it says. Don't look for a wife. And for women, don't look for a husband. You need to lay that on the altar unless the Lord decides to give you another spouse.
In my humble opinion, if the Lord eventually shows you that it’s His will to grant you a second chance in His great mercy, then accept it. But seek godly counsel throughout the whole matter. Don’t enter into any new relationship according to the flesh. You don’t want to make another mistake! The person must belong to the Lord or else you will be unequally yoked together (2 Co 6:14).
Bathe it in prayer, and keep the relationship holy and chaste. Ask God to confirm everything to you and take it slowly. Make sure you know this is God’s will for your life. If you have both received confirmation from Him that He is putting you together in marriage, and other mature disciples agree, who are in a position of oversight and care in your life, then go forward with the Lord’s blessing. You can know that when God forgives, it is complete.
When the Lord chooses to give you a second chance, receive it with gratitude. But be careful not to take it lightly or abuse his grace and mercy.
Remarrying Your First Spouse
The ideal situation is to be reconciled with your first spouse and get remarried to that person. Simply repenting for committing the sin of divorce and not going back to your spouse is not enough. You must make restitution!
However, if your first spouse has already been remarried, I do not see any Scripture that allows you to remarry that person. Even if their second spouse divorces them or dies, the Bible teaches that it is an abomination for your to remarry your first spouse once they have been married to someone else.
"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.” (Deu 24:1-4).
Likewise, the Lord declared through the prophet Jeremiah, "If a husband divorces his wife And she goes from him And belongs to another man, Will he still return to her? Will not that land be completely polluted?" (Jer 3:1)
Therefore, the only scenario in which Scripture allows you to remarry
your first spouse, in my opinion, is when neither of you have been
remarried after divorcing. In fact, if you have been divorced and
neither you nor your spouse have been remarried, you should certainly
repent and remarry your spouse if he or she is willing to do so.
However, there is no biblical basis for remarriage to one's first spouse
after divorce and remarriage has already occurred. Doing so would
violate the Word of God, and teaching people to do so would nullify one
of God's commandments.
Our Lord said, "Do not think
that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to
abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth
pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law
until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least
in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless
your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will
not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 5:17-20)
Inevitably there will be someone who will say that my position is
invalid, because it is based on Old Testament passage of Scripture, even though the Lord said He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. However, to those who may do so, I kindly refer you to my articles, The Ways of Life, The Law of Christ and Law of Love in the New Testament.
Other Scriptures About Divorce
Here are some additional Scriptures about divorce to prayerfully consider.
"For I hate divorce," says the LORD, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the LORD of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." (Mal 2:16)
"It was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce'; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Mat 5:31-32)
Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?" And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." They *said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?" He *said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." (Mat 19:3-9)
"For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man." (Rom 7:2-3)
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals..." (1Co 6:9)
"Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge." (Heb 13:4)
"But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her." (1Co 7:12)
Thus says the LORD, "Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. (Isa 50:1)
"And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. (Jer 3:8)
Divine Revelations
I would now like to share some divine revelations on the topic of divorce for you to read and evaluate prayerfully.
Michael Thomas Sambo
As I have written in my article Michael Thomas Sambo's Revelation of Heaven and Hell,
my friend Michael Sambo received a revelation in 2003 from the Lord. He
died and experienced heaven and hell. He told me, "In my encounter with
Jesus. A man came to the gate of heaven having married and divorced his
wife. But was later permitted by his church to remarry. The angel of
the Lord told him in heaven he is known as an adulterer." This is a
serious warning, since no adulterers inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9), so let us take heed.
Samuel Oghenetega (Ogenetega)
Near the end of June 2013, a fourteen-year-old boy in Nigeria, named Samuel “Tega” had a visitation from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy and Righteous One, as I documented in my article, Visitation of Jesus to Samuel Oghenetega. The Lord gave him a revelation with many warnings, one of which was a warning to those who divorce: "People who divorce do not enter my kingdom." (Listen to his video on You Tube for more details).
Emmanuel Samson Jude
A Nigerian teenager named Emmanuel Samson Jude, claims to have had a revelation of hell in August 2014. He states:
I saw a man in hell fire, being in great agony and pain, in great torment, he stretched forth his hand if he could be delivered, but a demon was climbing on his back, cutting his head with an axe. I asked the man the reason why he ended his life there, he told me "I divorced my wife, I chased her out because I didn't have interest in her anymore. I got married to another woman. That is what brought me here. I blame myself. I am very sorry" (1 Cor 7:10-11).
Putting it all Together
The Scripture is clear that it was never God’s intention for married couples to become divorced. From the beginning, God intended the husband and wife to be one and never separate. So those who are married should not divorce. While it may break the legal union in the civil sense, the couple is still one in God’s eyes. That’s why divorce
leads to adultery if the divorced person gets remarried. Those who are
committing divorce need to know that it’s an abomination in the sight of
God. Jesus hates divorce!
We
know that Moses permitted divorce due to the hardness of man’s heart.
So there are cases where divorce may be necessary. But if you leave your
spouse, you must remain unmarried.
The Lord
takes unfaithfulness (unchastity) very seriously. When one spouse is unfaithful and
unwilling to reconcile, then the Lord allows for divorce. And when a
nonbeliever chooses to leave a believer, then the believer is no longer
bound to that person. The believer is free.
But those who are unmarried should not seek a spouse.
They should call upon the Lord in their distress and allow Him to meet
the need. A great deal of healing is needed after divorce, and this must
happen before entering into any new relationship.
I
solemnly caution you with reservations, if you have a second chance to marry,
because yours is one of the scenarios that God allows and says you are
free, and the Lord confirms that He has brought you together with a
believing spouse, then treat it like your last chance. And when you get
married again, make a commitment before the Lord to be together for the
rest of your lives.
If you have never given your life
to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are missing the most
important key to a loving marriage. Without Him in the center of your
life and your marriage, you cannot experience marriage to the fullest
like God intended for you.
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this article shall be construed as advising
anyone to get a divorce or to remarry after divorce. This article was
written to the best of my ability based on the Word of God with much thought and prayer, as well
as advice from wise and trusted brothers. However, we only know in part,
and prophesy in part, so my humble opinions, where stated, could be wrong or incomplete. Therefore, the Holy
Scriptures must take precedence over anything I have written, where
there appears to be any apparent contradiction.
Author's note: Samuel and Emmanuel are not personally connected with this site. Please prayerfully consider their testimonies, and use the Testimony Review Process
adopted by this blog, as you decide for yourself whether the Lord has
spoken to them. For issues and concerns, each person must confirm with
the Lord, whether something is valid or not. For more information on our position, please see Disclaimers.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
In this post I'd like to explore the topic of contraception and seek to answer the question whether or not it is a sin. Of course, Scripture is our sole rule of faith, so we will need to examine what the Bible says on this topic in a moment. But let me preface that by giving you five points to consider like the five cute little toes on the healthy, newborn baby's foot pictured to the left. So snuggle up on the couch with your spouse, perhaps by the fireplace, and read this together prayerfully.
Five Points to Consider
First of all, up until 1930, no Protestant denomination accepted birth control. It was
not until the Anglican Church at that time compromised and endorsed
contraceptive use among married couples that this began to slip into the
church. And the Anglicans have also led the charge in numerous other
compromises that have led to great sin in the church, such as blessing
homosexual couples, and even ordaining homosexual bishops! So we should
beware of following the lead of the Anglican church on any matter, lest we end up way off course like they have become.
There are still perhaps tens of thousands of non-Catholic Christians who firmly believe it is a sin against Almighty Creator God to use contraception. There are even some anti-contraception movements, one of which is called the Quiverfull movement, which derives its name from the words of Ps 127:3-5, where a blessed man's many children are figuratively spoken of as arrows in a full quiver. Therefore, some Quiverfull people prefer to view what they are doing as a return to an old, biblical ideal, rather than a modern movement. Evidence of its ancient Judeo-Christian roots may still be found in modern Orthodox Judaism, in which abstinence is the only permissible birth control method, except for limited circumstances where contraceptive use may be permitted for health reasons (danger to the mother or to the potential child). Even so, the couple must be committed to eventually fulfilling mitzvah to be fruitful and multiply, since they have an obligation to procreate.
Secondly, you can read an excellent, non-biased article about this on Wikipedia, which is a secular-based online encyclopedia in which anyone can write an article and multiple users can contribute to the same article. The article, entitled Protestant Views on Contraception, presents both sides of the matter. Rather than quote large sections of the article, I strongly recommend reading it. But here are a few brief quotes:
"In general, most liberal Protestants and Anglicans hold relatively settled views that accept [the] use of contraception, while debate is ongoing among conservative Evangelicals, especially as to which types are and are not acceptable...all major early Protestant Reformers, and indeed Protestants in general until the twentieth century, condemned birth control as a contravention of God's procreative purpose for marriage...As scientists advanced birth control methods during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some Protestants continued to reject them...During the 30 years [after the Anglican Church's first statement permitting birth control], Protestant acceptance of birth control steadily increased."
In fact by 1960 the National Council of Churches declared a liberal policy on the use of contraceptives, which they said should be left up to each couple to decide for themselves. The article further states:
"Highly conservative Protestants such as Mary Pride, Charles D. Provan, Hess and Hess, and Rachel Scott, argue that Protestants should not have moved away from traditional Protestant views of contraception such as given by Martin Luther and John Calvin. Such modern authors contrast the views of early Reformers who rejected contraception with modern Christians who accept it, and point to primarily feminist, secular, or Satanic influences as causative to the change."
Thirdly, there is also an article called Arrows for War by Kathryn Joyce that presents the views of the people who believe contraception is a sin, including some of the unhealthy extremes found within the movement.
Fourthly, there are also books written on this topic. The gold standard seems to be Rick and Jan Hess's 1989 book, A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ, which formed the basis for the establishment of the Quiverfull movement. According to Kathryn Joyce, the book "argues that God, as the 'Great Physician' and sole 'Birth Controller,' opens and closes the womb on a case-by-case basis. Women's attempts to control their own bodies--the Lord's temple--are a seizure of divine power." (Kathryn Joyce, Arrows for War).
Fifthly, my friend, Yves Nahishakiye in Dublin created a three-and-a-half minute video about this topic, called "God Hates Contraception," which he posted in June 2012, and which is no longer available on the internet since Youtube shut down his account. The video relies heavily on the passage about Onan, in Genesis 38:9-10, in which he refused to provide offspring for his brother, and instead spilled his seed (semen) on the ground during intercourse with his brother's widow Tamar. He is the only person ever recorded in the Bible to have committed this sin.
Scriptural Basis
The adherents to these viewpoints are seemingly intelligent people who sincerely believe the Bible teaches us that contraception is a sin. They have based their beliefs on three Scripture passages: Gen 1:28; Gen 38:9-10 (Onan), and Ps 127.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
In the account of Creation, God commanded man to be fruitful and multiply. The Scripture says, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Gen 1:27-28). That commandment has never been revoked by God and is still in force today, and it applies to more than just reproduction of babies. It also applies to making disciples, as I have written about it in my article called Multiplication. You can be sure of this: the devil worries when he sees the disciples of Christ multiplying.
The Great Wickedness of Onan
Then there is the controversial account of Er and Onan in Genesis 38. I realize there are many views about this passage. And in the past, I
have perhaps always viewed the sin of Onan to be that he refused to fulfill his
God-given duty to provide offspring for his brother. At that time, they did not yet have the Law of Moses to teach them this commandment, yet Judah the patriarch knew this was one of the commandments of God since the Creation, and he commanded his son Onan to enable his brother's widow to multiply.
I have always felt
that this refusal to procreate for his deceased brother was the great wickedness for which God put him to death, rather
than that he simply used a primitive form of contraception. Tamar had
no children at all, and he refused to give her any. To me that seemed to
be different from the broader issue of using a method of controlling
child birth with one's wife, if other children had been born already or
were planned in the future. So it seemed like a weak Scriptural basis
for prohibiting all forms of birth control under any circumstance. But on the other hand, at the most basic level, it is a clear case of man refusing to obey God's command to be fruitful and multiply, which would have been handed down to Judah from Adam with respect to God's original command to be fruitful and multiply. He apparently engaged in sex for purely selfish reasons to satisfy his own physical desire for pleasure.
Children Are Gifts from God
In Psalm 127, it says that children are a gift of the Lord given as a reward to parents. They are a blessing from the Lord, like arrows in a man's quiver.
"Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate. (Psa 127:1-5)
So children are a gift from God. And it is well known that in any culture it is usually considered rude to refuse a gift from someone. So it seems the same would apply to refusing a gift from God. It presents another angle from which to see this from God's viewpoint. It is not just disobedience to His command (Ge 1:28), but refusal to receive His gifts, precious human beings, which are made in His own image (Ge 1:27).
There are also other Scriptural bases for the position that birth control is sin. Here are some examples.
God Knows, Calls, and Appoints Pre-born Children
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer 1:5).
God told Jeremiah that He knew him before He formed him in the womb. This means that God knows us and calls us to His service before we are even born. He has had a plan and a purpose for each of our lives from before the foundation of the world, which has the potential to change nations. People are foreordained just as Jeremiah was. As Sharon White wrote about her father in The Man Who Talked with Angels, "God has included you in His great unfolding plan, but He will not violate your will. You can choose to experience the joy and excitement of being in partnership with Him." Therefore, if we abort a fetus, we terminate a human life that God knows and has plans for, and if we prevent the conception of that human being, then we change God's perfect plan.
Let the Little Children Come
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Mt 19:14, NIV). The Lord commanded that we should let little children come to Him without hindering them, and that should include unborn babies, too. The Lord loves little children! They are the very essence of heaven!
To Welcome a Child is to Welcome Jesus
"Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." (Mar 9:37)
Your Body is Not Your Own
The apostle Paul also said, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;" (1 Cor 6:19). Since your body is not your own, and it belongs to God, then it is up to Him to do with it what He pleases. He should be in control of our bodies and their reproductive process, not us.
Present Your Bodies A Living And Holy Sacrifice
Paul also wrote, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." (Rom 12:1). Since we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, then we surrender our will to His will and allow Him to do with our bodies whatever He pleases whenever He pleases.
Multiplication is Good Stewardship
In the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30), the Master commended as "good and faithful servants" the ones who multiplied the talents they received from Him. However, He condemned as a “wicked, lazy servant” the one who buried his talent in the ground. While this passage is not specifically about reproduction, it applies to anything God has given us, including money, talents, abilities, gifts, and reproductive seed. The ways of God are the same, regardless of the specific area of life. Hence, those who multiply their God-given, reproductive seed are considered good and faithful servants, while those who bury their seed are considered wicked and lazy.
The Marriage Bed Must Be Kept Pure
Paul also wrote, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." (Heb 13:4). We must avoid bringing anything into the marriage bed or doing anything in it that would defile it, which I explained in A Warning for Married Christian Couples.
A Man’s Blessed Fountain Must Be Kept Pure
The Scripture refers to a man’s reproductive organ, and that which flows from it, as a fountain. “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” (Prov 5:18). It is God's will to bless a man's fountain, but there are certain conditions that must be met in order for Him to do so. For example, he must keep it pure by avoiding all forms of sexual immorality and other acts that defile it.
Women's Child-BearingRole
Paul wrote to Timothy, "But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety." (1Ti 2:15, NIV). The King James Version has it, "she shall be saved in childbearing." Either way you translate it, you have a clear definition of the woman's role being one of bearing children, while continuing in faith, love, and holiness with propriety. Since that is her God-given role in marriage, then the modern concept of a woman's role as defined by the liberal, secular feminist movement stands in stark contrast to the biblical one. They view prohibitions on birth control as a means to control female sexuality and independence.
God Opens and Closes the Womb
In the Scriptures, we find that just as children are a blessing from the Lord, barrenness is a curse. And we learn that it is only God who opens and closes the womb.
“He makes the barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!” (Psa 113:9)
“Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.” (Gen 30:22)
"Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than the sons of the married woman," says the LORD. Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords And strengthen your pegs. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations And will resettle the desolate cities. (Isa 54:1-3)
“Sarai was barren; she had no child.” (Gen 11:30)
"Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son." (Gen 18:14)
The Scripture says of Hannah that “The LORD had closed her womb. Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.” (1Sa 1:5b-6,10)
“Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren…Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or else I die.’" (Gen 29:31; 30:1)
“Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.” (Gen 25:21)
"There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” (Exo 23:26)
"You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle.” (Deu 7:14)
Forms of Contraception
There are many forms of birth control today. I will highlight just a few:
Abortion is not actually a form of contraception, or method of
preventing conception, but the murder of an unborn baby after it has
been
conceived in the womb. This is clearly a sin, since the Lord commands
us "You shall not murder." (Ex 20:13). It is estimated that one in four pre-born babies are aborted, and there are approximately 1.21 million abortions in America each year. The many forms of abortion that are used are horrible and detestable in God's sight. If you have ever committed this sin, then repent and as the Lord to forgive you in the name of Jesus.
Some people also
murder babies right after they are born, which is called infanticide and is from the devil.
One type of infanticide is the ancient practice of
exposing babies to the elements until they die, which was practiced
widely in Greece. The Israelites also followed the pagan practice of sacrificing their children to Baal, by burning them in the fire on the altar.
The Lord said, "You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire." (Eze 16:21)
"And the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim." (2Ki 17:31)
Another form of infanticide is drowning, as Pharaoh of Egypt once commanded the people to do (Exo 1:22). Likewise King Herod ordered the slaughter of innocent babies in first-century Palestine around the time of Christ's birth (Mat 2:16). One thing that both the Lord Jesus and Moses had in common is that God supernaturally rescued them both as babies from attempted infanticide.
God hates the shedding of innocent blood, whether it is in the womb or outside the womb (Proverbs 6:16-19; Deuteronomy 19:10; 2 Kings 24:2-4; Genesis 4:10; Psalm 72:12-14; Ezekiel 35:6)! If you have ever committed this sin, then repent and as the Lord to forgive you in the name of Jesus.
“Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 18:21)
“The LORD said...‘Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. . . . by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. . . . If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech . . . I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him...” (Leviticus 20:1-5)
Barrier methods are ones which form a barrier that blocks the sperm from reaching the womb, where they would otherwise be able to fertilize the woman's egg. They include such things as condoms, female condoms (femidoms), intrauterine devices (i.e., IUD, coil), and diaphragms (a cervical cap shaped like a dome that covers the female cervix), which typically also involve a spermicidal gel that inhibits sperm from traveling to the uterus where they could otherwise fertilize an egg. When barriers are used, the semen is captured in the condom or diaphragm and either thrown in the trash can or washed down the drain. This ultimately has the same net result as spilling a man's seed on the ground as Onan did (Gen 38:9-10). Incidentally, in Judaism, it is well-established that methods that destroy the seed or block its
passage are not permitted, thus condoms are not permitted
for birth control.
My wife did some research on the IUD, also known as a coil, which is a device placed inside the uterus to prevent pregnancy. She discovered that this device can cause an abortion, and probably does so more than we realize. While it is not clear how the IUD prevents pregnancy, some articles state that it either prevents ovulation or simply destroys the sperm by means of the copper or hormones contained in it (depending on which type is used). However, what some of these articles do not even mention is that the copper or hormones inside of it cause the thinning in the uterus lining, which prevents an already fertilized egg (which is a living human being) from implanting into the uterus wall so that it can begin to grow and develop. This is abortion. This device has also been used to abort a fertilized egg after conception, as it is inserted by a physician after intercourse.
Something else to consider about all of these various barriers is that they are artificial, man-made implements that you are putting in your body. In fact, the side effects of using a diaphragm (also called occlusive pessary) include risks of increased vaginal discharge, vaginal irritation, ulceration, bleeding, and dyspareunia (painful intercourse for the male or female). Likewise, spermicides used with these cervical domes can cause painful irritation during intercourse. You have to pray and ask God whether all these artificial things are the property of satan, in which case you would be defiling the marriage bed by using them. If you have sinned, then repent.
There are also birth control pills, which are hormone-based drugs that prevent a woman from ovulating, or producing an egg. These chemicals keep her from experiencing the normal phases of fertility, so she is unable to conceive a child. But as with all forms of birth control, it is not one hundred percent effective. It can also result in abortion of a baby within the womb (Ex 20:13), as well as birth defects in the event that a child is born while using the pill or after stopping its use. It has adverse side-effects on a woman's mind, relationships, and body, and may even lead to breast cancer in women.
Coitus interruptus is also known as the withdrawal or pull-out method, which Onan used to spill his seed on the ground, and for which God struck him dead (Gen 38:9-10). It is understood that this method involves masturbation in order to complete the act. This is also a sin, even if done to you by your spouse, as I wrote about in A Warning for Married Christian Couples.
There are also morning-after pills, which is an emergency form of contraception that causes a spontaneous abortion of the newly conceived child in the womb, when taken the morning after sexual intercourse. This is also murder, whenever an unborn baby is killed by this chemical.
Tubal ligation is a surgical procedure on a woman's fallopian tubes that renders her infertile, so that her eggs can no longer pass from her ovaries each month into her womb.
Vasectomy is a surgery that renders a man sterile by cutting his vas deferens, so that his semen no longer contains sperm. In Kathryn Joyce's article, Arrows for War, she tells of a man named Christopher Scott, who was concerned about finances after his wife Rachel gave birth to their fourth child. His pastor was urging him to get a vasectomy. Christopher saw a warrior angel in his dream. A "large...warrior angel" with a flaming sword that he pointed at Christopher's genitals, telling him, "Do not change God's plan." Afterward I assume he cancelled the surgery, because his wife became a Quiverfull activist.
Natural Family Planning Natural Family Planning (NFP) involves a woman daily tracking
on a chart throughout each month her signs and symptoms, such as basal
body temperature, mucous secretions, and number of days since her last
menstruation, in order to determine when she is fertile. There is a
rhythm of sterility and fertility, and women only ovulate once per
menstrual cycle. So the couple can determine to either avoid sexual
relations when she is fertile, or else target those fertile days, if
they are trying to get pregnant.
This method is based on abstinence and self-control, against which there is no law. Even the apostle Paul said that there are times where a married couple may agree to abstain from sexual relations for a period of time for the purpose of devotion to prayer (1 Cor 7:5).
I personally
don't really see anything wrong with this method, as long as it is not
used to completely prevent having any children, and is rather used to
wisely plan the timing of when they are conceived, as well as the size
of the family. We have used this method ourselves.
My Own Journey and Opinion
Len Lacroix as a baby in 1966
I have been married for twenty-one years to my lovely wife Jennifer, and we have five precious children, who are all gifts from God. We are so thankful for each one of them, and they are truly blessings to us. They glorify the Lord in so many ways both privately and publicly, such as their lovely artwork and poems posted on A Brush with Life and Verses to the King. In fact, I am writing this article on the sixth birthday of our fifth child, and on my twenty-ninth spiritual birthday.
I myself am the youngest of nine children. When I was a teenager, I once wished I had never been born. But when I later came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, The Truth Set Me Free! I was filled with love, joy, and thanks to God for giving me life! Sometimes in our moments of spiritual blindness, we question God's wisdom in creating us or other human beings, but when we enter into His presence we see His perfect wisdom in it all.
I very clearly recall the day in the summer of 2008 when Jennifer informed me that she was pregnant with our fifth child, which was a surprise due to contraceptive failure. We had sold our home and most of our other property in 2006 in preparation to go overseas as missionaries. We had moved into a two-bedroom apartment with all four of our children in one room and my own office squeezed into our bedroom. I had left the lucrative corporate world, and we were living on savings,
as well as a meager income from a new self-employed marketing job I was
doing from home. In the two years since we began preparing to go to the mission field, we had been unable to raise more than a small percentage of our necessary financial support.
Now we were at the point where we had to make a decision to go or not to go to the mission field of Eastern Europe, which we knew God had called us to. And I was already worried we wouldn't be able to go due to our terrible financial situation. So when Jennifer shared the news of her fifth pregnancy with me, I battled with intense spiritual warfare. The devil tried to bind me with fear, doubt, and unbelief. I suddenly felt so depressed! The battle lasted about two hours, during which time I was mostly silent. But in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord made me victorious that day!
I overcame those temptations with the Lord's help as I began to do what I knew the Scripture commanded me to do. It says to give thanks in all things and praise the Lord at all times. So I repented for giving place to the enemy and not being joyful when Jennifer told me the good news of her pregnancy. Then I told her that we needed to just begin to thank God and praise Him with all our hearts for everything we could think of, including this child in her womb. As we did, the Lord lifted me out of the pit and set my feet on the rock to stay. Hallelujah! I found strength in the Lord my God! The darkness lifted as the demons departed from me.
As it was, we later prayed and fasted about whether to go to the mission field, and the Lord clearly told us He would support us, and that we should just go. So when our board heard that, they unanimously approved us to go, which we did in October 2008 (without having the necessary financial support). The baby was born in Hungary in 2009, and the Lord provided for the entire childbirth. We lacked nothing and He has continued to provide for us since then. We are so thankful for that child and he brings so much joy to our lives. I hope that testimony encourages someone who may be worried that they cannot afford to have children. God always provides.
Therefore, I humbly submit to you that even if someone does not share this point of view, they should not say it is of the devil simply because they don't believe it. They should understand that it is a sincerely held belief of tens of thousands of Christians, just as they hold their own sincere belief that contraception is not a sin. And we will all have to give an account to God for our actions.
In fact, the belief that contraception is a sin was the original view of the Church, based on the divine revelation of God's inspired Word, and the acceptance of birth control only came within the past hundred years, during the twentieth century. The acceptance of birth control within the Church all began with a compromise by the liberal, Anglican Church. And if the Church had not followed their lead, it would not have ever gone astray from its historical viewpoint on birth control.
The Bible as a whole speaks of contraception and infertility in negative terms. So if contraception is not good, why do it? If infertility is not good, why induce it artificially? Usually it is because we see some immediate or long-term advantage, or because of fear, doubt, and unbelief. Yet we fail to remember that the Lord is our Helper and the One who sustains us. He is our Provider. He gently leads those with young. Contraception and infertility are not gifts from God, but rather children are gifts from Him. He has commanded us to be fruitful and multiply.
So this anti-contraception message should not be viewed as new, eccentric, heretical, demonic, or what have you, but as another point of view that may in fact be the truth. And it may be that the false view from satan is the one that allows contraception and says it is not a sin. He is the sly devil who always tells people that what God says is sin is not a sin. So it is the ones who are claiming that artificial contraception is not a sin who should be viewed as defending the devil. They are actually the real newcomers on the block.
Since this is a very serious matter that could have eternal consequences for your soul and that of your spouse, you owe it to yourself to take this to the Lord in prayer and be sure you hear from Him on it. Pray that the Holy Spirit will expose anything hidden in your life that must go. Repent and believe, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Jesus Christ is coming right away, but He is only coming for the holy ones, so we need to prepare ourselves. Any changes you make should be out of total love for Jesus, understanding Who He is and who you are in Him. Your attitude should be that because you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you will do whatever pleases Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
I wrote in my recent article James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, of a testimony from a brother who actually died and came back to tell about it. His spirit came out of his body and he went to the place where others have gone and never come back. From this brother’s testimony there are a number of lessons about three different topics, including the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of darkness, and life after death. In this article, I will use his own words in summary of the lessons learned about the last of those three topics -- life after death.
James was also shown about life after death. Just because your name is in the Book of Life does not mean it can never be removed if you go back to the world. If your Bible becomes covered with dust, and you begin to forsake the assembling of yourselves together for worship and preaching of the Word of God, the breaking of bread and prayer, and you begin to make friends with the world, you are going out of the way. You may not even realize it, but it’s true. You are qualifying yourself to be an outcast.
For the moment you die, immediately a road will appear and you will enter the road. Immediately as your spirit goes out of the body, you will proceed on the road. And the only thing that will come to your memory is the Word of God. Every word that is in the Bible, everything we have heard from the Bible is what will come to you as a witness. “Thou shall remember the Lord your God. Thou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your substance. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit fornication.” Every word of God is what will keep coming to you fresh.
There are a lot of people, a crowd of people all marching in one direction, both man and woman, both young and old facing the same direction. As they are going, it’s every man for himself. Nobody can stand for you. Nobody can speak on your behalf. You are on your own. Everybody keeps moving toward the judgment of separation. There is a junction where the road splits in two. On the right side, the road has a very narrow gate, and the road inside was narrow. On the left is a very big gate. The road is broad and wide. Narrow is the way that leads to the Kingdom of God. Broad and wide is the way that leads to hell and destruction.
You may be a Christian now before you die, and you know that where you’re supposed to go is the narrow gate, because your Bible has told you that narrow is the way that leads to the Kingdom of God. You know you should enter by the narrow gate, for that is where you belong, but if you don’t live for the Lord and run the race properly, you will not be able to enter that narrow gate when you come to the junction. You will have no control over your own two legs. Keep in mind that very few people pass on the narrow road, but there are throngs of people on the wide road. As they approach hell, both young and old, they are wailing, crying in torment, pleading for forgiveness, repenting, in great torment. As they get closer to the pit of hell, their cries become louder, as they are begging Jesus Christ for a second chance, because now they believe that truly hell exists. Now they believe that truly, all the things God hates are true. Now they have believed. They are ready to make a change. Just for a second, for them to go back and change. But God said it’s too late.
The Lord showed James that many of those people in hell are those who called themselves so-called ‘Christians.’ While on earth they claimed holiness and righteousness. But because of what they considered “little, little, little, little things, small, small, small things,” which they said “it doesn’t matter,” that is why many of them are in hell. Now they believe. They want to change. But it’s too late. It is too late. When the Lord Jesus Christ created man, He created man in His own image. And His glory was upon him. But His enemy, the devil, has now added a lot of packaging, packaging of the glory He gave man, packaging of earrings, necklaces, attachments, all of them. God says, “My eye cannot behold it once anything artificial.” When the Lord created women, He did not put a hole in their ear. But they have put one there by themselves, which God did not put there. Once anything artificial has been added, no matter what it is, His face cannot look at them. His face cannot behold them. And as for those who end up in hell, they will be set free on the day, on any day that the Lord Jesus Christ will cease to be God. That is the day they will be set free from hell. So, on the day He will cease to be God, that is the day they will be set free from hell. There is no more hope for them.
The coming of the Lord is not soon anymore. He is coming now. He has waited for so long. He is coming now. Prepare for His coming. Without holiness, no one will enter the Kingdom of God, no matter what they do. Walk before Him and be thou perfect. Even if you have been saved, you have to keep running.
If you are a Christian who has backslidden, don’t let the devil rejoice over you, that you now fall in the hand of the devil. Carry your Bible. Open to Psalm 51. Begin to pray. Read it and begin to pray for mercy. Continue to ask God for mercy. Continue to ask God for mercy.
The Lord is so merciful! Heaven is real. Hell is real. People are dying in their thousands and going to hell. Anyone who has experienced hell would not even wish their worst enemy on earth to go to that place where they are weeping, crying, waiting for another chance to repent, and it is too late.
The Lord gave brother James a second chance in order to warn us of that horrible place. Tell God now, “I surrender all.” He will care for you. He knows what we need. God loves us. God cares for us. There is no other love like His. So let us hold fast our faith. Let us hold fast that which God has said in the Bible and believe. And God will see us through.
Author's note: James is not personally connected with this site. Please prayerfully listen to this brother's testimony, James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, and use the Testimony Review Process
adopted by this blog, as you decide for yourself whether the Lord has
spoken to him. For issues and concerns, each person must confirm with
the Lord, whether something is valid or not. For more information on our position, please see Disclaimers.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
This is a testimony from the grave beyond from a brother who actually died and came back to tell about it. His spirit came out of his body and he went to the place where others have gone and never come back. His pastor is Sam Olakunle, the general overseer of Calvary Outreach Evangelical Ministry in Jos, Nigeria. Before it all happened, the Lord told this pastor He would give him a message.
His pastor had received a CD containing some testimonies of people who had seen heaven and hell. When he took it to a church and played it, the people repented and their lives were changed. He himself already believed in heaven and hell from the Bible, and he knew the Lord. But he saw the life-changing power of such testimonies. Yet he wanted to have such a testimony from his own church, so he prayed and asked God to give them one. His desire was that when it would happen, then everyone would hear that what he preaches is a genuine message, not borrowed.
First, a lady in his church had a dream, in which she discovered most of the things that he was preaching. But that dream did not carry the weight of what he was looking for. So he kept praying. He said, “God, if truly those testimonies we hear on the outside are real -- I’m serving a living God that answers prayer—you will answer me.”
The wife of James Agboola visited the home of this pastor, and they discussed where James was working and a lot of calamities that were facing him. Since he had come to know Christ, he had gone astray and was no longer walking on the straight and narrow path. He had left the Lord’s presence, backslidden, and gone out to seek for the world to enjoy the foolishness of the world. His wife was crying to the pastor about this. So the pastor said, “From today we will pray him back, and he will become a child of God.” And that day that they came to the house, the pastor spoke to him personally and said, “From today, I will move you to God, and you cannot leave Him.” And that day, they left the pastor’s house. With that word, as the pastor promised, he kept praying for him. He never knew this is what God would do at the end.
As the pastor was praying for him to come back to the knowledge of the truth, the Lord told him, “This brother is going to die.” And he never knew the kind of death that he was going to die and come back. He never knew. The Lord told him that he should give him Psalm 51, and that he should pray and keep asking God for mercy. It had been very hard for the pastor to reach him. When he would call James, he wouldn’t answer the phone. The pastor suffered a lot with him, as a shepherd suffers with the sheep. He felt the pain of the wife that was crying, saying she knew something was going on, but she didn’t understand. The pastor understood because he’s a man. That very first morning after the pastor heard from God, he called James around 4:30 AM, and amazingly, he answered. When he picked up, the pastor told him, “Wherever you are, stretch forward, pick up the Bible, read Psalm 51 and begin to pray for mercy from God. Don’t ask Him for anything!” That was the last thing he gave to him, and he hung up the phone.
Testimony of James Agboola
My name is Agboola James, but originally Agboola Waseem in Islam. God
invited me and my parents from Islam to Christianity some few years
back. And the Christians in Jos back then showed us love. They would
come to our house with the Word of God. They preached to us. We used to
look at them and think, “Ah! What kind of religion are these people?
Who cares like this? Who shows love like this? Who uses so much of their
time to come to our house and have time with us? From then, our zeal,
our love, began to join together with them. It began to join until such a
day they invited us to the church and we went to the church. And
gradually, gradually, that is how the Lord arrested our souls. And I
gave my life to Christ. Though as we have heard, we face a lot of
persecutions from families—mostly our father’s families, our mother’s
families are Muslims. They forget about us. We become like outcasts,
until today. But the Lord is there for us. As I speak to you today, all
the families’ members from A to Z, they bow before us. Praise the Lord!
Now when I become a Christian, as a Muslim, the testimony I want to share with you, there are many of them, but I want to talk on one—three major important ones. One is about the Kingdom of God. The second one is the international conference of the kingdom of darkness, presided by the devil himself, and what are his purposes and plans for the Christians. The third one is the life after death.
The Kingdom of God
As a Christian by name who was converted from another religion, I believed in going to church. I believed in whatsoever Christians are doing. But I never believed this Bible. I just looked at this Bible like a storybook, as if they just put it off as something that has passed. And so other Christians can read it and others can read it, too (inaudible at 17:37). We are going to church, and doing everything as a Christian as normal, until such a time as the pastor in the church I’m attending by then offended me. And what did I do? A sister had a problem. She came to the pastor. She said, “Pastor, pray for me.” But he never had time to pray for this sister. He never felt concern for this sister; just like a message that my father in the Lord gave us, that there are shepherds and there are hirelings in the house of God. So this sister came to me that, “Oh, brother James. Can you be assisting me and joining me in prayer? These are my problems.” I said, “Ok. We shall pray. We shall not go anywhere. Everyday we are at church service, let us go (inaudible).” I said, “Let us go. As soon as they finish with grace, let us step before the altar and pour out our mind to God.”
And before this, I went to the pastor. I said, “Daddy, this is what this sister said. I should support her in prayer.” He said, “Ok. No problem.” And we began to pray. Before I know it, this pastor writes a petition against me, forwarding it to the headquarters of the church that I’m not the pastor. I’m doing his own work. Why is he alive? How can I be sitting in the church, praying for members? What is his work that is not even with his consent, not with his notice? And the church leaders…
[A portion of the video is missing at this point]
That is the spirit of Islam. And at this point, I now look at, I said, “Oh.” I felt so disappointed. I felt so dejected. I said, “If this is what Christianity is all about…they are preaching love, they are preaching love.” I said, “If this is the way I’m preaching Christianity, I’d better go back to my Islam.” I carried the Bible. I dropped it somewhere. I said, “I’m not doing anymore.” I said, “If this is what it’s all about, I’m going back to Islam.
I just had a revelation. And I heard a very loud trumpet. The trumpet sounded very loud and clear! And before I know it, I saw people from the four winds of the earth just going (he motions repeatedly upward with his hand). Before I look around, I saw myself something just pick me (up) too. Voom! We begin to meet ourselves on the sky. And the moment that it caught you up, whatever dressing you were putting on, it changed immediately. It becomes pure white. Pure white! Not a single sin. And that is how we are ascending to heaven. And I can see that we are singing a song as we are moving on the air, going towards heaven. We are singing…I’ve never heard (such) a very sweet and melodious song like that in my entire life. And we are all speaking in one language, in one language. People from everywhere, we are all speaking in one language. We all became one. There is no different…no…we all became one. Like what we just heard now. Everybody for himself. And that is how we moved into heaven.
And when we got there, I saw a very big gate. Very big, white, golden gate. It was written, “Welcome to the Kingdom of God.” Everybody was so anxious. We all assembled as people who assemble before a church, both young and old, both man and woman. The place was so quiet. Every man for himself. And there are booths. This is where I was able to confirm that everything that was written in the Bible—it is not a storybook. It is the prophecy and the Word of God. I began to see in reality what we have been hearing, what we have been reading in the Bible. I saw books. I saw files. Everyone on earth, from the day you are born, your files are written in heaven. Whatsoever you are doing, be it good or bad, the angels are busy, jotting and writing, jotting and writing. So we all gathered. They began to call the names of the files, one after another. It was there that I found out that in heaven, God doesn’t call people by the titles they have in the world -- Reverend, bishop. No, they call you by your name. Period. They began to call names. As they call the names, they go through your file. They open the gate, they ask you to go in. Everybody was shaking because that file, after you’ve been raptured, your work must be tested. Your work has to be examined. Your life has to be examined before you proceed. So, some were still disqualified from there. Some were given ask them to pass. When they called my name, “James Agboola!” I quickly jumped forward. They look at my file. They look at my face. They look at the file. They look at my face. I said, “What’s happening?” I begin to plead and beg. They said, “Ok, enter.” So they opened the gate, and I entered, Praise the Lord.
What a beauty! The road and the street were made of pure gold. Pure gold! I’ve never seen a street, I’ve never seen a road like that on earth. Pure gold! No wonder Jesus Christ said, “I go to my Father’s House to prepare a place for you.” I saw the beauties. The beauties, you know, as if God said, “Let the beauty come out here.” And the beauty just (he squats down and stands up to animate his point). Gold windows, doors, everything. Pure gold. So beautiful. I began to walk in the streets of gold. I was looking left and right, beholding the beauty there. I saw flowers of diverse colors, left and right, waving. I could hear the sound of instruments, such that I’ve never heard in my life. Sounds of big instruments, the sound of praising God. The flowers there, you will see them going left and right, singing praises to God. You could see trees moving, (inaudible 26:11). You could see trees moving. There I don’t understand that. There is nothing dead in the Kingdom of God. Everything in the Kingdom of God are living things. There’s nothing dead. Everything you will see there are moving. If you see a mountain, it can move. It can talk, it can praise God. Anything there. I was just lost in the beauty of what I’m seeing left and right. I was going.
As soon as I got to one point, I saw an angel come out from one corner. He said, “Young man, stop!” And I stopped. He now walked close to me. He looked at me and said, “From where are you coming?” Brethren, at the time I had this revelation, I was close to forty years old. Now I’m over forty. He now asked me, “Where are you coming from?” I stood before him for one hour, trying to remember where I am coming from. “Where am I coming from? Where am I coming from? Where am I coming from? Where am I coming from?” I stood. After more than one hour that I couldn’t give an answer, he now gave me a clue. He said, “You just are coming from the earth now. You are just coming from the world now. What can you tell us about the world? Tell us something about the world.” I stood for another one hour. “World…world…I am coming from the world…world, what is world? Where is world?” I said, “Sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if truly I am coming from the world, as you say, I just passed there briefly.”
You cannot tell. It’s just like somebody coming from Bauj and going to Abuja and just pass there. Can he tell you something about there? I said, “I cannot tell, because I just passed there briefly.” As soon as I said that, he said, “Ok. Proceed.” Then I proceed. I was just lost, looking left and right, beholding all the beauty I never expected to see in my life. As I proceed, then in my church, in the church I’ve attended by then, the son of the elder at our church I was attending by then, the man is, the man is to us trying very well. In every church activity, you will see him there. He carries the burden of the church on his head. He carried all the less privileged of the church at home. This man is a simple servant. On Saturday he doesn’t go to work. There are times when he will go to market and buy a bag of rice and put in the back of his car. And he will now be going to member’s house, and he goes there because he knows they are less privileged. As soon as he knocked, after he entered and prayed with you, he will ask your children to bring the bowl and get some measures of rice and give to them and pray with them. There are times in the church when there is something needed by the choir, when the pastor announces they need a microphone or anything that’s not working well. Before the preacher would announce it, this man would jump up and said, “Please, leave this request alone. I know what I can do. These jobs that you are talking, leave it to me. I promise that before the next Sunday, you will see another one here.” And so you will come and see it. This is how the man has been faithful to God. The man just sat for a while. [video skips part of the story at this point].
(I was just walking in) the streets of heaven and the golden streets. I now heard this man calling my name, the name he used to call me when I was on earth. He used to call me, “James, my son. James, my son, James, my son.” So I was going, I just heard, “James, my son. James, my son.” Immediately I heard that name, I realized he was behind. Before I look back, I knew who was coming from behind me, who it was. Then I saw. Then I look at my right hand. I saw another department of heaven. The word, “Paradise.” That is where the souls of the faithful departed have been kept. The man just walked to me from that paradise, wearing a pure, shiny, white, bright coat. And when he came, “James, you are here? How are you? James, look at me! Look at me!” (James demonstrates how the man lifted his arms and turned around and around to show his white garment.) “Look to see, I’m comforted. I’m comforted here.” This is how he was just showing himself to me. (James continues to demonstrate how the man lifted his arms and turned around and around to show his white garment.), turning around that, “James, look at me. I’m beautiful! There is peace here. There is no sadness here. There is no sickness here. Can’t you see me?” I said, “I see you, Baba.” That’s the way I used to answer him on earth. (James demonstrates how he bowed in front of him as he said this to the man.) “I see you, Baba. I see you, Baba.” Then he said, “James, look at me. James, I want you to send a message. Promise me you will deliver the message.” I said, “Baba, I will deliver your message.” He said, “Please, James, when you go back to the world, please go to my house. You will see my children and my wife. Please tell them that you saw me. That you saw how comforted and peaceful I am. That you saw how pleasing and beautiful this place is. Tell them to hold onto Jesus Christ. Tell them not to backslide. Tell them not to think of anything. I know they are suffering. They’re passing through hard times. But tell them to hold on, because I’m expecting to see them, here where I am one day.” [There is a break in the video at this point.] He went back again to paradise.
Then I proceed. As I proceeded, I was going, I was going. I reached a section. An angel now came and said, “Sir.” I now stopped. He said, “That place you are going, you cannot go there now. It’s not yet time for you to cross over to that place. You have to go back.” I said, “No.” I sat down by the River of Life. I began to beg, “Please! Please don’t let me go back! This place is so beautiful. This place is so nice. It’s so peaceful.” The brightness there is more than the brightness of the sun we have here. It’s not hot to the body. Very cool, very cool! Just everything as the Bible said it. That was how it was. That is how it was. He said I have to go back. I began to beg and plead that I don’t want to go back.
At that point, he now showed me some things. He now stretched forth his hand like this. The minute he stretched forth his hand like this, I saw a very large screen. Then I saw the world. I saw somebody carried something very big, very big and rounded! (James demonstrates the man holding this large object over his head and teetering, tottering back and forth as if he were about to drop it). He was just looking as if that thing will fall… as if that thing will fall. After I looked at it for a while, he now tapped me. As he tapped me, then I came back. I still saw myself before him. I didn’t understand. He said that thing I saw is the world. That the world is about to reach a point of collapse. He said, “That person that is carrying that thing is an angel that is carrying it. And he’s tired of carrying it because of the sin of the world. As soon as that thing drops from his head, the end comes. Before that thing will drop from his head, He, God, will have to come and remove His own from the earth by means of Rapture. Before the end now comes.” I said, “Ok.” But I’m still thinking, “I don’t want to go back. Let me remain here. Let me remain here.” He said, “No.” He stretched forth his hand again (James demonstrates the Man waving his hand in front of Him). The screen appeared again. I saw the world again, just as the world is now. I saw the world in total darkness, complete darkness. Serious darkness! But the people in the world didn’t know. They didn’t know it was in darkness. They were still going about their normal business, just as it’s happening today. Everybody is going to his work place. The married are marrying. They’re doing all sorts of things. I now saw in that darkness arrows flying from the four winds of the earth. You don’t know where arrows are coming from. And as those arrows are coming, if any one of those arrows would hit, that person would just fall down and die. The arrows keep falling as rain, as if rain is falling. Nobody notices an arrow. But the arrows keep falling like rain. And anybody the arrow just touches, instantly falls down and dies.
Then I now saw, in the midst of the people, there are some people in that darkness that have a little star on their head. Even they themselves didn’t know. Wherever they are going, the star is on their head, going with them. When they turn the star turns. When they’re going, the star is right on their head. Wherever they go, the star is going. But they didn’t know it. But to those few who have those stars, those arrows don’t touch them. When the arrow’s coming from the back, once they saw that star, they divert. If the arrow is coming from the left and saw that star on their head, it would divert. And they didn’t know. After I saw it for a while, the angel now tapped me. When I came back, I said, “I don’t understand.” He said that place I’m seeing in total darkness is the world. The world is full of darkness. Darkness has taken over. He said the arrows I’m seeing flying from left and right every corner is the spirit of death that is taking people away in their thousands and in their millions. He said, “There you noticed there is some few people who have stars on their head. I said, “Yes, yes.” He said, “Those who have stars on their heads are the children of God. They are the sons and daughters of God.” He said those stars I’m seeing on their heads are the seal of protection that God is beginning to put upon His own children -- upon His own elect, so that all the evil that is befalling the earth will not come close to them or curse them. As he explained this, “I said, “Ok.” I said, “But still, God, I don’t want to go back. I want to remain here. I’m still standing here.”
He stretched forth His hand again. I now saw myself in the world with a lot of people. And we were now running a race. And the road we are running is so rough, very, very rough. It’s not smooth at all. Both men and woman, both young and old, we are running, running to get to that place. And as we are running, many will fall by the road and will sit down and be complaining. Many will sit themselves on a rock, they will sit down and keep complaining. Right there we are keeping on running, running, running, keep running. After a while, he tapped me again. He said, “You see the reason why you must go now? You have not completed your race. You must go back.” He called my name. He said, “James! I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No any other way that can lead anyone to this Kingdom. No any other way. No any other religion. It’s only Me. And by you going away from My way, you see what you’re going to lose? And your name will be removed from the Book of Life, if you go. So you must go back. Go back to Jos, continue your race. And at the end of the race, if you make it, this is where you’re coming back.” After He said this, I wept. I hold onto His feet. I was shouting, weeping, crying that, “No! I don’t want to go back I don’t want to go back! Let me stay here. I love this place. I want to stay here.” As I was crying and pleading, so He tapped me. And that was how I went back. And I came back to life. Praise the Lord. And that’s what God revealed to me about the Kingdom of God.
And then from that moment, I believed the Bible. Whatsoever you read in the Bible, it’s just as it is -- there is no additional, nothing different, just the truth. Everything in the Bible is just as it is. Just read it and believe it. And it shall be (well) with your (soul) in Jesus’ Name.
The International Conference of the Kingdom of Darkness
Secondly, after a while, the Lord said, “I want to show you what’s going on in the kingdom of darkness. Prepare yourself.” I don’t know. So after some time in the night, I just slept. And it’s like a wild wind, very strong, just came in and picked me (up). As He picked me, He took me up and took me to air flying on the air. He took me to a far land, on a far journey across the desert, across big oceans. And at the point that He brought me down, in the deep forest, I saw in a very big gate: “Welcome to the conference of the demons.” I don’t know how I managed. The wind just took me in there. Veep! And kept me in a corner. I sat down. As I sat down, I began to see demons coming in from the four corners of the earth. They were flying in and they were in different shapes in different sizes. They were flying in from every angle. As they fly in, they take their seats. As they’re flying in, they take their seat. As they’re flying in, they take their seat.
The place was completely in darkness. But in the midst of darkness, God gave me eyes and I could see everything that is going on in there. But none of them noticed my presence there. I saw seats of pastors, pastors that are getting powers from the kingdom of darkness. They’re all flying, each different. As they’re coming, they’re taking their position, many of them with their collar around their neck, with their big hat that they used to wear, with their series of mode of dressing, they all took their seat. The place was in total silence. After a while, the devil himself now came down (James motions with his hand to indicate the devil descended into the room). As he comes down, I’ve never seen somebody so furious who is so angry, who is so annoyed, like the devil. He came with serious anger. There was a big seat prepared for him, but he couldn’t sit. He was just going up and down (James paces quickly back and forth with his head down). “What are you people doing?!” He was addressing the congregations of the devils and the pastors. “What are you people doing?! What are you doing?! Are you doing anything? I don’t see the products of what you are doing!”
After a while, one of the devils stood up (James demonstrates the demon standing up and speaking while hunched over with his head down). He said, “Master, we are trying our best. Master, we are possessing the Church. Master, we are taking (inaudible). Master, we are taking over the youth activities. We deliver them. We give them new systems. We give them new fashions. We make them to go out of the (inaudible) and the way of God. Master…”
After that one speaks, another one would get up. “Master, we have possessed the gospel musicians of the earth. Their musics no longer having meaning in the spiritual realms. We have possessed their gospel music so that it becomes worldly music. They will think they are singing gospel music, but it is worldly. We are giving them some tunes, some pieces, some dancing steps which is not of God, which is of the demons to convince them. They will be sang inside the congregations, and they will dance to them. [video skips a portion of the testimony at this point].
(The devil) addressed them. He charged the pastors, the so-called pastors where they are seated. He gave them power to work wonders and miracles. He gave them various power and various ways with conditions. They can preach anything they like in their church. They can do any program they like in their church, but they must not talk about salvation. They must not talk about heaven. They must not talk anything about rapture. But preach anything. “Do your altar call. You can do your altar call, call them forward, pray for them, bless them, let them go. But don’t go into details about the Kingdom of God. Don’t go into details of the salvation of their soul. Any pastor who goes against this will be severely dealt with… severely dealt with.”
None of the pastors would stand up to say they won’t (inaudible). They only take orders. They only take authority. They cannot contribute anything there. It’s only the devils that speaks where the devil is standing.
Now, as they were saying all these things where I was seated, I was not happy at all. One demon said something that gave me a little joy. He said, “Master, we are having some problems in the world.” The devil said, “What is it?” The demon said, “Master, we have discovered there are some end-time evangelists and they are just appearing.” He said there are some end-time evangelists and they are just appearing, and they are clothed with clothes of fire. He said, “Master, these end-time evangelists, we find it difficult to talk to them.”
[A portion of the video is missing at this point]
When he said this, I now had some relief. Where I was sitting, I now had some joy. Still yet, the devil has yet to see me there.
[A portion of the video is missing at this point]
The devil said, “Yes, yes…some devils, too… I will clothe them with a garment of fire, so that I will be able to contend. They will be able to stand and fight those end-time evangelists.” Which I know is a failure from the beginning. And they will continue to fail.
[A portion of the video is missing at this point]
The Drum of Covenants
...As fire under it. It keeps burning twenty-four hours. I now saw devils, bringing blood from the four corners of the earth into that drum that is on the fire. The blood keeps coming into it every second. The devil is now telling them that that drum is the drum of covenants, that whatsoever blood came into that drum, is from the blood of covenants. And from that drum they fetched and gave to manufacturers, those who manufacturer all these earrings, necklace, body perfumes, all these body (inaudible). The devil said he has no time, that the time is so short, so short, so they must be up and going, they have no time to rest. They have no time to rest -- no time to give any chance. They must follow the Christians bumper to bumper.
The devil does not believe that there is somebody he cannot catch (inaudible). No matter how holy and perfect you are, he still watches you that, “I’ll get you. I will get you. If you don’t fight, I will get you.” Until the King – God – picks you up (James moves his hand in an upward motion like someone’s going up.) they will not say, “I lose this one.” He still believes that there is nobody he will not get. He says, “So possess all these material things that they love – All these worldly things.” Brethren, it has come a time in this world that even if you buy ordinary Vaseline, you need to sanctify it. You don’t know what, where, or who manufactured it. Maybe it’s a demon. He said, “Possess all those things, so that the oil they are spraying on their body -- the oil they are spraying as perfumes -- it’s taking away the glory of God in them. And the spirit of lust will begin to dominate them. They will not have time for God again.” It was then I now know that the devil he said he has different departments. He sent the musical department to go to the world. “Pretend you are singing Gospel. Sing Gospel (inaudible) that at the end of the day is taking them out of the will of God. (inaudible) Don’t let them have time to read (and he pats his Bible) The Book. He never calls this Bible, “Bible.” Whenever he wants to call it by a name, he says The Book. (inaudible) he said The Book. He said, “Don’t let them have time to read The Book. Let there be interesting and very good programs on the TV twenty-four hours, so that that will occupy their time. So that they’ll have no time to read the Bible, they’ll have no time to go to church activities. By then, we are getting them. We are getting them.” He was saying all these things stage by stage.
At the end of the day, for me to cut it short, the devil now said something that touches my heart. I wept right there where I was sitting. This is what he was telling them. He said, “Don’t you know that it was recorded in this book that when God destroyed the earth with flood, after He had destroyed them, that it pains God to his heart. It pains him because He had destroyed this world, His own handiwork, by Himself. He said, “Now! If me the devil can be able to pack at least, not less than ninety-five percent of God’s people to hell, he knows that’s going to pain God in His heart, and that is our chief end.” (inaudible). He said that is his goal! If he cannot get all, if he can succeed to pack ninety-five percent of God’s creation to hell, that it is still going to pain God in His heart, that God will weep. And his happiness is to see tears in the face of God. That is his chief end (inaudible).
So from this lesson, they must all pick up their efforts. They must be restless. They must “Go! Follow the Christians, enter the Church, follow them bumper-to-bumper. Don’t give them any breathing space. Anyone that… (inaudible). The moment you thought you will lose them, cut them off! Kill them! Just pick him off! Don’t wait until they get beyond the gate. Just take them off. At the slightest chance, get them.” These are all the things he was saying.
So Christians, we must be careful. We must watch the type of church we go, the type of pastor or minister of God. Ones they are not preaching the true Word of God, once any pastor is not preaching repentance, is not preaching the kingdom of God, is not preaching salvation, the salvation of your soul, you must watch. And God will help us in Jesus’ Name.
As he was saying this, he now backed up by saying they should go. He will increase their power. He will do something about the end-time evangelists that are clothed with fire. He will do something about it. There will be pastors who should go, gather much congregations, gather much (inaudible), do whatever you want to do, get their money, get anything you want to do, but don’t dare preach salvation. Don’t dare talk about repentance. Don’t dare tell them there is any future or hope for them somewhere.
[A portion of the video is missing at this point.]
...(The meeting was getting near) the end. I didn’t know how one of the demons noticed me where I was sitting down. He said, “Look! Somebody is here!” The moment he said so, I ran out of the gate. And I begin to run, but before I could run, I cannot outrun the devil. Before I take a step, they are taking one thousand steps. Then I shouted, “Lord! Help me!” Then He broke the heaven open. I saw a very mighty wind, just came down, and picked me up. As it picked me up, it took me far away to a sierra land and landed me on the rock. As soon as he landed on the rock, the wind now turned itself and now become an old man. I now look at Him. I said, “But who are you?” He said, “I am the Holy Spirit.” And He took a step. As He took a step, so He vanished and went up again.
And that is how, since then, I will tell it to you wherever I go, watch out. Christians, we have to be extra careful. We have to mind what we wear, what we use. Whatever we buy in the market at this time, we pray over it even if it is clothes, we sanctify it and we cover it in the Blood of Jesus. And the protections of God will continue to be upon us in Jesus’ Name.
Life After Death
Lastly, life after death. As my father in the Lord has earlier said, this happened to me on the first of this month, the first of this November. Last month, precisely it was the end of last month, October, I just discovered that something keep talking to me, that, “James, you will die. James, you will die.” He would call my name. If I’m walking on the sidewalk, “James, you will die.” If I’m walking on the street, “James, you will die.” If I’m stopping. If I’m even in a taxi, “James, James, do you know you will die?” (I thought), “What kind of joke is this? I thought it was a joke. After some time, that the thing keep coming, I begin to pray. I begin to work from Bible verses that I know that “Ah! I shall not die. The Lord said I would not die but live.” But before then, praise God, (inaudible around 58:39), after I left Jos, when my business was not going fine in Jos, I decided to relocate to Abuja. But my families are here, my wife and my children. So I alone I went to Abuja. My first time I got there, I was still intact with the Lord, I was still praying, because when I get there I don’t know anybody. (inaudible around 59:01-03). Things still look still difficult. I was still on fire, even if I am walking on the street, “Holy Ghost, you must locate me. You must do something, you must find me out (inaudible around 59:07-11). You must locate me, you must do something, you must find me out.” And with the grace of God, God began to connect me. God began to bless me. And gradually, before you know it, I didn’t know I’m already backsliding (inaudible around 59:25-26). Because that is why, even if you have been saved, you have to keep running. You have to hold it fast. I was capitalizing that “God had taken me to heaven, so if Jesus Christ comes today (if I should die today), I’m going to heaven straight.” Praise God. That was all just like God has taken me to heaven. He had shown me heaven. And He told me that my name is in the Book of Life. So that name is there.
So I began to the extent that me I cannot do without attending church (verify 1:00:09). I now get to Abuja (inaudible 1:00:10-13) that for good six months, three months, I would not touch the Bible. When I’d pick up the Bible, dust. This is the Bible here. Dust was have covered it all around. Now look here.
From Sunday to Sunday, I didn’t know anything about church. To the extent that I began to make friends there. I begin to have romance with girls. But yet it never occurred to me that I’m already going out of the track. It never occurred to me that I’m already going out of the way. But at such a time, I now discovered that my wife, I now thank God for the wife God gave me. Each time I call her, she say, “My husband, don’t forget God. Don’t forget how you started. Don’t be an outcast. Don’t let the devil rejoice over you, that you of all people, that God had taken you to heaven, He has shown you, you’ve seen some things, and at the end of the day, you now fall in the hand of the devil.”
And I thank my father in the Lord. He would always call me to order (inaudible 101:31), though I was not good at calling. I don’t used to call him. I can be there for months. I don’t call him. He’s the one that would call me sometimes and say, “I just want to hear your voice. I just want to pray with you.” He would call me and pray with me and bless me. And sometimes even when he would come to Jos, he want to see me. I said, “How of a life is that? (around 11:42) I’m still a young man. And by the way, I’m not sick! I’m really not sick.” I would say, “Maybe this sickness would lead to death, but I’m not sick. And I’m not traveling.” You know, I’m taking this in my own human wisdom, that “As long as this thought is coming, even if I want to travel, I will cancel it because I don’t want to die. How can I die now? I love my wife. She’s so beautiful. My children—they are so beautiful. I love them, too. How can I die and leave them? No, I can’t die.”
This is how, but yet the death keeps telling me, “You’re going to die. You’re going to die.” And something that happened, that while this thing keep coming, I was so scared to share it with anybody. It’s like something just arrest my mind. Nothing, it didn’t occur to me for a minute to even call somebody, or to even call my father in the Lord, or to even call my wife who I always tell my secret to, and say pray with me, to see what is happening. I just keep it -- because I just don’t believe it – that I’m going to die. “Will I just die just like that that?” So it was.
So, before there some days before the end of last October, very early in the morning around…I always off my phone when I’m about to sleep, cause I don’t want disturbance. I don’t want anything to disturb my sleep. Most time I off my phone, except if I forgot. And even if I forgot, anytime after ten or eleven (if someone) wants to call, once the phone starts ringing, I’ll just stretch forth my hand -- I know where the off button is—I’ll just off it right away.
But this particular day, I just went to work on the first of November, this November. I went to work. Before that, my daddy just called me early in the morning around after four or five. At that time that sleep used to be very sweet. He just called me. Immediately before, it was ringing, ringing, ringing -- God’s so kind -- I didn’t off it. I just took it to see, “Who is the person calling.” I saw Pastor Sam Olakunle. I now put it, “Ah!” I pick it. “Hello?” As usual, whenever he called me, he didn’t even say, “Good morning.” He didn’t even say, “How are you?” He said to me, “James! Carry your Bible. Carry your Bible. Carry your Bible. Open to Psalm 51. Begin to pray. Read it and begin to pray for mercy. Continue to ask God for mercy. Continue to ask God for mercy.”
Immediately he said so, I picked the Bible, I picked it and opened to Psalm 51. I read it about three times. I begin to get the feeling that something is telling me that I’m going to die. Maybe God has revealed it to the man of God. So I didn’t joke with that instruction he gave to me. I begin to read and pray for mercy.
So on the first, I went to work and came back at night. When I came back, I ate my dinner and I went to bed. As soon as I went to bed, it’s like as if something just touched me. I just discovered that my body just get up, came out of my body. I now stand separate. I now saw my body on the floor, lifeless. The minute I saw it, I couldn’t look at it twice. I turn my face against it. I don’t want to look at it.
As I turned my face, immediately a road appeared at my back. I entered the road. Immediately as my spirit got out of the body, number one is that I never remember anything about this world again. Whether I have wife or I don’t have, whether I have children or I don’t have, whether I’m suffering on earth or I’m enjoying it, I don’t remember anything on earth again. So I proceed on the road that appeared before me. I began to go. As I was going, the only thing I’m remembering – clear -- the only thing that is coming to my memory, is the Word of God -- every word that is in the Bible, everything we have heard from the Bible, everything we have heard from the preacher, is what is coming to me as a witness. As I was going the word then came “Thou shall remember the Lord your God. Thou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your substance. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit fornication.” Every word of God is what keep coming to me fresh.
As I was going, I met a lot of people, a lot, a crowd of people. We were all marching in one direction, both man and woman, both young and old. We were just going. We were coming from every direction, but we were going in one -- we are facing the same direction. And we are going, every one, every man for himself. As we have heard, individual with no man can stand for you here. Nobody can stand for you. Nobody can speak on your behalf. You are on your own.
We keep going. The place was totally silence. Everybody keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. I like what my father just said earlier. He said, "Judgment of separation." Judgment of separation. We are proceeding! And I could look far off. I now saw a junction where the road splitted into two. Initially the road was one. All of us were going in multitude. But at that point, the road splitted into two. We were going. The Word of God keep coming – the verses!
As we reach the junction, before we approach the junction, I saw one has a very narrow gate, and the road inside was narrow. I saw the other one by the left. It had a very big gate. The road was so broad and wide. Immediately I was knowing it, the word of God came to me that narrow is the way, that leads to the Kingdom of God. Broad and wide is the way that leads to hell and destruction. So from that moment, I took the vision, to mean that, yes, I’m a Christian now before I died. So where I’m supposed to go is the narrow gate, because my Bible has told me that narrow is the way that leads to the Kingdom of God. So I should enter by the narrow gate, for that is where I belong. So we were going.
It was at that point I now discovered that I have no control over my two legs again. From the beginning, I didn’t know I wasn’t the one controlling my legs. But at that junction, I purposed in my mind that I want to go to the narrow gate. But my legs keep going through the other gate. And nobody opened his mouth to speak there. You just be reasoning in your mind, “I want to go this way now.” But my legs keep going to the broad road. I couldn’t depart it. I couldn’t stop it. I don’t have any control at all in that leg. And that is how my leg dragged me to the broad road, and I entered the gate. I followed them. And yet when I entered, my eyes was still looking at the narrow road, because I at the beginning, we can see these other (both gates). My eyes were still on the narrow road. I just discovered that the narrow road—how many people you see passing there? Once in a while, you just one person goes through. That is how we are rushing in thousands, in multitude. We were just going by the broad road. Everyone, both young and old, man and woman, white and black, everybody. But still the narrow road…once in a while, like one hour, two hour before you would see one person just pass. After that person pass, then wait to round about two hour, even three hours before another person just come again. But after a while, the roads were separating that we couldn’t see the other road again.
But as we are going, I now discovered that the broad road we are going, the more we are proceeding, the more it’s getting darker. By the way, gradually later I would not see the front again. But still yet, our legs cannot stop. The legs keep going faster. In my front, I begin to hear the cry of people ahead of me. As if when we are here, there are people crying by the roadside, series of wailing, crying of torment, pleading for forgiveness. Some were saying, “Looooooooooooooooooooooooooord!!!!!! Have mercy upon meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! I will change, I will change, I will change, I will change, I will change.” Some were saying, “Jesuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!!!!!!! Forgive meeeeeeeeee!!!! Now I believe! Give me another chance! I will change, I will change, I will change, I will change.” Many of them, I could hear the sound, both young and old, crying, repenting, in great torment, begging Jesus Christ for a second chance, that now they have believed that truly hell exists. Now they have believed that truly, all the things God hates is true. Now they have believed. They are ready to make a change. Just for a second, for them to go back and change. But God said it’s too late. I was hearing their cries seriously.
The more we proceed, the louder their crying is coming, which means they are very close to the pit of hell. As I was hearing their crying, my body was shaking. But yet my legs—I look, I can’t stop it. We keep going, we keep going, everybody. Multitudes! Keep going.
At a point, I now heard somebody call my name. He said, “James! Stop!” I now heard, “Stop!” It now seemed as if a man had just came from ground and put, and now hold my leg there. I now stop. I fold my hands. I bend my head, as somebody who was standing before the judge to be. And the voice now begin to speak to me in great pain. Jesus Christ speak to me in sadness. He was not happy. He speak to me with a sorrowful heart. He said, “James, you think that you cannot die, or you think you are too young to die. Look at you, but now you are dead. You are not on the planet earth again. You are dead. And where you belong is hellfire. If I should take you now, your place is hellfire because you have backslided from My Way. You have turned your back from My Way. And hell is where you belong. And that is hell that you are going.” He said, “James, do you hear the cry of people in hell?” I said, “Yes, sir.” He said, “Many of them are those who called themselves so-called ‘Christians’ like you. While on earth they claimed holiness and righteousness. But because of ‘little, little, little, little things, small, small, small things’, ‘it doesn’t matter.’” We have heard it here now: “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.” He said, “That is why many of them are in hell. And I hear them crying that now, they believe. They want to change. But it’s too late. It is too late.” He said, “James, when I created man, I created man in my own image. And my glory was upon him.” He said, “But my enemy, the devil, now added a lot of packaging, packaging of the glory I gave man, packaging of earring, necklace, attachments, all of them. God says, “My eye cannot behold it once anything artificial, artificial...” He said, “James, when I created women, did I put hole in their ear?” I said, “No.” He said, “How come I now saw them with hole in their ears?” He said, “James, when I created man, every part of their body that is supposed to have hole, did I not put hole there?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “How come they now begin to put hole by themselves?” He said, “And once anything artificial has been added, no matter what it is, my face cannot look at them. My face cannot behold them.”
“In my mercy, I will give you a second chance for you to go. Watch your way, and walk before me, and be thou perfect.” At that point, He now said I should turn back and start going back. At that moment, the same thing that hold my leg now turned my leg again back to where I was coming from. I now began the way back. I begin to go back. I begin to go back. I went back on until I reached where my body was in lying down, lifeless. I saw it there. The minute I saw it, I turned my face again. I don’t want to look at it. And the Voice said again. He said, “James, that is your body. Enter into it.” I said, “No! No! I won’t enter that body! I won’t enter body! I hate that body!” because at that moment, once you die, there is nothing like witches or wizards or any other enemy. There is only one thing that will appear to you as your greatest enemy on the earth. There is only one thing that will appear to you as your worst enemy on earth, and that is your body -- this body. I now saw this body as my enemy. I said, “No! How can you ask me to enter this body? It caused me to do all the bad things I did on earth. It misled me. How can you ask me to enter the body? I won’t enter!”
Then the Lord said to me, He said, “James, you have died. You are not on the planet earth again. And you are putting on a new body. And this body you are putting on is immortal body, everlasting body that will either take you to hellfire or Kingdom of God.” He said, “In this body that you are standing, you cannot receive forgiveness. It is too late for you to receive forgiveness in this body. For you to receive my forgiveness and my mercy, you have to enter that body again." Still yet after (He said) that hell is where I am going, I still refuse. I said, “No! I will not enter! I hate that body! I don’t want to look at it! I don’t want to see it!”
And the body is just there, lifeless, dirty! I have a very good example of what that body looked to me. You know these mechanic’s work shirt, mechanic’s uniform that they are using to work for over two years without washing. It is soaked of different type of engine oil…they use it to roll on the ground. They now have torn. They have now condemned it. They now throw it inside gutter (open sewage drainage). Rain beat inside that gutter. Someone now come and said, “Be that clothes and wear it.” That was how that body just looked to me. That was why I was refusing.
I said, “No! I will not enter this body. Don’t push me into any body. (inaudible at 31:52-54 ). Don’t push me. It’s a corruptible body. I won’t enter. I won’t enter.” That was when He now said to me, “James, I’m giving you a chance, a second chance, I’m giving you a second chance, for you to go and watch your way and walk before me and be perfect.” He said, “If you turn your back from here now, where you are going is hellfire. Where you are going is hellfire, because this body you are standing with cannot receive forgiveness. It is too late.”
Then a thought now come to me in my mind as I was standing that “What about those wailing and crying in hell there? Won’t you have pity on them?” He now answered me (not knowing that He could even hear my thought). He said, “James, do you know when these people in hell will be set free? Do you know when they will be set free? On the day, on any day that I will cease to be God. That is the day they will be set free from hell. So, on the day I will cease to be God, that was the day they will be set free from hell.” He said, “So, James, go! I’m sending you as a witness to my world. Tell the people, tell my servants, tell whosoever comes your way, that My coming is not soon anymore. I’m coming now. I’ve waited for so long. I’m coming now. Tell them to prepare for My coming. Without holiness, holiness, holiness, no one, no one will enter My Kingdom no matter what they do. Tell them to walk before Me and be perfect.”
After saying all these things, He now said, “James! I command you--enter your body!” At that one command, as if you force somebody to do what he don’t want to do, I now look at that body on the floor, useless thing. I now went so slowly stoop, so slowly stoop. I look at the body. I now drop close to the body. I now bend down. I bend down and enter the body. As soon as I enter the body, I came back to life. As I came back to life, sweat -- hot sweat – come out of my body. My body was soaked with sweat. I couldn’t have any strength in me at all again. For completely a week, I couldn’t do anything, because I don’t even have strength at all. If I sat up too long, you would see my body shaking, shaking. If I didn’t even eat in time, you would see my body shaking. Until after a week, before I now begin to gather my strength. It was then, I now call my father in the Lord. I said, “Papa, I died, and I came back to life.” I wept seriously that I was still given a second chance, and yet I’m refusing to enter the body. That fire, if I am not allowed, I am going back to hellfire forever and ever. The Lord is so merciful! So please, heaven is real. Hell is real. People are dying in their thousands and going…
[A portion of the video is missing at this point.]
When I come back, I feel as if I should have the power to turn the whole world to the Lord again so they will all go to heaven. Because I can’t even wish my worst enemy on earth—my worst enemy on earth—to go to that place where they are weeping, crying, waiting for another chance to repent, and it was too late. And I thank God for my daddy in the Lord. He has not left the narrow road. God will continue to see him through and walk with him in Jesus’ Name.
He now turned and asked to me another question that will continue to sound in my mind. He said, “Number one: When I died, I because of I wanted to better the life of my wife and children, that was why I went to Abuja, so that when I died, did I remember them?” I said, “No, I never would remember anything about this world. And because of struggling to keep them, I would have gone to hell. And they would have made heaven, life would still continue.”
“Number 2: He is giving you a second chance. There is something He has not told you. He has not told you the time He gave you for that second chance, whether it is one week, whether it is two weeks, whether it is one month, whether it is one year -- I don’t know."
So I have resolved in principle to live my life today as if there is no tomorrow. And I have told God I surrender all. Since then, in my prayer, I don’t even ask God for anything, for money or any worldly things. Will a dead man ask God for money? Will a dead man ask for car? God says if I surrender all to Him completely, I should not watch if He will not care for me, that He care for us. He knows what we need, not wanting me to run helter-skelter (inaudible at 38:26-29). So God loves us. God care for us. I’ve never seen a love like this. So let us hold fast our faith. Let us hold fast that which God--it’s because so many of us many Christians will not believe Bible again -- that is why God is bringing all these revelations, so that we can believe. And I pray that God will see us through. In His Kingdom we will not miss out, in Jesus’ Name.
--
End of testimony.
Scripture Meditation
Our Lord Jesus said, "For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” (Mk 4:22-25).
Many hidden things have been disclosed in this revelation. Things that were concealed have been brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear. Whoever has understanding of such things will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. If understanding of such things is taken away from you, then you will be unable to receive the truth presented in this testimony. Therefore, if you struggle with this message, pray for understanding and discernment. I also suggest you read A Warning to the Nay Sayers and Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Lessons Learned
There are many lessons learned from this testimony, which I have summarized in my related articles, The Kingdom of God, The Kingdom of Darkness, and Life After Death. I believe that these will help you remember the key points if this important message.
Author's note: Neither James nor HOREMOW are personally connected with this site. Please prayerfully listen to this brother's testimony, and use the Testimony Review Process
adopted by this blog, as you decide for yourself whether the Lord has
spoken to him. For issues and concerns, each person must confirm with
the Lord, whether something is valid or not. For more information on our position, please see Disclaimers.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
