October 8, 2023- When my coworker and I got into a lengthy discussion about women’s rights and abortion, I knew I had to write this article someday. At the time, I did not have the answers for her. God willing, I will have biblical answers if we get into this conversation again. If you are looking for a verse that says, “Life starts at conception,” you will not find it. It is not written in such a manner with those exact words in the same order. You need the Holy Spirit to guide you to find the right passages within the Holy Bible. Psalm 119:13-16 says,
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Called from the Womb
The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah were called from the womb. Isaiah 49:1 says:
Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
Similarly, Jeremiah 1:4-5 says, “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
How does being called from the womb speak to life starting at conception? One day, Jesus was approached by the Sadducees. They gave a hypothetical question to Jesus, saying that a man dies and leaves behind his wife but has no children, though he has seven brothers. The Sadducees claimed that Moses wrote that the brother should take the wife and raise offspring for his brother. In this scenario, the Saudducees state that the first brother takes the wife, leaving no offspring, repeating this pattern into the seventh. The Sadducees ask Jesus whose wife she would be concerning the resurrection. Jesus replied in Mark 24-27:
Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.”
God will speak to where life is. Let us examine the two prophets and their lives on earth several centuries before Jesus Christ lived.
A Look at Isaiah
Isaiah is one of the most well-known prophets in the Holy Bible. His prophecies went against the Kingdom of Judah. Remember that Israel and Judah had two different kingdoms due to rebellion against God, a type of sin. The Kingdom of Judah is the descendants of the people from the tribe of Judah (one of the original twelve tribes of Jacob. God had named Jacob Israel). At the time, the Kingdom of Judah was experiencing threats from Assyria and Egypt, two powerful nations.
While Isaiah spoke of sin, repentance, and judgment, his underlying message was the nation's future restoration, forgiveness, and healing. In addition, some of his prophecies spoke of the Messiah, who has since arrived and will return one day, Jesus Christ. In Ezekial 37, we see that the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel would eventually be combined into one kingdom. However, this was not speaking to an earthly kingdom. This passage refers to the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ as our savior.
A Look at Jeremiah
Jeremiah lived before and during the Babylonian Exile (also known as Babylonian Capture). God ordained Jeremiah in his youth to speak of the looming danger to the nation of Judah. Jeremiah warned the people to repent and return to God, or the Babylonians would come and destroy the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The people did not listen to Jeremiah and the Babylonians did destroy Israel and Judah, killing many and taking some back to Babylon. A few were allowed to stay in what remained of Judah.
However, Jeremiah’s prophecies did not stop against his countrymen. He also spoke against the following nations:
Egypt
Moab
Baruch
Philistia
Ammon
Edom
Damascus
Kedar
Hazor
Elam and
Babylon
Babylon destroyed the regions above, except itself. Due to an abundance of pride and blasphemy, God allowed Babylon to be destroyed by the Persian king, Cyrus the Great.
A Plan for Your Life
When conceived in your mother’s womb, God has a plan for you before your birth. This may mean having a ministry, evangelizing, or doing something else for the Lord. God has sent messages to some parents telling them to expect a child in their future. Two people from two different backgrounds prophesied my daughter to me a few years before my daughter was born. These two people had never met. In the Holy Bible, we see instances of promises from God about sons to be born.
Biblical Prophecies Regarding Childbirth
There are several instances of prophecies to men and women of God having a son in the Holy Bible. We are going to look at three of them today:
Samson
John the Baptist
Jesus Christ
Samson
For the evil they committed in the sight of the Lord, Israel was delivered in the hand of Philistines for forty years. (Judges 13:1). During this time, a man from Zorah named Manoah had a barren wife (Judges 13:2). An angel of the Lord told the woman that she would conceive a son (Judges 13:3). The woman (whose name is not identified) gave birth to not just any ordinary boy; it was Samson. Spoken by Manoah’s wife, she tells Manoah:
And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”
Judges 13:7
A Nazarite was a man or a woman who was consecrated to God by their choice for personal reasons. Numbers 6 identifies the laws for a Nazarite. In ancient times, the best way to tell a person was a Nazarite was their call not to eat grape or grape products, including wine and vinegar, and their long, uncut hair. Their hair needed to remain uncut until their days of separation were fulfilled.
Samson was consecrated to God and did some fantastic things, but also continually broke the rules of a Nazarite. Known for his great physical strength through the Spirit of the Lord, Samson tore a lion apart with his hands. In this instance, he was on his way with his parents to plan for his wedding. However, they had warned him not to marry her, for she was a Philistine and a pagan. Israelite law prohibited intermarriage with pagans. Unbeknownst to his parents, the matrimony came from the Lord because He sought an occasion to confront the Philistines (Judges 14:4). Samson also took honey from the lion's stomach and gave it to his parents to eat. Nazarite law prohibits proximity to dead bodies.
Samson also killed thirty men when his wife gave the answer to a riddle to fellow Philistines. They threatened her and said they would burn her and her father’s houses down. He took their possessions and gave them to those who solved his riddle. At this time, his wife was given to Samson’s best man. When Samson retrieves her, Timnah (his father-in-law) informs him she was given to Samon’s friend. Timnah offers the younger sister of Samson’s wife instead. Samson refuses the younger sister.
The Holy Bible says that Samson caught three hundred foxes and set torches on fire. The torches were placed on the foxes’ tails. He let the foxes go in the grain, vineyards, and olive groves. In response, the Philistines killed Timnah and Samson’s wife through fire. Samson tells them that he will take revenge on them. The Philistines encamped around Judah to arrest Samson. Judah sends three thousand men to Samson to tie him and deliver him to the Philistines. The Spirit of the Lord descended upon Samson, and he broke loose of his bonds and killed one thousand Philistines with a donkey’s bone. Samson would judge Israel for 20 years during the days of the Philistines.
John the Baptist
While in the temple, a priest named Zacharias was approached by an angel, Gabriel, of the Lord. Gabriel informed him that his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son:
“Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1: 13-16
Zacharias didn’t believe this as he and his wife were old. Due to his unbelief, Gabriel made Zacharias mute until the birth of his son, John the Baptist. John the Baptist is known for wearing sackcloth and preaching in the wilderness, preaching messages of sin and repentance. This would fulfill biblical scripture found in Isaiah:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Male straight in the desert A highway for our God.”
Isaiah 40:3
It Is important to note that Elizabeth and Mary were pregnant around the same time. However, Elizabeth conceived six months earlier than Mary (Luke 1:24 and Luke 1:26). Mary was a virgin and was a cousin of Elizabeth. After she received the news, Mary traveled to Elizabeth’s house. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the Holy Bible records John the Baptist’s reaction:
And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Luke 1:41-44
Many years after his birth, John the Baptist announces:
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3:11-12
John the Baptist was speaking of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth
As I eluded to earlier, six months after Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive:
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1: 30-33
One problem with this message is that Mary was still a virgin and was not married to Joseph. Mary asks Gabriel how this could be. Gabriel tells Mary:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.
Luke 1:35-37
Mary would give birth to Jesus Christ. This miraculous birth fulfilled the scripture, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). While Mary was a virgin when the Holy Spirit went to her, she did not remain a virgin. The Holy Bible references other sons in different books throughout the New Testament.
However, her birth to Jesus Christ paved the way for salvation, for He is our savior. He defeated death and took the keys (Revelation 1:18). Having no sin, Jesus Christ took the punishment of your sin and was crucified. Having died on the cross, Jesus was resurrected on the third day. For forty days, Jesus remained in His resurrected body, and then He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God.
What Science Says
On April 26, 2016, a study was published in Scientific Reports. The study is entitled, “The zinc spark is an inorganic signature of human egg activation.”[1] The study informs us that, at the moment, sperm attaches to the egg, emitting zinc. This reaction causes light to form around the egg and sperm, which you can see on advanced medical devices.
As Christians, we associate light with life. Before the sperm attaches, it is dark in the womb. However, once it is attached to the egg, light is emitted. To understand this biblically, we are going to look at a few passages as shown below:
Psalm 43:3
John 1:4-5
John 1:14
John 14:7
Psalm 119:50
Let us start with Psalm 43:3, which says:
Oh, send out Your light and your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.
Who is the truth and the light according to the Holy Bible? Jesus Christ. John 1:4-5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In John 1:14, we see Jesus being referred to as full of truth, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is quoted as saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).
But what does the beginning of John say? John 1:1-3 says:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Add on verse 4 from earlier, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Let us compare John 1:4 with Psalm 119:50, which says:
This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.
God spoke to the darkness, and He made light in Genesis 1:1-3. The earth was without form and was dark. God said, “Let there be light.” God confirms that the light is good. Several centuries later, we discover a similar process in human reproduction. The womb is without form (no baby) and dark. When the sperm comes to the egg, there is light, the life is conceived, and the baby grows.
Takeaways and Brief Summary
Isaiah and Jeremiah have references to being called in the womb. God had a plan for them before they were born. God has plans for all of us in the world.
Mark 12:27 tells us that God is not the God of the dead but of the living. God calls to the living. When an angel of the Lord named Gabriel tells Zacharias that his wife will bear a son, we see Elizabeth conceives that same day. Six months later, Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear a Son. Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, and he was born through a virgin. However, Mary did not remain a virgin as she had other sons (Joseph, James, Jude, and Simon) mentioned throughout the Holy Bible.
When conception occurs, light is released in darkness, just like how it is described in Genesis 1:1-3 and John 1. Therefore, life begins at conception within the Bible and in biology. Even biology is the study of life, not death.
Accepting Jesus
When you were born, light was emitted. Now, the Light and Truth of the world is calling you. Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ as your savior?
God, I confess that Jesus came in flesh and blood, paid the price for my sins, died on the cross, rose on the third day, ascended to the heavens, and sent the Holy Spirit to help me understand Your Ways. For that, I accept Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord and welcome the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s name, I pray, amen!
References: [1] Francesca E. Duncan, Emily L. Que, Nan Zhang, Eve C. Feinberg, Thomas V. O’Halloran & Teresa K. Woodruff, “The zinc spark is an inorganic signature of human egg activation” published 4/26/2016
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