Human Life is Sacred
Each human being in Adam's race is sovereign under God and His unchanging Word; his life is precious, irreplaceable and so easily broken. A human being consists of a physical body, a mortal spirit, and a soul, thus a baby in mother's womb is only potentially human living as a dependant organ sharing her life as it has no soul and no spirit.
Babies receive their spirit and soul when they breathe the breath of life. Being omniscient God has foreknowledge but no, there is no preexistence of souls, so a still-born baby was never in the Book of Life, and without a mortal Spirit it was only a body of cells and bones, not yet a human being.
This helpless potential little human being is precious the sight of God who will not hold those guiltless who deny protection to these little ones and requires life for life when a baby is killed in the womb.
Exodus 21:22-23, "If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one that hurt her shall be fined by the woman's husband; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life".
This diagram represents a human being. In the absence of the soul it would represent an animal. When we die our mortal spirit breaks up as an electrical charge goes to ground and is no more, and the body returns to the dust of which it is made, but the soul goes to the Fifth Dimension, which is the pit of the Abyss if it is unconverted pending the general resurrection and judgment, or rests with the New Testament saints in God's Presence in the Sixth Dimension until the first resurrection. You are your soul, and that soul lives on. Animals have no soul that can come back and unlike the unrepentant sinner they will not confront judgment and "the second death".
Brother Branham said, "Now, this body is subject to the Spirit. Have not yet entered into the Word form, but we are still in the flesh form, but subject to the Word. Death in the flesh will take us there. Just the same thing. Think of a little baby. You can take a woman, no matter how evil she is, when she is pregnant and fixing to be mother, watch before that baby's born; I don't care how cruel the woman is, she gets real kind. There's something about her seems godly, to see a little mother fixing to become mother by the baby. Why is it? That little body . . . Now, it's not alive yet. See the only thing it is, is just flesh and muscles. That little jumping, that's just muscles jerking. But when it comes forth from the womb, God breathes the breath of life into it, and then he screams out. See, just as sure as there is a natural body being formed, there is a spiritual body to receive it as soon as it gets here" (Who is this Melchisedec?, p. 15:77).
Brother Branham said, "The man had followed Him for three years and had name on the Lamb's Book of Life, and had cast out devils, and done great works, and healed, and done all kind of—preached the Word, and everything, and still wasn't converted. See you're leading to conversion. See? . . . When the act is taking place between the egg and the sperm, or the gene . . . Potentially, the baby's there when the act is done. Then the body is developed, second stage; but the baby has to be born here, and then it receives the breath of life. It is not yet the breath of life. You say, "Oh, it's alive." No, it isn't. That's little nerves jerking, muscles. See? The baby hasn't received life till it's born. And you may jump and jerk, but you're not. . . See, see? You got to be born. You know what I mean? All right" (C.O.D., p. 1121:276-277).
Genesis 25:22 says "the children struggled together within her." That is their muscles jerking. That's the flesh moving. When Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, the baby leapt in his mother's womb (Luke 1:41-44). It happens in pregnant women today and is evidence that the flesh of the baby is not dead. The human being consists of a body, spirit and soul. Only the flesh is present in the womb of the pregnant women, the other two realms enter into that flesh at baby's birth. Sadly for some women their baby dies within the womb. For some reason the flesh stops growing; perhaps there is a problem with the little heart or a disconnection between mother and baby preventing the passage of nourishment.
In a healthy pregnancy flesh is living, but it's just flesh. The baby is not conscious in the womb. As yet there is no spirit or soul in that flesh. It is the spirit that brings consciousness and awakens the subconscious and the soul is the part of us made in the image of God, distinguishing us from the animals and making us human.
Many claim that John the Baptist received the Holy Ghost and was born-again in his mother's womb, but this was not the case. Romans 10:17 informs us that "Faith comes by hearing, and understanding by the Word of God." It would be many years before little John would be able to understand doctrine, and besides, the new birth was not given until after Jesus' death and resurrection.
All of the Old Testament saints were filled with the Holy Spirit. I Peter 1:9-11, "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come to you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was IN them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to us they ministered the things, which are now reported to you by those who have preached the Gospel to you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." Certainly the Old Testament saints—beginning with Adam—were baptized with the Spirit, but they could not be born-again until their kinsman Redeemer had paid redemption's price on Calvary and cleansed their accumulated sins in the heavenly temple.
The Holy Ghost can baptize your flesh and mortal spirit, or your soul. This explains how a man can be baptized with the Holy Ghost and go to hell: God is redeeming souls. The baptism of the Holy Spirit quickens the soul to new birth by a clear revelation of the present Truth . . . what Jesus is doing now.
When the baptism comes upon the flesh and mortal spirit, it can cause you to rejoice and shout, speak with other tongues, preach, and heal your body, but you can still be lost. The natural birth of the body types the Spiritual birth of the soul: first the water breaks, next the blood and finally the baby is delivered and the shock of cold air or a smack by the midwife or doctor causes it to receive the spirit and become "a living soul." The second or new birth quickens the soul to eternal Life by three stages of grace, or three steps in faith. First we recognize the supreme deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, recognize our sinfulness and His work of Calvary as our kinsman Redeemer, receive Him as our Saviour, repent of our past unbelief and take His name in Scriptural water baptism. This is justification by grace through faith. As we grow in understanding of His Word it will lead us to correction so that our lives identify in holiness with His Life, this is called sanctification, and finally we receive a clear revelation of the present Truth which is the new birth that transforms into written epistles of the Word prophesied for our day (I John 1:7; 5:6-7; II Peter 1:12).
Here is a truly amazing video presentation showing the development of the human foetus from conception to birth. At conception, when the sperm and the egg unite to form the foetus, the baby is potentially there. Potentially it is a living soul with a spirit of mortal life, but the soul will not be created until nine months later when the flesh is fully developed and delivered in a live birth. Those who commit abortion are guilty of destroying the earthly tabernacle of a potential son or daughter of God and will answer for this great sin. children.htm
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