Jesus said to them, Not all men can accept this saying, but it is for those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given. For there are eunuchs who have been born incapable of marriage; and there are eunuchs who have been made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves incapable of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who is able to accept this accept it. Matthew 19:11-12
This study features many different Scriptural passages, and helps us begin to see that there is a long history of Eunuchs in Scriptures that most people have never heard of, because the Church has traditionally not taught on them, and in fact, many times have purposely avoided them altogether. But I learned that the reason they do is because it debunks so many of the traditional teachings on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered believers that says we cannot be gay and also be Christian. In fact, most traditional teaching the Church has shared has stated that there are absolutely no references in Scripture to gay people at all.
When we look deeper, though, we find much support for our faith and belief that Christ died for all people, whether the Church will say so or not.
Let's look first at the history of Eunuchs from God's Word, and watch how Scripture reveals the promises of God for Eunuchs (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people).
"Logic is the beginning of wisdom."
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
(Mr. Spock--Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Prophetic Purpose of Eunuchs:
1. Upon making God's House of Prayer a House of Prayer for ALL people, the prophesy in Isaiah 56:1-8 can be fulfilled and become one step closer to Our Lord’s Return to the Earth, but He cannot come back until this prophesy is fulfilled ( Isaiah 55:11 ). Just 3 verses before the eunuch prophecy is given, God prefaces His prophecy, saying His Word WILL accomplish what He sent it for....including the Eunuch Scriptures.
2. Isaiah prophesies to Hezekiah that seven of his sons will become eunuchs and be taken to Babylon (Persia), and in the Book of Esther, we see them as "Messengers of The king" as they deliver a message from King Xerxes (God) to Queen Vashti (disobedient, exclusionary churches). This appears to be an allegory of the rise of the Apostate Church. Esther 1:10-22
History of Eunuchs being Banned from Church:
1. Moses bans eunuchs from the congregation of the Lord as a demonstration of God's holiness, and is part of an exhaustive list of congregation-related laws. Deuteronomy 23:1-20
2. God prophesies that the eunuch ban will be overturned, and inclusion of eunuchs in the Congregation will become possible through Jesus Christ, and tells us that it is because "He will gather others in also, with those already gathered." Isaiah 56:1-8
3. Jesus fulfills Isaiah's prophecy and lifts the ban of eunuchs from the Congregation, saying "some are born eunuchs", and some "choose to be eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 19:11-12
4. Proof the ban was lifted is shown by the Ethiopian Eunuch who "was returning from Jerusalem to worship". He had learned of Christ lifting the ban on eunuchs in the congregation, and so went to church, and becomes the First Eunuch converted to Christianity, under direct influence of the Holy Spirit Acts 8:29-40
5. Philip begins proclaiming the good news of the Gospel to the Eunuch, by reading to him from Isaiah 53:7 and continuing through till Isaiah 56:8
Advantages of Eunuch Scriptures for GLBT Believers:
1. God invites us to Him in spite of traditional Christian teachings saying that gay people cannot also be Christian.
2. Shows GLBT Believers as "natural born eunuchs" Matthew 19:12 , proving that GLBT Believers are a “natural part of God’s Divine Creative Order”.
3. Shows GLBT Believers are "qualified" to be included in God's Congregation, become Christian converts, become baptized, can receive the Holy Spirit, and Shows that Jesus' sacrifice includes eunuchs Isaiah 56:7 , Acts 8:26-40
4. Shows GLBT Believers as "eunuchs made so by other men" as "GLBT people are only incapable of marriage due to laws banning same gendered marriage" and Jesus (and later, the Apostle Paul) ordains gay marriage where the laws of the land allow, ordains gay clergy, and ordains gay adoption of children Matthew 19:11-15
5. Shows GLBT Believers are not required to "change" their identity as homosexual, as we see the Ethiopian Eunuch is still referred to in Scripture as a eunuch after his baptism. Debunks "ex-gay" theories that GLBT people must strive to become heterosexual Acts 8:39
6. Shows GLBT Believers are part of God's divinely ordered creations, and therefore are a naturally born part of "God's Creative Order" Matthew 19:12
7. Shows GLBT Believers a moral code for our relationship with ourselves, our God, and our fellow believers Isaiah 56:4
8. Shows the eunuchs (and GLBT Believers) can be both male and female by promising us a name for us that is better than sons and daughters Isaiah 56:5
9. Promises GLBT Believers a life of JOYFUL worship in the congregation, accepts our sacrifices and offerings on His altar, Isaiah 56:7
10. Shows typical attitude of eunuch exclusion with disciples' actions of "rebuking children who were coming to Jesus", and Jesus says, "Do not forbid the children to come to me"...for such as these is the Kingdom of Heaven composed, comparing children and eunuchs both as "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven."
11. Shows Jesus ordaining gay adoption of children by eunuchs (Matthew 19:13-15 ) and barren women ( Isaiah 54:1-5 ), and by admonishing eunuchs against complaining that we are "dry trees" ( Isaiah 56:3 ).
Advantages of Eunuch Scriptures to the Congregation and Church Leadership:
1. God ordains gay clergy as "choosing to be eunuchs "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven" Matthew 19:12
2. Shows eunuchs are involved in identifying the rise of the apostate church (Jehu/Jezebel)
2 Kings 9:30-37
3. Possible return of Jesus Christ is shown in comparing the "burnt offerings and sacrifices" mentioned in Isaiah 56:7 , but also in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 , which reads like a description of the Return of the Lord (the glory of the Lord filled the temple).....but it *requires* the "burnt offerings and sacrifices being "on His altar", and "in His House Of Prayer"...or the fire from heaven could never "come down and consume the burnt offerings and sacrifices. Ours MUST be there in order for the Lord to come back. Makes sense to me, too, because since Christ Himself is a eunuch, if He were to return to the earth today, many churches would think He Himself was still banned from the Congregations under the Deuteronomy congregation laws.
Interestingly enough, it strikes me that when Jesus starts discussing marriage, divorce, and eunuchs, gay clergy, and gay adoption of children in Matthew 19:1-15 His teaching on these subjects comes right after Matthew 17:1-9 , where Jesus underwent His Transfiguration, and "has a protracted conversation" with Moses and Elijah, who appeared before Him on the mount. I think I now know some of what they may have been talking about! If they were talking about eunuchs, you can bet it was going to take some time for Moses to explain everything to Jesus on the matter....and I see why Jesus told the disciples to keep quiet about it until after He had been raised from the dead. This teaching would not be afforded to eunuchs until *after* Christ's ascension to the Father.
Eunuch Scriptures Provide Messages to Church Leadership:
1. God promises to especially bless those in Church Leadership that help eunuchs become integrated into their congregations Isaiah 56:2 , calling Church leadership "son of Man". This can apply to any preacher, pastor, or lay person....but also a Pope. (most likely, the pope who decides to share this message with the Catholic assemblies will become world famous by proclaiming to all GLBT Believers: "COME HOME!").
2. God teaches evangelism based on Isaiah's Messianic prophesies (Isaiah 53:7 through Isaiah 56:8 ), which are the Scriptures Philip shares with the Ethiopian Eunuch Acts 8:32-35
3. Later in Isaiah 56:10-12 , God teaches Believers about congregational inclusion of eunuchs, but also warns GLBT Believers that it can take some time, because "[Israel's] watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, they love to slumber. Yes, the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. And such are the shepherds who cannot understand; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his own gain, from every quarter [one and all]. Come, say they, We will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink! And tomorrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.
This accurately portrays the Church's attempts to keep eunuch teachings of Jesus Christ concealed from the general public, and why they do so. I see them as the shepherds who cannot understand. I do not believe most of them are bad people, but rather they seem simply "unable to understand'. Jesus even said some would not "get" the message ( Matt 19:11-12 ) and goes on to blame the priests who reject knowledge and the affects on God's people for the lack of His knowledge in Hosea 4:6 , saying, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. I think these Scriptures also point to a larger view of eunuchs in the congregation, and show us that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot come back to the earth until all prophesies have been fulfilled, including the one in Isaiah 56:7 that says: God's House shall be a House of Prayer for ALL people.
Most dramatically, I believe the Isaiah prophecy also points to the rise of a Pope in the Catholic Church who will revise and extend the lessons about eunuchs from the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) , and we will soon see that their definitions of eunuchs will begin to become expressed through experience with the Church as we become integrated into congregations all over the world.I see that prophesy in the words of Isaiah 56:2 that reads:"Blessed, happy, and fortunate is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold of it and binds himself fast to it, who keeps sacred the Sabbath so as not to profane it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. I believe eunuchs are "the man who does this", and the "son of Man" is anyone in Church leadership (i.e. pastor, bishop, deacon, priest or lay person) who helps God's house become a House of Prayer for All People).....and one of those will be a Pope.
I look forward to the day that the Pope at the time will make public declarations alerting the faithful of the lifting of the ban on eunuchs (GLBT Believers) from the congregation. I hope he will revise and extend the remarks contained within the CCC so that it includes "naturally born eunuchs" as part of God's Creative Order, as well as "eunuchs made by men" as GLBT Believers who are prevented from marriage by laws of the land that are passed by men. I hope that this Pope will bring more souls into the Kingdom of Heaven than any other, as GLBT Believers and their families begin returning to Church, free of the shame and stigma once associated with being a parent of someone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.
And I hope finally, that eunuchs will be afforded the same rights of all citizens to marry the person of their choice, to adopt children, go to church, become ordained and open gay clergy, and to begin building strong Christian gay families. I hope these understanding encourage each of us to press into the Scriptures and receive from God, the message that He seems to be sending at this time in Church history.
While there are still many churches who do not see eunuchs as portrayed here, there are still many others who crave to learn how to better minister to GLBT Believers in their congregations. For now, I say we should keep the faith, Brothers and Sisters! As soon as this message gains more exposure, I believe it will eventually begin to soften hearts, open eyes, and begin to open more widely, the Door to His House. I predict the Church (Catholic and Protestants) will begin to usher in this new move of God as their eyes are opened to their own responsibility for the knowledge of God that is contained in His Word, and begin to realize the benefits of what God seems to be showing us in this hour, which I believe is a new and enlarged view of His Divine Creative Order, that includes eunuchs born so from their mothers' wombs, eunuchs made incapable of marriage by other men, and eunuchs who choose to be eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Him,
BrotherBrian
When we look deeper, though, we find much support for our faith and belief that Christ died for all people, whether the Church will say so or not.
Let's look first at the history of Eunuchs from God's Word, and watch how Scripture reveals the promises of God for Eunuchs (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people).
"Logic is the beginning of wisdom."
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
(Mr. Spock--Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Prophetic Purpose of Eunuchs:
1. Upon making God's House of Prayer a House of Prayer for ALL people, the prophesy in Isaiah 56:1-8 can be fulfilled and become one step closer to Our Lord’s Return to the Earth, but He cannot come back until this prophesy is fulfilled ( Isaiah 55:11 ). Just 3 verses before the eunuch prophecy is given, God prefaces His prophecy, saying His Word WILL accomplish what He sent it for....including the Eunuch Scriptures.
2. Isaiah prophesies to Hezekiah that seven of his sons will become eunuchs and be taken to Babylon (Persia), and in the Book of Esther, we see them as "Messengers of The king" as they deliver a message from King Xerxes (God) to Queen Vashti (disobedient, exclusionary churches). This appears to be an allegory of the rise of the Apostate Church. Esther 1:10-22
History of Eunuchs being Banned from Church:
1. Moses bans eunuchs from the congregation of the Lord as a demonstration of God's holiness, and is part of an exhaustive list of congregation-related laws. Deuteronomy 23:1-20
2. God prophesies that the eunuch ban will be overturned, and inclusion of eunuchs in the Congregation will become possible through Jesus Christ, and tells us that it is because "He will gather others in also, with those already gathered." Isaiah 56:1-8
3. Jesus fulfills Isaiah's prophecy and lifts the ban of eunuchs from the Congregation, saying "some are born eunuchs", and some "choose to be eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 19:11-12
4. Proof the ban was lifted is shown by the Ethiopian Eunuch who "was returning from Jerusalem to worship". He had learned of Christ lifting the ban on eunuchs in the congregation, and so went to church, and becomes the First Eunuch converted to Christianity, under direct influence of the Holy Spirit Acts 8:29-40
5. Philip begins proclaiming the good news of the Gospel to the Eunuch, by reading to him from Isaiah 53:7 and continuing through till Isaiah 56:8
Advantages of Eunuch Scriptures for GLBT Believers:
1. God invites us to Him in spite of traditional Christian teachings saying that gay people cannot also be Christian.
2. Shows GLBT Believers as "natural born eunuchs" Matthew 19:12 , proving that GLBT Believers are a “natural part of God’s Divine Creative Order”.
3. Shows GLBT Believers are "qualified" to be included in God's Congregation, become Christian converts, become baptized, can receive the Holy Spirit, and Shows that Jesus' sacrifice includes eunuchs Isaiah 56:7 , Acts 8:26-40
4. Shows GLBT Believers as "eunuchs made so by other men" as "GLBT people are only incapable of marriage due to laws banning same gendered marriage" and Jesus (and later, the Apostle Paul) ordains gay marriage where the laws of the land allow, ordains gay clergy, and ordains gay adoption of children Matthew 19:11-15
5. Shows GLBT Believers are not required to "change" their identity as homosexual, as we see the Ethiopian Eunuch is still referred to in Scripture as a eunuch after his baptism. Debunks "ex-gay" theories that GLBT people must strive to become heterosexual Acts 8:39
6. Shows GLBT Believers are part of God's divinely ordered creations, and therefore are a naturally born part of "God's Creative Order" Matthew 19:12
7. Shows GLBT Believers a moral code for our relationship with ourselves, our God, and our fellow believers Isaiah 56:4
8. Shows the eunuchs (and GLBT Believers) can be both male and female by promising us a name for us that is better than sons and daughters Isaiah 56:5
9. Promises GLBT Believers a life of JOYFUL worship in the congregation, accepts our sacrifices and offerings on His altar, Isaiah 56:7
10. Shows typical attitude of eunuch exclusion with disciples' actions of "rebuking children who were coming to Jesus", and Jesus says, "Do not forbid the children to come to me"...for such as these is the Kingdom of Heaven composed, comparing children and eunuchs both as "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven."
11. Shows Jesus ordaining gay adoption of children by eunuchs (Matthew 19:13-15 ) and barren women ( Isaiah 54:1-5 ), and by admonishing eunuchs against complaining that we are "dry trees" ( Isaiah 56:3 ).
Advantages of Eunuch Scriptures to the Congregation and Church Leadership:
1. God ordains gay clergy as "choosing to be eunuchs "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven" Matthew 19:12
2. Shows eunuchs are involved in identifying the rise of the apostate church (Jehu/Jezebel)
2 Kings 9:30-37
3. Possible return of Jesus Christ is shown in comparing the "burnt offerings and sacrifices" mentioned in Isaiah 56:7 , but also in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 , which reads like a description of the Return of the Lord (the glory of the Lord filled the temple).....but it *requires* the "burnt offerings and sacrifices being "on His altar", and "in His House Of Prayer"...or the fire from heaven could never "come down and consume the burnt offerings and sacrifices. Ours MUST be there in order for the Lord to come back. Makes sense to me, too, because since Christ Himself is a eunuch, if He were to return to the earth today, many churches would think He Himself was still banned from the Congregations under the Deuteronomy congregation laws.
Interestingly enough, it strikes me that when Jesus starts discussing marriage, divorce, and eunuchs, gay clergy, and gay adoption of children in Matthew 19:1-15 His teaching on these subjects comes right after Matthew 17:1-9 , where Jesus underwent His Transfiguration, and "has a protracted conversation" with Moses and Elijah, who appeared before Him on the mount. I think I now know some of what they may have been talking about! If they were talking about eunuchs, you can bet it was going to take some time for Moses to explain everything to Jesus on the matter....and I see why Jesus told the disciples to keep quiet about it until after He had been raised from the dead. This teaching would not be afforded to eunuchs until *after* Christ's ascension to the Father.
Eunuch Scriptures Provide Messages to Church Leadership:
1. God promises to especially bless those in Church Leadership that help eunuchs become integrated into their congregations Isaiah 56:2 , calling Church leadership "son of Man". This can apply to any preacher, pastor, or lay person....but also a Pope. (most likely, the pope who decides to share this message with the Catholic assemblies will become world famous by proclaiming to all GLBT Believers: "COME HOME!").
2. God teaches evangelism based on Isaiah's Messianic prophesies (Isaiah 53:7 through Isaiah 56:8 ), which are the Scriptures Philip shares with the Ethiopian Eunuch Acts 8:32-35
3. Later in Isaiah 56:10-12 , God teaches Believers about congregational inclusion of eunuchs, but also warns GLBT Believers that it can take some time, because "[Israel's] watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, they love to slumber. Yes, the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. And such are the shepherds who cannot understand; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his own gain, from every quarter [one and all]. Come, say they, We will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink! And tomorrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.
This accurately portrays the Church's attempts to keep eunuch teachings of Jesus Christ concealed from the general public, and why they do so. I see them as the shepherds who cannot understand. I do not believe most of them are bad people, but rather they seem simply "unable to understand'. Jesus even said some would not "get" the message ( Matt 19:11-12 ) and goes on to blame the priests who reject knowledge and the affects on God's people for the lack of His knowledge in Hosea 4:6 , saying, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. I think these Scriptures also point to a larger view of eunuchs in the congregation, and show us that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot come back to the earth until all prophesies have been fulfilled, including the one in Isaiah 56:7 that says: God's House shall be a House of Prayer for ALL people.
Most dramatically, I believe the Isaiah prophecy also points to the rise of a Pope in the Catholic Church who will revise and extend the lessons about eunuchs from the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) , and we will soon see that their definitions of eunuchs will begin to become expressed through experience with the Church as we become integrated into congregations all over the world.I see that prophesy in the words of Isaiah 56:2 that reads:"Blessed, happy, and fortunate is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold of it and binds himself fast to it, who keeps sacred the Sabbath so as not to profane it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. I believe eunuchs are "the man who does this", and the "son of Man" is anyone in Church leadership (i.e. pastor, bishop, deacon, priest or lay person) who helps God's house become a House of Prayer for All People).....and one of those will be a Pope.
I look forward to the day that the Pope at the time will make public declarations alerting the faithful of the lifting of the ban on eunuchs (GLBT Believers) from the congregation. I hope he will revise and extend the remarks contained within the CCC so that it includes "naturally born eunuchs" as part of God's Creative Order, as well as "eunuchs made by men" as GLBT Believers who are prevented from marriage by laws of the land that are passed by men. I hope that this Pope will bring more souls into the Kingdom of Heaven than any other, as GLBT Believers and their families begin returning to Church, free of the shame and stigma once associated with being a parent of someone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.
And I hope finally, that eunuchs will be afforded the same rights of all citizens to marry the person of their choice, to adopt children, go to church, become ordained and open gay clergy, and to begin building strong Christian gay families. I hope these understanding encourage each of us to press into the Scriptures and receive from God, the message that He seems to be sending at this time in Church history.
While there are still many churches who do not see eunuchs as portrayed here, there are still many others who crave to learn how to better minister to GLBT Believers in their congregations. For now, I say we should keep the faith, Brothers and Sisters! As soon as this message gains more exposure, I believe it will eventually begin to soften hearts, open eyes, and begin to open more widely, the Door to His House. I predict the Church (Catholic and Protestants) will begin to usher in this new move of God as their eyes are opened to their own responsibility for the knowledge of God that is contained in His Word, and begin to realize the benefits of what God seems to be showing us in this hour, which I believe is a new and enlarged view of His Divine Creative Order, that includes eunuchs born so from their mothers' wombs, eunuchs made incapable of marriage by other men, and eunuchs who choose to be eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Him,
BrotherBrian
