Merry Christmas

At Christmas we reflect on the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to redeem mankind to God and suffer the penalty of our sins on the cross. It is good also that we be reminded not only of His first coming, but also of the preceding prophecies that foretold His birth and God’s purpose for sending Him to us, some given thousands of years before His appearance. The first prophecy was written in Genesis. God said to the devil, who tempted Eve in the form of a serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. It (her seed – Christ) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” Genesis 3:15. This prophecy was fulfilled when the seed of the woman, Christ, was crucified and His heel was pierced (Matthew 27:35). The Revelation that Jesus gave to John tells us that when Christ returns, He will hurl the devil into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), thereby bruising his head. During the 8th Century BC, the Prophet Isaiah foretold Jesus’s birth, “Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel (meaning ‘God with us’)” Isaiah 7:14. The story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz is a “type and shadow” of our redemption through Christ, and when Boaz redeemed Naomi and Ruth, it took place in Bethlehem, the future birthplace of Jesus, our Redeemer (Ruth 4). Ruth was also the great-grandmother of King David, who was the forefather of Jesus, whom many referred to as “the Son of David.” It was written hundreds of years before His birth that He would be born in Bethlehem, “But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” Micah 5:2. Isaiah also prophesied, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” Isaiah 9:6-7. Zechariah prophesied hundreds of years before Christ was born about Israel’s reaction when they see Him at His second coming, “I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced and shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” Zechariah 12:10. King David prophesied His crucifixion, “Dogs have compassed Me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me; they pierced My hands and feet” Psalm 22:16. All of the seven major Jewish feasts of Israel are a type and shadow of Christ and our redemption through Him: Passover (Exodus 12) = Christ’s death for us (John 1:29); Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:6) = Sanctification for us (Hebrews 13:12); Firstfruits (Exodus 34:22) = Jesus the Firstfruits of our Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20); Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22) = Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2); Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29) = The Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52); Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29) = Christ’s atonement for our sins (Romans 5:8-11); Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34) = God will dwell with us (Revelation 21:3). Hundreds of prophecies, starting with Genesis, have already been fulfilled; and those remaining, through the book of Revelation, will certainly come to pass. God is precise and most perfect in all of His ways. The chances of one man fulfilling all of the prophecies written in the Old and New Testaments of Christ’s birth, His life, death and resurrection, by way of prophecy or type and shadow, is a mathematical impossibility; yet, Jesus fulfilled them all. In fact, He is the Word (John 1:14), as well as the fulfillment of the Word. Just as He came to earth to suffer the penalty for our sins, He will return, as He promised in His Word, “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be” Revelation 22:12. Are you prepared to meet Him? If not, please visit the How Can I Be Saved page of this site.