The Ultimate Advent

And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I  heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." - Revelation 5:13 NASB

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you ponder the meaning of Christmas?  For most people, it isn't the book of Revelation, though that's where my mind goes. Diving into scriptures about Jesus' return to rule and reign over all creation provides a different twist to Christmas!

Previously when thinking of that baby in a manger on some silent night in a little town of Bethlehem over two thousand years ago I didn't think about the awesomeness of the throne room of God nor of the Second Coming. I hadn't thought about thunder, lightning, plagues and Him having enough power to destroy the earth with one word.  I just hadn't thought about the Jesus who would one day conquer all evil.

Now I do. 

Later this month, Christians all across the world will celebrate their Savior's birth.  He was born a baby in Bethlehem but will come again to rule the earth forever. God in the flesh came down to earth from his throne in heaven be with us. Jesus was God,

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant ... Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11 NASB) 

Yes. Every knee will bow to Him...twice.  Once to kiss His cute little baby cheek in the manger.  Another to acknowledge Him as King of all Kings.

This the complete view of Christmas...the total package of God's gift to us to bring final peace on earth and goodwill to men. I will forevermore celebrate the first AND eventual second coming of Christ on Christmas Day. The. Ultimate. Advent.

What about you?

Happy Birthday, Jesus. Merry Christmas, all. 

Messiah

At church this morning I heard the pastor speak of the uniqueness of the bible and the confidence we as Christians can have in our bibles being the very words of God. How true and how wonderful it is that we can have this confidence.   This time of year, when we celebrate our Savior's birth, we can know that His first coming to earth 200o years ago is one of the most compelling reasons we can believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Bible is 100% true...every word of it.

Did you know that there were dozens of prophecies in the old testament point to the Messiah (see my previous posts here and here for more details) ? According to Josh McDowell, a leading apologist, the chance of only 8 of the prophecies being fulfilled in ONE man was 10 to the 17th power.  If I have my math right, that is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000!  Pretty slim odds, don't you think?   Pretty incredible.

We can have confidence in our bibles and we can have confidence in the fact that it was God who gave His Son Jesus to us as the ultimate gift.  Immanuel.  God with us.   It is the Gift that I cannot comprehend, but a gift that I am ever grateful for.  I cannot comprehend the kind of love it took to leave a home like heaven to live on earth as a baby, a toddler, a teenager and a man, and then die so that I may live. 

Merry Christmas, friends.  I pray that your Christmas celebrations are fun-filled and that you also find some quiet time to spend with Him on His day.

Messianic Prophesies-II

From my post yesterday, I couldn't just leave #13 on the list hanging out there being incomplete.  So, I'm including the rest today.  For the prophecies relating to Jesus' death, consider that He would...

13. Die a humiliating death (Ps 22; Isa 53) involving:

a. rejection (Isa 53:3; John 1:10-11; 7:5, 48)
b. silence before His accusers (Isa. 53:7; Matt. 27:12-19)
c. being mocked (Ps 22:7-8; Matt. 27:31)
d. piercing His hands and feet (Ps 22:16; Luke 23:33)
e. being crucified with thieves (Isa. 53:12; Matt. 27:38)
f. praying for His persecutors (Isa 53:12; Luke 23:43)
g. piercing His side (Zech 12:10; John 19:34)
h. buried in a rich man's tomb (Isa 53:9; Matt 27:57-60)
i. casting lots for His garments (Ps 22:18; John 19:23-24)

Note:  The above list was taken from the book When Skeptics Ask by Geisler/Brooks, p. 114-115.

I feel better now that I've completed  yesterday's post.  I'll leave you with a quote regarding the authenticity of the Bible, statistically speaking:

It is statistically preposterous that any or all of the Bible's specific, detailed prophecies could have been fulfilled through chance, good guessing, or deliberate deceit.  When you look at some of the improbable prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, it seems incredible that skeptics - knowing the authenticity and historicity of the texts - could reject the statistical verdict: The Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the Son of God, just as Scripture predicted many times and in many ways.

The Bible was written over a span of 1,600 years by forty authors using three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) on hundreds of subjects.  And yet there is one consistent, noncontradictory theme that runs through it all:  God's redemption of humankind.  Clearly, statistical probability concerning biblical prophecy is a powerful indicator of the trustworthiness of Scripture.  (The Face That Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution, Hank Hanegraaff, p 132-133)

 

Messianic Prophecies

I've made it now to almost the end of the book of Daniel where Daniel is starting to have visions concerning the end times. Poor Daniel was given these visions, not immediately told what to make of them, and they made him sick!  (Ch 8:27).  What a burden he had for his people.

Ever since my mom and dad took us to see "The Late Great Planet Earth" in the 1970's, I've been fascinated by prophecy.  I remember after seeing that movie as a young girl how terrified I was that the end of the world was near.   Thoughts of the second coming of Christ, the Anti-Christ and the End Times can be scary for those who don't know Jesus as Savior. 

Personally, while I think the study of the biblical prophecy is cool, I am much more edified in my Christian walk by choosing to study scripture that I can apply to build my character. The prophecy to me, is like candy, because I think it shows just how cool and unique the Bible really is.  Hmmm...the "coolness of the Bible" - sounds like another blog post! :)

For now, I'm going to list some of the most significant Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament, along with the New Testament verse showing the fulfillment of the prophecy (see note below):

1. Born of a woman (Gen 3:14; Gal 4:4)
2. Born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:21)
3. He would be "cut off" 483 years after the declaration to reconstruct the  temple in 444 B.C. (Dan 9:24)
4. Of the seed of Abraham (Gen 12:1-3; 22:18; Math 1:1; Gal 3:16)
5. Of the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10); Luke 3:23, 33; Heb 7:14)
6. Of the house of David (2 Sam 7:12; Matt 1:1)
7. Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matt 2:1; Luke 2:4-7)
8. Anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isa 11:2; Mat t3:16-17)
9. Heralded by the messenger of the Lord (John the Baptist) (Isa 40:3; mal 3:1; Matt 3:1-2)
10. Would perform miracles (Isa 35:5-6; Matt 9:35)
11. Would cleanse the temple (Mal 3:1; Matt 21:12)
12. Rejected by Jews (Ps 118:22; 1 Pe 2:7)
13. Die a humiliating death (Ps 22; Isa 53) (This is a list all of its own!)
14. Would rise from the dead (Ps 16:10; Mark 16:6; Acts 2:31)
15. Ascend into heaven (Ps 68:18; Acts 1:9)
16. Would sit down a the right hand of God (Ps 110:1; Heb 1:3)

These prophecies were written hundreds of years before Christ was born!  Do you think our tabloid writers have that kind of accuracy?   That is all for now.

Note:  The above list was taken from the book When Skeptics Ask by Geisler/Brooks, p. 114-115.

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Janna Rust is a Life Coach and Speaker dedicated to encouraging others towards lives God intends for them.  For more information, visit her at www.purposefulpartnerships.com.