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 by him. And without him nothing was
made that has been made.
the words of John
the first words in the gospel, he wrote.
Apostle John
Known as the one Jesus loved.
the words of a best friend of Jesus
Christmas stories
baby Jesus, right?
My story starts long before there was a baby
Jesus.
Strictly speaking. The Bible does
not talk about Jesus in the Old Testament only in
the New Testament.
However
Jesus himself revealed that much of the Old Testament
truly points to him.
In the beginning was the word before there was
Earth.
Four time that was when God
began preparing for the baby Jesus.
The word was with God and the Word was God.
from his writings and scenes as if Jesus and the
Holy Spirit revealed things to John that
no one else heard.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him. And without him nothing was made it
has been made Jesus existed
in the beginning.
for anything existed
everything that exists was made through him and by him.
and he made it all out of
nothing
I wish I had known those things when I was a prophet.
John then write them until about 800 years
after me.
I'm a prophet in the time of King Hezekiah.
Put yourself in my shoes.
Sandals as it were.
I live a couple of centuries after King David six centuries
or so after Moses at least 13 centuries
after Abraham to help you pin me down in time
a bit.
I know the pentateuch.
What you call the first five books of the Old Testament?
Unfamiliar with some of the rest of the Old Testament but
much of it hasn't been written yet.
Or at least made available to me.
I know the stories of Abraham and God's promises to
him.
I know that his descendants are to be a light
to the world.
Yet in my time his descendants Focus only
on themselves and they control a tiny
unimportant country.
I know the stories of Moses and the
promises God made to him.
I know God promised to be the protector and provider
for the Hebrew people.
But those promises were conditioned on the Hebrews being obedient.
Which they have not been.
I know the stories of King David and how God promised him
and everlasting Dynasty. However, that
promise was conditional and the
Jews are not fulfilling the conditions.
Is no wonder that David's Dynasty is teetering.
on the brink of Extinction
you see
I interpret everything in the light of those kinds of promises the
promises to Abraham and Moses
and David.
Everything I write everything I hear from
the other prophets those promises guide
my understanding.
working on Mysteries without any clues
Maybe you know the lyrics to that classic song of your
time.
Well, that's me.
I know things are not what they are supposed to be but I don't
know what they're supposed to be either.
Or how to get them there.
Yeah.
mystery
the Apostle Paul will use that word over and
over in his writings. The Apostle Peter
says that we prophets are pointing towards Christ in the
Salvation that he will bring.
But we really don't know what we're writing about.
We profits are in the middle of a giant mystery and
don't even know it.
Paul even writes that prophets promised the gospel
We don't even know there is such a thing as a
gospel.
many of the things we write about have to do with Jesus, but we do
not know that
They may also be applicable to
the nation of Israel, but we have no
clue that some of our prophecies are really
about Jesus.
there are many prophecies about Jesus as an adult but
It's a Christmas season.
Let's look at prophecies. We wrote about the birth
of Jesus.
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born.
For us a child is born.
Son is given.
And the government shall be upon his shoulders.
And his name Shall be Called wonderful counselor the Mighty
God.
the Everlasting father the Prince of Peace
by the time of the birth of Jesus
the Jewish people were looking for a messiah a savior.
They knew they were to receive a savior because of many verses in
the Old Testament.
Their expectation of Messiah was a man who would lead the
nation of Israel to recapture The Glory Days under King
David.
The expected Messiah would likely be a warrior who would
lead a rebellion against Rome and reinstate Israel
as the ruling country in the region.
He might also be a spiritual leader who would lead the reconciliation
of the Jews to their God.
it is within that context that this
startling prophecy is found for to us
a child is born a son is given
the Messiah will not come as a warrior king.
And as a baby boy.
God's Cosmic joke on the religious leaders and government. Maybe
he could have foreseen a rebellion led by
a baby.
Especially a baby who is the Mighty God my
contemporary prophet and
friend Micah drops the next bombshell.
The baby will not be born in Rome or antia Griffis
or any of the world's great cities, which
would be advantageous for the
future ruler in the time.
all great people
come only from great cities, right? He will
not even be born in Jerusalem the preeminent
city of the Jews.
The baby will be born in a tiny off
the beaten path.
Oh little town of Bethlehem.
a few miles south of Jerusalem
But you Bethlehem ephratha.
Who are too little to be among the clans of
Judah?
From you one shall come forth for me. Who's
to be ruler in Israel?
Jeremiah and I and others prophesied that the Messiah
will be a descendant of King David.
King David was born in
Bethlehem
the next prophecy is one that has proven to be
controversial through the years.
It's my own prophecy so I can tell you with great certainty
what I meant when I wrote it.
according to many versions of the Bible Isaiah 7:14
says
therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call
his name Emmanuel
a virgin will conceive and bear a
son.
Never been done before impossible Unthinkable
unimaginable to the people of my time.
Emmanuel call his name Emmanuel that
name.
It means god with us.
To those of us who grew up as Israelites the name would
not have been odd after all God has
been with this people since the Exodus at
least some of the time.
We have no way to conceive of
the idea that God as a man.
Could actually live among us.
Psalm 72 was written by King Solomon.
Maybe he hoped this prophecy was about him.
Instead of a savior the kings of
tarshish and the coast will pay him tribute.
the kings of Sheba and sheba
will offer gifts in other words
Kings from distant places will offer
gifts to the savior.
Jeremiah
the weeping prophet offers a
sad prophecy about the time frame of the birth of
the Messiah.
Children will be killed.
Another one that I wrote there will be a messenger that
arrives prior to the revealing of the Messiah. This Messenger
will be a kingly Herald who proclaims
the existence of the Lord.
If you live in my time and are able to see through the mystery and
interpret the relevant scriptures well.
Here's what you would expect about the coming savior.
He will be preceded by a messenger.
He will be a descendant of King David. His mother
will be a virgin.
He will be born in Bethlehem.
Children will be killed because of him.
He will receive gifts from Kings and the long
awaited Messiah.
Will come as a baby.
In the beginning was the word.
And the Word was with God and the
Word was God.
And then God was with us.