December, and everyone is busy with preparations for Christmas. Maybe we are off to relatives for Christmas day, or maybe preparing at home getting ready for a family get together. In Australia and New Zealand, we are probably sorting out going away immediately afterwards for our summer holidays. Then there’s the build up to Christmas and it is children doing their nativity plays, singing carols and all fun and happy times, hopefully for most, but most miserable for some people living alone. For those in Bethlehem on that first Christmas day they were doing much the same sort of thing. Rome in its wisdom, had decided that its Empire should be taxed, and to make sure they included everyone, they decreed that all the people must to go to their home town to get registered. This meant many people had met old friends, and many of their family they had not seen for years, and were all busy catching up with old times. Most of them on that first Christmas day missed one of the greatest events that ever happened, the wonderful virgin birth of the Lord Jesus, God manifest in human form. Only some shepherds and the wise men of the East, knew He had come. The rest of the city missed Him.
However many people had been told of their Saviour’s birth in the Old Testament Scriptures. The place, the town [Mic 5:2], and roughly the time the Saviour would be born [Dan 9:24]. Who He would be [Isa 7:14] and what He would do [Isa Ch 53]. There were descriptions of many of His life’s actions. If they had studied the Scriptures and the Prophetic writings of old, they would have known. Those who could not read would have heard it in the Synagogue, that is, if they went. However it seems they must have been too busy with their other activities. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”[Mic 5:2 NKJV]. Why put Ephrathah? Because there was two Bethlehem’s and God wanted people to know the right one. How accurate is the Bible. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. {God with us} [Isa 7:14 NKJV]. Shortly after Jesus was born and after the wise men had visited Herod and told him they sought the King of the Jews. Herod found out about Jesus being born in Bethlehem, and Herod ordered all young boys, of a certain age, in the town to be destroyed. In Jeremiah Chapter 31 and verse 15, the prophecy concerning these children being killed is contained. Racheal’s tomb was at Bethlehem [Ephrathah] and it tells of this calamity happening in time to come, in that town. This is confirmed by Matthew in Chapter 2 and verse 18.
Preparation for Christ’s coming, was to be made by John the Baptist, he is promised in Isa 40: 3. Not as John but as one crying in the wilderness and the people looked for a visit by Elijah. John lived in the desert wilderness and preached repentance and told of Jesus arrival, he also baptised Jesus. [Matt 3:3 and John 1:29]. In Isaiah 28:16 God talks of a new foundation which would come; for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.[1 Cor 3:11 KJV]. Also the New Covenant would replace the old: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: [Jer 31:31 KJV]. Jesus visited His home town: “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” [Luke 4:16-21 NKJV]. The passage Jesus read from is Isaiah 42:6-7. In fact all through the Old Testament it taught of one who would change things. There are several places that describe the death of this one, the Lord Jesus. Isaiah has one passage which describes the death of this one who was to come. Isaiah Ch 53, and Psalm 22; where it tells of people gambling for His clothes as He was crucified. It also described the details of this terrible death.
The Jews were more or less told the time when the Lord would come and be crucified. In Daniel Chapter 9 we have a timetable given of events to come. In verse 26 it tells us that Messiah will be cut off. Following this, the sanctuary and the Temple would be destroyed, this was fulfilled in 70AD. In Daniel 9 the prophecy gives a time table from the time the order by the Persian King was given to rebuild Jerusalem [445BC] after the Babylonian exile. Measured in Biblical or Solar years which were 360 days long at that time. This works out, based on the 360 day year as the time Christ was sentenced to be crucified. As already mentioned in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 the Bible prophecy tells of this one who will be crucified. Crucifixion although used occasionally over the years by others, was in fact only used extensively by the Roman’s. Certainly the prophets and others like King David, Daniel and Abraham knew how the Saviour would come, and roughly when. All this hundreds of years before He actually did come. We are also told of many of the details of His death. The Messiah would die amongst criminals and be buried in a rich man’s tomb. [Isa 53:9] [Matt 27:38][John 19:38-41]. There are many references to Christ’s life in the Old Testament. Too numerous to mention, but very detailed no less. They make an interesting study. In the light of Biblical Prophecy being so accurate regarding the Lords first coming why is there so much uncertainty regarding the prophecies concerning His second coming. It’s all there, it’s in the Bible. It requires a bit of study and to me there is no doubt to the fact He is coming again and prophecy in the Bible points to Him coming soon. Are you ready for the Lord, have you been washed clean in the blood of Jesus by committing your way to the Lord Jesus. Do not be so busy this Christmas like those people all those years ago in Bethlehem, who missed His birth. Please do not miss His coming again because you are not ready.
Brian D. Papworth. Representative for P.W.M.I. in the South Pacific.