By Rev. Dr. Eric N. Haley l November 20, 2023
Doctor Luke wrote in Luke 1:30-33, “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Based on secular history, the Bible, and other Jewish writing we know that the first four prophecies happened just like the Angel Gabriel prophesized to Mary.
Prophecy #1) that Mary would conceive and give birth to a Son was written about and fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-23. This was also a fulfilment of Micah 5:2, “But hous, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousand of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Prophecy #2) He will be named Jesus. Matthew 1:21 states, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name,JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means Savior, or God is Salvation. Also in Luke 2:21 it reads, “And when the eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called, JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
Prophecy #3 that was fulfilled: He will be great. There is no greater than Jesus who has ever been born on this planet. We divide time by his name: BCE or AD; Before the common era and Anno Domini (In the year of our Lord). Or some people use AD to stand for After Death. The death of who? Jesus Christ. He’s also great by virtue of predicting his own death and resurrection. Then rising from the grave to show his death was accepted by God the Father as payment for all our sins. If you add up all the prophecies predicted about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament; which were at least 108 (because many were repeated), Jesus fulfilled every one to the letter. I believe that proves that he was and is great!
Prophecy #4) He will be called the Son of the Most High; In Mark 5:6-7 the demon possessed man ran to Jesus and this is what happened. “but when he saw Jesus afar off, he rand and worshipped him. And cried with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” Even the demons in the man recognized Jesus as the Son of the Most High God.
So, if the first four prophecies or promises were literally fulfilled by Jesus do you think the last three prophecies in Luke 1:30-33 will be fulfilled? Of course they will. The Bible tells us in Numbers 23:19 and Titus 1:2, that God is so Holy that he cannot lie.
So let’s look at these promises of Christmas that will be fulfilled in the future. Prophecy or promise #5 states: He (meaning Jesus) will be given the throne of David.
Why do you think the devil keeps evil nations always arguing at the United Nations about who should rule over Jerusalem? Satan wants to prove that he is more powerful that God. During the seven year tribulation period; the first three and a half years looks like everything in the Middle East will be solved. However the Bible tells us in the book of Daniel 9:27, the antichrist will break his promise to protect the Jews and stop all ceremonial sacrifices. It states, “And he (meaning the antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (a period of 7 years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
The Bible explains to us that Jesus is literally going to come back from heaven with his saints (that’s us believers) and cast the false prophet and beast in the lake of fire and imprison that devil into the abyss for a thousand years while Jesus sets up his reign on the earth for a thousand years. All of this information is in Revelation chapter 20. As a result of this maneuver, Jesus will fulfill this fifth promise and be given the throne of David, which we know from history was from Jerusalem. Matthew 1:17 tells us that Jesus in the line of Abraham and David was the forty-second generation bloodline.
Prophecy #6) That Jesus will rule over the house of Jacob. Jacob is one of the original patriarchs that God promised in the Old Testament that he would give the land of Israel to the Jews. The Palestinians claim that the land belongs to them, but the Bible points out in Genesis 15:18-21; then again through Isaac in Genesis 17:17-21; and finally again through Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel In Genesis chapter 28. The Muslims and Arabs through their propaganda machine the United Nations would have you believe that the Jews don’t have the right to be in Israel, yet the Bible is clear whose land it belongs too: the Jews (Hebrews, Israelites).
Promise #7 is also a future promise of Christmas. The Bible explains in Revelation chapter 20, that after Jesus’ one thousand year millennial reign over the earth from Jerusalem. Jesus will turn the kingdom back over to his Father and a new heaven and earth will be created where we live with Jesus forever! This is why the church still look to Jesus as their blessed hoped as explained in Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Revelation chapters 21-22 explains the climax of history with Jesus reigning forever as God and Savior. This is the real meaning of Christmas! All this war, chaos and turmoil taking place in Israel is getting the Jews ready recognize that their real Messiah, Jesus of the only one who can keep them safe from the enemy. The Bible states that when the Jews officially recognize Jesus and say, “Baruch haba b’Shem Adonai–Blessed is He who Comes in the Name of the Lord!: (Matthew 23:39) Then all the prophecies (promises) about Christmas will be fulfilled literally and not forgotten! Something to think about.