The Prophecies of Christmas

Pastor Peter’s message, on December 12, 2021, centered around prophetic Scriptures proclaiming the First and Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Further, he said that we cannot maintain a dogmatic stance towards unfulfilled prophecy: We must respect all viewpoints. One of the problems with prophecy is that we often tend to interpret the Bible in ways not authenticated by Scripture. Rather than attempting to interpret Scripture, we should let God’s Word speak.

Many Old Testament passages predict the birth of Jesus, because God does not act without revealing his plans to his prophets and to his people. Before He acts, whether it be with blessings or curses, the Lord always informs His people prophetically.

Read Amos 3:7

It is explained in Deuteronomy 18:21-22 how to recognize the difference between a true prophecy and a false one.

Read Deuteronomy 18:21-22

How can we verify the accuracy of Scripture’s prophetic predictions? This can be answered by asking one simple question: Were they fulfilled? The veracity of a prophecy can only be ascertained this way.

The Bible, being a progressive revelation of God’s redemptive plan through his Son, Jesus Christ, accurately predicts the birth of Jesus Christ. God states His first prophetic statement in the third chapter of Genesis.

Read Genesis 3:15

It was immediately after the fall of Adam and Eve that God gives this prophetic statement through Moses. In the Garden of Eden, Satan had enticed Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil by deceiving her, which led to the fall of mankind. Hence, God informs us that all is not lost, for He is going to send someone who will defeat Satan’s schemes and crush his head. Christ fulfilled this prophecy on the cross.

Read Isaiah 53:5

While the devil bruised the feet of Christ, Jesus crushed the head of Satan through His crucifixion.

This prophetic Scripture was written 1500 years before Jesus was born. And, four hundred and fifty years before the birth of Christ, Old Testament prophetic statements had already been written down and recorded in the synagogues.

Read Genesis 12:3

In this verse, Abraham is promised that God will make of him a great nation and that all the people of the earth will be blessed through him. Ultimately, a messiah would come through Abraham’s seed, bringing salvation to the entire world.

Read Isaiah 7:14

In this verse, the Messiah’s name is given, as well as how He will be born. Jesus will be born of a woman, which means that He will be a human being; therefore, He will be fully human. We are also told that He will be called Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. Hence, from this passage of Scripture, it is clear that our Messiah, Jesus Christ, was both fully human and fully God.

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

We learn 7 important facts about the Messiah in this passage:

1.He will be born fully human.

2.He will rule over the nations.

3.The Messiah, though fully human, will also be fully God.

4.He will sit upon the throne of David, ruling from Jerusalem and over His Kingdom to establish it and to uphold it.

5.His government will be to all nations and it will be an eternal government of peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.

6.The Messiah will rule with justice and with righteousness to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness. 

7.God, Himself, will bring this to pass. 

Read Micah 5:2

Bethlehem was the birthplace of Jesus. As a means of eliminating the promised King of the Jews, shortly after Jesus’ birth, Herod ordered the execution of all children two years of age or younger in Bethlehem.

Read Matthew 2:11

Joseph, being warned in a dream of the impending slaughter of children in Bethlehem, took Mary and Jesus and fled to Egypt until Herod died, thus escaping the slaughter. This prophecy was written by Micah, approximately 800 years prior to the birth of Jesus.

Read Isaiah 53:3

It would have been fitting that the birth of Christ be announced first to the despised and the rejected of society, since Jesus Himself declared that he did not come for the righteous, but for sinners.

The birth of Christ did not take place on December 25th. It is not possible since the sheep would not have been in the fields in December.

It is very likely that Jesus Christ was born on September 11, 3 B.C., on Rosh Hashanah, also called the Feast of Trumpets. It was also Tishrei One, the Jewish Spiritual New Year.

Read Revelation 12:1-5

As we examine this passage, it is apparent that we are witnessing the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the man-child who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. When He returns the second time, He will come as the Lion of Judah.

An astronomical sign in heaven depicts that this pregnant woman is clothed with the sun, has the moon under her feet, and has a crown of 12 stars on her head. Did this sign take place exactly as predicted in Revelation 12:1? Yes, it did. On September 11, 3 B.C., Tishrei One, the constellation, Virgo, was in this position for 90 minutes. With this information, we can not only estimate the date of Christ’s birth, but we can also narrow it down to a time window of 90 minutes.

Read Hosea 11:1

This prophecy was written by Hosea also approximately 800 years before the birth of Christ. This was an End Times prophecy that provided information about what will transpire during the final seven years.

Read Matthew 2:14-15

Matthew specifically refers to this verse in Hosea. Thus, this is not only a prophecy concerning Israel’s deliverance from slavery, but it is also a prophecy concerning Jesus emerging from Egypt at the end of the Age.

Read Daniel 9:25-26

Babylon had enslaved Israel for 70 years. For over a century, prophets had warned Israel that if they failed to repent, God would send an enemy against them, they would be removed from their land and taken into captivity. This 70-week prophecy explains why they were expelled from their homeland. These 70 weeks, which represent 70 distinct periods of 7 years, are called Shabuahs. The final year of the Shabuah is called a Shmita.

Israel had violated the Shabuah law for 70 cycles of 7 years, which meant that they had not allowed the land to rest for 490 years. Thus, God removed them from the land and brought them into captivity for 70 years. (One year for every Shabuah that they rebelled against Him.) Consequently, He allowed the land to rest for 70 years. The people of Israel then returned to their land and God’s redemptive plan was completed in 490 years (70 weeks).

Read Daniel 9:25-26

Daniel explains in this passage that the Messiah will come after seven weeks and 62 weeks. These Shabuahs (7 weeks of 7-year periods, or 49 years, plus 62 weeks of 7-year cycles, or 434 years) add up to 483 years. Essentially, this prophecy states that Cyrus’ decree allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, Israel, to rebuild their city. This occurred in 457 B.C. The year 457 B.C. is an important date, because 69 weeks equals 483 years. Furthermore, we notice that there is a week missing. If we add 483 years to 457 (which was the date of the signing of the decree to release Israel), there are 69 weeks left until the appointed time of the Messiah, which would be the year 27 A.D. This is very important because the Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus began his ministry at 30 years of age. A man could not enter ministry or read Scripture in a synagogue until he was 30 years old.

According to the Bible, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, who was six months older than him. Therefore, He would have been baptized before his 30th birthday, on Rosh Hashanah, which would have enabled Him to begin his ministry at exactly 30 years of age. Subtracting 30 years from this day, which is the year 28, we arrive at 3 B.C., Jesus’ birthdate.

Read Matthew 24:34

In Pastor Peter’s opinion, the Time of the End began in 1948 when the Jews returned to Israel. That same year, a declaration was signed in the United Nations declaring Israel as the nation of the Jews. Moreover, Israel was born in a day, fulfilling yet another prophecy. However, another event of even greater importance is about to occur in our generation. It is the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor Peter’s question to you today is “Are you ready?”

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