God inspired John to connect Christ back to the first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The first chapter of John gives us a glimpse inside the Father/Son relationship before Jesus came to earth in human form—in the flesh. He preexisted with the Father (verse 1), He was involved in the creation of everything (verse 3), and He is the "light of all mankind" (verse 4). John validates that Jesus is indeed a part of the Deity—Elohim—the plural word for God—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a reminder to us that God the Father made the plan; God the Son carried out the plan through the power of the Holy Spirit. It was through the spoken Word that God brought order and light out of darkness. (Gen. 1: 2-4) John affirms that Jesus is the Light that shines out of darkness, as light is mentioned seven times in verses 4-9. Seven is the number of completion and perfection exemplified in Christ. This connects back to the prophecy from Isaiah 9 regarding Christ’s birth. Verse 2 says “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” In Isaiah 9: 6 we read “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; the government shall be upon his shoulder; and His name shall be called ‘Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” It is important for us to revisit familiar scriptures in order for them to come alive to us today as there are many similarities relating to Christ’s first coming and to the times in which we live leading to His second coming!
Why did Jesus have to come in the flesh? The first Adam created by God failed to obey God’s command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Gen. 2:17, 3:6-7) This disobedience led to sin entering the world, and as a consequence, Adam and humanity were cursed with a sin nature, mortality and separation from God. (Gen. 3: 19, Rom. 5: 12) Jesus Christ, the second Adam, was obedient to the Father even unto death on the cross. As the last Adam, Jesus lived a sinless life, fulfilling God’s will and demonstrating perfect obedience. (Heb. 4: 15, 1 Pt. 2:22) His death was an acceptable sacrifice for the sin of the whole world—the blood of the Lamb shed for remission of sin. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and death, offering eternal life to humanity. (Rom. 5: 18-19, 1 Cor. 15: 20-22) As the life-giving Spirit, Jesus endows believers with new life, transforming us into the image of God. (2 Cor. 5: 17, Eph. 2: 10)
What was the climate of the culture at the time in which Christ was born? There had been 400 years of silence since God had spoken through one of His prophets and the people of Israel wondered if He would ever speak again—as if He had forgotten the covenants He’d established with their forefathers Abraham and David. (Gen 12: 1-3) They were hungry for the word so God sent the Word. The Word came as it had never come before. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1: 14) The Word who had been with God in the creation of the world and all eternity, now came to the world to offer a new covenant and a new life . (John 1:4) During those 400 years of silence, God had readied the world for the Word to travel through it. Under the influence of Alexander the Great, Greek had become the language of science, medicine, and philosophy and made communicating the Word much easier than it had ever been. Also, because of the roads and general peace of the Roman Empire, missionaries could travel everywhere with less difficulty. There were many times more Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire than there were in Israel proper—giving evangelists synagogues and Jewish communities from which to preach the good news throughout the known world. It was in this global climate that God sent His Word.
What was the time of Christ’s birth? In Galatians 4: 4-7, the phrase “when the fullness of time had come” (ESV) or “when the right time came”(NIV) is used to describe the timing of God’s sending His Son, Jesus Christ. The “fullness of time” represents the culmination of God’s plan for humanity’s redemption. It signifies the moment when all the prophecies, promises, and preparations were fulfilled, and Jesus Christ was sent to earth as the Savior. As we concluded, the Jewish people were anticipating the Messiah’s arrival, the Roman Empire had unified much of the world under its rule so that travel and communication was ideal for the spread of the Gospel. Several factors have altered the marking of time or calendars over the years. The Bible does not tell us the exact date of Jesus’ birth, but history tells us that shepherds were in the fields with their sheep from March until November. Some sources agree that Jesus was born on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) based on astronomical alignments and biblical symbolism. Revelation 12: 1-6 describes a celestial event involving the sun, moon, and planets, which some interpret as occurring on the Feast of Trumpets (September 11, 3 BC). (Was 9-11 Satan’s deliberate attack on America and its motto “One nation under God”?) The Feast of Trumpets is seen as a fitting time for Jesus’ birth given its association with new beginnings, judgment, and the coronation of kings. It is evident that our calendar is in error regarding the year and likewise the celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25—declared by Pope Julius I in the 4th century that coincides with the winter solace—a pagan observance. The early church did not celebrate Jesus’ birthday but His resurrection. Only two Gospels—Matthew and Luke give us details of His birth.
What was the message? “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him.” (Jn. 1: 17-18) It was the fulfilment of the prophet Isaiah’s message to Ahaz in 1: 14: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This message was to the whole faithless “house of David”—the promise that God would become flesh! The fulfillment of this prophecy would be spoken to Joseph hundreds of years later by an angel in a dream regarding Mary, his espoused wife. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins…they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Mt. 1: 23) The Word (Jesus) is the full embodiment of all that is God. (Jn. 14:9, Colossians 1: 19) The message of love and redemption that God spoke through the prophets had gone unheeded for centuries (Ezekiel 22:26; Matthew 23:37). People found it easy to disregard the message of an invisible God and continued in their sin and rebellion. So the Message became flesh, took on human form, and came to dwell among us (Philippians 2:5–11). Jesus after His resurrection appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and proclaimed to them: “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Lk. 24: 25-27) In chapter 1 of his Gospel, John is appealing to both Jew and Gentile to receive the eternal Christ. In verses 12-13 he says: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” The message is clear: Through the Word, all the families of the world in Christ are blessed (Rev. 5:9), in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). Through the Word, the throne of David was established forever (Rev. 22: 16)—not merely in an earthly kingdom, but one that will reign forever (Luke 1: 31-33). And through the Word, God saves us.
What is God’s timing and message to us today? God is never too early, never too late, but always on time! With the birth of the Church in Acts, the Age of Grace began and is reaching it’s 2,000 year mark! Peter in his second epistle, Chapter 3:8 says, “But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The passage is part of Peter’s warning to early Christian communities about the delay in Christ’s return, which some were questioning. Peter reminds us that God’s timing is not bound by human concepts of time. He quotes Psalm 90:4, which says “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or life a watch in the night.” It seems that we, like the people during the 400 silent years, are waiting upon a great move of God. Like them, we have drifted away from God and His Word. We see many of the signs Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24 occurring before us today. He warns us of a time of great deception within the Church and without, with the father of lies having a hay day. People are falling away from a relationship with Christ and into religious bondage and legalism. We are seeing the closing of thousands of churches across the nation and the exposure of false leaders. There is not a day that goes by without hearing of wars and rumors of wars and nations rising against nations. There is starvation of people across the world as they vie for handouts and humanitarian aid. We see the betrayal of people, hatred and even attempted assassinations of leaders. False prophets preaching prosperity theology and other false doctrines are arising and leading many astray.
BUT THE WORDS OF JESUS declares in 24: 14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” God will not wind down human history until the entire world has had the opportunity to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. His amazing patience leads to our rich salvation! Could it be that God has allowed the latest technology to be the springboard to proclaim throughout the world the Good News about Jesus Christ as Savior! Could it be that the powers of the “prince of the powers of the airwaves” will be seized to sound the message of salvation to the whole world? God desires for His glory to be revealed in a mighty and glorious way again! God is declaring His words of encouragement and hope through many voices today! The question is: Are you waiting for a word from God? Have you been straining your ears because of the silence? Look to the Word. Look to Jesus. Just as the time of silence was preparation for Christ’s first coming, God is readying His message to us today in a manner that we cannot imagine! God is with us! He will save us from our sins! If Jesus Christ is our Savior, we are a child of God, and what He is providing for us will not be accomplished through flesh or the will of man—but by the power of God! He always keeps His promises! Let us remember that God will move heaven and earth to show us His will. If He’s silent now, it’s because He wants us to realize His next message is extremely important! So, keep listening so we don’t miss His voice and be about the Father’s business! “O give us help against the adversary. For deliverance by man is in vain. Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.” (Ps. 60:12) While on our own we can do nothing, through faith in God we can “do valiantly.” So, Paul said, “I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.” (Romans 15:18) “Jesus’ mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.” “Jesus is the Living Word and the Written Word and even though Mary did not understand everything her Son said or did, she understood enough to know it was always wise to do what He said. It still is.” (Dr. Charles Stanley)
NEWS RELEASE—Sunday, December 1, 2024
BIBLE SALES BOOM AMID ‘ANXIETY’ AS THINGS GO OFF THE RAILS!
In appealing to voters of faith, President-elect Donald Trump vowed a religious revival in America, and now there is a quantifiable way to measure him on that vow: Sales of Bibles are booming.
Despite overall print book sales relatively stagnant in the past year (up less than 1%), Bible sales were up 22% through the end of October, according to Circana BookScan, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Despite 28% of adults in the U.S. now religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research Center, Bible sales rose to 14.2 million in 2023 from 9.7 million in 2019, and have already hit 13.7 million in the first 10 months of this year, the Journal reported.
Experts note the election, anxiety, and new curiosity — if not commitments — to faith.