CHRISTMAS – GOD’S PRECIOUS PROMISES FULFILLED

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS MANIFESTED IN HUMAN FLESH TO FULFILL THE PROMISES MADE BY GOD TO THE ANCIENT PATRIARCHS.

                Beginning with His first ancient promise of Genesis 3:15, and continuing through the books of the Old Testament, the Lord God of all Creation repeatedly promised to send His only Son into the world, for the salvation of the human race.  This became known as the Messianic Promise.  Quoting the Old Testament Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 [written ca.700 B.C.E.], the Evangelist Matthew of the New Testament wrote ca. 60 C.E.: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, which translated means, ‘GOD WITH US.’”

            Someone counted more than 100 Old Testament prophecies predicting the coming of the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  One’s careful examination of the text of the Old Testament would yield the fact that the coming of the Messiah would be a two-fold coming: He was to come as the suffering and slaughtered Savior from sin, and He was to come again as the King in His Kingdom.  And so it was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, and so it will be: “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

            In His First Advent, the Lord Jesus came as the suffering SAVIOR who rules in the hearts of His followers: “Of Him [Jesus Christ the Messiah] all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him [Christ] receives forgiveness of sins.”  

1. He is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Micah 5:2; fulfilled in Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7);
2. He is to be born of a Jewish Virgin (Isaiah 7:14; fulfilled in Matthew 1:21-23);
3. He is to be born a descendant of the Patriarch Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18; fulfilled in Matthew 1:1-18; Galatians 3:16);
4. He is to be born of the Jewish tribe Judah (Genesis 49:10; fulfilled in Luke 3:23, 33; Hebrews 7:14);
5. He is to be born of the House of King David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; fulfilled in Matthew 1:1);
6. He is to be betrayed by a friend (Psalms 41:9; fulfilled in Luke 22:3-4; John 13:18);
7. He is to be sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12; fulfilled in Matthew 26:14-15);
8. He is to be rejected by the people (Isaiah 53:3; fulfilled in John 1:10-11; 7:5,48);
9. He is to be mocked (Psalms 22: 7-8; fulfilled in Matthew 27:31), to be beaten (Isaiah 52:14; fulfilled in Matthew 27:26), and to be spit upon (Isaiah 50:6; fulfilled in Matthew 27:30);
10. He is to stand silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7; fulfilled in Matthew 27:12-14);
11. He is to die a humiliating death (Psalms 22; fulfilled in Isaiah 53);
12. He is to be crucified among thieves (Isaiah 53:12; fulfilled in Matthew 27:38);
13. He is to be pierced in His hands and feet (Psalms 22:16; fulfilled in Matthew 27:31), as well as in His side (Zechariah 12:10; fulfilled in John 19:34);
14. He is, while dying, to pray for His persecutors (Isaiah 53:12; fulfilled in Luke 23:34);
15. He is, while dying, to be given gall and vinegar to drink (Psalms 69:21; fulfilled in Matthew 27:34; Luke 23:36);
16. He is, in His crucifixion, to have no broken bones (Psalms 34:20; fulfilled in John 19:32-36);
17. Others will cast lots for His garments (Psalms 22:18; fulfilled in John 19:23-24);
18. He is to be buried in a rich man's tomb (Isaiah 53:9; fulfilled in Matthew 27:57-60);
19. He is to rise from among the dead (Psalms 16:10; fulfilled in Mark 16:6; Acts 2:31);
20. He is to ascend to Heaven (Psalms 68:18; fulfilled in Acts 1:9);
21. He is to sit at the right hand of the Lord God (Psalms 110:1; fulfilled in Hebrews 1:3).

            In His Second Advent, however, the Lord Jesus will come as the righteous JUDGE OF THE WORLD who will judge the dead and the living, and as the conquering KING OF KINGS who will rule on earth with a rod of iron, for a period of one thousand years (Revelation 20).  He will then fulfill the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant.  After that, His Kingdom shall have no end; it shall be an everlasting Kingdom in which righteousness will reign forever and ever: “And He ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the One [the Lord Jesus] who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”  

            My Friend, you either receive Him today as your SAVIOR & LORD, or reject Him now and face Him finally as your JUDGE.  You must come to Him of your own volition, without any form of coercion or compulsion.  Pray and sign this prayer sincerely and earnestly, for the salvation of your soul:

Lord Jesus Christ,

I declare to You my personal rejection of Islam, its deity, its prophet, its Qur’ān and its immorality.  I thank You for coming to earth and dying for my personal salvation. I sincerely confess to You my lost sinful condition, which calls for Your righteous judgment upon me. Often I have disobeyed Your Precious Word and frequently I have broken Your Perfect Laws. Helplessly, I am deeply enslaved to sin. Therefore, I know that I deserve Your just condemnation of me to everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire. However, now and in this place, I come to You accepting Your death and resurrection on my behalf and for my benefit, as my own Substitute. I ask You, as You have promised in Your Infallible Word, to become my personal Savior and Lord of my lifestyle. I ask You to turn me away from my life of sin, enabling me to make generous restitution to all against whom I have sinned, forgiving all my sins, making me a new creature in Christ, giving me the new birth into the Family of God, and granting me eternal life. I also ask You to help me from now on to live the Christian life pleasing to You. I thank You for answering this my sincere and earnest prayer, by saving me at this moment and in this place.  Amen.

My Signature _________________________________

Your friend, praying for your salvation,

Dr. Habib J. Khoury, M.A., TH.D.