A Prophecy

Something to think about.

A Prophecy

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. Isaiah 14:7

Christianity recognizes this verse to be the prophetic announcement of the birth of Christ.  I ask this question, Why was it even recorded? Even today if any religious, political, intellectual accomplished person made such a statement. Would anyone listen beyond laughing them into embarrassment? Everyone knows that a virgin cannot give birth to a child. It can't be done without outside assistance. A virgin cannot become pregnant on her own. Not now or thousands of years ago. 

Take it in context he is a leader of Israel making a statement. The statement is beyond anything that anyone has ever seen, heard or conceived, and it is recorded. Why didn't someone edit this out? It is an outlandish statement. We are aware that not everything Isaiah said was recorded? So why was this? Why did such an outrageous statement survive thousands of years till it came to pass? There are things our living presidents have said in the not too distant past that no one remembers. Things that matter that have affected our lives and we can't even remember. Still, Isaiah's prophetic statement about Jesus survived hundreds nay thousands of years.

Christians accept this as a one-time occurrence we will not accept or expect this will happen again.  Yet from the benefit of being the receptor of the prophecy, we now accept the occurrence as an actuality. 

The fact that the prophecy did not get deleted, lost or embellished is a testimony to the will and power of God. This is one of the most outlandish, improbable statements ever made, and it survived beyond its fulfillment.  Today if anyone made such a claim even after the God caused conception of Jesus we would not accept it.

When God intends for something to happen, it will not be forgotten, lost or unknown. 

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Handed Over

Something to think about.

Handed Over

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. Matthew 24:9

In some Bibles, this part of Scriptures is under the heading of "End Times." This is Jesus speaking, and He is referring to events that will occur before His return. The question is, is this our destiny? For many in the Middle East, this is their reality today. The Christian population in many of  Middle Eastern Countries have been annihilated. There is a genocide being committed in the Middle East, but of course, our press has ignored it. ( see https://adfinternational.org/detailspages/press-release-details/never-again-un-side-event-on-genocide-in-the-middle-east )

Here in the USA the former bastion of Christianity we are under constant attacks from many sides. We are being attacked either openly or subversively. Our freedoms religious and civil are under constant assault. The writing is on the wall to the suppression if not eradication of Christianity.  People are openly pushing for the censorship of our views. If you're against homosexuality, you are ostracized, humiliated and labeled ignorant or intolerant. If you support Biblically based marriage, you are closed and simple minded. If you are against the continued murder of the unborn otherwise known as abortion you are a misogynist. If you hold any traditional religious views, you are regarded as a simpleton not worthy of serious consideration.  If you expose the impossibility of evolution, you are called a crack pot. All of these things do not constitute what Jesus was referring to when He spoke the words contained in this verse. What He was referring to is what is happening in the Middle East. What we are now seeing in this country is the precursor is what is taking place in the Middle East. 

I don't know if it is too late to turn from this path of self-destruction. Granted I do not see any hope in returning to where we came from. But I pray and hope that we can turn to the path that has been the only hope for the world and that is the path to Christ. If we can not turn the tide of anti-Christian persecution we will fulfill his end time prophecy.  We will be "handed over to be persecuted and put to death."

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