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 “The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world.”  [Psalm 19:1-4]

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"The heavens declare the glory of God"

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament (the expanse of the heavens) shows His handiwork.” And what a story they tell!  Think, first of all, what they tell about the immensity of the universe. If we traveled at the speed of light—186,000 miles a second or roughly six trillion miles a year—it would take us ten billion years to reach the farthest point we can see with a telescope. But this would still be far from the outermost limits of space. Now astronomers think that space may have no bounds at all! Our earth is nothing but a tiny speck in a limitless expanse!

Think too of the number of stars and other heavenly bodies. With the naked eye we can see about five thousand stars. With a small telescope we can see about two million. But with the Palomar telescope we can see billions of galaxies, to say nothing of individual stars.

[NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array]

Then think about the distances of the heavenly bodies from the earth and from each other. Someone has pictured the distances as follows: if it cost a penny to ride 1000 miles, a trip to the moon would cost $2.38, a trip to the sun would cost $930, but a trip to the nearest star would cost $260 million.

It takes light from the most remote stars which can be seen with telescopes ten billions years to reach the earth. So when we look out into space, we are really looking backward in time. For example, we do not see the Andromeda galaxy where it is now but where it was two million years ago!

Although the stars may appear to be crowded in the firmament, the distances between them are so great that they have been likened to lonely lightships a million miles apart, floating in an empty sea.

If creation is so great, how much greater is the Creator! Day and night the heavens are telling the greatness of His power and wisdom. The firmament unceasingly proclaims the marvels of His handiwork.

The terrifying dimensions and complexity of the universe confirm that "if you think strongly enough, you will be forced by science to believe in God."

Yet, “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."" (Psalm 14:1)

   "How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God" 






"Where can I flee from your presence?"

 “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there;   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me   and the light become night around me,”  even the darkness will not be dark to you;  the night will shine like the day,  for darkness is as light to you.  [Psalm 139:7-12]  

    




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 “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. Jesus Presented in the Temple  When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”  [ Luke 2:21-24]

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"I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them..."

At least three different rituals are described in this passage: First there was the circumcision of Jesus. This took place when He was eight days old. It was a token of the covenant that God made with Abraham. On this same day, the Child was named, according to Jewish custom. The angel had previously instructed Mary and Joseph to call Him Jesus.

The second ceremony was concerned with the purification of Mary. It took place forty days after the birth of Jesus. Ordinarily parents were supposed to bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. But in the case of the poor, they were permitted to bring “ a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons”. The fact that Mary brought no lamb, but only two young pigeons is a reflection of the poverty into which Jesus was born.

The third ritual was the presentation of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem. Originally, God had decreed that the firstborn sons belonged to Him; they were to form the priestly class. Later, He set aside the tribe of Levi to serve as priests.  Then the parents were permitted to “buy back” or “redeem” their firstborn son by the payment of five shekels. This they did when they dedicated him to the Lord.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [Matthew 5:17]

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. [2 Corinthians 8:9]




"...for my eyes have seen your salvation"

 “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,    according to your word;  for my eyes have seen your salvation”  [Luke 2:25-30]  

 

    




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 “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  ”  [Matthew 1:18-19] 

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“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” 

The birth of Jesus Christ was different from any of the births mentioned in the genealogy.  There we found the repeated phrase “A begot B.”

But now we have the record of a birth without a human father. The facts surrounding this miraculous conception are stated with dignity and simplicity. Mary had been promised in marriage to Joseph, but the wedding had not yet taken place. During the time of her betrothal, the Virgin Mary became pregnant by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. An angel had previously announced this mysterious event to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you”.

A cloud of suspicion and scandal hung over Mary. In all of human history there had never been a virgin birth. When people saw an unwed woman who was pregnant, they had only one possible explanation.

Even Joseph did not yet know the true explanation of Mary’s condition. He might have been indignant at his fiancée on two counts: First, her apparent unfaithfulness to him; and second, though innocent, he would almost inevitably be accused of complicity. His love for Mary and desire for justice led him to decide to break the betrothal by a quiet divorce. He wished to avoid the public disgrace which normally accompanied such an action.
While this gentle and deliberate man was mapping his strategy to protect Mary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The salutation, “Joseph, son of David, was doubtless designed to stir up the consciousness of his royal pedigree and to prepare him for the unusual advent of Israel’s Messiah-King.

He should have no misgivings about marrying Mary. Any suspicions concerning her purity were groundless. Her pregnancy was a miracle of the Holy Spirit. The angel then revealed the unborn Child’s sex, name, and mission. Mary would bear a Son. He was to be named Jesus, (which means “Jehovah is salvation”).
As a result of the angel’s intervention, Joseph abandoned his plan to divorce Mary. He continued to recognize their betrothal until Jesus’ birth, after which he married her.






"..do not fear to take Mary as your wife..”

 “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." [Matthew 1:20] 



 

    "  O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord. "  




"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

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 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.
 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. ”

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  [John 1: 1-2,14, 14:6]

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And the Word was God..

In the beginning was the Word.  He did not have a beginning Himself, but existed from all eternity. As far as the human mind can go back, the Lord Jesus was there. He never was created.

The Word was with God.  The Word was with God. He had a separate and distinct personality. He was not just an idea, a thought, but a real Person who lived with God. The Word was God. He not only dwelt with God, but He Himself was God. The Bible teaches that there is one God and that there are three Persons in the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three of these Persons are God.

To become a child in a physical sense, one must be born. So, also, to become a child of God, one must have a second birth, or conversion, or being saved. 

The Word became flesh when Jesus was born as a Baby in the manger at Bethlehem. He had always existed as the Son of God with the Father in heaven, but now chose to come into the world in a human body. He dwelt among us. It was not just a short appearance, about which there might be some mistake or misunderstanding. God actually came to this earth and lived here as a Man among men.  His body was the tent in which He lived among men for thirty-three years.
 



"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.. [Luke 1:34-35]

 

   

 "  Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the favored one.
Veiled in flesh, the Godheadd see;
hail the incarnate Diety
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel
Hark the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King""  



Second Coming of the LORD JESUS CHRIST

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 ““Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

Jesus answered: "...You will hear of wars and rumors of wars,.. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains." ” [Matthew 24:3, 6-8]

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 "The coming of the LORD"

The manifestation of Christ’s coming is His return to earth in power and great glory to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Rapture will not be seen by the world; it takes place in a split second. But every eye will see Christ when He comes to reign. Therefore it is called the manifestation of His presence (parousia).

During the first half of the Tribulation, many false messiahs will appear who will succeed in deceiving multitudes. The current rise of many false cults may be a prelude to this, but it is not a fulfillment. These false religious leaders will be Jews claiming to be the Christ.

There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. It would be easy to think that we are seeing this fulfilled today, but what we see is mild compared to what will be. Actually the next event in God’s time schedule is the Rapture of the church. There is no prophesy to be fulfilled before then. After the church is removed, God’s prophetic clock will begin and these conditions will quickly manifest themselves.  Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes will occur in various parts of earth. Even today world leaders are alarmed by the specter of famine due to the population explosion. But this will be accentuated by the shortages caused by wars.

Earthquakes are attracting increasing attention—not only those now occurring but also those that are expected. Once again, these are straws in the wind, and not the actual fulfillment of our Savior’s words.

Verse 8 clearly identifies this period as the beginning of sorrows—the onset of birth-pangs.  Naturally, the birth-pangs will increase in intensity and also in frequency.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Again our Lord draws a spiritual lesson from nature. When the branches of the fig tree become green and tender, you know that summer is near.  We have seen that the fig tree pictures the nation of Israel. For hundreds of years Israel has been dormant, with no government of its own, no land, no temple, no priesthood—no sign of national life.  The people have been scattered throughout the world.

Then, in 1948, Israel became a nation with its own land, governments, currency, stamps, etc.  Spiritually, the nation is still barren and cold; there is no fruit for God. But nationally, we might say that its branches are green and tender.

“So you also, when you see all these things, know that is near, at the very doors!” Israel’s emergence as a nation means not only that the beginning of the Tribulation is near, but that the Lord Himself is near, at the very doors!

If Christ’s coming to reign is so near, how much more imminent is the Rapture of the church? If we already see shadows of events that must precede His appearing in glory, how much closer are we to the Rapture?

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage one another with these words. " 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18



"...Even so, come, Lord Jesus"

 “In just a little while,  he who is coming will come  and will not delay.”  [Hebrews 10:37]