While a lot of attention is given to End Time prophecies and the Book of Revelation, Christmas is a special time to consider the Old Testament prophecies around the birth of Jesus and the foretelling of the Messiah.
Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
Pastor Samuel Rodriguez has studied these prophecies in-depth, and recently sat down with the Washington Times’ Higher Ground to share his fascinating perspective behind the nativity and how Jesus’ birth — and life — were predicted hundreds of years beforehand.
“Jesus’s birth and prophecy is obviously a major part of scripture,” Pastor Rodriguez said. “There’s a theological sort of come-to-Jesus moment where over 300 prophecies can be completely verified. That’s an incredible amount. How in the world can you declare prophetically something that would take place, 600, 800, 1000, 1,500 years in the future, and with great, perfect precision and accuracy?”
While most people are familiar with Isaiah 7:14, which declares the Messiah would be born to a virgin and called Immanuel, Pastor Rodriguez noted numerous other prophecies about Jesus often go unnoticed. From Micah 5:2, which declares the birthplace of Messiah in Bethlehem, to Hosea 11:1, which foretells Jesus’ escape to Egypt to hide from King Herod, Jesus is ever present in the Old Testament.
“From Genesis all the way down to Malachi prophecy, after prophecy, after prophecy about the emergence, the birth, the arrival of the Messiah, and it all took place in the life of Jesus,” Pastor Rodriguez noted. “The mathematical probability of that happening by chance… is one [to the power] infinity. It’s just, you can’t, so it’s just unbelievable.”
SEE ALSO: What are the odds? The birth of Jesus and fulfillment of Bible prophecies
But for all the greatness of hundreds of years of prophecy coming true, Pastor Rodriguez emphasized that the birth of Jesus was barely a blip on the radar at the time. Indeed, it was one of the most momentous events in human history, and yet only the shepherds seemed to get a real taste of the celebration that was due to the Son of God when the heavenly hosts appeared. This was a testament to both the humility that defined Jesus’ life and ministry on earth, and the rejection that He faced as the Messiah.
“The reason why Jesus was not completely embraced in His generation in light of the fact of great prophetic fulfillment where He Himself and those around Him would point to specific scriptures coming to pass, is because they were looking for a political solution,” he explained. “So because Christ was about the eternal kingdom and not a temporary political fiefdom, unfortunately, He was rejected in His generation.”
It’s food for thought for followers of Christ today who may be looking to Jesus for earthly power and influence. But Pastor Rodriguez said it’s also a reason to hope as we look at what’s happening in our world today (“Yes, we’re living in the last days”), and consider what we can expect from a God that came to earth with such “unbridled humility, unprecedented empathy and unsurpassed transparency and vulnerability.”
“I love the fact that it’s, it’s Immanuel… It’s God with us. Not just God for us, but God with us,” Pastor Rodriguez said. “There’s a mighty sovereign, holy, righteous, loving, caring God in the midst of the of darkness and angst and consternation and violence, be it physical, emotional, rhetorical, whatever it may be, there’s a mighty God who is with us in the reality, in the person of Jesus Christ. So I love that message of hope.”
—
Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.