“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
Matthew 13:16-17
At the dawn of human history, God served notice on the devil, announcing to him that one day “the Seed of the woman” would crush his head (Genesis 3:15). The prophecy is often referred to as the “proto-evangelium,” or “the first Gospel.” From the moment that prophecy was first uttered, godly men and women eagerly sought to know more about this promised deliverer and when He would arrive. As the centuries rolled on, God added and inscripturated more promises concerning the woman’s mysterious Seed. He declared through the prophets that the Seed would be a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah. He would be a descendant of David (2 Samuel 7), in line for the throne. He would also be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18). Though He was to be born at Bethlehem, He nevertheless has an eternal quality to His nature and character. God declared concerning Bethlehem, “out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). We read furthermore that His coming would be announced by a star (Numbers 24:17). As the promised King, His coming would be in accordance with His performing healing miracles (Isaiah 11, 35, 53:4). The list goes on and on; hundreds of prophecies riddle the pages of the Old Testament. Many generations had looked diligently for the fulfillment of these astounding promises but passed away before they came to pass. Peter explained that God revealed to the prophets “that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:12). How blessed, honored, and privileged the original apostles must have felt to have been eyewitnesses and participants in that which so many longed to see. As profoundly important events unfold in our own day, we can see the stage quickly being set for the Lord’s glorious return. As the eyewitnesses to the Lord’s first coming were blessed and privileged to see Jesus minister in humility, we much more so, who will witness the Lord rule in glory. Watch and pray always, dear saints (Luke 21:36), our salvation is nearer than when we believed (Romans 13:11).
God bless,
Pastor John
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