Christmas is over! Those words used to bum me out when I was young, having been caught up in the glitter, the presents, and the feelings associated with this wonderful holiday. These days I experience no such sadness as Christmas is simply a wonderful way for believers to mark the first advent—when God chose to dwell with man.
On Sunday morning, just minutes before leaving for church, my wife and I watched Andy Stanley’s message on television regarding the first advent and the prophecy of Jesus’ birth. Often referenced as the “Sign of Immanuel” the Lord spoke to Ahaz, king of Judah, who was worried about an impending attack on his land by Israel and Assyria.
In Isaiah 7:11 God told Ahaz to ask Him for a sign, something Ahaz refused to do, not out of piety, but disobedience. Nevertheless, God spoke through His prophet, Isaiah, who said in verse 14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” The prophecy continues through verse 17, but I want to focus on verse 14 and refute the thinking of those who say that the translation of virgin in verse 14 cannot include the word virgin, rather maiden.
No, I am not going to argue the point beyond what is obviously stated regardless of “proof text” used: a maiden or young woman was prophesied to become pregnant and give birth to a son, whose name would be called Immanuel (meaning God with us). Though I certainly believe that this prophecy shows that a virgin birth is what is coming, in some ways that aren’t important at this point. Rather, what is important is that God would one day dwell with men and that this particular prophecy would be fulfilled in time.
The argument against the use of virgin in verse 14 is made by Jewish scholars who adhere to one translation of Hebrew scriptures and Christians who hold to another translation. The book of Isaiah was written around 700 BC which means that seven centuries would pass before the prophecy was fulfilled. In Isaiah 9:6 we have one of my favorite verses, which explains in more detail who Immanuel is: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Chapter 53 Isaiah goes into more detail about the coming Messiah, offering readers a glimpse of whom he was, “…the arm of the LORD been revealed” and how He was to be treated, “…he was despised, and we esteemed him not,” and what sort of punishments He would bear, “…he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.”
Matthew 1 and Luke 2 in the New Testament illustrates the “Christmas story” as we know it, but there are many more prophecies fulfilled in the intervening years which revealed that Jesus was and is the promised Messiah.
Yes, I am steering clear of a detailed theological argument here especially when it comes to the translation of Hebrew text. That is not what God was showing me when Stanley spoke.
Rather, God reminded me of His faithfulness through the fulfillment of prophecies in Isaiah by the sinless birth of Jesus.
And that He will soon fulfill His final prophecies regarding the modern state of Israel, His Church, and the world as a whole. Since the First Advent was of tremendous significance, it is through the coming Second Advent where all the loose ends are tied – a never ending mass of Christ!
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