Many Will Spend Their First Christmas in Mount Zion this Year!
December 24, 2006
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Many of our departed loved ones will spend their first Christmas in Mount Zion this year! They have left their loved ones on planet earth and joined a great spiritual group of fellow believers in heaven.
Hebrews 12:22,23 – But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, [23] To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
They are more anxious to return to earth and reign with Christ than most of us are anxious to go to Mount Zion to be with him and them.
Revelation 6:9-11 – And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: [10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth
? [11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Please read the Jerusalem Post Article “Going Home for Christmas” by Elwood McQuaid in the Jerusalem Post, which follows our exposition of Micah 5:2. As a Christian Zionist, he presents a different perspective of Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 – But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet 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.
This is one of the most beloved verses in Scripture concerning the birth of Israel’s Messiah, Jesus Christ. It has been put on display Christmas after Christmas, and preached vividly during that season from millions of pulpits. By the time it was fulfilled by Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, traditional teachings concerning the Messiah’s birth had replaced God’s account, and it is truly sad that Herod had to ask where he would be born, and perhaps even sadder that the scribes had to look it up. Some traditional teachings, by the time th at Christ arrived, taught th
at Messiah the Prince would be born of royalty, or perhaps by the wife of the High Priest, or at least of wealthy parents who had great influence. Traditional teachings had completely departed from those verses found in Chapter 53 of Isaiah. He was not expected to be a suffering servant, but rather a great conqueror that would fight and destroy Israel’s enemies in battle after battle until Israel reigned supreme. Some traditional teachings suggested he might be born in the great city of Jerusalem. But when he came only a handful knew who he was, a man child whose Father was God, born of a virgin from the dirty little town of Nazareth, laying in a manger outside the inn in a cave in the small city of Bethlehem. Many “traditional” teachings of today will also cause most of the world to receive the man of sin, the antichrist, as the true Messiah.
He was sent by His Father “to be ruler in Israel,” but Israel rejected him as both judge (Micah 5:1) and ruler, and they were without excuse, for all the prophets from Moses to Malachi had foretold of His “goings forth,” which had been from of old, from everlasting. His characteristics, His goings forth, His life, His purpose, and His death had been clearly revealed by God’s word before His Living Word arrived in sinless flesh. The following Scriptures reveal this truth.
Had they studied His word and believed it they could have recognized Him.
Deuteronomy 18:18,19 – I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. [19] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require
it of him.
Isaiah 53:6 – All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Malachi 3:1 – Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
John the Baptist was the messenger God sent before the Messiah, who was Jesus Christ, the messenger of the covenant made to the seed
of Abraham and David. The Messiah came quickly to the temple after His temptation in the wilderness to cleanse it to be a house of prayer, not a den of thieves. And, at the final Passover, when He came again to cleanse it, He found the identical den of spiritual and physical thieves saturating it with ungodliness. That is why He cried from the Mount of Olives before His arrest: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gat hered thy children toget
her, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that co
meth in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:37-39).
Judging from the rapid fulfillment of prophecy in Israel at the present time, I am convinced that Israel will finally be calling Him blessed in the near future.
Begin Jerusalem Post Article
Going home for Christmas
ELWOOD MCQUAID, THE JERUSALEM POST
December 23, 2006
I’ve done an inordinate amount of traveling over the past 50 years. It seems that everywhere I’ve been, whether here in the United States or abroad, has an appeal of its own. Sometimes it’s in the place; sometimes, in the people. Either way, few places are difficult to leave behind once my purpose for being there is exhausted.
Something inside says, “Go home. You’ve been here long enough.”
Then it’s time to return to familiar faces and surroundings. This sort of homing magnetism is especially true when the holidays draw near.
Despite all the good things that can be said about revered seasons of celebration, for me as a Christian, no holiday quite measures up to Christmas.
If asked why this is true, one reason must be the desire to go “home” for Christmas, to Bethlehem in the Holy Land. In fact, the vast majority of the two billion-plus adherents to Christianity, representing 33 percent of the world’s total population, make the trip literally or in their hearts and minds every year.
I was struck by this phenomenon a few days ago when my wife and I were traveling home to Virginia after a visit with family in Florida. We were listening to Christmas music sung by the choir of the National Cathedral in our nation’s capitol. These magnificent voices sang about Bethlehem and the events that took place there over 2,000 years ago. And as I listened, the thought came flooding into my mind: All over the world in these days before Christmas – in cathedrals, churches, millions of international locales, and around family fireplaces – believers are making a spiritual pilgrimage back to Bethlehem. They’re going home to where it all began.
In reality, they are responding to the words of the prophet: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
THESE “ascenders,” if you will, are making their way up the slopes of the Shepherds Fields where the ancient shepherds were first ordered to make the journey: “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them… Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David [Bethlehem] a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'” (Luke 2:8-11)
For Christians, there is a fusion of biblical truth from the Older Testament and the Bethlehem chapter in the New. It emanates from the “Immanuel” (God With Us) prophecies, particularly those of Isaiah.
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
The great wonder of it all for Christian believers is that God has chosen to visit this planet. How and where did He choose to do so
? It was in a stable in an obscure Jewish village in Judea, through a Jewish virgin’s womb, and in the person of a Jewish Baby in a manger. Mortal man could never have conceived such a plan.
Yet God accomplished it.
So it is that there is no end to depictions of the sacred event, be it in church pageants, elegant symphonic presentations, or congregations and traveling singers lifting familiar carols heavenward. They all exist because of the miracle of Bethlehem.
I’M SOMETIMES asked if I believe the Bible’s account to be literal and his
torical, or a quaint story stuffed with allegory and excesses conjured up to fit the simple notions of the faithful. I believe every word: the star in the east, the shepherds, the angelic host, the inn, the stable, the virgin, and above all the Babe lying in swaddling clothes in Mary’s arms. I am a believer.
For me, going “home” for Christmas is a personal journey, one I have taken in a literal way dozens of times and never tire of. But more significantly, one I took when I became a follower of the Jesus, who revolutionized my life and altered my reason for living. That’s the real story of Christmas.
And whether or not you endorse all aspects of the account, you’ll have to agree that we can’t argue the sentiments of the angelic multitudes’ closing refrain: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14)
Merry Christmas!
The writer, a pastor, is a leader of the Christian Zionist movement in the United States.
End Jerusalem Post Article
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