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In Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 the prophet wrote,
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Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,
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and the apostle Matthew wrote of
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Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ (Matthew 1:16).
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The prophet Isaiah wrote,
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For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6),
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and in reference to this Child, he said that He would be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6).
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About 740 years after Isaiah recorded these words, God's gift was conceived in Nazareth. The Child that was conceived was the promised Son of God.
Even though Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it was in Nazareth that God gave His Son to mankind; in other words, it was in Nazareth that He was conceived. As the Child was developing in His mother's womb, the Roman emperor, to satisfy his greed, sent out a decree that a census be taken. As a result, the Child's mother went south to Bethlehem, and there the Child was brought into the world.
Thus came about the birth of Jesus Christ, as had been foretold long before - about 700 years before - by the prophet Micah.
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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)
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Jesus then left this place where the prophecy had been fulfilled and went to Egypt. Later, He moved to Nazareth and lived there in order that He might appear as the great light to shine upon "the people who walk in darkness" as prophesied by Isaiah. This truth that had now fulfilled the Word of God, which had been concealed for many long years, actually became the light that illuminated the darkness for the people living in Nazareth.
Also, when Jesus was born, the glory of the Lord shone round about the shepherds who were in the fields, and the multitude of the heavenly host praised God saying,
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"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased" (Luke 2:14 NASV).
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This is truly the way it is.
Since then, for the past two thousand years, amongst the countless people who have lived on this earth, there have been, and still are, people who have become children of God, in other words, those with whom God is pleased.
These are the people who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God; who praise God in their hearts for the grace by which He has clothed their spirits with His love; whose hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the forgiveness of their sins; and who, through experience, have personally come to know what has been accomplished through this holy Light.
The Bible says of Jesus,
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And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
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Someone was sent six months in advance in order to proclaim this true Light.
This was John the Baptist. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the division of Abijah, and at the time of the birth of his son, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying,
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And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:76-79).
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After this had been accomplished the apostle Paul expressed it as follows,
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For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
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This corresponds to God's purpose in creating the heavens and the earth. When the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the surface of the deep,
God said, "Let there be light," and He said that light was to shine upon the earth
(See Genesis 1:3,15). It is clear that we were all spiritually blind until we were redeemed from the power of darkness, in other words, until we received forgiveness for our sins through the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who thus revealed God's love (See Colossians 1:12-14).
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