Born of a virgin: Hal Lindsey explains why the details of Jesus' birth are important

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Friday, December 27, 2002 | Hal Lindsey

[JohnHuang2]

A survey conducted by the London Daily Telegraph last week found that more than a quarter of Church of England clergy do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ. Not only does that make you wonder where they studied, it makes you wonder why they bothered. Why is the virgin birth of Christ so important?

Since the sin of the human race is passed down through the father, Jesus had to be born without a human father. Otherwise He would have been born with the same curse of sin upon him as the rest of mankind. Thus He would not have qualified to bear the penalty of sin for us.

He had to have a human mother to have a true human nature, but as the Scripture clearly states, God Himself was the father of His human nature.

As it is written in the account of Mary's conception, "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.'" (Luke 1:35 NASB)

Once again, in sublime simplicity, profound truth is stated. God Himself is declared to be the one who impregnated Mary with the child Jesus. It is for this one reason He is called, "The Son of God."

He is the Son of God because God is the Father of His human nature.

Mary is not the mother of God – she is the mother of Jesus' human nature, which was sired by God.

If Jesus were born of a human father, then He could not have atoned for the sin of man. Nor could Jesus have qualified to pay for our sins if He were only a man.

He had to be both truly God and truly man united in one wonderful person. It was only in this way that He could be equal with both parties in the mediation and successfully purchase a pardon for sin.

This is why the report in the London Times is so terribly serious, "Of 500 clerics polled, 27 percent privately reject the traditional story of the birth of Jesus. The typical claim is there was nothing special about his birth; it was his adult life that was extraordinary. Many of the skeptics contend that the virgin birth story is the product of poor biblical translation of a Hebrew prophecy that first appeared in Isaiah and literary tradition rather than Divine intervention."

The Bible predicted that there would be apostate ministers teaching doctrines of demons in the days just before Christ returns. And here they are – they are proof of what time it is on God's prophetic clock.

Why did God become a man?

This is the heart of the mystery of all mysteries. When the Second Person of the Godhead stepped out of eternity into time to be joined to the human child Jesus, He made a marvelous declaration to God the Father. It is recorded in the Epistle to the Hebrews:

"But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, But a body Thou hast prepared for Me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast taken no pleasure.' Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book [Old Testament] it is written of Me) To do Thy will, O God.'" (Hebrews 10:3-7, NASB)

The writer points to the inadequacy of the Old Testament animal sacrifices for sin. They could not take sin away permanently. They could only temporarily cover sin until God's ultimate, predicted sacrifice came to permanently remove sin as a barrier between man and God.

So the Second Person of the Godhead speaks to the Father "when He comes into the world."

He then clearly tells us His mission: "Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me ?"

Jesus was born to bear our sins in His own body on the cross. He is the one sacrifice that could remove sin as a barrier to those who believe in Him and receive the pardon He purchased for us. He is our sacrifice.

He came to do God's will and, "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)

My Christmas wish

I pray that this will be the most important Christmas of your life. If you have never confessed to God that you are a sinner and received the gift of pardon purchased for you by the Son of God, then do so right now. You will change your eternal destiny in that moment.

God will begin to make changes in your life – He only wants you to be willing for Him to do it. But He does this for you as His child. He promises that He will never disown you.

For all of you who are already believers, I pray that you will marvel in the wonder of God's love and determine to love Him back.

Merry Christmas!

[JohnHuang2]

Friday, December 27, 2002

Quote of the Day by kayak

[LiteKeeper]

bump

[fidelis]

"Since the sin of the human race is passed down through the father, Jesus had to be born without a human father."


"Mary is not the mother of God – she is the mother of Jesus' human nature, which was sired by God."


These are erroneous statements. Original sin was contracted by both Adam and Eve, thus both parents transmit it to their offspring. Secondly, a mother gives birth to a PERSON not a NATURE. Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus is God (the Son). Mary is Jesus' mother. Thus Mary is the mother of God.

[Salvation]

**Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus is God (the Son). Mary is Jesus' mother. Thus Mary is the mother of God.**

BTTT!

[IGNATIUS]

The writer points to the inadequacy of the Old Testament animal sacrifices for sin.

So,why do Lindsey and nearly all other presumably Christian celebrity TV Protestant apologists for present day Israel make such a big deal about rebuilding a temple??

[Thinkin' Gal]

So,why do Lindsey and nearly all other presumably Christian celebrity TV Protestant apologists for present day Israel make such a big deal about rebuilding a temple??

Because

1) they won't admit that the Church is the defiled temple,
2) it's easier to let the Jews take the rap for unbelief,
3) Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear) unto this day.

Meet the New Israel, same as the old Israel.

Hebrews 3:14-19

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

[covenantguy]

Was not Jesus "God" before His birth (John 1)?  Was she (Mary) not a "chosen vessel" to bring forth the human manifestation of an eternal (2nd) Person  of the Trinity? How could Mary be the mother of God when God had no beginning?

[P-Marlowe]

Doesn't that make Mary even Greater than Jesus? Does that mean that Mary has existed from all eternity to all eternity and that indeed she existed before God?

[Codie]

Was not Jesus fully man and fully God?

[2sheep]

>Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Rightly stated.  The big "IF" appears again and the famine of understanding* (shema) the word of the Lord has made Christendom a desert and a wilderness in which most fall away.

Am 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing* (shema) the words of the LORD.

Words and Images mean things even if people foolishly seek to change their meanings.  That is why G-d made commandments about them and talked about them so much.

Sun Worship in Church Vocabulary

Too Long in the Sun: Images -- excerpt:

The Egyptians dedicated many obelisks to Ra, the god of the sun. The obelisk shape has been defined as that of a phallic symbol, or a ray of the sun extending to heaven. Today obelisks, or steeples adorn many buildings which have been labeled as churches. Does this honor our Creator?  ...

Another "image" that has supposedly been "Christianized" is that of the "mother and child".  We have shown that the worship of the mother and her child, the re-incarnated sun god, has been one of the main components of sun worship since ancient times. The child represented the reborn sun god, proclaimed to be husband of the mother. That enabled her to claim the title "mother of god" - "queen of heaven".

Please notice the "nimbus" surrounding the heads in many depictions of the "mother and child." This "nimbus’ or radiant light, in the form of a circle or halo, originated in sun worship. The nimbus was used to indicate the radiance of the sun gods or goddesses.

There were no such depictions of the Biblical Mary and Christ by early believers. Later, however, as paganism began to corrupt the worship of God these representations began to be accepted by those calling themselves Christians. Mary was given the title "Theotokos - Mother of God" and these icons began to be placed on the eastern wall of churches, toward the rising sun, where they had always been in the pagan temples.

The only honest conclusion that can be drawn is that there is no Biblical, archaeological or historical evidence that any of the before mentioned "images" were used by first century believers. Where did these symbols originate?

We will again quote the "church" historian Tertullian - He sums it up nicely from a human standpoint: "If, for these and other such rules, you insist upon having positive Scripture injunction, you will find none. Tradition will be held forth to you as the originator of them, custom as their strengthener, and faith as their observer."

Jesus sums it up perfectly: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

 Christmas Before Christ? The Surprising Story

[RnMomof7]

These are erroneous statements. Original sin was contracted by both Adam and Eve, thus both parents transmit it to their offspring. Secondly, a mother gives birth to a PERSON not a NATURE. Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus is God (the Son). Mary is Jesus' mother. Thus Mary is the mother of God.

No ..sin is passed from the Father not the mother..

Support for this position is found in the fact that sin entered the world through Adam, not Eve.  Remember, Eve was the one who sinned first.  However, sin did not enter the world through her.  It entered through Adam. Rom. 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned."  The concept behind this is called Federal Headship.  This means that a person (a father) represents his descendants.  We see this concept taught in Heb. 7:9-10, "And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, 10for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him."  We see in Hebrews that Levi, a distant descendant of Abraham, is said to have paid tithes to Melchizedek when Abraham was the one offering the tithes, not Levi.  What this means is that there is biblical support for the idea that the sin nature was passed down through the father.  Since Jesus had not literal, biological father, the sin nature was not passed down to Him.  However, since He had a human mother, he was fully human but without original sin.  Jesus has two natures:  God and man.  Col. 2:9 says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of deity in bodily form."  Jesus received His human nature from Mary, but He received His divine nature through God the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, Jesus is both God and man.  He was sinless, had no original sin, and was both fully God and fully man. http://www.carm.org/questions/Jesus_original_sin.htm

[2sheep]

Who is this Babylon you keep talking about? - excerpt:

ANSWER:  First, we must realize that Babylon (Bavel in Hebrew, meaning "confusion") is ALL about power.  It has to do with religious, economic, and political power and control.  To find the modern day Babel we must first find the first Babel in the Scriptures.

In Genesis 10:8-10 and chapter 11 we find this city was built by Nimrod (a type of satan), and it was the source of the first great apostasy against Yahweh.  Here the "Babylonian mystery cult" was started by Nimrod.  The objects of worship were the "Supreme Father," the "Incarnate Female," or the Queen of heaven, and her Son.  A trinity of g-ds!  They built a tower to reach heaven, and wage war on Yahweh.  The purpose was to rule the world by these doctrines of demons.  After the destruction of the tower, these false doctrines were carried all over the world and infiltrated EVERY MAN-MADE RELIGION!

*** This mother/child cult spread to the Roman Empire, and in the third century became part of the "Chr-stian?" faith.  ALL the rites of the original Babylonian cult began to come to the front, and paganism ruled the Messianic faith.  It was no longer***a completely different religion,*** with no connection to its roots.  It ALL revolved around sun worship, and the mother/child worship. ... ***

 The Two Babylons: The Mother and Child, and the Original of the Child

 Blue Honey - Sun Worship Gallery - lots of images here.  This is a shaman site laughing at deceived Christians who know not what they worship.

 Google Search: mother child "sun worship"

[Jael]

Jesus pre-existed before Mary, so did God. So how could Mary be the Mother of God?

[Jael]

Protestant apologists for present day Israel make such a big deal about rebuilding a temple??

Because it is a prophecy concerning the end times and the Antichrist.

Matthew 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Daniel 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

[Simcha7]

P-Marlowe,

You wrote...

"Doesn't that make Mary even Greater than Jesus? Does that mean that Mary has existed from all eternity to all eternity and that indeed she existed before God?"

8 posted on 12/28/2002 4:34 PM EST by P-Marlowe

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

This Sir, is heading into HERESY.

Mary....Yeshua / Jesus' Mother was NOT and Will NEVER be DIVINE!

And...there Will NEVER be the Holy QUAD...ForgetaboutIT!

Anyone who falls into Maryology and the worship of Mary is an IDOLATER period end of report.

[Codie]

What are the thoughts of Luther and Calvin on this subject?

[P-Marlowe]

I was just askin' the questions. It was fidelis and Salvation I was concerned with. Your post should have been directed at them. I was looking for clarification, not agreement.

[2sheep]

>What are the thoughts of Luther and Calvin on this subject?

Who cares!  It is better to obey G-D then man and Yeshua hates the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and teachers who prove themselves false by their fruit.

[2sheep]

"then" should be "than"

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

How could Mary be the mother of God when God had no beginning?

"And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Luke 1:43

Was God a human being before the birth of Jesus? Is Jesus God? "Thomas answered, and said to Him: My Lord, and My God." John 20:28