Advent Gems #6

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Isaiah 7:14 : “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

The best commentary and confirmation of scripture can be found in the scriptures themselves. Isaiah 7:14 is a confirmation of Genesis 3:15: To the serpent, the Lord said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed.”

Notice that it is not the seed of the man and the woman. It is the seed of the woman only.

The Seed of the woman is confirmed in Matthew 1: 18. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”

The virgin birth is more fully explained in Luke 1: 26-35: “ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!''

“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.''

“Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?''

“ And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 Advent Gems #5 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and allowed the prophet to see, prophetically, both the guiding star and the patriarch from whose tribe our King and Redeemer would be born. 

Numbers 24:15-17: “Then he took up his oracle and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes opened wide: I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.” 

The Scepter (the rod of authority) of the Messiah will not be taken away nor destroyed. 

Daniel 7:13-14: "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. 

Revelation 19:13,16: “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God... And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” 

 

 

Advent Gems #4
Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

In Jacob, who became Israel, we know the nation from which the Messiah will come. Israel passed that blessing on to his son Judah. Therefore, we know the tribe from which He will come.

Genesis 49: 8-10 ``Judah, your brothers shall praise you. You shall destroy your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow before you. Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. He has settled down as a lion--who will dare to rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes, whom all people shall obey.”

Judah means praise. The tribe of Judah always led the Israelites into battle. Our spiritual warfare must always be grounded in praise for our Lord. Psalm 22:3: “God inhabits the praises of His people.”

Shiloh means tranquil or peaceful. Notice the meaning of the names. Isaac means laughter. Laughter is the grandfather of praise (Judah). Shiloh, peace, is a fruit of the Spirit. Philippians 2:9-11: 9. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  

Advent Gems #3 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

We see the lineage of our Messiah established in God’s covenant with Abraham. Genesis 17: 6-7: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you” 

The covenant continues through Abraham’s son, Issac. Genesis 17:19: Then God said: "Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.  

Issac passed that blessing on to his son Jacob. Genesis 27: 28-29. “Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!'' 

After wrestling the Jacob, Lord Himself gave Jacob the name of Israel. Genesis 32:28: “28.  And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.''

 

The Living Bible explains, “``Your name is Israel--one who has power with God. Because you have been strong with God, you shall prevail with men.'' 

In Jesus Christ, we can have power with God and prevail in spite of this troubled world.  

 Advent Gems #2 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Mankind fell. He was here. Redemption began. Genesis 3:14-15: “So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.'' 

Genesis 3: 21. “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” 

As He was in the beginning, so He has always been and so He will always be. 

 Advent Gems #1 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

He was here in the beginning. Genesis 1:1-5: “1.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light''; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” 

John 1:1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” 

John 1:9-12: “That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” 

As He was in the beginning, so He has always been and so He will always be. 

 What about the Mark of the Beast? 

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

As the world situation heats up, we become more and more engaged in discussions about the end time.  Some of those discussions center around the mark of the beast.  Nearly all of those discussions falter on the slippery sand of fear. 

 

“Well, I like to eat, so I will probably take the mark.” 

“I wonder if I have already taken it.” 

“What if Satan sneaks up on me, and marks me without my knowing it?” 

Three scriptures to consider: 

“My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) We must know the Word of God. 

“God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) God is not the purveyor of fear.  Satan manipulates through doubt and fear.  

“My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Remember the following old hymn: “Be not dismayed whatever betide. God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide. God will take care of you.”(Le’Andria Johnson) 

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39.)  Not even the Anti-christ and his beast can separate us from God because perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) 

Now we need to compare and contrast a couple of passages: 

Deuteronomy 6:5-8:"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” 

Deuteronomy 11:18 "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” 

In other words, when we allow biblical truths to guide our thinking, biblical truths will guide our doing. 

Through the centuries, Jewish men have worn phylacteries, small leather boxes on their foreheads and forearms.  The phylacteries contain Hebrew texts and are worn by at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law. 

Contrast with this passage:  

“ And he (the second beast) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Revelation 13: 16-17.) 

I am not saying that someday, a physical mark of the beast will not exist.  I am saying that, metaphorically, the mark of the beast represents a perversion of the Word of God.   

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20)

 

We must become people of the Word. 

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth.  I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. (Psalm 119:11-16.)