Glória in excélsis Deo

Gerard van Honthorst: Adoration of the Shepherds (1622). Public domain (Google Art Project).




Joel Kontinen

Glória in excélsis Deo are words that mark the time God began a new era in His dealings with mankind.

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”(Luke 2:14, NKJV), the angels and heavenly hosts told the shepherds to whom they announced these glad tidings.

Adam’s descendants were unable to set right the wrong things their predecessor had done by rebelling against his Maker, so God had to step into human history to reconcile mankind to Himself.

Christmas fulfilled the prophecies uttered by Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Micah.

Christ, the Lamb of God, chose to live among human beings to lead us to salvation.

Christmas and the Precision of Bible Prophecy

Christ's birth fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.




Joel Kontinen

The Old Testament speaks a lot about the Messiah who would come to redeem His people. The details of prophecy rule out chance. OT writers predicted His birthplace, His roots and His mother, for instance:

“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)

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

Christmas reminds us that the Bible can be trusted. It is God’s Word:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Scripture passages from the New King James Version (NKJV).

Rebuilding the Biblical Babylon – With U.S. Aid

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the world. Engraving by Martin Heemskerck (16th century). Courtesy of Wikipedia.




Joel Kontinen

Saddam Hussein had an obsession. He saw himself as a new Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest monarch of his time.

Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled over The Neo-Babylonian Empire from ca. 604 BC to 562 BC, built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. conquered Jerusalem and sent Judah into exile. He is mentioned in several Old Testament books, including the book of Daniel. History knows him as Nebuchadnezzar the Great.

The Bible prophesied the destruction of Babylon. Martin Luther and John Calvin, for instance, thought that these prophecies were completely fulfilled in past upheavals. However, some Bible scholars believe that the destruction of Babylon described in Revelation 18 is yet to be fulfilled.

This seemed to be impossible since until Saddam Hussein began realising his ambition, the only things that remained of Babylon were ruins buried in sand. The Neo-Babylonian Empire was relatively short-lived. In 539 BC the Persians under Cyrus the Great stormed the city.

In 1991 Dr. Charles H. Dyer, Dean of Education at Moody Bible Institute and a Middle-East expert, wrote a book called The Rise of Babylon in which he documented Saddam Hussein’s ambitions. Saddam began rebuilding the ancient city near its ruins, copying the architecture of Nebuchadnezzar’s time and portraying himself as a new world ruler equal to his role model.

While Saddam is no longer able to realise his ambition, his dream lives on in Iraq. His demise did not put an end to the aspiration to rebuild Babylon.

Recently, Joel Rosenberg, writing for the Bible Prophecy Today blog, reported that the Obama administration is contributing 700 000 U.S. dollars towards “The Future of Babylon Project”. Iraqi officials hope the reconstructed city will become a huge tourist attraction and a reminder of the region’s former glory.

The plan, if fulfilled, will be a reminder of the reliability of biblical prophecy.


Sources:

Dyer, Charles H. n.d. The Biblical Argument for the Rebuilding of Babylon. http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Dyer-TheBiblicalArgumentf.pdf.

Dyer, Charles H. and Angela Elwell Hunt. 1991. Det nya Babylon. Translated by Erling Medelfjord. Stockholm: InterSkrift.

Rosenberg, Joel C. 2009. U.S. TO Help Rebuild City of Babylon in Iraq. http://bible-prophecy-today.blogspot.com:80/2009/02/us-to-help-rebuild-city-of-babylon-in.html