Prophecies of the Lord's Advent

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The prophecies are promises in the Word about the Lord’s birth into the world and what He would accomplish. For many years, people who knew of the prophecies looked forward to His coming. As each prophecy was given, people learned a bit more about the promised Messiah who was to come.  

The good news of the Lord’s coming still speaks to us today. We too need the messages of hope and the promise of what the Lord can be if we let Him into our life. We need Him to govern in our lives, to be our Counselor and Father, to bring us wonder and peace.  

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)

Readings from the Word

Read one or more prophecies of the Lord’s coming:

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1,2).

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them (Isaiah 11:6).

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 have been from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2).

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).

 Discussion Ideas

  1. The Lord came on earth in a time of spiritual darkness. The heavenly light of truth no longer shone in people’s minds, and they were lost. People had turned away from Jehovah and His commandments, and so He sent messages foretelling His birth into the world. These prophecies kept hope alive in the dark times and prepared people to receive the Lord when He came.
  2. The stories of the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds and the wisemen coming to worship Him, and all that the Lord did during His life on earth—these fulfilled the prophecies and confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah.
  3. The messages of the Lord’s coming still speak to us today. For we, too, can be in a state of spiritual darkness. And in this darkness, we need the Lord to be born into our hearts. We need to look for Him in the truths of the Word with the desire to use these truths in our daily life. Then the heavenly light of the Lord’s Divine Truth can shine in our minds and guide our ways, leading us to His eternal happiness and peace.
  4. The prophecy in Isaiah talks about a wolf together with a lamb, a leopard with a young goat, a calf with a young lion and that a child will lead them (Isaiah 11:6). This prophecy illustrates the importance of innocence—the willingness to be led by the Lord. The innocence of childhood is like a prophecy of the genuine innocence that people can have by looking to the Lord and trusting in Him.
  5. Think about the names of the Lord in Isaiah 9: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each one tells us something about the Lord—His work on earth and what He continues to do for us.

Read more about the Christmas prophecies

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Conclusion

How might we respond to the Lord’s coming? Perhaps we will echo the words of this prophecy, given thousands of years ago. “It will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’” (Isaiah 25:9).

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