An Examination of the Prophecy of Birth of Jesus..

 

On the occasion of Christmas, let's discuss...

◆ *An Examination of the Prophecy of Birth of Jesus...*

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In reading the account of the birth of Jesus Christ before a public gathering, a Christian preacher insults not only the moral sensibilities, but also the mental sensibilities of the people who have gathered to hear him, especially when he accepts this account of the New Testament as the truth. If the preacher described the birth of any other person in the same language as is used for Jesus, we are sure that his audience would no longer gather together to hear such an obscene narrative.

Let us embark on the review of the miraculous birth of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1:18-25.

18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

From the above verse, we come to know that a young lady named Mary is betrothed to a young man named Joseph - not to a “holy ghost”, but to a young man. But before they “came together”, the lady was found to be “with child”. Now the writer of this narrative does not seem to be aware of the fact that before a child is born it is necessary for a man and a woman to “come together”.

The writer also claims that it was the Holy Ghost who was the father of Jesus. We solemnly say that if all the acts of adultery and unfaithfulness could be blamed upon the Holy Ghost, a great deal of misery and sorrow of the world could be avoided.

19. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

Here Joseph’s decision is commendable and worthy of our praise. It is quite evident from the narrative that Joseph was willing to marry her, despite the fact that she had slipped from the path of virtue even after her betrothal to him. But why was he not proud that God had done him a favour by choosing his would-be wife to be the mother of Savior of the world? And why was he not willing “to make her a public example”? Is it not possible that the parents of Mary, to avoid a public scandal, might have implored Joseph to take Mary to a place where they were unknown until after the delivery of the child. Such a thing is done now, and there is reason to suppose that it was done then.

20. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost’.

The above quotation proves that Joseph did not believe that the child conceived by Mary was of the Holy Ghost. And if Joseph himself, who was present on the scene when all this happened, did not believe the “ghost story”, how can we, after more than two thousand years, accept it now as a fact?

The following verses prove that the story of the so-called virgin birth of Jesus is a pure fabrication, and was invented by the superstitious believers of that time. The text proves plainly that the miraculous birth of Christ was not of so much importance; the main concern of the writer was the fulfillment of the so-called prophecy that “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son”. The following text clearly proves this.

21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25. And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Let us try to understand the so-called prophecy in verses 22-23. It is written in Isaiah 7:14, “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.” For centuries, the words “son” and “virgin” occurring in Isaiah 7:14 have been interpreted to mean the person called Jesus Christ, and his mother Mary in the Christian world, but the real story is this:

In the times of Isaiah, the Jews were split into two nations – Israel and Judah. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah.

The king of Israel and the king of Syria make war jointly against Ahaz, king of Judah, and march their armies toward Jerusalem. Ahaz and his people become worried. In such a situation, prophet Isaiah assures Ahaz "in the name of the Lord" that these two kings of Israel and Syria will not succeed against him and, to further assure Ahaz, tells him to ask a sign. Ahaz refuses to ask any sign, as he does not want to “tempt the Lord”. Then Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign, Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14). He further says that before this child learns to refuse the evil and choose the good, the kingdoms of Syria and Israel will be forsaken of both her kings.

Here then is the sign/prophecy of Isaiah, and the time limit for the completion of the prophecy or promise is - “before this child should know to refuse the evil and choose the good”.

After giving a clear sign, it becomes necessary for Isaiah to take steps in order to avoid the stigma of being a false prophet. It certainly is not a difficult task, in any time and place of the world, to find a girl with child, or to make her so. It is also possible that Isaiah knew of such a virgin with child beforehand. He says in the next chapter, “And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.” (Isaiah 8:2-3)

Here, then, is the whole story of a virgin and her child; and it is upon this story that the writer of Matthew has founded his Gospel. He has used this story as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by a holy ghost on the body of a virgin woman, about 700 years after this silly story was told by Isaiah!!

In Isaiah 7:14, it is said that the child will be called “Immanuel”, but this name was not given to either of the children. The child of the prophetess was called Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:3) and the child of Mary was called Jesus.

Moreover, if we pay attention to the sequel of this story in Chronicles Ch.28, we there find that, instead of the two kings (of Israel and Syria) failing in their attempt against Ahaz (king of Judah), they succeed !! Ahaz was defeated, thousands of his people were slaughtered, Jerusalem was plundered, and thousands of women and children were carried into captivity. (Chronicles 28:1-5)

This much for prophet Isaiah and his prophecy.

- Rajesh Arya