The seventh trumpet continued.
Throughout humankind’s history before the Messiah, God reminded the faithful that his mystery would soon be fulfilled. “This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.” Isaiah 56:1, NIV. More than one thousand years before the Messiah, Moses told the people, “God will raise you a prophet like me. You must listen to him.” All the announcements and witnesses God sent to his people were fulfilled in the Messiah, the mystery of God. Everything God promised has been accomplished in the body of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha. God gave the people when his mystery would become a visible reality.
God revealed well in advance when and how the Messiah would be born and where. Through the prophet Micah, God told his people that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the town in Judah. (Micah 5:2). God, through the prophet Daniel, revealed to the people when the Messiah would be crucified. Daniel 9:24. Jesus was born probably 6 or 7 BC and was crucified sometime between 26 CE and 36 CE. Pilate, the Roman governor, ruled from 26 CE to 36 CE. Daniel, at 9:24, indicates that the Messiah would be crucified in the middle of one week, which is the 70 eth week in the prophecy in Daniel 9:24. Therefore, God’s mystery was accomplished during the reign of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (26 – 36) CE.
The mystery of God is that in the body of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha, he removed humankind’s sin. He thus restored it to himself as his children. Through the body of Jesus Christ, God has destroyed our sinful life forever and replaced it with the Messiah’s perfect and eternal life. Therefore, the faithful will study the mystery of God throughout eternity and will never exhaust all knowledge about it. That is why the angel announced to the shepherds that the Savior’s birth, the Messiah, was the good news. “But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10 – 11, NET.
Continued in the next blog.
