1. Reviewing the prophecy that the Lord himself shall give you a sign

On December 24th 2012 I began writing about the identity of “the Lord” who would reveal the identity of the virgin mother of  the Messiah:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7: 14).

On December 27th at 5.14 am, Archangel Gabriel showed me that the prophecy about the virgin mother of the Messiah was written in the future tense – “the Lord himself shall give you a sign.”

Now we may think that this is obvious from the text, but the acknowledgement of this fact serves to confirm that Gabriel who was sent from God is indeed God Himself.

2. The verb “shall” indicates that the event would take place in the future

The verb “shall” is used “to say that something is expected to happen in the future.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary, 2012). Isaiah gave this prophecy to King Ahaz who ruled Israel about 741 – 745 BC (approximately 3563 – 3579 years after Creation).

According to my estimates, the Messiah was born about 4288 years after Creation. Prophet Isaiah gave this prophecy during the reign of King Ahaz, about 709 to 725 years before the birth of the Messiah!

3. The Lord himself shall (verb) give   (nathan/H5414)

Synonyms used in the scriptures for “himself shall (verb) give” include:

  • set  – Gen 1: 17.
  • deliver into your hands – Gen 9: 2, Gen 32: 16; Gen 42: 37.
  • set/put it before them – Gen 18: 18.

The scriptures record that:

 the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name [was] Mary (Luke 1: 26 & 27).

4. The Lord Himself shall give you a sign (‘owth/H226)

A sign (noun) is “a portentous or significant event” (CollinsDictionary.com 2102).  The Jews were familiar with signs and had been given many signs in Egypt. Now Prophet Isaiah instructs them prophetically that the birth of the Messiah would be marked by another  miraculous, specific and unmistakable sign.

The sign (‘owth/H226) was:

a. an outstanding feature or mark – a virgin would conceive and bring forth a son! How miraculous is that!

  • God put lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from night, for seasons, signs, days and years – Gen 1: 14.
  • Signs were given to Moses so  that all the people could see – Exodus 4: 17, 30; Ex 7: 3.
  • the sign related to the birth of the Messiah was everlasting and would not be cut off – Isaiah 55: 13.
  • the Lord set a mark upon Cain to protect him from death – Genesis 4: 5.

b. a token or proof of  the promise that the Messiah was born

  • the rainbow is a token that God will never destroy the entire earth in a flood – Gen 9: 12 & 13.
  • God showed signs in Egypt as proof of His Existence and Greatness – Ex 4: 1 – 5.
  • The blood of the Passover Lamb was placed on the doorposts of the Jews’ houses as a token to protect them from destruction – Ex 12: 3.
  • the Lord showed signs and wonders in Egypt in the sight of all Israel – Deut 6: 22.

c. given as a means of causing the people to believe that the Messiah had  been born.

  • Disheartened by the negative report of the 10 unbelieving spies, the Jews begged to return to Egypt.  God threatened to destroy them entirely because they failed to believe the signs that He had given them in Egypt – Numbers 14.
  • Why didn’t the people of His day did not do their homework and trace Jesus’ birth and history? For some reason, they only knew that He was the son of Joseph the Carpenter.

d. was given as an indicator of the Presence of God and that He had spoken:

  • Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me” – Judges 6: 17.
  • What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me – 2 Kings 20: 8.
  • And this is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken – Isaiah 38: 7.

e. a miraculous event, a wonder, a great miracle. It is certainly miraculous that a Virgin could bear a child by the power of God:

  • a miracle – Numbers 14: 22, Deut 11: 3
  • Note that signs and wonders (mowpheth/H4159) were twinned – Deut 13: 1 & 2, Deut 26: 8, Deut 28: 46, Deut 34: 11, Isaiah 8: 18, Isaiah 20: 3; Jeremiah 32: 20 & 21
  • The word wonder (mowpheth/H4159) is used in scriptures to mean sign, miracle, great miracles.
  • And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh – 1 Tim 3: 16.

f. given as memorials of  the miraculous work of God

The earth is still overcome and amazed by the mystery of His birth:

  • We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ – Josh 4: 6.
  • And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness – 1 Tim 3: 16.

5. Why didn’t the people of His day believe?

Their ears were filled with wax, their hearts were fat and their eyes were blind! – Matt 13: 15, John 12: 40, Acts 28: 27.

Jesus’ parents had remained quiet about the miraculous circumstances and events surrounding His birth in order to protect Him from the Roman Government. They also kept quiet in order to protect Mary from the public, and Jesus was brought up as Joseph’s son, as was supposed (Luke 3: 23).

Not even His siblings had been let into the secret!

The religious pundits of the day could tell Herod where the Messiah was to be born. However, they refused to investigate the truth when confronted later in His life with His miracles and doctrine. They had hoped for a Messiah who would  come in pomp and splendor to save them from their enemies.

All they could see was his lowly origins and a man who was the son of Joseph the Carpenter!

Byron Cage – Great and Mighty Is Our God!

Blessings, peace and angelic prosperity. Thanks for reading and believing.