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“The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple” (Luke 2:22-40) Yesterday was Christmas, and now we’re into the days after Christmas. For us, these days mean eating leftovers, returning gifts that don’t fit, and taking down the decorations. But what about for Jesus? What did the days after his birth mean for him? Our text is one the few places we have an account of what happened during that time. It’s the story of what happened forty days after his birth, when “The Firstborn Son Is Presented in the Temple.” Actually, the first event after Christmas we have is found...

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. . . . and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. . . . to put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate. . . .” (Daniel 9:24-27) Most commentators seem to butcher the 70 weeks of Daniel, leaving more questions than answers. I’m going to try to make this...

1. The Jewish people would be scattered worldwide; yet Israel would become a nation again after a long time and at a time the Bible calls the "latter days"-ref Isa 66:8; Mic 5:3; Ezek 38:8. Against what appeared to be impossible odds, this prophecy has been fulfilled. It happened as predicted on May 14, 1948 after about 2500 years. That’s 1 out of 1. Note: Israel was destroyed in approximately 721 B.C. and Judah about 135 years later. Since that time, approximately fourteen different peoples have possessed the land of Israel. Yet as the Bible said, the nation of Israel...