Before Christ
Have you ever thought of the meaning of it?
Can we comprehend a time Before the first Christmas?
Before Creation
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
Genesis (Beginning) 2:5 KJV ..in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
Here witness a time before Adam, before an incarnational Birth of the Christ, yet not Before Jesus the eternal Son of the One Triune God.
Before Re-Creation
Note that I did not say 'recreation' as we often view these days of the pre-christmas season.
The Bible points to a renewal of a corrupted creation we noted in the beginning - a creation corrupted by SIN.
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Have you considered that in the time of Noah and Before Christ
GOD cleansed the earth of all but eight?
ONLY Noah and his wife, along with their three sons and their wives, were chosen to be SAVED from the destruction to come.
The DOOR to salvation on Noah’s ark would not have been open to you. Yet God may have brought you to the Door of Christ Jesus in these last days.
Before and After
Before, of course, can mean ‘face to face.’
Then the LORD said to Noah,
“Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
Genesis 7:1 ESV פָּנִים
We ought not speak of BEFORE without considering the consequent AFTER.
In the context of TIME, and even before time, what comes after or NEXT typically follows before. We speak of consequence or result of what has come before.
Before I was afflicted I went astray:
but now have I kept thy word.
And unique events such as the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ still reflect a TIME before AND (except for the end of days) a TIME after.
.. the sun stood still, and the moon stayed..
And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
Joshua 10: [12-15 context NKJV]
Before our fathers or families
It’s right there from the beginning:
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 NKJV
Do you know this one?
אֲנִי הִנֵּה בְרִיתִי אִתָּךְ וְהָיִיתָ לְאַב הֲמֹון גֹּויִם׃
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
“No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
וְלֹא־יִקָּרֵא עֹוד אֶת־שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָם וְהָיָה שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָהָם כִּי אַב־הֲמֹון גֹּויִם נְתַתִּיךָ׃
בְּרֵאשִׁית (Genesis) 17:14-15 WLC & NKJV
This PERSONAL interaction between the Creator and Living God of timeless eternity and a created son of Adam and Noah wandering through lands of other kings and princes clearly points to a unique time BEFORE CHRIST was born as a Son of Man in a manger in Bethlehem of Judea.
AFTER this unique time Before Christ, Judah (and Israel) had yet to be conquered, named, lost, regained and renamed over centuries of the sons of Abraham.
The chosen Before Christ
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We'll take a look at Moses and the Law later in this Advent series, God-willing. - RH)
Jesus Christ, the grown Son of Man born of Mary and Son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit said this to well-schooled leaders of the Jews.
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died; whom dost thou make thyself?’
..it is my Father who is glorifying me, of whom ye say that He is your God..
Abraham, your father, was glad that he might see my day; and he saw, and did rejoice.’
The Jews, therefore, said unto him, ‘Thou art not yet fifty years old, and Abraham hast thou seen?’
Jesus said to them,
‘Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham’s coming — I am;’
excerpt from Gospel of John 8: Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
Have you ever thought of JESUS’ testament here in terms of ‘Before Christ?‘
The CHILD of MARY in a manger in Bethlehem of Judea IS the Christ, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of souls! Yet even BEFORE these pivotal historic events in the history of mankind, JESUS IS the Son of God — even as HE IS now and forever..
I am the door, through me if any one may come in, he shall be saved, and he shall come in, and go out, and find pasture.
Gospel of John 10:9 YLT – Invitation of Jesus Christ to any who would follow Him
The Lamb of God in a manger
Talk of JESUS .com
Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
Leave a Reply