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1 Mosebok 17

Lernen

   

1 Da Abram var ni og nitti år gammel, åpenbarte Herren sig for ham og sa til ham: Jeg er Gud den allmektige; vandre for mitt åsyn og vær ustraffelig!

2 Jeg vil gjøre en pakt mellem mig og dig, og jeg vil gjøre din ætt såre tallrik.

3 Da falt Abram på sitt ansikt; og Gud talte med ham og sa:

4 Se, jeg gjør en pakt med dig, og du skal bli far til en mengde folk.

5 Ditt navn skal ikke mere være Abram; men ditt navn skal være Abraham, for jeg gjør dig til far for en mengde folk.

6 Og jeg vil gjøre dig såre fruktbar, så du blir til mange folk, og konger skal utgå fra dig.

7 Og jeg vil oprette en pakt mellem mig og dig og din ætt efter dig, fra slekt til slekt, en evig pakt, så jeg vil være din Gud og Gud for din ætt efter dig.

8 Og jeg vil gi dig og din ætt efter dig det land hvor du bor som fremmed, hele Kana'ans land, til en evig eiendom; og jeg vil være deres Gud.

9 Derefter sa Gud til Abraham: Og du skal holde min pakt, du og din ætt efter dig, fra slekt til slekt.

10 Dette er den pakt mellem mig og eder og din ætt efter dig som I skal holde: Alt mannkjønn hos eder skal omskjæres

11 I skal omskjæres på eders forhud; det skal være tegnet på pakten mellem mig og eder.

12 Åtte dager gammelt skal hvert guttebarn hos eder omskjæres, slekt efter slekt, både den som er født hjemme, og den som er kjøpt for penger, alle som hører til et fremmed folk og ikke er av din ætt.

13 Omskjæres skal både den som er født i ditt hus, og den som er kjøpt for dine penger. Så skal min pakt være på eders kjøtt - en evig pakt.

14 Men en uomskåret av mannkjønn, en hvis forhud ikke blir omskåret, han skal utryddes av sitt folk; han har brutt min pakt.

15 Og Gud sa til Abraham: Sarai, din hustru, skal du ikke lenger kalle Sarai - Sara skal være hennes navn.

16 Og jeg vil velsigne henne, og jeg vil gi dig en sønn også med henne; ja, jeg vil velsigne henne, og hun skal bli til mange folk, konger over folkeslag skal fremgå av henne.

17 Da falt Abraham på sitt ansikt og lo, og han sa ved sig selv: Skulde en som er hundre år gammel, få barn? Og skulde Sara, som er nitti år gammel, føde?

18 Og Abraham sa til Gud: Måtte bare Ismael få leve for ditt åsyn!

19 Da sa Gud: Sannelig, Sara, din hustru, skal føde dig en sønn, og du skal kalle ham Isak, og jeg vil oprette min pakt med ham, en evig pakt for hans ætt efter ham.

20 Og Ismael - også om ham har jeg hørt din bønn: Se, jeg vil velsigne ham og gjøre ham fruktbar og gi ham en såre tallrik ætt; tolv høvdinger skal han bli far til, og jeg vil gjøre ham til et stort folk.

21 Men min pakt vil jeg oprette med Isak, som Sara skal føde dig på denne tid næste år.

22 Så holdt han op å tale med ham; og Gud for op igjen fra Abraham.

23 Samme dag tok Abraham Ismael, sin sønn, og alle som var født i hans hus, og alle som var kjøpt for hans penger, alt mannkjønn blandt folkene i Abrahams hus, og omskar deres forhud, således som Gud hadde sagt til ham.

24 Abraham var ni og nitti år gammel da hans forhud blev omskåret.

25 Og Ismael, hans sønn, var tretten år da hans forhud blev omskåret.

26 Denne samme dag blev de omskåret, både Abraham og Ismael, hans sønn;

27 og alle menn i hans hus, både de som var født hjemme, og de fremmede som var kjøpt for penger. blev omskåret med ham.

   

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Prophecies About Jesus

Durch New Christian Bible Study Staff

By Meister des Ludwig-Psalters [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Currently at Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

For Christians, Christmas time is one of the most sacred, most joyous celebrations of the year. What about for people who are thinking about it, but who aren't sure about the whole "reason for the season"? What do we really know about what happened in Judea, 2000 years ago?

We're going to try to approach this topic from a neutral standpoint, and see where that leads us.

It's well-established that Jesus existed. He was physically, historically real. There is voluminous evidence from Christian sources, of course. Jesus Christ was also mentioned in non-Christian historical documents that have survived from that period. He's referred to twice by Josephus, the Jewish historian, in his work "Antiquities of the Jews" published in 93-94 AD. Tacitus, the Roman historian, writing in around 116 AD, also refers to "Christus" being put to death by the Romans under Pontius Pilate.

Was Jesus special? Even skeptics would need to wonder why and how this man from a small village in Galilee could launch a religion which would become the biggest, most influential one for at least the next two millennia of human history.

One of the intriguing things about Jesus is that his birth and life seem to have fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament, which date back to the time of Moses - at least 1500 years BC, and to far older stories in an oral tradition. Those prophecies existed in texts written long before the Christian Era started.

What were some of those prophecies? There are many of them! Swedenborg lists some in Doctrine of the Lord 6. In this article, we're just going to focus on a few of them.

In this very early prophecy, it's indicated that the Messiah would be born as the son of a woman:

"And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:14-15. This is confirmed in the story in Matthew 1:20.

In Micah, much later in the Bible, we read that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, in Judea:

"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2.

This is confirmed in the story in Matthew 2:1, and Luke 2:4-6.

In Isaiah, we read that the Messiah would be born to a virgin:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14. This is confirmed in the story in Matthew 1:22-23, and in Luke 1:26-31.

Lineage was an important factor, too. At least 5 forefathers of the promised Savior are named. First, he was prophesied to come from the line of Abraham, the progenitor of many of the peoples of the modern Middle East, including the Jews, the Arabs, the Lebanese, the Druze, and others. See Genesis 12:3, and Genesis 22:18. This prophecy is confirmed in Matthew 1:1, and Romans 9:5.

In the next generation, prophecy stated that the Savior would be descended from the line of Isaac, one of Abraham's two sons. See Genesis 17:19, and Genesis 21:12. This is confirmed in Luke 3:34.

For the third generation, the Word states that the Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. It's prophesied in Numbers 24:17, and confirmed in Matthew 1:2.

For the fourth generation, attention focuses on the tribe of Judah, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel). See Genesis 49:10, and then Luke 3:33, and Hebrews 7:14.

Many generations later, in the second book of Samuel, and again in Isaiah, there are prophecies that the Messiah would be heir to King David's throne. Read 2 Samuel 7:12-13, and Isaiah 9:7. Then see Luke 1:32-33, and Romans 1:3.

There are many more prophecies, and we will look at more of them in a future article. But, to summarize these ones that we've just listed, what would Old Testament readers in the time of Caesar Augustus be expecting?

In Bethlehem, a virgin would bear a son. He would be descended from Abraham, through the line of Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. That's the way the story runs, in the Gospels.

It's clear that the Old Testament wasn't altered to suit the "facts on the ground". The prophecies are already there in pre-Christian scrolls. That leaves two possibilities:

1) Scenario A: The New Testament could have been written to twist the facts to match the old prophecies. Faithful Jews were awaiting the Messiah; they would have wanted to find matching stories. In this scenario, Jesus could have been just a regular man, but a standout leader and teacher and healer. He was so inspiring that his apostles endured hardship and death to spread what became a global religion. The stories about him were exaggerated or modified to help match the prophecies.

2) Scenario B: The Old Testament text contains deep inner meaning, and its prophecies were actually prophetic and true. The facts of Jesus' birth and life and ministry actually did match and fulfull the prophecies. In this scenario, Jesus was truly a miracle baby.

Which scenario is right? In both, there's a recognition that the teachings of Jesus contained wisdom, and that there is great value in them. In New Christian thought, the choice is for Scenario B -- that Jesus really was the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, or Savior.

This of course requires some level of belief in miracles - prophecy, fulfillment, the virgin birth, angels bearing tidings, healings, feeding the multitudes. Can miracles really happen? Is it scientifically possible? Maybe they can... maybe as science advances, we will begin to understand those boundaries better.

At some level, don't most of us believe in miracles -- in the miracle of the very existence of the universe, and of living organisms that can reproduce, and of human life, and of love?

How to end this article? The whole subject of miracles needs more thought. And, here it is, December 22, and... instead of getting more analytical, I find that right now I just want to "be" in the holy days of Christmas.

If you're feeling skeptical, have a look at Arcana Coelestia 2568, and Arcana Coelestia 2588. They offer an interesting perspective!

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One source for this article was "100 Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus: Messianic Prophecies Made Before the Birth of Christ", by Rose Publishing.

(Verweise: Teachings about the Lord 6)