If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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NOTE: As has become my annual practice, beginning today and for the next three weeks, i will be posting a total of four short stories surrounding the incarnational birth of Jesus. The stories are my Christmas gift to you. They are fictional first-person accounts of the prophecies and events surrounding the advent of Jesus. Some of the characters and details contained therein are fictional, but you will find the truth they convey to be very REAL! My prayer is that through the stories you are reminded of the Good News of Advent this Christmas season. To that end, let’s look at the account through the eyes of four different eyewitnesses:

Gabriel – the angel (This week – December 1)

Zechariah – the priest (December 8)

Elizabeth – the cousin (December 15)

Anna – the prophetess (December 22) 

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I am an angel created by Almighty God to be His messenger. My name is Gabriel. “I stand in the very presence of God.”(1) He gave me my name, which means “God is my strength.” My comings and goings are at His command. I only speak the words He has given me to say. I stand beside the archangel Michael as his support and defense.(2) For millennia, God has used me to deliver His message to His creation, but it never fails to amaze me how His creation receives – or in some instances, refuses to receive – His message.

Michael and I accompanied the Lord when He visited Abraham near the oak grove at Mamre to announce that Sarah would bear a son.(3) I heard Sarah laugh in response to the word of my Lord. He rightfully rebuked her by saying, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”(4)

God was preparing to raise up His chosen people from Abraham’s offspring. They would be a people through whom God would make His name known. The stench of wickedness that the Lord destroyed through the flood was again beginning to rise across the earth. Nowhere was that stench greater than in the city of Sodom.

Almighty God sent Michael and me from Mamre to the city of Sodom to destroy it. But the Lord briefly remained in Mamre because He had decided to disclose His plans to Abraham. When he heard the Lord’s plan, Abraham interceded on behalf of his nephew, Lot, who lived in the city. In His mercy and grace, God agreed to withhold destruction of Sodom if there were ten righteous men within the city.(5)

However, when we arrived in Sodom, we found every man in the city blinded by his sin, except Lot. We seized his hand, and those of his wife and daughters, and rushed them to safety outside the city. Then the Lord rained down fire on Sodom and the surrounding cities and villages, eliminating all life – people, plants, and animals alike. Sadly, Lot’s wife perished because she disobediently looked back at the destruction and became a pillar of salt. But God had honored His promise to Abraham and kept Lot safe.

I can bear witness to the unchanging nature of Almighty God – whatever He promises will come about. It was true in the destruction of Sodom. It was true in the saving of Lot. It would be true in the nation that would arise from Abraham. And it would be true in His ultimate plan to redeem this lost world.

Over thirteen hundred years later, the Lord again sent me on a mission to help one of His servants. Most of God’s chosen people had turned their backs on Him, and they were now being held captive by the Babylonians. But a remnant of those who were righteous remained. One of those was His servant Daniel. God had given Daniel a vision of what would take place in the last days before He returned to judge the earth.

But Daniel did not know what the vision meant so he began to pray for understanding. God sent me to reveal what was going to happen.(7) It would be a time of anguish. It would be a time of sacrilege and desecration. It would be a time when evil seemed to prevail. But, at that moment, when everything will appear to be at its darkest, God will return to establish His kingdom on this earth. On that day, all creation will be judged. The wicked will enter into their punishment, and the redeemed will receive their inheritance.

But before that day of judgment takes place, God will send His Redeemer – the One He spoke of even in the Garden of Eden, the One He promised through the seed of Abraham, the One He foretold through His prophet Isaiah, and the One whose arrival was anticipated by His prophet Malachi. 

Almost six hundred years later, God again sent me. But this time, I was sent to tell some of His servants some very startling news – the day of the Redeemer’s coming had arrived.

A priest named Zechariah was in the sanctuary of the temple in Jerusalem burning incense on the altar before the Lord. He had never entered the sanctuary before that day, and he would never do so again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime honor to present the offering of incense before the Lord. The priest was an old man in his late seventies. He had served as a priest for a long time, and now his opportunity to do this had come. It was obvious – and understandable – that he was caught up in the awe of the moment!

In the blink of an eye, I appeared before him on the right side of the altar. I was facing the priest with my back to the veil that separated the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. To say the least, the priest was startled by my appearance. No one else was in the sanctuary with him and I had just appeared out of nowhere. 

Also, I had just come from being in the presence of Almighty God. Do you remember how Moses’ face radiated the shekinah glory after he spent extended time with Jehovah God? That same glory radiates from and surrounds those of us who are angels who stand in Almighty God’s presence. So, not only did I appear out of nowhere, I glowed. Zechariah was visibly shaken and overwhelmed with fear.

I said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”(8)

That was a lot for Zechariah to take in! His wife, who had been barren, was going to give birth to a son in her old age. Their son would be filled with the Holy Spirit as well as have the spirit and power of the great prophet Elijah. And he would herald the arrival of the Messiah. Zechariah’s son was the one the prophet Malachi had told them to expect! Zechariah had hoped and prayed all of his life for the coming of the Messiah, and I was telling him that his son would announce His arrival!

Zechariah asked, “How can I be sure this will happen?”(9) I expected Zechariah to be overwhelmed by my appearance and my message, but his doubt was not acceptable. It was obvious that I was an angel sent by God. 

As a result of his lack of faith, God made him mute from that moment until after the birth of his son. His doubt prevented him for ten months from being able to loudly declare the good news that all of creation had awaited since the days of the Garden of Eden.

A little more than six months later, God sent me again. This time, I visited a young virgin in the village of Nazareth in Galilee. She was betrothed to a carpenter. “Greetings, favored woman,” I said to her. “The Lord is with you!”(11)

The young woman was startled by my appearance. She was also confused as to why I had called her “favored.”

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” I continued, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!”(12)

The young woman asked, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”(13) 

Unlike Zechariah, Mary was not doubting what I had said. She was most sincerely trying to understand how she could be with child.

I continued, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God.(14)

“What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”(15)

Mary’s response was a testimony to the sovereignty of Almighty God. Of all of the young women God could have chosen to be the mother of His Son, He had chosen perfectly. “I am the Lord’s servant,” she responded. “May everything you have said about me come true.”(16)

I didn’t have long to wait before God sent me with His next message. I was to deliver it to the carpenter to whom Mary was engaged. He had just received some shocking news – she was with child – and he was not the father. His heart was broken. He loved this young woman. She had told him about my visit, and he wanted to believe her. But Joseph feared God even more than he loved Mary. He could not continue an engagement that dishonored God.

So, that night I appeared to him through a dream. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the Child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”(17)

Once again, I witnessed the sovereignty of our Almighty God. When the carpenter arose, he did exactly as the Lord had commanded. He never questioned. He never faltered. He trusted God completely.

I would come to Joseph on two additional occasions: once to warn him of danger, and the second to let him know the danger had passed. Again, he would arise and obey. Jehovah God knew just the right man to entrust with the earthly upbringing of His one and only Son. 

Almighty God gave me one more opportunity to announce the coming of His Son. This time it was to a group of shepherds on a hill overlooking the town of Bethlehem. The young virgin had just given birth to the Savior in a stable. And the Father intended for a small group of fathers and sons to come to the stable to worship His Son. 

As I looked down on the shepherds to announce the birth of their Savior, I noticed one father and son in particular – Moshe and his son Shimon. They were initially fearful when I appeared. And when the angelic host joined me to proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest”(18) they stood frozen. 

But I knew their hearts had received the message. I watched as they made their way to the stable. I watched as they bowed in worship. And again, I knew that Almighty God in His sovereignty knew exactly who needed to hear about the birth of His Son. He knew the ones whose hearts were prepared to hear and receive the good news. He knew the work He was doing that night in their hearts and lives. And He knew the work He would continue to do in the days and years ahead.

I may stand in the presence of God – but I am not omniscient or omnipresent. I am not an infinite being. I am a created being. I was created by God to bring the messages He told me to tell. Even as I brought the good news of the birth of His Son, I did not know what would follow in the days ahead. 

Little did I know how He would be received. Little did I know what awaited Him. Little did I know the breadth and depth of the sacrifice He would make! But God was allowing even me to gain a greater understanding of the breadth and depth of His love.

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This story is taken from Little Did We Know, a collection of twenty-five stories for the Advent season. The book is available through Amazon in standard print, large print, for your e-reader, and as an audiobook. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.

You can listen to the audiobook version of this story by tuning into this week’s episode of my podcast by CLICKING HERE

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In multiple instances the dialogue in this story comes directly from Scripture. Whenever i am quoting Scripture, it has been italicized. The Scripture references are as follows:

(1) Luke 1:19

(2) Daniel 10:21

(3) Genesis 18:1-15

(4) Genesis 18:14

(5) Genesis 18:16-33

(6) Genesis 19:1-29

(7) Daniel 8:18-26; 9:21-27; 10:10-12:4

(8) Luke 1:13-17

(9) Luke 1:18

(10)Luke 1:19

(11)Luke 1:28

(12)Luke 1:30-33

(13)Luke 1:34

(14)Luke 1:35

(15)Luke 1:36-37

(16)Luke 1:38

(17)Matthew 1:20

(18)Luke 2:14 

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