Advent 1/25

DAY ONE (week one; prophecies)

  

    An advent calendar is something that is very popular to buy leading up to Christmas; you get to open 24 –or 12, depending on what you get– mini gifts once a day, typically chocolates. This custom is fun, yet it is not the true meaning of the word advent. It means, ‘arrival of a notable person, thing, or event’, and it originally referred to the coming of Jesus Christ. So, this year, I decided to write an advent calendar focusing on Jesus Christ. The first week will be some of the prophecies he fulfilled, the second week will cover his lineage, the third and fourth week will talk about the nativity itself.

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   The Bible is centered around Christ. The Old Testament may not have any ‘red letters’, but it is insanely full of prophecy. The earliest can be found in Genesis 3:15;

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (NASB)

   Here God is cursing the serpent after Eve and Adam were found in the garden clothed in fig leaves. A part of the curse He gave to the serpent for tempting Eve was a prophecy, specifically where He says “He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This is the first prophecy we have about Jesus, and we know that Jesus will ‘stomp’ on the Devil, and the Devil will ‘bite’ His heel.

    Whether it be removing demons, healing disease, or resisting temptation, Jesus conquers the Devil many times. Do you know when Jesus ‘stomps’ on the Devil, yet He is ‘bitten’ back? (Hint: you can read this prophecy being fulfilled in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19)

   I will praise God because of this very first prophecy, written over 1,400 years (and spoken about 4,000 years) before Jesus fulfilled it. I encourage you to pray today for strength in Jesus because of His incredible sacrifice to come on this earth and let himself be bruised by the Devil (while He defeated death and sin, hence bruising Satan back,) in His crucifixion for our debt to be paid.