The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Forgotten Promises of Christmas: Message to Mary

CiP Panel

Watch MP3 PDF

Are you aware of the fact that there are some biblical promises related to Christmas that most Christians either don’t know about or have forgotten?

This question was posed by Dr. David Reagan to his Christmas special panel of guest Bible prophecy teachers: Don McGee of Crown and Sickle Ministries, Dennis Pollock of Spirit of Grace Ministries, and Don Perkins of According to Prophecy Ministries.

Dr. Reagan: I want us to get into this discussion on what I like to call “the forgotten promises of Christmas.” To start, let’s go to the key passage that we’re going to be considering. It’s found in Luke 1:26-33:

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, hail, favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.”

I want you to note that this passage contains seven promises:

  1. Mary will conceive and give birth to a son.
  2. He will be named Jesus.
  3. He will be great.
  4. He will be called the Son of the Most High.
  5. He will be given the throne of David.
  6. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
  7. There will be no end to His kingdom.

Of these seven prophecies, which ones have been fulfilled?

Don Perkins: I would say the first four. First, Mary, she conceived and bore a Son. Secondly, his Name would be called Jesus. Third, He would be great. And then, fourth, He would be called the Son of the Most High. Jesus was God on the earth. He was the Son of God in the flesh.

Dr. Reagan: Well, there you have it — one, two, three, four. Gabriel said, “This is what’s going to happen,” and that’s what happened, right?

Don Perkins: Exactly as Gabriel said.

Dr. Reagan: Now let’s take a look for a moment at the last three prophecies that appear to be unfulfilled. Those prophecies are that:

  1. He will be given the throne of David.
  2. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
  3. There will be no end to His Kingdom.

Have these three prophecies been fulfilled just as the first four have?

Dennis Pollock: Well, they obviously have not, if you take them at face value. Let’s consider the first one. It says that He’d be given the throne of David. Well, David’s throne was a throne over Israel. David was a king. He was a leader. He was the monarch over the nation of Israel. Jesus is not ruling Israel right now. They have various people in leadership, but Jesus Christ is not one of those in government right now, and He’s certainly not the king over Israel. The angel said He would be the throne of David. He would be given the throne of David, therefore this one has not been fulfilled.

The same thing with Jesus reigning over the house of Jacob. Obviously, Jacob references Israel. The Messiah would lead and be the ruler over Israel forever. He has not even begun that role.

It thirdly says His kingdom won’t end. Well, it hasn’t even started in terms of the nation of Israel.

These are promises that have been given to the world. We know that God cannot lie. And yet, they have not been fulfilled to this point. Therefore, we can only conclude they will at some future point.

Dr. Reagan: I would agree that these prophecies are unfulfilled. But, I want to hasten to point out that the leaders of the Catholic Church and the leaders of the vast majority of Protestant denominations in the world today would strongly disagree. The fact of the matter is that the predominant Catholic and Protestant viewpoint is that these three prophecies, like the first four, have already been fulfilled.

Their argument goes like this: the first four promises were literally fulfilled in the life of Jesus, but the last three have been figuratively or symbolically or spiritually fulfilled in the life of the Church.

In the next segment of this “Forgotten Promises of Christmas” series, we’ll look deeper at the last three promises Gabriel passed on the Mary in Luke 1:26-33 concerning Jesus Christ, especially whether Jesus today sits on the throne of David.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

RELATED ARTICLES

ABOUT AUTHOR View all posts Author Website

Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

5 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Dr. Reagan I appreciate your articles and have learned much from your televised programs but I think that you are mistaken regarding the Catholic teaching of Christ returning to reign as King. I believe that the Catholic Catechism addresses this in several areas but particularly in Section 2 Article 7. In addition I don't believe that I have ever heard a Protestant Church deny Christ's return and Kingly reign either. I believe that we are all one body and instead of being suspicious of one another we need to start working together. Thank you again though for your tireless efforts to share G-d's word. Blessings to you and all at your ministry.

  • I know that Israel is the apple of God's eye… I see America turning against the Jews… Mostly it is our government.. not the people.. I always wondered. and Hoped that poor Israel would not have any more tribulations..Poor things have been through so much already.. My question and I hope the answer is yes…Will the Christian Jews be taken up with the church..

  • Any Jew or Gentile who has accepted Jesus as their Savior is part of the Church – the Bride of Christ – and will partake in the Rapture (1 Thes. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58). The 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7 who will witness for the Lord during the Tribulation will become saved during that time after the Rapture.

    Praise the Lord that the 144,000 and "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language" (Rev. 7:9) will come to salvation during the upcoming worst time the world will ever experience!

LEAVE A REPLY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *