The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Birth of Christ in Matthew 1: Satan’s Lost War

MP3: The Birth of Christ in Matthew 1:21-23
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

Satan’s Lost War

Vic Batista: When it comes to understanding the Virgin Birth of Christ, a lot of people like different translations of the Bible. I myself use different versions of the Bible in my studies. There are some versions that have translated the word virgin to mean just a young girl. I think that translation can lead to a false understanding of the immaculate conception of Jesus Christ. Remember that Revelation 22 warns us not to mess with the Scriptures, and those who try to twist virgin to meaning just a young women are translating out of context.

Nathan Jones: Right! The prophetic quote Gabriel made in Matthew was prophesied 700 years earlier by the Prophet Isaiah who in Isaiah 7:14 said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah would have to have meant a virgin, and not just a young woman, or there’d be no miracle to the prophecy. Who cares if a Jesus was born of a young woman? That happens all the time across the entire planet. There is no miracle in a natural conception. The true miracle was that Jesus was born of a virgin after being conceived in her by the Holy Spirit.

I believe a virgin birth is exactly what the Bible says and exactly what the Bible means. Anybody who changes the translation to wipe away the miraculous conception I would call out, for whether they realize it or not, they are working for Satan in their attempt to erase the miracle that is the Virgin Birth and deny Jesus His sinless divinity.

Vic Batista: Absolutely! We should realize that denying the Virgin Birth is to directly deny the detailed prophecy concerning the coming Messiah. But, denying Christ has always been Satan’s plan of attack. Without Jesus’ divinity, He would not be the holy sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and we have no hope ever of salvation.

Nathan Jones: Yes, Satan knew that the Messiah would be coming. He probably didn’t understand the prophecies because it sure doesn’t make sense that a virgin could actually give birth. How could Satan understand that God would be coming as a human child? What would be the purpose in that? Even Jesus dying on the cross was too strange a concept for Jesus’ disciples to grasp, and must have also seemed strange to Satan as well.

No matter what Jesus did during His First Coming, Satan attempted to thwart Him, even if Satan really didn’t understand why Jesus was doing what He did. We’ve been given so many Bible prophecies about the downfall of Satan, and yet he stills goes forward with his plan to try to conquer the world, even knowing that he will be defeated. Satan has convinced himself that somehow he is going to be successful in overthrowing God’s throne. But, that is not nor ever will be the case.

Prophecies God provided in the Bible always come true, and God always wins in the end. That should be comforting to believers in Christ, especially during the Christmas season. A divine, immaculate conception and virgin birth produces a divine victory for the Son of God!

A divine, immaculate conception and #VirginBirth produces a divine victory for the Son of #God! Click To Tweet

Vic Batista: The Virgin Birth reminds me of Revelation 12 where we read about the Dragon (Satan) attempting to destroy the Woman (Israel) who gives birth to the Child (Christ). It’s wonderfully symbolic of Satan’s continuous war against God and His Son.

Nathan Jones: Revelation presents a picturesque, symbolic depiction of Satan’s long war against God. Satan has long tried to destroy the Women Israel so that she could not bring to the world the Messiah. From prophecy, Satan knows that Jesus will come back at the end of the Tribulation and defeat him. Jesus will then set up His thousand year kingdom, only to defeat Satan yet again. Jesus will then finally usher in the Eternal State with a New Jerusalem on the New Earth. Satan is ravenous to stop God’s plans, because it means His eventual sentence to the Lake of Fire, for he can never overcome God.

No matter what Satan tries, he will never be able to defeat Jesus in the end. That fact should bring us great hope, especially as we are seeing Christians persecuted throughout the world. Christians may be suffering and dying in great numbers, but in the eternal order of God’s plan, that is just a minor setback. Right now it sure looks like Christians are losing the war. But, we are just experiencing temporary setbacks, for the war has already been won from God’s eternal perspective.

Vic Batista: Satan loses, Christ wins — that is a message of encouragement! Christmas provides believers in Christ with that great hope. The birth of that baby Jesus — our Messiah — means salvation for mankind and victory for Jesus and His followers. Jesus is the hope for the world today. There are a lot of horrible things going on around the world, but we believe the answer to all the suffering is Jesus Christ. The divine baby born over 2,000 years ago, but just as alive today as He always eternally has been, is the only hope for mankind.

In the third part of this study on the birth of Christ found in Matthew 1, we’ll marvel at how our modern-day calendar continues to confirm the birth of Christ.

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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.

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