SPIRITUAL TECTONIC PLATES!

While sitting in my Sunday School class this morning studying the first chapter of Luke, I had a train of thoughts that rattled my thinking.

The period of the Old Testament prophets ran from approximately 930 – 500 B.C. The Old Testament closes a little over four hundred years before Christ (about 425 BC) with the Jewish people being partially restored to their land, and living under the dominion of the Persian Empire.

Then came four hundred years of silence. During these years, Israel was under the dominion of Persia, Greece, and Rome.  Alexander the Great insisted on Greek as a common language.  Consequently, our New Testament was written in Greek!  The world largely enjoyed a period of peace as the Romans ruled a massive empire from 27 B.C. until 180 A.D. A worldwide system of roads and transportation built by the Romans allowed efficient travel for military, trade, and the populace – including eventually missionaries like Paul, Barnabas, Luke and others.

But spiritually, not much happened and no canonical writings emerged. 

But suddenly, as B.C. was about to be restarted as A.D. the spiritual tectonic plates seemed to begin to shift!

This change was demonstrated in a number of ways:

·         Some scholars – who were especially attuned to the movement of the heavenly bodies – noticed things happening in the eastern sky that indicated to them that a new king was about to be born in the east.  Curious, and driven by God, they embarked on a long and arduous journey from Persia to Bethlehem.

·         A small town priest named Zacharias was drafted to perform a priestly service.  While he was in the Temple doing so, an angel appeared to him to report that his prayer had been heard and his aged wife would become pregnant and bear him a very special son, and he was to name him John.   

·         Shortly after this, an angel appeared to a young woman from Nazareth, named Mary.  He announced that she would soon become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and she would eventually bear the Son of God. 

·         Mary immediately travelled to visit her family – Zacharias and Elizabeth - in the hill country of Galilee.  When she arrived, Elizabeth also broke out in a prophetic-like utterance.  She was divinely enabled to know that Mary was pregnant with the Messiah and honored her [Luke 1:42-45]! 

·         Although it is often undervalued, Mary uttered prophetic words that are still considered sacred many years later.  We know her statement as the Magnificat [Luke 1:46-56].

·         Shortly after, Elizabeth gave birth to John.  The Holy Spirit touched Zacharias and he burst forth in an ecstatic utterance with prophetic significance [Luke 1:67-79]!

·         Sometime following, Mary’s husband-to-be, Joseph, also received a visit from an angel who informed him that Mary’s pregnancy was of God and that he should go ahead and take her as his wife!  That angel reappeared to Joseph numerous times over the years to guide him and protect the young child!

·         About two years after Jesus’ birth, the Persian wise men arrived in Bethlehem and visited the young child and His parents.  They bestowed on the young family extravagant gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Then, they were warned in a dream to avoid returning to Herod to report what they had seen and where!

Not much would happen for the next couple of decades while John and Jesus grew up and matured.

However, John – who became known as a fiery wilderness preacher – began to proclaim the coming of the Messiah! His message: “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” [Mark 1:8].

Then – finally – Mark 1:9,14 records that “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan…Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

To complete our train of thought, we must acknowledge that the three years of Jesus’ public ministry were marked by a massive wave of spiritual activity.  Some was directed through demons and spiritual oppression.  The rest was orchestrated through the political and religious structures of that day! 

THERE WAS NO MORE SILENCE!

A VIEW FROM HEAVEN'S SIDE!

In case you don't realize it, Heaven is already quite populated.  God drops hints of this in Revelation chapter five where He tells us of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand (v.11).  To help you grasp this grouping of angels, let me remind you that ten thousand times ten thousand equals one hundred million!  Quite a crowd!  And, they are not all alike.  Some are angels, others archangels, still other are seraphim or cherubim!  

It's difficult to imagine what a normal day in Heaven must be like, but I can tell you about a day in Heaven that was NOT normal.  It was the day that the angel visited a young, Jewish girl named Mary. During his visit, the Holy Spirit came over Mary and she conceived a holy son.  In that instant, Heaven was changed in a way it had never been changed before!  It had always been inhabited by the triune God:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  But for this season, the Son willingly vacated the halls of Heaven and took up residence in the womb of a virgin girl in Nazareth.  

That's right!  The Lord and Creator of the universe...[Philippians 2:6,7]

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be grasped;

but made himself nothing,

    taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

Just like you and me!  The same process.  Totally dependent on the mother!  Little wonder that this young girl has been so elevated in history:  Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  [Luke 1:42].

As difficult as it is to imagine, Heaven was changed for a season.  For a period of nearly thirty-four years it would experience the absence of the Son of God!  Was there mourning in Heaven at this absence?  We know there are no tears in Heaven, but surely there must have been a different feel for this period of time.  

But I'm particularly intrigued by a line from Luke chapter two that rarely gets explained.  I think there was a moment in our well-known story that brought all the inhabitants of Heaven to alert.  Let's review the story. 

• Mary is visited by an angel and conceives through the Holy Spirit!
• Joseph is visited by an angel and is told about the immaculate conception!
• Ceasar Augustus issues a decree that causes Joseph and Mary to have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
• While they were there, (probably living in a cave or stable, since there was no room in the inn)  the time came for the baby to be born...  [Luke 2:6]
• At or near the time of the birth, an angel appeared to shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem announcing the birth of a Savior!

Aha!  Now comes a divine moment often under-emphasized!  

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 

Here's the way I envision it with my childlike mind and faith.  I think there had been a lull in Heaven for nine months!  I think all the angels, seraphs, cherubim and Godhead had dearly missed the presence of the Son!  But they knew the plan and the purpose of His mission.  There was a growing sense of excitement and anticipation for what this all would mean!  They knew that an intricate plan was unfolding on earth that would impact millions of lives for endless millions of years!  They knew an angel had been dispatched to make a vital announcement to a group of shepherds - although they certainly did not understand why.  The containment of all these feelings and emotions was difficult even for the heavenly host!  

But what's this?  Suddenly, God opened a fissure between Heaven and earth and gave a nod of permission for them to join their angel messenger.  And in an instant, millions of angels rushed through the fissure to join a massive angelic choir singing praises to God with hearts overflowing with love!  It was for every inhabitant of Heaven, a moment to remember!  They were only visible to this group of lowly shepherds.  No one else heard or saw their presence!  It was a DIVINE MIRACLE!  Excited, exuberant faces glowed down from the heavens on these humble men who epitomized the role of the One just born!  Like them, He would care for His sheep - each and every one - especially the lost ones!  

It didn't last long.  Upon the conclusion of their message, they rushed back through the opening and returned to the eternal glory of Heaven!  Imagine the excitement as they talked among themselves of what had just happened!  This had been the first time some of them had visited earth!  The chatter must have lasted for a long time as they reflected on this moment of glory!

But the shepherds...they were left standing in the dark!  What had been a brilliance indescribable and a scene beyond imagination, was suddenly renewed with the blackness of the night - except for the STAR!  Like three others who were making a journey, they too made a journey just as they had been instructed by the angel.  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  [Luke 2:16]

Even Steven Spielburg would be challenged to portray the magnificence of these moments!  Events like this are best left to the imagination - itself a gift from the awesomeness of God!  

Do yourself a favor.  At some point today when the turmoil and excitement has concluded, take a moment to envision what the shepherds saw and heard.  It's the most downplayed moment of the Christmas story; yet it holds tremendous fascination for those who will meaningfully reflect on it!  As you do so - let YOUR "Glory to God in the highest" join in with the song of all the heavenly host!  

Have a blessed Christmas!