I.  THE  BIRTH  AND  HIDDEN  LIFE  OF  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST  AND  OF  JESUS

The birth of John the Baptist foretold - Luke 1:5-10 - N. T. -

In the days of king Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both getting on in years. 

Now it was the turn of Zechariah's section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when lot fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom was, to enter the Lord's sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense the whole congregation was outside, praying.

Cf. - Compare - 1 Chronicles 24:7-10 - O.T. - "The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, to Jedaiah the second, Harim the third......., Abijah the eighth, Jeshua the ninth......"

- Compare - Genesis 18:11-12 - O. T. - "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well on in years, and Sarah had ceased to have her monthly periods. So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 'Now that I am past the age of child-bearing, and my husband is an old man, is pleasure to come my way again!'"

- Compare - Judges 13:2-5 - O. T. - His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of Yahweh appeared to this woman and said to her, 'You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy shall be God's nazirite from his mother's womb. It is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines."

- Compare - 1 Samuel 1:4-6 - O. T. - "One day Elkanah offered sacrifice. He used to give portions to Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; to Hannah, however, he would give only one portion, although he loved her more, since Yahweh had made her barren. Her rival would taunt her to annoy her, because Yahweh had made her barren."

- Luke 1:11-25 - N. T. -

Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, 'Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear a son and you must name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must not drink wine, no strong drink. Even from his mother's womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.' Zechariah said to the angel, 'How can I be sure of this?' I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.'

The angel replied, 'I am Gabriel who stand in God's presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until has happened.' Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to them, and they realised that he had received a vision in the sanctuary. But he could only make signs to them, and remained dumb.

When his time of service came to an end he returned home. Some time later his wife conceived, and for five months she kept to herself. The Lord has done this for me' she said 'now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered among men.'

Cf. - Compare - Matthew 1:19-25 - N. T. - "Mary husband Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. Joseph had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'. When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home and, though he had not had intercourse with her, she gave birth to a son; and he named him, Jesus."

- Compare - Luke 1:65; 4:36; 5:9,26; 2:10; 1:63; 1:10,58; 10:17,21 -

- Compare - Number 6:1-3 - O. T. - "Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 'Say this to the sons of Israel: "If a man or a woman wishes to make a vow, the vow of the nazirite by which he/she is pledged to Yahweh, he/she shall abstain from wine and strong drink, and neither the juice of grapes, nor eat grapes, fresh or dried."

Cf. - Jeremiah 1:5 - O. T. - "'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.'"

Cf. - John 11:18 - N. T. - "'For John the Baptist came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He is possessed".

Cf. - Galatians 1:15 - N. T. - "Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother's womb."

Cf. - Matthew 17:10-13 - N. T. - "And the disciples put this question to him, 'Why do the scribes say then that Elijah has to come first? 'True;' he replied 'Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it should be; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.' the disciples understood then that he had been speaking of John the Baptist."

Cf. - Malachi 3:22-24 - O. T. - "Remember the Law of my servant Moses to whom at Horeb I prescribed laws and customs for the whole of Israel. Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse."

Cf. - Sirach / Ecclesiasticus 48:10-12 - O. T. - "Designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God's wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Happy shall they be who see you, and those who have fallen asleep in love; for we too will have life."

Cf. - Genesis 15:8 - O. T. - 'My Lord Yahweh.' Abram replied 'how am I to know that I shall inherit it?'

Cf. - Daniel 8:15-16; 9:21-22 - O. T. - "As I, Daniel, gazed at the vision and tried to understand it, I saw someone standing before me who looked like a man. I heard a man's voice cry over the Ulai, 'Gabriel, tell him the meaning of the vision!' - "I was still speaking, still at prayer, when Gabriel, the being I had seen originally in a vision, flew suddenly down to me at the hour of the evening sacrifice. He said to me, 'Daniel, you see me; I have come down to teach you how to understand."

Cf. - Tobit 12:15 - O. T. - "I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord."

Cf. - Mark 1:1-2 - N. T. - "The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the book of the prophet of Isaiah."

Cf. - Matthew 8:9-11 - N. T. - "For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.' When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, 'I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven."
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The annunciation

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent to God... PAGE  3

WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY. - Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, and the fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Hence, these two books (The Gospel According To Apostle/Saint Luke & The Acts Of The Apostles) of the New Testament were closely associated, and being call 'a history of the rise of Christianity'. Therefore, I faithfully believe that it is utmost important for us; all human beings to comprehend these two books, [ All the others Old Testament and New Testament books are equally important, but as for now, we will start studying and read these two books first, that is, being call 'a history of the rise of Christianity', before continuing the other books.] to the best of our knowledge and enabling our spirit to acknowledges: "Who is God, and how, and in what ways, that is, God is with us." Amen! 

When Sacred Scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord, Jesus Christ, who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But they will not ask for his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as Sacred Scripture say: The footsteps of those who bring good news is a welcome sound.

Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As prophet Isaiah says: Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed? So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ Jesus. [ 'Word of God' ] - Romans 10:11-17 -

How? And in what way, when it come to understanding matters: What I was always being told is: There are ways and preferences to comprehend all matters, whether it is of spirituality and unspirituality.

Firstly, in a literally manner: That is, used for emphasis or to express strong feeling while not being literally true.

Secondly, in a humanly manner: That is, from a human point of view, in a humanly manner, by human means; within ability; with human feeling or kindness.

Thirdly, in a spiritually manner: That is, in a way that relates to or affects the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.

Finally, in an unspiritual manner: That is, not spiritual. But secular and worldly.

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

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IT IS TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THAT ALL THE PROPHETS BEAR THIS WITNESS: THAT ALL WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS WILL HAVE THEIR SINS FORGIVEN THROUGH HIS NAME." - ACTS 10:43 - 

IT IS TRUE, GOD SENT HIS WORD TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, AND IT WAS TO THEM THAT THE GOOD NEWS OF PEACE WAS BROUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST - BUT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD OF ALL MEN. - ACTS 10:36 -