By
The
Twelve Apostles
Near Hebron in the
hills of Judah, Zacharias and Elizabeth abode. They were devote and just, and
every day they read the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms which told of one to
come, strong to redeem; and they were waiting for the king.
Now, Zacharias was a priest, and in his turn he led the temple service in
Jerusalem. It came to pass as Zacharias stood before the Lord and burned the
incense in the Holy Place, that Archangel Gabriel in his form as Archangel Duma
came and stood before his face. And Zacharias was afraid; he thought that some
great evil was about to come upon the Jews. But Archangel
Gabriel said,
“O man of God, fear
not;
I bring to you and
all the world, a message of good will, and peace on earth.
Behold, the Prince of Peace, the king you seek, will quickly come.
Your wife will bear to you a son, a holy son, of whom the prophet wrote,
‘Behold, I send Elijah unto you again before the coming of the Lord;
and he will level
down the hills and fill the valleys up,
and pave the way for
Him who shall redeem.’
From the beginning of the age your son has borne the name of John, which means
God’s favour, the favour of the Lord; his name is John.
He will be honoured in the sight of God, and he will
drink no wine, and from his birth he will be filled with Holy Spirit.”
There was in the days of Herod, the king
of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife
was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both
righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the
Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they
were both well advanced in years.
So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order
of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to
burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude
of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the
Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And
when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your
prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall
call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice
at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither
wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from
his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord
their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old
man, and my wife is well advanced in years." And the angel answered and
said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was
sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be
mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you
did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."
And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so
long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they
perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and
remained speechless.
So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he
departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived;
and she hid herself five months, saying, "Thus the Lord has dealt with me,
in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
Luke 1:5-25
Explanations:
1. When the children of God gather to pray and
worship, the Angels of God come down to minister to them.
2. Today, most of the religious leaders do not
want to listen to their Guardian Angels. They do not want to be guided by the
Holy Spirit. The ministers are busy everyday doing whatever that pleases them,
deceiving the people with false prophecies and fake prosperity.
3. They impress people with numerous prophecies,
which are from the shrines, marine kingdoms, and even doing so by demonic
powers.
4. When people are faithful to God, by remaining
steadfast in His covenant, they receive true revelations about their future and
about their children, even before the children are born.
5. It is good to ask God for signs, where
necessary, in order to confirm prophecies.
6. And it is not a sin to ask for signs.
7. Yet, people should not doubt the works of
God.
8. With God, it is possible to bear children in
old age, just as Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth did.
9. People should stop going to forbidden places,
to get children fast, without exercising patience for God to bless them at the
right time.
10.
The
forbidden places include idols, rivers, shrines, cultic altars and kingdoms,
marine priests and priestesses, as well as drinking all kinds of concoctions
and unverified intakes.
11.
Some
others go to people who claim to be ministers of God, but are false prophets,
fake pastors and deceptive ministers.
12.
Archangel
Duma made Zechariah dumb, because a remarkable
sign was needed to show the world that the Messiah is coming very soon. It was
necessary to use a very important personality, so that the news shall spread
far and wide, and remain on the mind of the general public.
Archangel Duma Visits
Elizabeth
And the same
Archangel Duma stood before Elizabeth as she was in the silence of her home,
and told her all the words that he had said to Zacharias in Jerusalem.
When he had done the service of his course, the priest went home, and with
Archangel Duma Visits Mary
After the angel visited Elizabeth to deliver the good
news of the birth of St John De Baptist, five months passed by and the same
Gabriel, as Archangel Duma, came to Mary in her home in Nazareth and said,
“Hail Mary, hail! Once blessed in the name of God; twice blessed in the name of
Holy Spirit; thrice blessed in the name of Christ; for you are worthy, and will
bear a son who shall be called Emmanuel – God is with us. His name is Jesus,
for He saves His people from their sins.
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the
angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed
are you among women!"
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered
what manner of greeting this was. Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give
Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob
forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know
a man?"
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that
Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth
your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the
sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be
impossible."
Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to
me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38
Rejection And
Acceptance Of Prophecy By Joseph
At first
Joseph did not believe the message Archangel Duma delivered to Mary, when Mary
told him about it. Before Joseph accepted the message delivered to Mary by
Archangel Gabriel, in his form as Archangel Duma, it was the Angels that told
Joseph that the message is true. Mary was the first to tell him, but he was
doubting the message. It is a glorious thing that Angels came and delivered
messages to them.
The same
problem exists today, because many men do not usually believe the messages
which are delivered by the Hosts of Angels and Saints of Heaven through dreams,
visions, trances, etc. And that is why many things are going wrong in many
families and society.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was
betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make
her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought
about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your
wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will
bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His
people from their sins."
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is
translated, "God with us."
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had
brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25
Mary Visits Elizabeth
And Mary went with haste to tell Elizabeth about the
promises of Gabriel; together they rejoiced. Elizabeth was Mary’s sister.
And in the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth did Mary stay three months; then she
returned to Nazareth.
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste,
to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting
of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice
and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe
leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a
fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." Luke 1:39-44
The
Song Of Mary
And Mary said:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever."
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her
house. Luke 1:46-56
Birth Of St John De Baptist
To Zacharias and
Elizabeth a son was born, and Zacharias said,
“Most blessed be the name of God, for He has opened up the fount of blessings for
His people, Israel.
His promises are verified; for He has brought to pass the words which holy
prophets spoke in olden times.”
And Zacharias looked upon infant John, and said,
“You shall be called the prophet of the Holy One; and you will go before His
face, and will prepare His way.
And you will give a knowledge of salvation unto
Behold, for soon the Day Star from on high will visit us, to light the way for
those who sit within the darkness of the shadow-land, and guide our ways to the
feet of peace.”
The Harbinger
This is the
person who moves ahead to make the public know about the coming of a great king
and ask the people to prepare to welcome the king. The harbinger of Jesus
Christ is Elijah, who reincarnated as St John De Baptist. In this age, the
harbingers are the dispatch riders, who move ahead of the presidents and
governors to clear the way, to make people know that the president or governor
is around, passing or coming.