God loves pure light. Radiant beams from heavenly grace. With the dawn of weeping grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth. I used to be kind of a Scrooge in my self-righteous youth. I don't have anything to do with
these things, but they certainly are wonderful hymns, aren't they? They can be sung year-round.
No Scrooge. In fact, I do want to raise mine
Ebenezer here. What's that man? Ironic that
they named that old fellow that. What Samuel. Put those stones. Hither by thy help I am come. The article by Brother Jellett
in the book, that's a good one, and that will suffice to expose
the error and all that is so-called Christianity. I'm not going to
dwell on that. anything about that, but I think
you'll see as we look at this, that the birth of this child, full of wonder, but it brought
bloodshed. In fact, the end, I'm going to
tell you the end from the beginning. This one who came, came to die. That's why he came. See, religion
would gloss all this over with all this sentiment and sweetness
and kindness about a child born. And I'm so grateful. We're so
grateful. But this child came to die a
bloody death. And everyone related to him Dies
too. But they don't stay dead. He
didn't either. I just told you the end of the
beginning. Look at verse 1. The book of
the generation of Jesus Christ. Looked at this many times. You
have too. The book of the generation. That word generation is the same
word as Genesis in the Old Testament. Same word. This is not merely
talking about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. But it's talking
about the generation, this whole book, the Bible of it, is how
life began with Jesus Christ. This is not the beginning of
His life. Oh no! He had no beginning. And no end to that. This book
and the whole book is about life that's in God's Son. Did I make
that up? Did I draw that out of nowhere?
No. This is the book, the Bible. It's about Him who came that
we might have life. Came to a dead world, a world
of darkness. Light shone in this darkness. Men comprehended it not. Life
began. John 1, in him was life, the scripture
said. And in him we live. It wasn't
the beginning of his life. In fact, it begins with Jesus
Christ and it said, and David and Abraham and all these, where'd
they come from? Him. He didn't come from them,
really. Are you with me? They came from
Him. In Him we live and move and have
our being. In the beginning, God. Genesis
begins that way, doesn't it? In the beginning, God. John 1
begins that way, doesn't it? Matthew 1 begins that way. This
is the book of the generation, or that is how life began with
Jesus Christ. He is life. He that hath the
Son hath life. The book of how life began with
Jesus Christ. Verse 18 now says, now the birth
of Jesus Christ was on this wise. It tells us how that child was
born. Now the child is born, but the
Son? He was with the Father from the
beginning. He's ancient of day. The Son was given. And the reason
he's called son is because he's the only begotten bodily image
of God. And yet he is called, they said,
called his name the eternal God, the mighty God,
and the everlasting Father. And even God the Father in Hebrew
said, Thy throne, O God, is forever. No, Jesus Christ didn't begin
here. He had a birth, all right. But
that wasn't his beginning, because he's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. He's the I Am. Call him Jehovah,
that's who he is, the Lord. So this is a story of life, both
natural and eternal. And this life is where? In his
Son. The book of the generation. Now,
in these verses, it says in verse 17, that there are 14 generations
from Adam to David, David to Babylon, which is important,
and from Babylon to Christ, 42 generations. Now do not be taken
up with that time. It's not for you to know. No
man knows the day or the hour, and most people, that's all they're
taken up with. They're very interested when Christ will come. Most people
are very interested when Christ will come, many people that don't
even know Christ. And I think many people are interested
so that they can go on sinning up to the last minute. Honestly. How much longer do
we have here? And then we'll get serious. That's a point to be made, isn't
it? I know. This is 2,000 years is what this
is, basically. 2,000 years from Abraham to Christ.
That is significant. Peter said that. Don't be ignorant
of this one thing. A day is 1,000 years and 1,000
years is a day. 2,000 years from Adam to Abraham,
2,000 years from Abraham to Christ. How many years have we gone,
Don? What year are we in? And he said, this generation,
this generation will not pass away until it's all over. These
are the last days. You hear me? In about 6,000 years,
we're in the very last day, no doubt about it. Now, it begins
with Abraham. The story of Abraham does it.
This generation of Jesus Christ's life begins with Abraham. That's
significant. Abraham is called the father
of the faithful. Alright, he's the father of the
faithful. Who? God said, I'm the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. The Jews. Abraham's the first. He's the chosen one. Where did
Abraham come from? Where did Abraham get his life,
spiritual life? Jesus Christ, God. He was an
idolater, 75 years old. He's as good as dead, wasn't
he? But, God. chose him. Where does life begin? God's choice. Christ said, you didn't choose
me, I chose you. God chose Abraham. In fact, listen
to this, he said he didn't take on the nature of angels, but
he took on the seed of Abraham. You and I didn't take on Adam,
you didn't decide to take on the seed of Simpson. I'll be
a Simpson. You weren't even in existence.
Well, it says that Christ took it on. Are you with me? Christ, from the beginning, said,
I'm going to be made of the seed of Abraham and David. He prepared His own body. He's
the one that made His own body and assumed it. The Son. He took on this seat. And He
started with Abraham, and that's significant. Because Abraham
is the father of the Jew, the father of the faithful. And all
of God's people have the faith of Abraham. In His line, His
people, His sons, they all believe like Abraham. See? And Isaac, and Jacob. The story
of Abraham. Alright, listen to this. Later, after this story right
here, 30 years later, the Lord is standing in front of a bunch
of Jews. And He said, your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. They said, wait a minute, you're
not even 50. Have you seen Abraham? He said, before Abraham was,
I am. See, this is not his beginning.
Abraham got his beginning from Him who is the beginning and
the end. It started with Abraham on purpose.
It started with Abraham. And then he mentions David. Well,
David first. Actually, David first. Why is
that? Abraham wasn't a king. David's king. He mentioned David
first. Jesus Christ, the son of David.
Why is that? He wasn't just born king. He
didn't become king when he was born on this earth. He was made
king before there was an earth. That's what Psalm 2 said. I have
set my king. I'll declare the decree. I have
a king. I already prepared. Like David,
remember David was king before anybody knew about it. And he
appeared and they said, he can't be a king, look at him, he doesn't
look like a king. I'm here to tell you, he is king. And Jesus
Christ always has been king, always will be king. His reign,
there's no end. So, David the king, and then
the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then, you know, a
thousand years before this, Moses. Not after, a thousand years between. After Abraham, Moses, right?
Moses. What about Moses? Moses is a
lawgiver, okay? Moses came out of the line of
Abraham, didn't he? He's a Levite. Jacob's son. Levite. Priesthood. Alright,
what's Moses all about? Well, our Lord stood before a
bunch of Jews one day, and he said, Moses wrote of me. wrote of me, and here I am. Who
are you? I am. Even the same I said to
Moses, but you don't believe. You're not my sheep. As I said
of you, my sheep hear my voice, the voice of God. I am. Moses
wrote of me. Moses wrote of What did Moses
write of him? He's that prophet, he's the deliverer. What was Moses all about? He
was the deliverer. Who did he deliver? People in
bondage, people in Egypt. Who's this deliverer going to
deliver? People in bondage, people in Egypt, people in Babylon,
Babylonian religion. At this time, Babylon was still
reigning over Israel. Do you hear me? Rome was part
of it. At this time. It's significant. It's significant that it speaks
of Abraham to David, and David to Babylon. And after Babylon, Christ is
here. Christ is here. That's significant.
Babylon. What's Babylon mean? Those who
are listening and stay with me. Genesis 12 is where the Lord
called Abraham. Are you with me? Genesis 12 is
where the Lord called Abraham. You know what's in Genesis 11?
Tower of Babel. Babel means confusion. The whole
world together, we're going to get to heaven. It's confusion,
darkness, confusion of faces, darkness, but God called Abraham. Out of darkness and His marvelous
light. Out of Babel. Alright? David. A light shone in David,
who represents Christ. David came. The King. What did
David do? What's the first thing he did? Keep his people from
being taken captive by that giant. Didn't he? First thing he did.
First thing he did. In all the days of David's life, he kept
Israel. He's a keeper of Israel, a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then Solomon, you know, everybody
dwelt under his vine and fig tree. Peace and safety, a picture
of Christ. But it degenerated and degenerated
into idolatry and it degenerated until finally they were taken
captive into Babylon. And there they remained until
this time, right now. And then Christ comes. The sign
comes. to set the prisoner free. I've
come to deliver my people. I've come to take them out of
Babylon. Out of Babylon. All right, brethren,
it's been 2,000 years. The truth, the light came, shone
in darkness, maybe 1,000 years, and then what? Dark ages. It began to degenerate all over
again, didn't it? Until the whole world is under,
he's turned loose, the God of this world, until the whole world
is taken captive by him at will. The whole world is under Babylonian
bondage, religion being at the head of it. And he's coming again. It's the last time. He's going
to take his people out. Out of Babylon. I didn't make
that up. It's his word. It's all significant,
all right? And we're in the midst of another
dark ages. We've got more Bibles than ever,
but less truth. We've got more professing Christians
than ever, but when Jesus Christ said, when the Son of Man comes,
shall he find faith on the earth. That's what he said. It's going
to be so rare. It's going to be so hard to find. Like Hosea's prophecy, they'll
run to and fro looking for it. It'll be a dearth of famine.
Well, okay. Alright, there's many names here,
aren't there? In all these verses, there are many persons spoken
of, stories. Every one of them is significant.
Every single person is significant. Every single person is in the
line, the lineage of Jesus Christ. Every one of these people somehow
speaks of Him who was to come. Their name, certain name, and
a certain number here, which represents a number which no
man can number. As I said, it began with Abraham.
Well, David, but Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Abraham. Who's that? Chosen one. Elect, according
to the foreknowledge of God. Isaac. Who's that? That's the
son of promise. When did Abraham see the Lord's
day? On Mount Moriah. Never been a
more wonderful gospel message or picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ than when David took his only son, his only begotten well-beloved
son, up on Mount Moriah and offered him as a burnt offering unto
God. And yet God spared his son and
found a ram in the thicket caught by his horn and a substitute. And Abraham and Isaac went down
that mountain that day, speaking of, rejoicing in their substitute,
the Lamb as it had been slain. Where did they hear that? From
Adam, from Abel, from Enoch. All along, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah. Judah. Verse 3. Judah. Who's that? Judah. He's the surety. Is Judah significant? Oh yeah,
he's the surety. Christ came from that tribe.
They named the word Jew. Where does the word Jew come
from? Judah. That's significant. Judah was the one who said to
the father, to Jacob, about Benjamin the son, if I don't bring him
back to you, you hold me accountable. Judah represents Christ. Judah
was the surety for his brother. And Judah represents Jesus Christ,
the surety of the everlasting covenant, who said to the Father,
if I don't bring them all back to you, hold me accountable.
Did he? Hebrews says, he'll say, behold
I and the children which thou hast given me. Judah. Every one
of these. And if I'm not careful, I'll
run out of time here. Alright, look at this. Look down
at verse 5. Salmon, baguette, boaz. What's this all about? This is
all about Jesus Christ. Every person, every line, every
jot, every tittle is about the generation. Life, that's in Jesus
Christ. Every one of these persons were
given their life by Jesus Christ and their life testified to it. The purpose, the goal for their
life, Brother John, was to testify of Jesus Christ. So it is with
all of God's people whom He gives life. Why am I still living? To preach Christ. Paul said,
for me to live is Christ. Boaz, Kendal and Redeemer. Oh my, give me 30 more minutes
on that. Kendal and Redeemer. I'm sorry
everybody, it wasn't unanimous. Rahab. Ruth. David. Right in the middle. Right in
the middle. Who have we been looking at?
Who have we been talking about? David? David's son. David's Redeemer. King of kings. The whole life
of David. Why was David raised up? To testify
of a man after God's own heart. King of kings and Lord of lords.
The son of David. Jesus Christ. Who's come to do
what? Defeat that adversary. Cut his
head off. The woman's seed, born of a woman,
kill him with his own sword, a woman, and take captivity captive, his
people. Ransom captive Israel, people
of God chosen. Oh, we could keep going, going
on with this. It goes down to Josiah. Remember
the story of Josiah? Anybody? He's king. Now, the
Lord said to Jacob, that out of your loins kings will come.
And from David on, they're all kings. They're all kings out
of his loins. What does it say about God's
people that are in Christ? What does it say? He's made us
kings. But they're all a bunch of sinners.
It ain't nothing to any of them. Abraham is an idolater. Jacob,
a supplant or chief. God changes nothing. On and on
it goes. Three women are mentioned here.
Four. Who were they? Harlots. They were all Harlots. Adulterers. That's you. But that's
who Christ came for. That's who His family is. He
was numbered with the transgressors, Isaiah 53 said. Interestingly,
interestingly, bad word, amazingly, Isaiah 53 says, who shall declare
his generation? Who shall declare his generation?
He cut off from the land of the living. But, it says he'll see
his seed. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He'll see his seed. Because he was numbered
with the transgressors. She'll bear the sins of His people.
Oh, my. Josiah was the one who, they
found the Word, and Josiah is the one who revealed the Word.
This is the Word of God that's been missing in that dark period. He said, now, we're going to
worship God, right? And in the beginning was the
Word. Hell and Christ came, the Word,
like Josiah. He's a picture. And for those
of you who are really students of the scripture, Josiah died
at Megiddo. Armageddon. That's where he died. Which is a picture of Christ
crucified. And that's where the battle was
fought. On a cross. Well, let me go on. Alright,
it says that all these people were in his line. All these people. to the praise of the glory of
God's grace who chose them and put them in Jesus Christ. Now, verse 18, get down to this. The birth of Jesus Christ was
on this way. When as his mother, Mary, as
his mother. You see, he chose his own mother.
He chose his own mother. That's what false religion says
that you do, that we do, you know, we choose, you know, God. No. But he did. He chose his
own mother. He chose to be born of a woman.
He made his own body. Well, she was a spouse to Joseph.
And before they came together, that is, before they had sexual
relations as a husband and wife, and they did. They did later. She had other children. She did
not remain a virgin. Is that important? It sure is. Because anti-Christ religion
would tell us that Mary remained a virgin. Mary was not a virgin
after Christ was born. She was a virgin before Christ
was born. Why? You know that few people believe
that. Is it necessary to believe that?
There's no salvation if he was not born of a virgin. If he was
born of a man, then he's a sinner like us. And you'll find his
bones over there somewhere. A mere man can't save that. Isaiah said in Isaiah 25, this
is God. He'll save us. If he was born
of a man, seed of Adam, then he has sin in him. But no, Scripture
says in him is no sin. This holy thing. The angel said
to Mary and Joseph, is of God. This is God's son. And he's to
be called that accordingly from then on. Not the son of Mary,
but the son of God. That's significant. You'll never
find in scriptures where he's called the son of Mary. Not once. Because this is the son of God. He borrowed Mary's womb. He chose
Mary to be His mother. She's no more blessed, really.
She's blessed. Oh, how blessed she is. Highly
favored. She found grace in the eyes of
the Lord, but not over and above anybody. She's not more blessed
than anybody. Not more blessed than this Mary
that sits right over here, whom God chose and who formed Christ
in her. She found grace in the eyes of
the Lord. Right? She found great. And this is
her hope of glory, Christ in her. Mary was not the mother
of God. God was the father of Mary. Christ
was the father of the mother. Explain that. I can't. Just proclaim
it. Mary was not sinless by her own
admission. In Luke 2 she said, My heart
rejoices in God my Savior. Mary needed a Savior from sin.
Who is it? Jesus Christ, the Sinless One.
Mary found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Mary was dead until
she was given life. Mary was lost until she was found.
Mary was in darkness until Christ gave her life. One time later,
she called Him Son, and He quickly and gently rebuked her. He said, What have I to do with thee?
I didn't come from you. You came from me. Nobody ever said, oh, he looks
like, he looks like, the child looks like his mother. No, but
in time she began to look like him. Why? Because he's her father.
Explain that. Don't need to. So, this is God. Verse 19, Joseph, her husband,
being a just man, not willing to make her public. And young
ladies, this is a lesson from God's Word. You remain a virgin
until married. Find you a just man. Find you
a man who knows the Lord. And it will be well. Verse 20,
Joseph was thinking on this. He thought that Mary was pregnant
from someone else, but no, it was the Lord. And the angel of
the Lord had to appear to him, and you know what the angel said
to Joseph? The exact same thing he said
to Mary. What was the subject? That holy
thing. So Joseph, his eyes were open
too, his ears justified. Joseph, thou son of David, fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost. And, now here it is, she shall
bring forth a son. Whose son is she bringing forth?
Hers. She called her firstborn son,
but never called the son of Mary. But she brought forth a son,
alright. And it seemed it was her firstborn son, but I'll tell
you who it was. It was God's firstborn son. It
was God's only begotten beloved son. And God named him. God named him through the angel.
And here's the name He gave him, verse 21, Thou shalt bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. The name means Savior. For he shall save his people
from their sin. Listen to me, if you didn't hear
anything up to this point. Here's the declaration. Call
his name Jesus. If you're going to call him Jesus,
you need to know what the name means. And the Lord called him
Jesus because it means something. Call His name Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Call His name. He has many names. Because that's
who He is. And that's what He did. And they
that know His name will put their trust in Him. But God says call
His name Jesus. This is His earthly name, Jesus.
It means Savior. It's the same name as Joshua. Ask Rahab what she thinks about
Joshua. Ask Rahab how she was saved from
destruction in Jericho. Ask Rahab who chose who. Ask Rahab. She'll tell you, Joshua. That's His name, Savior, and
that's what He did. He saved me. He sent for me. He chose me. He brought me out. I had nothing to do with it.
He did it all. His name is Joshua because that's
who He is. That's what he did. Call his
name Jesus, Savior. Why? For he, not he and Mary, he. Not he and you, if you'll cooperate. He shall save. Not try. Not make a down payment. Not make it possible. shall save. What's that mean? They need saving. They're lost. Save. What's that mean? They
can't save themselves. If they could, they wouldn't
need Him, would they? He shall save. From what? Who? His people. His people. For the transgression of My people,
Isaiah said, was He stricken. His people. Who are His people?
Well, He chose them. God chose them and gave them
to Christ. He's the Good Shepherd. And they're
His sheep. Loved by God. Chosen by God.
Given to Christ, the Savior. David, the giant slayer. David, the shepherd. David, the
keeper of Israel. The son of David, Jesus Christ.
They're all given to Him. He shall save His people. All
of His people. Not all people are His people,
but whoever are His people, that's who He came to save. And it says
He shall. He hath. Ask Abraham. Yeah, He saved me. Ask Jacob. Yes, He saved me. Ask Judah. He saved me. I didn't get saved. He saved me. Ask Ray Harry. Yeah, he saved me. Ask David.
Salvations of the Lord. Ask all of His people. Who saved
who? He saved me. He doth save right
now. Whoever is saved, being saved,
He's doing it. And shall save. He shall save. It's He who hath delivered, He
who doth deliver, and yet shall deliver. From what? Their sins.
That's why Christ came. To deliver us, God's people,
from their sins. Sins. Sin. Now all this was done, was spoken
of by the Lord, by the prophets saying, Behold a virgin shall
be with child, and shall. bring forth the Son, and they
shall call His name Immanuel, which is interpreted God with
us, and He shall not fail. He shall save His people from
their sin. Any gospel that talks about a
Jesus who came to try to save anybody is a false gospel. It's not glorifying to Him at
all, it's absolute blasphemy to Him. Do I make too much of
this? This is His glory. And this is
our salvation. This is our salvation. If He
doesn't save me, I'm not going to be saved. All this through
watching David. And David came and said, he looked
and he saw there was no man. Nobody. So David said, is there
not a cause? What's the cause? They're all
going to die. David said, I am God. And that's
what Christ said. That's why Christ came. Did he
do it? Did David do it? Did he? Yes, he did. Did Christ? On the cross, he said, it's finished.
It's finished. Alright, well you read with me
the rest of this. This story of his childhood,
alright? It's called Emmanuel, God with
us. The King. King, come to destroy the intimate.
Deliver his people. The King. Is this the end? Everything's good now. This child
is born and everything. Peace. The angel said, peace
on earth. Goodwill toward men. Everything's fine now. There's
not going to be any troubles from here on. Oh no. Chapter
2 begins. As soon as he's born, trouble
everywhere. Nothing but trouble. Everybody's
trouble. Trouble. Isaiah 8 says, look to the earth
and nothing but dimness and darkness and trouble and anguish of spirits. Isaiah chapter 9 is where that
prophecy of child is born, says it begins, and in that darkness,
in that dark street shineth the everlasting light. But it's trouble, it's trouble
for the world, yeah, but it spells trouble for many. In chapter
2, look at this, chapter 2, many pretended to worship Him. Herod
was one of them. He said, go search the child,
bring me word and I'll come worship Him. That's not how it's done.
You go, you search, you see, you'll find, you ask. Well, they didn't go. They were warned. to not go there,
and so were Joseph and Mary, and they took that child into
Egypt. Why was he born in Egypt? Why did he have to come out of
Egypt? Where was Moses born? Egypt. What was Moses? Deliverer. And God raised up Moses to do
what? Bring him out of Egypt. God said, I've called my son
out of Egypt. He's going to be born in this
world, made of woman, made under law to redeem them, to deliver
them out of this world. All right? Babylon. What about
Babylon? That represents all false religion. And it was a
mess when Christ came. It's a mess now. Babylon. And from Babylon to Christ, I'm
here. And then the trouble really starts.
When Christ was born, all those who had anything to do with Him
were slain. All those that had any connection
with Him, all those children as it were, they were in Him.
They were looking for Him and they found them and they killed
them all. And Brother Mack, the scripture
says, we're crucified with Christ. These all died in faith. When Christ comes and sets up
reign and rule in our heart, we die. We die in this world, and we die in Him. We're crucified
in Him. There's bloodshed. The whole life, the whole story
of Jesus Christ was one of violence and hatred. From who? The world. Babylon. And they sought to kill Him,
and they sought to kill all of His disciples. And it's the same
today, it hasn't ended. But Christ, when He went to Calvary's
cross, when He went to Calvary's cross, what was He doing? Breaking
down the enmity, shedding His precious blood for the redemption
of the soul of His people. Reconciling us to God, making
peace by the blood of His cross, the chastisement necessary for
us was laid on Him. And by His stripes we are healed.
But it took bloodshed, didn't it? This is not a story of sentiment
and emotion and sweetness and gloss over all of this. Everything
is just going to be wonderful from here on out. No, when Christ
is born in you, when the Son of God has come, He's come to
cast out the works of darkness. And buddy, there's trouble. There's
trouble now. That's when the trouble starts.
But I'm here to tell you that the end of this is good. The
end of this is good. He came to ransom Israel, and
He did just that. These disciples on the road to
Emmaus, they were walking along sad. They thought Christ was
dead. But no, He's alive. And He came to them, and what
did He do? He began to preach unto them, beginning with Moses! Beginning with Moses! Well, who
was Moses? The Deliverer. And Christ preached
Himself to them. Alright? And they're all sad,
and all of a sudden, they're seeing the light. The light of
the knowledge of the face of Jesus Christ. And they're saying,
I see. We thought He came to redeem
Israel. And He's preaching to them. He did. He did. But it wasn't in a way you think. It wasn't to make peace on earth.
No, you're not going to have peace. There's going to be wars
and rumors of wars. You're going to have trouble
within and without. But I am here to obtain peace for you
with God! Because He's going to destroy
this whole Babylon thing and the world. And then He's created
a new heaven and a new earth where everybody in it knows they're
there because of that lamb that was slain. Not just a baby born,
but a lamb slain, a crucified Lord. That's why he came. I see. Not to make us happy in this
world, but to deliver us out of it. And go to another place
wherein dwelleth righteousness. No more sin. So he came to deliver
us from sin. Sin. Best I can do. This book is the
generation. Life in Jesus Christ. Do you that know the Son of God? I pray that you do. Let's sing
in closing a great old hymn. Number 93. There's gospel in
this. Let's all stand Turn to 93. Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn
King! Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled Joyful, all ye nations, rise Join the
triumph of the skies With angelic host proclaim Christ is born
in Bethlehem Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory.