In spite of all the technological advances and social programs, our world today is ripped apart by strife, murder, moral breakdown of the highest magnitude, wars and rumors of wars, broken homes (divorce, child abuse, spousal abuse), and on and on the list goes. The Israeli-Arab dispute continues, yet without any real resolve. Pollution, the threat of nuclear holocaust and the destruction of mankind hangs over our heads, and yet we are helpless to solve these problems.

People devise human social programs, reforms, and solutions, but the problems don’t go away. Not only do they continue, but they are increasing just as the Bible warns (2 Tim. 3:13, NKJV): "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."

The "one worlders" of our society, of course, see things very differently.

For instance, in the past several years we have seen tremendous changes in Europe, the removal of the Berlin wall, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the opening up of Russia, the ongoing talks about peace in the Middle East. We have seen the apparent changes toward freedom that have taken place in the other communistic countries; and government officials and society as a whole see this as a sign that we are on the verge of a new era of world peace.

In fact, mankind has been saying for years that what we need is an influential, powerful, charismatic leader to come on the scene of human history to mold the world into unity and peace. So, the world watches for such a person, someone who has the skill, the wisdom, the political power and charisma to draw the world together into a new age of globalism where there will be peace.

But if we look among the world’s leaders, can we find such a person?

No - the problems are just too big for any ordinary man. Scripture does, however, promise just such a Savior. It is because of this promise that I invite you on this journey.

The Bible also warns us that in the last days three key counterfeit conditions will be prevalent:

1. The last days will be days of apostasy.
As time moves along, Scripture warns there will be a growing universal revolt against God and authority that will manifest itself in a humanism in which man, believing the age-old lie of Satan that he can solve his own problems, becomes the center, source, and answer to all his problems.

2 Thess. 2:3, 11 (NKJV)
^3"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (Gk. apostasia, "the apostasy") comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 11And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie ..."

 2 Tim. 3:1-6, 12-13 (NKJV)
¹"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ^{...  12}Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."

More and more the human race will look to a one-world international system to bring peace and safety: "For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." (1 Thess. 5:3 (NKJV).

3. The last days will be days of false messiahs.
This hope and search for some form of a one-world system will lead to the longing and search for someone who can come on the scene of human history and mold the world into unity and peace.

This new globalism will not only be wrapped up in humanism, itself a form of religion, but it will involve a universal religion that will seek to draw all religions together regardless of beliefs. It will be tolerant of any and all religions, except, of course, Christianity. Christianity, it will hate with a vengeance and persecute with gusto for two reasons:

1. Outwardly, it will because genuine Christianity is not broad-minded in this sense. While the Bible reaches out with its message to all men, it also teaches there is one way to heaven--the narrow way through faith in the Savior who alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life. John 14:6 (NKJV):  "Jesus said to him,  "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 
2. Inwardly, this persecution will exist because the one-world movement and the people in it will be energized by Satan and his antichrist program.

In writing to the Ephesians, Paul spoke of their past and reminded them that before they came to Christ they were like the rest of the Gentile world. They were “strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12, NKJV). All the covenants with their individual features were ultimately pointing to one great promise-- the coming of the Christ.

Because the Gentile world did not have or know these covenants and this great promise, which is woven everywhere into the fabric of the Old Testament like a golden thread, they had no hope.

Writing to the Romans, the Apostle said, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4, NKJV).

The Scriptures we will look at in this study are those that deal with the lineage of Christ and the prophecies of His birth. These prophecies, as a part of that hope, form an incredible line of truth and remarkable evidence which authenticate the claims of Christ and shows us the real meaning of Christmas.
 

Isaiah Scroll  Oldest complete manuscript of a Hebrew scripture  yet discovered, datable before 100 BC.  For more information see: Dead Sea Scrolls. Photo of Isaiah scroll  on display in Shrine of the Book. The Great Isaiah Scroll. Detailed photos  & analysis by Fred P. Miller.

The Old Testament, written over a period of 1000 years and written several hundred years before the time of Christ, contains some three hundred prophecies of the coming Messiah. The fact these prophecies were written at least two hundred years before Christ is proven by the Septuagint [LXX], the Greek translation of the Old Testament written in 200 BC, and by the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which are dated over 200 years before Christ as well.

All of these ancient prophecies were fulfilled in the one person of Jesus Christ; and they provide solid confirmation for His credentials as Messiah, for His claims as the Son of God and Savior, for His unique life in comparison to all the other religious leaders of the world, and for our hope and confidence that truly He and He alone is the one to whom we (and the world) must look for salvation and meaning in life.

The probability of all these being fulfilled in one person as merely coincidence is beyond comprehension and, for all practical purposes, mathematically impossible.

The Scripture not only promises the Messiah, but it does so in such a way that we can precisely identify Him. Using the Bible as our road map, we journey back into ancient history, back to the Garden of Eden where we will begin our journey forward through the corridors of time with the Word of God to guide and illuminate our path. With the light of the Word, we will look for road signs and marks of identification to guide us on our journey in quest of finding and identifying this person of whom the Scripture speaks, the one promised to the human race as the only solution to the problems of the world-- yet the one the world resists.

As we look at these road signs scattered along the highway of history, we need to note that each sign is above all else, an identifier. Many of them are also predictions, in some cases warnings, but also promises.

We begin with Adam and Eve and each new sign or prophecy will add more details. This will constantly narrow the field of possible candidates until all the important factors of identification are revealed. As a result, there can be no doubt about God’s plan of salvation for mankind as well as where and in whom it can be found.

Let’s fasten our seat belts, and with everyone aboard, let’s journey back some 6500 years where we will arrive at a place called the Garden of Eden. 

We find the Garden of Eden was designed by God to be a paradise. But our map shows us that, following the suggestions of the serpent, Adam and Eve sought to live independently of God and sin entered the human scene.

1. Whereas man and woman had life, now death rules.
2. Whereas there was joy and pleasure, now pain has been introduced.
3. Whereas there was a joyous occupation with abundance, now a meager subsistence by toil and the sweat of the brow has become the rule with pain in childbirth.
4. Whereas there was perfect fellowship with God and each other, now we see alienation and fear, blaming, hiding, and attempting to cover their nakedness with fig leaves.

Road Sign Number 1: The Promised Seed

“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Gen. 3:15, NKJV, 1450 BC)

It is only a broad generalization without a lot of detail, but, though only in embryo form, Genesis 3:15 is: (1) a prophecy, (2) a warning, and (3) a promise. But above all, it is (4) the foundation for the many promises and the beginning of many road signs that follow down the pathway of Scripture.

Some Important Observations About the Passage ...
Since this is the foundation of all the promises that follow, it is important to note a number of observations:

1. The promise of Genesis 3:15 is addressed to the serpent, not to mankind. 
Though it contains, in seed form a promise for mankind, it is more directly a sentence of judgment on the serpent (clearly a reference to Satan). This teaches us that God’s plan “is about God’s rule as much as about man’s need.”

2. Though Genesis 3:15 contains great hope for mankind as a promise, it is also a prophecy of hostility and struggle.
“Enmity” comes from a Hebrew word which means “to hate.” This first road sign and prophecy is cradled in a warning of great conflict and foreshadows the perpetual struggle and incessant activity of satanic powers which will oppose mankind and God’s plan of salvation through the One who would come. To be sure, Satan is a hater of mankind, especially those linked with the promised Deliverer.

3. We note that the struggle is between the serpent and the woman, between his seed and her seed, and between a single individual and the serpent.

The text says, “And I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman (Eve), . . . he (the seed of the woman) shall bruise you (the serpent) on the head, And you (the serpent) shall bruise him (the seed of the woman) on the heel.”

Though perhaps not understood then, we have in Genesis 3:15 the anticipation of the virgin birth. Satan’s defeat and that of his seed (the unbelieving world) would come from the seed of the woman. It speaks of her seed, not his (the man’s) nor theirs (the man and the woman). Deliverance would come from the woman without the aid of a man.

4. Two things are stated about the seeds and their enmity:

1. Her seed would bruise, crush the serpent’s head. This clearly portrays a mortal wound, which means her seed would be victorious. A deliverance is anticipated.
2. The serpent would bruise her seed on the heel. Her seed would suffer, but it would not be a mortal wound or one that would lead to defeat.

A deliverer who suffers, but is ultimately victorious, is promised.

But to what or to whom shall we look? What form would the struggle take? Eve, the mother of all living, would have many sons and daughters who would eventually spread out all over the earth, so to whom do we look?

In Genesis 4 we find the first mention of birth. 

Could the promised seed be Cain? His name means, “I have gotten (acquired) a man with the Lord.” (Gen. 4:1, NKJV). This was apparently a cry of faith, an expectation from Eve.

Eve probably did not know or sense that the enmity in the human race would be so long. She may have thought Cain was the promised seed or at least the first in the lineage of the seed who would crush the serpent and restore what was lost.

But as the Scripture shows, Cain was not a man of faith because he brought a bloodless offering. His brother Abel, however, brought a blood offering which was accepted by God. By doing so, Abel displayed his faith in the coming Redeemer.

Able, therefore, represented the godly seed, the line of the Savior, while Cain represented the ungodly seed, the line of Satan.

But ... we immediately see that Cain murdered Abel. This is the first illustration of the enmity between the two seeds.

As illustrated with Cain, not all would believe; and the promise of Genesis 3:15 became ignored. In order to keep the promise pure, God would need a remnant, a godly line of believers who would believe the promise, proclaim it, and become the channel for the seed of the woman.

CONCLUSION - and a preview ...
Today we have begun our journey, only getting to the first road sign. In the weeks to come we will see that in the lineage of the seed, God protects the promise and eliminates millions so that we might know just where to look for Messiah.

We will see how God identifies the seed and fulfills His promises to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, and to others in spite of the continued opposition of the serpent.

Each step in this journey of prophetic truth regarding the birth of the seed of the woman will become more and more amazing and miraculous. These road signs will enable us to pinpoint with great accuracy just who this Deliverer is, when and where and how He would be born, and other amazing details foretold by the Scriptures hundreds of years in advance.

Together they will provide an impressive line of evidence for the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Evidence that demonstrates that He is not just another of the world’s great religious leaders, but that truly He and He alone is the promised seed, the answer to mankind’s many needs, and the one in whom the nations would be blessed.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6 (NKJV)