Introduction

.... The wonderful Christmas story, so familiar to us all, was actually many centuries in the making: for in speaking through the ancient prophets, God foretold how He would bring His beloved Son into the world. In all of prophetic history, only the death, burial and resurrection of Christ would receive more attention in detail.

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.... The birth of Jesus took place in an historical setting that the prophets foretold. The underlying story of His genealogy, in itself, was a Divine masterpiece of intrigue, suspense, and prophetic fulfillment. But the quiet events of that first Christmas morning, so long ago, have assumed a life of their own in our modern traditions. Wise men and shepherds are familiar Christmas symbols as they gather around the tender baby who lies in a manger, while a chorus of angels proclaim the Lord’s good will to mankind.

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.... But how did the prophets envision this story? What details can they add? And what is the significance of the birth of Jesus on that day? Let us begin with a comparison between the New Testament writers and their prophetic counterparts, as the story unfolds between them.

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