It’s getting to that time of year
when people’s thoughts turn to the birth of Christ.
And so, in the spirit of... Christ's birth,
I’m gonna show you a 2600 year-old prophecy of Jesus Christ
that's been changed
and may cause your kids to doubt that Jesus Christ is the eternal son of God.
Hi, I’m David Daniels from Chick Publications.
Open your Bibles to Micah 5:2.
I’ll read it in God's preserved words in English, the King James Bible.
2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
For 2,600+ years these words have had the same meanings.
Two phrases stand out in particular: "goings forth" and "from everlasting."
“Goings forth” means that this ruler was already active “from of old.”
“From everlasting” tells you how old: since forever!
This ruler has been going around since forever.
Now only one Person fulfills all this: God become a man,
or as we call Him, God's only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is eternal, and Jesus is God.
"Goings forth" means that this ruler was already active.
That means... what?
I'll tell you what it doesn't mean.
One thing it doesn't mean, is that He had an "origin."
This ruler had no origin. He is not a created being.
But did you know
that many modern Bibles have changed a 2,600 year old prophecy?
Look at the NIV and new new new new new NIV.
They read the same. In Micah 5:2 it says,
2 "...whose ORIGINS are from of old..."
Oh, but that's not all.
So does the Holman Christian Standard, so does the New Living Translation,
so do the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version,
and so do at least 10 other Bibles,
say that Jesus Christ had an ORIGIN.
What about “from everlasting”?
One thing about everlasting: it means it’s not in time.
For instance, look at Psalm 90:2, where it says,
2 “Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
So the ruler here is "from everlasting to everlasting."
He has NO ORIGIN.
But the NIV and the new NIV have changed that to "from ancient times."
At least 17 other Bibles also changed it to “ancient times” or “ancient days,”
Like here.
So the ruler in their Bible is created (he has an origin),
and he is from "ancient times," not "from everlasting," from eternity.
Does this sound like your Jesus?
But that’s not all! If you really want to see where this is going,
Go to a kid's Bible. Here’s a kid's NIV – the NIrV.
In this same passage, it says,
2 “His family line goes back to the early years of your nation.
It goes all the way back to days of long ago”
Or the Good News Bible: 2 “...whose family line goes back to ancient times.”
(American Bible Society)
Or the Message: "His family tree is ancient and distinguished."
So this ruler here is not the eternal Son of God.
He's just a man with a really good family tree that comes centuries after Abraham.
But didn’t Jesus say in John 8:58,
58 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am”?
Hmm...
For 80 years Joseph was ruler, 2nd in command in Egypt.
And then he died. Exodus 1:8 says:
8 “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”
Once they forgot Joseph, everything fell apart.
In the same way, many Christian leaders still remember the King James Bible
and what it reads in Micah 5:2, about Jesus being "from everlasting," and God.
But what about their kids, who only have these perverted Bibles
that say Jesus is a created being, within time?
Remember Matthew 2:5-6,
5 “And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea:
for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda,
art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.”
Matthew 2:5-6 says that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
That's why your kids may reject Jesus,
because they believe the Bible that you gave them.
What do you want your kids to believe?
Make sure you give them a Bible that reflects that.
God bless you, and have a wonderful day.