December 12, 2025 | By Jay Ashbaucher
It’s the greatest story ever told. There exists a holy and eternal God who created the heavens and the earth, including humans, who were created in God’s image. His creation was good in every way, except for one thing. The Bible doesn’t tell us about this directly, but at some point, before creating humans, we can infer from Colossians 1:16, Nehemiah 9:6, and 1 Kings 22:19-22 that God had created other kinds of beings. At least one of them, a supernatural being, perhaps aware of the possibility of being like God, and being able to make choices, decided to become his own god. This led to the potential for evil to enter into God’s good world. Then it came about that when the first humans were created, this evil creature approached them, tempting them to also rebel against God. Being a loving and relational God, and not wanting to create humans as programmed robots, God chose to make us in His image, with freedom to choose to love Him, or not. Created to be in loving fellowship with God and with one another, the first humans chose not to listen to God’s words of warning. They succumbed to the evil being’s alluring temptations and disobeyed God’s warnings about evil and its resulting death. They experienced separation from God and what is truly good. Guilt invaded their conscious existence, and by their own efforts, apart from God, they are now unable to escape their evils and its consequences. Thus, humanity, along with God’s created world, became corrupted by evil.
God, however, being sovereign over all, had a plan already in mind of how to overcome this disaster. He will redeem and restore His broken world by sending a Savior to rescue a now depraved humanity from evil and death. God is holy. He cannot be corrupted by evil, and being a God of love, He cannot stand by and see evil destroy His world. He is the God of lovingkindness and goodness; compassionate, merciful, and forgiving. God’s love also involves justice. He must punish evil-doers who reject Him and willingly continue in their evil ways. In God’s time, all evil will be eliminated, and God will create a new heaven and earth in which only righteousness dwells. God has written a book, the Bible, to tell us how His plan begins, what went wrong, and how it all ends. The key that will make restoring His world possible is the Savior whom God promised. This is good news and has become the greatest story ever told.
At the time of the Savior’s birth into our world, a number of things were said about him. To his mother it was said, “you will bear a son and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33). “The holy child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). To Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, the mother of Jesus, it was said, “the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21). A Biblical prophet named Isaiah prophesied some interesting things about this coming Savior: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore” (Isaiah 9:6-7). Isaiah also prophesied this: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:4-6).
This is one of the things Jesus had to come and do in order for God’s plan to work. There needed to be a way that would change the hearts of people so that they could receive a new heart, a heart that would willingly want to cease their evil ways and become the kind of people that are able to live peacefully united in God’s coming new world. This is why one of the names of this promised Savior is “Prince of Peace”. Individual people, by accepting God’s gracious offer to repent and trust their lives into the loving care of Jesus, would become a people of peace. Shortly after Jesus was born, a host of angels said to a group of shepherds in a field, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). An angel of the Lord said to those shepherds, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12). Notice that the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, came for all people. That includes you and me.
Where did this birth happen? In Bethlehem. This was another fulfillment of the many Biblical prophesies concerning Christ. “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). When the wise men came to find the child who was born to be King of the Jews, they stopped in Jerusalem to ask the Jewish King, Herod, where they could find Him. Herod called for the Jewish religious leaders and asked them where the promised Messiah was to be born. They answered the king, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet” (Matthew 2:5). Detailed fulfilled prophecies like this one help us believe the Bible is truly a book from God. The odds that humans were able to predict these things are beyond the workings of chance. A divine source is the best explanation. This promised Savior of the world has already come to accomplish certain things needed to make God’s plan work. He then left Earth for a time, but will come again to complete God’s plan to right all wrongs and to make all things new.
The first book of the Bible is Genesis, which means “beginnings.” God’s story of His plan for the world begins there. The end of God’s story is in the last book of the Bible called “Revelation”. Revelation is full of symbolism representing the last series of events that lead to the second return of Jesus to earth. To begin those events, a book or scroll is mentioned that needs to be opened so that God’s plans for a new world can be finalized. The book is sealed, and the question is asked, “Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?” (Revelation 5:2) A Lamb comes forward and takes hold of the scroll. I end this article with the answer that was given to that question. “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10). Christ Jesus himself initiates the events that lead to the last days of this earth as we now know it. Notice what is said in the above quote about the Lord Jesus. His death made possible a kingdom filled with people who will reign on the earth as God’s people. Who are those people? They are people from all around the world. They are from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Are you a citizen of Christ’s kingdom, and will you be among those who will reign with Him? Is the “Prince of Peace” living in you? He can be if you invite Him in!
