Embrace Your Inner Catholic

'Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel' - Isaiah 7:14

The 'Virgin Birth' - perhaps one of the most fundamental, debated, unfathomable doctrinal strands of Christianity that does not cease to amaze, confuse and intellectually challenge individuals.

While there are many conspiracy theories around seeking to explain this mind boggling phenomenon, it is vital as Christians that we understand the significance of the virgin birth and the reality of it.

'Immanuel' - God with us

This very name from Isaiah's prophecy indicates the incarnation of God in human flesh, implying that Jesus was 'fully God' and 'fully human'. I'm not sure about you but this alone is enough to confuse my incompetent brain!

Jesus as Lord and Savior

Salvation pivots on ackowledging Jesus as not only our Savior (someone who died in our place to set us free) but as our Lord (one who is in-charge of and holds our lives). His divinity makes all the difference; if Jesus was not divine, we believe in vain! 

For Jesus to be 'divine', He had to be born of a virgin, but why?

Normal Birth = Normal Human Being 

Hence Jesus' life and teaching would have been the result of the Holy Spirit working in Him. This makes Him no different to the prophets, whom God used as instruments through His Holy Spirit.

Cutting Adam's line

Romans 5:12-21 reminds us that sin is an innate quality in every human, it is written in our genes (so to speak). This natural inclination to sin needs to be broken in order for us to be saved, as we will view God's law with a renewed reverence.

If Jesus was a part of Adam's line, i.e. had earthly parents, he too would have this predisposition, hence His sinfulness would have resulted in an insufficient sacrifice. However, Jesus was God incarnate, conceived by the Holy Spirit, He lived a sinless life and presented Himself as the Lamb without blemish at the altar - a sacrifice plentiful for the human race!

Prophecy fulfilled

Finally, in case you did not notice, the verse at the beginning of this post is from Isaiah, a prophet who lived around 700BC. The prophecies about the Messiah had to correlate with the birth, life, death and ressurection of Jesus.

Yes, it is a far fetched concept that is out of the ordinary, but is God ordinary? 

Yes, it is scientifically impossible, but is God bound by the laws of science, space or time?

NO and NO!

We serve an almighty God, the Maker of heaven and earth, when He could breathe this cosmos into existence ex nihilo, what stops Him from causing a virgin to bear child? Nothing! God is a God of miracles.

The virgin birth is not a basis for salvation but it is a Biblical truth we ought to embrace. As a Vicar at Christian Union illuminated this truth, he also mentioned how unlike Catholics, Evangelicals often ignore, hence devalue this miraculous event, robbing it of its due splendour. Thus I invite you to join me in searching for, finding and embracing that inner Catholic in you, that holds dear this illogical, rationally challenging concept with chains of faith!

Daniel's Bewildering Visions

A couple of days ago I was reading Daniel Chapter 8. It describes one of Daniel's most bewildering visions. What amazed me was its near future, historical relevance and the simultaneous distant future, apocalyptic relevance. Even after Gabriel interprets it, explaining the historical relevance, Daniel is left perplexed and worried, accentuating the complex nature of his visions.

The Historical Relevance

What Gabriel states, in explanation to Daniel, has already come to pass, Biblical prophecies are real, another proof that the Bible isn't just an ordinary book written by a bunch of crazy men - it is God-breathed and was written by men who were inspired by God, they themselves understood very little of what they actually noted down (as depicted by Daniel's baffled response).

The vision commences with the image of a ram with two long horns - however, one horn is longer than the other. The ram established its might in the north, south and the west.  Gabriel later refers to the ram as the Medo-Persian empire. The longer horn clearly refers to the Medians as they emerged first and the later, the Persians. As the map illustrates, the directions in which the Medo-Persian empire extends its dominion historically, is accurate with the Biblical prophecy. Moreover, this also fulfills one more of Daniel's visions as it links to the 'bear with 3 ribs' in Chapter 7 - Medo-Persian empire, having defeated Babylon, Egypt and Lydia, seems to fit the description well.

Historically, the Greek empire followed the Medo-Persian with Alexander the Great actively conquering over and thrashing the Medians and the Persians. Gabriel's interpretation of the goat which follows the ram, therefore is very accurate. It is also, thus, universally agreed that the single horn symbolizes Alexander the Great. After this horn was broken, in its place emerge 4 smaller ones - from one of the four, emerges a tinier one. This beautifully parallels with the four Divisions of the Greek Empire after Alexander's death as the kingdom was divided between his four general successors: Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy.
However, unlike the unanimity in the agreements regarding the interpretation of the other images, the little horn has been the center of many disputes, disagreements and debates - while some outline the possibility of it representing Antiochus of Epiphanes, a Syrian who ruthlessly persecuted Jews; others believed it could represent the Roman Papal Dynasty, due to its predominant influence in laws and other matters which also complied to the description in Chapter 7. (Please check out this article for an in depth analysis of the various interpretations: The 'Little Horn' of Daniel's Sea-Beast)

The Apocalyptic Relevance

Besides the excitement this evokes, we ought not forget the passage's apocalyptic relevance which will affect our future. Gabriel did say, "...seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future." This is the beauty of the Bible, although it was primarily meant for the different era, it is also very contemporary and relevant to our society. The words in it are ever-pertinent, thus significant, and should not be changed!


Many have devised ideas and interpretations trying to surface the apocalyptic relevance the book of Daniel holds, especially this Chapter! (I know that I myself have formed an idea of my own about how this fantastical book relates to the end times - which, for obvious reasons, I will not be sharing here!) But, God is the only One who ultimately knows what these wise words truly mean; our incompetent minds often fail us.

However, one thing is certain. The precision and accuracy rendered historically, automatically implies the same when we take the apocalyptic relevance into consideration. Be weary, search God's word and earnestly seek to fathom its mysteries in prayer. Let us be prepared for the Lord's coming! Are you ready to meet our Lord, the God of the universe?

I came across this fascinating prophecy in Isaiah 29 during my daily reading...

You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!

Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, "You did not make me"?

Cam the pot say to the potter, "You know nothing"?

Although the book of Isaiah was written in the 8th century BC, it contains prophesies about our unbelieving, ignorant, prideful God-less society. Our society claims they were a result of some unrealistic, accidental mutation caused by a gene, and deny being made in the image of our glorious God.
Sadly, this idea is 'popular', is considered 'cool' and seems to be spreading slowly, adulterating the minds of young and old. However, doesn't even the prophecy of this ungodly society (that is found in an ancient book, during a time when the idea of a Creator was widely accepted) tell us something profound and awesome about the Bible.

Think about it! I repeat, the Bible is 'God breathed', true in every way, containing fulfilled prophecies and prophecies yet to be fulfilled - a tangible proof of God's sovereignty. Don't delay! Choose to believe in Him and live!

The start of the video below is from a 'EuroNews' clip about the Egypt unrest and deaths that occurred during the time. Wow, can this be the fulfilling of a Revelation prophecy! Scary, you can actually see the Pale Horse(circled)! Others have also said that they've seen this mind-blowing sight, God's word is just inerrant!

Revelation 6:7-8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.