Dear Friend of Creation,
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
This classic Christmas verse from Isaiah was cited by Matthew in his gospel as having been fulfilled at the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:23). And he translates the Hebrew word Immanuel (or Emmanuel) to the New Testament Greek, saying, “which means, ‘God with us’”.
This First Advent of the promised Messiah was famously recognized even while He was a mere baby, not only by shepherds on the hills surrounding Bethlehem who saw and heard the angels’ proclamations (Luke 2:8-14), but by “wise men from the east” (Matthew 2:1-2). The “wise men” were more specifically “magi”, members of the priestly caste in Persia – a powerful and respected class of men who studied astronomy, astrology, medicine, natural science, and who were well-versed in the Old Testament. We can note that the Bible tells us how, as a young man, the great Hebrew prophet Daniel had been appointed chief of all the magi by Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the Babylonian Empire, almost 600 years earlier (Daniel 2:48). The wise and virtuous Daniel prophesied many things, including events which we know through history and archeology to have already been fulfilled precisely.
In Daniel Chapter 8, for example, Daniel writes of a dream he had which was interpreted for him by the angel Gabriel, the same archangel who came to Mary telling her to “Fear not” as she would “bring forth a son” to be named “Jesus” who would be called “the Son of God” (Luke 1:30-35).
Daniel’s dream and explanation by the angel Gabriel explicitly states that the Medo-Persian Empire would supersede Babylon. (This happened in 538 BC). And a Greek empire established under a great leader would race through the earth and take power rapidly from the Medo-Persian Empire. (After beginning his world-conquering battles in just 334 BC, Alexander the Great completed his conquest of Persia in 328 BC).
Furthermore, this Hellenistic Empire would be quickly broken up into four separate kingdoms. (At the death of Alexander in 323 BC, four of his generals – Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus - divided his empire). One subsequent ruler from those divided kingdoms in Daniel’s dream would stop the “daily sacrifice” in the temple of Jerusalem and horribly desecrate it. (In 168 BC, a descendant of Seleucus, Antiochus IV, who called himself “Epiphanes,” meaning “Manifest God”, put a halt to the Jewish worship and sacrificial system, sacrificed pigs on the altar in the temple, and set up a statue of himself on the altar in the guise of Zeus). The accuracy and precision of these prophecies have caused many skeptical theologians and Bible scholars of the evolution-influenced so-called “higher criticism” to opt for a view that the book of Daniel must have been written after the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes.
But today we have the advantage of archeological discoveries that corroborate the historical details of Daniel. These include the Dead Sea Scrolls, containing remnants and multiple copies (at least 8) of the book of Daniel. So we know that Daniel was highly esteemed as Hebrew canon (a process that takes time) by the devout ascetic Essene community at Qumran - which lived there and used the scrolls in the second century BC! Indeed, the plain sense of archeology, history, tradition, and the word of God is that the book of Daniel was compiled by Daniel during his lifetime, just as he says writing in the 1st person!
Daniel also famously prophesied with incredible historical accuracy the 1st Advent of Jesus the Messiah. For example, we read in Chapter 9:25, again from the words of the angel Gabriel to Daniel in prayer, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks…” This is altogether 69 “weeks”, translating the Hebrew word shabuwa, which means not only weeks but a set of 7, like the word score means a set of 20, or a dozen means a set of 12. And based on the use of “years” to correlate with “weeks” elsewhere in Daniel, scholars suggest the 69 “weeks” correspond to 69 x 7 years, or 483 years. The beginning time for the 483 years can be found in the Bible. Nehemiah was officially commissioned to rebuild the walls and Jerusalem as a whole by the Persian king Artaxerxes at a time in the Jewish calendar that corresponds to about 446 BC (Nehemiah 2:1-8). There is also much biblical evidence that what might be called a “prophetic year” was 360 days instead of 365. Henry Morris writes that because the exact date of the start of the Flood of Noah was given in Genesis 7:11, and that the Ark landed on the mountains of Ararat exactly 150 days or 5 months later (Genesis 8:3-4), “the implication is that the primeval year contained twelve months of thirty days each”.
So, adding 483 360-day years to the 446 BC start date given to Daniel regarding the time “unto the Messiah the Prince”, would bring us to AD 30 - a well-accepted year for Christ’s redemptive work on the cross and Ascension 40 days later! This is extremely remarkable, even if off by a few years due to calendar assumptions and variations. No other “candidate Messiah” can come close! No wonder the magi thought it worthwhile to travel 1,000 miles to visit the baby Jesus and present Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11)!
Like the popular Christmas saying puts it, “Wise men still seek Him!” At Creation Moments, we want to deeply thank you for seeking our Creator and Savior with us! Thank you for supporting us with your prayers and offerings! Because of your help, we have had a wonderful year of transition and expansion according to the Lord’s leading.
Your generosity has allowed Creation Moments in 2025 to expand our radio outreach into western, eastern, and southern Africa, and position ourselves to reach Japan in the Japanese language - along with continuing our worldwide radio outreach in 8 other languages. We’ve positioned ourselves to grow our English radio station programming by another 1/3, and are expanding our video programming primarily targeting young people in their media markets worldwide, including through our App (with over 27,722 downloads to date!). In 2025, we overhauled and improved our website, providing greater accessibility to information “Proclaiming Evidence for Truth” and “Strengthening Faith in the Literal Truths of the Bible” (with 1-3 thousand website visitors daily and increasing!). And we revived our print media outreach with a new magazine/catalog this fall. We also moved our office to a better location for a more efficient and accessible operation. We are truly humbled by the Lord’s guidance and provision in these last days, knowing that “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1).
God bless you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Once again, we are so thankful for your prayers and support for the call of God to take “the everlasting gospel” to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” so that all men may learn to “worship Him that made heaven and earth” (Revelation 14:6-7). This will be our last letter in AD 2025, and we hope you will remember us in your final end-of-year giving.
REF.: The Henry Morris Study Bible, Apologetics Commentary and Explanatory Notes from the “Father of Modern Creation Science”, available from Creation Moments.
Yours in Christ,
Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman
P.S. Where God Came Down is an exceedingly interesting and faith empowering read that I would love to recommend. You’ll thoroughly enjoy Joel P. Kramer's archaeological insights as he lays out the spiritual significance of 10 biblical locations where God interacted with humanity. The historical references and detailed illustrations throughout will make you feel like you’ve visited Israel and seen the sights for yourself! Christian readers have unanimously given this book a five-out-of-five-star rating online, and I believe you will as well.
With the appearance of angels throughout the Bible, and in monumental moments mentioned above, these heavenly beings are worth our attention! Join Dr. Billy Graham as he lifts the veil between the visible and the invisible in his best-selling classic Angels: God’s Secret Agents. This book explains angels from the Bible and records the experiences of Dr. Graham and others who are convinced that at moments of special need, they have been attended by angels. You’ll be convinced that angels "think, feel, will, and display emotions" and at death, will usher us into the presence of God. I must note that Dr. Graham was a gap theorist and references the unnecessary theory at least once. Otherwise, the book is well worth the read!
To receive both of these wonderful resources – or to make a donation of any amount – visit our online store. Or call us toll-free at 1-800-422-4253 during regular office hours (Mon – Th 8:30am-4:30pm CT).
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