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Dr. Del Tackett is the author, architect and teacher for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.

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“In the fullness of time…” (cont)

Posted on December 24, 2008
Filed Under Theology | 16 Comments

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman…” Gal 4:4 (ESV)

Last week, our church choir and orchestra performed Handel’s Messiah. It was moving. It was spectacular. It is not hard to understand why this composition is considered to be one of the most brilliant musical creations of all time. It compelled King George II, overcome with emotion, to rise to his feet in awe and respect.

But the genius of Handel is sometimes found, not just in the music, but in the absence of music. No period of silence is more famous than the “grand pause” near the end of the “Hallelujah Chorus”. It is this stark cessation of music and the blanket of silence that startles the audience as the choir and the orchestra and the conductor appear to freeze and kneel in reverence in anticipation of the ending crescendo—the final “Hallelujah”.

So it is with this period of silence that precedes the coming of the Messiah. After thousands of years of increasing revelation, after the rising tempo and volume of promises and prophetic utterances implying that the Messiah’s arrival is near, very near…suddenly, without warning or anticipation, the violins and the trumpets and the tenors and the percussion and the baton of the conductor freeze.

All becomes quiet.
The music stops.
Revelation ceases.

And not just for a couple of rests—as dramatic as that was in the “Hallelujah Chorus”—this one lasts 400 years.

Four…hundred…years.

Almost twice as long as America has been a nation.

Ten generations come and go. That’s like looking back at your great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather’s day. (seven, if you are counting)

That is a long time. Heaven had simply fallen silent—nothing but the sound of Malachi’s prophetic promise echoing in the darkness: “Behold! He is coming!”

Oh, it wasn’t as if nothing was going on. In this 400-year period we will find the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, the Maccabees, the rise of the Roman Empire, the building of Herod’s Temple…there was a lot of activity. But there was no word from God. No more prophecy, no more promises, not even a word of encouragement…just silence.

But, then…oh, my! Just as suddenly and abruptly as the music had stopped, all heaven breaks loose with visions and dreams and angelic visitations and voices from heaven and miraculous signs and events.

The baton was moving again, and it was moving rapidly!

It was “time” and like the gears in a watch that had long ago ceased to turn, everything now begins to move. Angels, with ancient orders in hand, are now dispatched as heaven erupts:
—An angel appears to Zechariah stating Malachi’s prophecy is going to be fulfilled through his son;
—The angel Gabriel appears to Mary announcing that she would supernaturally conceive and bear the promised Messiah;
—Elisabeth then miraculously conceives in her old age and Mary conceives as a virgin;
—Joseph is visited by numerous angels telling him not to divorce Mary; later, angels would appear to him and warn him to go to Egypt; then to come back from Egypt; then to go to Nazareth;
—John leaps in Elisabeth’s womb; she and Mary prophecy by the Holy Spirit;
—Zechariah, supernaturally struck dumb now supernaturally speaks and prophecies after John’s birth;
—One angel, followed by an entire host of angels, appear to the shepherds announcing the Messiah is born;
—The stars align themselves in the sky as the Magi watch the choreography with awe; later, they are miraculously warned not to return to Herod;
—Simeon, who had been supernaturally promised that he would not die before he saw the Christ now stands and prophecies on the Temple steps as he holds the baby Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah in his arms.

What an explosion of heavenly activity!

And why not? It was the fullness of time.

It was the fulfillment of the long-awaited prophesies.
It was the day that God became man and dwelt among us.
It was the “kairos” moment in the Larger Story, the Divine Plan, the Grand Composition.

It was the first Christmas.

Comments

16 Responses to ““In the fullness of time…” (cont)”

  1. Michelle on December 24th, 2008 8:27 am

    How amazing and humbling to consider the God of all creation having a plan and purpose for us and revealing Himself to us(like through the Truth Project). His majesty and glory are overwhelming, and then He becomes Immanuel, God With Us. What can we do in the face of such love except kneel in worship?
    Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
    God’s blessings to you and your family this Christmas, Del. Thank you for your faithful testimony to our great hope!

  2. scott g on December 24th, 2008 12:23 pm

    GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AT THE TRUTH PROJECT. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND IT WAS HONOR TO MEET YOU DEL AT THE INSTITUTES GRADUATION. ALSO IF I MAY MENTION A AMAZING STUDY ON THE BETHLEM STAR WRITTEN BY A RICK LARSON JUST GOTO BETHLEMSTAR.NET. ASTRONOMY LEADS YOU TO A MESSIAH. GLORIFY GOD AND ENJOY HIM FOREVER SCOTT

  3. V Dale on December 24th, 2008 2:17 pm

    Praise God for the Truth Project and I thank Him also for you, Dr. Del Tackett, His messenger. The emphasis on Prayer, before, during, and after each Tour and the exhortation to expect surprises as a result of Prayer is awe inspiring!
    In Jesus Name, Amen
    V. Dale

  4. Ken on December 24th, 2008 3:18 pm

    Beautiful! Thank you, Dr. Tackett, once again for the Truth Project. The group I led just finished Lesson 12 a week and a half ago. It was such a powerful study, once again, and I saw things in it that I never had thought of before. Such a blessing! We concluded our group this past week with a “Celebration of the Light,” because many believe that Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles (“and the Word became flesh and ‘tabernacled’ among us”…John 1:14,) and that He was conceived on Hanukkah (which started the night of December 21st). How appropriate that the Light of the World would enter this world on Hanukkah, the Festival of Light! May you be blessed and filled with the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ this day and every day, my brothers and sisters!

  5. Peter on December 24th, 2008 10:01 pm

    Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we are blessed with an awesome opportunity to honor and glorify God through the Truth Project. We have the opportunity to support, encourage each other and to facilitate a deeper understanding of our Christian faith, God’s word and how we can walk more closely with our God and His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ.

    I pray and I trust that God will continue to bless the Truth Project and each and ever Brother and Sister connected. May each of our homes and hearts be blessed by His Grace and Peace. Peter ~

  6. Ali on December 25th, 2008 12:46 am

    Your blogged devotional was perfectly timed and beautifully written. I sent it to everyone I know, and was thrilled that their unprompted response was the same as mine – they chose to read it at their Christmas Eve dinner tables as a reminder of who we truly celebrate at Christmas. How thankful I am that we are again anticipating the fullness of time when our Jesus will return again…in a flash! So we wait and watch…

  7. Dan on December 25th, 2008 7:02 am

    Dr. Tackett,

    My group is 75% through the TP program and we are truly amazed as each tour we take seems to top the previous tour in presenting the imagery and revelation of biblical truth. Thank you so much for all the work that you and your team has done on the TruthProject!

    If I may, I’d like to share a poem/hymn that I discovered recently and have been sharing with family and friends:

    ALL PRAISE TO THEE, ETERNAL LORD
    (Stanzas 2-5 by: Martin Luther)

    1. All praise to Thee, Eternal Lord,
    Clothed in a garb of flesh and blood;
    Choosing a manger for Thy throne,
    While worlds on worlds are Thine alone.

    2. Once did the skies before Thee bow;
    A virgin’s arms contain Thee now,
    While angels, who in Thee rejoice,
    Now listen for Thine infant voice.

    3. A little Child, Thou art our Guest,
    That weary ones in Thee may rest;
    Forlorn and lowly is Thy birth;
    That we may rise to heaven from earth.

    4. Thou comest in the darksome night
    To make us children of the light;
    To make us, in the realms divine,
    Like Thine own angels round Thee shine.

    5. All this for us Thy love hath done;
    By this to Thee our love is won;
    For this we tune our cheerful lays,
    And sing our thanks in ceaseless praise.

    A Blessed Christmas to all!

    Dan…

  8. Kelley on December 25th, 2008 10:20 pm

    What an appropriate message for such a time. Especially in my life, I feel God has made these promises and hopes in who He is forming me to be after a lot of pain in my life. For the last year or so, it seems like silence has been His only answer. I am encouraged that their is a purpose and their will be a fullness in my time. Then there will be an explosioin of His activity, if I can just keep hanging on even in the silence. Thank you.

  9. Nancy on December 27th, 2008 4:00 am

    Hallelujah! If we really believed the Word of God to be really real, if we really believed that God is omnipresent, if we completely grasped the amazing and perfect metanarrative of which we are a part, if we really saw the reality and awe of God’s majesty , glory, and unspeakable love for us, we would not be able to leave His presence for a single second! We would never be the same again!

  10. Dave on December 28th, 2008 4:11 pm

    We have just introduced the truth project to our church family, in a very small way it is like the coming of our Lord, at just the right time He came to a world of darkness. It is my hope and prayer that Jesus will use the truth project to not only reveile the truth but bring together people in prayful groups and renergize the church body in such a way as to shake the very gates of hell and that Jesus would allow His light to shine forth from every believer onto a world of darkness that needs Him. thank you Dr. Dell and all the people who work at focus on the family for your work, God bless, merry Christmass and a happy new year. dave

  11. Mike W. on December 28th, 2008 6:37 pm

    The true meaning of Christmas…is the best news to ever come to planet earth!!

    It appears that the excitement for the Truth Project is growing ever larger! And it all stems back to that cataclysmic event.

    My wife and I happened to turn on the Fox News channel Christmas Eve and were amazed to see their “panel” very intentionally point to the true meaning of Christmas. First there was Pastor Rick Warren delivering the Gospel message from Saddleback. Then there was two of Fox News television hosts reading the account of Christ’s birth from the book of Luke. Is this accidental?? I was trying to think of all the different places that this message was being broadcasted into…and what might happen if the true meaning of Christmas became truly celebrated in our nation. I thank God for the Truth Project and for the bravery and courage of whoever put that Christmas Eve edition on Fox News together.

    May 2009, the year of our Lord, be a greater revelation of His Kingship and Kingdom. Abundant life to all of you!!

    Mike W.

    P.S. Can I make a prediction? It is just a matter of time till the Truth Project recieves national attention.

  12. Pete on December 31st, 2008 11:00 am

    Amen and Amen

    As the calendar year winds to a close and we look forward to an exciting two thousand and nine year of our Lord it is my hope and prayer that each day is approached with the eternal peace found only in the intimate relationship with our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.

    To know him is to love him ….. to love him is to share him.

    Do the most for those that you can for as many as you can for as long as you can.

    Thank you Dr. Tackett and the entire Focus on the Family Truth Project staff for your intentional focused intensity of sharing the love of Jesus Christ in a mighty way. May his continued grace mercy and love continue to fall upon you, work in you, and through you and all for his glory.

    Peace be with you all

    in his love in his grip with a passion for his eternal love!

    Pete

  13. Sterling on January 8th, 2009 4:17 pm

    I sincerely enjoyed reading this blog. But I could not help in noticing that you were neither in participation with the orchestra nor the quire, but patiently with the audience in silent anticipation awaiting for the fortay which would announce as you said “the birth of Christ”, but the thing that really hit me when I finished reading this blog, was that I have never seen it form that angle before. Pretty much all of the Handel’s Messiah programs that I have attended, more often than not I have been in the orchestra and have never been able to see the ending from your perspective, because the only thing I am thinking is stay with the conductor, don’t get behind, never anticipate and come in to early and keep counting. It has been a joy and an inspiration to read the thoughts of another persons view and insight to what they have just heard. May God continue to richly bless you in all that you do for His Kingdome. In Christ, Sterling I.H.M.S.

  14. John on January 8th, 2009 7:57 pm

    I so often find that works of art have as much to teach us by their construction as well as by their immediate message. I found your blog to be a helpful reminder and an elucidation of what Handel is teaching us, not only through words, but also through the purpose of the words, where it sits in the great conversation, and how it is presented. That we might rather learn more through the sublime rather than simple literalism, rather like what you called “Assumptive Language” in your tour of Philosophy and Ethics. That the acceptance of propositions, or in this case a musical piece, unconsciously affects your thinking. I am deeply saddened that more time and energy is not spent teaching us the nuances of this Principle, and that it is hard for us to understand the principle much less filter the world through it.

  15. Marvin on January 29th, 2009 4:17 pm

    We have another “in the fulness of time” event coming and God is not tarrying but knows the exact time His Son will come again. May we all be more prepared for His next coming than were those at His last coming. Praise His Holy Name.

  16. Christopher on February 1st, 2009 3:34 pm

    Christmas was this huge event and meaning of Christmas could take away the World’s pain, yet all we can think about is what were going to get. I sure hope our view of celebrations comes back to the reason of the celebration.

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