Who would have predicted, thousands of years ago, what's
happening today? "The stories of Jesus's birth are the
foundation of the world's most widely observed holiday.
Christmas is celebrated by the world's two billion Christians, a
number about twice that of the next largest religion, Islam.
Moreover, because of the cultural and commercial importance of
Christmas in Western culture and beyond, it is observed by many
non-Christians as well. Indeed, no other religious holiday is so
widely commemorated by people who are outside of the tradition
that originated it." (Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, The
First Christmas [New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers,
2007], p. vii) Scripture predicts that Israel and its Messiah
would have a major influence on the world, even to the point of
transforming Gentile nations. Some of those predictions are
applicable to our present age and have been fulfilled
increasingly with the passing of time. Others are about the
coming kingdom that will be established after Je