Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christmas Begins With Christ

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14 written c. 758 BC)

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. " (Micah 5:2 written c. 710 BC)

"A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more." (Jeremiah 31:15 written c. 600 BC)

Here's the Christmas story told with three of over three hundred Old Testaments prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus Christ. The first was completed when Jesus was born from a virign, Mary (Matthew 1:18-25). The second was his birth in a small town of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1). And the third was fulfilled when the Magi didn't report back to Herod the Great where the child was born. Fearing the throne will be taken away from him by the Messiah, Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children two years old and under. By this time, Jesus was taken to Egypt by his earthly parents, Joseph and Mary (a fulfillment of another prophecy). The probability of one being fulfilled in one man is 1 in 10 million. The probability of eight being fulfilled is 1 in 10 to the 17th power. It blows me away that the probability that over three hundred prophecies being fulfilled in one man are incomprehensible. The birth of Jesus Christ is truly the hinge in human history! Fulfilling the old covenant and ushering us to the new, from BC to AD! For two thousand years, no Herod "can put the God man down". Amazing.

May the true meaning of this season be with you all. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year!

Paintings are all done in PS.

39 comments:

Becky said...

Really gorgeous work!

Piya said...

Wonderfully said, Armand! Have a Merry Christmas and may God bless you and your loved ones for the season and the New Year! Oh, and it goes without saying but your art is wonderful as always.

JP said...

Yes! Thanks for putting the message out there, Armand.

Matthew Lau said...

awesome illustrations.. its rare to see posts of artwork like this, inspiring. christ is born!

MANPOLO said...

Dang...Awesome STUFF. WOW.

Marcos Mateu said...

Merry Christmas to you and your family Armand.

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting amazing art with the most important message a piece of art could have.

I have one question though. Is the first picture supposed to be the night of Christ's birth? I would assume so because of the cave in the background and the quality of the night sky, but Jesus looks at least 9-12mos old, not a newborn.

Thanks again for posting these!

Armand Serrano said...

Thanks and good question, Jeremy. You're right, Jesus is about over a year old here around the time when the magi came for a visit. This could be any where in their house and not in the stable anymore. But considering their travel, they could afford a very humble shelter. Merry Christmas to you my friend.

pablo pablo said...

Very nice!

Randy said...

Great stuff, Armand. Just beautiful work. Thanks for posting!

~R

Unknown said...

Beautiful!! Merry Christmas!!

Shuku said...

Armand these are gorgeous! I love the camels - the turn of their heads and the way they're being restlessly camel at the wise men. Blessed Christmas to you and your family! We go into full rehearsals for our play tomorrow night, and with all the crazy, these pieces just gave me that moment of quiet I needed.

--Shuku

Armand Serrano said...

All the best with the play, Shuku. Merry Christmas to you as well.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement on my blog Armand. I would love to meet up with you when you have the time, seeing as we both have a passion for God and art, and live close enough by.

I am very inspired by the quality and breadth of your work and can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Vladimir Bursać said...

Beautiful works and words of truth!
Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and your family.

Andrew Glazebrook said...

Really superb pieces again Armand !! Great work !!

Matt said...

It is that time of year again!! They're beautiful Armand. Happy Christmas!!

Antonio Santamaria said...

Great work and magnificent post. There`s a lot of time that I've not come by here (I'm working hard in a series of storyboards) and I have found a lot of great stuff, as always!
Armand, have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, to you and your family!!!
O como decimos por aquí... Feliz Navidad!!!!

Philip Dimitriadis said...

A great post Armand!! A great message... and wonderful paintings.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
god bless you-
Phil

Pito said...

Nice!!!

C.B. Canga said...

i always like seeing biblical illustrations.

Vincent Juanes said...

Great paintings and great blog. Best regards!

SEILER said...

Man, these are really, really nice!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work, Armand. Thanks for keeping the true message of Christmas. Merry Christmas to all!

Mark McDonnell said...

Beautiful. Beautiful designs. I hope this amazing holiday season finds you well with family surrounding you. You're a good man and I hope you have a chance to enjoy the extended week and the coming of a new year.

Best to you and your family from mine,

MAC

Patrick Dizon said...

I like how you included the glow of the star in the first two images. That's some nice story-telling right there.

Maligayang pasko from the Philippines!!! :)

Edouard Chevais-Deighton said...

Merry Christmas Armand and God bless !

A. Riabovitchev said...

Happy Holidays Armand!
I wish you all the best in New Year!:o)

Marcelo Vignali said...

Merry Christmas Armand!

Your work here is terrific, and I feel privileged to know that I have you close enough to me to watch these images materialize on your desk.

Unknown said...

Terrific art! Pretty great backgrounds.

Jose Ramos said...

its amazing Armand. I like it a lot!

Kristi Valiant said...

Gorgeous artwork and thanks for sharing the wonderful message of Christ. Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Great message Armand and wonderful illustrations!!

Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Marco Bucci said...

great post! I love those camels.

Bryon Caldwell said...

wonderful work! Awesome message!

Billy George said...

These are really beautiful Armand. Thanks for the post.

Timothy Jack said...

Thanks for sharing some great works in an accurate, artistic manner. The third image portrays a great sense of mood & lowly (lowest of lows) impending drama. I'm glad to have rediscovered your blog! Take care :)

John McDavitt said...

Beautiful images and perfectly put. Jesus divides the ages through both time and grace. Happy Easter!

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