Jesus ascends to heaven – Before Jesus returned to heaven, He gave His disciples one last charge: go tarry in Jerusalem until you are filled with power from on high. Being filled with the Spirit would empower them to be the Apostles that Jesus had called them to be. This would give them power to preach the gospel and do the works of God as Jesus had commanded them to do in all the world. Holy Ghost poured out – After the disciples tarried in the upper room for a hundred and twenty days, they were all in one place and in one mind when they heard a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind. It filled the place where they were sitting, and cloven tongues of fire sat…

The angel Gabriel visits Zechariah and then Mary – The prophets that were in the old testament spoke often of the coming messiah that would save God’s people from their sin and their separation from Him that began in Adam. They also prophesied a forerunner that would prepare the way of the Lord. When the time was fulfilled to bring these prophecies to pass, God sent Gabriel, the angel of God that stands in the presence of the Lord, to deliver these messages. ~ He first visited Zechariah, who was a priest in the temple of God. Even though his wife Elizabeth’s womb was dead, Gabriel declared that they would bear a child that would go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways and to give knowledge…

The warnings – God warned Israel and Judah many times to return unto the Lord. But because Israel refused to hear the prophets and return to the Lord, they were turned over to their enemies. The Northern Kingdom of Israel conquered and scattered – After many wicked kings in Israel, God gave Israel over to their enemies to be destroyed. The northern kingdom was overtaken and destroyed by Assyria and all the people were scattered among the nations. This included the ten tribes of Israel who were still in the north. (This is the beginning of Ephraim becoming the multitude of nations, which is the fullness of the Gentiles prophesied by Jacob. Israel’s seedline would be mixed and their ethnicity would no longer be the same). Samaria no longer belonged…

The people wanted a king – After the period of the Judges, Israel’s mistrust in God caused them to desire a King to reign in Israel like they saw the other nations have. God’s desire was that He be the one true spiritual King of Israel, but they could not be obedient to the Spirit and needed a man to rule over them. The period of the kings was a time where the land of Israel saw many kings and faced many enemies. There were very few faithful kings that would rule over God’s people, therefore the land of Israel saw great affliction and distress because of their wickedness. Only a few faithful men ruled Israel with righteous intent. The ones who did, saw the great blessings of God upon…