Isaiah 52:15a So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.
In the Hebrew language; usage of the word sprinkle is yazzeh, which means, to surprise, as when a person is suddenly splashed or sprinkled with water.[1] The thought here is—the leaders of many nations will be utterly astonished by the Messiah.
In the first one hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the gospel message had already been preached to the known world. As Paul had been arrested by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, he was brought before king Agrippa, Governor Festus, and ultimately Caesar—the leader of the Roman government and the most powerful man on the planet.
Acts 26:1-32 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews… Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come— that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” …Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
It is said that when Paul was brought before Caesar in 62 A.D., he made a most convincing appeal to the emperor to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Although Caesar refused to be converted, in the process of this discussion with Paul, as Nero decided against Jesus Christ, the emperor is alleged to have gone mad. History records that just two years later, Nero set fire to Rome in 64 A.D.[2]
The king of the entire world was reduced to rubble and driven mad by attempting to withstand the utter grace and power of God. Today, many foolish individuals rashly claim that Jesus did not raise from the dead on the third day, as the scriptures declare (Prophecy 319). They state that Jesus had no effect on humanity whatsoever, and that His presence here on earth is meaningless and insignificant.
Whenever I hear comments like these, I always laugh to myself. At any given time of the year, such as this moment, when I look at my calendar and see that it is September 25, 2012, I am reminded of the profound impact that Jesus life has had on the entire world. For the past 2,000 years, the dating of our history is marked by the presence of Jesus of Nazareth on the earth. Both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, which mark the passage of time for which all human civilization is ordered, is based on the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Today is, September 25, 2012, which is designated by the inclusion of the initials: A.D., which stands for Anno Domini, Latin for The year of the Lord.[3]
Which Lord? Jesus Christ, the Lord of all creation...
Before Jesus, appeared on earth, time was marked by B.C., Before Christ; after He died, we began to mark time by A.D., The Year of our Lord.
Today, seeking to distance human society from any reference to Christ or His existence, many people have changed B.C. and A.D. to C.E, representing the term Common Era, Current Era or Christian Era. These are merely attempts at re-writing history, which has already been written and can never be changed.
Our method for the dating of history is all centered around four events: the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We mark time itself by the fact that He was born and came into this world. There is no other person or event in history that has so affected all of humanity even close to that of Jesus’ presence here on earth.
Every civilization around the world knows that about 2,000 years ago, a carpenter from Nazareth changed the entire course of human history. He healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave all sins, and raised Himself from the dead on the third day, after having been brutally crucified. There has never been anyone like Jesus. He has no equal, and no event in the history of the world has so profoundly changed the course of all human life as Jesus did when He appeared on the earth as the Savior of the world on April 6, 32 A.D.
His life is the reason that we call it History. It is—His-story.
NOTES:
[1] Strong’s word # 5137, from the Hebrew Lexicon on the Old Testament.
[2] Tacitus, Annals XV.38
[3] “Anno Domini”. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 2003. Retrieved 2011-10-04. “Etymology: Medieval Latin, in the year of the Lord”
Categories: Empirical Evidence for God, Historical Validity of the New Testament, Jesus is the Messiah, The First Arrival of the Messiah
Robert Clifton Robinson 
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