The Fullness of Time

One of the questions that I used to have at the back of my mind was why did Jesus come to earth at the time that He did. I mean, as early as in the garden of Eden, God had already prophesied that one fine day, the woman's seed will crush the serpent's head. Of all the days in the history of mankind, couldn't God have chosen to send His Son during the time of Noah (when the world was corrupted except for Noah and his family)? Or during the time when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt?  Or during the time when Israel were exiled to Assyria and Babylon?  In fact, there were even 400 "silent years" between the time of Malachi the prophet and the account of Elizabeth being pregnant with John the Baptist.

Well, thanks to a sister-in-Christ, who posted this link on Facebook, I got the answer to my question :-)

Star of Bethlehem 

This website contains a fascinating scientific account of when Jesus Christ was born (and also when He died).  The magi from the east, who had been observing the sky for years, must have seen something phenomenal enough to compel them to travel all the way to Bethlehem to worship Jesus and bring him gifts of frankincence, gold and myrrh.  I, for one, have learnt astronomical terms such as "conjunction" and "retrograde" :-)

You can also watch this on YouTube at the following link:




The contents of "The Star of Bethlehem" DVD can be seen at the following links:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwHP5vPKXTg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCh1bP80cc
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkU0GtjX-Ds
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFitxMhTPko
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZOY6E2U_4k
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3v5BQPUwQI
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePm5aQvkdPI
Part 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ley_Cs9PrkY

Paul says in Gal 4:4-5 that Jesus was born "when the fullness of the time was come", viz

 ⁴But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
 ⁵To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

What exactly does "the fullness of time" mean?  Why could it not be a decade earlier or decade later?  Or even a year earlier or a year later?  This is because God is a God of order.  Even from the beginning of time, God had already known that Adam would partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that the Israelites would not be able to keep all His commands under the Old Covenant, and that His Son would have to come to earth to be born as a man and to die on behalf of mankind, , and through His blood establish the New Covenant of grace.
 
And God, being the one who created the heavens and the earth, would choose the perfect time for that to happen.  God, being the scriptwriter, producer and director, as it were, of this monumental event in the history of mankind, would have the prerogative to orchestrate the perfect time for this.  A time like no other.  A time when the stars in the universe would bear witness to.  Hallelujah!