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just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
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With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
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so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
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Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
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Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
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Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
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When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
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But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
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for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
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And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
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The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
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And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
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Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
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When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
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When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
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After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
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“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
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The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
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The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
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But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
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You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
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He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
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“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
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The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
