Simeon’s Prophecy

by Mike Ratliff

25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel.” Luke 2:25-32 (NASB) 

Genuine (saving) faith is not well understood by most professing Christians. I have learned as God has matured me over the years that He saved me. I was not saved because I decided anything. Those whom God saves are given the faith to believe. When He does this they believe and are saved. Jesus said:

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NASB)

Who is saved? Only those who believe are saved. How are they saved?

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10 (NASB)

All in Christ are saved by God’s grace through the faith that He gave them. This faith is a gift from God, not a result of works. Genuine faith is supernatural. Those who have it are spiritually alive while those who do not have it are spiritually dead. Those who are alive in Christ, all genuine believers, are able to hear God. They hear the Lord’s voice and follow Him. The more they mature in grace by becoming more and more Spirit-filled, the more they hear the truth spoken to their spirit by God as He fills their sails with the Holy Spirit moving them into God’s will.

The name Simeon is the Hebrew word that is translated as “hearing.” The man Simeon that Joseph and Mary encountered in the Temple during their purification was a prophet. He “heard” God’s voice. He had been given a promise by God that he would not die until He had seen the Lord’s Christ. He feared God and awaited the consolation of Israel. What does that mean? The “Consolation of Israel” is actually a messianic title. (Isaiah 25:9; 40:1.2; 66:1-11)

9 And it will be said in that day,
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” Isaiah 25:9 (NASB) 

1 “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD’S hand
Double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1-2 (NASB) 

1 Thus says the LORD,
“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
2 “For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
3 “But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
4 So I will choose their punishments
And will bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
And they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake,
Have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.’
But they will be put to shame.
6 “A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the LORD who is rendering recompense to His enemies.
7 “Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Can a nation be brought forth all at once?
As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
9 “Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.
10 “Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;
Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” Isaiah 66:1-11 (NASB)

In other words, Simeon feared God and awaited the justification of the righteous by God in the face of apostasy and oppression by God’s enemies. Simeon awaited the Messiah who was the Consolation of Israel (all true believers.)

Notice also that God had revealed to him the significance of Jesus birth. God revealed the truth of our Lord’s coming as the Messiah and the Saviour of all who believe to only a few people. These ‘few” were given the truth by God. They did not deduce it. They did not decide to believe it. They were told the truth by God and their Genuine faith believed it. How did Simeon come into the presence of Mary of Joseph and their newborn son? The NASB says, “And he came in the Spirit into the temple.” My Geneva Bible says, “And he came “by the motions of [the] Spirit in to the Temple.” The Greek structure of this phrase indicates that Simeon was led by the Spirit to meet Mary and Joseph and take into his arms the babe. He may not have know that that was what was going on until He saw our Lord, but when he did see Him, he took him up into his arms and prophesied, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.” Simeon did indeed have spiritual “hearing.” He may not have expected to see our Lord that day, but when he did his spirit bore witness with the Holy Spirit that he had beheld the Lord’s Christ.

Simeon’s psalm above is known as the Nunc Dimittis. This title comes from the first two words of the Latin translation. Simeon had extraordinary faith. What we must ask ourselves is how healthy our own faith is. Are we led by the Spirit as Simeon was? Are our hearts tender towards God so that we can hear His voice clearly as we obey Him as we delight in Him? Simeon declared himself to die willingly since he had seen the Messiah. How willing are we to deny ourselves (our flesh and our pride) in order to be in obedience to our Lord in all things?

What does it look like for us to live as Simeon did? It is probably easier to declare what it does not look like. This type of faithful, tenderhearted obedience will be marked by a lack of selfishness. It will joyfully not demand its rights. Self-righteousness will be absent. Service will be marked by a total focus on God’s will instead of numbers, or power, or even visible results. Circumstances will be viewed in light of eternity rather than the temporal. The fruit of the Spirit will dominate this life while the fruits of the flesh will be in the process of being killed, annihilated, and done away with.

All believers should be in process of becoming pure and holy and Simeon-like. Sadly, it seems that only a few do so. Let us pray that we will learn to fear God and await the fulfillment of our Lord’s Kingdom in the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who do this will never be the popular or part of the “in crowd.” They are in the process of being transformed by the renewing of their minds and thereby not being conformed to this world. Therefore, the world will hate them just as our Lord said.

Soli Deo Gloria!