THE BIBLE 
By Mrs. M. H. Cooper 
No room in the inn of old! no room 
For the Saviour's infant birth; 
No welcome from His own 
When Jesus came to earth; 
No place save a manger lined with hay 
For the Son of Man His head to lay. 
No room In my heart—no room"' no room 
For the gift of heav'nly peace? 
No welcome while He waits 
To bring my soul release? 
Oh! shame on me that I treat Him ill, 
When amazing love reveals God's will. 
Yes! room there is in my heart, dear Lord! 
Be born anew in my soul; 
Come in and commune with me, 
Oh, cleanse and make me whole; 
Accept my praise with wise men of old; 
Though poor my gift; transform it to gold 
THE BIBLE 
AND 
A Family Journal of Christian Living. Dedi-
cated to the proclamation of the Everlasting 
Gospel. Presenting the Bible as the Word of 
God and Jesus Christ as our All-Sufficient 
Saviour and Coming King. 
• 
• 
EDITOR 
 
 
 
 
W LESLIE EMMERSON 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ASSISTANT EDITOR 
ART DIRECTOR �
 
CIRCULATION MANAGER 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RAYMOND D. VINE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C. M. HUBERT COWEN 
H. CRAVEN 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS 
EDITORIALS 
The Angels' Song 
�
4 
Tilting at the Ten Commandments 
�
5 
GENERAL ARTICLES 
 
 
 
 
Ernest Cox 
6 
R D. Vine 
8 
G Elliott 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
�
 Mary J. Vine 12 
The Bible, Science, and You.-2 
Why I Believe in God �
 J. A. McMillan 14 
Why All These Wonders? 
�
K. A. Elias 16 
Palestine Panorama.-2 
The Golden Star Leads On . . 
The Life Beyond.-2 
Immortality or Resurrection? 
The Story of a Lost Day.-2 
How the Sabbath was Lost . . 
When the Christmas Bells Ring No 
REGULAR FEATURES 
Prophecy Speaks' 
�
S. George Hyde 27 
The Children's Pages �
 32 
Mirror of Our Time 
�
35 
POEM 
No Room in the Inn �
 Mrs. M. H. Cooper 
2 
VOLUME 76 • DECEMBER, 196o • Price r/-
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• 
• • 
True Christmas Cheer 
Cards and Christianity 
The Sign of the Star 
The Perfect Gift 
Charlotte Hastings 18 
Lerlie Shaw 21 
. A. J. Woodfield, M.A. 23 
More . . J. R. Lewis 25 
This month . . . 
WE explore again the ever-won-
derful theme of God manifest in the 
flesh as the Babe of Bethlehem and 
the Man of Calvary. Dedicated 
Christian writers—ministers of the 
Gospel and laymen—recall to our 
minds the angels' song, the coming 
= �
of wise men from the East, and the 
= 
= �
miracle of the Incarnation. 
= 
= 
= �
From a study of Christmas cards 
= 
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R. D. Vine discovers a significant 
-=• �
sign of our times, while Mary J. 
= 
• 
Vine reminds us that the most won- 
-=-- �
derful Christmas gift of all is the 
Gift of Jesus. 
==— 
Many will be led with a new 
urgency to hearken to the message 
of the Christmas bells when they 
realize, from J. R. Lewis's article, 
that one day the bells of Bethlehem 
will be stilled and the trumpets of 
divine judgment will sound. 
Appropriately at this Christmas 
season Charlotte Hastings in "Pale-
stine Panorama" takes us to the 
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, 
where we descend into the Cave of 
the Star to meditate again on the 
wonder of the manger birth. 
Cogent reasons are provided by 
J. A. McMillan why he believes in 
an all-wise, all-powerful, and all-
loving God, and why we should be- 
lieve too. 
We continually marvel at the spec-
tacular increase of knowledge and 
power in our day. K. A. Elias ex-
plains why all these wonders have 
so suddenly burst upon the world. 
Continuing his studies on the life 
hereafter, Leslie Shaw explains the 
importance of the doctrine of the 
resurrection and its relation to the 
second advent of Jesus. 
Many who have puzzled over the 
question of Sabbath and Sunday will 
be interested in A. J. Woodfield's 
account of how the true Sabbath 
came to be lost. 
The children will enjoy their three 
pages of Christmas stories and 
poems. 
The next. issue will be our New 
Year Number. It will be packed with 
inspirational articles on many Bible 
topics and will deal with momen-
tous signs of our times. It will help 
all who read it to enter the New 
Year with courage and hope in the 
promises of God. So make sure that 
you get your copy. 
Mad 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RNING 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE TIMES 
CURRENT E VENTS 
IN THE 
LIGHT OF 
THE BIBLE . . 
D
URING the next few weeks we 
shall undoubtedly be urged time 
and again to "hark" to the 
"herald angels" and ponder anew the 
theme of their song, "Peace on earth, 
good will to men." Luke 2:14. 
Sad to say, however, many will go back 
to their newspapers and magazines after 
pausing to listen to carollers at their door 
or the voices which enter their homes 
through the medium of radio and tele-
vision, and dismiss the whole story as a 
beautiful legend, but quite unrelated to 
the outworking of human history. For, 
though nearly two thousand years have 
passed since the angels sang high over 
Bethlehem's fields, there is little sign of 
the coming of the peace which they 
proclaimed. 
Never indeed has peace seemed farther 
away than from our • world today, in 
which two vast groups of nations face 
each other armed with the deadliest 
weapons ever conceived by man, which, 
at the pressing of a button, could scorch 
bare the surface of the earth and blast 
the entire hum an race into oblivion. 
Little wonder, indeed, that the "angels' 
The Angels' Song 
Christmas lights in Trafalgar Square. 
BY 
THE 
EDITOR 
song" should seem unreal and illusory and that men should 
doubt if it will ever come true. 
But though the outlook may be dark and the hearts of mul-
titudes may be filled with fear as they look "after those things 
which are coming upon the earth" (Luke 21 :26), there are yet 
solid grounds for hope. 
That hope is not in the deterrent power of nuclear armaments 
or in the capacity of the United Nations to organize peace. 
It is not in man at all, but in God who alone can "cause wars 
to cease unto the end of the earth." Psa. 46:9. 
The reason that the promise of the angels has not been ful-
filled is because men have failed to realize what the angels 
distinctly declared, that "peace on earth" is inseparably associated 
with "glory to God," and it is because God has not been given 
the glory due to His name that peace has receded farther and 
farther from the earth. 
When the apostle Paul was analyzing the human situation 
4 
in his letter to the Romans he pointed out that the 
world's sorrows began when men ceased to "glorify" 
God and turned to "worship and serve the creature 
more than the Creator." Rom. 1:21-25. 
God could, of course, had He chosen to do so, 
have halted man at once in his evil tracks, but if 
He had done so the allegiance of His creatures 
would thereafter have been based on compulsion 
rather than on love. So instead, as men "did not like 
to retain God in their knowledge," God for a time 
gave them their head. He "gave them over to a 
reprobate mind" to work their evil works and, as 
He foresaw, it was not long before the heart of 
man and the earth itself was "filled with all un-
righteousness." Rom. 1:28, 29. 
At the Incarnation, in the midst of the ages as 
it were, Heaven broke into history with the message 
have misappropriated His world for their own evil 
purposes. He is coming to sweep aside the "kingdoms 
of this world" and to establish in it His own king-
dom of righteousness and peace. 
When Jesus bade farewell to His disciples He also 
said to them, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I 
give unto you" (John 14:27), and He commissioned 
them and their successors, through the preaching 
of the Gospel and the agency of the Holy Spirit, to 
spread that "peace" in the hearts of men against the 
day of His return. And when He comes back, as He 
promised, it will be those alone who have received 
this peace into their hearts who will be admitted 
to His kingdom. 
How much longer the voice of the angel with 
God's last message will continue to plead we do not 
know. But we may well pray that, as it adds urgency 
a 
of "a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 
2:11), and the assurance that if men would now 
give "glory to God in the Highest" He would bring 
them "peace on earth." 
But the world took little notice. The light faded, 
the angels returned to their heavenly abode, and 
when the Babe grew to manhood they crucified Him. 
And so there is still no peace on earth. Indeed, it 
would seem that if man continues to have his way 
there will soon be no earth for there to be any peace 
on! 
But this tragic situation is not to continue much 
longer, for today the "loud voice" of another herald 
angel, the angel of God's last message of mercy which 
John the Revelator was shown in vision, is sounding 
"to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and 
people," reiterating the call to "glorify God," but with 
a new urgency. "Fear God, and give glory to Him," 
the angel is crying, "for the hour of His judgment 
is come." Rev. 14:6, 7. 
God has been long-suffering, "not willing that 
any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9), but He does not 
intend to leave wicked men for ever in possession 
of His world. The message of the angel now "flying 
in the midst of heaven" is that "the day of salvation" 
is fast running out and that the end of the world's 
probation is very near. 
Just before Jesus, His earthly mission completed, 
returned to His heavenly home, He assured His dis-
ciples, "I will come again." John 14:3. And when 
He comes the second time there will be no question 
of His being "rejected of men." He is coming in 
power to take over the dominion from those who 
to the song of the "herald angels" this Christmas-
tide, many may be led, while there is still time, to 
give God the "glory" due to His name and to re-
ceive His "peace" into their hearts, that when the 
hour of His judgment at last breaks upon the earth, 
they may be among those who will qualify by grace 
for a part and a place in His everlasting kingdom 
Tilting at the 
Ten Commandments 
EVERY now and then a minister of the Christian 
church gets into the news by tilting at the Ten Com-
mandments. The latest to come to our notice is the 
Rev. G. Wilkins, rector of Ascot, Berks., who, ac-
cording to a report in several Sunday newspapers, 
has decided to drop the recital of them in his church 
services because, he avers, they are "Jewish" and "not 
Christian" and because they give the impression that 
"religion is just a series of prohibitions." 
It is not dif-
ficult to show, 
however, that 
these two criti- 
(Continued 
on page 28.) 
Gaily decorated 
lamp-posts 
on the 
Champs-Elysées 
in Paris. 
5 
D
l RING the radio "Children's Hour" recently, 
the young folk were introduced to a make-
believe, but obviously dreadful land, where 
it was said to be "always win t e r, but never 
Christmas." 
Probably it would be impossible to suggest to 
youthful minds a more grim and forbidding place. 
And even older listeners must have been relieved 
that such an awful country only existed in someone's 
fertile fancy. 
For the mere prospect of a "winter without Christ-
mas" would be truly appalling! How could we pos-
sibly face the dreary days, the long nights, the 
wintry weather of bleak January unless we had 
previously been fortified with a good measure of 
hearty Christmas cheer? 
Fo•r without doubt the traditional English Christ-
mas makes the prospect of the closely following 
winter somewhat easier to bear. Christmas is both 
a hearth-warming and a heart-warming season, and 
something, at least, of its glowing warmth remains 
to lessen the icy impact of January's searching blasts. 
What is it then, about Christmas, which so suc-
cessfully imparts to us older ones, as well as to the 
younger, a measure of fortitude and inner warmth 
with which to face the winter? 
The answer is to be found in what we often speak 
of as "Christmas cheer"—that warm feeling of well-
being which invariably accrues from happy family 
gatherings and special festivities, together with the 
joyful giving and receiving of presents and ap-
propriate greeting cards. He would be a miserable 
6 
Amid all the jollity of the festive season let us remember 
the greatest reason for joy at Christmas time. 
"Scrooge" indeed who could not be softened and 
somewhat "reformed" by the prevailing atmosphere 
of good-will and good fellowship which characterizes 
Christmas. 
Not out of a "bottle" 
Unfortunately, there are many people these days 
who seem only able to extract a large part of their 
brand of "Christmas cheer" from a bottle! They 
often estimate the happiness of Yuletide according to 
the size of the bill they will afterward have to meet 
from the wineshop. 
But true Christmas cheer—that alone which is 
genuine, lasting, fully satisfying, and which leaves 
no regrets—comes not from a bottle, but from a 
Book, and that Book—the Bible! 
By Ernest Cox 
It is significant that the first Christmas made its 
initial impact upon persons belonging to widely 
separated social classes. A celestial chorus startled 
and enlightened the humble shepherds, while a 
phenomenal star intrigued and guided the affluent 
Magi. Thus, both peasant and prince, fresh from 
pasture or palace, were divinely guided to the Holy 
Babe, and in His presence found the blessing of 
true Christmas cheer. 
The Persian Magi, whether or not they were of 
royal blood, were persons of considerable wealth, un-
doubtedly enjoying much social and intellectual 
prestige. But their earthly concerns, however legiti-
mate and engrossing, did not prevent their being 
primarily interested in heavenly matters. They studied 
the stars. They gave particular attention to the regular 
movements of the celestial bodies. And when they 
were surprised by the sudden appearance of a strange, 
unusually bright, and uncharted star, they probably 
remembered the unfulfilled prediction of Balaam, 
one of their own Eastern prophets: "There shall 
come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out 
of Israel. . . . Out of Jacob shall come He that shall 
have dominion." Num. 24:17, 19. 
And so, burdening themselves with such gifts as 
befitted both their own exalted rank and the impor-
tance of a royal occasion, they left their palatial 
homes, took a long and hazardous journey, coming 
Christmas is a time of happy 
family re-unions. 
eventually to Jerusalem with the anxious inquiry, 
"Where is He that is born King of the Jews ? for we 
have seen His star in the east, and are come to 
worship Him." Matt. 2:2. 
Somewhat naturally, by human standards, they 
turned aside to seek the royal Personage in Jeru-
salem's royal palace. But here they were disappointed. 
Here they found, not happiness, but base intrigue. 
Here, in the royal residence there was no glad 
desire to find, and worship the divine, infant King 
of the Jews, but only a settled and evil determination 
to destroy Him. Though they were deceived at first 
by the plausible Herod, God intervened to save them 
from becoming the innocent instruments of his 
cruelty. 
Although puzzled by the fact that their search 
must now continue outside the capital, nevertheless 
when they again "saw the star," the celestial sign 
astronomers, He chose to arouse the wonder and awe 
of a few simple shepherds by means of the glorious 
songs of a company of angels. "And, lo, the angel of 
the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the 
Lord shone round about them. . . . And suddenly 
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly 
host, praising God." Luke 2:9, 13. 
The angels' human auditors, however, were neither 
numerous nor impressive. And even they, at first, 
The arrival of Father 
Christmas brings great 
excitement to the 
children's ward of a 
London hospital. 
CHRISTMAS H E ER 
• 
of God's approbation and leadership, "they rejoiced 
with exceeding great joy." Matt. 2:10. 
Surely the lesson is that true Christian cheer and 
well-being are entirely independent of elegant homes 
and lavish living. Indeed, it was in strikingly op-
posite surroundings from these that the Magi's search 
was finally ended and their costly gifts presented. 
Instead of a throne they found a humble home, and 
they had royal audience in a lowly room. But the 
actual sight, at last, of the Infant Redeemer, was 
ample •reward for all their toil, and became the 
source of their increasing joy. 
While shepherds watched 
Again, it is significant that while the Lord sent 
His special star to interest and guide these Eastern 
This children's Christmas party emphasizes that there 
are no barriers of class or race around the manger of 
Bethlehem. 
were far more fright-
ened than inspired. 
But the heavenly an-
them, intoned by 
flawless angel i c 
voices, was but the 
beginning of a won-
derful experience for 
these simple, highly 
privileged men. For 
their Christmas, and 
the M a g i's Christ-
mas, was not just a 
matter of an angel's 
song or a special 
star. Their Christmas 
was centred essentially in their sight of their Saviour. 
So it should be with us. Let our Christmas this 
year mean much more to us than just specially 
decorated homes, or kindly greetings, or happy family 
visitings. These things have their place, and a very 
important place at this season. But let our Christmas, 
like the Christmas of the simple shepherds and the 
noble Magi, be really and truly centred in our own 
sight of our Savour. 
We may not now approach His manger or His 
cradle, but we are still welcome at His "throne of 
grace," to take up the seasonable theme of "Glory 
to God in the Highest." 
a4t4' CHRISTIANITY- 
the ice-bound woodland brooks, and, of course, the 
friendly red-breasts. 
But cards that portray that miracle of Bethlehem 
which Christmas is designed to celebrate, have to be 
really searched for. Cards which bear truly Christian 
messages, and that are "naive" enough to convey 
some heart-warming statement from the Bible, are 
comparatively few and far between. 
Reflecting on this situation are the critical letters 
which have been received by the United Nations 
Children's Fund (UNICEF)—an organization which 
annually boosts its funds for child welfare by selling 
Christmas cards. A typical letter complains : "There 
is not a hint of the Christian festival in any of 
the excellent drawings available. . . . Christmas re- 
CARD 
By R. D. Vine 
F
EW among us are impervious to the charm and 
sparkle of Christmas cards. We appreciate the 
welcome colour they bring to the festive 
season. In doing this they make a small but real 
contribution in relieving the gloom of December's 
colourless days. 
Successive years seem to swell this annual avalanche 
of colour and good-will. Costly though it is, we do 
not mind. Cards provide a good opportunity for 
contacting friends and relatives to whom we might 
never normally write. And as every recipient knows, 
they bring with them their own delightful brand of 
pleasure. 
Good-natured groans about expense will always be 
heard; and cynics may even refer to the card manu-
facturing business as a racket. But none of us really 
mind. Scrooge, fortunately, died childless. Unlike 
this symbol of misanthropy, we welcome whatever 
serves to deepen the good-will of a season we all 
love. And that, of course, includes Christmas cards. 
An unwelcome change 
But something seems to be happening to our cards. 
Changes are evident—unwelcome changes. It is be-
coming more difficult to purchase "Christian" cards. 
Still holding their own are the snow-bound country 
cottages, the holly and the ivy, the candles and 
ribbons, the red-coated huntsmen and coachmen, 
minds me of Bethlehem 
and I, like so many 
Christians, just want to 
buy Christian cards." 
No religious link 
We are loath to criti-
cize UNICEF's answer, 
in which t hey claim 
their s is an inter-
national work, catering 
for all folk of every 
race and religion. They 
prefer Christmas cards 
that will not offend 
Hindus, or Moslems, or 
Buddhists, o r Com-
munists, etc., by being 
distinctively Christian. 
Because of this they 
plan always to have 
greetings cards with no 
religious link. Logical, perhaps; but rather a pity to 
make no special provision for those huge areas that 
are called Christendom. 
It seems to us that, apart from their value in 
helping us annually to renew personal contacts, 
Christmas cards can, without at all seeming to be 
sanctimonious, effectively remind us of what is un-
doubtedly the world's most moving love story. In 
this way they provide a great opportunity to do 
good. 
But the fact is that cards, like Christmas generally, 
8 
The disappearance of the 
nativity theme from Christ-
mas cards is but one sign 
that the real significance of 
Christmas has been forgot-
ten by the great majority of 
people today. 
v 
are becoming more and more secularized. Bethlehem, 
the Judean hills, the herald angels, and the infant 
Christ, are featured less and less, while grotesque 
caricatures and meaningless contemporary designs 
stridently take their place. The serene and lovely 
Bible messages are giving place to empty jingles and 
pathetic doggerel verses that are of little real value. 
A reflection of our times 
It is clear that our cards reflect an important trend 
and sign of the times. As they depart more definitely 
from the religious realm, they do but typify a general 
disinterest in the things of the spirit. Religious de-
cline is one of the marks of modern Christendom 
—just as Bible prophecy predicted. The extent to 
which this spiritual slump has hit Britain was re-
vealed by a fairly recent Mass-Observation Inquiry. 
In a London borough, only one in twelve people 
had attended church or chapel once or more in the 
previous six months. It was also discovered that 
"nearly half the women, and two-thirds of the men, 
as an anchor to the soul, and as a reliable guide 
for every phase of living. 
Religion spells prosperity and progress. Lack of 
it spells insecurity and unhappiness. 
Powerful possibilities 
That's why we like the Christmas season. Its 
possibilities as a power for good, in reminding us 
of those things that really matter, are so very great. 
And not least of its distinctive media, are the popular 
greetings cards. We like it when their design and 
message are not merely innocuous or even inane, 
but refreshing reminders of the provision made by 
our Almighty God in the person of the Babe of 
Bethlehem. 
Outstanding as a season and symbol of peace, 
Christmas is truly such only as it directs our troubled 
hearts to Jesus Christ. The world clamours for peace. 
Christmas, rightly understood, points us to the Prince 
of Peace—even to Christ who was born in that lowly 
Judean manger. Envisaging the time, the prophet 
incline to think that there is no after-life, or are 
undecided about it." The Inquiry further revealed 
the very general view that "religion is all right in 
its place, but it shouldn't get involved in everyday 
affairs outside the private life of individuals."—
Puzzled People, pages 18, 28. 
This we believe, is the biggest weakness of our 
generation—separating religion from day-to-day 
living. Because of this, the proportion of those who 
are spiritually dead or moribund, is growing apace. 
Yet true religion should be the most important factor 
in our daily conduct. A beneficent God designed it 
9 
Isaiah declared : "Unto us a Son is given: and the 
government shall be upon His shoulder: and His 
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of 
Peace." Isa. 9:6. 
Christ brings peace to burdened hearts by freeing 
them from the guilt and power of sin. He alone 
can do it. Such, indeed, was His main purpose in 
coming to this world. When the angel made that 
momentous announcement to the incredulous Joseph 
concerning the impending birth to the virgin Mary, 
(Continued on page 13.) 
/ / N ./... 
/ �I \ 
I "N` 
i 
• 
\ 
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CHRISTMAS, in the best sense of 
the word, is a time of joy, a time 
of peace, a time of friendly ap- 
proach. It is a time for giving, a 
time for getting, and even of for- 
giving and forgetting in the warmth 
of greetings which then seem to 
thaw every heart ! The occasion is 
surely one for celebration, for com- 
memoration, not to mention orna-
mentation ! It is withal, a time of 
song, a time of good will, a time 
of respect for symbols. For these, 
rightly viewed, underline 
the basic truths of the 
festive season. 
One of the simplest yet 
most significant of Christ-
mas symbols is the star. 
By definition a star may 
denote a luminous heavenly 
b o d y, or figuratively a 
brilliant or popular person, 
a great leader or ruler. All 
too often the thoughts of 
those of our generation, 
are absorbed by the activi-
ties of t h e i r favourite 
"stars" of recreation, but 
the Christmas star calls to 
mind the infinitely greater 
Personality it is designed 
to honour. 
In a remarkable Bible 
prophecy, from centuries 
s.c., a star is used sym-
bolically to declare the line-
age of the promised 
Messiah and the place of 
His birth ! "There shall come a 
Star out of Jacob." Num. 24:17. 
More precisely Micah declared, 
"Out of thee (Bethlehem Ephra-
tall} . . . shall He come forth 
unto Me that is to be ruler in 
Israel; whose goings forth have 
been . . . from everlasting." Micah 
5 :2. 
As the time for the advent of 
Jesus drew near there were some 
then living in Palestine whose 
hearts began to be strangely stirred. 
In this land of pious for-
mality, there were some 
who, the record tells us, 
were truly "waiting for the 
consolation of Israel." Luke 
2 :25, 38. Many others too, 
in far-off lands were fam-
iliar with the Messianic pro-
phecies. (Matt. 2 :4, 6.) 
The wise men from the east, 
for example, interpreted the 
"Star" of Numbers twenty-
four as a celestial Visitor 
and expected it also as a 
celestial herald of His ap-
pearance! "We have seen 
His star in the east," they 
announced at the end of 
their long journey, "and 
are come to worship Him." 
Matt. 2 :2. 
In Luke's gospel we read 
of "the glory of the Lord" 
which illuminated the sky 
directly over Bethlehem on 
that night of destiny long 
ago. Certain shepherds of earnest faith were occupied 
with their pastoral duties. Suddenly they were en-
veloped in light from heaven and from the midst 
of the brightness came the voice of an angel saying, 
"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day 
in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the 
Lord." Then "a multitude of the heavenly host" of 
angelic beings joined in the anthem of praise with 
the words, "Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:8-14. 
Worshipping the new-born King 
The cluster of brilliancy and beauty formed by 
ranks of holy angels would, from a distance, have 
the appearance of a glittering star. It therefore seems 
certain that the oriental potentates who wished to 
pay homage to the infant Jesus, were guided not 
by the appearance of some astronomical "nova" but, 
by this heavenly "star." For when they had departed 
from Herod "lo, the star, which they saw in the 
east, went before them, till it came and stood over 
where the young Child was. . . . And when they 
were come into the house, they . . . fell down and 
worshipped Him." Matt. 2 :9-12. 
"Worshipped," we ask; "why?" Because this Babe 
was in fact "God manifested in the flesh." "God 
with us." God incarnate. God the Son who pro-
ceeded "forth and came from God" the Father. 
(John 8:42.) The festival which commemorates the 
humanity of Jesus Christ must never be allowed to 
eclipse His divinity! As Zacharias testified of the 
Child supernaturally born in Bethlehem, "Whereby 
the Dayspring from on high hath visited us." Luke 
1 :78. 
The Light of the world 
There is much to be learned from a study of the 
symbols of Christmas. Is it not a season of light? 
How aptly the shops and stores interpret the motif 
of Christmas with their lines of high wattage lamps 
and banks of fluorescent tubes! And how beautifully 
these are supplemented by myriads of small coloured 
bulbs which flash and twinkle invitingly from 
residential f r on t rooms! The darkness beyond 
deepens by contrast. That is how it is with the 
world. It was dark when Jesus made His Advent. 
It is dark now. Dark with sin. Dark with fear. 
Dark with antagonism. Dark with departure from 
God. 
Then like the wise men, like the shepherds, like 
• 
By G. Elliott �
 
the Greeks, like the seeking millions down the years, 
"we see Jesus"! Our need of physical light, be it 
solar, lunar, or electrical is as nothing compared to 
our need for the spiritual light that is found only 
in the One who claimed, "I am . . . the bright 
and morning Star." Rev. 22:16. "I am the Light of 
the world." John 8:12. 
The Scripture tells us quite plainly that the pur-
pose of His advent was "to give light to them 
that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, 
to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1 :79. 
Jesus Christ entered the world expressly to reveal 
God, and to lead groping sinners out of the shadows 
into the sunlight of His Father's love. 
The divine touch 
Some thirty years after the shining wonder of 
Bethlehem, an incident in the hallowed life of Jesus 
set forth still another aspect of His Incarnation. 
One day a leper, abhorred by his fellow-countrymen, 
pleaded with Jesus for restoration to health. Wher 
our dear Lord said, "I will," His words alon( 
would have sufficed to bring healing. But His gesture 
was eloquent with all the hungering love and com-
passion of the Godhead. "And Jesus put forth His 
hand, and touched him." Matt. 8:3. Touched the 
untouchable! Deliberately, movingly, tenderly, He, 
the Majesty of heaven, thus assured this despised 
outcast of earth, of His deep personal sympathy 
and kinship to him! 
That too is what happened at Bethlehem. That 
was the purpose of Christ's Incarnation. Looking 
with infinite pity upon a leper world, made unclean 
by sin, the pure and stainless Son of God reached 
down and touched outcast humanity. Touched them 
in the closest and most intimate way by taking upon 
Himself our bodily likeness, by being "made 
flesh." Indeed He 
became for us 
"the Son of man" 
that we, through 
Him, might be-
come the sons of 
God! 
May the con-
templation of the 
Child of Bethle-
hem lead us all 
this Christmas to 
reconciliation with 
t h e everlasting 
Father. 
The Wise Men 
from the east follow 
the wondrous Star. 
11 
T
HERE were brides and bridegrooms-to-be, ob-
viously carefully weighing basic necessity 
against desirable luxury. There were newly-
weds, wiser and wistful. There were mothers and 
fathers, interested enough, but patently facing count-
less other demands. And there were those too who 
were past middle age, husbands indulgent, and wives 
plainly hankering, yet wondering nevertheless 
whether, at their time of life, either the expense, or 
even the acquisition itself of such a splendid piece of 
equipment, would be justifiable. 
With true psychological insight, however, while 
she kept the ladies captivated with the facility with 
which she performed her culinary miracles, the eyes 
of this super cook-aim-saleswoman were on the 
gentlemen of the group, and did some amiable 
husband show the least assent, he was lost. 
"I can see you are interested, sir. Why don't you 
give your order right now? Christmas? No, don't 
wait until Christmas. There'll be such a rush just 
before Christmas that supply won't be able to keep 
up with demand." And such is the threat of Christmas 
that many a good-natured spouse handed over his 
order forthwith. 
Christmas! 
We are scarcely back, empty-of-pocket, from our 
summer holidays, before the battering begins. 
"Join our Christmas Club." 
"Shop early for Christmas." 
Only so many shopping days left! 
Be sure and post early for Christmas. 
Hurry up—Hurry up—HURRY UP ! 
Until the mind is in a whirl, and by shop-
closing time on Christmas Eve, when, in any case, 
you positively can't do another thing about it, you 
are utterly weary and tired out. 
But what a relief then to sit, and be sure you do, 
and for a little while at least ponder on the primal 
reason for all this. 
The real Christmas 
Though it is the giving time and the receiving 
time, and the coming-home time, and the happy-
family-time, Christmas is Christmas without any of 
these. These are only trimmings, precious though 
they are, like the tinsel on the tree. If we don't 
open our hearts and receive for ourselves the Baby 
Princeling, then all this other is just a harrassing 
hurry and scurry and the selfish dispensing and 
acquisition of things. 
And He, praise His Name, came to us all. 
"Unto you is born this day in the city of David 
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11. 
Above.—Mary brings her wonderful news to her cousin, 
Elizabeth. 
Opposite.—Christmas is a time of giving presents, but 
the greatest of Chrismas gifts is Jesus. 
THE 
PERFECT 
GIFT 
By Mary I. Vine 
What a gift, and He is ours, yours and mine, no 
matter how lonely our plight may seem, nor how 
sorry our condition. He is ours, our own, "without 
money, and without price." 
Neither by downright payment, however, nor by 
hire purchase can any one of us secure this supreme 
gift. He comes Himself imploring our acceptance, 
and He brings with Him this utterly complete and 
satisfactory guarantee, "Come unto Me, all ye that 
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I 
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden 
is light." Matt. 11:28-30. "I will never leave thee 
nor forsake thee." Heb. 13:5. 
Visitor at the door 
We were privileged indeed on a recent Sabbath to 
have one of God's saints spending the day with us. 
It was thirty-five years since we had seen him last, 
but all those years had been spent in loyal, arduous 
service in difficult mission lands. Now he was 
paying a last visit to the scenes of his beginnings in 
the Christian walk, and so we found him there when 
we arrived at church. Gladly we brought him home. 
Divested of his coat and other travelling impedi-
menta, the natural place to put him, of course, while 
we scurried to get the meal on the table, would have 
been the sitting-room. There is more comfort there. 
But no. "Don't put me forrard," he pleaded. 
So, as we worked, we enjoyed the great pleasure 
of his company, his enthralling stories of God's in-
terventions on his behalf, and like the two on the 
way to Emmaus, our hearts also "burned" within us. 
What God had done, God could do again, and that 
on our behalf, so long as we accepted His guidance 
equally humbly and faithfully. 
There is Another today, longing for our hospitality 
and companionship, and He, too, begs not to be put 
"forrard" in splendid isolation. He wants to come 
right in. What is more, when He is in, we shall 
discover that He is loaded down with benefits. He 
has made provision for our every requirement. 
"Behold," He says, "I stand at the door, and 
knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, 
and he with Me." 
"All that can satisfy the needs and longings of 
the human soul for this world and the world to 
come," writes Ellen Gould White, "is found in 
Jesus." There is no prison so deep or dark, but 
Jesus cannot bring us out of it. There is no enemy 
so strong, but the dear Lord cannot destroy. There 
is no request of faith so silent, but He will hear 
it for our good. 
Whatever our lot then this Christmas time, and 
whether the great Christmas tide yields us little or 
much, whatever we do let us make sure of the best 
gift. We may not hear the angels sing or see a 
shining star, but 
Love lives on, whate'er betide, 
And though our eyes behold Him not, 
The Lord is ever by our side 
Who once lay in a straw-lined cot.. 
But love must teach us to know Him near, 
The perfect love that carts out fear 
And will follow Him always and anywhere 
Till it comes to a Bethlehem grot. 
Each soul of man is a stable cave, 
And though there may only be 
Such a makeshift bed as a dog might have, 
Right there most willingly 
If there only be but a little room 
And the door is open, Love will come 
To make that narrow place its home 
In a new Nativity. 
Christmas Greetings 
(Continued from page 9.) 
he said, "She shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt 
call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people 
from their sins." Matt. 1:21. 
The same applies to that tantalizing will-o'-the-
wisp we call world peace. Only Him whose birth 
we'll celebrate this Christmas will ever bring it to 
pass. He, and He alone, will do it. He will do it 
in His own spectacular way, making use of that 
mighty power which is now at His disposal. The 
Bible promises as much. The government will not 
properly be "upon His shoulders" until the day of 
judgment breaks upon us. Wonderful prospect for 
all who trust Him—though, we might add, only 
for those who trust Him! 
Thinking of that first Christmas, the poet says: 
Of all the throng that hurried by 
Did no-one lift his eyes 
To read the glory of the skies? 
Were all so worldly wise 
That God should bid the angels sing, 
Upon that midnight clear•, 
An anthem to the newborn King 
And only angels hear? 
The intention was that all should hear and rejoice 
in the message of those herald angels: "Peace on 
earth: good will to men." 
Without Him, there can be no peace. With Him, 
there will be peace for evermore. Blessings on those 
greetings cards which serve to emphasize this vital 
truth. 
13 
PART 2.- 
THE BIBLE 
SCIENCE 
AND YOU 
By I. A. McMillan 
WHY I 
EELIEVE 
IN 
GOD 
W
E can never remove 
the possibility of 
doubt, so there will 
always be the need for faith. 
However, the increase of 
knowledge does provide 
additional evidence for belief 
in God. Lord Kelvin, one of 
the world's greatest physicists, 
has made the significant state-
ment: "If you think strongly 
enough, you will be forced by 
science to believe in God." 
Quoting this, Dr. John Cleve-
land Gotham in The Evidence 
of God in an Expanding Uni-
verse, says, "I must declare 
myself in full agreement with 
this statement."—Page 37. 
It was this kind of reason-
ing that led John Ray back 
in the seventeenth century to 
say, "Science is a fit subject 
for a Sabbath day's study." 
And another eminent scien-
tist confesses : "I want to be 
able to look at science, its 
methods, its presuppositions, 
its basis, its splendid successes 
and its austere discipline; and 
then I want to be able to 
say : Here is God revealing Himself for 
eyes to see."—Quoted by C. A. Coulson 
and Christian Belief, page 30. 
True it is that nowhere in the Bible 
studied argument to prove the existence 
The Bible does not argue about God ; it reveals Him. 
Similarly nature, and all that science has discovered 
about nature, reveals a God of infinite wisdom, 
complexity of skill, and vastness of power. Every 
mystery solved in science opens up new mysteries 
more intricate than the ones solved, so that the 
scientist is for ever penetrating deeper into the 
unsearchable wisdom of God. As the philospher F. 
H. Bradley asserts, "With certain persons the in-
tellectual effort to understand the universe is a 
principal way of thus experiencing the Deity."—
Cited by H. E. Huntley in The Faith of a Physicist, 
page 26. 
The seen and the unseen 
The Bible states that the universe in general and 
our world in particular reveal God. Twice it tells us 
that "the fool bath said in his heart, There is no 
God." Psa. 14:1; 53:1. The word "fool" (nabal) 
here means "an empty person ; one who does not 
reflect deeply about what he sees." Both David and 
All around us in nature 
are evidences of God's 
care for all His creatures. 
Paul were convinced that the heavens and earth, with 
all their teeming life, reveal God's glory: "His 
everlasting power and divinity." Psa. 19:1; Rom. 
1:20 (R.V.) 
From the dawn of time, among all the tribes 
of earth, there has always been a deep-seated in-
stinct in man for worship. Even among the primitive 
Fugians, whom Darwin described as devoid of speech 
or religion, later anthropologists discovered a vo-
cabulary of some 35,000 words and a deep• religious 
feeling. They claimed a revelation derived from 
Watauinewa, the Primordial, the Primeval. (See 
Darwin is Not for Children, pages 150, 151.) 
No blind insensate world 
Man has personality, speech, the power to reflect, 
to remember, to think and communicate his thoughts. 
Is it conceivable that the universe is nothing but 
a blind insensate machine and that man with all 
his warmth and wondrous complexity of personality 
is the product of this unthinking mass of matter? 
Bertrand Russell, out of the depths of his agnostic 
pessimism suggests just this. He wrote : 
those with 
in Science 
is there a 
of God. 
The waving fields of corn testify to the 
bountiful provisions of a loving Creator. 
14 
Life cannot be explained merely in terms of chemistry 
and physics. It presupposes a Life-giver. 
The more we learn about the human 
brain and the functioning of our 
bodies, the more we realize how right 
the Psalmist was when he declared 
that we are "fearfully and wonder- 
fully made." 
• 
"That man is the product of causes which had no 
prevision of the end they were achieving, that his 
origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves 
and beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental col-
locations of atoms; that all the labours of the ages, 
all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday 
brightness of human genius, are destined to ex-
tinction in the vast death of the solar system, that 
the whole temple of man's achievement must in-
evitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe 
in ruins—all these things, if not quite beyond dis-
pute, are yet so nearly certain that no philosophy 
which rejects them can hope to stand."—Cited in 
There must be an ultimate cause 
It is a scientific fact that every event or effect must 
have an adequate cause. This being so it must be 
obvious that the order and system of the universe 
presupposes that infinite and Absolute Being as its 
Author. 
Such a Being is the God who reveals Himself to 
us in the Bible. "There is none like unto Thee, 0 
Lord ; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in 
might. . . . The Lord is the true God, He is the 
living God, and the King of eternity: . . . He bath 
made the earth by His power, He hath established 
So Great a Mystery, page 200. 
Such a doctrine must have been cradled in scep-
ticism, nurtured in agnosticism, and addled in despair. 
Contrast this with Paul's vigorous and inspiring 
hope. He wrote from a prison cell, "Do not live 
any longer as the Gentiles live. For they live blind-
fold in a world of illusion, and are cut off from the 
life of God through ignorance and insensitiveness." 
Eph. 4:17, 18, J. B. Phillips. Man cannot reject 
God without crushing every fine and pure quality 
in his soul. 
The existence of beauty, of music, poetry, and the 
rich variety of truth all conspire to speak of God 
as their author. As the Psalmist wrote: 
"When I consider Thy heavens, 
The work of Thy fingers, 
The moon and the stars, 
Which Thou hart ordained; 
What is man, 
That Thou art mindful of him? 
And the son of man, 
That Thou visitest him?" 
Psa. 8:3, 4. 
the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding 
bath He stretched out the heavens: . . . The Lord 
of hosts is His name." Jer. 10:6-16, R.V., margin. 
Again the evidences which the universe reveals of 
the skilful use of means toward an end, all cry aloud 
for the existence of a supreme Being who is wise 
in counsel and benevolent in purpose. As Leander 
S. Keyser, M.A., D.D., has ably written: "Note the 
many proofs of design in the world, and of adaptation 
of means to ends: the eye for sight (for what else 
could this organ have been intended ?) ; the ear for 
hearing (how wonderfully constructed for its specific 
purpose!) ; the brain, the heart, the lungs, the 
digestive apparatus, the foot, the whole human or-
ganism, each part functioning specifically and all 
working together in a common purpose. Can any-
one believe that all this could have come about by 
mere fortuity? That would be too great a miracle 
for even the most credulous to believe. But if God 
framed man's body as the Bible teaches (Gen. 2:7), 
all is clear as day."—A System of Christian Evidence, 
page 187. 
David, not blessed with the minute knowledge 
(Continued on page 29.) 
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W
HAT a fascinating, yet terrifying, enigma is 
the world in which we live! Never in the 
history of mankind has there been such a 
wonderful time. Prosperity, full employment, ever-
increasing leisure, ease to travel and speedy com-
munications, a standard of living far surpassing the 
wildest dreams of our fathers—all have combined 
to make this the golden age of time. Truly has it 
been said, "Never have we had it so good." 
Yet even while the sun of progress bathes the 
world with its beneficent rays, from every point of 
the compass, the sky is darkening with thunder clouds 
of fear and distress, hate and suspicion, social unrest 
and international tension. No wonder then that 
energetic, eager men stand appalled at the enigma of 
our times and in bewildered agony cry, "Why, oh 
why, should these things be?" Why should the 
grandest time of earth's history be also the most 
terrible? Is it by chance that today man has the 
comforts and opportunities, ease and leisure which 
promise happiness for evermore, while at the same 
time he is threatened with the ever-increasing pos-
sibility of world destruction by the very forces that 
have put Utopia within his reach? Why has the wind 
of change which is sweeping not only Africa but 
the world become a hurricane which threatens to 
sweep the golden age into oblivion and all mankind 
with it? Why should these things be? Is there an 
answer to the enigma of our time? 
Indeed there is an answer, but to find it we have to 
take down from our book shelves that all too often 
neglected volume, the Bible. What a paradox it is 
that the very Book which in recent decades has been 
ridiculed and relegated to the mental waste-paper 
basket is the one Book which has the answer we seek. 
Thousands of years ago God revealed in the Bible 
the very situation as it exists in our modern world, 
and showed not only why such a situation would 
arise, but also what its certain outcome would be. 
In one way H. G. Wells was right when he wrote 
regarding the world as he saw it, "There is no way 
out, or round, or through. This is the end." In 
another way he was radically wrong. For there is 
a way out round and through—a way that is guaran-
teed by the Infinite One Himself. We may be seeing 
the end of man-made utopias but we are on the verge 
of the real Utopia for which all men are basically 
yearning. 
To understand then the enigma of the age let us 
turn on the searchlight of Bible prophecy for a 
moment. There in its bright beam are illuminated for 
us facts which are startling and basic to our under-
standing of world problems today. 
First let us notice that while Scripture trium-
phantly tells us on the one hand that the world was 
not made in vain (Isa. 45: 18), it just as definitely 
speaks about "the time of the end." Dan. 12:4, 
9, 13. Here is no contradiction but, a declaration 
.9 
WHY 
ALL THESE 
WONDERS 
co 
By K. A. Elias 
that the world as we know it is to come to its climax 
and end, but that beyond God will re-establish the 
perfect world which He always intended for those 
who love Him. 
The important thing, therefore is whether we can 
with certainty discover when that decisive "time of 
the end" in world history is to come. 
If we turn to verse four of the twelfth chapter 
of Daniel's prophecy we learn that the coming of 
this "time of the end" would be marked by two 
startling changes in human life. Men would suddenly 
begin to "run to and fro" as they had never done 
before, and "knowledge" would be vastly "in-
creased." Dan. 12:4. 
From the dawn of time until a century or so ago 
man moved about the world on his own two legs, 
by animal power, by pulling on the oars of a 
boat, or by harnessing the wind by means of sails. 
For at least six millenniums no other means of 
locomotion was known, but suddenly, for no im-
mediately apparent reason, a dramatic development 
took place. Sitting by his fireside, James Watt noticed 
something that had been happening since the be-
ginning of time. He noticed how the lid of the 
kettle rose and fell by the power of the steam 
beneath it. For the first time apparently he glimpsed 
the tremendous potential latent in that power. As a 
result the steam locomotive was invented and men 
began to "run to and fro" as they had never done 
before. 
About the same time Thomas Edison and other 
experimenters came upon another source of power 
and began to investigate the possibilities of electricity 
and to apply them to practical use. 
A little later the internal combustion engine was 
invented with the astounding result that today 
through these new means of power, distance has been 
annihilated and man has even laid plans to invade 
the stars. Truly men are running to and fro. 
Nor have we any difficulty in establishing the fact 
that knowledge has been amazingly increased in 
the last century and a half, and that it is still 
widening daily. Truly, man is today "thinking God's 
thoughts after Him," even if, tragically, he lacks the 
wisdom to apply his abundant knowledge safely. 
But recalling the words of Daniel that it was at "the 
time of the end" that men would begin to run to and 
fro and that knowledge was to be immensely in-
creased, we are forced to the startling conclusion, that 
the "time" must have opened with the dawn of the 
nineteenth century and that we are at this very time 
living in the climactic days of this earth's history! 
(Continued 
on p ag e 29.) 
Today the printing 
press and the radio 
a r e carrying the 
Gospel message to 
the remotest 
corners of the 
earth. 
17 
PALESTINE PANORAMA-2 
B
ECAUSE at this season the thoughts of all 
Christians turn to the Holy Babe who was 
born at Bethlehem, let us take a journey of 
some five miles from Jerusalem, to the little town 
now called Beit Lahm, with its white, flat-roofed 
houses clustered on the rocky hill-side. 
It is strange to think that in this twentieth century, 
Mary and Joseph could not have travelled south from 
Nazareth to Bethlehem. For after passing over the 
the Plain of Esdraelon, and before reaching Jenin, 
and Mary must have taken. They too came to the 
tomb of Rachael, and no doubt paused by the pillar 
which at that time called to remembrance their 
kinswoman. For the past two hundred years a white 
domed building has covered the ark-shaped sepulchre. 
Its small entrance is framed by a green painted facing, 
above which is a black grille to afford air and light. 
Inside, the vaulted roof is peeling. Once a place of 
pilgrimage for the Jewish people, it now has an air 
of neglect, although Moslems also venerate this tomb 
THE GOLDEN STAR L 
barbed-wire and concrete road-blocks bar the way. 
Here stretches the northern frontier line between 
Jew and Arab. But in their day, they were free to 
go through Samaria to Shechem, where doubtless they 
stopped at Jacob's well, which in this hot, dry land 
constituted an important halting place. From there 
the road led by the heights of Ebal and Gerizim, 
and on over boulder-strewn uplands to Bethel where 
Abraham once pitched his tent, and where, in later 
years, in his flight from Esau, Jacob also came. 
Maybe Joseph and Mary, on reaching Jerusalem, 
stayed at one of the khans, as the inns are called. 
The one we visited in the Street of the Chain would 
be much the same as then, for customs have changed 
little since biblical times. An arched stone entrance, 
high enough to allow access for camels laden with 
merchandise, led to a vaulted-roofed courtyard. From 
inside came a hubbub of discordant noises—squawk-
ing hens, sheep bleating, the stamping of mules and 
small, slender donkeys, tethered and feeding from 
concrete mangers on the walls, while the voices of 
Arabs shouted above the din. On each side, above 
our heads, was the protective balustrade of a gallery, 
opening onto which were the doors of many small 
bedrooms. 
But at the khan in Bethlehem, those centuries ago, 
there was no room to accommodate the two travellers, 
when they arrived wearied by their long journey 
from Nazareth. 
Doubtless they left Jerusalem by the Jaffa Gate, on 
the western side, but now at this point, No-man's 
land reaches to the very walls. Our car sped by a 
roundabout way along the fine, new macadamized 
road, built by the engineer corps of Arab legionaries, 
under the direction of Glubb Pasha. On either side 
were the stony, yellow-brown, Judean fields. After 
a detour we returned to the road which Joseph 
By Charlotte Hastings 
as well as those of the patriarchs, and a number of 
the prophets. 
As we remember Rachael died on the journey to 
Bethlehem, when Benjamin was born. Her name 
became a synonym for the mothers of Israel. And 
especially those who in grief mourned the slaughter 
of the Innocents—the infants killed at the instigation 
of the monstrous Herod, in his unavailing attempt 
to stamp out the God-child, who was born to redeem 
mankind from the power of sin. 
Memories of Bethlehem 
From the top of a hill by the road-side a beautiful 
panorama is spread before our eyes. Behind in the 
distance is Olivet, and the walls, domes, and minarets 
of Jerusalem, reflecting the light of the golden Syrian 
sun. Joseph and Mary saw there the glistening white 
marble temple built by Herod. To the east the 
misted, blue mountains of Moab, that change to 
gorgeous hues with the passing hours, rise on the 
skyline behind the Dead Sea; and to the south a 
valley and then the prominence of Bethlehem. On 
the slopes around are terraces of vines, the twisted 
trunks of ancient olive trees, as well as almond and 
fig. 
Away to the left are the Fields of the Shepherds 
with low dividing walls of large piled-up stones. 
Growing crops of corn and millet are to be seen. 
There are cypress and more olive trees. Somewhere 
in these fields, Ruth the Moabitess, who came with 
the widowed Naomi to live at Bethlehem, gleaned in 
the barley fields of Boaz. Later she became his wife, 
• 
• 
18 
and to them was born Obed in the line and genealogy 
of Jesus. 
Among these hills and valleys, David the 
youngest son of Jesse, who was the son of Obed, 
led his flocks, guarding them both by day and in the 
night watches from the wild beasts which roamed 
them. 
To Bethlehem came the revered prophet, Samuel 
to anoint David to be the future king of Israel. 
Countless pilgrims have travelled along the Beth-
lehem road. Down the ages it has echoed to the 
measured tread of invading forces from many lands, 
and the ring of the horse hooves of Crusader knights. 
The Magi from the East, wise in their generation, 
waited patiently for the golden star, shining in the 
night-sky, to lead them on to "where the young 
Child was." Matt. 2 :9. 
Steps on either side of the great altar in 
the Chapel of the Nativity lead down into 
the Cave of the Star. 
The Church of the Nativity 
Arriving in Bethlehem we walked across the long 
rectangular courtyard of uneven stone paving to the 
Church of the Nativity. This immense, austere, 
Roman basilica is the oldest Christian church in the 
world. First built in the time of Constantine, it was 
• 
rebuilt by Justinian. And when, in the invasion by 
the Persians A.D. 614 all other Christian churches 
in the country were destroyed, this was spared. They 
saw the brightly coloured mosaic, picturing the Wise 
Men dressed in Persian style, worshipping before the 
Infant Jesus, and they, too, halted to enter the church 
and worship. 
Now the entrance is barely five feet high, less 
than a quarter of the original arched one, which 
was blocked to prevent riders on horseback or �
Below.—Exterior of the Chapel of the Nativity in 
marauders gaining admittance. Stooping low through 
the narrow opening we passed into the subdued light 
of the interior. The church is divided into five 
aisles by four rows of tall monolithic Corinthian 
columns of white-veined red sandstone, on which dim 
frescoes of saints, Crusader kings, and heraldic 
symbols are seen. A custodian raised several trap 
doors placed in the floor of the nave, and some 
three feet below we saw remains of the beautifully 
designed mosaic paving of the original church of 
the early fourth century. 
• 
Although the location of a number of the holy 
places is not really known, the authenticity of the 
Cave of the Nativity is well attested. The Emperor 
Hadrian, in his determined effort to stamp out 
Bethlehem. 
Christianity, built over it a temple to Jupiter. In 
so doing he very effectually helped to preserve its 
identity. 
In the cave of the star 
On either side of the great gilded altar two 
flights of narrow, worn, stone steps descend to the 
subterranean crypt below. Although fifty-three silver 
and bronze lamps of diverse shape and size depend 
from the low roof, the light is still dim. Seventeen 
of the lamps are tended by the Franciscans, and the 
others are looked after by the Greek Orthodox 
priests. The marble encased walls are covered with 
costly amianthus patterned curtains, a fireproofed 
type of chrysolite, given by a former French 
president. On the tapestries are many pictures of 
the Infant Jesus in the arms of His mother. 
Gold embroidered crimson brocade curtains with 
deep pelmets frame the rock recess of the Place of 
the Nativity, the walls and floor of which are covered 
with white marble. Thirteen beautifully wrought 
silver lamps hang low over this, shedding light from 
their wicks in coloured glass containers upon the 
large fourteen-pointed star of silver, set in the centre. 
Surrounding this is an inscription in Latin, which 
translated reads, "Here was Jesus Christ born of the 
Virgin Mary." 
Two pilgrims came and stood by our side as we 
looked at the star. Then kneeling, and with a 
smoothing gesture of the hands upon the marble 
they bowed and kissed the floor before it. There was 
no mistaking the devotion, but in such acts lies grave 
danger. For this cave and all the embellishments with 
which man has surrounded it possess no inherent 
virtue and to go to see or touch them in itself brings 
no power into the life, forgiveness of sin, or com-
mendation from God. Only by individual communion 
with Him can this be obtained. 
Of far greater service to mankind would be the 
removal of all the objects which distract the atten-
tion, and the placing in their stead of an illuminated 
Bible with pages open for all to read of the Mes-
sianic prophecies fulfilled at the birth of Jesus, and 
of the mediatorial work upon which He is now en-
gaged in the courts of heaven on behalf of all who 
turn, in true repentance, to Him. 
The Greek Orthodox hold the right to worship 
at the Altar of the Nativity. For the Roman Catholics 
is reserved an alcove hewn in the rock on the op-
posite side, wherein are two altars. One with a 
short marble pillar on one side, and draped with 
brocade of green and gold, is the traditional spot 
where the Magi are said to have knelt in adoration 
though admittedly they did not come to the inn; 
the other marks the place where reposed the manger. 
A painted picture of the scene in a gold frame hangs 
above, and in front are more long silver lamps 
with shining red glass oil containers. On Christmas 
Day a replica of Jesus as an infant is placed here 
cradled on hay and illuminated by the lamps and 
many candles. The Greek Orthodox Church hold 
their celebrations thirteen days afterward, on January 
7th. 
Before leaving the basilica we looked into several 
adjacent subterranean caves. In one, Jerome translated 
the Scriptures into the Latin tongue. It was all rather 
dark and stuffy, and we were glad to come out again 
into the fresh air and sunshine. 
The bells of Bethlehem 
Behind the massive walls of large, roughly hewn 
stones bounding the courtyard, we could see two 
small belfries. From the taller one, belonging to the 
Franciscans, ring the chimes which are broadcast on 
Christmas Day. 
As we walked to the market place, some matrons 
of Bethlehem passed by, wearing white, high-
pointed head-dresses erected, so we were told, over a 
small fez foundation and dating back to Crusader 
times. Arab children gathered with their inevitable 
clamour for "baksheesh." In the small shops we 
saw many articles of carved olive-wood and mother-
of-pearl. A number of pilgrims hurried by, following 
a priest, and we thought again of the message of 
the Star which "shineth in a dark place, until the 
day dawn, and the Daystar arise in your hearts." 
2 Peter 1:19. 
Dear reader, if you follow this golden, guiding 
light it will lead you surely, not only through the 
darkness and perplexities of this world but vic-
toriously right through to the kingdom of God. 
Left.—Rachel's tomb on the road from Jerusalem to 
Bethlehem. 
Right.—The Fields of the Shepherds, Bethlehem. 
THE 
IIFE 
BEYOND 
 
IMMORTALITY or RESURRECTION? 
 
 
 
 
 
Part 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By 
Leslie Show 
 
Tending the 
graves of the 
British 
airborne troops 
who died 
during the 
Battle of 
Arnhem in 
Holland. 
T
HERE can be no doubt that the Bible doctrine 
of the resurrection from the dead has fallen 
into disrepute among many Christians. They 
no longer see in the resurrection what the Bible 
writers saw, the one hope of the realization of im-
mortality. 
Yet the Apostle's Creed, which is regularly repeated 
by many declares: "I believe in the resurrection of 
the dead." 
The strange fact is that the majority of professing 
Christians do not even believe that the dead are dead. 
Instead they contend that it is only the body which 
dies and disintegrates, and that the "soul" or "spirit" 
which is, they say, the "real man," the true "ego," 
takes up another form of existence in a place figura-
tively spoken of in the Scriptures as "paradise"—or 
if wicked, in "hades," perhaps in torment. And if 
perchance one should point out that such an idea 
is not consistent with the Bible's teaching of "soul-
sleep" at death, and of subsequent "resurrection," 
it is glibly replied that these concern only the body 
of man, and not his "spirit" or his "soul," for that 
part is immortal, and never dies. And so all such 
will gladly and enthusiastically sing: 
On the resurrection morning soul and body meet 
again, 
No more sorrow, no more weeping, no more pain. 
Here awhile they must be parted, and the flesh its 
sabbath keep, 
Waiting in a holy stillness, wraps in sleep. 
For a while the tired body lies with feet toward 
the morn; 
Till the last and brightest Easter day be born. 
But the soul in contemplation utters earnest prayer 
and strong, 
Bursting at the resurrection into song. 
Baring Gould. 
It seemingly does not occur to those who sing so 
enthusiastically these words that if death is the means 
whereby the soul is liberated from its earthly prison 
to begin its life in a higher existence it would be a 
pity to imprison the soul in the body again at the 
resurrection. Why put it back into a body at all 
if it is true that the body is not the real man but 
only a dispensable exterior? Why does not God allow 
the soul to continue its higher untrammelled exis-
tence? 
Not a part of Bible teaching 
The plain truth is that these contradictory ideas, 
which are entirely out of harmony with the Bible's 
teaching concerning the nature of man, have been 
introduced into Christianity from non-Christian 
sources and have brought confusion into Christian 
21 
thinking. Emil Brunner emphasizes that in his work, 
Man in Revolt "Much which is today regarded as 
a special sign of Christianity," he says, "would reveal 
itself on closer examination as the product of a 
spirit which is remote from that of the Bible." And 
again : "The stream of life which has sprung from 
the Gospel has carried along with it much of the 
historical soil through which it has flowed. In saying 
this we are not thinking only of the history of the 
Catholic church, but also of the Protestant church." 
He then specifically mentions Platonism, Stoicism, 
Neo-Platonism, as well as the Roman, Germanic, 
and Romance spirit, as sources of ideas imbibed by 
Christianity. Finally he adds, "There is a great deal 
of heathenism even in Christian speech."—Man in 
Revolt, page 459. 
In Brunner's opinion because the idea that man 
has no future beyond this life is so obviously "false" 
the "human spirit has gone to the other extreme and 
claims that death is not the destruction of man," 
but "on the contrary, that it is a release, the emanci-
pation of the soul from the prison of the body, 
the setting free of the soul from the burden 
of its base material partner." (Man in Revolt, page 
464.) The Bible goes farther than this, and reveals 
that the first sermon on the natural immortality of 
the soul was preached by Satan to Eve in the Garden 
of Eden when he declared in direct contradiction of 
God, "Ye shall not surely die." Thus the doctrine 
is seen to be not an excusable, if erroneous, attempt 
to solve a universal preplexity, but the product of 
minds set in wilful rebellion against God. 
Tracing the history of the introduction of the idea 
of inherent immortality into Christian thinking, 
Brunner says that the "idea of the immortality of the 
soul was born not of philosophy but of mystical 
religion, but it was eagerly seized and appropriated 
by philosophy." Then he goes on: "Plato was the 
first to combine philosophy, in his theory of Ideas, 
with the idea of the im-
mortal soul, as he knew it 
from the Orphic tradition, 
and to weld them into a 
wonderful unity."—Man 
in Revolt, pages 464, 465. 
Thus it is seen the idea 
of the natural immortality 
of the soul is something 
that has found its way 
into the Christian faith 
via Plato from the Orphic 
tradition, and has since 
been accepted as Bible doc-
trine, although it is quite 
contrary to it. 
No wonder, therefore, 
that we are counselled by 
the inspired words of 
the apostle Paul: "Beware lest any man spoil you 
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tra-
dition of men, . . . and not after Christ." Col. 
2 :8. One "vain deceit" of this false philosophic 
teaching is that the real man cannot die, and 
that it is only the body, the outward shell, the 
husk and not the kernel that dies. In contrast God 
said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
surely die." When He says "thou" He is not talking 
of the body only; He is talking of the person 
himself, the man himself. When the body returns 
to dust the man himself dies. But Satan has taught 
man to disbelieve God, and to disbelieve the con-
tinuous witness of death around us. "Ye shall not 
surely die," Satan says, contradicting God. And in 
the midst of death, which is itself the complete veri-
fication of the truthfulness of God, man accepts 
Satan's testimony before God's! 
Brunner says that the idea of the immortality of 
the soul came from "mystical religion" which is 
another name for heathenism. And the Bible most 
emphatically reveals that all such worship is devil 
worship. (Psa. 106:35-37; 1 Cor. 10:20, 21.) And 
this devilish doctrine is now looked upon as authentic 
Christianity! 
"Scarcely any other idea in philosophy has had 
such an effect as this" doctrine, Brunner says. 
"Nothing shows more clearly the power of this 
idea than the fact that it was able to penetrate into 
Christianity," and "that for nearly two thousand 
years it was regarded as a Christian idea, although, 
as we shall show directly, it is alien to the genuine 
thought of the Bible."—Man in Revolt, page 465. 
No immortal soul in the Bible 
That Brunner is correct can easily be verified. Con-
sider for instance that the words translated "soul" 
and "spirit" are used in the original Greek and 
Hebrew of the New and 
Old Testaments around 
nineteen hundred times, 
but never once does a Bible 
writer call either "im-
mortal." On the contrary, 
several times the soul is 
said to be capable of dying, 
is threatened with death, 
or even spoken of as being 
dead ; yet to hear preachers 
talking about "immortal 
souls," and to read what 
(Continued on page 30.) 
The resurrection of Jesus 
assures us of the resurrec-
tion of all His people through 
Him. 
STORY of Et LOST701 "Sir -2 
By A. I. Woodfield, M.A. 
BOW THE SABBATH WAS LOST 
k 
H
OWEVER plausible t h e explanations and 
accounts of the process, and however in-
nocuous their results may be presented as 
being, the fact remains that somewhere between 
the post-New-Testament age and the Reformation, 
one of the specific edicts of Almighty God, the 
Sabbath commandment given in solemn and im-
pressive awfulness from the summit of Sinai, and 
enjoined on His people for all time, has been tam-
pered with and mutilated. There is no trace of any 
change at all in the New Testament. The importance 
of the Sabbath rest needed no emphasizing there—
it was plain to all and accepted by all. Addis and 
Arnold's Catholic Dictionary (art. Sunday) says: 
"Our Lord did not during His earthly life 
abrogate the Sabbath. To do so would have been 
inconsistent with His position as one 'made under the 
law,' and with His own express teaching (see 
especially Matthew 23:1-3)." 
Nor did the apostles even consider such a change. 
They worshipped in the temple or in the synagogues. 
Paul, as his manner was, made a point of looking 
out the synagogues or places "where prayer was 
wont to be made" on the Sabbath day wherever he 
went. It was perfectly natural for them to do so 
inasmuch as they were converted Jews, and inasmuch 
as Christianity is obviously the logical fruition of the 
Jewish faith. 
The Pharisees accused 
Jesus of breaking the 
Sabbath, but He only 
s w e p t away their 
burdensome traditions 
which had made it into 
a trial and not a joy. 
Only ceremonial 
law superseded 
It was not the mission 
of Christ and His apostles 
to destroy the law: they 
simply fulfilled and estab-
lished it. When that which 
was perfect was come, 
"that which was in part" 
was, it is true, superseded 
and left aside as super-
fluous. Hence we read of 
Christ "having blotted out 
the bond written in 
ordinances that was against 
us, which was contrary to 
us : and He hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to 
the cross." Col. 2:14, R.V. The context here is speak-
ing clearly of the burdensome Mosaic ritual of circum-
cision (verse 11) food regulations, and ceremonial 
holy days. (Verse 16.) They were merely devices to 
prepare the way for Christ's glorious mission, and 
having fulfilled that purpose they were cast aside 
just as a satellite drops its spent rocket-propellant. 
But of the abrogation of the moral law—the 
Decalogue—we hear no word. Indeed, to destroy 
that would nullify the whole of Christ's work, for 
23 
He came to demonstrate its practicability and to 
satisfy on our behalf its penalty for our transgression. 
He died to free Christians from its otherwise ines-
capable penalty of death, and rose again to keep 
them from coming once more under its power. Now 
He dwells in the heart of each believer, renewing 
his spiritual vitality, so that he may do nothing to 
come again under the condemnation of the law by 
breaking its precepts. This is the work of divine 
grace. 
"What then?" asks Paul, "shall we sin [i.e., 
transgress the law), because we are not under law, 
but under grace? God forbid." Rom. 6:15, R.V. 
The Christian, the New Testament teaches, will 
naturally live in harmony with the precepts of the 
moral law, for he is born again to live as Christ 
lived: "We were buried therefore with Him through 
baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised 
from the dead through the glory of the Father, so 
we also might walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:4, 
R.V. 
James adds seriously the warning that contempt 
of any constituent part of the law of God is equally 
reprehensible and fatal, whether it be a despising of 
the prohibition against adultery, or murder, or, 
obviously and by clear implication, against theft, 
lying, covetousness, blasphemy, idolatry, or Sabbath 
profanation. 
How Sunday observance began 
So the apostolic church continued to rejoice in 
the day that God Himself had sanctified, enjoyed, 
and blessed, while at the same time they held fre-
quent services from house to house and from day to 
day as opportunity provided. The book of Acts, 
although it shows that the early Christians, like the 
other Jews, engaged in religious worship in the temple 
every day and celebrated in their own homes a daily 
communion too (Acts 2 :46), nowhere records or ap-
proves any change of the divine Sabbath from one day 
to another. But soon a movement began among Gen-
tile Christians to hold larger services on the first day. 
Christians with no Jewish background tended in the 
post apostolic age, first because the first day would 
remind them of the glorious fact of the resurrection, 
and later because of a certain hostility to the nation 
that crucified Christ and a desire to have as little 
in common with them as possible, to make more of 
the gatherings on the first day. The earliest Father's 
do mention assemblies for worship and especially 
for celebration of the Lord's Supper on the first day. 
Sunday is regarded by Justin Martyr as commemora-
ting the creation of light and also the awakening 
of Christ, the "Sun of Righteousness" from the 
darkness of the grave. Others called the first day 
the "Lord's Day," the "Day of the Lord's Resur-
rection," and sometimes, when add re s s i n g the 
heathen, the "Day of the Sun" and showed that the 
tendency was to treat it as a day of sacred joy and 
prayer. After Justin, the mention of the Lord's day 
as the weekly observance of the Christians becomes 
ever more frequent. 
From Tertullian and other sources it seems that 
after the Apostolic Age, Sunday was looked on so 
increasingly as a day of rejoicing that fasting and 
kneeling at prayer were laid aside on that day. 
Tertullian advised the laying aside of the ordinary 
routine of labour, not as an act of obedience to the 
Sabbath commandment, but because it was fitting as 
an aid to increasing the joyfulness of the day and 
so that the soul might be freer to perform God's 
service. 
No confusion between Sabbath and 
Sunday 
This conception of Sunday persisted for a number 
of centuries but it is significant to note that no 
general attempt to substitute Sunday for the Sabbath 
day was thought of. No Christian asserted that 
Sunday was "the Sabbath of the Lord ;" it was not 
identified with the seventh day enjoined by the com-
mandment. It just crept insidiously into the religious 
rout:nc of Gentile Christians and under a harmless 
garb gradually usurped the position of honour given 
by God to the day that commemorated the com-
pletion of His created works. It was, in brief, at 
first an interloper and gradually went on to assume 
the character of a changeling. 
The growing popularity of Christianity in the 
Roman state led to civil legislation to regulate the 
status of Sunday. It became necessary to pass some 
law making generally applicable a common attitude 
to the weekly feast day to protect the Christian from 
various inconveniences such as being summoned 
before a court or called on for civil duties on a 
Sunday. Accordingly, the Emperor Constantine in 
A.D. 321 directed that the day be everywhere hallowed 
and observed appropriately. On Sundays, Christian 
soldiers were exempted from work so that they might 
have leisure to pray. A long series of imperial en-
actments relative to Sunday rest was thus inaugura-
ted : law, business, and mechanical acts were for-
bidden in towns, though in the country agricultural 
labour was permitted. Thus, though the legislators 
knew it not, the way was being prepared for the 
complete establishment of a man-made festival in 
place of the divinely appointed and hallowed day 
of rest. 
However, at this stage the new day was not equated 
with the old; it was only broadly associated with 
the genuine Sabbath. This, indeed, clearly con-
tinued as a cherished rest on the part of many, for 
the Synod of Laodicea (A.D. 343-381) declared 
against the faithful Christians who still hallowed 
the Sabbath day and threatened them with excom- 
(Continued on page 31.) 
24 
By 1. R. Lewis 
T
HE merry peal upon peal of bells from the 
church towers of England is a traditional part 
of Christmas day celebrations; the single 
rhythmic clang, clang, clang from the little mission; 
the sonorous reverberating peals from the stone 
tower of the parish church; the carol melody chim-
ing out, note by note, from the belfry of the 
cathedral ; tenors and bob-majors echoing across 
the Rhondda, floating along the dales, crashing 
around the mills; trembling trebles, fierce booming 
ten-tonners, fifty thousand bellringers calling English-
men to remember that 
Christ the Saviour, 
Is born to you this day. 
It was Paulinus, bishop of Nola, who began it all 
in A.D. 400. He hung a copper kettle upside down 
on the roof of his church, beating it as a gong to 
announce the service. Patrick of Ireland assembled 
the faithful by ringing cowbells, and the first bells 
to be rung in Rome were the three hung in the 
belfry of St. Peter's by Pope Stephen in A.D. 752. 
And since these early days, some seventy generations 
of fathers and sons have obeyed the summons of the 
bells 
Come and worship, 
Worship Christ, the new-born King. 
But the time approaches when the bells will no 
longer ring on Christmas morning. Every clapper 
will be motionless, and every bell mouth silent. For 
an event which will for ever supersede the Christmas 
bells is to occur one day: "The Lord Himself shall 
descend [the second time] from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump 
of God." 
All who have enjoyed hearing Handel's "Messiah" 
will recall the chorus: 
The kingdoms of this world are become 
The kingdoms of our Lord, 
And of His Christ; 
And He shall reign for ever and ever. 
The manifestation of Jesus of Bethlehem, cele-
brated every Christmas, is a pledge of the second 
manifestation of Christ in glory to take over the 
government and rule of the earth for ever. 
And when our Lord returns in glory to set up 
His kingdom, the Christmas bells of the Incarnation 
will stop their ringing, and the trumpets of the 
second advent will begin to sound. 
The bells will cease ringing because the cele-
brations of Christmas will be superseded by the far 
greater celebrations of Christ's enthronement in His 
kingdom. 
General rejoicing there always is when a king's 
son is born in a palace; and his birthday is regularly 
honoured. But is not the day of the prince's corona-
tion as king a greater occasion of rejoicing as thou-
sands and tens of thousands line the decorated streets, 
and ermine-clad peers cry, "God save the King" ? 
In like manner the birthday of the Holy Babe at 
Bethlehem was memorable indeed, but when our 
Lord receives His ovation before the universe as 
King of kings and Lord of lords, it will be an 
occasion of surpassing splendour. The bells of earth 
will be poor music compared with the voices of un-
fallen angels and redeemed men. 
It is useless for the parish bell to toll for the 
farmhand at Stow-on-the-Wold to attend service when 
he has gone to Westminster for the coronation. And 
chapel bells will no longer serve any purpose when 
the faithful are "caught up to meet the Lord in the 
air" to partake of celestial joys. For thus it is 
written: "They shall see the Son of man, coming 
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 
And He shall send His angels with a great sound of 
a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect 
from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31. 
There will no longer be need for bells when 
Bethlehem's Hero comes in glory. 
But Christ has not yet come in triumph and the 
bellringers are even now practising for the Nativity 
festival, ready with another invitation of mercy. 
To all the bells will have a message, "Today, if 
ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Will 
you not see that some part of Christmas is spent in 
God's house as a token of your desire to be in God's 
kingdom one day? For whom do the bells ring? 
They ring for you! 
One day the bells of Bethlehem will be silent and the 
trumpets of God's judgment will sound. 
• 
By S. G. Hyde 
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\ 5 
SPEAKS! 
The "Seven Seals" Opened 
IN our previous study, we 
studied the story of the 
"seven churches," a prophetic 
delineation of certain well-
defined aspects of the Chris-
tian church during the seven 
phases of its history. Now we 
a r e to consider another 
panoramic survey of the cen-
turies—also in seven parts, 
namely, "the seven seals" by 
which the "sure Word of prophecy" perceived and 
revealed the church's changing experiences as she 
pursued her great mission of preparing for the 
triumphant return of her Founder and Lord. 
In vision John saw a book, or scroll, containing seven 
prophetic sketches of the seven successive divisions 
of the church's story. But the sketches were "sealed" 
and unavailable until someone qualified for the task, 
could be located. 
"I saw . . . a book . . . sealed with seven seals. 
. . . No man . . . was able to open the book." 
Rev. 5:1, 3. 
As search was made for someone to open the book, 
the disclosure was made that only the Saviour, the 
Lamb of God, was able to break the seals and "open 
the book." 
"Who is worthy to open the book? . . . Thou art 
worthy to take the book and open the seals: . . . 
for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us . . . 
by Thy blood." Rev. 5:2, 9. 
As the first four seals were broken there emerged 
a spectacular succession of horses and their riders: 
�
• �
1. White Horse. �3. Black Horse. 
2. Red Horse. �
4. Pale Horse. 
�
..4•• �
The white horse symbolizes the going forth of the all- 
conquering church in the days of its first purity. 
The first seal—the white horse period—reflects the 
period of the founding of the Christian church and 
portrays the remarkable conquests of faith proceed-
ing from Pentecost. 
"I saw . . . a white horse: and he that sat upon 
him had a bow; and a crown . . . and he went 
forth conquering." Rev. 6:2. 
The second seal—the red horse period—reflects the 
great change that was to take place in the church 
following the death of the first apostles. The red 
colour symbolized the conflicts, persecution, and 
bloodshed which characterized the church during the 
second and third centuries. 
"When he had opened the second seal . . . there 
went out another horse that was red: and power 
was given to him [the rider} . . . to take peace 
from the earth, and that they should kill one 
another." Rev. 6:3, 4. 
NOTE.—It was during this period that corrupt in-
fluences sought to effect a union of church and 
state leading on to the control by an apostate church 
of the sword of the state for its evil ends. This 
period began with the era of Constantine the Great, 
who first extended his imperial aid and sponsorship 
to the new leaders of the church. 
The third period, possibly extending from the fourth 
century to the early part of the sixth century, was 
the "black horse" period, when the corrupters of the 
original faith, with the aid of the secular power, 
succeeded in establishing the dominance of the 
Papacy—the antichrist of prophecy. 
"When he had opened the third seal . . . lo, a 
black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair 
of balances in his hand." Rev. 6:5. 
NOTE.—The "balances" held by this rider, would 
seem to foreshadow the time when the corrupt church 
would become utterly commercialized—buying and 
selling church offices and the blessings which the 
Founder of the church had decreed should be 
"without money and without price." 
The fourth period—the pale horse—whose rider was 
"Death" provides a tragic picture of the Papal era, 
viz., A.D. 538 to 1798. 
"When he had opened the fourth seal, . . . I 
looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name 
that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed. 
. . . Power was given . . . to kill with sword, 
. . . with hunger, . . . and beasts." Rev. 6:7, 8. 
NOTE.—With the submission of the secular powers 
to the Popes of Rome, the Papacy waged a merciless 
war of extermination in the vain hope of making 
herself mistress of the world. A conservative estimate 
of the number slain during this "night-time" of 
the world, is fifty million. 
The papal domination of the "pale horse" period was 
brought to an end by the Reformation. This great 
deliverance and the termination of the papal suprem-
acy, was foreshadowed, figuratively, in the message 
of the "fifth seal." 
"When he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under 
the altar the souls of them that were slain for 
the Word of God, and for the testimony which 
they held." Rev. 6:9. 
NOTE.—It was in A.D. 1798 that the weakening 
power of the Papacy received its death-blow when 
the Pope was taken prisoner by the French and im-
prisoned, resulting in his death a year later. But it 
was not the death of the Pope that ended papal rule, 
but the change of public opinion, encouraged by the 
Reformers; and the emergence of a virile Protes-
tantism. The martyrs who, under papal rule had been 
publicly denounced, were now, under the beneficent 
leadership of the Reformers, honoured and extolled ; 
memorials were erected to their memory and, as the 
language of the fifth seal's disclosure declared—
"white robes" were now given to them to replace 
the ignominy and shame heaped upon them for 
so long by their papal persecutors. 
Under the sixth seal, the first signs of our Lord's 
return are specifically mentioned. (See Matthew 24: 
29.) This "seal" represents the "latter days" or, the 
days in which we live. 
"When he had opened the sixth seal, . . . lo, there 
was a great earthquake; the sun became black 
. . . and the moon became as blood; and the stars 
of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree 
casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of 
a mighty wind." Rev. 6:12, 13. 
NOTE.—The earthquake referred to is understood to 
be that of Lisbon, in Portugal, in November 1755. 
The supernatural darkening of sun and moon which 
occurred in May, 1780, was not occasioned by an 
eclipse and was undoubtedly the second of the pro-
phetic portents. The third was the historic star 
shower in November, 1833. 
The last seal—the seventh—is not yet fulfilled. Its 
opening will bring the day of triumph for the cause 
of righteousness. For the fulfilment of this great 
event, we are now waiting, as the forces of evil and 
the opposition grow more strident and more chal-
lenging than at any previous period of history. 
"When he had opened the seventh seal, there was 
silence in heaven about the space of half an 
hour." Rev. 8:1. 
NOTE.—Not only does the "seventh seal" assure 
us of the silencing of all evil voices and forces, 
but could also refer to the emptying of heaven when, 
all the angels accompany Jesus on His triumphal 
return. 
Tilting at the Ten Commandments 
(Continued from page 5.) 
cisms are factually inaccurate and logically unsound. 
In the first place, in saying that the command-
ments are Jewish and not Christian, Mr. Wilkins 
contradicts Christ Himself, who declared, "Think 
not that I am come to destroy the law : . . . I am 
come not to destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. 5:17. He 
also contradicts Paul who asked the question, "Do 
we then make void the law through faith?" and 
answered it with the categorical assertion, "God 
forbid : yea, we establish the law." Rom. 3 :31. 
Secondly, in arguing that the negative form in 
which the Ten Commandments are couched is out 
of harmony with Christ's positive precept of love, 
he reveals how superficial has been his study of the 
true nature of law, whether human or divine. 
It was the seventeenth-century English philosopher, 
John Locke who declared of secular laws that they 
28 
provide directions for man's "proper interests" and 
"general good" and that since such laws "hedge us 
from bogs and precipices" they "ill deserve the name 
of confinement." 
Jeremy Bentham, in the eighteenth century, simi-
larly stated that inevitably "every law is an infraction 
of liberty" because the fundamental purpose of law 
is to steer men away from doing evil into an area 
where they will be free to do good. 
Sir Isaiah Berlin, Chichele Professor of Social and 
Political Theory at Oxford in his lecture, "Two 
Conceptions of Liberty" a year or two ago, went so 
far as to assert that this conception of law, which he 
defined as "negative liberty," is the very basis upon 
which European liberalism and democracy have been 
built up. 
The greatest modern thinkers, therefore, on the 
subject of law and liberty have done no more than 
think God's thoughts after Him and have closely 
followed the comprehensive pattern which He set 
when, in the Ten Commandments, He set up a 
"hedge" of moral precepts to warn man against 
wandering along paths inimical to his temporal and 
eternal welfare. Within this "hedge" man is given 
liberty to move and act freely and safely without 
fear of severing his relations with his Maker or 
impairing his own or the free development of his 
fellow men. 
In the New Testament, therefore, where the Ten 
Commandments are not discarded but re-emphasized, 
it is pointed out that this apparently "negative" 
law is in reality a positive "law of liberty" (James 
2:12), because it most clearly defines the area of ex-
perience within which men may freely and safely 
"live, and move, and have their being." And in 
a world which is characterized as never before by 
dishonesty, falsehood, violence, the breakdown of 
family relationships, moral depravity, and the worship 
of the "creature rather than the Creator" the "hedge" 
of God's commandments was never more needed. 
The loose thinking which Mr. Wilkins reveals in 
his general criticism of the Ten Commandments is 
equally evident when he comes to a consideration of 
particular commandments. 
Take, for example, his remarks about the Fourth 
Commandment. "Since the resurrection was on a 
Sunday," he says, "the Christian church has observed 
Sunday as a holy day and not the Sabbath, which 
is on a Saturday." Consequently, he argues, the 
Fourth Commandment, which ordains the seventh 
day, "does not apply" any longer. But surely that 
is the very antithesis of a proper attitude toward law. 
If custom were habitually allowed to invalidate law 
there very soon would be no laws left. The purpose 
of a law is to expose divergence from it and lead 
the law-breaker back into conformity with it. And 
it is because a very large number of Christian people, 
unlike Mr. Wilkins, do take the Fourth Command- 
 
ment seriously that they feel they should observe the 
seventh-day Sabbath which God ordained rather than 
follow a custom, however ancient, for which there 
is no biblical support whatsoever. 
The fact is that the more we study the form and 
content of the commandments of the Decalogue the 
more we realize that, far from being inapplicable 
today, they always have been and will remain to the 
end of time the supreme divinely-given guide to 
living which we neglect at our temporal and eternal 
peril. 
Why I Believe in God 
(Continued from page 15.) 
of anatomy and physiology we possess today, could 
say, "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and won-
derfully made." Psa. 139:14. How much more do we 
stand in awe of the divine Fashioner of the complex 
organism of man. 
Dr. Keyser also calls our attention to the moral 
argument for the existence of God. It is evident 
to the reflective mind that there is moral force and 
law operating in our world. From the Greek drama-
tists down to our times, thinkers and poets have 
realized that while evil temporarily prospers, ul-
timately good is triumphant. The seeds of destruction 
are sown in every evil deed and many nations that 
have forgotten God have been brought low. Solomon 
expressed this moral principle in the memorable 
words, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is 
a reproach to peoples." Prov. 14:34, R.V., margin. 
It was in these terms that Moses made his stirring 
appeal to Israel: "Behold I have taught you statutes 
and judgments, even as the Lord my God comman-
ded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land 
whither ye go in to possess it. Keep therefore and 
do them; for this is your wisdom and your under-
standing in the sight of the peoples. . . . Unto thee 
it was showed that thou mightest know that the 
Lord He is God." Deut. 4:5, 6, 35, R.V. 
 
29 
Why all these Wonders ? 
(Continued from page 17.) 
So startling indeed is this realization that we would 
do well to pursue it a little further. 
When Jesus was talking to His disciples about the 
outworking of His purpose of salvation in the earth, 
He said, "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be 
preached in all the world for a witness unto all 
nations, and then shall the end come." Matt. 24:14. 
Before the end of all things comes, a mighty work 
has to be done. The world has to have a final op-
portunity to accept the salvation freely offered to all 
through Christ Jesus. But this world-wide Gospel 
proclamation would be quite impossible without 
modern means of transportation for the messengers 
of salvation to penetrate to earth's remotest bounds. 
So as the time of the end came, God stimulated the 
inventive genius of man to provide railway trains, 
steamships, motor cars, aeroplanes, radio, and tele-
vision that His servants might proclaim the good 
news of salvation to all ere the end should come 
that not one should perish unwarned when God 
brings this world to an end to make way for His 
eternal kingdom. 
Here, then, is the real reason for the golden age 
of history. God gave man knowledge that His saving 
message might be proclaimed to the ends of the 
earth, but sinful man, prompted by Satan, has largely 
prostituted that knowledge to his own material ad-
vantage, and his own selfish purposes, with the 
disastrous results which we now see all around us. 
So today while a loving heavenly Father is leaving 
no stone unturned to save men from the destruction 
to come, Satan, the adversary of God and of man 
is equally busy trying to render that proffered sal-
vation of no effect! 
The wonders of this age, have, on the one hand 
made the world-wide Gospel proclamation possible, 
while the threatenings of annihilation are the result of 
Satan's attempt to encompass man's eternal damnation. 
But while Bible prophecy and world conditions 
around us unite to declare in clarion tones that we 
are living near the end of time, and that, humanly 
speaking, the future is hopeless, Bible prophecy also 
tells us that the very end which men dread will 
actually inaugurate the beginning of the divine 
Utopia and the eternal age. 
Without doubt it was these very conditions in 
this time of the end which led Jesus to say, "Let 
not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe 
also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: 
if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to 
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
place for you, I will come again, and receive you 
unto Myself ; that where I am, there ye may be 
also." John 14:1-3. 
Yes, Jesus is coming again, not in some future, 
remote age, but when the time of the end climaxes 
in the end of time. The vital, urgent question for 
you, therefore, dear reader, is, "Are you, too, pre-
paring for the soon-coming day? Will you be ready 
to enter triumphantly into the coming Utopia of 
God as a result of putting your trust in the saving 
blood of Jesus, and seeking with all your heart to 
live by the light of His divine Example? Or will 
the coming of Jesus find you preoccupied with the 
pleasures and worries of the world—totally un-
prepared for that day? 
As God planned, the Gospel is now going to 
earth's remotest bounds. Soon its work will be done 
in the world, and Jesus will come. Again, therefore, 
we urge the all-important question, Is the Gospel 
doing its work in your heart? Are you earnestly, 
 
eagerly responding to its call? There is a way out 
of the enigma of this age, and that way is found 
in Christ Jesus. Won't you take that way, the only 
way, now, that happiness here and in eternity may 
be yours? 
 
30 
Immortality or Resurrection ? 
(Continued from page 22.) 
they write about them, one would think it a 
common Bible term, instead of the creation of 
Platonic philosophy! 
As Brunner says: "There can be no doubt at all 
today that the Bible does not contain this idea of 
a metaphysical immortality grounded in the essence 
of the soul." 
The main "error of [Platonic) Idealism" Brunner 
very truly asserts is that "it attributes eternal being 
substantially, naturally, or essentially to man as the 
manner of his spiritual being, that it regards eternity 
as something which can be taken for granted, as a 
part of the spiritual being of man, as the result of 
his divine kind of being." 
This is just it. Platonic philosophy glorifies man. 
It makes man something in and of himself. He is 
possessed with an immortal nature. He is like God. 
He is, in fact deified. But this is entirely contrary to 
Bible teaching which categorically asserts that man is 
not immortal by nature. Man was made conditionally 
immortal. If he fulfilled the divinely declared con-
ditions, God would bestow upon him immortality. 
True, as Brunner says, "Originally—so the Bible 
tells us—man was not destined for death but eternal 
being. Death is something foreign to his original 
destiny in the creation." But man's immortality was 
conditional upon his obedience to God, and so was 
to be conditionally received from God. When man 
broke the conditions, he lost the immortality granted 
under those conditions. In consequence the tree of 
life, which was to have been the means to perpetuate 
man's life, was barred to him. An angel, with a 
flaming sword, was sent to guard the way to the 
tree of life lest man should put forth his hands and 
partake of that tree and live for ever. So man could 
not keep on partaking of it, and so receive im-
mortality. 
Thus it is that the Scriptures make it clear that 
if ever man is to gain immortality he must receive 
it as a gift from God. And this, the Bible reveals, 
man can do. Jesus Christ, the God-man is revealed 
in the Bible as the Life-giver. He has brought "life 
and immortality to light through the Gospel." 2 
Tim. 1:10. "The gift of God is eternal life through 
Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom 6:23. But on the other 
hand, "he that hath not the Son of God, hath not 
life," "but the wrath of God abideth on him." 1 John 
5:12; John 3 :36. 
• 
4 
This life given through Christ, the Bible declares, 
is not bestowed upon man at death but at the second 
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds of 
heaven with great power and glory, for then it is 
that the blessed dead will come forth from their 
graves, wherein they have peacefully slept, at the 
loud call of the Life-giver. And so the words of Jesus 
will be fulfilled: "Marvel not at this; for the hour 
is coming, in the which all that are in the graves 
shall hear His voice, and come forth; they that have 
done good, unto the resurrection of life." John 
5 :28, 29. It is even as Paul declared: "We shall not 
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for 
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this cor-
ruptible must put on incorrpution, and this mortal 
must put on immortality." 1 Cor. 15:51-53. 
And so the truth is that no man possesses an 
inherently immortal soul. No man is inherently im-
mortal, for God "only hath immortality." 1 Tim. 
6:16. But it is Christ's prerogative, through His 
redeeming sacrifice, to give to His sheep eternal life, 
so that none of them shall perish. (John 10.) All 
Christians therefore are exhorted to wait with 
patience for the "adoption, to wit, the redemption 
of our body." Rom. 8:23. "Precious," indeed, "in 
the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." 
Psa. 116:15. Not one of them shall ever be lost! 
How the Sabbath was Lost 
(Continued from page 24.) 
munication for "Judaizing," exhorting at the same 
time that Christians should rest on Sunday "if they 
can." 
Thus, the new day continued its process of pro-
gressive usurpation. The decrees of councils became 
ever more stringent: the Second Council of Macon 
(A.D. 585) desired Christians to spend the whole 
day in prayer; the prohibition of any activity (except 
for the taking of food) but prayer, was the ordinance 
of Theodulf, bishop of Orleans; the Third Council 
of Tours ordered that prayer and praise were to 
last till the evening. All these authorities realized 
the implications of their actions: they were estab-
lishing a day by human authority. Addis and Arnold 
declare: 
"In all these authorities and in the Fathers 
generally there is no confusion of Sunday and 
Sabbath. References to the Decalogue as in any 
sense the warrant for Sunday are extremely rare, 
though Chrysostom ("Gen." Hom.X.7, PG,liii.89) 
deduces this much from God's blessing and hal-
lowing the seventh day, viz., that one day in the 
week should be given to God's service."—Page 765. 
At this stage and also persistently during the 
Middle Ages this new weekly rest day was justified, 
not by divine authority, but only by the custom of 
the church and apostolic tradition. (Addis and 
Arnold, page 766.) 
But the obligation of the true Sabbath cannot be 
evaded. It is not merely a matter of ceremonial: it 
is an essential part of God's plan for the spiritual 
sustenance of His children. The observance of just 
any day in seven is no valid substitute, for the divine 
rest was blessed and sanctified, i.e., made mystically 
different and superior to any other rest, and as 
such is a type of the rest in store for the redeemed 
in the heavenly Canaan. 
The new day lacked the divine blessing even 
though it had much conciliar, episcopal, and ec-
clesiastical approval. Gradually, therefore, a new at-
titude grew up, the attitude that admits the moral 
quality of the Sabbath day and seeks to equate the 
changeling Sunday with it. "This principle is ac-
cepted by modern theologians, so far at least that 
they distinguish between the ceremonial part of the 
third commandment (fourth in the A.V.), which en-
joins rest on the seventh day, and its moral part, 
which urges us to consecrate part of our time to 
heavenly thoughts."—Addis and Arnold, page 766. 
(Italics supplied.) 
This new attitude, persisting to this day, led to 
the attempt to identify Sabbath and Sunday, an at-
tempt more remarkable for its casuistry, ingenuity, 
and speciousness than for its convincing power and 
spiritual success. 
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kkisfiaittf Stu 
or Crumpity's Christmas 
By Muriel M. Howard 
CRUMPITY was a little old owl. 
If you had seen him blinking away 
on his bough in the hills, you could 
easily have mistaken his down-
circled eyes and feather-fluffed chin 
for the whiskers of Father Christ-
mas himself ! 
A wise old owl he looked, as he 
hooted the night away. 
Crumpity was a swoop owl, as 
all owls are, wise in the ways of 
the nightland, and cruel as could 
be. He was called Crumpity because 
Crumpity, the Owl. 
no-one who knew him dare quite 
pronounce him Grumpity! 
Grumpity—oh, I beg your par-
don! Let me start this paragraph 
again! 
Cr umpit y (that's better!)—
Crumpity never did a kindly act 
to the little night folk, in all his 
life. In spite of the beauty of his 
soft and downy appearance, he 
spent his days in drowsing and his 
nights in destruction. 
Except one night! This one night 
Crumpity roused himself one eye 
at a time as he often did. He 
took one sleepy look at the still 
more sleepy hillside, and closed 
his lids. Day had winked back at 
him. The night mice were still 
a s l e e p. Poor little night mice, 
doomed to an owlish death! 
Crumpity turned his head with 
the neckless sway of a mechanical 
toy. 
He looked down (he often did 
that), he looked left, he looked 
right (like a good scout at a road-
way crossing), and then he looked 
up! Up into the night-blue sky 
where clean winds blow. 
Crumpity needed a clean wind 
or two to cleanse his carcase-
scattered home! 
But this was a special night and 
Crumpity wouldn't kill a thing 
tonight, not this night! 
Crumpity looked up again. There 
was a little light floating in his 
night-blue sky. 
Now, if Crumpity had had only 
eyes, he might have thought that 
it was a real star, but his quick 
ears caught a whispering in the air, 
and stars just don't whisper, do 
they? But it really did look like 
a star. 
Crumpity spread his great wings 
and wobbled himself on his sturdy 
bough. He did that every night, 
to descend like some silent ghost 
upon his easy prey. But this night, 
with a swish of his own strong 
wings, as though fascinated by the 
radiance, he lifted himself above 
the sleeping w o r 1 d, above the 
homestead chimneys and the hay-
stack thatch, and flew straight up 
to the light, the silver light of 
his Whispering Star. 
It was coming down to meet 
him. And oh, what a star! Clear 
and bright and crystal pure, like 
no other light that had ever 
beckoned and bewildered him. 
Soon Crumpity's star didn't whis-
per any more. It was rustling like 
the rustling of his own soft feathers 
or the falling of the leaves. It was 
growing, too, larger and lovely and 
brilliant like some scintillating 
headlamp of heaven. 
Crumpity couldn't see very much 
32 
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I 
at all now. The light of the lower-
ing Star was blinding his twilight 
eyes, though they shone in its re-
flection with "the luminous beauty 
of a cat's at night." His Whis-
pering Star was a star no longer. 
It was a dazzling space of whitening 
splendour which seemed to fill the 
whole sky as it hung above the 
gentle hills which were his home. 
Crumpity could stand it no 
more! He must get down away 
back to his hidden bough, where 
the dark leaves covered the light. 
He sank noiselessly beneath his 
Star, his long "ears" lifted to catch 
its sound. Its tone was not a whis-
per now, for it was nearer; not a 
rustle, but a rushing surge of 
sweetest muted melody. 
Crumpity hovered beneath his 
Wonder Star. Down below him the 
sleeping flocks lay silvered by its 
radianc e. Shepherds became 
shadows, and their fires mere sparks 
amid that overspreading glow. And 
the star grew bigger, and its light 
more bright. 
The shepherd men on Crum-
pity's hillside were looking up, too, 
MY THANKS FOR 
CHRISTMAS 
By M. G. Belleini 
Thank You, dear God, for Christmas 
day, 
For a lovely time—I'd like to say 
A big "Thank You" for all the joy, 
The love of friends, and for each toy. 
My thanks are not quite finished yet; 
The best of all, I must not forget—
Thank You, dear God, for the Babe that 
lay 
Betide His mother on Christmas day. 
WrigtriMiPkriPtiPnWitirtMalftvItrwertftit 
but they didn't even see Crumpity, 
though they knew and liked him 
well. They had seen the light, and 
the light had troubled them. They 
forgot even their flocks, so great 
was their fear of this supernatural 
"Star," and as they knelt in terror 
there, they saw the Star draw nearer 
and take an unusual shape. 
Crumpity's "Star" was speaking 
now, with the voice of an angel 
from its own angelic form. And 
the shepherds 
raised themselves 
at the quietening 
music of the 
angel's words. 
"Have no 
fear," the angel 
said, "for truly I 
give you good 
news of great joy 
which will be for 
all the people: for 
on this day in 
David's town, a 
Saviour has been 
born, who is 
Christ the Lord. 
"And this is 
the sign to you; 
you will see a 
young Child fol-
ded in linen, in 
the place where 
the cattle have 
their food." 
The shepherds 
were not afraid 
any more now. 
And who can tell 
the calm and joy 
of that receding 
fear! Or sense the 
heavenly stillness 
as God's angels filled the air! 
Crumpity was on his own home 
bough, with his eyes tight shut and 
his ears wide open. Across the plain 
there drifted m u s i c, sweet, and 
clear and strong, while the angel 
choirs of heaven sang their short, 
exultant song: "Glory to God in 
the highest, and upon the earth 
peace, good-will toward men." 
Just that—and they were gone! 
Back away up to the throne of God 
where angels ever sing. 
But there was music in the hearts 
of the shepherd men now. Not 
fear any more. 
"Let us go now . . . and see this 
thing which is come to pass which 
the Lord has made known unto 
us," they said. "Let us go to Beth-
lehem. Let us look for the sign 
which the angel said." 
Leaving their sheep in the Great 
Shepherd's care, they hurried away 
over the hills. At Bethlehem the 
angel had said He would be. At 
Bethlehem in a manger. They did 
not stop to argue about it all. They 
knew that was the right place. The 
angel had said so. They did not 
stay to consider why so powerful 
a Person should have so lowly a 
bed. They hurried to see what they 
believed would be there. 
And there He was! Sweet and 
small and innocent, the Prince of 
heaven in a cow's feeding place, 
resting on the scented hay! 
Happily they worshipped Him. 
Lovingly they watched His new-
born breaths. Carefully they fixed 
upon the mirror of their minds 
this blessed, humble scene. And 
then they went away. Mother Mary 
was still there with that precious 
Baby Boy; and Joseph was there, 
too, to cherish and direct them 
both. But the shepherds went on, 
over the hills, down through the 
plains, into many a friendly home, 
and wherever they went they told 
the wondrous story of a Baby born 
to be King of all who love Him 
well. 
And Crumpity? Oh, well, who 
knows, maybe Crumpity's cousin 
drowsed above that manger bed. 
And maybe one day he told Crum-
pity all about it. 
Anyway, any boy who loves Jesus 
can never be called Grumpity, can 
he? And any girl who loves Him 
is ever kind. 
33 
'0 �
N 
Cherry Tree Farm 
By Ronald James 
"I SAW an enormous crow when 
I was passing the old quarry," said 
Kay to her brother Tim. 
"What do you mean—an enor-
mous crow?" inquired Tim scorn-
fully. "A full grown crow is 
about twenty inches long." 
"Well, this one was ever so 
much bigger," Kay insisted. 
"Better tell old Sam to keep the 
cows in the shed, in case your 
precious crow carries one off," sug-
gested Tim with heavy sarcasm. 
"You're only jealous because you 
didn't see it," retorted Kay, an-
grily. 
"Rot! I've seen lots of crows," 
replied her brother. 
"Not like this one though," 
answered Kay, spiritedly. 
"Well, we'll go for a walk by 
the old quarry and see if your crow 
is about. Perhaps it'll turn out to 
be a roc," teased Tim. 
The children put on their winter 
coats, and set out for the quarry. 
They saw several rabbits and a 
grey squirrel, but of crows not a 
sign, big or otherwise. 
"Better turn back now, not much 
daylight left," said Tim. 
"What a pity though; I did so 
want you to see it," sighed Kay. 
A sudden harsh cry came to their 
ears. 
"There it is !" shrieked Kay, as a 
huge black bird flapped up from a 
distant field. "Now do you believe 
me?" she asked in triumph. 
"Great Scot! that wasn't a crow," 
said her brother in awe-stricken 
tones. "It was a raven." 
All the way back to the farm the 
children could talk of nothing else. 
"Dad, there's a raven about the 
old quarry," Tim told his father 
that evening. "Kay thought it was 
a big crow. Little donkey !" he 
added. 
"Well, a raven is a crow, Tim," 
laughed Farmer Jones. "When you 
refer to a crow you probably think 
of a carrion crow; but actually 
ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, 
and jays are all members of the 
crow family." 
"Now who is a donkey?" asked 
Kay in delight. 
But Tim was much too pleased 
at the idea of ravens in the district 
to mind Kay. 
"Isn't it smashing!" he gloated. 
"I hope they nest there." 
"Well, I don't," replied his 
father. "Ravens are magnificent 
birds, but I'd prefer them to nest 
further afield. They are apt to take 
too close an interest in young 
lambs and chickens for my liking." 
Zettet 
My dear Sunbeams, 
A FEW days ago, as I was looking 
at some Christmas cards, I saw one 
which particularly arrested my at-
tention. 
It was a Christmas card with a 
difference. There was the usual tree 
laden with good things, and a bright 
fire blazing in the grate of a cheer-
ful room, but, peeping in at the 
doorway, was a little boy, ragged and 
thin, and holding in his hand an 
empty bowl. 
When I turned the picture over, 
I found that the boy represented 
one of the needy refugee children, 
and the card was a reminder to 
people everywhere to spare some of 
their gifts for the boys and girls, 
and older people, too, who are not 
so fortunate. 
When we are enjoying our Christ-
mas puddings and pies, presents and 
parties, we should remember that 
Christmas is really a season set apart 
to commemorate the birthday of the 
Baby Jesus, who came to save the 
world. I know we would like to show 
our gratitude to Him ; but how can 
we do this? 
Jesus Himself told us when He 
was on earth, that a kind and good 
deed which was done for one of 
His poor children was counted in 
the sight of Heaven as though it 
were done for Him. Take your Bible, 
turn to the New Testament, and 
read Matthew chapter 25, verses 
35-46. 
I feel sure that Sunbeams will 
think of many ways in which they 
can help others, by kind and generous 
acts to those who are in need, not 
only at Christmas, but at all times. 
Good-bye for now, Sunbeams. May 
you have the very best Christmas 
ever! 
Yours affectionately, 
•••••••••••••••######A,MONVINVANN+1.04,0#4,11W 
Results of Competition No. 18. 
Prize-winners.—Selwyn Davies, 2 Whit-
combe Street, Aberdare, Glam. Age 14; 
Angela Gooderham, 62 13riarwood Road, 
Whitton Estate, Lowestoft, Suffolk. Age 9. 
Honourable Mention. — Alden Palfrey 
(Malpas); Claire Frances Knight (Graves. 
end); Janice Palfrey (Malpas); Stephen 
Pain (Lincoln); Rosalind Elms (Leeds, 
16); Susan Floate (Felixstowe); Anne 
Dalton (Yelverton); Susan Pain (Lincoln); 
Maxine Pain (Lincoln); Lyndon Palfrey 
(Malpas); Margaret Magor (Rickmans-
worth); Doreen Floate (Felixstowe). 
Results of Competition No. 19. 
Prize-winner.—Roland Heslop, 16 Bladen 
Street, Jarrow, Co. Durham. Age 6. 
Honourable Mention. — Stella Ruddick 
(Enfield); Susan Float e (Felixstowe); 
Joanne Petitdemange (Lowestoft); Andrew 
Ruddick (Enfield); Alison Hardy (Derby); 
Janice Palfrey (Newport); Sylvia Floate 
(Felixstowe); Lyndon Palfrey (Malpas); 
Brian Palfrey (Malpas); Doreen Floate 
(Felixstowe); Susan Hay (Rickmansworth); 
Gillian Foster (Plymouth); Marina Hand 
(Carlton). 
Results of Competition No. 20. 
Prize-winners.—Jean Winter, 30 Aliens 
Road, Enfield, Middx. Age 12; Stella 
Ruddick, 88 Kempe Road, Enfield, Middx. 
Age 10. 
Honourable Mention.—Judith Elias (Car-
diff); Doreen Floate (Felixstowe); David 
Ballantyne (Acomb); Susan Floate (Felix-
stowe); Brian Palfrey (Malpas); Andrew 
Ruddick (Enfield); Sylvia Floate (Felix-
stowe); Janice Palfrey (Malpas). 
Those who tried hard.—Joanne Petitde-
mange (Lowestoft); Anne-Marie Kaczmarek 
(Sandhurst); Rita McCorkell (Potters 
Green); David Roberts (Norwich); Marjorie 
Henry (Brixton Hill); Noel McCarthy 
(Helens Bay); Sylvia Andrews (Abbots 
Langley); Lyndon Palfrey (Malpas). 
C 
34 
MIRROR 
 
/OUR TIME/ 
 
• 
a 
Significance of the Incarnation 
"MOST people," says the Times Literary Supple-
ment, "no longer see the Incarnation as 'the point 
of intersection of the timeless with time.' It still 
has its significance in dogma, but, for the world 
outside the faith, the Nativity has declined into little 
more than a cosy and sentimental image of the 
Happy Family." 
Explosive book 
SPEAKING in the special session of the General As-
sembly commemorating the fourth centenary of the 
Reformation in Scotland, Sir Thomas Taylor, prin-
cipal of Aberdeen University, declared: "The Bible 
is an explosive book when it gets into men's hands 
and is taken seriously. Look what happened at the 
Reformation all over Europe." 
Pagan psychiatry inadequate 
"PAGAN psychiatry," asserts Dr. E. Stanley Jones, 
in his new book, Conversion, "is showing itself 
more and more inadequate to deal with the disrupted 
in any thoroughgoing way." 
Unity by conversion 
IT is significant that the Vatican's new Secretariat 
for Christian unity has been given headquarters in 
the Palazzo dei Convertendi in Rome. A wall in-
scription describes the building given by Cardinal 
Castaldi in 1685 as "a hospice for those who have 
returned from heresy." 
Destructive potential of Polaris 
COMMENTING in the Sunday Times on the des-
tructive potential of the Polaris submarine, with 
its sixteen missiles carrying megaton warheads, David 
Divine says: "Two Polaris submarines firing on a 
target plan that a child could devise could eliminate 
more than three-fifths of the human life in Britain 
in a quarter of an hour." 
Intellectronics 
DR. SIMON RAMO has invented the term "in-
tellectronics" for "the extension of the human in-
tellect by electronics." This, he asserts, "will become 
our greatest occupation within a decade." 
Grim truth 
PREACHING in St. Paul's Cathedral, the Dean, Dr. 
W. R. Matthews, said, "The grim truth is that any 
major war in this scientific age, even without nuclear 
weapons, would probably bring our civilization to an 
end." 
Orthodox unity 
A PAN-ORTHODOX Council will probably con-
vene later in 1961 to discuss the reunion of the 
various branches of the Orthodox church. To prepare 
for this a preliminary meeting will be held on the 
island of Rhodes next Easter. 
Biggest "gap" 
ADDRESSING a Management Conference in Harro-
gate, Sir John Hunt declared: "I believe that perhaps 
the most serious 'gap' of all in our divided society 
is between the adult and the adolescent. It is, un-
fortunately, a growing 'gap,' which makes the 
problem still more urgent and serious." 
Decline in cinema going 
"IN 1952," says the Economist, "the average Briton 
visited the cinema more than once a fortnight, in 
1959 less than once a month." 
"Look up" 
MOST appropriate is the slogan chosen by the 
Bishop of Croydon for his diocese-wide campaign. 
For did not Jesus say to those who would see the 
signs of the climactic days of human history: "When 
these things begin to come to pass, then look up, 
and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth 
nigh" ? 
• 
• 
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