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WATCH FOR ^ TOWN U .S .A . * * * , . _ Werld'. mo»» ntt For complete information as to dates and details, Write or Wire EVANGELISTIC FILMS, INC. 2627 Connecticut Ave., N .W . W ash ington 8, D.C. o r ph one ADAMS 3737 208 E. WILLOW WHEATON, ILLINOIS Page Two T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S ^ BUSINESS Official Publication of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated Louis T. Talbot, D.D. Betty Bruechert Managing Editor William W. Orr, D.D. Editor in Chief Associate Editor No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission All Rights Reserved Vol. 43 December 1952 No. 12 CHRISTMAS NUMBER Poem: Three Gifts, Betty Bruechert ....................................................... 3 Editorially Speaking ........................................ ......................................... 4 The Work and the Workers, William W. Orr ........................................ 5 Dr. Talbot’s Question Box ........................................................................ 6 Christmas and Calvary, Vance Havner ................................................... 7 The Indispensable Miracle, Charles N. Svendsen ................................ 8 Formosa: Opportunity and Opposition, Dick Hillis ........................... 9 Were the Wise Men at the Manger? Lorena B. Galloway ................. 10 Christmas in the Congo, Harold and Jane Amstutz ........................... 11 Poem: We Were Standing There, Blanton W. Jones ........................... 12 Why Don’t the Jews Believe in Christ? Charles L. Feinberg ............. 13 “ ’Round About Them—Glory,” E. Frederick Mertens ....................... 14 The Great Sight, Hyman J. Appelman ................................................... 15 From Heaven to Manger, Harry A. Ironside ........................................ 16 Christmas Joy, Bartlett L. Hess ............................................................... 17 I f Christ Had Not Come, Herbert Lockyer . .. >.................................... 19 Junior King’s Business: The Christmas Candles, Helen Frazee-Bower ............................................................................ 21 Picture o f King’s Business Staff and Authors..................................22-23 The Bible in the News, William W. Orr ................................................... 24 Poem: Christmas Gift, Grace Concklin Lofton .................................... 25 Biola Family Circle .................................................................................... 26 Book Reviews, Donald G. Davis ............................................................... 27 Young People’s Topics, Chester J. Padgett ............................................ 28 Poem : Christmas Psalm, Thomas Pestel ................................................. 34 Sunday School Lessons, Homer A. Kent, Allison Arrowood ............... 35 Christmas Q u iz ............................................................................................. 40 Object Lessons, Elmer L. Wilder ............................................................. 41 Picture Credits: P. 17, Harold M. Lambert, Philadelphia;20, Philip Gendreau, New York. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION— “The King’s Business” is published monthly; $2.00, one year; $1.00 six months; 20 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCES—Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable to “The King's Business.” Date of expiration will show plainly on outside of wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING— For information address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hope Street Los Angeles 17, California. MANUSCRIPTS— “The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office of Los Angeles, Cali fornia, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 688, P. L. and R., authorized October 1, 1918, and November 18, 1938. ADDRESS: The King’s Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, California. Page Three OUR COVER Pictured are the four grandchildren of Dr. and Mrs. Louis T. Talbot. Left to right: Shirley Ann Foster. 6; Audrey Elisabeth Svendsen, 2|/ 2; Charles Talbot Svendsen, l (/ 2; and David Scott Foster, 4. Shirley and David's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Gerald P. Foster of Altadena, California. Elisa beth and Charles are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. Svendsen of La Canada, California. Photograph by Bob Smith and Byron Skalman of MISSIONS VISU ALIZED, Los Angeles, Calif. “ They presented unto Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Matt. 2 : 11 ). No gold have I, my Lord and King, For gold Thou bidd'st me not to seek: But from a heart surrendered, meek. The treasure of my love I bring. No frankincense to give delight Such as the kings of earth demand: But faith that takes Thee by the hand. And trusts Thee in the darkest night. M y myrrh shall be the bitter-sweet Of hope that sees through toil and tears Thy Blessed Face beyond the years: These gifts I lay before Thy feet. —Betty Bmeohert D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 2 * ¥ * THREE GIFTS Someone is to sit in the presidential chair for the next four years. He will be a man possessed.of mere human wis dom, prone to make mistakes. To a large degree he will be at the mercy of the various forces, influences, pressures that go with the office. If ever a man needed wisdom like that of Solomon it is this man. But there need be no lack, for just as surely as God stood ready to add almost supernatural wisdom to the ancient king, so He is willing to give to present-day leaders both courage and wisdom for the exceptional demands of their office. If the leaders will go to God in true humility and request such wisdom, God will give it. Or if the people of God who understand the ways of God will unite in beseeching God for wisdom for our president, God will hear and answer their prayers. So to a great degree, whether or not the American people have a good presi dent depends largely upon the praying habits of those who know how to touch the throne of grace. We can have a good president if we will remember to lay hold on God for him in prayer. Coming Feast of Good Things T HE 18th Annual Torrey Memorial Bible Conference is to convene in Los Angeles and surrounding com munities from January the 18th to the 25th. This annual banquet on the riches of the Word of God was founded to honor Dr. Reuben A. Torrey, one of the early leaders of the Bible Institute. Each year outstanding Bible teachers and preach ers are invited to come to Southern California and minister from their study of the Scripture. This year the Conference is to be honored in having Dr. Curtis B. Aken- son, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minn.; Dr. Charles Fergu son Ball, pastor of the First Presby terian Church, River Forest, 111.; Dr. Sam Bradford, pastor of the Beth Eden Baptist Church, Denver, Colo.; Dr. Jose Fernandez, former Roman Catholic priest, from Philadelphia, Pa.; Dr. T. Leonard Lewis, president of Gordon College, Boston, Mass.; Rev. John Lin ton, evangelist from Minneapolis, Minn.; Dr. S. Franklin Logsdon, pastor of Moody Church, Chicago, 111.; Rev. Hu bert Mitchell, Secretary for World Evangelization for Youth for Christ, International, Chicago, 111.; and Dr. Walter Wilson, pastor of the Central Bible Church, Kansas City, Mo. The conference sessions will be held not only in the large auditorium of the Bible Institute and Church of the Open Door, but there will be concurrent ses sions in other communities such as Ful lerton, First Baptist Church, Dr. E. Woody Hodson, pastor; Glendale, Chevy Chase Baptist Church, Dr. James T. Martin, pastor; Long Beach, First Brethren Church, Dr. Charles W. Mayes, pastor; Monrovia, Calvary Bap tist Church, Rev. James O. Henry, pas tor; Ontario, Temple Baptist Church, Rev. Robert F. Dennis, pastor; Pasa dena, Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian T H E K I N G 'S B U S I N E S S certain ways and to fasten them once more on the greatest event that has ever taken place, even the coming into the world and the taking on of human flesh of the Son of God Himself. Good Presidents Y OU will be reading these words after the national presidential elec tion has taken place, but they are be ing written before Election Day, at which time the American people decide which candidate they desire to occupy the highest office in our government. No matter which party wins and which candidate is elected, it is certain that the task of being a leader to 150 millions of peoples is a tremendous one. We very seriously doubt if there is any man upon the face of the earth who is of himself endowed with enough wisdom to lead this nation safely along the peril ous path that it must take. For while our elected officials are honored and dignified by titles and degrees, the truth is that underneath they are still quite ordinary people and possessed of just about the average amount of intelli gence. But we believe the Scripture to indi cate that God has a special and adequate supply of supernatural wisdom available for leaders, if they are humble enough to request it. Consider the case of the wisest king who ever lived. On the au thority of Scripture itself, never before in all the history of mankind and never after was there a king with the wisdom of King Solomon. But he was just an ordinary fellow, the son of King David and Bathsheba. Up until the time of his coronation, we hear nothing whatever concerning him. However, he was God’s choice of all the sons of David to reign after his father. At the time of his coronation God spoke to him in a dream, offering to give him whatever he would ask. At this point Solomon, realizing his own inadequacies for ruling, prayed for wisdom to judge his people righteously and to rule courageously. The account states that God was so pleased that He gave him not only an abundance of wis dom but wealth and honor besides. The Gospel According to Gabriel O NE of the delights of heaven will be a more intimate acquaintance with those intelligent and mighty beings whom we call the angels. Until that time we must content ourselves with ex ceedingly interesting and informative suggestions the Scriptures alone reveal. Among other things, we find that the task of the angels is to guard and help the heirs of salvation. The Scriptures also indicate that the angels are in various ranks with leaders. One of these mighty leaders is the Arch angel Gabriel. It was to him that the delightful task was given of announcing our Lord’s birth to Mary. Gabriel was sent by God to the city of Nazareth to a young maiden named Mary, espoused to Joseph, with the most thrilling news in all the world. It is an axiom that we may safely believe the word of an angel. There have been those who have doubted the testi mony of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; but here is the Gospel according to Gabriel. Here is the word of a celes tial being sent directly from the throne of God. Here is the greatest good news that could possibly be spoken into the ears of the sons of men. What is it? Well, that first of all Mary, apart from another human being, was to become the mother of a Son whose name was to be Jesus, Saviour. This Son was to be called the Son of the Highest and was destined to oc cupy the kingly throne of David. But His kingdom was to know no end, for He shall reign forever. And how was all this to be brought about? The key to the understanding is in His name, for as the prophets had spoken and the poets had sung, this Jesus was by His own sacrifice to save the people from their sin. Here then is the Gospel according to Gabriel, which we may safely believe, in which we may place our entire trust. Some say that to those whose ears are sensitive to the sound of celestial voices that Gabriel is still whispering the good news. He is still urging the sons of men to lift up their eyes and hearts from the dissatisfaction of earth’s un Page Four T h e W o r k a n d the W o r k e r s Associate Editor Resigns Church, Rev. Oscar Raymond Lowry, pastor; San Bernardino, Faith Bible Center, Rev. Will South, pastor; Van Nuys Missionary Church, Rev. Cor nelius Vlot, pastor; Valley Baptist Church, Burbank, Calif., Rev. John D. Saegher, pastor. How to Close Churches O NE of the things for which the American people should thank God all the days of their lives is the freedom of worship we enjoy in this land of the free and home of the brave. Fully half of the world’s people do not live under this freedom, but their worship is dic tated and regimented. There is no doubt that one Commu nist objective is the gradual closing of churches and the spiritual starvation of those who want to worship God. This has been demonstrated in the Russian satellite countries. Communism and closed churches go together. There is no place in the Communistic scheme of things for the worship of God. We pray earnestly that the Commu nistic rule may be kept from our shores, but if it ever comes, one of the first aims of Communism will be the gradual throttling of open churches and the de struction of freedom of worship. However, this is not the only way to close churches and this is not freedom of worship’s only threat. Churches can be closed by mere indifference on the part of American men and women. The church, in order to be the virile force it should be in American life, must need have the wholehearted co-operation and earnest support of the majority of our citizens. And while multitudes of Americans would be aghast if you sug gested that they were atheists, their actions daily prove them to be, for week after week and year in and year out they fail to enter the house of God and worship Him. They would count it an insult of the first order to be labeled Communists, while their actions in ig noring the church and its needs is the first-class Communistic line. On the other hand, to state the posi tive side is to say that the way to have a democracy which will work and a country of which we may be proud is to strengthen and encourage those great and underlying institutions which are fundamentally both American and Christian. In Loving Memory In order to honor the memory of our beloved faculty member, Dr. Reid S. McCullough, there has been established the “ Reid McCullough Memorial Fund P* in order to grant student loans, through a revolving fund, to worthy applicants. Contributions for this fund should be mailed to Mr. Frank Watson, Room 126. Bible Institute, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, Calif. Please designate your contributions for this fund. Word of Life Expansion The Word of Life broadcast with Jack Wyrtzen is now aired throughout the world. In the fall the program took on 26 stations of the Yankee Network and just recently the home station moved to WJZ in New York City. The director, Jack Wyrtzen, is now engaged in an evangelistic effort throughout New Eng land, spending the week days in evan gelistic campaigns and returning to New York City for the Saturday night Dr. Joseph P. Free announces that the sixth Wheaton Bible Lands Cruise will sail from New York on February 18 abroad the new Italian liner, S. S. An drea Doria. The trip is open to Chris tians of all ages and will include all the significant cities of the Bible lands. New Seminary President The Rev. John F. 'Walvoord, A.M., Th.D., was elected President and Pro fessor of Systematic Theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Wal voord succeeds Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, well-known founder of this school who served as its president until his death last August 22. Dr. Walvoord has been Assistant to the President since 1945, and is a graduate of Wheaton College and Dallas Seminary. Report on Christ for Everyone Early reports of the gigantic Christ for Everyone campaign reveal most en couraging results. The first report was from a small farming community in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania where thirty-eight converts were reported. From the historic Park Street Church in Boston, Dr. Harold J. Ockenga re ports that the campaign enjoyed splen did attendance with tremendous results among Christians. It is believed that the possibilities of a continuing program of personal witnessing and neighborhood evangelism are truly beyond computa tion. Teen-Age Crusade Youth for Christ International is launching a nation-wide teen-age crusade to enroll 10,000 youth pledged to win 100 converts each to a faith in Christ. These according to President Robert A. Cook will constitute an army of 1,000,000 who will refuse to let America slip down the road to hell. The crusade is to be carried out through 1,000 Youth for Christ Ral lies plus the 1500 high school Bible clubs. Preaching Platters Word from Gospel Recordings Incor porated tells that nearly 14,000 little preaching platters were sent out during a recent month. These platters are gospel recordings in the languages of hundreds of peoples and tribes the world around. They are made on the spot in the foreign lands and by returned missionaries on furlough. Each contains music and a gos pel message and is intended to be used by the missionaries in places where the language is not yet known. Word of Life release. Bible Lands Cruise William W. Orr, D.D. I T is with regret that we announce the resignation from the Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles and The King’s Business of Dr. William W. Orr, who has served as Vice President, Director of Extension, Director of Radio and Associate Editor of this magazine, for the past eight years. In 1945, Dr. Orr came to the Bible Institute from Calvary Church of Pla centia, California where he had served as pastor for six years. Now pastor of the Hope Union Church, Rosemead, California, he holds a Th.B. degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, a D.D. degree from the Bible Institute, and A.B. and M.A. degrees from George Pepperdine College. He and Mrs. Orr have two daughters, Joanne, 22, grad uate of U.C.L.A., and Grace, 17, a High School Senior. Dr. Orr is an unusually gifted and versatile servant of the Lord who has labored faithfully for the school. His editorial gifts have been of inestimable value to this magazine as from his pen have come the editorials, The Bible in the News, The Work and the Workers, as well as many other interesting articles. In addition, he has produced many val uable booklets, the titles of some of them being “How To Be a Happy Chris tian” , “ The Key to Success in the Chris tian Life”, “ How to Know the Will of God for Your Life” , “Answering Col lege Students’ Questions” , “How We May Know That God Is.” A number of his booklets have been designed partic ularly for young people to whom they have been most. helpful in establishing them in the faith, and his tracts, espe cially the one entitled, “ The Most Im portant Thing In Life” , have been the means of salvation of souls. However, Dr. Orr is perhaps best known as the “M.C.” of The Bible Insti tute Hour which for a number of years has been released over the full facilities of the Don Lee Mutual Network thrice weekly, and he has also substituted on the verse-by-verse Radio Bible Study Hour. Dr. Orr will be greatly missed by the Bible Institute, The King’s Business, and by me personally, and our prayers will follow him. £ V j D v v v > \ Editor in Chief Page Five D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 2 mind of God; He revealed this “mys tery” to Paul, as all New Testament teaching proves. Again, Christ Himself, following Peter’s great confession that Jesus was the Son of the living God, declared in Matthew 16:18, “ Upon this rock I will build my church.” Ever since Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given, our Lord has been building His church as He said, and no organization has a right to the New Testament title of Church which does not accept the basic truths of the Bible concerning the Person .and work of Jesus Christ. His deity is attested by the circum stances attending His birth. Every prophecy in the Old Testament regard ing the first coming of Christ was ful filled to the very letter. His unique death evidences the uniqueness of His Person. Never man died as He died, and even in dying He dismissed His own spirit. When He died the sun blacked out, and the earth trembled at man’s awful sin. Men die for their own sins; our spotless SavioUr died for the sins of others. The triumphant resurrection of Christ is conclusive proof of His deity. The resurrection of Christ is the best attested fact of history. All words in italics in our English edition of the Bible have been added by the translators to make the meaning clear. Sometimes it is difficult to express in the English language the true mean ing of the Greek and Hebrew words. For example, some Hebrew words are so freighted with meaning that the translators found it necessary to supply words which would bring out the true richness of the original text. For this reason all words in italics in our Bible are not found in the original Hebrew and Greek. Often they do clarify the subject matter, but we need also to be careful at times, lest they obscure the meaning. What proof do you offer that the Bible is the Word of God? Whole volumes have been written on this subject. It is so vast that I cannot, in small space, make more than a brief statement as to the actual proofs con cerning the divine inspiration of the Bible. It is the inspired Word of God, authentic, authoritative and infallible. Here are some of the external evidences which we must consider. The ancient manuscripts in the great libraries of the world go back to a very early date. Some of the manuscripts of the New Testament were written as Why are some of the words in our English Bible put in italics? early as the fourth century A.D. We still have copies of the Greek transla tion of the Old Testament which Christ used when He was on earth. His word concerning it is sufficient! It was trans lated not later than 250 B.C., and is called the Septuagint Version. The ver sions, or translations, of the Bible into the many languages of the earth are manifold. Let us consider that about fifty of the early church fathers quoted the New Testament so freely in their writings that almost the whole of the New Testa ment could be put together, with but few exceptions. History has borne out the prophecies foretold in the Bible. What could be more striking, and more convincing, than the way prophecy has been, and is being fulfilled concerning the Jew, and the land of Israel? Archae ology has proved many of the facts of Bible history. Monuments and tablets have been uncovered which prove be yond all doubt that they told the story of creation, the fall, the flood, and other events recorded in the Bible. Abraham’s early home, Ur of Chaldea,. has been discovered. These are but a few of the silent testimonies from the monuments to the eternal verity of the Word of God. The attacks of Satan upon the Word of God also prove its divine origin. These attacks have been unceasing, un mitigated and violent. Any other book would have been torn to shreds long ago, but God has miraculously preserved His word against attacks of fire, water, sword, and against the more subtle at tacks of skeptic, critic, and “ scientist, falsely so called!” What is your opinion of the congrega tions who unitedly repeat the Lord’s Prayer in the opening of the morning worship hour? It sounds “ legalistic” to me, and I do not join. I can pray the Lord’s Prayer from a heart of worship and praise to God with those who love Him but do not see “eye to eye” with me on dispensational truth. If they believe on the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for their salvation, they are chil dren of the household of faith, and I can worship with them. There is one phrase in the Lord’s Prayer that is strictly on legal ground: “ Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” By the grace of God, He has forgiven us, even though we did not deserve for giveness. When we utter this petition in public assembly, or on any other occasion we should ever be mindful that we can ask forgiveness only on the ground of the grace of God. T H E K I N G 'S B U S I N E S S Dr. Louis T. Talbot I am puzzled about First Corinthians 11:5,6, which refers to the woman’s having her head covered in church. Does not verse 15 explain this? In those days the heads of female slaves were shaved, and so an “uncov ered” head was a disgrace, and a mark of servitude. Yes, according to verse 15, the covering could be the hair of at least reasonable length — now often called the “ long bob.” It had no refer ence to hats, which, of course, were not worn in that day. How can I convince a new believer that Jesus paid ALL the debt of his sin? The words of our Lord in John 19:30, “It is finished” announced that the work the Father had given Him to do, was finished. When a work is finished that means it is completed in every detail. There is nothing to be added to it; nothing that man can do but accept it. An illustration often used to make men realize the completed work of our Lord is the story of a man who owed a debt he could not pay. Year after year passes and still the debtor is unable to fulfill his obligation. Suppose a friend steps in and pays the debt, giving him the can celed note. The debt is then paid by the kindness and grace of another. This is but a poor illustration of what Christ did for us—He paid the debt of our sin, and when He cried “ It is finished” He meant there was nothing more to do but to accept the gift of eternal life. What constituted the original New Testament Church? The New Testament Church began on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, and “ The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch,” Acts 11:26. Concerning the beginning of the church, much might be said. The Old Testament saints did not even know that the church, the bride of Christ, was in the Page Six By Vance Havner T HE coming of Christmas brings along with it nowadays as never before a flock of fellow-travelers to which most Bible believers may have become resigned but with which they by no means can be sympathetic. The scan dalous commercialization of our Lord’s birth gets under way by late summer. By Thanksgiving it has been stepped up for the deafening crescendo that in creases by the day until frantic shoppers are completely buried under an avalanche of sales talk. Reminded by the hour how many shopping days they have left, they drive their exhausted frames to make the deadline with that exchangeable tie for somebody they had forgotten who re membered them last year. Come Christ mas and a nation of nervous wrecks whose minds have been in stores for weeks are in poor condition to warm their hearts in church. Santa Claus starts coming to town earlier every year and whereunto this mania will grow we dare not prophesy. Smothered as it is in buying and sell ing, the true meaning of Christmas suf fers not only from COMMERCIALISM but is almost hopelessly lost in PAGAN ISM. Any informed person knows that the early church did not celebrate Christ mas. Our Lord never said anything about commemorating His birth. He asked us to remember His death and we do this in the Lord’s Supper. Christmas as a religious festival probably got started after the “ conversion” of Constantine, that calamity, from which we have never recovered. Multitudes of heathen profes sed to become Christians and joined the church. Along with them they brought the luggage of their old life including most of the paraphernalia with which we observe Christmas. Of course we all know that we have to go far afield from the New Testament to find Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Yule logs, lighted tapers and other pagan trappings. The secular world today brazenly celebrates Christ mas without Christ and even the church loses Him often in a jungle of heathen ism which it inherited from the ungodly in a drive for more church-members. We paid dearly for what Constantine brought us and nothing cost us more than when we borrowed from the devil the stage setting in which to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Even when we get around to the star of Bethlehem, the shepherds, the Magi, and the manger, we sometimes miss the point in what amounts to mere SENTI MENTALISM. Witness the strange ser mons about peace on earth, good will to men. Jesus who came to teach us brotherhood, Jesus the Example, Jesus whose teachings in the Sermon on the Mount answer all our problems—thus far they get and no farther. But if that is all D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 2 many of whom will not retutn until Easter, and give them Christmas without Calvary. What goes for the Christmas spirit is all too often a happy holiday mood of human cheerfulness, a hollow and pitiful mockery of the joy of the Lord. Any old siftner can be worked up into a religious frame around the twenty- fifth of December and mistake the whole thing for spiritual reality. No matter where you start thinking about Jesus, if you follow through, you are coming to a cross and an open grave. You are headed for a crown of thorns and Gethsemane and a gory, bleeding sacrifice for sin. For that was the pur pose of His coming. It is not popular these days. It never will be. When Simeon blessed the baby Jesus in the Temple he said, “ This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be SPOKEN AGAINST” (Luke 2:34). When Paul ar rived in Rome, his hearers said, “ As con cerning this sect, we know that every where it is SPOKEN AGAINST” (Acts 28:22). The Saviour and the saints are unpopular, you will observe. If the preaching of the Cross is to the world foolishness, quite naturally the people of the Cross will be to the world fools. But just the same we ought to make sure that at Christmas time we see to it that the Manger points to the Cross. That does not mean that Christmas for the Christian is a sad and solemn matter or that we saints are to sit around in a dour sanctimoniousness grumbling at the way Christmas is celebrated. There is no joy on earth like the joy that grows out of the true message of Christmas. Our Lord’s intent was that His joy might remain in us and that our joy might be full. The gospel is good news. The birth of our Lord was a joyous occasion. The song of the angels was a gladsome chorus. Men are still singing about it. “Ye blind, behold your Saviour come; And leap, ye lame, for joy !” If we get no farther than merely com plaining about the commercialism, the paganism and the sentimentalism that have spoiled so much of Christmas, we shall do no good.We are bearers of Good Tidings of Great Joy which shall be to all people for there was born one day in the city of David a SAVIOUR, which is Christ the Lord. But mind you, it says there was born A SAVIOUR. We hear much of “ putting Christ in Christmas” and surely He needs to be given His rightful place. But the Christ of Christ mas is not only the Babe of the Manger but the Saviour of Calvary and the Vic tor of the Empty Tomb. Let us proclaim Him for all that He is, Lord, Saviour, Messiah. And let us declare to all men, “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Page Seven His birth brought to us, we are of all men most miserable. Whenever Jesus was born . . . and it may have been nowhere near Christmas . . . He came to do a vastly greater thing than to preach the Sermon on the Mount or live a perfect life. He came, not just to live, but to live and die and to live again. Of course Easter wears perhaps even more of the garments of paganism than Christmas; and bunny rabbits, colored eggs and spring bonnets have hidden the Resur rection even more effectually than Santa Claus has obscured the Incarnation. But the Incarnation is not the sole message of Christmas. Along with Em manuel, God with us, God’s Son carried another name. “ Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” That was His mission, to deal with sin once and forever. Christ mas points not only to a manger but to a cross. You do not hear much about that at Christmas time. It is foolishness to this world. You will hear a lot about peace on earth and good will but not about the real reason why God gave His Son. There is something subtle there that shows up more times than at Christ mas. People are willing to have you talk about peace and joy, the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount. They are willing to accept the benefits of the cross but they are not willing to accept the Cross. Christmas without Calvary! Tell them why He was born and they say you are getting off into theology. Some poor souls even say, “ Give us the simple gos pel” who never have discovered that the gospel is “ Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day ac cording to the scriptures.” Just as at Easter we wander off into “ immortality of the soul” and “ survival of personal ity” and totally miss the resurrection of the body, so at Christmas we dodge the cross in a lot of lavender-and-rose-water sentimentalism about peace and brother hood. Of course it is the age-old ailment of the human heart. Men will talk about anything but their actual trouble. The ugly sin question comes up and who wants to hear about sin at Christmas time? But the Bethlehem Babe was given His name Jesus because He was to be the Saviour from sin. It does not read that “He shall teach the people peace and good will and brotherhood,” “He shall preach the Sermon on the Mount,” “ He shall be the Perfect Example.” That was not His main business. He came to save us from our sins because unless some thing is done about that, Christ the Teacher, the Preacher, the Example, will avail us nothing. We have too many dear souls now talking about peace and good will who are still in their sins. It is shameful to face church congregations on Christmas, THE INDISPENSABLE M IRACLE By Charles N. Svendsen* greatly to be feared. If they refuse to believe in the Virgin Birth by claiming, for example, that they cannot accept something which is contrary to natural law, thus completely ruling out the supernatural, they only give evidence of unregenerate hearts. But those who minimize the importance of the Virgin Birth, while declaring at the same time that they are loyal to the Christian faith, are most harmful. They evidently have doubts as to the authenticity of the Scriptures, refusing to “ swallow” what they cannot understand, and thereby making their own understanding the criterion of truth. Certainly the Virgin Birth is the Indispensable Miracle of Christianity! This is true for two reasons: it accounts for the incarnation: how God became man; and it accounts for the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. And upon these two great facts rests the doctrine of the Person of Christ. And upon the Person of Christ rests the efficacy of His re demptive work. The Virgin Birth, then, is the foundation of the structure of the Christian gospel. How else can one account for the fact that God the Son entered into the stream of humanity by taking upon Himself the form of man? In answer to Mary’s question: “How shall this [the conception of Jesus Christ] be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34), the angel Gabriel replied: “ The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be bom of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). It was pre cisely by this overshadowing that the Eternal “ Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). How otherwise can the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ be explained than by these words of the angel to Joseph “ That which is conceived in her [Mary] is of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 1:20)? Gabriel referred to the Son of God “which shall be born of thee” as “ that holy thing.” The supernatural, immacu late conception of Jesus accounts for His being born holy, that is, separate, or ethically different from all humanity —in other words, without sin. Failure to account for Christ’s incar nation and sinlessness by minimizing the importance of the Virgin Birth is actu ally to question these two basic tenets of the Christian faith, and thereby to undermine the whole gospel of salvation. If Jesus Christ were not God of Very God, and if in His human nature He was (Continued on Page 12) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S is no other choice. To say that Mary, the mother of our Lord, was merely a girl who allowed herself to be seduced, thereby making Jesus Christ an ille gitimate son, is to destroy utterly the integrity of the Christian faith. “ Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall con,- ceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’’ (Isa. 7:1U). H ERE the great prophet utters a prediction which was fulfilled more than seven hundred years later in the birth of Christ. These words, “ Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” may be translated more literally from the Hebrew: “ Behold! a virgin pregnant bringing forth a son, and she calls his name Immanuel,” as if Isaiah actually saw the virgin, not a virgin, but the virgin expecting and then bringing forth a son and naming Him Immanuel. As one reads this remarkable predic tion, he cannot but wonder how, in the light of the context, it can have any reference to the birth of Christ. But in the later light of Matthew 1:23, where the angel of the Lord quotes the verse to Joseph in a dream concerning Mary, his espoused wife, no question remains that Isaiah, under divine inspiration, had in mind no other event than the birth of the coming Messiah. Incidentally, this is a good lesson in prophetic interpretation. Often proph ecy is so obscure that we dare not interpret it dogmatically but must await its fulfillment for a full explanation. This particular Scripture is an excellent example of the necessity for exercising caution in prophetic interpretation for it was not until it was fulfilled and explained by New Testament revelation that the fact that it was Messianic was clearly apparent. Far more vital to us is the meaning of the prophecy itself, which teaches unequivocally that Jesus was Virgin- Born. Some have tried to deny this, claiming that the Hebrew word, almah, translated “ virgin” may simply mean a damsel or maid. This is corroborated by James Strong in his Exhaustive Concord ance of the Bible. What of it? What is a damsel or maid? According to Web ster’s Dictionary: “ an unmarried girl or woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; a maiden.” What is an un married woman if she is not a virgin? She is a sinful woman. Does this not lead us to only one of two conclusions: that Jesus Christ was either Virgin- Born, or that He was born in sin. There Charles N. Svendsen However, the New Testament quota tion by the angel to Joseph recorded in Matthew makes it very clear that Isaiah was using the Hebrew word almah in the sense of virgin. “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (1:22,23). The Greek word, parthenos, used here means a maiden, or by impli cation an unmarried daughter, in other words, a virgin. To assert or even to imply, then, that Jesus Christ was other than Virgin-Born does violence to the New Testament Scriptures, the only valid interpretation of the Old. But not only that. To deny the Virgin Birth is to undermine the whole Christian gospel. Some have tried to minimize the Virgin Birth, declaring that it was not of great importance, and not an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. Herein lies the greatest danger of all. Those who deny the fact or reject it are not *Pastor of Montrose Community Church, Montrose, Calif. Member of faculty of the Bible Institute. Page Eight JcrtncSa: Opportunity and Opposition By Dick Hillis* how to be soul winners. Then they must win others to Christ! Results—28,840! “Well,” you say, “where is the op position? It seems to me there is no opposition!” Through recent proclama- America. This team (from Taylor Uni versity) played before 250,000 people in the stifling heat of this island. Dur ing the half-times of the games, the team members would give their testi monies or preach. Approximately 10,000 responded to the invitation to accept Christ. In two years here on the island, 215 high schools out of 230 have opened their doors for evangelistic services. Off the coast of Taiwan lie twenty-four in habited islands called the Pescadores. Our evangelistic teams took boats and visited these islands, giving to the peo ple the message of salvation. People on eight of the twenty-four islands reached with the gospel had never seen a white man there, much less ever heard of Jesus. In one of the villages a fisherman asked, “When did Christianity begin? Is it a new religion?” We answered with shame A S our plane flew in over the airport at Taipeh, Formosa, back in No- -*-vember 1950, we got our first glimpse of this land of opportunity. At that time there were about thirty missionaries trying to reach ten million people for Christ. Very little work had been done with the aboriginal tribes in the mountains; many of the churches were spiritually dead, and souls were starving for want of spiritual food. Today, November 1952, finds a much different situation. Through city-wide evangelistic campaigns we have been able to preach to thousands and to place in eager hands the Gospel of John that they themselves might study the plan of salvation. We felt that our first responsibility was to take the gospel to the armed forces of Free China. They were scat tered over the island and in numerous islands in the Formosan Straits. Some of these islands were within machine-gun range of the mainland. Some six hundred thousand in the armed forces have heard the message and received Gospels of John. Thousands have indicated their desire to know Christ as their Saviour and are now '.taking our Bible Study and Memory Course. Many of the men have become personal workers and are winning their fellow-soldiers to Christ. The Message of Life has been carried to all. When the time comes for this army to return to its homeland, it will be a “ righteous” army because they are equipped with the Word of God “which is sharper than a two-edged sword.” Bible correspondence courses being sent to lfS,000 young people. tions issued by the government, no more evangelistic meetings or preachings of any kind are allowed in the schools or in the army camps. The soldiers are ordered not to attend churches. The one and only language by which the mountain tribes people can be reached—Japanese—has been outlawed. Bible studies are no long er received by the soldiers through orders from the Political Department, and in certain cases missionaries have not been allowed to distribute tracts on trains. You will appreciate the fact that the Chinese Nationalist government is fight ing for its very life in the struggle against Communism and we feel defi nitely that every order from the govern ment is for security reasons. However, we also feel that the master-strategist, Satan, is fast closing the doors as far as evangelistic endeavors are concerned. This challenges us to pray more, have more faith and put our trust in Jesus Christ. From our viewpoint, it seems as though China is being given her last op portunity to turn to Christ and we must work while it is yet day, for the night cometh when no man can work. Christ came into the world to give us the gift of salvation and it is our responsibility and yours to see that needy souls are told of this gift, so rich and free. It cannot be done without intercession and investment. “ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6). Page Nine Ellsworth Culver, Deputy Director, and Doug Sparks, in charge of Follow-Up, plan the work. that Christ died for him and for his sins almost two thousand years ago, but someone failed to bring the news until now. The beautiful mountains of Taiwan also cry out for the gospel. The tribes people, when won to Christ, are eager that their entire village hear the news that Christ died to save them. At present we have Harold Anderson (Biola ’32) working full-time holding Bible Confer ences in the mountains. Every one who makes a decision for Christ is immediately enrolled in our Bible Correspondence and M e m o r y Course which takes about nine months’ study. Here they are grounded in the precious Word of God and are placed in a twenty-week lecture course to learn Some of the staff of 20 Christians pre paring Bible lessons. There are many methods of evangelism but one unique way was by means of an all-Christian basketball team from *Biola ’32. D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 2 Were the Wise Men at the Manger? By Lorena B. Galloway W ERE the wise men. at the man ger? It has been so presented, down through the years, in pictures, prose, poetry and song, until people in general, many of whom should know their Bibles, have accepted it as a fact. Nevertheless, according to the Bible, it is false. Some may ask, “ What difference does it make, whether they were there or not?” Just the difference between truth and untruth. To believe this idea shows, first, a careless reading of the Bible, as well as a lack of study and searching of the Scriptures; and second, that the word of men has been accepted instead of the Word of God. That the wise men were not at the manger can be found by reading first, Matthew 2:1-14, noting particularly the last two verses which read: “ And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt” (Matt. 2:13, 14). The word flee denotes a hasty flight, and the statement that Joseph arose and, taking Mary and the young child, departed by night, indicates their immediate departure. This could not possibly have taken place had the wise men’s' visit been at the manger, when the shepherds were there on the night of the Christ-child’s birth: for, in view of the account given in Luke 2:4-39, Joseph and Mary did not leave the vi cinity of Jerusalem until the Babe was, at least, forty-one days old. Verses 21-24 read: “ And when eight days were accom plished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. “ And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were ac complished, they brought him to Jeru salem, to present him to the Lord; “ (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) “ And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” The law referred to in these verses, Page Ten chapter of Luke, verse 39 reads: “ And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.” Now to come back to the wise men. Incidentally, there is nothing to imply that the star led them to Jerusalem, as is so often stated. Instead Matthew 2:2 quotes them as saying, “ For we have seen [past tense] his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” Knowing that the center of Jewish worship was in Jerusalem, the wise men naturally went there to inquire where they might find Him, who “ is born, King of the Jews” (Mat. 2:2). When they started to Bethlehem, at Herod’s direction, then it was that the star re appeared and led them, not to Bethlehem to find the babe, but to the house, where the young child was (Matt. 2:9-11). Since we have already read that immediately after the ceremony in the temple, when the Christ-child was forty- one days old, Joseph and Mary returned, with the Babe, to their home in Naz areth, there can be no question as to, the wise men having been led by the star to their home there. Travel was slow in those days and the distance covered by the wise men was probably very great. Hence it had required a long period of time, many months, no doubt, for them to complete the journey from their homes in the East. This is confirmed in Matthew 2:16: “ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was ex ceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” This would indicate that Jesus was probably somewhere near two years old at the time of the wise men’s visit. No, the wise men were not at the manger. Neither was Jesus born in a manger, as is so often stated in story and song. A fter His birth, “ Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). One of Christ’s greatest utterances was, “ Search the scriptures” (John 5:39). If we would do just that, allow ing the Holy Spirit to fit them together properly, the danger of getting into false doctrines would be greatly les sened. After all, the Bible is its own best commentary. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S is found in Leviticus 12:2-4; 6-8 and reads: “ Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then shall she be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. “And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. “ And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, un til the days of her purifying be fulfilled. “ And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering, and a young pig eon, or a turtledove, for a sin-offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: “ Who shall offer it before the Lord, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. “ And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then shall she bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt-offering, and the other for a sin- offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” Concluding the account in the second
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