December, 1938
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
418
“unto us a son is given”—given as D eity and coming in a supernatural manner. It is the conception of a Christ in the womb of a virgin, and not the birth of a Christ in a manger at Bethlehem, that gives offense to a skeptical world. The entrance of God into the flesh is the first fundamental of the Christian faith. It is the one doctrine against which Satan and all his cohorts contend, and ever have con tended, most strongly. It is just possible that none other than Satan himself has been back of the confusion of the two dates. He would have the world remember, if it must, that “a child” was “bom”; but forget that “unto us a,son is given.” M ichaelm as! "M ichael-sent"! At least, it was “tbe angel of the Lord" (Lk. 2:9). Verily, may we not be excused for believ ing that Michael was sent with his message of great joy to all men: "F ear not: for, be hold, I bring y o u g o o d tidings o f grea t jo y , w h ich shall be to all p eop le. F or unto yo u is born this d a y in th e city o f D avid a Sav*f- iour, w h ich is Christ th e Lord" (Lk. 2:10, 11). And Michaelmas verily should be "a festival of the angels,” as thé title of the ancient church festival suggests, for it was upon the night when our Lord was bom that “there was with the angel a multitude o f th e h ea ven ly host praising God, and say- -, ing, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Lk. 2: 13, 14). The world of men has practically counted Christ out of all of its councils. Just for this reason, our world is in the most ter rible condition and is haunted by the most terrible fears that the sons of men have known, possibly since their advent upon the earth. In at least one great nation, with its flag floating over one-sixth of all the land surface of the earth, the rulers actively op-1 pose the reminding of children that Christ was sent into the world. Thus they oppose celebrating a day in commemoration of the wondrous event. Already nearly every one has forgotten the meaning of Michaelmas. And now, even some Christians mistakenly join the world in trying to persuade us that the celebration of Christmas, bringing so vividly to the minds of little children the loving-kindness of our God in giving us a Saviour—is pagan! The attack of Satan upon the day com memorating the tabernacling of God in the flesh—the coming of Immanuel, our Sav iour, into the world—is plainly in evidence when you enter the world’s markets to buy a few Christmas cards to mail to your friends on that happy day. It is almost im possible to buy in the general post-card shop a card that really honors our Lord. And what must we think of the world’s persistent attempt—in •which Christians sometimes join—to write the word “Xmas” instead of writing it— “Christmas"? An "X," as every high-school boy or girl knows, is the one letter that stands for an unknown quantity. Would the world have Christ, its only hope, become the great un known? Unknown He may be to the world of men; but unto those that are saved, He is still the Christ whom to know is life eternal! Yes, we shall continué to celebrate Christmas!
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or prin cipalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:15-17). Now the question arises, just when—on what day—was this Christ who was “in the beginning with God” "SENT" into the world? There must have been a day when He actually left "the ivory palaces” to come into this “world of woe.” Are we to con-; elude that He was not “sent" until the day Mary laid Him in the manger? W e know that when Elisabeth visited Mary, accord ing to the Scriptures, Elisabeth’s "babe [John the Baptist] lea p ed in her w om b” (Lk. 1:41). Likewise in the womb of the virgin, there was a living thing, and from the divine record we know that that living thing must have been the Son of God. God— the Second Person—had become incarnate! “Impossible," you say? “With God no thing shall be impossible” (Lk. 1:37). “Be yond comprehension!” you exclaim? "W ith ou t co n tro v ersy ," replies the greatest of the apostles, himself, " grea t is th e m y stery of go d lin ess: G od w as m anifest in th e flesh ” (1 Tim. 3:16)! “Without controversy,” there is no greater mystery! "Without con troversy,” there was no more amazing mys tery! The God by whom all things were created dwelt in the womb of a Jewish virgin for 280 days before He was mani fested to the shepherds in the manger at Bethlehem! Comprehension here dare not be made the boundary line of our faith. If the Word of God is to be believed, we can come to no other conclusion than that. W e are persuaded that the Holy Ghost, in some mysterious way, came upon Mary on De cember 25, and “she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 1:18; cf. Lk. 1:35). Then, 280 days later, "she brought forth her firstborn son: and he [Joseph] called his name J esus ” (Matt. 1:25). Therefore, we understand why the early Christians celebrated, with great joy, the day called "Christmas.” The day means ex actly what |he word means: "Christ-sent." The pre-existing Christ “divested himself” (cf. Phil. 2:7) of His outward glory, and left the courts of heaven upon that day, “sent” of God to dwell in His first earthly tabernacle—the body of a Jewish virgin! December 25— A Day of Supreme Spiritual Meaning Isaiah, the prophet, in sublime ecstasy cried out: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a so n is giv en " (Isa. 9:6). The “son” was “given” at Christmas—December 25. The “child” was “born” on Michaelmas—■ September 29. Thus, in our Christmas celebration, we are in error only in that w e h a v e co n fu sed th e tim e o f ou r Lord’s co n cep tio n w ith the tim e o f His birth. And is it not true that the fact that “a son” was “given” is even greater than the fact that “a child” was "bom”? An infidel world is ready to admit that "a ch ild is bom”; but an infidel world is loath to accept the Christian doctrine that
CH R ISTM A S : SHOULD CH R IST IAN S OBSERVE IT ? [C ontinued from p a g e 407] pear at all certain what was the origi nal special idea of the commemoration of this day.” While the purpose for the celebration of Michaelmas was lost during those centuries known as the Dark Ages, even as was the purpose of some other Christian observ ances, yet we do know that the celebration of Michaelmas was known quite commonly as the "F estival o [ M ichael and th e An- g e ls ”; and we know further, that it was kept on a certain date— S eptem ber 29. Now it is significant that the first day of “the feast of tabernacles,” which was a great day among the Jews, always came on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, called Tisri or Ethanim; and it is note worthy also that this date in the Jewish cal endar corresponds to our date in the Roman calendar, September 29. Now, just what relation, if any, was there between “The Festival of Michael and the Angels” (Mi chaelmas) and "The Feast of the Taber nacles”?- “The Feast of the Tabernacles" was made, by Jehovah Himself, a com pul so r y feast; and, according to the Scriptures, it will continue even during the millennial reign of Christ (Zech. 14:16). Now, just what relation, if any, existed between this all-important feast among the Jews, and “The Festival of Michael and the Angels” among the Christians? W e believe there was a very important relation. December 25— Rightly Observed As "Christmas" W e come now to a very interesting fact. Count forward the number of days from December 25 to September 29, and what do you have? You have the exact number of days in the normal period of gestation— the period between conception and birth. The Apostle John wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1-3, 14). If these words teach us anything, they teach us the pre-existence of the Son of God,
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