It was a song of glory from heaven, and the hills
of Judea echoed the message of peace and good will toward men. And
throughout the gospel age this sweet anthem has filled with joy the
heart of many a sad wanderer; and seemingly again and again these have
heard the song from heaven: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men".
[144]The world is now entering its darkest period, and when mankind
reaches the point of extremity, then will be God's opportunity to reveal
to all sad hearts that the birth of Jesus was the greatest event in
history to that time; and that shortly this same great Jesus, now in
glory, will extend the blessings of life, liberty and happiness to the
whole groaning creation.
[145]The place of Jesus' birth was truly according to and in fulfillment
of prophecy, thus showing that God had foreordained and prepared the
conditions for his birth. (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:4-6) Jesus was not born
on December 25, as is generally supposed; but his birth occurred about
the first of October. Midwinter would have been a very inopportune time
for the shepherds to be watching their sheep in the fields and sleeping
in the open. In addition to this circumstantial evidence, all the facts
show that the birth of Jesus was in October, and that December 25, nine
months previous, was probably the date of the annunciation.
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