II Corinthians 4:5-7
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
December 24th
"...the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." Luke 1:13
Gabriel brought "Happy Tidings" to Zacharias; later Gabriel brought Happy Tidings to Mary; while still much later her "Son of God" blazed forth the HAPPY TIDINGS (of marvelously good things). It was FREE! It was for one and all! It was THEN and THERE! It was LIBERATION: even the unstinted mercies of God set a-begging, with blessings super-abounding (there and then)! But naturally the Deceiver sought his tools: an enemy-man (Matt. 13:25) to distort the Truth that it might become the means of BIG BUSINESS in the hands of a self-appointed caste in our midst: `tis but they who can issue your visa unto Heaven! And I wonder how many outside of my students know that in the originals we find no trace of Jesus ever discoursing about the human "soul" and its "going to Heaven." Why? Because His mission was for the entire human being here and now!
Have you observed how Gabriel promised Mary that God would give to Jesus the throne of David to reign over the House of Jacob forever (Lk. 1:32)? And how His reign should ever increase and to never cease? But where is the slightest hint that the said reign should be postponed to some distantly future day – AFTER Jesus had been murdered?
Chat 10/1966 (continued tomorrow...)