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Page 45
"May peace be given to you all abundantly! I make a law that everywhere
among my kingdoms men fear and worship the Lord God of Daniel; for he is
the living God, above all other gods, who only can save men."
And Daniel stood beside king Darius until the end of his reign, and
afterward while Cyrus the Persian was king over all the lands.
THE STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR
At the time when the story of the New Testament begins, the land of
Israel, called also the land of Judea, was ruled by a king named Herod.
He was the first of several Herods, who at different times ruled either
the whole of the land, or parts of it. But Herod was not the highest
ruler. Many years before this time, the Romans, who came from the city
of Rome in Italy, had won all the lands around the Great Sea, the sea
which we call the Mediterranean; and above king Herod of Judea was the
great king of Rome, ruling over all the lands, and over the land of
Judea among them. So Herod, though king of Judea, obeyed his overlord,
the emperor at Rome. At the time when this story begins, the emperor at
Rome was named Augustus C�sar.
At this time, the land where the Jews lived was full of people.
Jerusalem was its largest city, and in Jerusalem was standing the Temple
of the Lord, which king Herod had lately built anew, taking the place of
the old Temple built very many years before, which had long needed
repair. There were also many other large cities besides Jerusalem. In
the south was Hebron among the mountains; on the shore of the Great Sea
were Gaza, and Joppa, and C�sarea; in the middle of the land were
Shechem and Samaria; and in the north were Nazareth, and Cana; down by
the shore of the Sea of Galilee were Tiberias, and Capernaum, and
Bethsaida. Far up in the north, at the foot of snowy Mount Hermon, was
another C�sarea; but so that it might not be confused with C�sarea upon
the seacoast this city was called C�sarea-Philippi, or "Philip's
C�sarea," from the name of one of Herod's sons.
One day, an old priest named Zacharias was leading the service of
worship in the Temple. He was standing in front of the golden altar of
incense, in the Holy Place, and was holding in his hand a censer, or
cup, full of burning coals and incense; while all the people were
worshipping in the court of the Temple, outside the court of the
Priests, where the great altar of burnt-offering stood.
Suddenly, Zacharias saw an angel from the Lord, standing on the right
side of the altar of incense. He felt a great fear when he saw this
strange being with shining face; but the angel said to him:
[Illustration: _"Do not be afraid, Zacharias"_]
"Do not be afraid, Zacharias; for I have come from the Lord to bring
good news. Your wife Elizabeth shall have a son, and you shall name him
John. You shall be made glad, for your son John shall bring joy and
gladness to many. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord; and he
shall never taste wine nor strong drink as long as he lives; but he
shall be filled with God's Holy Spirit. He shall lead many of the
people of Israel to the Lord, for he shall go before the Lord in the
power of Elijah the prophet, as was promised by Malachi, the last of the
old prophets. He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and those who are disobeying the Lord to do his will."
As Zacharias heard these words, he was filled with wonder, and could
hardly believe them true. He was now an old man, and his wife Elizabeth
was also old; so that they could not expect to have a child. He said to
the angel:
"How shall I know that your words are true, for I am an old man, and my
wife is old?"
"I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God," said the angel. "And
I was sent from the Lord to speak to you, and to bring you this good
news. But because you did not believe my words, you shall become dumb,
and shall not be able to speak, until this which I have said comes to
pass."
All this time the people outside in the court were wondering why the
priest stayed so long in the Temple. When at last he came out, they
found that he could not speak a word; but he made signs to them, to tell
them that he had seen a vision in the Temple.
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