birth, in view of the fact that the king had demanded that they should return and report to him, and when it was King Herod's purpose to destroy the "young child". The fact is that the Devil and his instruments, Herod and others, would have succeeded in this wicked conspiracy and have caused the death of the child Jesus had not God intervened to save him.

155 The wise men reaching Bethlehem found the child and brought their presents and worshiped. Without a doubt it was their intention to return and report to Herod. And the result of such a return Iwould have been the death of the child. But God here intervened and warned them in a dream. These wise magicians relied upon dreams. "Being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way." Satan again was thwarted in his wicked purpose.

156 The real intent of Herod in sending these wise men is disclosed by what subsequently happened. "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding 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 inquired of the wise men." (Matthew 2:16) Determined not to be thwarted in his purpose, Satan and his instrument Herod were willing to destroy all the babes in and about Bethlehem, with the hope of destroying the one that was to be the King and Savior of the world. Jehovah saved the Babe Jesus from this slaughter by directing his mother and Joseph to take the young child and flee into Egypt, which they did. -Matthew 2:13.

157 We would not be justified, then, in presuming that God was using these devil worshipers, the "wise

men", "magians," magicians, for the purpose of being his witnesses to the birth of his beloved Son. But on the contrary, the facts show that it pleased him to reveal this great truth to the shepherds and to use them as his witnesses.--Luke 2: 8-18.

158 There is nothing whatsoever in the account of this experience of the wise men to indicate that their mission was in any wise beneficial to mankind; but the most charitable view we can take of it is that they were dupes of a deep-laid plot by Satan, the arch conspirator, to destroy the seed of promise; and that Jehovah let the conspiracy proceed to the point where it would fully demonstrate the wickedness on the part of Satan and his instrument, and then demonstrated his great protecting power. Without a doubt Satan has attempted to deceive and has deceived multitudes of honest people into believing that these men were the witnesses of the Lord, and hid from their minds the fact that they in truth and in fact represented Satan.

159 All the wicked persecution that came upon the Lord Jesus afterward, and upon his followers to this day, has been because of the influence of Satan the Devil. And yet at all times the Lord has protected his own at the very critical moment, just as promised: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear [reverence] him, and delivereth them." -Psalm 34:7.

HOW UNDEFILED?

100 Paul says: "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12) "There is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalm 14:3) These scriptures being true, and since Jesus was born of a woman, was he not born like other

children? And if so, was he not a sinner like others?

161 Jesus was not a sinner. He was born pure, holy, sinless, without spot or blemish. He was not begotten and born like other children. While he was born of the woman Mary, Joseph was not his father. Joseph was espoused to Mary, Jesus' mother, and before they were married she was found to be with child. (Matthew 1:18) Mary was a virgin, yet she was about to give birth and did give birth to the babe Jesus. (Matthew 1:20, 23) The holy child that was born of the virgin Mary was and is the Son of God. -Luke 1:35.

162 The words translated in our Bibles Holy Ghost should be properly translated holy spirit. The holy spirit is the invisible power and energy of Jehovah. God is holy; therefore his power and energy are holy. Father means life-giver. Jehovah is the Father of Jesus because he gave life to Jesus; hence Jesus is called the Son of God. The spirit or energy of Jehovah operating upon earthly substance produced earthly creatures. (Genesis 2: 7; 1 Corinthians 15: 47) The same holy power and energy begat the child Jesus, who was born of his mother Mary. Therefore the life of Jesus was without sin or imperfection. The germ of life of him who was born Jesus was transferred from the spirit plane or nature to the human plane or nature.

163 Jesus was our Lord's human name. It implied his humiliation and lowly estate, in comparison with the glory which he had with the Father before the world was. (John 17:5) He existed long before he became a human being. His prehuman name was the Logos, which is translated in our common version Bible "the Word". The word Logos is therefore one of the titles of Jesus and should not be translated

at all. It means the spokesman, active agent, or messenger, of Jehovah. John, writing concerning the Logos, who later became Jesus, says: "In the beginning [which means the beginning of God's creative activity] was the Logos, and the Logos was with God [the God, Jehovah], and the Logos was God [a mighty one]. The same was in the beginning with God [the God, Jehovah]. All things were made by him [the Logos]; and without him [the Logos] was not anything made that was made," he was the active agent of Jehovah in making all things.-John 1:1-3.

164 The beginning here referred to could not mean the beginning of God the Father, because he is from everlasting to everlasting and never had a beginning. (Psalms 41:13; 90: 2) The work of Jehovah, however, had a beginning, and his creative work is clearly what is here meant. The Logos was the first and only direct creation of Jehovah, and thereafter God's creation was performed through his Logos. This is the thought expressed by the Apostle Paul, who said Jesus "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 principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist".-Colossians 1: 15-17.

165 As further evidence of Jesus' prehuman existence, we have his own words: "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38) "I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me." (John 8:42) Again: "Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) Again: "I came forth from

the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." (John 16:28) "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (John 17:5) Again Jesus said: 'I am the beginning of the creation of God.' (Revelation 3:14) Furthermore, the Apostle Paul under inspiration states: "God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." (Hebrews 1:1, 2) And again he states: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9) He was in the form of God before he became a man. "Who, though being in God's form, yet did not meditate a usurpation to be like God, but divested himself, taking a bondman's form, having been made in the likeness of men."-Philippians 2: 6, 7, Diaglott.

166 Some have earnestly believed that Jesus was God himself. But such a conclusion is not warranted by the Scriptures. John said: "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." (John 3:35) Again Jesus said: "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. . . . For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." (John 5:22, 23, 26) Again Jesus said: "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." (John 8:17, 18) Thus Jesus definitely fixes the fact