Christmas

Christmas

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. —
Matt. 1:23.

One of the most controversial statements in the New Testament concerns the virgin conception and subsequent birth of Jesus, a conception in which man had no part. It is recorded that a virgin conceived a son without the aid of man, then secretly and without effort gave birth to her conception. This is the foundation upon which all Christendom rests.

The Christian world is asked to believe this story, for man must believe the unbelievable to fully express the greatness that he is. Scientifically, man might be inclined to discard the whole Bible as untrue because his reason will not permit him to believe that the virgin birth is physiologically possible, but the Bible is a message of the soul and must be interpreted psychologically if man is to discover its true symbology. Man must see this story as a psychological drama rather than a statement of physical fact. In so doing he will discover the Bible to be based on a law which if self-applied will result in a manifested expression transcending his wildest dreams of accomplishment. To apply this law of self-expression, man must be schooled in the belief and disciplined to stand upon the platform that "all things are possible to God."

The outstanding dramatic dates of the New Testament, namely, the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, were timed and dated to coincide with certain astronomical phenomena. The mystics who recorded this story noticed that at certain seasons of the year beneficial changes on earth coincided with astronomical changes above. In writing this psychological dramathey have personified the story of the soul as the biography of man. Using these cosmic changes, they have marked the birth and resurrection of Jesus to convey that the same beneficial changes take place psychologically in the consciousness of man as he follows the law.
 
Even to those who fail to understand it the story of Christmas is one of the most beautiful stories ever told. When unfolded in the light of its mystic symbology, it is revealed as the true birth of every manifestation in the world. 

This virgin birth is recorded as having taken place on December 25th or, as certain secret societies celebrate it, on Christmas Eve, at midnight of December 24th. Mystics established this date to mark the birth of Jesus because it was in keeping with the great earthly benefits this astronomical change signifies. The astronomical observations which prompted the authors of this drama to use these dates were all made in the northern hemisphere; so from an astronomical point of view the reverse would be true if seen from the southern latitudes. However, this story was recorded in the north and therefore was based on northern observation.

Man very early discovered that the sun played a most important part in his life, that without the sun physical life as he knew it could not be. So these most important dates in the story of the life of Jesus are based upon the position of the sun as seen from the earth in the northern latitudes. 

After the sun reaches its highest point in the heavens in June, it gradually falls southward, taking with it the life of the plant world so that by December almost all of nature has been stilled. Should the sun continue to fall southward, all nature would be stilled unto death. However, on December 25th, the sun begins its great move northward, bringing with it the promise of salvation and life anew for the world. Each day, as the sun rises higher in the heavens, man gains confidence in being saved from death by cold and starvation, for he knows that as it moves northward and crosses the equator all nature will rise again, will be resurrected from its long winter sleep.

Your Faith is your Fortune
Neville Goddard