h comes. The Messiah will fight against
the Romans; He will drive them away from our land; and then He will be
our King instead of that wicked Herod.' But only a few Jews remembered
that Jesus was coming to fight against Satan and against sin.

The place where the Jews lived had four or five names. It was called
the Land of Canaan at the first, then the Land of Promise, and then the
Land of Israel. But we call it the Holy Land, or Palestine.

If you look at the map of Palestine, you will see a river running from
the north of Palestine to the south. That river is called the Jordan.
And Palestine is divided into four parts,--one at the top (we call that
the north), one at the bottom (we call that the south), one in the
middle, and one on the other or eastward side of the Jordan.

The part in the North is called Galilee. The part in the south is
called Judaea. The part in the middle is called Samaria. The part on
the other side of the Jordan is called Perea.

Palestine is full of hills, with great holes, called caves, in their
sides. Palestine is not very big; England is about six times, and New
York State about five times larger. Washington is called the capital
of the United States. The capital of Palestine was Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was a very beautiful city. It was built on four or five
hills which were very close together. One of these hills was called
Mount Moriah. On the top of Mount Moriah there was a great Temple
where the Jews went to pray. Part of the Temple was called the Holy
Place, the part at the very top of the mountain. It was splendid with
its shining gold and white marble, but it was not very large, for the
people were not allowed to go into it. When it was time for the Jews
to go to the Temple, silver trumpets were blown once, twice, three
times, and then the gates were thrown open, and the people crowded into
the courts.

CHAPTER II

JESUS IS BORN IN BETHLEHEM

Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived in the little town of Nazareth, among
the hills of Galilee. She was going to be married to a carpenter
called Joseph, who, like herself, lived in Nazareth. One day God sent
the angel Gabriel to Mary with a message. Mary, when she saw and heard
the angel, was a little frightened. But the angel told her he had some
glad news for her. Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, was coming into
the world very soon, and He was to come in the form of a baby, as
Mary's little child. And Gabr