This ends the Old Tes-ta-ment, which was made up of all the books that were kept by all the scribes from the time the world was made. [Illustration] The New Testament [Illustration: CHRIST IN THE TEM-PLE.] [Illustration: THE BABE OF BETH-LE-HEM.] History of the New Testament. CHAPTER I. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. THE time was near for Je-sus to come on the earth. God had told Ad-am and Eve of one who would save them from their sins. Mo-ses, and all the seers and wise men, spoke of him who was to give men new hearts, and help them to lead new lives. In the days of He-rod, king of Ju-dah, there was a priest named Zach-a-ri-as. His wife's name was E-liz-a-beth. They were both old, and had led pure lives, and sought to keep God's laws. But they had no child. One day when the priest was in the house of God by one of the al-tars, an an-gel came and stood near him. And when the priest saw him he shook with fear. But the an-gel said: Fear not, Zach-a-ri-as, for God will give thee and thy wife a son, and thou shalt call his name John. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and shall turn the hearts of men to the Lord their God. Then Zach-a-ri-as said to the an-gel, But how shall I know that these things will be? And the an-gel said to him, I am the an-gel Ga-bri-el, who stands near to God, and he has sent me to tell thee this good news. And for thy lack of faith thou shalt be dumb, and speak not a word till the day that these things come to pass. Now those who were in the courts of God's house thought it strange that Zach-a-ri-as should stay so long at the al-tar where he burnt the in-cense. And when he came out he could not speak to them, but made them know by signs that he had seen a strange sight. Six months from this time God sent the an-gel Ga-bri-el to the town of Naz-a-reth, to a young wo-man there whose name was Ma-ry. She was one of the heirs of King Da-vid. When Ma-ry saw the an-gel she was in great fear, for she knew not why he had come. And the an-gel said: Fear not, Ma-ry, for God has blessed thee. Thou shalt have a son, and shalt call his name JE-SUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of God. And God will make him a king, and to his reign there shall be no end. Ma-ry said: How can this be? [Illustration: THE AN-NUN-CIA-TION.] The an-gel told her that what might seem hard for her was not hard for God, who could do all things. He had told E-liz-a-beth that she should have a son, and he had now sent word to Ma-ry that she should have a son; and what he had said he would do. Then Ma-ry said, Let the Lord's will be done. And the an-gel left her.