Christmas IQ Test
Updated: Aug 25
Who are angels and what do we know about them? The Bible has answers, especially from verses about Christ's birth.
One December my husband and I decided to throw a Christmas party for some family, and friends. Fearing our party might bombe since most of our guests were unknown to each other, my husband found a Christmas I.Q. test we could use as a game to warm our festivities. With a fire built in our fireplace, the tree lit in all its' glory, and food scrumptiously prepared we welcomed our guests and organized them into two teams, girls against the boys.
As the two groups brainstormed together I learned something very important during our game about my mother. In the future I must remember to never play a biblical trivia game against her. That night my mom’s ability to recall obscure facts was astonishing. The boys’ team had two pastors, but they never stood a chance against the intellect God blessed my mother with. Even though our responses were merry and bright in truth I didn’t do very well on the test and neither did most of the participants. As we giggled at our answers throughout the evening it became clear to me that many of the details I had taken for granted as being in the Christmas story were not based on the Bible’s account but on tradition, Christmas carols, and even cartoons.
One little known fact which was uncovered is the Bible’s version doesn’t
say the angels sang on the night Jesus was born. I tell you this in all seriousness.
Instead Luke 2:13-14 reads,
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those
with whom he is pleased!”
Scripture says that they said it, but it doesn’t explain how. They might have said it
with musical accompaniment, or they might have proclaimed with a shout, but in
the end the passage does not say they sang. I know I assumed they sang because
of Christmas carols like, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”.
Another question we wrestled with that night was, “What is a heavenly
host?” Huddled together with our collective knowledge and listening to all the
possible answers on the multiple choice quiz we all agreed that a heavenly host
must be a choir of angels. Once again our answer was wrong. In the early Greek
language the words translated “heavenly host” in our English Bibles meant an
angelic army.
I think this I.Q. test was the first time I realized that many of the events of
the Christmas story we have come to accept have not come from good biblical
scholarship. And this is a big problem for us if we want to know the truth. It
would be easy to misunderstand God and his intentions if we are placing our faith
in fiction. In my cozy little house full of friends, I certainly enjoyed the merriment
of that Christmas party. Of course my favorite part was when the women beat
the men because we had my mother on our side. Later, though, I pondered about
some of the truths exposed that night. How does an angelic army war? Why
would they need to war on the night Jesus was born?
In Luke’s account these angels came to praise Christ’s birth and were God’s
messengers sent to inform the shepherds of his birth. A multitude of angels
appeared to the shepherds, a host of heavenly beings proclaimed this birth by
glorifying God. So, was angelic praise a form of angelic warfare? Interestingly
Psalm 8:2 reads, “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies to silence the foe and the avenger.” Does giving glory to
God disarm the enemies of his kingdom?
Why would it be necessary for these angels to war or provide protection for
this baby? Was this baby in any real danger? Yes, in Matthew’s account of the
Christmas story found in chapter 2 it records that when the Magi came looking for
the Christ child they originally went to King Herod’s home. They incorrectly
believed the birth of a king would naturally take place in a king’s palace. Herod
listened to their story of the star, but a pure heart was not driving Herod’s
attentiveness. Scheming and feigning a desire to help the wise men Herod
inquired from the best Old Testament scholars of his day where the prophets
foretold the Messiah would be born. While he cloaked his concern with a longing
to worship this new king his true intent was to murder the Christ child he viewed
as a rival. Herod’s paranoia trapped him into listening to the lying voices of
jealously and ambition. Jesus was coming to establish a heavenly kingdom, a fact
Herod was never able to grasp. God protected baby Jesus from Herod’s clutches
by revealing this threat to the Magi and to Jesus’ parents, so they could safely
escape. After Herod realized he had been outwitted by the wise men he sent an
execution team directly to Bethlehem with an orders to slaughter all the young
boys living in region under the age of 2. Weeping was heard throughout the area
of Bethlehem as family after family grieved the murder of their son. History has
rightly labeled Herod a petty, murderous ruler who cared nothing for the subjects
under his charge. Yes, baby Jesus needed protection from evil men and evil
schemes after his birth. When we combine the information found in Matthew
chapter 2 with Luke chapter 2, we see there were numerous reasons the heavenly
host came and worshiped the night of Jesus birth. One of those reasons was to
protect the Christ child and their sweet adoration silenced the foe and the
avenger.
One Sunday after church I was cleaning up the kitchen when one of my
sons asked me, “Mom, do you know how to tell a good angel from a bad angel
when they speak to you?”
Not knowing where this conversation was going I said, “No, how do you tell
a good angel from a bad angel when they are speaking to you?”
“Good angels always start their conversation with, ‘Fear not.’”
“Oh.” I said, “That is really cool, where did you learn that?”
“Oh, we talked about it in Sunday School today,” he said nonchalantly.
I was amazed at the insight coming from my son’s lips. Today, as I read the
Christmas story in Luke chapters 1 and 2, I thrill at how many times the angelic
messengers spoke to their hearers, “Fear not…” Though my son is grown I can
still hear the wonder in his voice.
“Mom, do you know how to tell a good angel from a bad angel when they
speak to you?”
Biblical curiosity can be a glorious adventure. Wisdom dictates that in our
research we carefully put our trust in the correct facts. Remember what got me
searching in the first place, “How and why would an angelic army need to war at
Jesus’ birth?” Meditating on the angels’ activities and their desire to not incite
fear in human beings has allowed me to view the Christmas saga with fresh eyes.
In the true account we discover God has provided everything we need because
reconciliation with him is his idea. On that holy night so long ago the heavenly
host exalted God by saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
among those with whom he is pleased!” I want to exalt God, too. The King of the
universe has sent his only begotten son, who by his sacrificial death paid the price
for your sins and mine, so that we could experience God’s peace and God’s
pleasure.
What might change if, like the angels, you gave glory to God out loud this
Christmas? Try reading out loud what the angels said, “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” Wasn’t that
fun? You know, since it is Christmas’ time why don’t you give glory to God again?
