God had ruled the events clustering around the birth of Christ. There was an appointed time for him to appear in the form of humanity. A long line of inspired prophecy pointed to the coming of Christ to our world, and minutely described the manner of his reception. Had the Saviour appeared at an earlier period in the world’s history, the advantages gained to Christians would not have been so great, as their faith would not have been developed and strengthened by dwelling upon the prophecies which stretched into the far future, and recounted the events which were to transpire. {3SP 180.1}

Gud havde styret de begivenheder, der samlede sig omkring Kristi fødsel. Der var en bestemt tid, da Jesus skulle vise sig i menneskelig skikkelse. En lang række af profetier, skrevet af mænd, der var drevet af Helligånden, viste, at Kristus skulle komme til verden og beskrev nøjagtig, hvorledes man skulle modtage ham. Var Kristus kommet tidligere i verdens historie, så kunne de kristne ikke have gjort så god fremgang; thi da kunne de have udviklet og styrket sin tro ved at overveje de profetier, som henviste til en fjern fremtid og fremstillede de begivenheder, som skulle ske.