Apollo 8's Christmas Eve Message [HD]

Produced for use at our church's Christmas Eve service, December 24th, 2013.

On December 24th, 1968, Apollo 8 made its final pass around the moon and the crew, in turn, sent home this message:

Bill Anders
"We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.
'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.'"

Jim Lovell
"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman
"'And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.'
And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas -- and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."

[Dkilgore]

I was serving in the US Navy with Patrol Squadron Sixteen (VP-16) during the time of Apollo 8. It was truly a moving moment when the Apollo 8 crew read Genesis 1:1-10 from the King James Version of the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”. In December of 1968, I was a 22 year-old sailor away from home at Christmas. I had a wife and a 21 month old daughter back home in Kentucky, I wept then, and I still weep when I hear recordings of those brave astronauts reading Genesis while orbiting the moon. Dear Lord, as the days become increasingly dark in our country, I pray that the Light of Your Love will shine upon this land. May peace reign in our nation and protect us from those who seek our downfall. I ask this in the Precious and Holy Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[ginathegreat]

The way he says "the good Earth, " you can hear in his voice that he reveres the Earth so much more than he realized before he saw it from space. It touches me every time.

[michaelmiller]

Even though I'm an atheist, this was perhaps the nicest thing ever to come out of a television
screen.Thank You to everyone involved in the Apollo Program!

[cocteauhitherto]

Im an atheist. And i must say, this is absolutly perfect and fits to the situation of Apollo 8.

[jumbles]

If the Apollo 8 astronauts had read from the Bible to the people of the Earth in 2021, they would be denounced as being bigoted against people of other faiths, perhaps even racist. 1968 was a very bad year, as bad as 2020. The Apollo 8 mission message gave us all hope that things would be better. Let us hope that we can put our differences aside and become the people of the good Earth once again.

[pedrocordero]

I was in the 1st grade when I heard this, I get very emotional to this day, I'm now 61yrs. old, it brings tears to my eyes, God Bless all of You good people on this earth

[distructzero]

My mom passed in 2018..she told me she remembers holding me (2months old) in front of the TV watching this... Knowing it was one of those moments in history.... I wish I could remember

[brianmelton]

Apollo 8 blessed all of the Apollo missions after this.They read the Word of God . Thank you Apollo 8 !

[rustyx]

I saw it live and will never forget it... When the got home they caught hell from the atheists.. But it was too late.. It was in the history books

[MrLeo-oxcn]

Glory to God forever and unto the ages of all ages. Amen 🙏 ❤️

[laserfloyd]

I'm not a religious type but the whole thing is quite touching and profound. Being in a place where you're literally able to put everything and everyone you've ever known behind your thumb at arm's length. That's pretty deep.

[senorkaboom]

I still remember seeing that, along with my mom and dad. What a moving and special moment, the living room was quiet for a short while.

[anthonyaguirre]

This is my favorite mission of all time

[bcask]

50 years ago tonight. Still gives me chills.

[alexallan-musicaaovivo]

It´s remarkable how the Holy Bible has a perfect passage for every human experience. Such a loving gift from the Creator.

[MrFROTUYA]

May God continue to shed His Grace on the United States of America🙏

[jebahar]

You may conquer any wilderness; overpower anything that is beyond human imagination; you be an atheist, agnostic, anybody. Still, God is in charge, and His Word can shake even the toughest heart.

[johnnybravo]

55 yrs ago, it was insane event then. God bless all of you...
Merry Christams
2023

[dulceidaliahernandezhernan]

I love to see this video again and again... How wonderful GOD is... Apollo 8 thanks for teaching us what God made : universe.

[jevchance]

Nowadays they probably wouldn't be allowed to say God in a government-sponsored program. Great video Matthew.