 Why doesn't the Earth shoot the spaceship out of the sky?
Instruments within the ship intercepted radio broadcasts and, within the hour, early TV signals. The history of the planet was tabulated as facts became available. "The big bomb can destroy them. "The wrong diplomatic move, or a trigger-happy soldier could set it off. A meteor shower could pass over and their clumsy instruments could interpret it as an all-out enemy attack." They went much closer to Earth, not intending to commit themselves. For a day they circled the planet, avoiding radar detection, which for them was not difficult, testing, and sampling. Atmospheric analysis showed that as far away as we were." "What's worse is that I now find they also have missiles, range one thousand miles and upward.
 The combination of the Christmas holiday, aliens that look like angels, and what looks to be the star of Bethlehem, has convinced the people of Earth that Bal and Ethaniel are friends and not foes.
 The Earth does not have weapons that are capable of going as high as the spaceship. Nor are their weapons capable of penetrating the spaceship's hull.  Bal and Ethaniel are using the spaceship to broadcast a message of peace in all the languages of the world.  The combination of the Christmas holiday, aliens that look like angels, and what looks to be the star of Bethlehem, has convinced the people of Earth that Bal and Ethaniel are friends and not foes.  The spaceship is lit up as brightly as a star. The light is bright enough to convince the humans that firing upon it would be futile.