The Woman, the Dragon and the Christmas Child

INTRODUCTION

I want to share with you briefly from a passage of the Bible that tells the whole story of Christmas in just a few verses.

In fact, we could say that this passage truly tells the whole story of the Bible in just a few verses.

And yet it is not a text that people typically turn to during this time of the year.

It is not Matthew 1-2 or Luke 1-3, explaining to us the narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ.

It is not John 1, where we learn that Jesus is God and that in Christ God has revealed Himself to us, full of grace and truth.

It isn’t 1 Timothy 1:15, where the Apostle Paul is telling us about how Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Instead, this passage comes to us from a book of the Bible that a lot of people steer clear from because it seems intimidating—the book of Revelation.

And that is a shame because in truth, Revelation is a rich, beautiful book of the Bible that sums up what the previous 65 books have had to say.

And in the middle of that book, we have Revelation 12—the text I want us to look at.

A passage of Scripture that truly tells us about the history of the world, the history of God’s work in the world and the history of Christmas.

Revelation 12:1–6 ESV

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

WHO IS THE WOMAN? (v. 1-2)

I want to briefly tell you who the characters in this passage are. I won’t go in depth for the sake of time.

I really just want you to see the big picture here and what it means for us at this time of the year.

There are three characters in this passage.

We have a woman.

We have a dragon.

We have a child.

Let’s start with identifying the woman.

The Apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, sees a vision, with a great sign appearing in heaven.

It starts with a woman clothed with the sun and she has the moon under her feet.

She has a crown of 12 stars on her head and she is pregnant, crying out in labor.

You might think, “What in the world does this have to do with Christmas?”

Well to understand, we need to know what this woman represents—as this is what Revelation does for us. God gives us pictures and symbols to help us understand what is happening in the world and what will happen in the world.

The description of the woman helps us know who she is.

She is beautiful and radiant—clothed with the brightness of the sun.

The moon is under her feet, showing that she possesses authority.

And she has a crown of 12 stars on her head.

These 12 stars really help us to know the identity of the woman.

In the book of Genesis, Joseph has a dream and his eleven brothers are described as stars and they are bowing down to Joseph—a preview of what would happen in Egypt in the near future.

But those brothers, along with Joseph, became the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel.

In light of that, the 12 stars are meant to make us think of the people of God.

That is who the woman represents.

She is symbolic of God’s people in the Old Testament.

His bride that He loves and makes beautiful with the light of His truth and grace.

His bride that He loves that have authority and influence in the world.

His 12 tribes that He adores with a promise-keeping love.

But notice that she is pregnant. She is in labor.

This point to how the people of God, in the Old Testament, were waiting on a Messiah.

The Old Testament Scriptures were anticipating a Messiah with passages like:

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

In the same way that a woman carries a child for 9 months and then cries out in pain as the child is born, the people of God carried the anticipation of the Messiah for hundreds and hundreds of years, waiting on Him to come and redeem His children.

They were waiting for One to be born from their line who would be Lord over all.

WHO IS THE RED DRAGON (v. 3-4)

Then we have the second character introduced. The Red Dragon.

He has seven heads, showing that he has some level of authority.

He has ten crowns, showing he has significant strength.

He has enough authority and strength to sweep a third of the stars out of heaven to the earth.

The meaning of that is debated, but clearly it shows that the Dragon has power.

This is Satan.

This is the serpent who deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden.

The Bible describes him as the “lower-case g ‘God of this world’” in 2 Corinthians 4.

He is the one who came before God seeking to ruin Job.

He is the one who Jesus calls a thief and a murderer.

He is the enemy of God.

And yet, his power and strength and authority is limited.

He is a created being.

He is a fallen angel.

And he only has the amount of leash that God gives him.

God is in control of all.

He and Satan are not equals.

This Dragon stands there ready to eat the child that comes from the woman.

She is giving birth and he is in the labor and delivery room, ready to devour this child that is to come from the woman.

Satan waits to kill the Messiah who will be born from the line of the 12 tribes of Israel.

WHO IS THE CHILD? (v. 5)

But when the child is born from the woman, Satan is not able to devour Him as he had hoped.

The male child born from the woman is caught up to God and to His throne.

What verse 5 does is summarize the entire birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was born of a virgin, but not in a vacuum.

He is born from the people of God.

He is the promised King born from Abraham and David’s line.

He is the Messiah that Luke tracks all the way back to Adam, the first man ever created.

When Jesus was born, Satan did His best to destroy Him.

When King Herod, the Jewish king put in place by the Romans in the time of Christ’s birth, heard about this royal baby who had been born from the wise men, he felt threatened.

In a terrible plot, he sought to have the baby killed by going after every male under the age of two in the region.

Matthew 2:16–18 ESV

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

But Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, took his family away to Egypt to protect the child.

Satan failed.

Then Satan tried to destroy Jesus by tempting Him in the wilderness.

He tempted Him with desires of the flesh.

He tempted Him with desires of the eyes.

He tempted Him with the pride of life.

But Jesus overcame Satan. Unlike Adam in the Garden, Jesus resisted the temptation.

And of course, Satan tried to destroy Jesus with the betrayal of Judas and death on a Cross, but he didn’t realize this was all God’s plan to actually “save us all from Satan’s power, when we had gone astray”—just as the song says.

Christ rose from the grave and in doing so, he defeated death.

Then He ascended to the right hand of the Father and received the name above all names.

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

When God took on human flesh, Satan thought it was a grand opportunity to do what he has always wanted to do—slay and defeat God.

But he failed.

Before he could devour Christ, Christ ascended and sealed the fate of evil, death and the Dragon himself.

And one day, the Lord Jesus will return and set up His eternal Kingdom.

Satan will be cast out. All enemies of God will be cast out. Death and crying and pain will be cast out.

And the Lord Jesus will rule the nations forever with a rod of iron, just as it was promised to Him in Psalm 2.

Psalm 2:7–9 ESV

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS

But what does Satan do now? He failed to kill the Son, but he hasn’t given up on his miserable, failing mission.

He turns his rage on the woman again.

She is no longer pregnant now, but she is fleeing into the wilderness.

This is a picture of the New Testament church.

The Messiah was born from Israel and He brought the light of God’s truth to Gentiles as well as Jewish people.

Gentiles have been grafted into the tree of salvation.

The New Testament church has Jewish people and Gentile people living under one roof, freed from sin—serving the Messiah who as ascended.

Awaiting His return.

But until the Lord returns, His church lives in the wilderness of the world.

Hunted by Satan.

Feeling the hot breath of persecution.

Tempted to believe lies about God.

Tempted to disobey the Lord.

Sometimes it can feel like too much.

Sometimes we are in the wilderness wondering, “How long, O Lord? How long?”

Maybe you feel that way tonight.

Maybe you are weary in the wilderness from the plots of the Dragon.

Well don’t despair.

For the church has a place of protection as long as she is in the shadow of her God.

He will nourish her and care for her in the wilderness, just as He cared for the generation of Moses.

Moses’ generation was there for forty years.

The church will be in the wilderness for 1260 days, which refers to the time in between Jesus’ first and second coming.

One day He will return, but until He does, take heart that you will not be destroyed.

The Lord will supply all of your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

He will give you the manna of His body and the drink of His blood to sustain you until He returns.

CHRISTMAS HOPE

So take hope this Christmas.

Run to God in His Word and in prayer and you will find that He is nourishing you and protecting you from the Dragon.

The Messiah has been born.

The Messiah has overcome and ascended.

The Messiah will come again.

Hold fast to Him and hold on to the hope that He will never allow the Dragon to destroy His people.

ONLY AT SEAFORD

Tonight, if you are a believer, come to Him at His supper table to remember His life and death, which you are trusting in for salvation.

COMMUNION

Admonition of Scripture

However, the Scriptures do warn us to examine ourselves before we come:

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 ESV

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

This is God’s table and we are not worthy to eat the crumbs. But in God’s mercy, He has given us these symbols to remember our salvation by. Take them in remembrance.

But if your heart is not right with God and you are dwelling in unrepentant sin or you do not worship Him at all---then I would urge you to refrain from taking them, because of the clear warnings of Scripture.

But if you do come, I hope that your heart will be nourished by faith and hope and filled with thanksgiving.

Let’s pray to that end and set ourselves apart for Communion.

The Bread and the Cup

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Lord Jesus, we praise You for Your life. You entered into the same covenant that Adam did, but You did not fail. You kept the Law at every point. We should have died, but you died in our place. And Your death accomplishes salvation because of the perfect life You laid down. Thank You. In Jesus name, Amen.

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 (ESV)

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Lord Jesus, we praise You for the blood. It has satisfied God’s wrath. Your Father is not angry with me. Your Spirit lives in me. You died for me. Your blood reminds me that God loves me like a wife. Like a child. Like a sheep. Like a friend. Like a brother. Thank You for the blood. In Jesus name, Amen.

1 Corinthians 11:26b: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes—Praise the Lord.

O HOLY NIGHT

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Savior's birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn'

Fall on your knees O hear the angels' voices O night divine O night when Christ was born O night divine O night O night divine

Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains He shall break For the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us praise His holy name

Christ is the Lord O praise His name forever His power and glory Evermore proclaim His power and glory Evermore proclaim

Fall on your knees O hear the angels' voices O night divine O night when Christ was born O night divine O night, O holy night