According to Revelation

Introduction

Illustration: The story of scouring Spotify for all the Christmas Music bands I listen to have released and discovering the two song “EP” by the White Stripes, called “Merry Christmas from the White Stripes.” In it The White Stripes read Matthew 2:1-12, then they conveniently skip a few verses and finish with verse 16. This is the story of the Magi coming to visit Jesus and their interaction with Herod, and the band ends their reading with the slaughtering of the Children of Bethlehem aged two and under, leaving out the parts about God rescuing Jesus with a dream to Joseph, and about the prophecy that was fulfilled by Herod’s actions. My impression is that they were going for shock value. I don’t know anything about Jack White, the lead singer of the band, believes about Jesus, but reading about the massacre of children just before singing “Silent Night” is quite an image. My first impression of this song was something like “well that doesn’t really put me in the Christmas spirit.”

The thing is though, that’s Bible he was quoting. This really happened. We’ll talk more about Herod next week, but I think somewhere in all the lights and decorations and gift giving I think we have a way of sanitizing Christmas a little bit. We forget the part where a jealous king kills an entire town worth of infants and toddlers in a rage. But that’s part of the Christmas story. Why? Because the birth of Jesus wasn’t just about peace and love. It was also an act of war.

Bear with me here. Most often when we are talking about the Christmas story we talk about Matthew and Luke, who are the only two gospels that directly tell the story of the birth of Jesus. Sometimes we talk more about the prophecies of Jesus’ birth, like Dan did last week. If a Pastor is feeling spicy he’ll take a look at the birth of Jesus from the perspective of John chapter 1 during Christmas. One passage I’ve never heard someone preach on during advent is our text from this morning. The birth of Jesus as described in the book of Revelation. Be honest, how many of you didn’t even know there was an account of the birth of Jesus in Revelation? I won’t make you raise hands or anything, but it’s there. It’s just a bit more symbolic than the ones in Matthew and Luke. It’s found in Revelation 12:1-12, and we will read that together in the CSB this morning.

Revelation 12:1–12 (CSB)

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child. She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be nourished there for 1,260 days.

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down.

They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them!

Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short.

Are you feeling the Christmas spirit from that passage? Does that fill you with the warm fuzzy feelings that Matthew and Luke’s birth stories do? Do you think we should exchange our manger scene over here for a big red dragon with seven heads and a woman giving birth? Don’t answer that question, it was rhetorical.

Yet this is one of the birth stories of Jesus in the Bible, and we believe that it is just as much the inspired word of God as the other two. So then the question becomes, what does this story teach us about the nature of Jesus’ birth? And since this is an Advent series, what does it teach us about Celebrating Christmas? About being disciples of Jesus? About making disciples of Jesus.

I believe that this passage teaches us a few things it shows us the value in understanding that Jesus was not born in isolation, but as the culmination of God’s promises to the people of Israel. The importance of looking at the context of Jesus’ birth in order to understand who He is and what His birth means to us. We also see in this passage that there is a war going on between the forces of evil and God and His people. That Jesus’ birth was behind enemy lines and that Satan’s opposition to the birth of Jesus shows His desperation to defeat the gospel. We finally learn the importance of knowing that Jesus has already won the victory against evil, but that He is inviting us to join Him on the front lines as His witnesses.

Israel, The Mother of Jesus

Illustration: The story of William Wallace, and why removing his Scottishness would completely destroy the story.

At different times in its history the church has had the sad habit of trying to divorce Jesus from His historical Jewish Context. This has by no coincidence been paired with some of the most antisemitic periods of church history, where people called damnation upon the Jewish people for their role in crucifying Jesus and treated the entire people with contempt and looked down on them as somehow lesser than them. I’m not sure how this could have happened without a complete misunderstanding of Scripture and failure to recognize the very Jewish nature of Jesus of Nazareth and His first followers and founders of the Christian Church.

This damages the very witness of the Scriptures and makes many of Jesus’ subtle claims to deity no longer seem like claims to deity, and most of His claims about Himself are subtle. If you lift Jesus out of His Jewish context then you very much lose the impact of His statement “before Abraham was, I am.” Discounting God’s self-disclosure as being “I am that I am,” this quote loses most if not all significance. It makes Jesus to be simply claiming that He’s older than Abraham somehow, and vindicates the views of groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The witness of the New Testament is very much that Jesus not only came from the nation of Israel, but that His coming and His ministry can only be properly understood in its context in light of the Hebrew Scriptures. This is evident maybe even especially in the book of Revelation, which frequently uses rich imagery from the Old Testament. For example, consider these two verses of our passage for today and ask yourself the question, “who is the woman?”

Revelation 12:1–2 CSB

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth.

Now my instinct upon first reading is that when the Bible talks about a woman giving birth to Jesus it’s talking about Mary, but this is not the case in this passage. In this passage the Scripture zooms out and thinks in a more communal way. For better or worse in modern times we are much more individualistic than they were at the time of Jesus, and we lack the same kind of communal identity that was more common then. In this case the vision given to John is focused not on Mary as an individual, but the entire nation of Israel giving birth to Jesus.

This is most evident in the crown on her head having twelve stars, twelve representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet also the Sun and the Moon bring to mind this passage from Genesis when Joseph was given a prophetic dream about his family bowing down to him. This is found in Genesis 37:9-10

Genesis 37:9–10 CSB

Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?”

This is our precedent for viewing the stars and the sun and moon as representing the twelve children of Jacob (also known as Israel) as well as Jacob and Rachel. What does this mean? This means that this passage in Revelation wants to emphasize Jesus as being the child of the entire nation of Israel. Though literally Mary in particular was the mother of Jesus, the entire nation of Israel was founded with the purpose of preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.

When we read the account of Matthew (as we will next week) we see constant allusions to Biblical prophecy from the Hebrew Scriptures. Such as in Matthew 1:22-23

Matthew 1:22–23 (CSB)

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

and in Matthew 2:5-6

Matthew 2:5–6 (CSB)

“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:

Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Matthew also doesn’t want us to miss the Jewishness of Jesus. There is no doubt in my mind that if you are a follower of Jesus you are a disciple of the Jewish Messiah.

This means that we should be students not just of the New Testament but of the Old, or as I prefer to refer to it the “Hebrew Scriptures.” When Paul says to Timothy that all Scripture is inspired by God He is referring primarily to the Hebrew Scriptures. When Jesus quotes the Hebrew Scriptures He quotes them as being true and authoritative words from God Himself. We cannot as some might advocate for today “unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament.” We are nothing without the Old Testament. Jesus birth, death, and resurrection when divorced from their Jewish context are also divorced from their primary source of meaning. You can’t have the Messiah without the book that prepared a nation for Him. So then this Christmas let us not forget the Hebrew roots of our holiday, how it celebrates not just the birth of the Son of God, but the Messiah and Son of God, the Messiah of Israel.

War in Heaven

Illustration: It’s difficult for me to imagine what it must be like to live in a country that is actively at war. Yet what if I told you that as believers we are living through the longest war in all of history?

War has been around for a long time, almost as long as people have been around. After the fall in the garden and as soon as there were enough people to put together armies we have been at war. War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, am I right? But seriously, wars over territory, resources, generational grudges, and beliefs have resulted in countless deaths throughout our species’ bloody history. As Canadians in 2024 it seems like we are living in a nation that has been at peace for a long time. We walk around feeling peaceful and secure. We’re actually wrong on two fronts. For one, we are actually currently involved in two military conflicts. We still have special operations units fighting Isis and our military is actively engaged in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which some are calling the “Red Sea Crisis.”

Yet even if tomorrow those two wars ended and the nation of Canada was truly in a state of peace with the entire world, we as disciples of Jesus would still be at war. I don’t know about you, but I feel like if we’re at war than we really ought to know who we are at war witha nd what is at stake in this battle. Imagine if I told you that a foreign military is on the ground in Canada. You’d want to know where and what they were doing, wouldn’t you?

This is why we should be concerned about the active Spiritual conflict that we are currently engaged in according to Scripture. It’s this conflict that forms the subject matter of most of the book of Revelation, and is very much present in our passage for this morning. Take a look at verses 7-9

Revelation 12:7–9 CSB

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

Now remember that the dragon here is satan. These verses describe Satan going to war with the rest of heaven. What is he trying to accomplish is my question? It could only be incredibly foolish to try and go up against God Himself. I wonder what his intended best case scenario is here. Now it’s clear from the preceding context talking about the birth and ascension of Jesus that this is a war that is coming in the future. A conflict that is going to come to a final head in the end of days. In the meantime however, Satan is already at war with the followers of Jesus. Consider

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

Remember that Peter is writing to Christians here. In other words he finds it necessary to warn followers of Jesus about the fact that the devil (aka Satan) is trying to devour anyone he can. So then he must be at least in part aiming to destroy the followers of Jesus. This is the fight that Paul is referring to when he says in Ephesians 6:12

Ephesians 6:12 CSB

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

So when the vision in Revelation reveals to John and then through him to us that Satan will one day mount an invasion into heaven, it’s to show us where all of this already existing conflict is going. Though it might sometimes feel like we are at peace, we are very much at war. Though through Christ we have peace with God ourselves, peace with Satan and the forces of evil will not come until he is defeated and cast into the lake of fire forever. So then in the meantime we are to do what Paul suggests in that same chapter, which very directly gives us an application to this reality. Ephesians 6:10-18

Ephesians 6:10–18 CSB

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

So what application does Paul suggest given the reality that we are at war with the devil and the forces of evil? Obviously that could be its own sermon, but in summary his advice is to know the truth, to act righteously, and be ready at all times to share the gospel. To have firm faith to withstand the attacks of the evil one, to take confidence in our salvation and to wield God’s Word, the Bible, as our weapon. Finally he wants us to be in constant prayer for not only ourselves but for “all the saints” which means every believer in Jesus.

Even in the midst of the season where we celebrate peace, and where nations have laid down arms amidst their battles in the past, we know that we are still at war. So my dear friends, let us not walk in ignorance and naivete, but realize that the devil is out there and working against us. Let us take up every piece of armor and weaponry that God has given us in this fight lest we be caught defenseless in the battlefield against the great dragon himself. Let us make this Christmas about remembering Jesus came to fight a battle, and preparing ourselves to fight it with Him.

Victory in Jesus

Illustration: Some things are too big for us. That’s a lesson that some children have difficulty taking to heart. But the fact is that sometimes things are too heavy for them to lift, or to high for them to get even with a stool.

There are definitely things that even when we are adults are too big for us. Now a lot of things we think we can handle. Work, bills, home projects, raising our kids. In fact even those things if we try to do them completely on our own will often lead us to failure and discouragement. Yet beyond those are the big things that we don’t even pretend to be able to handle on our own. Things like death. Things like the struggle with our sin nature. Things like, oh I don’t know, war with Satan and all of his many demons in the struggle for our souls and the souls of others.

That kind of reality should be overwhelming and even frightening to us. The good news however is that we don’t need to do this on our own. We are on the winning side, and Jesus will have the ultimate victory no matter how bad things might look before the end. Let’s take a look at verse 10 to verse 12, a hymn of praise after the forces of heaven defeat the dragon.

Revelation 12:10–12 (CSB)

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down.

They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them!

Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows his time is short.

Two important things I want to point out here. First, that these events being written about are almost certainly future events. That doesn’t mean as I’ve said before that we are in a time of peace, on the contrary Satan is stalking us as we speak. What it does mean is that we can expect an escalation of conflict and a conclusion of said conflict in the future. This leads to the second important thing I want to point out, which is the already and not yet nature of Jesus’ Kingdom.

You see we believe that in a very real sense the Kingdom of God has already come. Each time we welcome a new believer into the church we are adding a citizen to the Kingdom. Jesus’ death and resurrection have made a way for us to be truly saved and adopted as children of God. The Kingdom of God rules in our hearts. In a sense the certainty that the Kingdom will fully come in the future is so clear that it effects the reality of the present.

Yet also we believe that Jesus’ Kingdom is in another also very real sense not yet come. We still live in a world ruled by normal people where there is disease, famine and death and we still all sin and live in pain and suffering. Jesus is not yet literally enthroned in Jerusalem from where He will be the King of the entire world. This is what we mean when we say the Kingdom is “already but not yet.”

So when this verse says that “the Kingdom of Our God… Has come” they mean the not yet part. This song in the vision John was given is a song of praise that will be sung in heaven when the battle is finally done. When Satan is finally defeated and barred from heaven. Later in Revelation Satan will make another attempt at the throne, but will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.

So how is this victory one? Jesus wins this victory, but He invites us along to play a part. Notice how it says that they conquered by “the blood of the lamb,” meaning Jesus’ atoning death on our behalf, AND the word of their testimony. Testimony being a translation of one of John’s favorite words which means to bear witness. We are to see and then bear witness to the glory of Jesus and His gospel. This is how we win the battle we are all fighting whether we know it or not.

Now the blood of Jesus is a given. It is already finished. The only question that remains is will we be the ones who play our part in conquering the dragon through the word of our testimony? Will we value Jesus so much that we are willing to lay down our lives for Him? We may never have to do so literally, but how about figuratively? Are we willing to lay down everything that we have at the feet of Jesus to be a part of His glorious victory against the forces of evil? I pray that I will have the courage and strength to answer that call, and pray that you all will join with me in the cause. Let us celebrate Christmas as those who’ve already become conquerors through Jesus Christ. As one of my favorite verses says Romans 8:37-39

Romans 8:37–39 CSB

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclusion

I’ve joked in this sermon about the oddness of this passage in comparison to our usual picture of the spirit of Christmas. It’s true that in modern history we have very much emphasized the nostalgic, heart of a child, joy and simplicity side of the Holiday. I’m not saying we need to ditch these things, but I think it’s important that when we talk about the Advent of Jesus in this season, we don’t just mean the first advent of Jesus when He was born and placed in a manger in Bethlehem, but we also look forward to the Second Advent of Jesus, which will be very much in the Spirit of this passage. When He will come as a rider on a white horse bearing a sword and fighting for all of us and with all of us.

Let us then this Christmas remember the context of Jesus’ birth in the history of the nation of Israel, thus preserving the value of the Hebrew Scriptures in our lives and in our understanding of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. This Christmas let us live as though we are behind enemy lines, taking up our armour and weapons against the forces of evil in the Spiritual realm. And finally let us live this Christmas in the confidence that Jesus has already won this war that we’re fighting, and that we can slay this dragon by his side.

Let us pray.