A Strange Nativity Scene

Children’s Bible Page 1338

Merry Christmas Christ Covenant Church!

I hope you all are ready to have a great holiday week as we celebrate the coming of Jesus.

During this Christmas season, I have been preaching a series of messages called: Merry Christology.

Which, my children have informed me is a super nerdy title, point taken.

But, I like it for two reasons:

One, it simply means the study of Christ, His person and works. And what better to study at Christmas time as we contemplate the Son of God, the second member of the trinity, the God-man, coming to earth to save us from our sins.

A second reason I like it is that while Christmas is a happy time for many, it comes with complications for others, so I love the idea that no matter what, we can find our deepest joy and merriment in Christ alone.

Well, my family and I had the opportunity to go see the “Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever” over Thanksgiving break.

It’s a popular play turned into a movie.

And in the story, a family of four children come to the church because they heard there was food there, and they end up being a part of the Christmas Nativity Pageant.

But, as they start rehearsing, the director soon realizes that they don’t know anything about the story of Jesus coming at Christmastime.

And when they do hear the story, they want to know why Herod, the king who wanted all the young boys murdered was not part of the nativity play.

It’s a great reminder to all of us that while we may be extremely familiar with the events of the Christmas story and the real meaning of Christmas, there are those around us who do not have the first idea what Christmas is really all about.

So today, we are going to look at the Christmas story from a very different angle.

A strange and even bizarre angle.

We are going to look at the Christmas story from the point of view of the apostle John as he writes the book of Revelation.

Now, I doubt any of the nativity scenes at your house feature a murderous dragon instead of sheep, and a group of warrior angels ready to fight the dragon instead of one peaceful looking angel presiding over the whole event, but that is exactly the scene John, led by the Spirit of God, paints for us in Revelation 12.

So, here are a few things to know up front to help you as we walk through this passage:

First, the book of Revelation is strange. It is simply not the type of literature that most of us are used to reading.

When was the last time you ordered the most recent prophetic apocalypse from Amazon?

But, while the literature is unique to us, that does not mean that it is impossible to understand or that we should not give our attention to Revelation.

Did you know that the book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible that explicitly promises a blessing for those who read it, listen to it, and obey it?

One of the great things the book of Revelation does is it takes us behind the scenes.

It unveils to us what is happening in the spiritual world that we cannot physically see.

So, let’s worship God by walking through this Scripture together!

Revelation 12:1–6

1 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. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 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. 5 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, 6 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.

1. Rejoice! For Christ Is Born!

Now, one of the strange things about Revelation is that it is written with symbolism everywhere.

And it is tough to know what to do with it all.

But, it becomes a lot easier when you realize that almost everything written in Revelation has already been written about in the Old Testament.

So, who is this woman in verse one clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head?

Well, listen to Joseph way back in the first book of the Bible tell of a dream he had

Genesis 37:9–11

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

So here, the sun, moon, and stars represented the family of Joseph. And Joseph and his brothers became the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel.

Isaiah writes about the nation of Israel this way:

Isaiah 26:17

17 Like a pregnant woman

who writhes and cries out in her pangs

when she is near to giving birth,

so were we because of you, O Lord;

Which takes us all the way back to the first promise of the Savior:

Genesis 3:15–16

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.”

Alright, so this woman who is pregnant and in agony of giving birth represents the people of Israel.

And it was through the people of Israel that God had promised He would send the Savior and deliverer.

So, since Mary was the one who was pregnant and birthed the promised Savior, she was the representative of the hope the nation of Israel had been longing for.

So, we’ve got the first two verses.

Revelation 12:3

3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.

Now, who is this?

Well, verse 9 in our passage tells us the dragon is the ancient serpent, the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

The seven heads and diadems represent a false narrative of complete sovereignty, as seven is the number of completion.

Satan seeks to deceive people into thinking that He is the all sovereign one.

And the ten horns are found back in:

Daniel 7:7

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

Daniel 7:24

24 As for the ten horns,

out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,

and another shall arise after them;

he shall be different from the former ones,

and shall put down three kings.

You see, while Satan is the ultimate enemy of God and his people, Satan has also used human rulers throughout human history to stand against God and his people.

The pharoah of Egypt was called the great serpent in the book of Ezekiel.

And this would have been meaningful to God’s people at the writing of Revelation because they were experiencing persecution from the mighty Roman Empire.

Revelation 12:4

4 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.

What do the third of the stars represent that the dragon swept down?

Daniel 8:10

10 It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them.

Some people think this refers to the fallen angels that fell with Satan, but more than likely, it speaks to God’s people who were under great persecution due to Satan and his activity in the world.

For it says that he threw them down and trampled on them whereas Satan does not trample on fallen angels, but he uses them for his purposes.

We certainly see this happen throughout the Bible.

Just consider when the Egyptian Pharoah commanded all of the Israelite male babies to be thrown into the river and drowned.

Consider the story of Jesus’ birth, where Herod had commanded every male two years and under to be murdered, and Jesus’ parents had to flee with him in order to rescue him from Herod.

You can find in every generation of the church, earthly rulers who use their power to persecute God’s church, which Rome was doing at the time of this writing.

So, notice back in verse 4, Satan was persecuting God’s people, and He was waiting for Israel through Mary to birth the promised Savior so that He could destroy Him.

It was always Satan’s strategy to take Jesus out, through Herod, through those who did not believe in him during his earthly ministry, and finally through the Jews and Romans who had him crucified on a cross.

So, the dragon stands ready to destroy the Savior child, but what happens in verse 5?

Revelation 12:5

5 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,

Take note church, Satan is characterized as a dragon and one who persecutes a third of God’s people.

But, the promised Savior born of the woman, Mary, will rule all nations with a rod of iron.

The Savior’s dominion is so much greater than Satan’s.

Now, when it comes to ruling with a rod of iron,

Where have we heard that before Bible readers?

Psalm 2:8–9

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Complete rule. Complete sovereignty.

The dragon was there to destroy the child, but he was caught up to God and to His throne.

The angel told Mary and Joseph to take the child to Egypt to save him from Herod’s wrath.

How many times do we read in the Old Testament where God’s people were on the verge of being wiped out, and God delivers them?

How many times do we read in the gospels that Jesus’ adversaries seek to kill him, but Jesus is able to escape.

When it finally seemed that the ancient serpent had cornered the Son of God and nailed him to a cross,

Satan bruised the son of Man, only to have His head crushed when Jesus rose for the dead on the third day.

And Jesus’ resurrected body was seen by hundreds over the span of forty days, then he ascended to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand.

And notice verse 6

Revelation 12:6

6 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.

Jesus is in heaven.

Jesus’ people, the Israel of God, which is the church, flees to the wilderness, a place prepared by God, and is nourished for 1,260 days.

Now, when God delivered His people out of Egypt, they went into the wilderness where they had to learn to trust God as He cared for their every need.

Elijah flees to the wilderness and is sustained by God.

Daniel writes of a period of 3.5 years which is 1,260 days, where God sustains his people against Satanic opposition.

Now, whether this speaks to a future time of God’s care for his people in the midst of the tribulation, or if it speaks to our time now, there is no doubt that God is with us among the many challenges and oppositions we face as believers in this fallen world.

God cares for us and spiritually nourishes us day by day as we follow him.

He nourishes us through His word, prayer, the Holy Spirit within us, our brothers and sisters in the church.

Like Jesus said in Matthew

Matthew 10:28

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Even those who are martyrs of the faith, God keeps and nourishes their soul. True faith will not fail even against the greatest of oppositions.

Rejoice! For Christ is Born! And He completed His work, and no threat of the enemy could stop him. It was actually the enemies dealings that led Jesus to take the full punishment for our sins on the cross.

Truly what Satan meant for evil, God used for good.

Revelation 12:7–12

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

2. Rejoice! For Christ Has Conquered!

The angel Michael is one of only a few angels that the Bible specifically names.

And both here and in the book of Daniel, he is said to battle on behalf of God’s people.

In Daniel, the dragon is too strong for God’s people, but the angel Michael and his angels defeat the dragon.

Verse 8 says there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

While there are different understandings of this, I think this is speaking of the spiritual battle that was won when Jesus died on the cross and rose in the resurrection.

It seems in the times of the Old Testament, Satan had access to God’s throne.

We see him in Job 1 and a few other places approach God’s throne in order to accuse people,

One way to think about Satan’s primary scheme is that he seeks to accuse men before God, and to accuse God before men.

He wants God to know how worthless he believes mankind is, and he wants mankind to believe that God is worthless.

Yet, after the cross and resurrection, Satan is thrown out of heaven and the fallen angels are thrown down with him.

And at Satan’s defeat, heaven praises singing, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

For Christ is exalted in heaven as the supreme God of the universe!

And notice the beautiful gospel truth in verse 11, though the dragon was too strong for God’s people, God and his angels defeated him.

And so how did God’s people win? It was not by their own strength, but by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

Jesus’ blood was shed in our place for our sin, so that we could be set free from punishment.

And it is now the testimony of the church with one voice to proclaim, “Jesus is Lord!”

And for many of our brothers and sisters around the world throughout the ages and into today, proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” is setting oneself up against earthly leaders, sometimes at the expense of their lives.

But they loved not their lives even unto death.

Like the old hymn says: Though the body they kill, God’s truth abideth still.

The testimony that Jesus as Lord stands the test of our lives on earth, and takes us to our eternal home.

Every time we gather as God’s church, we gather under the banner of this testimony: Jesus is Lord!

That’s our victory!

And as we journey in this world which is our wilderness, God nourishes our souls and leads us all the way home.

Verse 12 says, “Therefore, Rejoice!”

Here is something I find so helpful and so encouraging about God’s word.

James tells us to not just be hearers of the word but doers also.

And sometimes, when you get into passages like this one, it may feel a little complicated to parse out all the details, but it’s actually super simple to figure out what God wants us to do with this word.

There is only one command to us in all of chapter 12, and it is right here in verse 12: Rejoice!

That’s why all three sermon points begin with the exhortation to rejoice!

Rejoice! For Christ is born!

Rejoice! For Christ has conquered our sin, Satan, hell, and the grave for us!

Rejoice that Jesus is Lord!

Rejoice that your enemy is defeated and the battle is won!

Rejoice that though you will suffer in this life, you will experience perfect victory apart from suffering in eternity with Jesus!

Verse 12, Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!

Remember, even while you live on earth, as a believer, you have been raised with Christ, seated in the heavenly places, and your salvation is sealed by the Spirit of God and kept in heaven for you.

So Rejoice!

Take note of the woe toward the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down in great wrath, because he knows his time is short.

While the worldly powers do Satan’s bidding, He is not their friend. For He only seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

But we rejoice for Christ has conquered.

And we rejoice because our chief aim in this life is to take such joy and satisfaction in God that we remain free to fight against the temptations and desires of this world.

No matter what you are facing today, the key to help and victory is to take great joy and satisfaction in God and His glory! Rejoice!

Revelation 12:13–17

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

3. Rejoice! For Christ Will Save His Church!

Notice, these final five verses depict Satan attacking God’s people.

Verse 15, the serpent seeks to drown God’s people with a flood, but the earth opened in order to shield the people from the water.

Consider:

Psalm 18:4–6

4 The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

Psalm 18:16–17

16 He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

17 He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

As Satan seeks to destroy God’s people, God goes to any lengths to ultimately keep and save His people.

Remember, when the Egyptian army came against God’s people at the sea, God made the sea collapse on the enemy in order to a claim victory for his people.

God’s people found themselves in an overwhelmingly difficult situation at the writing of Revelation.

While God’s church had grown and spread in those early days, Rome was still the great power of the world, and its leader opposed God and his church.

What were these people to do in the midst of such power and persecution coming against them?

In the same way, the night Jesus was born was probably not as peaceful and calm an affair of what is sometimes depicted, but adding to it the war in the spiritual realm helps us understand all the more the great war of the dragon against God and his angels.

All over the Old Testament, God’s wings are used as a symbol of God protecting his people.

Psalm 17:8–9

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,

9 from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who surround me.

Psalm 54:7

7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,

and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

Once again, we see this picture of God’s people being brought away from the serpent, and into the wilderness to be nourished during the time of their sojourn.

And while I don’t believe I’m preaching to many people who are being persecuted by their government or have their lives threatened for claiming Jesus as Lord,

I have no doubt you, like I, have things in our lives that feel daunting, threatening, and overwhelming.

We all have our own trials of suffering and our own temptations to sin.

So, I want you to leave here today applying this passage to your heart and life in a few ways.

First, remember there is a real spiritual battle going on with a real enemy and a real victory.

Our lives are lived before the face of God, and they are lived in the midst of the devil prowling around seeking whom he can devour, and they are lived embodied in a weak flesh that suffers and is tempted.

And in the midst of this battle, you are called to rejoice!

Rejoice in the one who fights for you, and who has started the good work of salvation in you and will finally bring you all the way home.

Rejoice in God and His glory! Find joy and satisfaction in who He is, what He has done, and continues to do.

Let your desire for God drown out the worldly desires within you.

And in order to consistently rejoice, you must regularly come away to the wilderness and let God nourish you in the midst of the battle as He hides you under the shadow of your wing.

You must get away daily by committing a time to Bible reading and prayer.

You must get away weekly by gathering with your church family to sing, pray, fellowship, sit under the preaching of God’s word, and take of the Lord’s supper.

Consider the patterns of Jesus’ time of stealing away to be with His Father.

It is a pattern that we must follow to continue to rejoice in the midst of the battle.

So wherever your battle rages: whether it be in your marriage, or finances, or relationships, or addictions to sin, or whether it be in problematic emotions, or physical health problems, or consequences for bad choices made, or opposition from others,

Fight for joy in your soul by looking to the victorious Christ! And steal away to allow Him to nourish your soul under the shadow of his wings.

If you are here today, and you do not personally know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that we were created by God and for God,

But we have all sinned and fallen far short of God’s glory,

But we celebrate at Christmas that while we were sinners, Jesus Christ humbled himself, became human while still being God, and, in great love, took the punishment for our sins on the cross where He died.

And after three days, God the Father raised His Son Jesus from the grave defeating death, sin, Satan, and hell so that we could be forgiven and freed.

But you must personally confess your sin and believe on the Lord Jesus from your heart in order to be saved.

(Elder at the couch)

Let’s pray.