Episode Transcript
We have observed the birth of Jesus as recorded in Luke and Matthew. Those gospel accounts are not the only accounts in the New Testament that tell of Jesus’s birth. John also wrote about Jesus’s brith. He just didn’t write about it explicitly in his gospel account. He wrote about it in Revelation.
Revelation is a difficult book for many to understand. I think that’s mainly because we don’t know the Old Testament. It’s also difficult to understand because so many people say so many things publicly about what the symbols in Revelation mean. It is always difficult to wade through all the information to see the text for what it is. John was a disciple of Jesus. He was the beloved disciple. He wrote the Gospel of John and 1-3 John. The book of Revelation is his magnum opus and the Sistine chapel of the New Testament. Many preachers want to avoid Revelation. Many more add much to John’s words in Revelation to present their own end-times narrative and talk mainly about the signs of the times as if we should be in the business of scaring the literal Hell out of people. I’m not sure that’s the correct approach. I think Revelation is good news. I believe John wrote Revelation to encourage saints who were under the persecution of Rome in the late 60s AD. I’d be glad to talk more about that later. For now, I simply want to see what the text has to say about Jesus.
1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days (Revelation 12:1-6).
Many people disagree about the events these signs represent and the timing of those events. Here’s what we agree on—This is a picture of Jesus. There is a woman with child. She is about to give birth. There is also a dragon, commonly understood as the same serpent that was in the Garden of Eden—Satan. He hopes to devour the child, Jesus Christ. People disagree about what the stars are that the dragon sweeps out of the sky. I’m not going there this morning, but I’d be glad to talk about it in person if you want to have that conversation.
In conjunction with the stars being flung from the sky, this woman, Israel, gives birth to the Messiah. There’s the serpent ready to devour Him. The serpent fails, and Jesus is caught up to God and His throne. So, in one symbol, we see both the birth and ascension of Jesus Christ—both literal events. We also see Jesus described like the prophets described Him in the Old Testament. This child was born to rule all nations.
When Jesus ascended to the Father, the woman, Israel, “fled to the wilderness” to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days—roughly forty two months or three-and-a-half years. People disagree about what this timeframe represents, but we see here that it corresponds in some way to Christ’s ascension into Heaven because that is the immediate context of the symbol. Again, I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole this morning, but I would be glad to sit down and open the Bible with you anytime.
John noticed a few things about Jesus that fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.
He was a male child specifically.
He was to rule all nations, not only Judah.
He was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).
He would overcome the serpent first introduced in the Garden of Eden.
John is very plainly recalling prophecies like Isaiah 9 and 19. Since we will be looking at Isaiah 9 next week, I want to look at Isaiah 19 with you today so we can better grasp the context of Revelation 12.
20 It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them.
21 Thus the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the LORD and perform it.
22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,
25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance” (Isaiah 19:20-25).
God would send a deliverer not merely for Judah, but for the whole world. Through Israel, a deliverer would come to join all nations as His people, the work of His hands, and His inheritance. This has been the plan all along. Even before Jesus was born, the prophets were talking about the joining of the whole world with Israel under a single deliverer, or Messiah. The New Testament authors saw Jesus as this Messiah. He was born to be king, deliver the nations, and bring the nations together under one flag—His.
So, we will hear sometimes that Christianity is a fairly new religion in the world. Though technically true, we can see that such a movement was always God’s plan, even before Jesus was born in the flesh. God took the time to tell us beforehand with plenty of notice how things would be when His Messiah appeared. All we have to do is open our eyes to see that Jesus is winning. Christmas is about bringing nations together under the kingdom of Heaven, not driving them apart. Peace on the earth among people God favors.
