Heaven and Earth Affected.
Ordinarily something has happened in heaven and the implications spill into earth in it's time bound existence. This time something is happening within interstellar earth and both heaven and earth are affected. The battle for hearts that began long ago in a garden and even before that garden, takes a sovereign turn in the arrival of a child. Wow. Heaven and earth are affected by the arrival of a child. Yes. The child.
Where would you normally look for the Christmas narrative? Cozy up with Matthew or Luke. Have done it many times. But what about that cozy apocalyptic narrative tucked away in yes....you guessed it, the bible book of Revelation chapter 12. I love that the arrival of the "heaven and earth affecting child" is in the "scared to go there" Revelation of John. But there it is in all of it's bloody glory. John is seeing visions that an angel is showing him. The angel told him to write down what he is seeing which means that we get to see it today. Gift.
In the bible book of Revelation chapter 12, we receive the account that John sees several signs. One is a pregnant woman "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head". Descriptive. Imagine it. He also sees an "enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads". Gulp. Really descriptive. Imagine it.
The pregnant woman? Mary, completely chosen by God to enter into the battle for the hearts of the world. Courageous. The enormous dragon? Satan, completely evil and choosing to battle against the heart of God for the world. Aggressive.
Drink this battle in. It's a part of your heritage. In chapter 12 and verse 4 we receive these epic words of war. "The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born". Game on. Real. Bloody. And notice this delicious detail. But the devil isn't able to reach in and destroy the child. No. The devil has to wait. The devil is waiting. The devil waits in advent. Wow. Dramatic. Imagine it.
Merry Christmas. Chapter 12 verse 5. "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter". Silent night. Battle night.
I love these words from Eugene Peterson. "It is St. John’s Spirit anointed task to supplement the work of St. Matthew and St. Luke so that the nativity cannot be sentimentalized into coziness, not domesticated into worldliness. This is not the nativity story we grew up with , but it is the nativity story all the same. Jesus’ birth excites more than wonder; it excites evil!"
Why? Why should the birth of Jesus excite evil? Because evil knows what the birth means for evil.
That's why the devil is there waiting.
"And her child was snatched up to God and to His throne." The gates of hell will not prevail. They will not.
The child was born to be King. He was born to be enthroned.
Even though living this life is so hard, don't we (even secretly) really want it to be worth enough for the life of our hearts that the road from the manger to the cross is a "heart battle field" that God conquers on? Imagine it.
Merry Christmas.
There's more.