My family has traditionally read and celebrated the story of Christ's birth from chapter two of Luke every Christmas. Likewise, the manger scene, with two or three shepherds, three wise men/kings, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, a few animals, and an angel or two, has become a hallmark Christmas item. However, this story only skims the surface of the realities taking place in the spiritual realm on that night. John Eldredge, author of New York Times bestseller, Wild at Heart, comments that "spiritually speaking, this is no silent night. It is a D-Day" (156).
Chapter twelve of the book of Revelation shines light on how the true scene surrounding Christ's birth panned out. The chapter begins with a great sign appearing in heaven of a pregnant woman crying out with labor pains. Closely following this description, another great sign appears of a red dragon who "stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour the child" (Rev. 12:1-4).
Doesn't sound like the traditional "Silent Night" "Away in the Manger," huh? The story normally heard, although it is in no way wrong, can be deceiving without the truth of the war in the spiritual realm. Matthew leaves undertones of the story in Revelation when he writes of king Herod seeking to kill baby Jesus (Matt. 2:7-14). This parallels the dragon waiting to devour the child. God, foreseeing this, simply re-routed Mary and Joseph into Egypt, and Revelation explains, after the baby is born, "Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God..." (Rev. 12:5-6). Simply put, while Jesus entered the world on what many know as a "Silent Night," a war raged in the heavens.
"And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon" (Rev. 12:7). Now, some may doubt the interpretation of Revelation relating to the Christmas story because Revelation speaks of the things to come. However, the book of Revelation is more properly entitled "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," as John himself, the writer, records in the very first sentence of Revelation. Therefore, it would make sense to speak of His birth. Also, prophecy commonly has a multi-faceted meaning. God, existing out of time, does not have the barriers that we often place on Him. In other words, if He addressed something to a prophet 4000 years ago, it is relevant to today because He is just as much present in this moment as he is in the next and in the last. Likewise, Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples "beginning with Moses and with all the prophets...concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27), demonstrating the the entirety of the word is exactly that, the Word, or Jesus Christ. Therefore, as much as a war will rage in the heavens, it already has raged. And the prophecy serves many ends.
Chief among them, for the sake of this blog, is the shattering of our "Silent Night" image. "Why," you might ask, "must the 'Silent Night' shatter?" And, simply put, it must shatter because we remain blind to the spiritual realm as long as we choose to remain blind to it. Perhaps the deadliest part of the Christmas story from Revelation comes in verse seventeen when John writes, "So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." But the life, the Light of the world, comes from verse eleven: "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."
The truth is, the world we see right before us only represents a mere glimpse at reality. Nothing transcends the reality of the realm that God dwells in. But, for our sake, Jesus took on our humanity so that we could live with Him in the newness of life--not just the life to come, but life more abundantly in this present age. And when He came, you better believe the enemy was not thrilled. But what a wake-up call to us on Christmas!
I mean, the enemy makes a swipe at the Messiah, the Son of God, while He's an infant! Of course the enemy did not prevail, but it causes me to want to cling to Christ even more. John writes, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (or overpower it)" (John 1:4-5). Of myself, I am dead and the darkness overpowers me. But, with Christ, the Life and Light of men, I am alive, and the darkness has no hold on me!
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" -Psalm 23:4
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