The Cosmic Christmas Rev 12:1-4

It was June of 2020 when I found incredible healing from decades of depression and anxiety within this chapter. Revelation is a difficult book to figure out and I don't think that anyone will ever fully unravel its mystery. However, when reading this chapter word for word, the story begins to illustrate itself in such a beautiful light. Even when I've gone over this passage with youth groups, they get excited by being able to piece together the imagery within the story.

There isn't a better time of the year to look at part of the Christmas Story that you may not have considered before. Our family shares this story as part of our Christmas tradition, and I hope you do too! Over the next week, I'll share a few verses every day until Christmas Eve.

Revelation 12:1-2
1A 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. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Let's start with a question... Who do you think this woman is?

This seems to be Mary, the mother of Jesus doesn't it? This seems like the logical answer, but as we continue we might find out something different. This might be a "yes, and" scenario where the woman is Mary, and...

What does the imagery tell you? She's dressed in an interesting wardrobe. She's clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and twelve stars on her head. What could this mean?

The number 12 has great significance. How many tribes of Israel were there? How many disciples? How many governors did Solomon have? How many baskets were left over after the feeding of the 5,000? The list goes on and on. There are dozens and dozens of times we find the number 12 used and it always points back to the people of God.

What does a crown represent? If you guessed royalty, you'd be correct. With 12 crowns on her head, this woman represents royalty that belongs to God.

While this all seems to make sense why is she clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet? We have to dig a little deeper here. I wonder what would happen if we looked for other imagery like this in the Bible.

Interestingly we find this imagery in multiple places. Most notably at the fall of Pharaoh, the fall of Babylon, the destruction of the Temple, and Pentecost. Now we find it here at this event.

What do all of these events have in common?

At each event we find the destruction of an entity that is against God coupled with the advancement of His kingdom on earth. What we're seeing here is an event that is going to change Heaven and earth.

Lastly, why is it important to illustrate that this woman is pregnant and crying out in pain as she was about to give birth? What are some things we know about child birth? Let's look at three things.

1. Child birth is painful for both the mother and child.

2. Child birth is imminent. When labor pains begin, it is imminent that a baby is coming one way or another and there is nothing that can stop it.

3. Child birth brings in new creation. It brings in something brand new that was never here before.

Revelation 12:3-4
3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

There is so much symbolism to be unpacked here. The color “red” symbolizes violence and blood. With the number seven being symbolic of completion, the number ten being associated with evil throughout all of Revelation, and horns being symbolic of power, this seems to introduce a triune-entity or unholy trinity that is opposed to God. This is an evil trinity that is opposite of, and against the Holy Trinity. Therefore, this creature is of unholy royalty per its crowns upon its seven heads.

At the birth of Christ, things weren't so calm and bright were they? Ultimately the illustration thus far is this. A woman representing God's people is giving birth to the Messiah while Satan is waiting to devour Him immediately upon his birth.

I absolutely love that this chapter pulls back the veil of what was happening during the greatest story ever told. As we continue through the rest of this chapter, I promise you that you will be utterly humbled by this story.

More to come tomorrow!