His Heart, My Home

In our last post, we found that the Christmas story actually begins in the book of Genesis. After the fall of man, God confronted the serpent (satan) and declared war on him. God  decreed that a Savior, one born of a woman, would come, and He would crush satan’s head. (Genesis 3:15)

The sacred promise of a Deliverer echoed and reverberated through the generations, until in the fulness of time God sent forth His Son, born of a woman… (Galatians 4:4)

And since that first Christmas, we have been invited repeatedly to “come and behold Him” through the beloved and well-known accounts of Matthew and Luke.

What we may sometimes forget is that God gave us yet another source of revelation knowledge, which is also a part of the epic Christmas narrative.

It’s a dramatic, behind-the-scenes look at what happened in the spiritual realm, when Jesus was born. It’s the Christmas story as seen through God’s eyes, and relayed to us through John, the “disciple Jesus loved”.

¹ “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ²Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. ³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴ His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. ⁵ She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.  ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
(Revelation 12:1-9)

Please note: The first words in the book of Revelation are “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”. This great book, as awesome as it is, is only a glimpse of the realities of eternity. We must always remember its focal point is Jesus, and every part of John’s vision is given to exalt and honor Him!

Paul, who had been “caught up” to the third heaven, said that the sacred secrets he saw and heard in his experience “surpassed human symbolism”. So let’s resist the temptation to get bogged down in the mysteries and symbols (sun, moon, stars, crowns on the serpent’s head, number of days, etc.) we find in this passage. And let’s keep our eyes and hearts centered and focused on Jesus.

The essence of the Christmas message is this: Christ Jesus came to save us, to end the devil’s tyrannical rule over us, and to restore God’s original plan and purpose for us. Now, as God pulls back the curtain of heaven for us, we see:

THE WOMAN (verses 1-2): The pregnant woman, clothed with the sun, moon, and a crown of twelve stars, gives birth.

Although some believe she is Mary, she actually symbolizes the nation of Israel, God’s covenant people, through whom the long-promised Messiah had come.

This interpretation takes nothing away from Mary. It honors her since she was chosen by God to be Jesus’ mother, and was the last person in the long unbroken Jewish genealogical line that brought us Jesus.

THE CHILD (verse 5): Of course this can be none other than Jesus, the Messiah. His birth marks the pivotal moment in human history. He is destined to rule the nations.

THE DRAGON (verse 3-4): Satan, tries to devour the Child at birth, showing us evil’s opposition to Christ from the beginning. The symbolism of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns is not our focus, but may be seen in Daniel, chapters 7and 8.

THE HEAVENLY BATTLE (verses 7-9): A war in the heavenly realm as Michael and his forces engage the forcesof the dragon. Jesus’ birth was an invasion of the enemies territory, and triggered an immediate and explosive escalation of the age-old conflict… a “war in the stars!”

The dragon wanted to “devour” Jesus at His birth. The slaughter of the innocent children of Bethlehem by Herod was only the first of many demonic attempts to destroy Jesus before He could ever complete His mission.

Satan was brutally persistent. During the temptation in the wilderness, the devil tried to provoke Jesus into commiting suicide. Later, a crowd in His hometown of Nazareth attempted to seize Him, and throw Him off a cliff. Another time the destroyer unleashed an unnatural storm on the Sea of Galilee, with hurricane force winds, trying to capsize their small boat, and drown Jesus and His disciples.

On at least two different occasions, the Pharisees and their allies actually gathered stones, to stone Jesus to death. And in at least ten different passages of scripture, the Bible tells us that the religious leaders made demonically-inspired plans to kill Him.

And it’s still happening. Jesus completed His mission of redemption and sits at the Father’s right hand. But the enemy, unwilling to admit defeat, has turned his wrath toward the Church. (Revelation 12:17)

From the killing of the first Christians in the Roman Coliseum, to the persecution and slaughter of believers world-wide today, it has continued. For more than 2,000 years, that old dragon, satan, has been “seeking whom he may devour”.

There’s not really the open persecution of believers in the West as in other countries, but the devil works in more subtle ways. He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy by attacking us with wave after wave of fear, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness, battering our minds and emotions. Then he aggravates and compounds those problems through substance abuse and addictions. He willingly works overtime to make the Christmas holidays chaotic, or lonely, or sad.

But just as surely as the enemy couldn’t destroy Jesus, he can’t destroy us either!
As a matter of fact, we’re the ones who will destroy and tear his kingdom down through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“… the reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].” (1 John 3:8, AMPC)

Other translations paint a clear picture of Jesus’ victory over our enemy. He:

●  Young – …broke up the works of the devil

●  Basic English – …put an end to the works of the evil one

●  Wand – …neutralized what the devil had done

●  Wuest – …brought to naught the works of the devil

●  Jerusalem – …undid all that the devil had done

●  Phillips – …liquidated the devil’s activities

●  Concordant – …annulled the acts of the adversary

We have been delivered, out of the control and authority of darkness, and have been translated into the kingdom of our Savior, our Champion, our Victor, God’s Son! (Colossians 1:13)

“Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His!” (Colossians 2:15, The Passion Translation)

The tables have been turned. The hunter is now the hunted. The prison master is now the prisoner. We are to boldly exercise the authority given to us by the resurrected Christ, freeing those around us, as we seize more and more territory from the serpent.

Hallelujah! Let’s celebrate Christmas!
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, has entered the battle! His birth heralds the dawn of a new day! His resurrection means darkness and death will never reign again! His victory over sin, satan, and hell is also our victory! The powerful presence of Immanuel, always within us, guarantees we will never be defeated!

The devil has been forever defeated through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We enforce that defeat by Jesus’ blood and the Word of our testimony. (Revelation 12:11)

Take some time this holiday season to reflect on the big picture, not just the baby of Bethlehem, but the King of Heaven, the Lord of Glory, the Christ of Christmas, from Genesis to Revelation!

Isaiah 9:6  encapsulates the big picture:

For unto us, a Child is born…
Look beyond the MANGER to the cross!

Unto us a Son is given…
Look beyond the CROSS to the resurrection!
Look beyond the RESURRECTION to the throne!

And the government will be upon His shoulder…
Look at the THRONE and see His KINGDOM RULE!

Grace and I pray that your hearts and homes will be filled with the love, peace, and joy of His presence, throughout this holiday season! And may God’s abundant, overflowing blessings be upon you all in Jesus’ wonderful name! Amen!

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Merry Christmas! Grace and I would like to ask all of you to please pray and give an especially generous love-gift this Christmas season through
Student Life Organization, Inc to help the precious people in Cebu, Philippines as they begin to rebuild their lives from the recent typhoons and earthquake.

Would you please give today? If so, please use this link:
paypal.me/anaferuiz

Thank you! We pray that you will experience and enjoy God’s richest blessings as you give generously in Jesus’ name!