Revelation 12: 1-6
Ann Graham Lotz, Billy Graham's daughter, in her book, "God's Story," shares the following observation—"On Christmas Eve, 1968, Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, while orbiting the moon in Apollo 8, were so aware of the Presence of God in space that they publicly read the first ten verses of Genesis to the listening world thousands of miles away. When James B. Irwin, an astronaut with Apollo 15, actually walked on the surface of the moon...he was overwhelmed with the conscious awareness that God was present on the surface of the moon! And God was! And God is!"
Praise God—our God is a cosmic God, and, make no mistake about it, our Christmas is cosmic, too. As we come to this Christmas Day, you might think that we have come to the end of the road. so to speak. But nothing could be further from the truth—Bethlehem, the Cross of Calvary, the empty tomb, and everything God has done since, are not just historical events. They are that, but they have tremendous cosmic implications. The Apostle Paul said of Jesus, "And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist...that in all things He might have the preeminence." (Col. 1:17,18b) But He didn't just bring it all together then; God is about to do it again—"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." (Eph. 1:10) This cosmic event is pictured in Revelation 12—"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." (vss. 1-3)
Make no mistake—the woman is not Mary! Yes, the baby about to be born is Jesus, and all who would be spiritually born of Him, and, the dragon waiting, "...to devour her child as soon as it was born," (vs. 4b) is certainly Satan, but this "woman" refers to the faithful of Israel—from Abraham to Joseph and Mary—the lineage of the Messiah! When would Mary be clothed with the sun, or have the moon below her feet? The sun, moon, and stars refer to Israel, as we saw on December 4th . This is so cosmic, Satan would have to attack on four fronts—against Christ and His work of redemption (vv. 1-5); against the faithful of Israel in the last days (vv. 6, 13-16); against heaven itself (vv. 7-9); and against all true believers (vv. 10,11,17)—read the whole chapter to see it! Praise God—"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne." (vs. 5; cf Ps. 2:9) Make no mistake—through a Holy Spirit empowered growing and going, Jesus will bring back God's cosmic order!
~ Rev. Roy D. Warren, Jr.
