Do you remember when you first heard Handel’s Messiah? I was a freshman at Baylor. My roommate, a music major sang in a choir. I went and listened to the words of scripture set to music. Revelation and Christmas came together for me that evening. In a room decorated for Christmas, Baylor students and professors sang Revelation 11:15, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord.”
What does Christmas really have to do with the book of Revelation? Both proclaim the coming of the Lord. On Christmas, we celebrate Christ’s first arrival, in Revelation his second coming. As I studied Revelation early one morning at IHOP on I-10 with a dedicated group of young dads from our area, I remembered that one of the challenges with interpreting Revelation is discerning which things have happened, are happening, and will happen. Revelation, as a representative of ancient Apocalyptic literature, uses recapitulation. Instead of telling the story in a linear, sequential fashion, John tells the same story over again with different symbols. At the end of chapter eleven, John has shown us the ultimate triumph of the Lamb. Now in chapter twelve, he recapitulates, going back to the time of Christ’s birth.
So who is the woman who cries out in pain giving birth to a son who is snatched up to God (12:1-5)? Who is the dragon who tries to kill the child (12:4)? Is this a future event or a past event or both? On the one hand, it looks like the story of Mary and Herod trying to kill the baby, but God thwarts him. On the other hand, it looks like the church, delivered from the persecuting powers of Rome. It may well depict an event that still lies ahead. But it meant something to its original readers in their lifetime.
What was the original purpose when God first inspired John to write to the church in the first century? John wrote to encourage persecuted Christians to persevere. Christians triumph over Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. As Jesus did not shrink from death, neither do we. This seems timely in our world. The devil is angry because as accuser of believers, he knows his time is short.
Sometimes I record sports events and watch them later. If I know my team is going to win, I am not the least troubled when I see them fall behind. I have already seen the final score. Just so, when we look at the prevalence of evil in our world, we may say with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “But in despair, I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.” The book of Revelation reminds us that the same God who saved baby Jesus from Herod, actively works to save his people. Never forget. Never forget. We win in the end. The last verse of “I heard the bells on Christmas Day,” has it right: “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, ‘God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.’ The wrong shall fail; the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men.” The Messiah singers were right: the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of the Lord. This is our victory!
