The Incarnation:
A View from Revelation

By Mark G. Johnson, Editor

Reprinted from the December 2023, Issue #723 The Banner of Truth Magazine

The encrusted layers of tradition and culture—not to mention myth and fantasy—which surround the celebration of Christ’s nativity have created a most unhelpful filter through which we read the biblical account of that event. We have managed to concoct a sanitized version of events that blurs, rather than clarifies, its significance. The Bible wants us to understand that the incarnation ushered in conflict on a cosmic scale.

An unexpected angle on events
The biggest clue that there might be more to what took place than meets the eye is found in the book of Revelation. We often tend to think about the message of this book as being about the end times of world history; but it is as much about the past and present as about the future. Indeed, the purpose of Revelation (as its title suggests) is to reveal an angle on the world, the universe and life that we would otherwise not see. In it God draws aside the curtain for a moment to show that there is far more to the world and cosmos than mere outward appearance would suggest.

It points to the fact that there is another dimension to our world and existence which is spiritual as opposed to merely physical, one that is played out not only in the course of history, but in the unfolding history of redemption. Revelation opens the window on how these two aspects of the universe coexist and converge. If you like, it provides a filter through which we can view the whole sweep of history past, gain a different perspective on the present and catch a glimpse of what is yet to take place before the end of time. As we follow through its review of history, we cannot help but be struck by the way it portrays the events surrounding the incarnation of Christ.

It sets the backdrop for the birth of Christ not against a sleepy little town called Bethlehem, but instead against the ugly canvas of a cosmic conflict.

The sun, the moon, twelve stars and a dragon
Revelation’s account of the birth of Christ begins with these words,

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars …
(Rev. 12:1)

Anyone not familiar with the book of Revelation might be forgiven for thinking these images are taken out of a New Age fantasy; but that would be a hasty conclusion. The key to understanding this last book of the Bible lies in being able to appreciate the style in which it is written. In the same way that we need to appreciate the difference between poetry and prose as we read literature generally, so an appreciation of the style or genre of Revelation is needed to understand its message.

For the first-century readers of the book, it would have seemed not in the least bit strange. It was written in an apocalyptic style—a form of literature which was well known and widely appreciated in the world of Jewish writings. It was deliberately designed to portray events and truths by means of caricature as opposed to simply stating them in a purely literal way. It was a kind of written equivalent of the way that cartoonists put across their message by deliberately exaggerating features in a surreal fashion in order to emphasize a point.

This stylized account of the birth of Jesus picks up on Old Testament themes of the promise of a Saviour who would be the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15), the portrayal of the people of God as a virgin bride (Jer. 14:17) and a dragon as the epitome of opposition to God (Ezek. 29:3). It weaves them together to show that they all find their fulfilment in the coming of God’s Son when he enters this world by taking our humanity and being born of Mary in Bethlehem. He it is who fulfils God’s promise to conquer the archenemy of God and of the world: the dragon—whose identity is revealed as Satan several verses later (Rev. 12:9).

The picture painted in this passage is of a cosmic conflict which erupts into new proportions of ferocity the moment this child is born. A conflict in heaven which spills over into the world with enormous consequences.

A second look at the birth of Jesus
If we then lay this filter over the account of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels, we begin to appreciate the details in a new and sobering light. We realize that his coming into this world was not the sweet and saccharine event it has become in the popular mythology of Christmas, but one with devastating consequences.

The conflict begins in a quiet home in Nazareth in the foothills of Galilee with a teenage girl who was pledged to be married to the local carpenter. She receives a visit from a messenger from heaven and is told that she will become pregnant—despite her being a virgin—and her child will be none other than God’s Son (Luke 1:16-38). If Mary, in a close- knit community like Nazareth, came out with such a tale she would most likely have been ostracized. But the risks for her were higher still. Under Jewish law, for her to be found pregnant when she was pledged to be married was seen as fornication and made her liable to death by stoning. Yet she stuck to her story—albeit, it seems, telling very few people—and was prepared to face the divorce proceedings her future husband was about to set in motion. That is, until he too was persuaded, by another angel from heaven, that her story was true.

Life for Joseph and Mary from that point could never be the same again. Mary did not stay in her hometown for the duration of her pregnancy; she spent several months with her cousin in the southern part of the land. When it came to the time for her baby to be delivered, it turned out that her husband, Joseph, was called away to Bethlehem, to fulfil the requirements of a Roman census that was taking place. So, Mary ended up in some kind of outhouse the night Jesus was born, far away from family and friends, surrounded by animals. The tears of joy she must have shed as she held her newborn son were surely mingled with tears of pain and perplexity as she tried to fathom what would happen next.

What happened next in terms of family movements was that Joseph, Mary and Jesus became overnight refugees. It was not just that social disgrace had driven them from their own town in Galilee; now they had to flee the country altogether. King Herod in Jerusalem was told of a new king being born in his realm. His response was to send a murder squad to the general area of this report and butcher every male child under the age of two (Matt. 2:16-18). God warned Jesus’ parents in advance, and they had time to make their escape. Egypt was to be their home for the years that passed until it was safe to go back to Nazareth.

The little family into which Jesus was born had become caught up in the cosmic conflict that was raging in the unseen world around. It was the battle of the ages, the battle for the souls of men, and the dark prince who had held sway for so long over this world was not going to yield lightly. He would fight fiercely every step of the way until the struggle reached its climax on the cross and in the resurrection. Those two moments were decisive to the battle. In them Jesus defeated the devil and conquered death once and for all, and has secured the future for his people for eternity.

New light on this present world
Revelation’s portrayal of the conflict of Christmas not only sheds light on what happened when Jesus came into the world so long ago, but also sheds new light on how we understand our world today.

In the same way that D-Day marked the decisive battle for Europe in the last war, yet Germany did not surrender until Berlin fell, so the devil continues to wage his war against God and his people, even though he knows it is a losing battle. He will go down fighting and he will take as many people with him as he can. What we need to realize is that only those who have a living faith in Christ can be sure they will not share the devil’s fate when the end finally comes. This whole angle on the Christ-
mas story makes us all ask penetrating questions about where we place our confidence in life as we contemplate eternity and where we will spend it. Whose side are we on in this battle?

It also helps those who are Christians to appreciate the reason why the Christian life is never easy. To enter a relationship with Christ is to be caught up in the same battle in which he has been engaged. Our allegiance has changed, and the devil is no longer our master. We should not be surprised that even in the most mundane things of life this angry enemy is throwing spanners in the works at every turn. He cannot take away what Christ has given us, but he can do his utmost to spoil our enjoyment of it in this world.

Everyone who is caught up in conflict—whether innocent civilians or combat soldiers—have one pressing concern in the heat of the battle: ‘Where can I be safe?’ So for all of us as we feel the heat of the battle of the ages which rages all around us. God’s answer in the gospel is that there is safety only in Jesus Christ. The little baby who came so helplessly into our world was none other than the mighty God who came to save us. Our eternal safety is in him alone!