1. I have preached many Christmas messages over the years, and most of them were from the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.
2. However I have preached quite a few from other books of the Bible.
3. Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
4. Isaiah 9:6 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
5. Micah 5:2 says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
6. John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
7. Galatians 4:4 says, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law."
8. First Timothy 3:16 says, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh."
9. This morning I am going to preach about the birth of Christ in the book of Revelation.

I. OUR LORD'S BIRTH

1. Revelation 12:1 says, "And there appeared a great wonder (sign) in heaven..."
2. The "great wonder" John saw in Revelation 12:1 appeared in heaven, but it portrays scenes here on earth. The vision in Revelation 12:2 describes the birth of the baby Jesus.
3. Because the woman is seen giving birth to the baby Jesus, Roman Catholics have taught that this woman represents Mary, the mother of our Lord. However, this is not the proper interpretation (cf. 12:6, 13-17).
4. Another popular interpretation is the woman represents the church.  However, the church did not give birth to Christ.  It is the other way around -- Christ started the church.
5. In this vision, the woman represents the nation Israel, which will be persecuted during the coming tribulation period (Rev. 12:6, 13-16). In John's vision, the woman represents Israel as the matrix from which Christ came.
6. The woman is described as clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (12:1).
7. This symbolic description of the woman is an allusion to Genesis 37:9-11, where the sun and the moon represent Jacob and Rachel.  The twelve stars refer to the twelve tribes of Israel.
8. The dragon (Satan -- cf. 12:9) is seen awaiting the birth of the child with the intent to destroy the baby as soon as he is born. This refers to the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and the attempts of Herod to destroy the baby Jesus (cf. Matt. 2:16-18).
9. Way back in the Garden of Eden, the LORD said there would be continual enmity between the seed of the devil and the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15).
10. It has been pointed out that Herod was an Edomite and therefore a descendant of Esau and of the people who were the traditional enemies of Jacob and his descendants, the Israelites.
11. Arabs and the modern day "Palestinians" are descended from the Edomites.
12. In Ezekiel 35:5, the LORD condemns the Edomites for their "perpetual hatred" and violence toward the children of Israel.
13. The same Satanic hatred manifested at the birth of Christ is still here.  In fact, it gets more hostile and more severe year after year.
14. A vulgar cartoon television show called “Family Guy" recently had a special Christmas episode entitled, “The 2000 Year-Old Virgin.”  The show pictured the Lord Jesus sitting in a bar drinking and talking about sex with some creepy foul-mouthed sinners.
15. I read an article about it, but I cannot describe the disgusting filthy details from this pulpit.  It is too wicked and shocking.
16. The reporter said, "Family Guy is known for constantly crossing the lines with vulgarity and blasphemy but thus far this latest 'Christmas' episode takes the cake for most blasphemous and vulgar" (Tianna DiMartino).

II. OUR LORD'S DEATH & RESURRECTION

1. Our Lord's death and resurrection is emphasized in the book of Revelation (1:5, 7, 18; 2:8).
2. Throughout the book of Revelation, Christ is referred to as "the Lamb," signifying His sacrificial death on the cross.
3. John 1:29 says that when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming unto him, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
4. And this is the emphasis in the book of Revelation.

• In Rev. 5:6 John says there "stood a Lamb as it had been slain."
• In Rev. 5:12, John describes this majestic choir and the voice of many angels round about the throne of God and the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain..."
• Rev. 7:14 pictures the martyrs who have come out of the great tribulation, "and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
• Rev. 12:11 says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
• Rev. 13:8 refers to "the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

5. As we celebrate Christmas, let us remember the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to die on the cross for our sins.
6. The apostle Paul said, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (I Tim. 1:15).
7. Our Lord said, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
8. Have you ever noticed that some of our most beloved Christmas songs are rather melancholy? "I Wonder As I Wander," "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," "In the Bleak Mid-Winter," etc.
9. I believe these songs are sad and melancholy because they picture the cradle in the shadow of the cross.

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor orn'ry people like you and like I...
I wonder as I wander out under the sky. (John J. Niles)

III. OUR LORD'S RETURN

1. Revelation 12:5 says, "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron..."
2. This is from Psalm 2:9, "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
3. This prophecy is quoted three different times in Revelation.

• Revelation 2:27 says, "And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers..."
• Revelation 19:15 says, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron."
• And here in Revelation 12:5.

4. During this Christmas season, we are reminded of our dear Saviour's birth. Churches have their Sunday School Christmas plays and Christmas cantatas. We receive beautiful Christmas cards with pictures of the baby Jesus in the manger, and the wonderful star of Bethlehem leading the wise men, and the shepherds watching over their flock by night.
5. We sing beautiful Christmas songs -- "Joy to the World," and "Silent Night," and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," etc.
6. Even many of the department stores and restaurants play beautiful Christmas music.
7. And worldly unsaved people get up out of their seats at places like Carnegie Hall when the choir sings the "Hallelujah Chorus."

The kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord,
And of His Christ, and of His Christ;
And He shall reign for ever and ever,
For ever and ever, forever and ever,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,
King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And Lord of lords,
And He shall reign,
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings, forever and ever,
And Lord of lords,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

8. But though Christmas reminds us of the first coming of Christ, most people seldom consider the second coming of Christ -- And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings, forever and ever.
9. Even that beautiful Christmas hymn, "Joy to the World," written by Isaac Watts, describes the second coming of Christ, not His first coming.
10. He rules the world with truth and grace,
    And makes the nations prove
    The glories of His righteousness,
    And wonders of His love,
    And wonders of His love,
    And wonders, wonders, of His love.
11. The second coming of Christ is the great theme of the book of Revelation (cf. Rev. 19:11-16).

CONCLUSION:

1. I heard a preacher say that when he was a little boy he liked to read books about cowboys and Indians and sheriffs and outlaws and cattle rustlers, etc.
2. But sometimes he would get nervous reading about how the outlaws had taken over the town, and were tearing everything up, and had put the sheriff and his deputies in jail, etc. So the preacher said he would skip a few chapters and read the last chapter.
3. There he would see that the sheriff and his deputies eventually got out of jail and they arrested all the outlaws. The good sheriff made everything right.
4. Then, with a sigh of relief the preacher said he would go back and read the best of the book. He was happy knowing everything was going to turn out well at the end.
5. Well, right now things look pretty bad. Some people do not like to read the newspapers because there is so much bad news (like the shooting in Brooklyn yesterday).
6. But we know how things are going to turn out because we have read the book of Revelation. Don't be discouraged -- the Lord is coming back!
7. Revelation 22:20, 21.