We Wish You A. Merry christmas. To His own in the Manger For His own on the cross With His own at the Rapture. The Believer s Bible Class

Transcription

1 We Wish You A Merry christmas To His own in the Manger For His own on the cross With His own at the Rapture. The Believer s Bible Class Doug Brady, Teacher Page 1 of 12

2 The Christmas Story Which Remains Untold Presented Live - December 20, 2015 I. Introduction A. There is a story told at Christmas time that most of us are familiar with 1. Its central character is green and gnarly, and most of you know him 2. The word Christmas is even in the title 3. At the end of the story the protagonist can t quite bring himself to complete his plan to eliminate Christmas B. But there one who has been trying to steal or eliminate Christmas for years II. This Christmas story is found in Revelation 12:1-5 A. Revelation 12:1-5 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; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. B. The Christmas story is found in Matthew 2, why read in Revelation 1. Matthew and Luke tell the story of Christmas from a human, earthly perspective 2. Revelation tells the story from God s perspective Page 2 of 12

3 3. Which highlights the spiritual battle that is taking place C. The information provided to us in this story is declared to be a sign shmei/on semeion {say-mi'-on} Meaning: 1) a sign, mark, token 1a) that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known 1b) a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature 1b1) of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen 1b2) of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God's D. In order to unpack this story so that we can understand it, we have to determine who are the central characters of this story really are. There are three of them: 1. The woman, the dragon and the male Child 2. The dragon who is that? a. Q: Does the immediate context provide us with an answer? b. Revelation 12:7-9 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (1) Jude 1:9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (2) It appears now that Michael has increased in power c. Revelation 20:1-2 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; Page 3 of 12

4 3. The woman who would that be? a. The immediate context does not tell us b. What are her attributes: (1) She is clothed with the sun (2) She has the moon under her feet (3) She wears a crown containing twelve stars (4) She is advanced in her pregnancy, about to give birth (5) She has no husband beside her (6) And the dragon is prepared to kill her child c. Consider: (1) Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." (2) Genesis 37:9-10 Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, "Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10 He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?" 4. The male Child represents who? a. There is no identification in the immediate context (1) Its as if you would be expected to know b. Distinguishing factors: (1) He was male in gender (2) He will rule the nations of the world [has not but will] (3) He will utilize a rod (scepter) of iron in that endeavor c. But consider Psalm 2, the first of the Messianic Psalms (1) Psalm 2:6-9 "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." 7 "I will Page 4 of 12

5 surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'" d. This Psalm is quoted in Revelation 2 (1) Revelation 2:26-27 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; III. e. Consider also Revelation 19:13-15 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. Satan, the great dragon, has since the beginning of time, tried to prevent Christmas from coming A. There are probably many events is this saga of which we know nothing B. But there are a number which our Lord has elected to share with us C. Cain and Able [Genesis 4] 1. Cain chose to do it his way and offer God a non-blood sacrifice 2. Able as you will remember was obedient to God s sacrificial requirements 3. Genesis 4:6-7 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 "If you do Page 5 of 12

6 well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." 4. Satan believed that he had stopped Christmas by killing Abel 5. But God responded by giving Adam and Ever a third son Seth, to carry on the Messianic line D. The Sons of God [Genesis 6:1-13] 1. Genesis 6:1-2, 4 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. a. Sons of God Job 1:6, 2:1; 38:7 b. In the Septuagint (LXX) the Greek word for angels was used to translate this construct 2. Genesis 6:9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. a. Generations: should be understood to refer to the subjects prior generations or genealogy b. Blameless ~ymit' tamiym {taw-meem'} Meaning: 1) complete, whole, entire, sound 1a) complete, whole, entire 1b) whole, sound, healthful 1c) complete, entire (of time) 1d) sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity 1e) what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact (neuter adj/subst) (1) This word does not speak here to morality (2) Instead it speaks to the whole of something or it being complete c. Time rad dowr {dore} or (shortened) rdo dor {dore} Meaning: 1) period, generation, habitation, dwelling 1a) period, age, generation (period of time) Page 6 of 12

7 1b) generation (those living during a period) 1c) generation (characterised by quality, condition, class of men) 1d) dwelling-place, habitation 3. Genesis 6:12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. a. tx;v' shachath {shaw-khath'} (1) Grammar: Niphal stem (2) Meaning: 1) to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay 1a) (Niphal) to be marred, be spoiled, be corrupted, be corrupt, be injured, be ruined, be rotted 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to spoil, ruin 1b2) to pervert, corrupt, deal corruptly (morally) 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to spoil, ruin, destroy 1c2) to pervert, corrupt (morally) 1c3) destroyer (participle) 1d) (Hophal) spoiled, ruined (participle) b. If Satan could have polluted the human gene pool, God s Son could not have been born as a pure human being and His promise of the seed of the woman could not be fulfilled 4. It took the flood to end this genetic invasion of the human race a. Why didn t Satan keep doing it? (1) 1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. (2) 2 Peter 2:4-5 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell (Tartarus) and committed them to pits of Page 7 of 12

8 darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (3) Jude 1:6-7 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 5. Counter arguement: this passage is referring to the descendant of Seth intermarrying with the descendants of Cain 6. Jewish scholarship accepted this passage as referring to Angelic intermarriage a. Philo b. Josephus c. Most Rabbinical Writers d. Apocrypha e. Pseudepigrapha 7. Early Church writers a. Justin b. Clement c. Tertullian d. Cyprian e. Ambrose f. Lactantius 8. Modern scholars a. John MacArthur b. Henry Morris c. Arnold Fruchtenbaum d. Robert Lightner e. D. Edmond Hiebert f. James Boice Page 8 of 12

9 g. Robert Morey h. M. R. DeHann i. Charles Ryrie 9. The opposition s arguments a. Matthew 22:30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (1) If angelic being were all male, as they are, there would be no marriage b. Hebrews 1:13-14 But to which of the angels has He ever said, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET "? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? c. Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. d. Consider the angelic beings who accompanied the Lord to visit Abraham and then went down to Sodom and Gomorrah E. Pharaoh seeks to kill Israelite children [Exodus 1:13-17] 1. Exodus 1:13-17 The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; 14 and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them. 15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; 16 and he said, "When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. F. Pharaoh determines to kill all of the Jews before they can get away [Exodus 14:5-10] 1. Exodus 14:5-10 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of Page 9 of 12

10 heart toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" 6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; 7 and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly. 9 Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD. G. Athaliah seeks to terminate the line of David [II Chronicles 22:10-12] 1. 2 Chronicles 22:10-12 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath the king's daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death. 12 He was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. H. Haman seeks to use the power of Persia to annihilate the nation of Israel [Esther 3] 1. Esther 3:3-6 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why are you transgressing the king's command?" 4 Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. 6 But he disdained to lay Page 10 of 12

11 hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 2. Esther 3:12-13 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the princes of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder. I. Herod seeks to kill the Messiah [Matthew 2] 1. Matthew 2:1-3 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 2. Matthew 2:7-8 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." 3. Matthew 2:16-18 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 "A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO Page 11 of 12

12 MORE." 4. Genesis 35:16-19 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. 17 When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for now you have another son." 18 It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Benoni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). IV. Final thoughts A. Consider the pattern here: 1. Satan launches an attack on God s plan of redemption 2. And then God responds foiling Satan s attack B. Christmas is really about blood, death and spiritual warfare C. Satan did everything he could think of to stop God s plan for Christmas and the redemption of the world He so loved, and thankfully the devil failed in each and every attempt D. But we must be aware that Satan is still trying to steal Cristmas from God s people and to ruin our Lord s redemptive plan or Believers Bible Class, & Douglas W. Brady Page 12 of 12