The Nativity in Revelation

The Gospels contain two accounts of the Nativity - the birth of Jesus.  The first is in Matthew and the second is in Luke.  Today I wanted to look at a third one, which is found in a most unlikely place...

... the book of Revelation.


Past, Present, or Future?


American pop culture typically assumes the Book of Revelation is a big collection of Christian end-of-the-worldy stuff.  It isn't hard to see why - since the whole book is filled with planet-killing plagues, earthquakes, comets, and wars.  And there is no shortage of crank preachers claiming to have the inside scoop on how these end-times prophecies will play out.

However, this is not how most Catholic exegetes understand the text.  People like Scott Hahn say the book is about Christian liturgical worship.  Jimmy Akin makes argues that the Beast or Revelation represents the Roman Emperor Nero Caesar.  For my part, I laid out a case for that Revelation 20:4-6 actually takes place in the present day.

So a typical Catholic take on Revelation is to see it as a literary rehash of God's whole interaction of human history.  But it pays the most attention to the life of Jesus, the destruction of the Jerusalem, and the Early Church era under Roman persecution... before concluding with the end of history in the last couple chapters.

The Revelation Nativity:

One of the clearest cases of this occurs in the twelfth chapter of Revelation.  This is where we find a hidden account of the nativity as seen from a heavenly perspective.  Here 'tis:

"Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.  

And another portent appeared in heaven.  Behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads.  His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth.  

She brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days." - Revelation 11:19 - 12:6

Unpacking the Vision:

Let's go through these themes one by one.

The Child:

We are told this child will rule the nations with a rod of iron.  This is a not-subtle reference to Psalm 2, which says:

"I will tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, 'You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.'” - Psalm 2:7-9

While this may have referred to King David in one sense, Christians have long seen this as a Messianic prophecy.  The letter to the Hebrews makes the same connection. [Hebrews 5:5]

So who is this child?  Jesus, obviously.


The Woman:  

The woman is seen amidst the heavens, dressed in royal garb, and giving birth to the Messiah.  Can we think of a woman in Scripture who gave birth to the Messiah?

Well... one certainly comes to mind.  The Virgin Mary.

Now, I have encountered people who insist this woman actually represents Israel, or the Church.  And you know what?  These people are absolutely right.  Symbols in Revelation can have more than one referent.  For instance, in Revelation 17:9 we're told the horns of the Beast symbolize seven mountains and seven kings.

So could the woman represent Israel bringing forth the Messiah amidst many trials and suffering?  You bet!  But on the most literal level, the woman who gave birth to Jesus... is Mary.  That's the plainest understanding of who this heavenly queen is.

The upshot is Revelation tells us that the Heavenly perspective of Mary's role in human history looks a bit like this...

The Dragon:  

The identity of the dragon is explicitly given in the text. It says:

"The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.  He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." - Revelation 12:9

We're also told this dragon's tail swept down a third of the stars in the sky.   If you have ever heard that a third of the angels rebelled against God, this is where it comes from.

What would this refer to in human history?  Well, it says the dragon tried to swallow up the child (Jesus) at his birth.  This could easily refer to Herod trying to kill Jesus during His infancy.



A Battle for Souls:

The Nativity has long been the subject of chorals and greeting cards.  However, the book of Revelation paints a very different picture of these events.  The interpretation of these events given from a divine perspective is a great war between heavenly powers.

This martial take on the nativity was not lost on CS Lewis, who remarked:

 “God entered into our human condition quietly, as a baby born in obscurity…because He had to slip covertly behind enemy lines.”

 .

Happy Advent!