This Sunday’s sermon on Revelation 12:1–6 retells the Christmas story in dramatic, cosmic terms. A pregnant woman points us back to the ancient promise of Genesis 3:15. A great red dragon evokes the powers opposed to God and his people, echoing Pharaoh in Egypt. And a male child is born—the one destined to rule the nations with a rod of iron. Join us as we uncover the deeper story behind the manger: a tale of conflict, promise, and ultimate victory.
A devouring dragon
Revelation 12:1–6
The Woman and the Dragon
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 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 give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to 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, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

