Messiah's Birth And The Red Dragon

As we move deeper into the Revelation we encounter even more mysterious images. What do they mean? The entire scene now shifts from heaven to the earth as we consider the fifth of the seven scenes revealed to John.

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. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 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. 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, 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. - Rev 12:1-6 ESV

Unlike the writers of the three Gospels John uses symbolical language to describe the birth and life of the Christ. He uses the word "sign" or portent for the first time here to mark this as a new revelation, the revelation of the Messiah's birth described in symbolical language that reflects several near Eastern sources.

Consider, for example, the late fifth-century synagogue, Beth Alpha. It was uncovered in 1928 by members of the nearby Kibbutz Hefzibah, who stumbled upon the synagogue’s extensive mosaic floors during irrigation construction. Excavations began in 1929 under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and were led by Israeli archaeologist, Eleazar Sukenik. . .

Floor Mosaic - Central Panel

The central panel features a Jewish adaptation of the Greco-Roman zodiac. The zodiac consists of two concentric circles, with the twelve zodiac signs appearing in the outer circle with the appropriate Greco-Roman sign, and Helios, the Greco-Roman sun god, appearing in the inner circle with a fiery crown of rays adorning his head as he rides a stylized four-horse-drawn chariot. Female busts symbolizing the four seasons appear in the four corners immediately outside the zodiac. The zodiac symbols and seasonal busts are labeled with their corresponding Hebrew names.

Many questions arise from the discovery of that synagogue. Was the zodiac included in the Jewish calendar at that time? Was Jewish worship influenced by Greco-Roman cosmology? And further, is John's Revelation in chapter 12 reflecting the zodiac as portrayed in this synagogue when he writes about the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head? In an earlier blog I shared the fact that some believe the zodiac could be interpreted from a Christian viewpoint.  E.W. Bollinger in Witness of the Stars, and Joseph Seiss in The Gospel in the Stars, provide detailed analyses of this understanding.

Following these hints, the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, etc. may well refer to Israel viewed as the priestly community envisioned by the LORD and revealed through Moses. 

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." - Exo 19:5-6 ESV

The Apostle Peter sees this heavenly vision being now fulfilled in the Christian community. 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. - 1Pe 2:9 ESV

In turn, the O.T. sees the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the stars, as in Joseph's dream:

Then he (Joseph) dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." - Gen 37:9 ESV 

In Joseph's dream the sun was Jacob/Israel, his father, and the moon his mother Rachel. The other eleven stars would represent his brothers. So with Joseph we have all 12 tribes represented by the 12 signs of the zodiac. 

Following this insight, the community of believers (the woman) is crying out in the agony of childbirth. From the Children of Israel (the woman) comes the "male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron," in other words, Jesus, the Israelite son of Mary, the direct descendant of King David of Judah. The birth of the Christ, the Anointed One, was difficult and painful. He was born in a stable and his parents had to flee to Egypt lest he be killed by King Herod. As soon as he was born the dragon sought to devour him.

Sirrush bas-relief in the Pergamon Museum

Who then is that "great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his heads"? It is significant that the dragon is red like the Babylonian snake, The Mušḫuššu. The red snake was a creature depicted on the reconstructed Ishtar Gate of the city of Babylon, dating back to the 6th century B.C. The Mušḫuššu was the sacred animal of the god Marduk and his son Nabu during the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. As depicted, it was a mythological hybrid: a scaly dragon with hind legs resembling the talons of an eagle, feline forelegs, a long neck and tail, a horned head, a snake-like tongue, and a crest.

The Leviathan, the O.T. monster who comes out of the sea also had many heads and the LORD was said to smash them and pierce the "fleeing serpent."

You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. - Psa 74:13-14 ESV

You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. - Psa 89:9-10 ESV 

Rahab means restless storm, pride, blusterer. It was the poetical name for Egypt. The red dragon of the Revelation is also a king. He wears diadems on his seven heads. Like Mušḫuššu and Rahab he is the very symbol of chaos and pride. As the LORD Jesus foretold, he brings total chaos, confusion and death to the woman as he seeks to destroy her child.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. "But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. - Mar 13:8-9 ESV

So the red dragon seeks to destroy the woman (Christian community) and her wondrous child, 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 she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.- Rev. 12:6 ESV

In the earlier vision, Satan's power was limited. So here in this vision the woman-community will be protected and nourished for 3 1/2 years, the same period during which the two witnesses prophesied (Rev. 11:3). Her Son is protected by His ascension to heaven where He now rules with a rod of iron.

We Christians know that we have no abiding home here. We are on a journey. John reminds us that through the time of this journey we will be pursued, but also nourished. And ultimately, after a limited time, we will receive the victory from our risen and ascended LORD, ruler of heaven and earth. 

How To Heap Burning Coals On Your Enemy

I continue to ask, Will our children have faith?

It happens, even among pastors, the spiritual leaders of Christian communities of faith. What happens? Pride and self-aggrandizement. This is why Pastor W insisted that he alone knew what was best for the congregation. They would have a new form of what he called contemporary worship. From his observation and experience this was the only way to reach the youth of the community. His was to be the only way to keep them with the church. The church needed to get past its outmoded fascination with old and outdated liturgical traditions of the past. It must become modern and contemporary with an ever changing world.

So Pastor W threw his weight around. He did not listen to the leaders and elders of his congregation. He did not consult with other pastors in the region. He simply did it! And when twenty families finally walked out in protest—some major, long-time members of the church—Pastor W simply shrugged. That was their choice. He and his followers were moving forward to educate, encourage and train the next generation and to reach out to those outside the congregation's fellowship.

In my previous post I emphasized the importance of living within a community of faith so that our faith in the Risen Christ might be passed on to our children. What I did not say was that within that community there is often conflict, confusion and quarreling about how to do just that. The decades old worship wars within the Christian community give evidence of the same. The Apostle Paul anticipated that in his guidance given to the churches in and around Rome. Though he wrote that "we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another," he also pointed to a long list of failures to bear witness to Christ's love within that body. Here's a brief summary:

• demanding that we adjust our values in order to relate to the world around us
• emphasizing individual rights by insisting that I know what is best! 
• refusing to use the gifts God has given in service of my community of faith
• pretending to care for and love others, with a hidden agenda of gaining personal glory and influence
• outright, obvious and open laziness
• slandering those who slander you
• spreading gossip about any and all who disagree with your personal viewpoint

This list goes on and on. Take another look at what Paul writes in Romans 12:1-21. He knew and wrote about the challenges we all face when living together in community. We carry our sinful natures along with us. His final advice:

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head" (Prov. 25:21-22). Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Rom 12:19-21 ESV

Heaping Burning Coals? 

by Lois Tverberg - OurRabbiJesus.com

What's the deal about heaping burning coals on his head? Sure sounds like a cruel, even malicious way of getting even. Why appeal to such desires? How in all the world is this a way of witnessing to our children about the love of Christ the Lord? Dr. Lois Tverberg explains:

The picture of putting coals on a person's head initially sounds like a picture of causing burning pain, but it really is not. Instead, it seems to be a picture of stirring up the coals of a fire to rouse it back to life again. It is a picture of stirring within a person a response of remorse, when they see your kindness in the face of their meanness. This must also be the sense of Paul's passage - we cause our enemies to be remorseful for their actions toward us, and in doing so we overcome evil by doing good.

Another example of why living together in community is critical to the task of passing on the faith to the next generation.

The Critical Value Of Christian Community

If you read my previous post about my Grandpa Henry, you will note that I grew up in a community of faith. I was surrounded daily by family and friends who embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior. That entire atmosphere nurtured and strengthened my childhood faith. Together with John Westerhoff, I ask again, Will our children also have faith in Jesus? Westerhoff reflected upon the history of the Christian church as he wrote that . . .

". . . the church teaches most significantly through nurture in a worshiping, witnessing community of faith, and they clearly explained that explicit instruction in the church schools was only a small part of Christian education." 

I did not attend a Sunday School. Our small rural congregation did not have one. What they had instead was a one room parochial school. My teacher through most of my years of elementary education was Elmer Hinze. He was the sole teacher of about two dozen children of all grades. All children of the congregation were expected to attend. Tuition was free for members. That school was very influential in the development of my faith. We studied the Bible stories and integrated the Christian point of view into every subject.

However, as important as that education model was (and still is in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod), church schools are but "a small part of Christian education." My daily life with my parents, my grandparents, my extended family, our weekly worship life, the conversations we shared, the family and church picnics, even the conversation between the farmers of the area—all these things were the major part of the nurturing of my faith.

But things have changed. Rural community life is unknown for the vast majority of us. We Americans are an urban culture. And that urban culture does not provide a community that can be counted on to pass on the values and worldview that we Christians share. Every possible aberration and iteration of opposing views comes at us in our communities, our schools and workplaces and the never-ending harangue of the media. Music, movies, TV and books foster an approval of drugs, sex, revenge, hate, lust, greed and self-centered pleasure. The values of the worldly community around us oppose our own. They are like the storms Jesus predicted would come.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." - Mat 7:24-27 ESV

So many families living in this world are without roots to protect them from these spiritual storms. Cut off from an extended family of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins they have no one to support and encourage them through mutual conversations and prayers based upon God's Word. They do not have what I had as a child. My grandson, for example, is just starting a new job with a major oil company. He fully anticipates that in a couple years he will be sent overseas to any number of possible assignments, from Japan to Scotland, from Africa to Australia. He and his wife are excited about the adventure, but I want them to realize that in those places they will be cut off from their roots, except for an occasional video or phone call home. And their little son will have to relate to a culture totally foreign to his experience.

And what about a community of faith? Chances are that they will have great difficulty finding any Christian community in, say, Japan where we Christians make up but a few percentage points of the population. How will they nourish faith in their son? Surely it cannot be done without community.


This is a question all parents must ask, even if they never work overseas. Faith is always expressed, transformed and made meaningful by people living, loving and sharing together in a community of faith. We Christians must be a part of such a community of faith if we expect our children to grow up sharing that faith. Community remains part of the answer to the question I am raising. This is a clearly taught in the Bible.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. - Rom 12:4-21 ESV

We face a situation similar to that of first century Christians. We live in a post-Christian era, a world in which the voices of many faiths and world views constantly vie for attention. In this world we parents who are concerned about the faith of our children must give great attention to developing our communal Christian lives. By no means can we depend upon an hour of Sunday School and a few bedtime prayers to nurture strong faith in our kids.

More about this next time.