“She gave birth to a male child who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne” (Revelation 12: 5).
“She gave birth …” is how Luke begins his gospel concerning the Christmas event.
“She gave birth …” John repeats, as he briefly overviews the history of salvation.
Who is this ‘she’?
The ‘she’ in Luke’s case is Mary, the betrothed of Joseph.
The ‘she’ in John’s case, is the church of God.
Can we reconcile these two statements with each other?
Certainly: they both write about the Christmas event. It’s just that both writers have a different focus. Luke relates factual historical events while John places the historical events in a much broader context.
Luke relates the tremendous fact of the birth while John immediately informs us of the tremendous significance of the fact that “she gave birth to a male child who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron”.
John says this is the fulfillment of that old Psalm 2, the Psalm of the antithesis, wherein kings are referred to as revolutionaries who rebel against God and want to break loose from His authority. The woman [the church], gives birth to the Seed of the woman: a male child who is to rule the heathen with “a rod of iron”. She, the church, receives a Man from the LORD who has divine authority and power so that He is able to rule.
This is what the birth of the Christ is all about: He shall establish His kingdom. It will not be a kingdom according to the style of the world, but a kingdom of which He is given all power in heaven and on the earth; a kingdom wherein He will subject people from all over the world to Him and break down the opposition so that they submit to Him.
And then Psalm 2, the song of the antithesis, will be completely fulfilled. Then the great opponent, the dragon, will furiously rage. For this is what it is all about: will the kingdoms of the world remain standing, or will the Kingdom of God be established despite all the opposition?
In Revelation 12, we get a picture of the dragon (Satan) standing ready to devour that Child of the woman, the Child of the King, the Man Jesus Christ. Satan desperately wants to prevent Christ’s kingdom from being established. However, that Child, now the Man Jesus Christ, is suddenly caught up to God and His throne from where He rules over all and from where He continues to establish His kingdom.
John outlines this panorama, this far-reaching perspective, in broad brush stroke. He skips over the details concerning the birth and youth of Jesus, His time on earth, His miracles, His preaching, His cross. Of course, it’s not as if all of that has no significance; but John wants to show that it’s all ultimately about that one thing: the coming of the Kingdom of God. Therefore he jumps from the birth straight over to the ascension of Christ. Of course, all the other details are there: about the enmity of Satan and his attempts to prevent the coming of the Kingdom of God into this world. But John does not pause there; he leaps ahead to Christ’s ascension: the Child is suddenly caught up to God and His throne from where He rules over all.
Christmas and Ascension are inseparably connected with one another. Paul puts it to the Philippians like this: Christ humbled Himself and was obedient until death, therefore God has also highly exalted Him and has given Him a name which is above every name.
That is the gospel of Christmas. However, it is a gospel of war, the fulfillment of Psalm 2.
It compels us to accept obediently God’s Word: “kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish in the way when His wrath is kindled but a little”. “Blessed are all those who find refuge in Him!”
Be thankful to God for the birth of this Child, whose “government is on His shoulder” and whose name is called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. And remember and believe that God has determined a day in which He shall judge the earth in righteousness through that Man: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Translated and slightly paraphrased from Prof. K Deddens’ article, “En zij baarde…”, in De Reformatie, Dec. 24, 1960, pp. 98-99.