Here in the physical world in the 21st century we have come to love our traditions and our spiritual concepts of Christmas. These concepts are developed from our line of sight into the spirit realm. We see as it were from one side of the picture. There is another side.
In the book of John's revelation, chapter 12, we have a record of the Nativity from a different perspective. I think this might be heaven's line of sight.
A woman who was very pregnant is seen in the spiritual realm (in the heavens). She is clothed with the sun and the moon, that is, she is beautiful and has much glory. At the birth of her son a dragon is present who wishes to destroy the child. The dragon is Satan; he hates the woman and he hates the child. With this perspective in mind it makes me wonder why Herod's massacre of the babies in Bethlehem is not part of our Christmas tradition. Who do you think was behind that atrocity? Joseph took his young family to Egypt and then came up out of Egypt just like the people of Israel leaving the oppresion of slavery fifteen hundred years before. This baby somehow is to be a second Moses, breaking the power of a violent Pharaoh who also massacred babies.
My point is that the Christmas story is a story set in violence. It is a comparison between this baby king and King Herod. It is a comparison between "peace on earth" and the Roman peace of the day. It is a comparison of power used to control and power used to serve. It is a conflict between the dragon (prime mover behind the power structures of this world) and the baby born in the heavens (the spiritual realm, which is unseen but more real than the seen realm).
I love my American culture (Elf with Will Ferrel is my peronal favorite). I just don't think that this American holiday of Merry Christmas has anything to do with the Nativity story.
Just some stuff we should talk about.
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