The Christ Clause Series

“The Christ Clause”

Series: Stories Hollywood Missed

December 25, 2005

In the movie “The Santa Claus”, well kept secrets of the North Pole are revealed when Scott Calvin (played by Tim Allen) accidentally kills Santa, and suddenly finds himself stuck with the job of being Santa Claus because of some small print in the Santa Clause contract that states... “In putting on this suit and entering the sleigh, the wearer waives any and all rights to previous identity, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus until such time that wearer becomes unable to do so either by accident or design.“ If you’ve never seen the movie, I’d highly recommend it, and I’d like to show you a short clip this morning. (SHOW MOVIE CLIP)

Just like Scott Calvin didn’t know some important details about Santa… you may not know some important “behind the scene details” about the Christmas Story. The popular Christmas Story involves Mary & Joseph, some shepherds, wise men and the baby Jesus. But to make sure that we don’t over sentimentalize the nativity scene into coziness and comfort, the Apostle John was given the job of giving us ‘the rest of the story’ (as Paul Harvey would say). There’s another version of the Christmas Story that reveals what was going on backstage of the greatest event in human history. This version is like the ‘Christmas Story’ on steroids! I call it the “Christ Clause” and it’s found at the back of your bibles.

What better place to find “The Christ Clause” than in the book that was written specifically to reveal what’s going on behind the scenes in heaven? I want you to turn in your bibles to Revelation 12 (READ).

I just read you the Christmas story. Did you recognize it? You say, “But where are the Shepherds? Where are the Wise Men? Where are the camels?” There’s none of that in this version, but what we do find is a war! “A war at Christmas? The time for peace and goodwill for all mankind?” You better believe it! And this isn’t just ANY war… this is THE war! This is the war behind all wars! It’s a cosmic war! Revelation 12 answers the question that people are asking every year at Christmas time. “Why can’t we all, just get along?” If at Christmas the angels are announcing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE goodwill towards men”, then why are things still so bad? Why does it seem like the nations are fighting more…not less? I mean, if as the gospel proclaims that, “Evil’s been defeated”, then why is it still wreaking such havoc in the world today? We’ve got Hurricanes in New Orleans, Tsunami’s in S.E. Asia and Terrorists everywhere else!

To answer those and other questions, let me take you vs. by vs. through the Christmas Story from GODS pt. of view! This is how all of heaven and the angels saw the very 1st Christmas… and it’s a lot different from the way we usually portray it. To start with, you have to understand that Rev.12 is at the center of what the book of Revelation is all about! It’s the central focus!

There are 3 main characters in Rev. 12…the woman, the dragon and the child. John says in vs.1… “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” You say, “Who (or what) is this woman?” To give you the quick answer… she’s the people of God, both before and after the coming of Jesus.

She represents the faithful Israelites and Mary (the mother of Jesus) at the same time! How do I know? Because the 12 stars in the crown of her head symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel.

She’s also Mary, the mother of Jesus because vs. 2 says that “She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.”

Just as Isaiah 66:7 predicted that she would “give birth to a boy”.

2. Who’s the male child? He’s Jesus the Messiah. Rev.12:5 tells us that he “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” Or “an iron rod”… that’s a phrase that comes right out of Ps. 2, which is all about the Messiah. The kind of rod it’s talking about is a “shepherds rod”… and because it’s made out of iron, it means that this shepherd is very strong. Jesus spoke of Himself as the ‘good shepherd’, but He’s also a very powerful, almighty shepherd!.

The 3rd character in our “Cosmic Christmas Story”… is the Dragon. Any guesses on who this represents? Sure! Vs. 9 comes right out and tells us that it’s the Devil, “that ancient serpent called the devil, who leads the whole world astray.” . Look at Vs. 3… “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.” The word dragon would remind Johns 1st readers of an evil sea monster that always symbolized the ungodly kingdoms who were constantly attacking and oppressing Israel. (Egypt, Babylon, Rome) Notice that the dragon is red (the color of blood), has 7 heads and 10 horns (7 and 10 are numbers of completeness, and a head represents authority). So this dragon is completely strong.