WHEN HEAVEN MOVES, HELL MOBILIZES
Pastor Frank Park | Founding and Senior Pastor
Scripture: Matthew 2:1–18; Revelation 12:1–9
Christmas didn’t just produce worship - it provoked warfare.
Matthew 2 reads like political chaos: a paranoid king, secret meetings, deception, violence, and grief. At first glance, it looks like a tragic abuse of power and a broken world doing what broken worlds do. But Revelation 12 pulls back the curtain and shows us something deeper.
Matthew shows us what happened on earth.
Revelation shows us the cosmic reality behind the earthly chaos.
The Christmas story is not only historical; it is cosmic.
THE EARTHLY CHAOS (Matthew 2)
Herod hears a rumor of a newborn King and panics. Why? Because Jesus didn’t come as a religious figure to be admired. He came as a rival King. Herod didn’t fear a baby, he feared the loss of control. He feared the loss of his throne. So he lies. He manipulates Scripture. He orders slaughter.
Matthew 2 reminds us of a painful truth: when darkness feels threatened, it becomes desperate. Evil does not always look demonic. Sometimes it looks political, religious, or even rational. What we see in Matthew is surface-level chaos. What we don’t see is the war behind it.
THE COSMIC REALITY (Revelation 12)
In Revelation 12, John is given a vision of the same moment, but from heaven’s vantage point.
A woman cries out in labor.
A dragon waits to devour the child.
The moment the child is born, the dragon moves to destroy Him.
This is the unseen reality of Matthew 2. Herod was not the ultimate enemy. He was a pawn in a greater war. The dragon represents Satan, who has always tried to stop God’s redemptive plan. From Pharaoh killing Hebrew babies, to Herod’s massacre, to the cross itself.
Christmas wasn’t a sweet scene interrupted by evil. It was a war scene disguised as a birth announcement.
THE CONNECTION
Matthew tells us how the enemy attacked. Revelation tells us who was behind it. Matthew records the bloodshed. Revelation reveals the motive. This changes how we read Scripture and how we interpret our lives.
What looks like chaos may actually be resistance. What feels like attack may actually be advancement.
THE APPLICATION
If the enemy responded so violently to the birth of Jesus, we shouldn’t be surprised when he resists the work of God in our own lives. Spiritual opposition is not always a sign you’re doing something wrong. Often, it’s a sign you’re doing something right. When God begins something new, darkness pushes back. The enemy attacks what he cannot stop, but his resistance is already proof of his defeat.
The further you advance God’s Kingdom, the more shots you will take and the more shots you take, the closer you are to the target. The key is to keep going.
THE PROMISE
Revelation 12 does not end with the dragon victorious. The child lives. The plan succeeds. The enemy is cast down.
What the enemy tried to destroy at birth became the very One who destroyed him at the cross. Satan did not lose because he stopped trying. He lost because he could not win.
Matthew 2 shows us the chaos.
Revelation 12 shows us the cause.
Jesus shows us the victory.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Christmas didn’t just produce worship - it provoked warfare.
Matthew 2 reads like political chaos: a paranoid king, secret meetings, deception, violence, and grief. At first glance, it looks like a tragic abuse of power and a broken world doing what broken worlds do. But Revelation 12 pulls back the curtain and shows us something deeper.
Matthew shows us what happened on earth.
Revelation shows us the cosmic reality behind the earthly chaos.
The Christmas story is not only historical; it is cosmic.
THE EARTHLY CHAOS (Matthew 2)
Herod hears a rumor of a newborn King and panics. Why? Because Jesus didn’t come as a religious figure to be admired. He came as a rival King. Herod didn’t fear a baby, he feared the loss of control. He feared the loss of his throne. So he lies. He manipulates Scripture. He orders slaughter.
Matthew 2 reminds us of a painful truth: when darkness feels threatened, it becomes desperate. Evil does not always look demonic. Sometimes it looks political, religious, or even rational. What we see in Matthew is surface-level chaos. What we don’t see is the war behind it.
THE COSMIC REALITY (Revelation 12)
In Revelation 12, John is given a vision of the same moment, but from heaven’s vantage point.
A woman cries out in labor.
A dragon waits to devour the child.
The moment the child is born, the dragon moves to destroy Him.
This is the unseen reality of Matthew 2. Herod was not the ultimate enemy. He was a pawn in a greater war. The dragon represents Satan, who has always tried to stop God’s redemptive plan. From Pharaoh killing Hebrew babies, to Herod’s massacre, to the cross itself.
Christmas wasn’t a sweet scene interrupted by evil. It was a war scene disguised as a birth announcement.
THE CONNECTION
Matthew tells us how the enemy attacked. Revelation tells us who was behind it. Matthew records the bloodshed. Revelation reveals the motive. This changes how we read Scripture and how we interpret our lives.
What looks like chaos may actually be resistance. What feels like attack may actually be advancement.
THE APPLICATION
If the enemy responded so violently to the birth of Jesus, we shouldn’t be surprised when he resists the work of God in our own lives. Spiritual opposition is not always a sign you’re doing something wrong. Often, it’s a sign you’re doing something right. When God begins something new, darkness pushes back. The enemy attacks what he cannot stop, but his resistance is already proof of his defeat.
The further you advance God’s Kingdom, the more shots you will take and the more shots you take, the closer you are to the target. The key is to keep going.
THE PROMISE
Revelation 12 does not end with the dragon victorious. The child lives. The plan succeeds. The enemy is cast down.
What the enemy tried to destroy at birth became the very One who destroyed him at the cross. Satan did not lose because he stopped trying. He lost because he could not win.
Matthew 2 shows us the chaos.
Revelation 12 shows us the cause.
Jesus shows us the victory.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- Where in your life does it feel like resistance has increased?
- Could it be that God is doing more than you can see?
- How does knowing there is a cosmic reality behind earthly chaos change how you respond?