By: David Parsons, ICEJ Senior Vice President & Spokesman

The Christmas season is upon us, so let us pay a visit to the fields outside Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

The hillsides around Bethlehem were known for two things. First, Bethlehem means “house of bread” and every year a crop of winter wheat and barley grew in these fields. They were harvested in the spring, between Passover and Shavuot, and then these grains would help feed the people of Jerusalem, just to the north.

Second, these hillsides also served as the place where young sheep were raised for Temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. And it was to shepherds abiding with their flocks at night in these fields that a multitude of angels came and announced the birth of the Son of God. The messenger angel said this shall be a sign to you, you are going to find him in the city of David, wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger. This sign given to the shepherds carried a special meaning, because all the sheep for Temple sacrifice were raised in these same fields between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And when these lambs were born in the caves of Bethlehem during birthing season, they were wrapped in swaddling cloth to dry them off, and then laid in a manger until they were ready to walk. So, the hidden message in this “sign” proclaimed by the angel is that Jesus was born to die as the sacrifice lamb for the sins of the world.

Now, the prophet Micah had spoken about Bethlehem being the place of the birth of the Messiah.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)

The prophet Micah also speaks of this same area when referring to the “tower of the flock” in chapter 5.

“And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:8)

The tower of the flock was the name of a certain stone watch tower that guarded over these fields around Bethlehem where the young sheep were raised, only in this area, for the sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem. So, the prophet Micah actually speaks twice about where the Messiah, the king of Israel, was to be born. And this second reference only adds to the whole mystery of Jesus being born in the same place where the sacrificial lambs were born and raised.

Now the Gospel of Matthew, chapter two, also tells us about wisemen from the East who came to find this child who was born King of the Jews. They had been following his star to Jerusalem, and they went to King Herod, a rival claimant to the throne of David, and they said, “We want to see this child who has been born King of the Jews. We have seen his star and followed it. Now tell us where he is.”

This made Herod very jealous, and he ordered the killing of all the newborn boys in Bethlehem, up to two years old. Meantime, the wise men found the child and worshipped him, but were “divinely warned” in a dream not to return to Herod, so they secretly went home another way.

This is a part of the Christmas story we do not always like to think about. You will never find the killing of the innocent babes in Bethlehem on any Christmas greeting cards. But it shows us there was a spiritual battle around the first coming of Jesus.

John the Apostle, in Revelation chapter 12, saw this spiritual battle playing out in the heavenlies. He wrote about how he saw a woman clothed with the sun and moon and twelve stars, and she was about to give birth. This is a reference to Israel as a nation, taken from Joseph’s dream of the sun, moon and eleven stars (his eleven brothers) all bowing down to him (Genesis 37:9). But he also saw a dragon in heaven who came against the woman and was ready to devour the male child she was giving birth to, who would rule the nations with a rod of iron. This vision is about Jesus, the Messiah, and how there was a spiritual battle surrounding his birth in human flesh. The dragon, that is Satan, was ready to devour the child as soon it was born, but it was caught up to God’s throne. Amen! Jesus completed his redemptive mission and ascended to the right hand of the Father.

Yet the dragon continued to persecute the woman – again, meaning Israel – and sought to drown and destroy her, but God protected her. The dragon eventually became frustrated that he could not finish her off, so he went after her offspring, meaning those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:13-17).

So, as we go into the Christmas season this year, we need to remember there is still a spiritual battle being waged over Israel and, this time, the second coming of Jesus. We have seen this battle playing out over the past two years of conflict on seven fronts in and around Israel. We have seen it in all the antisemitic marches against the Jewish nation and people worldwide, in cities and college campuses, and in world leaders falsely accusing Israel of genocide and war crimes. It is like a torrent of blood libels pouring out of the mouth of the dragon through these antisemitic voices, seeking to drown her in a flood of lies intended to justify Israel’s destruction.

Yet in their frustration at not being able to destroy Israel, many of these antisemitic forces, especially radical Islamists, are increasingly targeting Christians – the spiritual offspring of Israel through Jesus. We have recently seen this in Nigeria, for instance, where jihadist militias are burning Christian churches and villages, and massacring Christians or taking them hostage, inspired by what Hamas did to Israelis on October 7.

This Christmas season, we as Christians can rejoice that Jesus indeed came in human flesh, as that promised child born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago to pay the price for sin and whose destiny is to rule over the nations. But we also need to be praying for God’s purpose to prevail in this day, amid this ever-darkening world. As we get closer to the second coming of the Lord, we know that light will break forth, and the very brightness of His appearing will destroy his enemies. But we need to stand against the darkness and antisemitism we are witnessing today.

Thus, we see in both the sign given to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, and the divine warning given to the wisemen from the East, that glorious purpose of the Son of God. He came first to pay the price for sin, but He is coming again in great power and glory to destroy His enemies, save the faithful remnant, and rule the world in righteousness and peace.

May God bless you from the shepherd’s fields outside Bethlehem and from Jerusalem. Merry Christmas!