No twinkling lights. No carols. No manger. No star. No angels singing “Glory to God in the highest.” No hope. No Savior. No cross. No empty tomb. No eternal life.
Imagine a world where angels never sang, shepherds went home to empty fields, Mary never whispered, “Let it be to me according to your word.” A world stripped of hope, generations marching toward death with no rescue. That world almost became reality.
The story of Christmas didn’t begin in Bethlehem—it began in a garden. There, the first man and woman turned from God’s voice and believed Satan’s lie. Sin entered the world—and death followed close behind.
Yet even as judgment fell, mercy spoke: God promised that one day a child—the “seed of the woman”—would crush Satan’s head and restore what was lost. The first Christmas prophecy was whispered in Eden’s shadow.
MISSION BRIEFING: GENESIS 3:15
Location: Eden.
Time: Minutes after The Fall of Humanity into sin.
Target: The Seed of the Woman.
Objective: Prevent the birth of the One who would crush Satan’s head.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” — Genesis 3:15
This was D-Day in reverse—the invasion hadn’t landed, but the battle plan was drawn. The Seed must come through Eve → Israel → Judah → David → a virgin in Nazareth.
Break the chain, and Christmas dies. Kill the Child, and the war is won.
From that moment, every generation carried a whisper of that promise—the hope that one day a child would be born to undo the curse. God began working through one family line to bring that Redeemer: first through Adam and Eve, then through Noah, Abraham, and finally the nation of Israel. The story of Christmas began long before the manger—it began in Eden and ran like a golden thread through every age. Every story, covenant, and miracle was a countdown to the night heaven touched earth in Bethlehem.
The Prophets Give the Coordinates
God continued to narrow the target:
Isaiah 7:14 — “Behold, a virgin will be with child and will bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel [God with us].”
Isaiah 9:6 — “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us… and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
A divine child, born of Israel. The target was identified. The war for Christmas intensified. The manger was the most contested cradle in history.
SATAN’S CAMPAIGN: “CANCEL CHRISTMAS”
From the moment God promised to send a Savior, hell launched an all-out campaign to make sure the first Christmas would never happen. What you’re about to read is the untold story of how Satan unleashed everything in his arsenal to prevent the first Christmas. Every attack on the bloodline was a direct attempt to thwart the Savior’s birth.
OPERATION ABEL: THE FIRST BLOOD
Target: Eve’s son, Abel.
Method: Murder by proxy (Cain).
“Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” — Genesis 4:8
The first murder in history was hell’s opening strike. Blood on Eden’s dirt.
Intel Failure: God raises Seth—”another seed in place of Abel.” The line lives. Strike one.
OPERATION FLOOD: WIPE THE HARD DRIVE
Target: All humanity.
Method: Corrupt DNA → Total depravity.
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great… So the LORD said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created.'” — Genesis 6:5-7
Satan tried to pollute the entire gene pool so the sinless Savior could never be born.
Divine Counterstrike: Noah—the ark floats, the promise survives. Christmas stays on schedule.
Centuries later, God chose Abraham and promised that through his descendants—the Hebrews—the Savior would come and all nations would be blessed. That made them Satan’s next target.
OPERATION PHARAOH: GENOCIDE BY MIDWIFE
Target: Hebrew male infants (Israel, the line through which the Seed must come)
Method: State-sanctioned infanticide.
“Pharaoh commanded… ‘Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile.'” — Exodus 1:22
Divine Judo Move: Moses survives in a basket. Pharaoh’s daughter adopts him. God uses the enemy’s palace to raise the deliverer. Checkmate.
And the assaults kept coming—Balaam hired by king Balak to curse Israel but blessed instead (Numbers 22-24), Antiochus profaning the temple—yet every time the promise was preserved and the lamp refused to go out. Hell struck again and again, trying to erase the people and promises leading to Bethlehem. Heaven deflected blow after blow.
OPERATION HAMAN: FINAL SOLUTION 1.0
Target: Every Jew in Persia—men, women, children.
Method: Legal genocide via royal decree.
“Dispatches were sent… to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day.” — Esther 3:13
Peria ruled the world. If Haman had succeeded, the Jewish race would have been obliterated in 24 hours. No Israel. No Mary. No Christmas.
Cosmic Reversal: Mordecai’s faith + Esther’s courage = Haman hanged on his own gallows. Christmas clock: still ticking.
OPERATION HEROD: BETHLEHEM BABY MASSACRE
Target: Jesus—age 0-2.
Method: Kill every male toddler in Bethlehem.
“He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under.” — Matthew 2:16
Mothers screaming, babies torn from their arms, blood on Bethlehem’s dirt. All to kill one Child.
Critical: If Jesus died in Bethlehem before the cross, Christmas would be canceled and the world would be lost.
Divine Evacuation: Angel GPS: “Flee to Egypt.” Herod dies. Jesus returns. Mission failed.
Behind Bethlehem’s quiet night raged a cosmic war. Revelation 12 pulls back the curtain: a woman clothed with the sun labors to bring forth the Christ Child, while a great red dragon waits to devour Him. The dragon’s fury took human form in King Herod, who ordered the slaughter of Bethlehem’s infants to snuff out the newborn King. Yet God hid His victory in humility. The serpent expected fire and thunder, but instead met a whisper and a cry. Heaven’s Commander entered the battlefield wrapped in swaddling cloths—and in that fragile moment, the war was won. Christmas was spiritual warfare disguised as tenderness—God’s thunder wrapped in a baby’s breath.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS: AGAINST ALL ODDS
Then, in the silence of Bethlehem, the impossible happened. God became flesh. The Infinite became an infant. The Creator was cradled by His creation.
While emperors slept in palaces, Heaven’s army held its breath. Then, in a forgotten stable, the cry of a newborn broke the silence—and the war’s outcome was decided.
That quiet cry was the sound of the Serpent’s head being grazed—the war was over, and the Enemy missed the exact moment of his doom.
The angels couldn’t contain their joy. The sky exploded with song:
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” — Luke 2:11
Heaven’s music filled the night. The same God who spoke stars into being was now breathing beneath them. The Word that created galaxies cooed in a mother’s arms. Infinite Power had wrapped Himself in vulnerable love. Every angelic song was a thunderclap of praise for God’s mercy. Against all odds—through murder, genocide, curses, plots, and demonic fury—Christmas happened. But the birth of Jesus was only the beginning. The First Christmas was not pulled off just so Jesus could live a nice life; it was pulled off so He could die on the cross to pay for our sins.
The Cross: Where Love Bled
Satan failed to kill Jesus in the cradle. So for 33 years he tried to corrupt Him or derail His mission. Finally, Satan achieved what he thought was his grand coup: He convinced Judas to betray Christ and the Roman rulers to crucify Him. The Bible calls this Satan’s greatest blunder:
“The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” — 1 Corinthians 2:8
The Cross was Genesis 3:15 in action—the “heel bruise” that crushed the Serpent’s head:
“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through the cross.” — Colossians 2:15
“Through death He rendered powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” — Hebrews 2:14
STOP. LOOK AT THE CROSS.
This wasn’t a chess move. This was God bleeding. The hands that spun galaxies—nailed open. The voice that said “Let there be light” gasping “It is finished.” Every drop of blood was a love letter with your name on it. Hell thought it won. Heaven knew: This was the moment the war was won—not by power, but by love that refused to let you go. The Serpent struck the heel. The heel crushed the head—with a nail through it.
When Jesus rose on Resurrection morning, the fortress of death was breached. The cross was God’s secret weapon. What looked like defeat became detonation. The hammer that drove the nails cracked open the gates of hell.
Hell fought to cancel Christmas. Heaven fought to CLAIM YOU. You are not just reading history—you are the reason for the rescue. Christ didn’t fight through 4,000 years of hell just to give you a tradition; He did it to rescue your soul from sin, death, and hell. We are all lawbreakers who stand guilty before God.
THE CHRISTMAS INVITATION
The Law of Truth: Have you ever told a lie? That makes you a liar.
The Law of Justice: Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? That makes you a thief.
The Law of Purity: Have you ever looked with lust? Jesus said that’s adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28).
The Law of Love: Have you always loved God with all your heart? Always loved your neighbor as yourself?
By your own admission, you are guilty before a holy God.
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23
You are the prize of the cosmic war—yet sin has chained you.
“The wages of sin is death.” — Romans 6:23a
That means eternal separation from the God who made you. But this is why Christmas matters!
THE ONLY GIFT THAT SAVES
“But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 6:23b
Jesus didn’t come just to be a baby in a manger—He came to die in your place. He took the punishment you deserve. On the cross, the sinless Son bore your guilt and absorbed God’s wrath so you could go free.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” — 2 Corinthians 5:21
That’s the miracle of Christmas: the Innocent traded places with the guilty.
But like any gift, it must be received.
Maybe you’ve doubted it was for you. Maybe the holidays only remind you of loss or failure. But Jesus came for people just like you—the weary, the forgotten, the broken.
WILL YOU RECEIVE HIM?
Here’s how:
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Acknowledge you’ve sinned and need forgiveness.
Believe Jesus died and rose again for you.
Confess Him as Lord—turn from sin and surrender your life to Him.
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:9
Pray from your heart:
“God, I know I’ve sinned and need Your forgiveness. I believe Jesus died for me and rose again. I turn from my sin and receive Him as my Lord and Savior. Save me and make me Yours. Amen.”
If you meant that, He has heard you. You are forgiven. You are His.
THE GREATEST MIRACLE
Satan tried to stop Christmas for 4,000 years—and failed spectacularly. But the greatest miracle isn’t just that Jesus was born. It’s that He was born for you.
The King of Heaven became a baby. The Creator entered His creation. God became man—so you could become His child. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” — John 3:16
Jesus conquered sin, Satan, death and hell. The tomb is empty. But your heart doesn’t have to be: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” — John 1:12
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• The cradle, the cross, and the crown—all one story, all one Savior.
• The first Christmas wasn’t peaceful—it was victorious.
• All darkness united to stop the Light, but couldn’t blow out the flame.
• The Baby won.
Now it’s your move. Will you let His victory become your salvation?
For His glory,
Joe Schimmel