Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
There is an obvious and considerable time gap between verses 5 and 6 of Revelation 12. Verse 5 refers to the birth and the ascension to heaven more than three decades later of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Verse 6 references a future time during the Tribulation: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that thy should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” This “woman” is the nation of Israel, which is prominent during the terrible time of the Tribulation. Such an interlude is not uncommon in Biblical prophecy and is sometimes called dual or progressive fulfillment. For example, the Old Testament promises of a Messiah did not speak of two comings. Later, the New Testament provided insight into Christ’s Second Coming. Similarly, Daniel’s 490 years (the “seventy weeks” – literally the “seventy sevens” of Daniel 9:24) did not clearly indicate that this period would be broken down into 483 years, a very lengthy gap, and then the 7 years of the Tribulation. Only the later revelation of the book of Revelation gives us the full perspective. One reason for this expansive interval is God’s grace: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:25-26a). Our Lord’s plan is not always easy to comprehend, but it is flawless.