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.)
The details of Revelation 17 are difficult, but we are to consider them carefully and prayerfully. Verses 9-11 say, “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings [literally, ‘the seven heads are seven kings’]: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” How can the Antichrist (“the beast”) be “of the seventh” but also “the eighth”? There are two good interpretations – and the two perfectly dovetail. First, throughout chapters 4-19 of Revelation (the passages that deal directly with the Tribulation), a series of sevens ends with the seventh also becoming the first of what is next to come. This passage is thus consistent with that usage. Second, the seventh kingdom of ten nations (verse 11 – more about the details on Tuesday) will prepare the way for the emergence of the Antichrist (“the beast”) to become a world leader. With Babylon (“the woman”) as his center of power and also as a symbol of a world religion and a world economy, he (and Babylon) will dominate much of the world, including the confederacy of nations from which they will arise. This power is real and frightening, but it is for only “a short space.” Let us remember that “the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him” (Psalm 103:17a).