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.)
We return to Revelation 17:14 today: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” The irony here is heavy: the ten-nation confederacy will lose its authority to the Antichrist but will lose everything by refusing the kind authority of Jesus Christ. Throughout chapter 17, the Antichrist exercises authoritarianism against all, including these “whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world” (verse 8). However, it is Jesus Who is actually governing well and wisely. He fully fulfills Isaiah 9:6-7: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” How can we say that Jesus governs at this time of the Tribulation? The answer is in Revelation 17:17: “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” These people have decided that they do not want Jesus to govern; they want someone else. Jesus will sovereignly grant them what they want – and what they deserve. All of this is fair, completely fair, and demonstrates that Jesus is indeed in ultimate control.