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 context of Revelation 11 indicates that a temple will be built in Jerusalem as the promised end approaches. The specific promise of verses 1-2 is also consistent with other Scripture. For example, Daniel 9:27 prophesies the necessity of a temple during the Antichrist’s dictatorship: “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [literally, ‘one seven’ – that is, one seven-year period]: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” In Matthew 24:15-16, Jesus quoted these Old Testament words as He spoke about the events of the Tribulation. The Apostle Paul echoes these predictions in II Thessalonians 2:3-4: “Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God [that is, proclaiming himself to be God; clearly, he is not!].” Clearly, “the temple of God” must be in place for these abominable activities of the Antichrist to occur. Satan’s “man of sin” will desecrate this place of worship; of course he will, for he is evil. Still, though, the temple will stand, and it will be a visible sign of the sovereignty of our Savior, Who said that this temple will be constructed and Who will keep this specific and detailed promise.