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 Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) tells us that He is authoritative, including over world leaders. Speaking specifically of the Antichrist, Revelation 6:1-2 states, ‘And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts [angels] saying, ‘Come and see.’ And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” A legitimate and thoughtful question arises from this passage: since Jesus has all authority, why does He allow the rise of this deadly pretender? First, it fulfills prophecy and is thus a powerful reason to trust in Jesus for eternal salvation. Second, it is consistent with the principle of Psalm 106:15: “He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” In other words, if mankind will not take the good things that God offers, it will receive the bad things that it thinks are desirable. The sad outcome should be a further reason to believe in Jesus. Third, as II Thessalonians 2:8-12 powerfully reveals, the contrast between the lies of the Antichrist and the truth of Christ Jesus will be absolute and will provide another compelling reason to follow Jesus. Fourth, the reign of Antichrist will last a little less than seven years, whereas the reign of Jesus is forever. His eternal rulership will demonstrate once again that He is blessedly authoritative.