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.)
“War in heaven” (Revelation 12:7) – this seems to be a startling contradiction in terms, but it is most assuredly an event that is yet to come. This battle against Satan and his invading demons is led by Michael, the only angel in Scripture who is specifically called an archangel (Jude 9). He is mentioned by name in Daniel 10:13, 10:21, and 12:1 – all in association with the nation of Israel. Of particular interest in conjunction with Revelation 12 is Daniel 12:1: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time the people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” When we compare this Old Testament prophecy with the further predictions of Jesus in Matthew 24, we find strikingly similar language: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (verse 21). Michael, then, will be employed by our Lord not only to repel Satan’s attempted invasion of heaven but also to protect the Jewish people from Satan’s ghastly goal of genocide. The simple lesson for us is that Jesus’ power is so great that even His angels can best Satan and all of the demons.