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.)
Revelation 13 closes with a specific warning: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast [the Antichrist]: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six” (verse 18). This single verse has prompted immense speculation through the centuries. Different generations of Christians have identified the Antichrist as Nero, Caligula, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin. Some even suggested that Ronald Wilson Reagan, a good President, was the Antichrist simply because each of his names contained six letters! Obviously, all of the people who thought that they knew who the Antichrist was had to be wrong, for he is not yet revealed. Most Bible scholars point out, correctly, that seven is a number associated with completion and that six, as man’s number, falls short of completion. Thus, 666 indicates that the Antichrist falls utterly short of Jesus Christ, Who proclaimed from the Cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus always delivers on His promises; Satan always fails. We should also note that this verse teaches that, when the Antichrist rises to power, he will be readily and easily identifiable. No one will be able to say that God’s Word is unclear both in its warnings and in its promises.