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 17 closes with these words: “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast [the Antichrist], until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (verses 17-18). As Revelation 16:19 and 18:2 specifically confirm, “that great city” is Babylon, the center of the Antichrist’s power. Its destruction (verse 16) at the hands of its evil allies, what is often called poetic justice, is certainly deserved. This infighting reminds me of II Chronicles 20, where the nations of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (Edom) formed a confederacy to invade Judah (the southern part of the divided nation of Israel). The king at that time was godly Jehoshaphat, who “set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (verse 3). He prayed to God before the assembled people (verses 5-12). The answer came through a prophet named Jahaziel: they did not need to fight (verses 14-21). Instead, they were to sing. Now, my singing is not very good, but it cannot slay three armies! However, as the people sang, God’s plan of deliverance unfolded before them: “And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another” (verses 22-23). In a similar manner at the end of the Tribulation, evil will consume evil, and God’s purposes will powerfully prevail.