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 6:1-2 tells us that Jesus is authoritative over world leaders, including the Antichrist: “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.” As we studied yesterday, this “man of sin” will initially present himself as a peacemaker (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; II Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:1-14; 12:6; 13:5). Satan is the original great ape; that is, he pretends to be good like God when it suits his nefarious purposes. Thus, his minion the Antichrist will also finagle and inveigle. II Corinthians 11:14-15 says, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end is according to their works.” Satan, who “deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), will disguise the Antichrist as a man of peace in an attempt to mimic Jesus Christ, who is “the Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Unwittingly, then, even Satan and the Antichrist are admitting that God is good and right! Their parody of peace must fail, of course, for only Jesus has the authority to usher in world peace and personal peace: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee” (Isaiah 26:3a).