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 12:13 records the onset of the “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21) prophesied by Jesus: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.” As we have previously studied, “the dragon” is Satan; “the woman” is the nation of Israel; and “the man child” is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God the Son. Our Lord has always worked through a remnant (for example, Noah and his family; Gideon’s 300 soldiers; and the 7,000 of Elijah’s day), and He will do so again at this time of Tribulation. Zechariah 13:8-9 is a precise prophecy: “’And it shall come to pass, that in all the land,’ saith the Lord, ‘two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them’: I will say, ‘It is My people’: and they shall say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” Using today’s figures (which obviously could increase or decrease significantly at any time), more than 4 million Jewish believers in Jesus will be providentially protected by God. We must insist, of course, that this promise is to Israel, not to the Church. First, it is blasphemy to suggest that God does not keep His very specific promises. Second, the Church will have been taken to heaven before these events (as we studied in detail some time ago). God has a plan, and He has power. He will join the two in His salvation of this remnant of His people.