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.)
The “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21) will include Satan’s final, ferocious assault on Israel: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman, which brought forth the man child.” It is clear from Scripture that Satan would complete his genocidal attack on the Jewish people if not for God’s intervention. Jesus stated, “Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22). The context of Matthew 24, like that of Revelation 12, clarifies that “the elect’s sake” refers to Israel, not to the Church. This remnant of believers will certainly be yearning for the return of God the Son to rescue them. This return is called the Second Coming (not to be confused with the Rapture, which has already occurred prior to the Tribulation) and is prophesied in detail in Zechariah 14:1-21. Verses 1-3 say, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.” Note that our Lord Jesus Christ is sovereign even as Satan is unleashing his monstrous and malicious might: it is our Savior God Who “gather[s] all nations” to the battlefield to mete out His righteous justice. All of this specific Scriptural detail is preparing the remnant of the nation of Israel for the “great tribulation” and will be a source of sustaining strength for those suffering saints.