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 16:12 records the target of the sixth vial or bowl judgment: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” The prophecy then provides additional detail: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan – Revelation 12:9], and out of the mouth of the beast [Antichrist – Revelation 13:1-10], and out of the mouth of the false prophet [Antichrist’s aide – Revelation 13:11-18]. For they are the spirits of devils [demons], working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (verses 13-14). This military activity is not to be confused with that of Revelation 9, which is worldwide in its scope. This invasion is directed against Israel alone (as we will see when we study verse 16). John’s use of metaphoric language (“like frogs”) reminds us again of the limits of human language in describing something that is completely novel – in this case, actual demons engaged in overt evil action. The power that they employ (“working miracles” – compare Revelation 13:13) is, sadly, only destructive, for Satan is by choice a destroyer (see Revelation 9:11 – both “Abaddon” and “Apollyon” mean destruction). Ultimately, of course, the forces of evil are bringing about their own destruction.