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 20:1-3 records the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, the literal reign of Jesus on earth for one thousand years: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” This confinement of “Satan” (which means “adversary”) is accomplished by an unnamed angel; it could be any angel, for the servant of the “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16) is granted full power to complete his assigned task. This imprisonment of “the Devil” (which means “accuser” or “slanderer”) is poetic justice, for he has “bound” many to sin. During the Millennial Kingdom, he will no longer be able to “deceive” the people on earth. Acts 5:3, II Corinthians 4:3-4 and 11:14, Ephesians 2:2, II Timothy 2:26, and I Peter 5:8 are just a few of the many passages in Scripture that warn of Satan’s persistence in deceiving. The wise Christian will be alert to the reality of our adversary’s present deception and will be strengthened by remembering the promise of I John 4:4b: “Greater is He [Who] is in you then he that is in the world.” Yes, God the Holy Spirit is greater, infinitely greater, than Satan.