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.)
In “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1), chapter 13 is quite unusual, for there are almost no references to our Savior God. Rather, the emphasis is on the Antichrist (verses 1-10) and his chief aide (verses 11-18) during the Tribulation. However, the powerful and absolute contrast between Christ and the Antichrist is an important part of “the Revelation.” Numerous attempts have been made to avoid the obvious teaching of this passage that a real person with Satanic power will do grievous harm during the Tribulation, especially during the last half – what Jesus called “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21). This “man of sin” (II Thessalonians 2:3) – yes, a real man – is described in terms similar to Satan (see Revelation 12:3) in verse 1: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Although this description is like that of the “dragon” – Satan – we should note that the location of the crowns is different, indicating that this “beast” of a man is not Satan himself. Moreover, verse 2 is clear that Satan provides the Antichrist with malignant might: “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Thus, the Antichrist not only is associated with the Devil but is controlled by him. It is profoundly sad that this individual, created in the image of God, will employ his will to willingly become Satan’s slave. What a grim warning his diabolical decision is to all of us!