We look for direction but often end up on the wrong path. With war, violence, a deadly pandemic, unemployment, struggling marriages, depression, isolation, and more … we can easily become disillusioned. So often in life, we consider the world to be a mess. On Good Friday, the criminal next to Jesus on the cross thought it was the end, yet he still repented.

But Jesus told the woman to go and not sin anymore. In John 8, it looked like checkmate for a woman about to be killed by angry men with stones.It looked like checkmate, but our King had another move left and Daniel remained safe. In the Old Testament, Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions.It looked like checkmate, but our King had another move left! They collected 12 baskets of leftover food after the meal was served. A little boy in John 6 only had two fish and a few loaves of bread to feed thousands of people.Just as God provided water for the Israelites in the desert, he would also provide for them on their long trek homeward.When the people of Judah were deported to Babylon because of their sinfulness, God revealed that a future day of release would come.Repeatedly in Scripture, God assures his people that there is always a way of escaping situations that seem hopeless at the time. Now think about the spiritual implications of this painting with me about what the grand master discovered. The grand master called the curator and determined that the title “Checkmate” did not fit the scene because the forlorn-looking player actually had the ability to defeat his opponent, though he didn’t realize it yet. This fateful move would make him the winner of the game. The man, who thought he was losing, was actually winning.Īccording to the arrangement of the pieces left on the chess board, his king had one more move. Though the devil seemed to be the obvious victor, he was in fact not winning. The typical interpretation of the painting (that the devil had the man in “checkmate”) was incorrect. The grand mastered stared a long time at the chess board in the painting and finally noticed something surprising. A chess grand master came upon this intriguing painting in the Louvre museum alongside other famous art such as the Mona Lisa. You can view more of the creepy details below.Īccording to legend, and probably fact, the story goes like this.

The other player is a man who looks forlorn. One is Satan, who appears arrogantly confident. Today, the painting is popularly known as “Checkmate.” It is now in private hands, having been sold in a Christie’s auction in 1999. There is a painting that once hung in the Louvre museum in Paris, painted by Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch. Once the king is trapped, the winning side declares “checkmate” and the game is over. If you know anything about the game of chess, you know it all comes down to when the King on either side can move no more.

Chess checkmate patterns