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 fifth vial or bowl judgment is delineated in Revelation 16:10-11: “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” We should note that the “noisome [foul] and grievous sore” of the first bowl judgment (verse 2) is still afflicting mankind in verse 10, for these judgments follow rapidly one after another. The “darkness” that constitutes this righteous punishment reminds us of the ninth plague against Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23). However, that plague was localized (it did not even affect the Israelites in Egypt), whereas this Tribulation judgment is worldwide. Of course, even this dramatic judgment cannot compare with the eternal and absolute punishment that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25:29-30: “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Through faith in Jesus, we are delivered from this oppressive everlasting blackness. Let us thus “shew forth the praised of Him Who hath called [us] out of darkness into His marvellous light” (I Peter 2:9b).