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 third vial or bowl judgment at the end of the Tribulation is detailed in Revelation 16:4-7: “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, ‘Thou art righteous, O Lord, [Who] art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy [they deserve it].’ And I heard another out of the altar say, ‘Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.’” The description of Jesus as “[Who] art, and wast, and shalt be” reminds us of Exodus 3:14, where God reveals Himself to Moses as “I AM THAT I AM.” God does not change: the plagues in Egypt centuries ago presage the worldwide plagues predicted in the book of Revelation. In the face of this outpouring of wrath, many people will still refuse to repent. Perhaps some of these people will attribute these plagues to climate change, one of the emerging religions of our time. Others may try to find solace in the thought that things cannot get any worse – oh, but things will worsen! Revelation was written over 1900 years ago; no one can assert that God has not given us all ample and specific warning.