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 illuminating angel of Revelation 18:1 provides a heavenly commentary on the deserved destruction of Babylon: “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is the habitation of devils [demons], and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird’” (verse 2). There is intense irony in this abject abasement of Babylon, the apex and apogee of the Antichrist’s abnormal affection. It becomes a “hold” and a “cage.” In the original text, the same Greek word is employed in both instances; it is well translated as “prison” in the outstanding New American Standard Version. The picture is of the sworn enemies of Jesus – Satan, the demons, the Antichrist, and his pathetic lackeys seeking to imprison others in their evil system but finding to their dismay that they are prisoners themselves. Their power to confine others thus turns in on itself, and these malicious minions experience the bitter truth of Psalm 7:15: “He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he hath made.” Yes, we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7) – for evil or for good.