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.)
Revelation 9:13-21 reveals that great temporal judgment comes upon the earth as the sixth trumpet sounds. An immense army will sweep across the Middle East (verses 13-15). Some believe that this military force of 200 million is a literal army; the Chinese, for example, already claim a militia of that size. Others, emphasizing the immediate context, consider this horde to be demonic. Still others interpret this passage as a combination of these two views; that is, a literal army that is demonically-driven will seek to attack God’s people in Israel. It is clear that this assault is deadly, destroying a third of the world’s population (verses 17-19). Remember that John had no frame of reference for modern warfare; thus, within the limits of his understanding and his language, the Apostle described this sad scenario to the best of his ability. The ongoing refusal to repent (verses 20-21) demonstrates that this judgment is absolutely necessary. As the esteemed preacher John Jasper often proclaimed, “May God be praised, and sinners be warned.”