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.)
In Revelation 14:15, we find an urgent prayer from one of God’s holy angels in heaven: “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’” Some are uneasy about this strongly stated petition, thinking that it is unseemly to use such absolutist language in addressing the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this emphatic supplication is based upon the revealed will of God. For example, Joel 3:12-16 records the following: “Let the heathen be wakened up, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat [just east of Jerusalem]: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” “The valley of decision” is not where men decide about Jesus. No, they have already rejected Jesus by taking the mark of the Antichrist. It is Jesus Who makes the righteous decision to mete out justice against these rebels. The angel’s prayer, then, is based upon God’s Word and is a simple statement of faith.