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 15:8 says, “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” We have compared this verse to II Thessalonians 1:7-10 and Exodus 40:34-35; all three emphasize “the glory of God.” Defining this glory is difficult because of the limits of our language, but in simple terms it is the aggregate of all of His attributes (more precisely, His perfections). So great is His glory that no one in heaven can enter into His immediate presence at this time of the judgments of Revelation 16. The word “man” is literally “one”: no redeemed saint, no holy angel, no one, can “enter into the temple.” This powerful presentation of the utter distinctiveness of our Savior God must prompt awe and humility in each one of us. We should marvel at what theologians call His “otherness,” and we should worship Him now in preparation for the worship to come in heaven.