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 words of Revelation 14:9-11 are challenging and uncomfortable: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.’” It is somewhat startling to read of “the presence of the holy angels and…the presence of the Lamb” in this place of eternal “torment.” The Bible tells us that the abode of the angels is heaven (Mark 13:32); the same is true of Jesus, of course (John 14:1-6). However, angels are God’s messengers, and God the Son is sovereign over all things, including hell. Popular culture pictures Satan as the king of hell, but he will be merely another prisoner there. “The presence” of Jesus and His faithful angels ensures that the opponents of God will never prevail.