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 Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) unveils the great and mighty judgment to come. Revelation 16:8-9 records the fourth vial or bowl judgment at the end of the Tribulation: “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given him [the sun] to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, [Who] hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory.” People who are suffering from “climate anxiety” should instead study God’s Word and find that His global warming is real. This temporary judgment presages an even greater and final judgment: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Peter 3:10). The Scripture then provides this application for all of us: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [behavior, which includes our speech] and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:11-13). Indeed, may our pattern of behavior be distinct from this dastardly and dying world.