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) speaks clearly of the reality of “the second death” (20:14). The first death is physical, the separation of the body from the spiritual part of man (what Ephesians 3:16 calls “the inner man”). “The second death” is the separation of the person from God forever, as Revelation 20:15 clarifies: “And whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” This separation is eternal, as Jesus stated in Matthew 25:41: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels [demons].” Many people, of course, do not want to believe in “the second death.” However, no one can deny the existence of the first death, and Scripture teaches the reality of both. Nowhere in the Bible do we find the heresies of annihilationism (the destruction of the eternal soul) or universalism (the salvation of all). Instead, we are presented with the absolute binary choice of heaven with God forever or of hell without God forever. Matthew 25:46 records the definitive words of Jesus: “And these [unbelievers] shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous [believers] into life eternal.” The stark, straightforward warnings from our Savior are sobering and must be heeded. The contemplative individual will agree that all choices have consequences and that one choice has eternal consequences. May each of us choose Jesus’ gracious offer of salvation.