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 19:17-18 records the prelude to the end of the Tribulation reign of Satan and the Antichrist: “And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.’” The graphic realism of this preparation for the final battle (what we call Armageddon) is a grim and even gory reminder that the Bible is always realistic; there is no sanitizing of the sins of the saints, nor is there an avoidance of the uncomfortable. The contrast between “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (verse 9) – a time of joyous celebration – and “the supper of the great God” – a grisly time of righteous judgment – could not be more profound. Let us remember that the nations here have gathered to destroy Israel (and the blatant, overt hatred directed against Israel is staring with deranged eyes at us even today). These rebels against God will properly reap what they have sown (Galatians 6:7).