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 song of praise in heaven (Revelation 19:1-5) continues in verse 6: “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.’” The Lord always reigns, of course. What is specifically in view here is the return of God the Son, Jesus Christ, to reign on earth (Revelation 19:11-20:10). This event is called the Second Coming and is not to be confused with the Rapture of the Church, which occurs before the Tribulation and takes place in the clouds. At the Second Coming at the end of the nearly seven-year-long Tribulation period, Jesus will descend to earth, defeat the forces of the Antichrist, dispense righteous justice, and direct a literal thousand-year reign on earth (Revelation 20:4-6). The praise for our Lord’s almighty reign is likened to that of thunderous waterfalls. I have never been to a large cataract, but even the smaller ones I have been near are impressive. All of the senses are engaged, and the force of the rushing water can be felt within. Thus, this evocative language of verse 6 reminds us that praise for God should involve the totality of our being.