Things to Come (13)
Pastor Joseph Campbell
Things to Come • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 32:36
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Announcements:
Prepare for the general election in November!
North Carolina State Board of Elections
The email that was sent out on Tuesday had a link to a Return America article that explained the 3 NC constitution questions.
South Carolina
Go over the other upcoming events/announcements.
Be sure to emphasize handing out “Friend Day” cards.
Things to Come
Things to Come
Text: Revelation 10
Chapters 10 and most of chapter 11 are another parenthetical portion that takes place between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets.
There was also a parenthetical portion which took place between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. (This was in Revelation chapter 7.)
And, there will be another parenthetical portion in Revelation chapter 14 between the pouring of the sixth and seventh vials (or bowl judgments).
These parenthetical “breaks” give us additional information. They do not advance the prophetic narrative but instead look backward and forward, summarizing accomplished results and presenting future results as if they had already occurred.
God will, in this chapter and following, give us fuller instruction regarding the place that Israel has in the mind of God in connection with the events of the Revelation - the time of tribulation. (In chapter 11 we will be introduced to the ministry of the two witnesses which likely fills in the gap of how the 144,000 Jews in chapter 7 came to hear of and put their faith in their Messiah. We’ll see the 144,000 again in Revelation chapter 14.)
I remind you of the fact that God is not finished with Israel.
I also remind you of the fact that we - New Testament believers; often time referred to as “the church” - have NOT taken the place of Israel.
Because of those truths we must continue to support and pray for the nation of Israel.
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Turn to and read Revelation 10:1-7.
Another Mighty Angel (10:1-7)
Another Mighty Angel (10:1-7)
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Who is this mighty angel?
It is none other than the Angel of the Covenant - Jesus Christ Himself!
How do we know that is Christ?
He is clothed with a cloud. (Rev. 1:7)
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
This also points back to God’s presence with the Israelites in the Wilderness as He led them with a pillar of cloud. It also points back to God’s presence, in the form of a cloud, when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated. (1 Kings 8:11) It points back to the removal on God’s presence - in the form of a cloud - from the Temple in the book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 10:3). It points back to Acts 1:9, when Christ “was taken up, and a cloud received him out of [the disciple’s] sight.”
A rainbow was upon His head.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
His face was as it were the sun
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
His feet were as pillars of fire.
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Continuing, in this verse, with the reasons why we know this to be Christ…
He has in his hand a little book open.
This is the title deed to earth - giving Christ - the Creator - the right to take possession of what is His!
…Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Notice, in verse 2 that this Mighty Angel places His right foot upon the sea, and His left foot upon the earth which is another “picture” of Christ taking possession of all that is His!
It has the picture of the explorers, during the Age of Exploration - as they would come on shore, they would claim the land for the king that they represent.
Application: Yes, one day Jesus Christ is going to return and claim what is rightfully His because He is the Creator. But, what about right now?
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Have you yielded to God that which rightfully belongs to Him not only because He created you but because He has saved you - purchased you with His own blood?!?!?
Now…
Why is it described as a little book open?
The book which Christ took possession of in chapter 5 has been opened. We are at the contents of the seventh seal - the last chapter of the book!
It is a little book for it has been opened and there is not much left in comparison to what has already transpired.
Finally, how do we know that this mighty angel is Christ?
And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
He cries with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth.
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, And utter his voice from Jerusalem; And the heavens and the earth shall shake: But the Lord will be the hope of his people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, And utter his voice from Jerusalem; And the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, And the top of Carmel shall wither.
A very good question…Why, in this chapter, is Christ just not simply identified as Christ, as the Jew’s rightful Messiah?
I think H.A. Ironside answered that question quite nicely when he wrote:
Lectures on the Book of Revelation Lecture 11: Eating the Little Opened Book (Chapter 10)
The reason our Lord is brought before us in this angelic character, is, that in this portion of the Book of Revelation we are dealing largely with Israel, the earthly people, and that before their Messiah has been revealed to them. Therefore it is but natural that He should take the same position that He occupied toward them in Old Testament times.
What have the Jews been waiting for? They have been waiting for their Messiah to come and reclaim the Kingdom!
When will that take place? In Revelation chapters 19 and 20.
Back to chapter 10…
And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
Christ opens His mouth and speaks. John hears it and is about to write down what Christ says. However, a voice from heaven - presumably the voice of God from His throne - says, “No, do not write what you have heard!”
Why?
Thunder, in the Bible, is often associated with judgment. (Exodus 9:23-25; 1 Samuel 7:10). Because Jesus Christ has already borne the judgment that we deserve, there is no reason for us know of the secret of the judgment of these seven thunders.
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
I found this poem…
Lectures on the Book of Revelation Lecture 11: Eating the Little Opened Book (Chapter 10)
“Let us love, and sing, and wonder,
Let us praise the Saviour’s name;
Side note: If you ever have someone say, “I know exactly what those seven thunders said,” I would warn you to run away from them as fast as you can! In God’s divine omniscience and sovereignty, He has determined that we do not need to know these things and we need to humbly be OK with that!
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
In these verses we see a brief interaction between God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. It is another demonstration of the uniqueness of the Trinity. The Godhead is one but each part of the Godhead is also distinct.
But notice the character of God that is revealed in these verses:
God’s eternality. (him that liveth for ever and ever)
God as Creator. (who created heaven…)
God’s omnipotence. (that there should be time no longer) God created time. He is not bound by time. God can stop time whenever He chooses! Our time on earth is short; it is limited.
We can rejoice in that knowing that trials and troubles that we have experienced/are experiencing will one day come to an end. I love what Paul wrote:
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We should be challenged by this knowing that we must work the works of Him who has sent us while it is day…
…the night cometh, when no man can work.
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
There is a scarlet thread throughout all of the Bible. There is a cohesiveness throughout the entire Bible. Everything in God’s Word has been leading us to this point.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
What was “begun” in the book of Genesis will be completed in the book of the Revelation.
And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Why is all of this sweet?
Why is it, at the same time, bitter?
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
We've a story to tell to the nations
that shall turn their hearts to the right,
a story of truth and mercy,
a story of peace and light,
a story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
and the dawning to noonday bright,
and Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth—
the kingdom of love and light.
We've a song to be sung to the nations,
that shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
a song that shall conquer evil
and shatter the spear and sword,
and shatter the spear and sword.
We've a message to give to the nations—
that the Lord who reigneth above
hath sent us His Son to save us
and show us that God is love,
and show us that God is love.
We've a Savior to show to the nations
who the path of sorrow hath trod,
that all of the world's great peoples
might come to the truth of God,
might come to the truth of God.
