Revelation 10 - The Quiet Before the Storm?

Revelation 10

Over the last 2 weeks we have been looking at the first six trumpet plagues in Revelation 8-9. Let me just recap them very quickly. Trumpet 1: God used fire and hail mingled with blood to destroy 1/3 of the trees and all the green grass on earth. Trumpet 2: Something like a mountain was thrown into the sea and 1/3 of the seas were turned to blood, 1/3 of the sea creatures died and 1/3 of the ships were destroyed. Trumpet 3: Something like a star named wormwood fell into the fresh waters and poisoned 1/3 of all the fresh water and many people died. Trumpet 4: 1/3 of the sun, the moon and the stars were darkened. After those first 4 trumpet plagues an angel or an eagle flew across the sky proclaiming that there were still 3 more woes to fall upon the people of the earth, those who refused to repent and turn to God. Then in chapter 9 we saw the 5th and 6th trumpet plagues. Trumpet 5: An angel with the key to the abyss unlocked the abyss and hoards of demonic locusts came out and tormented all those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads for 5 months. The stings of these locust demons were so severe that it caused people to long for death but they could not die. Along with these demons came their king named Abaddon or Apollyon the Destroyer. That was the first of the three woes. Trumpet 6: Four angels as the Euphrates River who had been saved for this very moment lead a hoard of 2 myriad of myriads, an innumerable hoard of blood thirsty demons into the world to kill 1/3 of all of the people of the earth with their breath producing fire, smoke and brimstone. They also injured many more with their tails.

We do not get the pronouncement that the second woe is over until we get to chapter 11:14 so what we will look at today and next week (chapter 11:1-14) is still technically in the 6th trumpet plague. However just like when the six seals were opened God gave John a interlude or intermission to give the people of God some hope in the midst of all the judgments that are being proclaimed between the sixth and the seventh seal God is doing the same here between the 6th and the 7th trumpet plague. Let’s face it; even though all the judgments of God are on those who refused to repent (the people of the earth) it is still bitter sweet for us as we see that the wrath of God is on those we may know and love. Into that scenario God gives us hope. Let’s pray then we will look at Revelation 10.

Revelation 10 :1-4 1I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”[1]

We do not know who this angel is. Some have tried to link this angel to Jesus Christ but you will notice that John does not bow down and worship this angel. Along with that every time Christ is seen there is no doubt that it is Christ (the Lion, the Lamb as if slain). There is also the fact that in verses 5 and 6 this angel swears by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it. This does not seem to be what the Creator of all things would do. John describes this angel in very “glowing” terms; wrapped in a cloud, a rainbow for a hat, face as bright as the sun and legs like pillars of fire. This description makes it plain that this angelic being dwells in the presence of God. I say that because if you will remember when Moses was upon Mt. Sinai for 40 days in the presence of God, when he came back down there was a brightness to him that caused the people to be afraid and asked that he cover his face when he was in their presence. God’s glory just seems to “rub off” on those who dwell in His presence. Chew on that one for a minute.

In this angel’s hand was a book or scroll but this book was a smaller book than the one the Lamb loosed the seven seal on. I will not say that this is a less important book but it is smaller. Some believe the book was “small” because it is in comparison to the size of the angel. He was so large that he could put one foot on the sea and the other on the land. However I think John describing the book as a small book is sufficient for me to believe that it was smaller in size than the Judgment scroll in Revelation 5.

Many people believe this angel is Gabriel and he does bear a resemblance to the angel in Daniel 12 and the circumstances of that meeting between Daniel and that angel and John and this strong angel are significantly similar. However it really does not matter who this angel is; he is a strong angel who came to deliver to John and us a very powerful message. Whoever this angel is he has one powerful voice. John describes it as the roar of a lion that cause seven thunders to utter their voices. John speaks of these seven thunders in such a way that he almost assumes the reader would know what he is talking about; but we do not, no one does. All we can do is take John’s description as accurate. Understand, these thunders were not simply peels of thunder as we would know them. When they used their voices, as John describes it, John understood what they said. There was a message that came from these thunders and John had been told to write everything down that he saw and heard back in chapter 1 so he was going to write it down. But he is told to seal up what he had just heard, no one was to know what the thunders spoke. This is the most interesting part of these first 4 verses I think. How many of you want to know who is going to win in next Tuesday’s election? I do, everyone does and we want to know that information because we believe that whoever wins will have an effect on our lives. We want to know what is going to happen especially where it applies to us. When John heard what these thunders said a voice told him that everyone does not need to know this information. People for centuries have tried to guess what these thunders said and I won’t even spend the paper or time to tell you what those guesses are because what the thunders spoke were not sealed by man they were sealed by God. No we are not told that the voice was God’s but we know that it came at the very least from His directions. We see something very similar in Daniel 12 as we referenced earlier. Daniel heard something he didn’t understand and he was told it was sealed until the time of the end. What we can know from this is that the Bible does not contain all the predictions about the end of the world that God has revealed to individuals (In 2 Thessalonians 2:5 we see that Paul told the Thessalonians some things that were not written down). We do have ample teaching in Scripture concerning the end time to enable us to prepare our lives for such a time if that is our fortune. The word of God is sufficient revelation for salvation and life, but it is not an exhaustive revelation. He has revealed everything we NEED to know.

Let’s read Revelation 10:5-7 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

It would be very easy to read over this and miss some very important information. This angel’s size really has impressed John because three times he notes that one foot is on the land and the other is on the sea (verses 3, 5, 8). Some people want to draw something out of every description but I believe that the angel’s stance simply means that he has the authority God has given him over all of God’s creation. I say that because he swears an oath or made a vow using God as his ultimate authority. He raised his right hand and swears by the One who lives for ever and ever. This proclaims the eternality of God. How comforting would that be to martyrs to know that their God is ever living. He is the One who created the heaven, the earth and the sea. This sums up all the deeds of God-what He has done and not only did He create the heaven, the earth and the sea but all that is in them. Because He created them he has the right to judge and destroy or uncreate as we have seen in the sounding of the first four trumpets with the natural disasters He rained down on His creation.

So the great angel swore by Him who lives for ever and ever who created the heavens, earth and sea along with everything in them; but what did he swear? That is the part we could easily miss. This is what he swore: that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. I don’t know if any you watched the old Japanese monster movies; Mothra, Godzilla, Godzilla vs Mothra…but in every one of those movies while the monster is destroying Tokyo there is always a man on the corner with a sign that says: “The End is Near”. Well folks if that guy was standing there where the angel made his oath he would have been right that time. Since the day that Jesus ascended into the cloud and told His disciples that He would come back people have been wondering and guessing and predicting when that would be. The martyrs under the altar even wanted to know “how long”. In chapter 8 the saint’s prayers seemed to ask the same thing. Now we learn the point at which people can know for sure that the end is near. If that angel were from Texas he would have said “it’s fixin’ to happen”. There is no more delay after the sixth trumpet’s events have taken place. The seventh trumpet sounds the end. Chapter 11 marks that the end time events are occurring and chapters 12-14 and 15-16 tell how it is carried out. So let me make this clear; all the prognostication about when the end time will be; all the date setting is totally fruitless until we see the events of chapter 9 unfold.

I want to stop here and address the mystery of God that the strong angel referenced. There are a lot of things that are mysteries but when we see a mystery in the Bible we generally need to understand that it is a divine truth that has been hidden but that God has revealed. So what is the mystery that the angel is talking about? In light of the fact that we are in the Revelation of Jesus Christ I will tell you what I believe this mystery is. 1. Those made righteous by the work of Jesus Christ will suffer in this world that is opposed to God the things of God and the people of God. But God will preserve them. 2. The evil who oppose God the things of God and the people of God will suffer as well. But they will not learn much, they will not repent. 3. God will preserve His church then He will judge the people who oppose Him, His ways and His people. When the seventh trumpet is blown God’s final defeat of evil will be fulfilled. Just as Jesus said from the cross; “It is finished” everything concerning salvation was accomplished, when the final trumpet sounds God’s work of preserving His people and judging those who make themselves His enemy will be finished. And all through the ages, Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos on down to John the Baptist, God has used His prophets to call the people of the earth to repentance, to warn them of His coming judgment and His provision for righteousness. He announced it through His prophets: God’s people will suffer but God will preserve them. Evil people will suffer and learn very little. God will preserve His people then judge the evil of the people of the earth.

Revelation 10 8-11 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”[2] The voice that told John not to write down what he heard the thunders say now directs John to take the little scroll from the great angel. This is important; the scroll in chapter 5 that only the Jesus was found worthy to open was sealed but this little book or scroll is not sealed, God is giving an open book that will be used for proclaiming God’s grace and judgment. When John takes the book the angel tells him to eat it and that it would give him heartburn but that it would be sweet in his mouth. We can all name things that give us heartburn but we eat it anyway because we like it. I don’t think this is quite the same thing. This scroll contains the mystery of God that we talked about a moment ago and John is told to take that into his soul, into his being, to let it become a part of him, eat it. John did what he was told and sure enough it was as sweet as honey and turned his stomach bitter. How can that be? How can God’s words be sweet and bitter at the same time? We can look at this two different ways: First God’s people will be preserved in the coming trials but the fact is there will be more trials. When we get to the coming chapters we will see that the wrath of the Beast will fall on believers, on those who witness of the Lamb. They are preserved from the wrath of God but there will be persecutions and even deaths from those who oppose God. That in itself is bitter to know. Another way to understand this and it is the one I prefer, is one that we can understand even today. We have the message of the Savior and it is as sweet as honey in our hearts. We can dwell on His mercy and grace, we can meditate of His goodness and His provision of salvation for all who will call upon His name. But there is a bitterness in that we know that many will hear and not listen. The fact that God’s people suffer but God preserves them is sweet but the fact that the people of the earth suffer and learn nothing, refuse to repent is bitter, especially when it relates to our friends and family.

But the bitterness seems to the angel to be no reason not to proclaim what is in the book. “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”[3] If you read the prophets over and over again they remind God that the people are not listening to them. But God continues to send them to proclaim His grace and His judgment. That is exactly what this angel is reminding John of and that is what this Revelation of Jesus Christ is telling us today. If we read and study the Revelation so we will know what is going to happen in the future and that is all we seek then we miss the greatest point. Concerning yourself with the future can cause you to forget your purpose today. Let that not be the case in the church of Jesus Christ.

So what did we see today that gives us hope in this pause between judgments? First we have seen that those who spend time in the presence of God will reflect His glory. The great angel did, Moses did, the prophets did, Paul was different after he spent time with God, John, Andrew, Peter, Bartholomew, and folks even you and I, when we spend time with God we reflect His glory in the way we live our lives. The second thing we have seen is that God tells us everything we need to know but there is still so much for us to know of Him as we get to spend eternity in His presence. In 2 Peter 1:3 Peter reminds us that Christ’s divine power has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. God’s word is a sufficient revelation for salvation and life but it is not an exhaustive revelation. The third thing we have seen today is that God used His prophets to proclaim His righteousness and His judgment and He still uses us today. The end judgment is imminent and we must warn the people of the earth of the mystery of God: God’s people will suffer but He will preserve them. The evil people of the earth, those who refuse to repent and turn to God will suffer as well but they will not learn much, they will not repent. God will preserve His church (His people) then He will judge the people of the earth. And finally the fourth thing we have learned today is that God’s word is sweet when we take it in and make it a part of us, eat it. But there is the knowledge that some will hear but not listen and will not repent. This can be a somewhat bitter experience to us especially if it is our loved ones. However, despite the bitterness, we continue preaching, proclaiming, warning people, nations, tongues and kings just as John was told. Let us not be so consumed with future events that we miss our task for today. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 10:1–11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 10:1–11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 10:1–11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.