The Wicked Won't always Prosper

The prophet Jeremiah asked a question that anyone under the sound of my voice who has been seasoned by life has also asked: Why do the wicked prosper?

Modern culture has added another question: Who are you to call something wicked? I want to assert that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot kowtow to the latest cultural fads of what is immoral and what is moral. God decides this, not us.

And to that end, it is a reasonable question to ask WHY DO THE WICKED PROSPER? And to agree with the souls under the altar in Revelation 6.10.. how long until you avenge?

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the Revelation reminds us over and over again that God does intend to make all things right, and all things new, and that He will be the final and faithful judge of the living and the dead, the righteous and the unrighteous, of you and of me.

As we have studied through the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we saw 6 seal judgments, then a parenthetical section, then the 7th seal which started the 7 trumpets. We have now heard about the first 6 trumpets, and there is in chapter 10 another parenthetical section.

John MacArthur says that this chapter is marked by 5 unusual features, and I think we will agree with him.

Revelation 10:1–11 HCSB

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like fiery pillars, 2 and he had a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, 3 and he cried out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders spoke with their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!” 5 Then the angel that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 He swore an oath by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will no longer be an interval of time, 7 but in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, when he will blow his trumpet, then God’s hidden plan will be completed, as He announced to His servants the prophets.” 8 Now the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

See that’s all pretty unusual.

When I read it I think: Who is this mighty angel? What did the thunders reveal that God told John to seal up? And why would John be told to eat a scroll that was sweet in his mouth and bitter on his stomach? I am not sure I can answer those questions to my own satisfaction. I do note that this “unusual parenthesis” gives us several reminders about God’s character.

He is the final judge

Revelation 10:1–3 HCSB

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like fiery pillars, 2 and he had a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, 3 and he cried out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders spoke with their voices.

Please don’t be confused. I am not saying that this angel is God.

I am saying that the appearance of this angel reveals several things about God’s character.

The whole idea of clouds, face like the sun, legs like strong burning pillars, and the voice of a lion.

God sends this angel. And this angel is mighty. He is large and in-charge and he represents a God who is large and in charge.

He has one foot on the land and on the other on the sea, depicting God’s total, indisputable dominion over all of the world He created.

Many modern day Super-hero movies depict an alien enemy so strong and so powerful that it seems the world’s end cannot be avoided. And then at the end, through human ingenuity, super strength, and teamwork, that colossal alien enemy of mankind is defeated.

At first this depiction of the mighty angel may seem similar to that alien power, but please understand, this angel is sent by the Lord and represents Him. There is no super power, no United Nations, no amount of human cooperation or puzzle solving will be able to stop the JUDGE of all the world.

He is the Covenant Keeper

This is implied in a couple of verses here.

A RAINBOW OVER HIS HEAD

Revelation 10:1 HCSB

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like fiery pillars,

And

Revelation 10:6–7 HCSB

6 He swore an oath by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will no longer be an interval of time, 7 but in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, when he will blow his trumpet, then God’s hidden plan will be completed, as He announced to His servants the prophets.”

Those crying out from under the altar “how long” are given an answer here. Jeremiah asked “why do the wicked prosper” Here God says NO MORE DELAY.

We are approaching the 1/2 point of the 7 years of tribulation, and the first half was bad enough, but hang on, its about to get rough.

God keeps His promises to His Covenant people. Both Israel and the Church have the promises of God, in season, that God will be there God, That he will keep them. We have the promise of God that Vengeance belongs to Him. We don’t have to fight and win our battles. He will fight for us. He will make all things right and beautiful because HE KEEPS HIS PROMISES!

The mistake being made by social justice warriors and black liberation theology is to claim that the death of Christ on the cross was to free the oppressed (people of color) from the oppressor (white folk). The theology of Scripture concerning grace and mercy and justice and righteousness is that we have ALL sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but he has redeemed all those who have come to believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for all theirs sins.

HE keeps his promises!

He Reveals and Conceals

Revelation 10:4 HCSB

4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!”

Deuteronomy 29:29 HCSB

29 The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

Everything John saw and heard he was told to write down. Letters to churches. Description of Jesus. Prophecies about the future.

But here he is told to conceal something. Don’t write that down! Why? I don’t know! But it was for John and John only.

I have long loved Deut. 29.29

It has helped me so many times when I’ve wanted to understand something that God never let me in on.

Do we have enough faith to trust God with the things He never chooses to let us in on?

There is so much God has let us in on, but sometimes we just don’t know the answers and He asks us to trust Him.

He Reveals Through His Word

Revelation 10:8–10 HCSB

8 Now the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter.

There is much discussion about the little scroll. One thing that seems clear is that it is connected to things God sill wants John to write. (Verse 11)

Ezekiel was also told to do something similar.

In this vision, he takes the little book and eats it.

We don’t literally eat God’s Word, but we should consume it regularly. Read it. Study it. Meditate on. Obey it. It reveals the heart of God.

Why was it sweet in his mouth? I agree with those who think that as John considers the fact that God is about to make all things right and take his rightful place as the exalted King of the Universe, it “tasted sweet”.

I have been a broken record about this. We are to pray God’s Kingdom Come. We want to see God worshipped, adored, exalted and made much of in the world.

This is the sweetness of God’s Kingdom Coming.

But it was bitter in his stomach as he considered that all the rebellion must be judged and removed out of the way.

As Christians we should long for Christ’s return. But at the same time we should be making the most of the time, realizing that SO many will be lost and hell-bound when God makes all things new.

In verse 11 John was recommissioned. He was told the second time that there were things he needed to write down, to prophecy. I encourage you to let today be a day that you are recommissioned to go where God wants, say what He would have you say, and make your life count for eternity.