It is a sweet thing for us to absorb the Word of God into our minds and hearts. It is good to tell others. However, the fact that some will reject God finally and forever is a bitter truth. Even so, the Lord will exhaust all possibilities before unleashing the full and final judgment that is coming. He wants to give the people on earth every possible opportunity to repent before it is too late.
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Download Revelation Part 22
Revelation #22. Revelation 10:1-11
1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” (Rev 10:1-4, ESV2011)
We are in the third major section of Revelation. We have studied six of the seven parts of that section. This is the beginning of the seventh part. As with the seventh part of the second section, it is not a continuation of what was going on (the blowing of the trumpets) but an interlude, giving us a “pause in the action” and telling us some other things before moving on.
Some people have interpreted the mighty angel to be Christ himself, but Jesus is never described as an angel elsewhere; quite the contrary. There is no reason to think this is anything but what John describes: A mighty angel. The fact that he has one foot on the sea and the other on land, and that he is wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, describes that his mission is for all of creation. Also, the rainbow might be a reminder of God’s promise to Noah, that he would never again destroy everything by flood. I tend to favor that idea, because I think this entire interlude is about how God is almost reluctant to bring about the final destruction of those who reject him. The rainbow reminds us of that.
Moving on, let us consider the seven thunders. I have mentioned before that there are many ways of interpreting the book of Revelation. Perhaps the most popular method these days is the method of creating a timeline by picking parts of Daniel and Zechariah, taking a chapter of Matthew here, a passage in Luke there, and a few verses from both 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. All these passages are combined with Revelation, and a timeline for the end of the world is created. This timeline does not arise naturally from any of the books separately. That should be a warning to us. Picking and choosing from different pieces of the Bible and combining those pieces to make something that isn’t actually found in the Bible is not good Bible scholarship. With that method, we could make the Bible say anything at all. In fact, that method is frequently used by cults.
I wonder if the Holy Spirit inspired Revelation 10:1-4 precisely in order to rebuke that sort of activity. Think about this. We have had seven seals and six trumpets. We will shortly have the seventh trumpet, and then seven “bowls.” Each of the seals contained significant signs and events. This was also true of the trumpets, and it will be true of the bowls. It is natural then, to assume that these “thunders” contain significant things in the same way as the seals, trumpets and bowls. However, the thunders are sealed up, and not revealed to anyone. Because of this, there is no “timeline” that can accurately incorporate the seven thunders, therefore there can be no accurate timeline for the end of the world. The content of the seven thunders could render any and all of these very specific theories invalid.
Respected Bible scholar Leon Morris puts it very well:
“…it is a warning against the kind of date-fixing that has characterized some schemes of prophecy based upon this book. On John’s own showing we do not have all the information. God has kept some things back from us. Let us not proceed as though all has been revealed.”
The text for this time continues like this.
5And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6and swore by him 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, that there would be no more delay, 7but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (Rev 10:5-7, ESV2011)
Remember, the seven seals describe the time leading up to the end. For all intents and purposes, I believe we are now living during the time of the seven seals. So, during this time, God allows wars, economic hardships and diseases, in the hope that they will bring some to repentance. But above all, during this time, the Gospel is going out into all the world, so that people can receive the grace of God through Jesus.
When the seventh seal is opened, this time of grace will be ended. God will begin to allow a limited judgment for sin to fall on people. But before God ends that time of grace, he pauses. During that pause, (found in Revelation chapter 7) We are given assurances that God knows his own people, and will protect them from His wrath against sin. We were given a vision of the future of God’s people when all this is over.
Once the pause ends with the opening of the seventh seal, things get much worse for those who reject God. Each trumpet escalates the judgments against sin; each trumpet escalates the pain and suffering of those who refuse to repent. We can imagine how much worse it will be after the final trumpet. But before that final trumpet, we have another, much longer pause. The angel swears that once that seventh trumpet has been sounded, there will be no more delay. Therefore, God delays now, before the trumpet sounds, and it is a longer delay than previously.
One thing that this shows us is that the Lord will exhaust all possibilities before unleashing the full and final judgment that is coming. He wants to give the people on earth every possible opportunity to repent before it is too late. At this point in Revelation we are no longer in the “age of grace,” but that does not mean there will be no grace at all to be found. One of the major themes of Revelation is God’s continued reluctance to have to destroy those who reject him. Though judgment is coming, there are many pauses before the final end.
Once more the text goes on:
8Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” (Rev 10:8-11, ESV2011)
John is told to take and eat the little scroll. Many people have speculated about what this scroll represents. I think it represents the remaining part of the prophecy of Revelation. The scroll is described as a “bibliaridion,” which means, essentially, “booklet.” In other words, there isn’t a lot to it. I think this is meant to communicate that the end is almost upon us – there is not much left to say; God’s word is almost complete.
The eating of a scroll is actually a well-known illustration to symbolize absorbing God’s word in order to then communicate it to others. Ezekiel had a similar experience, five hundred years before John:
1And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. (Ezek 3:1-3, ESV2011)
Jeremiah did also, a little earlier than Ezekiel:
16Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I am called by Your name, Yahweh God of Hosts. (Jer 15:16, HCSB)
The picture is that these prophets took God’s words into their very beings, they absorbed it fully. It “tasted good” to them because it was a sweet experience to be so close to God that they were receiving His message directly. There is a glorious intimacy with God associated with hearing his word, and having a call to proclaim it. I am nothing compared to these men, but I have found that same sweetness in deeply studying God’s Word, absorbing it into my mind and heart, and telling others about it.
That made the taste sweet for John as well. But for John, it was also bitter. As he absorbed the message, and saw that what is coming is the full unleashing of God’s wrath, he also felt the bitterness of knowing that some people will continue to reject God finally and ultimately, without repentance. For some, he is proclaiming eternal damnation. Once again, this is a picture of God’s desire for all people to return to Him. It is a bitter thing that some will not.
I am seeing two major themes from the text today. The first theme is about God’s Word. In the first place, we must not be arrogant enough to believe we know everything there is to know about life in general, or even about God; nor about the end times in particular. This text tells us that he has withheld some information from us. I have said for many years that the Bible tells us all that we need to know about God, human nature, how to be saved for eternity, and how best to live while we are on earth. However, it does not tell us all there is to know about everything. Certainly there are many things that are true that are not contained in the Bible – mathematical equations, factual discoveries and so on. This text suggests that there are even spiritual things that the Bible does not reveal, because we don’t need to know them. This should help to keep us humble.
Secondly, however, this text reminds us how sweet it is to know God better through his Word – the Bible. It is sweet to study, and meditate, and to take the words of scripture deeply to heart. I strongly commend this to all Christians. It’s the best-tasting spiritual diet there is. Just open up your Bibles every day; find the best time that works for you. Put a bit of effort into it – the reward is large in proportion to the effort.
Third, the text today reveals two attitudes of God that are held in tension. On the one hand, He is determined to finally put all things right, and bring about the end of this decaying, corrupted, temporary world. He will do it. On the other hand, God continues to delay in the hopes that perhaps more people will turn to Him and avoid the final and eternal sorrow. Even when the time for judgment is at hand, he continues to extend grace.
Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart today!
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