Jul. 10, 2024

“REVELATION”

10:1-11

Revelation 10-14 describes the events that will occur at the middle of the seven-year Tribulation. This explains John’s repeated mention of the three-and-a-half year time segment in one form or another (11:2-3, 12:6,14, 13:5).

The Mighty Angel and the Little Scroll- Revelation 10:1-11

The Mighty Angel: Revelation 10:1-4

Revelation 10:1-4 “I 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.”

The Lord Jesus Christ does not appear in the book of Revelation as an angel.

Don’t be deceived by the glorious description of this angel-“robed in a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire” Rev. 10:1.

vs.1 “And a rainbow was on his head”- the rainbow was God’s sign to mankind that He would never again destroy the world with a flood. Even in wrath, God remembers His mercy:

Habakkuk 3:2 “O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.”

Whoever the angel is, he has the authority of God’s throne given to him.

He stands with his right foot in the sea and his left foot on the earth, indicating that he has authority over land and sea surfaces. 

The angel was saying, “The world is under the foot of God Himself.” Revelation 10:2 

Seven Thunderlike Voices- Rev. 10:4

The seven voices that sound like seven thunders are a unique feature in the book of Revelation.

There are some truths of God that are still a mystery.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord.”

God has revealed to us through His Holy Word everything we need to know. But there are some things we can’t know, especially about the end times. 

The Mighty Angel Proves He is not the Lord Jesus Christ: Rev. 10:5-7

Revelation 10:5-7 “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.

The angel is making an oath by the only sure guarantee, that is God Himself. 

Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.” 

John 1:3 “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

The angel by God’s authority swore two things: First, there would be no more delay in God giving full vent to His wrath. Second, there is no more time for unbelievers to repent.

Rev. 10:6 “that there should be delay no longer.”

vs.6 “delay”-means time, there will no longer be time or time shall be no more. This would indicate that time as we know it- 24/7/365- is about to end, and eternity is about to begin.

The Mystery of God- Rev. 10:7

The word “mystery” appears several times in the Bible, meaning God is going to disclose a truth that is only possible to know in His Word.

“The mystery of God” here referred to can only mean salvation. One of the characteristics of salvation involves the mystery of how a holy God could love sinful human beings sufficiently to send His only Son into the world to die for their sin.

The Little Book Consumed- Revelation 10:8-11

Revelation 10:8-11 “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.”

What is the Little Scroll? Rev. 10:8-11

After John asks the angel for the little scroll, he is told to take it and eat it, though warned that it will be sweet to the taste and bitter to the belly.

Jeremiah 15:16 “When your words came, I ate them, they were my joy and my hearts delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.” 

Ezekiel 3:1-3 contains the admonition of the Lord to the Old Testament prophet to “eat the scroll,” and it “tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.” After he had eaten the book, he was told to go speak to the house of Israel.

The obvious meaning of these symbolic references to “eating the Word of God” is that before someone can be a spokesman for God, he must digest the Word of God.

After John had eaten the scroll, the mighty angel says to him, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” vs.11

The picture of sweetness in the mouth and bitterness in the belly indicates the typical quality of God’s Word, which is sharper than a two-edged sword.

So what does Revelation mean to you and me? Remember you are what you eat. How do you go about eating the Word of God?

*Listen To The Word of God- Romans 10:17

*Read The Word Of God- Psalm 119:18

*Study The Word of God- 2 Timothy 2:15

*Memorize The Word of God- Psalm 119:11

*Meditate On The Word of God- Joshua 1:8