Interludes are wonderful things.
They allow you to catch your breath, catch up with a big brother whose
legs take longer steps. Interludes at
concerts allow Elizabeth to explain the music to me. TV Commercials are interludes; I mute the
sound and save lots of money!
Revelation 10.1 - 11.14 is an interlude, a break in the action. It is John's commentary on the events thus far.
In the middle of the judgment seals and trumpets, as God begins to pour
down His wrath, we have a pause to catch our breath. There are three assurances as preparation
points for the balance of the judgment time:
a. The Tribulation saints are assured it will
not be much longer.
b. The martyred saints are also comforted about
the short time.
c. God's authority and sovereignty are
highlighted.
This chapter describes the Great
Tribulation for us...
1.
It is a Shortened Time
Then I saw another mighty angel
coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were
like pillars of fire. And in his hand was a small
scroll that had been opened. He
stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. And
he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders
answered. Revelation 10:1-3
The angel has a little book in
his hand. The shortness of time is
indicated by the brevity of this account, and the assurances given.
In verse 6 the angel reaffirms that this whole event will not be plagued
by delays. The reasoning of this is
simple. When God's judgment begins, no
one can stand for long! Job recognized
this:
You asked, ‘Who is this that
questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far
too wonderful for me. Job 42:3
There's just something about being in the presence of God that will
humble you, especially when He's ticked!
Who can stand when God speaks?
It's a good thing the days will be shortened. Jesus said that in his final sermon:
In fact, unless that time of calamity
is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for
the sake of God’s chosen ones. Matthew
24:22
When the Lord speaks, His word is accomplished. The angel stands with one foot on land, the
other on the sea. He is claiming –
according to the authority of God – everything that exists, just as recorded by
the Psalmist:
The earth is the Lord’s, and
everything in it. The world and all its
people belong to him. Psalms 24:1
When the angel speaks, his voice is as the intimidating roar of a
lion. I have stood near the lion's cage
in a zoo when the beast bellowed. It is
enough to make you faint dead away.
However, the resounding echo is the voice of God, 7 thunders. This is representative of God's sovereignty
(7 = perfect/complete). It also speaks
of His omnipotence, as thunder is the most uncontrollable sound that you will
ever experience. The meaning here is that the time of judgment will be short because of God's
invincible, incontrovertible, unconquerable power. He doesn't need time to overcome evil.
2.
It is a Sealed Time
When the seven thunders spoke, I was
about to write. But I heard a voice from
heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write
it down.” Revelation 10:4
John is being a good stenographer here.
He is about to write what God said in his thunderous voice, and the
Spirit prohibits it. God knows what we
ought to know, and when it is appropriate.
When our granddaughter was just a toddler, playing on the floor during
one of our visits, I got down to play with her, and asked in a teasing way, Chelsea, what
time is it? She didn’t hesitate with her answer, she shot
back, Right now! That was an answer much like God's. There are some things God will not tell us...yet!
“The Lord our God has
secrets known to no one. We are not
accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all
that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these
instructions. Deuteronomy 29:29
All we can do is live in the right
now…like Chelsea!
Some of the things we want to know are appropriate questions. They just aren't timely in God's eyes. The main question believers have is about
evil.
·
Why is there a devil?
·
Why does God permit sin and
suffering?
Robinson Crusoe is the fellow who got marooned on an island with a
cannibal named Friday. He teaches the
savage how to behave in a civilized manner, teaches him all about
Christianity. But, when Crusoe attempts
to instruct Friday about evil and Satan, the inevitable question arises:
But if God much strong, much might as the devil,
why God not kill the devil?
Robinson Crusoe pretended not to hear the question and hastily found some
excuse to send Friday on an errand to the other end of the island.[1]
We do not know God's ultimate answers for permitting evil and the devil. But Oswald Chambers could've given the only
appropriate answer to Friday's question about the secret things:
God does not tell us what he is going to do, he reveals who he is.
Despite the unanswered
questions about why God does
things, there is another, and bigger
question: Why do we question God? We are the creation, not the Creator. If God decides to seal up some of the answers
for all eternity, He is God. It is
enough to know that God always keeps His promises...
3.
It's a Time when God Fulfills His Promises
Then the angel I saw standing on the
sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven. He
swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created
the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea
and everything in it. He said, “There
will be no more delay. When the seventh angel blows his trumpet,
God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his
servants the prophets.” Revelation
10:5-7
The promise of God, given through this angel is that the time is short,
and that the secrets God has reserved for Himself will be revealed
shortly. This is just as He spoke
through the prophets. God keeps His
promises. The time that seals up the
secrets is about to end.
4.
It’s a Serving Time
Then the voice from heaven spoke to
me again: “Go and take the open scroll from
the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and told him to
give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it
and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet
as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” So
I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed
it, it turned sour in my stomach. Then
I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages,
and kings.” Revelation 10:8-11
At this moment John the Apostle becomes a player in the drama of the
Revelation. He is told to take the
little book from the angel and eat it.
Something is required of John; he must now participate. He is over 90 years of age. This old man who has served Jesus for nearly
60 years experiences first-hand the thrill of victory, and the agony of getting
there. It tells us something about
servanthood,
· Serving means
knowing the bitterness of judgment
The Word of the book tasted sweet, but the pathway is bitter-lined There are many more bowls, battles, and
beasts ahead. When John becomes a player
in the drama, his belly turns bitter with the experience. Many people today are curious about prophecy
and the End Times. People are fascinated
with the Antichrist. They want to
know.
However, the minute the full truth
hits home, it can be bitterness in the belly.
Full truth places bitter demands on our lives.
·
There is the truth of
judgment and condemnation. It is a
bitter message the world doesn't want to hear.
·
There is a real hell, and a
real fire.
·
There is an eternal
separation from God that awaits those who reject Jesus Christ. The full truth is that a disciple of Christ
must pick up a cross and die – die to self, die to the world, die to the devil –
if one is to live for Jesus.
Today, marketing the church means hiding the truth. It seems that attracting the crowds has
become our focus, rather than proclaiming the truth. In the end, it is the truth that will set us
free, not having a large crowd!
Serving the Lord will open us up to seeing fully the bitterness of judgment.
But there is contrast:
Serving means
knowing the sweetness of genuine hope
Thy words were found, and I did eat
them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of
hosts. Jeremiah 15:16
How sweet are thy words unto my
taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my
mouth! Psalms 119:103
There is a sweetness beyond the judgment.
There is a hope that is eternally bound together with the judgment.
·
Jeremiah was told to go and
preach the hot, spilling cauldron judgment against the people of Israel for
their sins – yet he also had a vision of the almond branch of peace.
·
John the Baptist preached
the sternest message of God's judgment against sin, yet he pointed to the
Savior.
Where is the sweetness? Where the hope?
The sweetness and hope are found in the promise of God for
deliverance. Paul put it this way:
And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Those who, by faith, surrender their lives to worship and serving God are
the called of God. Everything, even the
judgment of God works together for people like that!
Finding sweetness and hope in the Word of God means eating the judgment
and deliverance together. Finding it means
learning of Him, and leaning on Him.
In ancient days, when little Jewish children were learning their
alphabet, the Rabbis would take a slate and write the letters on it. But the ink was honey, spread on bread dough formed into letters. The teacher would point to a letter. A correct answer brought the privilege of
licking the letter off the slate. Sweet!
In a spiritual sense we do the same thing. We open the Book. We see God's ways. We understand and we ingest them. We make them our way of life, and God gives
sweetness.
But now notice: the angel pushed
John out on the stage with these words:
Take it, and
eat it up...
That's the bottom line, my friend.
The Word is there.
You know it is sweet – and bitter.
You, however, are the one who must decide if you will take it, and eat
it. This is the call – and the challenge
– of God to every human being:
Do you love
me ENOUGH to serve me through blessing and hard times?
Daniel
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, (Chicago,
Moody Press, 1965), 192-195
