The Little Book Series

Now it’s time for the seventh trumpet to blast forth. But before it does, there is so much horror that has been released upon the earth that those remaining will cry out wondering if this is the end of the earth. Is all hope lost?

The answer to their questions is no. Yes, all this destruction will take place, but there will be a final triumph over evil and destruction. That is the great announcement of chapter 10. God is going to save all who will give their lives to Him, and He is going to make a new heaven and earth that will be perfect and last forever.

All of these present-day prophets of humanism that are telling man that man is his own god are wrong. The earth is going to suffer convulsive and catastrophic horrors. The fact is that the earth and its time are running down, and man cannot stop the process.

But there is good news. And we find that good news in chapters 10 & 11. God is going to conquer evil. Tonight’s study is divided into three sections.

Verses 1-4 – We see the mighty messenger of the great announcement.

Verses 5-7 – There is the declaration and oath of the great announcement.

Verses 8-11 – We see the sour and sweet taste of the great announcement.

Read 1-4. Let’s take a closer look at this mighty messenger of the great announcement.

1. First, he came down from heaven. This tells us that he came from the very presence and throne of God Himself. Last time we saw four fallen angels that were bound at the great river Euphrates. But this angel that we see tonight comes from the throne of God the most exalted place. This tells us that he is the very highest of beings. So he is going to make this great announcement straight from the throne of God.

2. This messenger is robed in a cloud. This symbolizes a majestic, glorious, and heavenly appearance. Just as the heavens are clothed with the glory of the clouds, so this angel was clothed. Again, this tells us that the great announcement that he is about to make was coming from the majesty and glory of heaven.

3. The messenger has a rainbow above his head. This is a symbol of the glory and mercy of God. In the book of Ezekiel (Ezk. 1:28) we see that a rainbow is part of the glory of the throne of God. We saw in this morning’s message in Genesis 9: 12-13 that the rainbow was a sign of God’s mercy shown to Noah. So the glory of God and the mercy of God are seen in this angel. So our fear is lightened a little as we see that this great announcement was to be a message of glory and mercy.

4. The messenger had a face that shone like the sun. This is a symbol of the light, lustre, brightness, brilliance, and splendor of the messenger. So this great announcement is to be the message of enormous light, lustre, and splendor.

5. The messenger had feet like fiery pillars. What does this mean? (Not athlete’s foot). It symbolizes the holiness, purity, righteousness, and strength of the messenger. So this great announcement was to be the strong pillar of God’s holiness, purity, and righteousness to earth.

6. The messenger held a little book that was open. What is the book? Verse 11 says that it is the message that must be proclaimed to the world. What is the message? The message is the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, both the love and grace and the judgment and woe of God. The great announcement was to be the message of Revelation.

7. The messenger planted his feet upon the sea and the land. This symbolizes the gigantic size, strength, and power of the messenger. He was claiming both sea and land, the whole world for God. This great announcement of the messenger was a message that was to involve the whole universe.

8. The messenger had a voice that roared like a lion. This symbolizes the great voice of God, the very voice of the lion of Judah, Christ Himself. So this great announcement is the very message of God Himself.

9. The messenger called forth 7 thundering voices. The number seven symbolizes completeness, fulfillment and finality. Thunder symbolizes the power and strength of God’s voice. You’ve been in thunderstorms before where all of sudden there is such a loud clap of thunder that it causes you to jump. I picture this scene the same way. The power of God will be felt in the thunder. So the seven thunders of God’s voice have the power to complete and fulfill and finalize all things.