A Time For Testimony Series

Today we again have a little interlude from all the horror of the judgments. Thankfully God gives us these little breathers throughout Revelation because it is so intense. This is Thanksgiving weekend, and of course we should be the most thankful people of all knowing that we have a saviour that will protect us from His wrath when it comes.

So the first thing I think we need to do today is,

I. Chap. 10 – Thank God for his word

As we look at Chapter 10 of Revelation we see clearly that,

A. Jesus is the Word of God

Another mighty angel comes down from heaven, this one must be Jesus, wrapped in a cloud, a rainbow over his head, face like the sun and legs like fire as in Revelation 1:15&16. The scroll is now open in his hand, all the seals have been broken. This is either the book of Revelation or more likely the entire Word of God.

He calls out with a loud voice like a lion, the voice of the king, and when he called out the seven thunders sounded. These thunders usually refer to God and the fact that there are seven of them makes it quite certain that God is backing up the call of Jesus.

Now God says something here and as soon as John goes to write it down, he heard a voice telling him not to. This was for John’s ears only and is a reminder that God does not reveal everything to us. Daniel was told to seal up his vision in chapter 8 and 11 of his book because it was for later. It was not to be revealed yet.

Notice the stance of Christ, one foot on land, one in the sea showing his complete dominion over all creation. He raises his hand to heaven and swears an oath by God the creator, that there will be no more delay. He is responding to those under the altar that were told to wait. The waiting is over, Jesus is about to finish the judgment. Why would Jesus need to take an oath though?

Well, he doesn’t have to, but its evidence of the solemness and certainty of the words he is speaking. We saw God take an oath when he made his covenant with Abraham, when he declared Jesus to be the high priest, and when he promised David that the Christ would come from his family.

He says that with the seventh trumpet the mystery of God will be fulfilled as announced to his prophets. In Amos 3:7 we hear that the “Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets”. In this case it has been revealed, but John has been told to seal it for now.

We also see in this chapter that,

B. The Word of God must become Flesh

Now in verse 8 John is given the scroll to eat. Jeremiah and Ezekiel also ate the word of God. The practical aspect for us here is that it’s not enough to carry your bible, even to read over the bible. It is meant to be digested, to become part of us. The Word of God is the most valuable thing we will ever have, and oh how modern Christians have taken it for granted, especially in the west.

Can we just take a moment to understand what it would be like if the Bible had never been written. What would that be like, what would we know, would we be living any differently? I don’t think we can truly comprehend what the world and our own lives would be like if there had never been the word of God.

We know all the stories now, and the general gist of the Bible so now it’s kind of like a resource book that we pick up once in a while. But if you will just ponder never having any knowledge of it, if it didn’t exist, then we see the incredible value of it. The idea here is that it should be as much a part of us as the food we eat. You are what you eat, and you are what you read when it comes to the word of God. The word of God must always become flesh, it must become active in our lives.

Notice it’s not stuffed or forced into John’s mouth, it is handed to him and he has the choice to eat it. When we do eat it, God cannot change the effect it will have in us. It will bring both sorrow and joy, sourness and sweetness, sweet promises and assurances, and bitter warnings and prophecies of judgment. Faithful Christians and preachers cannot neglect to declare all of Scripture, both sweet and sour.