INTRO.
We come to the conclusion of our summer series: Perfect 10’s. We’ve looked at all of the 10th chapters in the New Testament, except one. Here we are in Revelation 10. And if had been paying closer attention, I might have chosen a different series and avoided this chapter altogether!
At first glance - and second glance, too - there doesn’t seem to be much preaching material here. Let’s read Revelation 10 and you will see what I mean!
Anyone have difficulty reading and understanding the book of Revelation? People always want to get involved in Bible studies on The Revelation, but it is so difficult to grab hold of! Here is at least part of the reason for that difficulty: What we are reading was written almost 2000 years ago! But John was seeing at least some things that have not yet taken place. Imagine, John trying to describe those things with his first century, fisherman’s vocabulary! Now, you start to understand some of the difficulty!
Let me put it another way. Can you imagine what this world is going to be like in another 2,000 years, should the Lord tarry, of course? And let’s suppose you have a vision of that far-off world, but you have the vocabulary from the beginnings of the 21st century. It’s the same situation that John finds himself in!
In spite of difficulty, remember this: This is the only book of the Bible that carries a specific pronouncement of blessing for the reader. “God blesses the one who reads this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to it and obey what it says. For the time is near when these things will happen.” (Rev. 1:3)
It was written so we would not be in the dark about what will happen! “Write down what you have seen – both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen later.” (Rev 1:19)
John was convinced that the return of Christ was imminent – could happen any moment. We dare not lose that sense of imminence 2000 years later!
The book of Revelation doesn’t just take us to the end - and drop us off! It helps us persevere through the destruction of this earth, and to find ourselves in Chapters 21 & 22 in the New Jerusalem that God has prepared for those who believe in him.
I am not a scholar of Apocalyptic Literature. I can’t tell you with any degree of certainty what is going to take place in the last days, how the events will unfold. All I know is that God has given us everything we need for godliness and life in this Book – and we better be reading and studying it! With that said, let me share with you some observations from this 10th chapter that really excite me. Not at first, mind you, but the more I read and paid attention to what I was reading – I started getting happy in the Lord! Let me see if I can help you get excited, too! There’s a lot of things that could be said here, but let me narrow our focus down to just 4 questions.
1. WHO IS THE MAIN CHARACTER? “Another mighty angel coming down from heaven.”
2. WHERE IS HE STANDING? “He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.”
3. WHAT IS IN HIS HAND? “And in his hand was a small scroll, which he had unrolled.”
4. WHAT DOES HE DO WITH WHAT HE HAS? He gave it to John to eat, bitter-sweet though it was.
FIRST, WHO IS THE MAIN CHARACTER? Do you recognize him? “Another mighty angel” – sounds like one of many “mighty angels,” right?
Can we recognize him by his face? “His face shone like the sun.” This wasn’t the first time John, the writer of Revelation, has seen a being whose face shone in such a way. Matthew records the Transfiguration of Jesus in chap. 17, and he writes, “As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun and his clothing became dazzling white!” In Rev. 1:16 John describes the one who was speaking to him: “And his face was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance.” Hmmm….the face is familiar.
Can we recognize him by his voice? I told you a few weeks ago that I can recognize many of you calling me as soon as you say hello! Can we figure out who this is by his voice print?
“And he gave a great shout, like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered.” Ezekiel heard a similar voice and described it: “As they flew their wings roared like waves crashing against the shore, or like the voice of the Almighty, or like the shouting of a mighty army.” (Ez 1:24) Later, in Ez 43, he says, “I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.” The passing of time doesn’t seem to weaken the voice of God much. In his gospel, John writes, “Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified (my name) and will glorify it again.’ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel has spoken to him.” (John 12:28-29)
But listen to what David writes in Psalm 29:3-10:
THE VOICE OF THE LORD ECHOES ABOVE THE SEA. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the might sea.
THE VOICE OF THE LORD IS POWERFUL;
THE VOICE OF THE LORD IS FULL OF MAJESTY.
THE VOICE OF THE LORD SPLITS THE MIGHTY CEDARS; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf and Mount Hermon to leap like a young bull.
THE VOICE OF THE LORD STRIKES WITH LIGHTNING BOLTS.
THE VOICE OF THE LORD MAKES THE DESERT QUAKE; the Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh.
THE VOICE OF THE LORD TWISTS MIGHTY OAKS AND STRIPS THE FORESTS BARE.
In His temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
Did you hear that, Church? Everyone in His temple shouts, "Glory!" What did they shout? (answer: GLORY!)
And did you notice that there are seven "voices of the Lord" in Psalms and that John refers to the seven "thunders" that spoke. Could it be one and the same voice?
Let’s see if we recognize him by his raiment? Sometimes we say that the clothes make the man. So what is this fashionably dressed “mighty angel” wearing? Can we recognize Him by His raiment? “He is surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head…and his feet were like pillars of fire.”
Seems to me I recall something about clouds and pillars in relation to the children of Israel. Do you recall their escape from the Egyptians? The Egyptian army was hot on the trail of the escaping horde of Israelites, and we read this in Exodus 14:19-20 “Then the angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to a position behind them, and the pillar of cloud also moved around behind them. The cloud settled between the Israelite and Egyptian camps. As night came, the pillar of cloud turned into a pillar of fire, lighting the Israelite camp. But the cloud became darkness to the Egyptians, and they couldn’t find the Israelites.” When I was in Boy Scouts we had to make camp fires without matches. Have you ever tried to rub sticks together and build up enough friction to start a small fire? Lots of work! But I learned one thing: smoke is your friend. If you can get smoke, you can get fire! If I were escaping from some mean guys, I would definitely want this quick-change artist on my side, wouldn’t you? But it shouldn’t be so surprising to us that that cloud changed quite rapidly into pillars of fire – after you read what John writes in Rev. 10. Ezek describes the One in his vision: “from the waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor.” Rev. 1:15 says “His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a furnace…”
And notice that rainbow he wears over his head. Do you think it is a coincidence that Ezekiel’s vision says “All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining through the clouds.” (1:28) Never forget it was God who invented the rainbow. Gen 9:12-16
We need to move on, but may I just make a couple quick observations that ought to be tremendously encouraging to you no matter what the difficult situation you may find yourself in?
1) You are included in God’s covenant, his permanent promise of hope!
2) The Ancient Protector of His People is still on the job! The one who changed according to the needs and the degree of light – also knows what you need in this world, and He will supply your needs!
SECOND, WHERE IS HE STANDING?
I don’t want to take a lot of time here, but I just want you to notice that he has his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the (dry) land. A quick survey in Revelation shows some other beings standing in particular places. In Ch 13, the dragon stands on the shore of the sea; the beast rises from the sea; another beast comes out of the earth. Chap 7 “a vast crowd is standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.”
I think it is significant that this “mighty angel” displays his mastery of both the land and the sea. Jesus did that in the boat that was being tossed on the Sea of Galilee when he calmed the storm. And he does it here by planting on foot on solid, dry ground, and the other foot is not IN the water, but ON the water! Symbolically, He is also reminding us that He is the omnipresent one – Only God can be present in two places at the same time!
THIRD, WHAT IS IN HIS HAND?
Let’s move to investigate what He has in His hand. It doesn’t sound like much: “And in his hand was a small scroll, which he had unrolled.” I don’t want to say something out of place here, but do you know when the last time was that we saw a scroll in Revelation? Chapter 5 – so let’s go back and read about THAT scroll. Rev. 5:1—6:2
So when I read that this “mighty angel” is standing, holding a scroll I’m thinking....
....he is holding the scroll that no one else was worthy to break the seals of, and unroll!
....that he is standing there with the scroll that is going to tell what else is going to happen and how this whole thing is going to be wrapped up!
....when I read about “another mighty angel” that there is only One being whom this could possibly be! None other, than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! The Lamb of God that had been killed but was now alive forevermore!
....this could only be the mighty warrior!
....that only One could have been protecting the Israelites with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night – which was His very presence with them on their journey!
....that the one who John saw, is the same one who Ezekiel saw – and He’s the same one we can see and know in this present evil day that we live in! And all the people who hear the voice of the Lord, ought to say with David, “GLORY!”
FOURTH, WHAT DOES HE DO WITH THE SCROLL?
But my friends, you need to notice something. He doesn’t hang on to that scroll – but he gives it to John with some instructions. John, take this scroll and eat it. It will taste sweet as honey in your mouth, but when it gets to your stomach it’s going to give you one massive stomach ache! Why? How can something be so sweet and yet cause such discomfort? I’ve eaten sweet rolls and cinnamon buns in the morning – they taste so good, but they give me one massive case of heartburn a couple hours later.
I don’t know why that happens to me, but I think I understand why it happened to John. Because John knew that what was going to happen as a result of God’s wrath was not going to happen to the believers. That was sweet! That’s a good-tasting thing.
Oh, but the awful aftertaste – the thousands and millions of people who reject God are going to face some horrific things! Things so bad that they will wish they could just die and be done with them – but death is not an escape route! Does that make you cry to think of what some of your loved ones will have to endure for all eternity if they don’t change their ways? Doesn’t that break your heart? It should! And it should move you to action, too, to do as John was instructed to do: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” There are many who need to hear, John. Tell them what is coming, but also tell them there is a way out, a divine escape plan, if they will only avail themselves of it.
CONCLUSION:
My friends, you are blessed to know the sweet story, that this "Mighty Angel" is your personal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Son of God who died on the cross for your sins. That by His death and resurrection you are saved! And for that you should shout, with David: "GLORY!"
But will you also accept the bitter responsibility of telling others of the love of God and the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross for THEIR sins? Wouldn’t your shouts of "glory!" be louder and even sweeter if your family members all knew Christ? If your friends all knew Christ? If your neighbors knew Christ? The shouts of "glory" here on earth, though wonderfully sweet, don’t even begin to compare with the praise-a-thon that goes on in heaven! Luke 15:7 (NLT) "In the sam way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"
Will you spread the news of Jesus?
