REVELATION 10 ANOTHER MIGHTY ANGEL2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 10 Another Mighty Angel

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010.

Well, here we are in Revelation chapter 10, plugging away, continuing on chapter by chapter through the book of Revelation. And as we've been going through the book of Revelation, we've been going back to the beginning to keep ourselves in context and remind ourselves about the things that God is doing as we're going through the book of Revelation. We've been going back to the outline that Jesus gave us back in chapter 1, verse 19.

where Jesus divided this book into three parts, the past, the present, and the future. He told John to write down the things which he had seen, the past, the things that he recorded for us in chapter 1 of the book of Revelation, where he had the vision of Jesus on the island of Patmos.

And then Jesus tells him to write down the things which are, that is the present things. And he was writing to the churches there in chapters 2 and 3. Seven letters to seven different churches, dealing with those individual churches at that time that actually existed. But also as we studied through that, we saw extend even to churches.

The present day that Jesus was dealing with the church as a whole, both globally and for the whole 2,000 years of the church's existence, these are the things that apply to us. These are the days that we're living in, the time of the church, which will continue until the Lord raptures us out of here and takes us out of this planet. Well, then Jesus...

Told to write the things which will take place, that is the future, the things that have not yet happened but are going to happen. And so those are the things that we've been studying for the past many weeks. We picked it up in chapter 4 and it continues on to the end of the book of Revelation that we're looking at future events, things that have not happened yet but must shortly take place.

And what are those things that will shortly take place, that are going to happen?

Well, the first thing that we look forward to for you and I as believers is the rapture of the church. We dealt with that back in Revelation chapter 4. That time where the Lord returns, but not to set foot on earth, but to catch up His bride, the church, and we meet the Lord in the air, and then we go to heaven with Jesus. We will forever be with the Lord at that time, Paul tells us.

Well, as the church is out of this world, out of the picture, the earth is going to continue on and it's going to head into seven years of tribulation, trouble, turmoil, difficulty like the world has never seen before.

And that begins in chapter 6 of Revelation and continues on to chapter 19. We're right in the middle of it this morning as we're here in chapter 10, looking at those things which are to come. And we've been talking about for the past couple of weeks, the many judgments that will be unleashed upon the earth in that time. And there's many more to come as we go forward in the book of Revelation.

But that tribulation period, it only lasts for seven years and it ends with the return of Jesus Christ. The armies are gathered together for the battle of Armageddon and Jesus returns at that moment and puts an end to that battle, puts an end to that war and establishes his own kingdom on the earth for 1,000 years. We call it the millennial kingdom or the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

And for a thousand years there's peace, there's righteousness. Satan is bound in the bottomless pit and unable to wreck havoc and disrupt the plan of God. And so the earth will be renewed and restored. The saints who were raptured to be with the Lord will return with him to rule and reign with him. It's going to be a glorious thousand year period.

At the end of that thousand year period, the enemy will be released from the bottomless pit for a short time. He's going to lead one final rebellion against God. One final rebellion against Jesus, try to overthrow the Lord, which of course he will not be victorious in. He will fail and at that time then God will bring the final judgment upon Satan and his demons.

It's called the Great White Throne Judgment. It's recorded for us in Revelation chapter 20. And there it tells us that Satan and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire. And it also records for us that in verse 15 of Revelation 20, that whoever's name is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire as well. It will be the final judgment for those who reject God, for those who do not have relationship with the Lord.

Once the final judgment is complete, then as we head on into chapter 21 of Revelation, we'll get to see the things that God has in store for the rest of eternity. There'll be a new heavens, a new earth, a new Jerusalem that descends from heaven and the rest of eternity that stretches out before us.

all kinds of things that we can't imagine that can't be described but we get little glimpses about the kind of things that God has for us in eternity and we'll be looking at those things as we conclude the book of Revelation I'm sure God has some wonderful things in store for us as we look forward to those things of eternity that He has prepared

Well, currently in the book of Revelation, we're in chapter 10. We've been talking about the tribulation period. And the tribulation period began in chapter 6 with the opening of the scroll. You remember there was that scroll with seven seals? And Jesus takes the scroll and he begins to open the scroll with seven seals.

And as he opens each seal, there is a judgment that is brought upon the earth. Things are happening. It's the tribulation period as he opens each seal. And we saw the first seal was opened back in chapter 6. And out came the Antichrist.

And he went forth to conquer and conquering. He was establishing himself as king, as a world leader at that time. And so the Antichrist will rise to prominence right at the beginning of the tribulation period.

Then the second seal is opened and war breaks out upon the earth. Then Jesus opens the third seal and there's a severe famine that hits the earth. Then the fourth seal is opened and a quarter of the earth are killed or they die at that time from all of the things that are going on. Then the fifth seal is opened and John sees martyrs in heaven that are being comforted by God.

Then we saw the sixth seal being opened and there what we saw was catastrophic events. The sun being darkened, stars falling to the earth, great earthquakes, just all kinds of crazy things that are difficult for us to imagine were happening all at the same time as the sixth seal is opened.

And then we saw the seventh seal. And as that was opened, in contrast to all the chaos that was going on, there was silence in heaven for 30 minutes in preparation for those things which were to come, which are the seven trumpet judgments. And after the silence, then the angels were given, seven angels were given seven trumpets. And just like the seals, as each one was opened and there was judgments that came, as each

Angel sounded his trumpet. There was a judgment that was poured out upon the earth. Things were happening upon the earth. And so there was seven trumpets. We've studied through six of them thus far. There's the seventh trumpet, which we'll get to next week a little bit. And in the coming weeks, we'll study more in depth.

But the first trumpet sounded, and the first judgment that was part of the trumpet judgments was a third of the trees were burned. The second trumpet sounded, and a third of the sea, that is the ocean, was turned to blood. The third trumpet sounded, and a third of the fresh water was made bitter, and many people died from drinking the poisoned water that was made bitter."

And then the fourth trumpet sounded and a third of the stars were darkened.

Then last week in chapter 9, we looked at the fifth trumpet, where it was five months of demonic torment. Horrendous things that we studied last week, difficult to imagine, supernaturally just off the charts, you know, very tough stuff for us to understand. It's going to be even tougher though to try to live through or survive those days. Then the sixth trumpet sounded and there was four angels who were released to

to kill one-third of mankind. And we talked about those numbers. So up to that point, assuming the population and all those types of things, it's about two billion people, half the population of the earth, heading into the tribulation period that will be left after that sixth trumpet as a third of mankind is killed.

Well, the seventh trumpet, we haven't looked at yet. Like I said, we'll get to that next week a little bit, but more in depth in chapters 15 and 16. And the final part of the seventh trumpet is there's seven more angels that are brought forth. They have bowls of wrath and they are going to be pouring out those bowls of wrath upon the earth. And there's going to be seven more judgments that are unleashed upon the earth at the close of the tribulation period.

And so that's where we are thus far. We're up to that sixth trumpet as we head into Revelation chapter 10. Now as we look at Revelation chapter 10, this is a chapter that produces a lot of questions, a lot of speculations, opinions and perspectives. And I want to share with you, I think it's appropriate, you know, as we get into these things, that much of what I'm sharing with you is my own personal understanding, opinion and belief about

about what is happening here in Revelation chapter 10. There are other opinions and perspectives, and you're welcome to research those and study those. I encourage you to do so. I'm not going to try to explain every scenario or, you know, break down all the different beliefs, but I'm just going to share the one that I really believe God wants us to pay attention to this morning, what I really believe is happening here in Revelation chapter 10.

And that starts with the timing of Revelation chapter 10. I believe that here in Revelation chapter 10, what we are looking at or where we're at in the tribulation period is right in the middle. If you remember, the tribulation period is seven years long.

It's seven years long and it's divided into two parts. The first half of the tribulation period is three and a half years. And then the second half, of course, is another three and a half years. The tribulation period begins not with the rapture of the church, but with the covenant that is signed between the Antichrist and the nation of Israel.

And that covenant, that treaty, that agreement that is signed begins that seven-year period of tribulation. The middle of the tribulation period is significant. It's referred to as the abomination of desolation because the Antichrist makes this agreement with Israel. But after three and a half years living in this agreement, the Antichrist breaks the covenant.

Not only does he break the covenant, but he goes into the temple. That doesn't stand right now, but it will be rebuilt. He goes into the temple and he sets up an image of himself and he proclaims himself to be God. And not only that, but he commands and calls all of the world to worship him.

And so, it's known as the abomination of desolation. It's the worst thing possible that you could do against God. To take and to set up within the temple an image of yourself, to proclaim yourself to be God, and to call all of mankind to worship you. Well,

Well, that's what happens in the middle of the tribulation period. The tribulation ends, of course, with the battle of Armageddon and the return of Jesus Christ and that Antichrist will be defeated. Here in chapter 10 and continuing on into chapter 14,

what we have is a parenthetical thought or parenthetical thoughts. It's taking a step back. If you remember back in chapter 7, we looked at this idea of a parenthetical thought where the sequence was continuing, the seals were being opened, but then the sequence stopped for a moment. John kind of took a step back and the Lord showed him something else.

showed him the servants of God being sealed and then the multitude that was in heaven before the throne. And then back in chapter 8, then the sequence resumed and the seventh seal was opened and the trumpets began. Well, here in chapters 10 through 14, we have a similar type of thing. They're parenthetical thoughts.

The sequence has stopped for the moment. It will resume in a couple chapters, but here in chapters 10 through 14, we have some other things going on that God wanted to reveal to us. I liken it to this. Have you ever paused a movie...

in order to explain to someone else the context or some background information because they're just not getting it. Have you ever done that? I've done that. You know, you pause the movie and you say, Richard, this is what's going on. Because Richard always needs explanation.

And you give the background. You see, he was over here with that guy, and then he did this, and then this other thing happened over here, and that's why they're in this spot right now. That kind of thing, that kind of explanation. Well, in a similar way, here in chapter 10, God's hit pause on the sequence of events. We've been looking at all these judgments happening, but we're taking a step back now, and God's saying, okay, let me give you some context.

and some other things that are going on at the same time that these judgments are being unleashed. And so we're getting some insight into some other things that we haven't dealt with, and it's not in the direct sequence of events. And so these chapters, 10 through 14, bring us up to speed on some important information that God wanted us to know.

Now, as I shared, I believe that here in chapter 10 and also through chapter 14, where we're taking this pause, as far as the timing of the tribulation period is, we're right in the middle. The first three and a half years include the seven seals and the first six trumpets. And then the last three and a half years include

is the seventh trumpet and then the seven bowls of judgment that will be poured out and we'll get into as we head further into the book of Revelation. I believe this because, well, for one thing, the chapters in the book of Revelation are in the order that they're in on purpose. This is not like other prophetic books or

that have different prophecies that were given at different times, and they're put all together, but chapter 2 might have actually happened before chapter 1. That happens a lot in the book of Ezekiel, for example. We're studying it on Wednesday nights. And God was prophesying against the nation of Tyre.

Now, there's a couple of chapters all together that deal with the nation of Tyre. They all didn't happen at the same time. They're different prophecies that God gave to Ezekiel throughout his ministry. They happened at different times, but they're put all together, you know, for ease of understanding and to, you know, for whatever reason God wanted to put them together. And so God put them all together and so they happen all here. But it doesn't mean that, you know, this one was given, then the next one was given, then the next one was given. But it doesn't mean that, you know,

They're grouped together by subject more than by sequence. The book of Revelation, though, is not like the book of Ezekiel. It's not many different visions that John had. It's not different things that God showed him, you know, for a long period of time. It's one vision. It's one vision that God gave to him, and God gave it to him in the order of

that he wanted to reveal it. And so I really believe that the order of the chapters are very important because this is the order that God has given to us and it's not just a collection of prophecies but it's put together in this way for us to understand the timing and the timeline of what is going to be happening during the tribulation period.

And so we started back in chapter 1 where we saw the vision of Jesus that John recorded. Then we went to chapters 2 and 3 and saw the letters to the seven churches and some powerful things that God was speaking through that. But then in chapters 4 and 5, we turned our eyes to the heavenly scene.

And there in the heavenly scene, we saw the church in heaven, worshiping God, all kinds of glorious things going on. And then from there, we went into chapter 6. Now the church is already in heaven. And so we know as we head into chapter 6, the church is not part of the tribulation period, not going to be going through that time because we've already been raptured and taken out of this earth. But then chapters 6 through 9 deal with the first half of the tribulation period.

And I want to take you to the next couple of chapters and show you a couple of things and give you a little bit of insight why I believe this is right in the middle of the tribulation period. Look with me please at chapter 11. Here in chapter 11, what we have is God presenting to us or sharing about two witnesses that are going to come and proclaim the truth during the tribulation period.

And in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 11, God has a measurement that's recorded of the temple. The temple has been built. The worship of God is restored by the Jews there at the temple.

And in verse 1 of chapter 11, it says,

There you see a reference to time, right? 42 months. Well, you do the math on 42 months and what you come up with is three and a half years. Now, it's based on the 30-day lunar month or a 360-day year. Lots of reasons for that. Maybe we'll get into it next week. Maybe not. But there's reasons for that. But it's for three and a half years. And so he says...

to measure the temple because it's back, you know, it's built, it's existing there in Jerusalem and so John's going to go measure it but God says, hey, don't measure the courtyard because, well, that's given to the Gentiles for 42 months, for three and a half years. Now, just so happens by coincidence, right, there's three and a half years at the first part of the tribulation and three and a half years at the last part of the tribulation and

And what I believe here in chapter 11 is happening is he's describing to us events that are going on during the first half, the first part of the tribulation period. Because then you go on to verse 3 and God says, and I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth.

They prophesy, these two witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days. You do the math on that and guess what? It's the same as 42 months and guess what? That's the same as three and a half years. And so during this time that the temple is in operation,

the two witnesses are prophesying for that three and a half years beginning with the beginning of the tribulation and then extending and continuing into the middle of the tribulation period and so if you remember back in chapter 6 and 8 and 9 and all the judgments that were going on now

Take the two witnesses and go plug them into that time frame and understand that as these judgments are coming, not only is there the 144,000 that we talked about, but there's two witnesses that have supernatural powers gifted to them by God who are proclaiming the truth and calling the world to worship God. And so all during all these judgments, they are going to be there witnessing to the people of earth.

Well, in verse 7, it says that when they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. So after they've ministered for three and a half years, or 1,260 days, then their work is done, and so God allows for them to be killed by the beast, by the Antichrist. Now, when does that happen? Well, in

Revelation chapter 13 tells us that the beast, the Antichrist, will go into the temple. He will set up the image unto himself. He'll proclaim himself as God. And then God will give him authority. He will be able to make war against the saints and overcome them.

We'll see that when we get to chapter 13. And so at that time, he kills the two witnesses that have been proclaiming and witnessing for the three and a half years at the beginning of the tribulation period. Well, then as we head into chapter 12, I'm not getting into details here. I know some of this is technical. Please bear with me. I think this is important.

In chapter 12, we have kind of a bigger picture, and there's a lot going on that we're not going to get into. We see Satan wanting to devour Jesus at birth, and we understand, you know, Herod, when he commanded all the children to be put to death, it's paralleling that event and what happened there.

Then in chapter 12, verse 7 and 8, we saw the angels and the demons that were fighting. In chapter 12, verse 9, we see that Satan is cast out of heaven. But verse 14 is the one I want to call your attention to there in chapter 12. It says, But the woman, and that's Israel,

The woman was given two wings as of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent.

And what it's describing here is during the tribulation period where the Antichrist makes war against God's people, the Jewish people. And what it's describing here is God protecting his people for a specific amount of time. And how much time is that? A time...

and half a time. That is three and a half years. One time, then you add the two times, then you add the half of the time, and you get three and a half years. And so during that last three and a half years of the tribulation period...

The Antichrist is going to be wanting to make war and put to death the Jewish people, but God will be supernaturally protecting them during that time. And so in chapter 11, we have some events going on during the first half of the tribulation. In chapter 12, we have events going on during the second half of the tribulation period. And then in chapter 13, we have the description of the Antichrist and the false prophet.

And in describing the Antichrist in verse 5 of Revelation 13, it says that he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. How long is 42 months? It's three and a half years. And so the Antichrist is given authority to continue. He's already been blessed.

reigning for three and a half years, but he's given authority to continue for another 42 months. And so again, what we're looking at in chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 is the middle point of the tribulation period. And so God's referring to that half and then that half and the different things that are going on in both ends of the tribulation period.

In chapter 14, we'll see that God warns, there's an angel actually that's going around the earth in verse 9 and 10, warning the inhabitants of earth not to take the mark of the beast.

Because right here in the middle of the tribulation, when the Antichrist goes in and sets up this image and calls all the world to worship him, the way that he does that is he requires everyone to receive a mark, the mark of the beast. And this mark is something that's done in allegiance to

to the Antichrist. Those who receive the mark will be doing so proclaiming that we follow him, we worship him, we're going to serve him as Lord. That's what the mark of the beast is going to be for and for the people. And so there's going to be this proclamation and so there's an angel warning not to take the mark because if you take the mark of the beast, you will be forever condemned, no chance of repentance after that.

And then in chapters 15 and 16, the sequence resumes and we'll continue on into the bold judgments and the things that will be happening back on earth during that tribulation period. And so here in chapters 10 through 14, what we have is, you know, the pause. It's been put on pause for a moment as we get a better understanding about the things that are going on. And we find ourselves then right in the middle of the tribulation period.

And so all of the things that we've studied thus far that have happened, those are the part of the first three and a half years. And the things that we'll study in the coming weeks will be the final three and a half years of the tribulation period. And so here we are in chapter 10. I know it's a long introduction. It's a lot of stuff. But like I said, it's good stuff. It's important stuff to help us understand the context of what we're looking at and what's going to be happening upon the earth.

And so here in Revelation chapter 10, we see three different parts to this chapter. The first part or the first point I'd like to share with you is found in verses 1 through 4. And that is, there is a mighty angel with a little book.

A mighty angel with a little book. Verse 1 says, I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven clothed with the cloud and a rainbow was on his head, his face like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire.

And so now as God has hit the pause button and says, Hey John, I want to show you some other things to help you understand the tribulation and the things that are going on a little bit better. The first thing God shows him is a mighty angel. Now it brings up the first question that is asked in regards to chapter 10. Remember chapter 10 I shared brings up a lot of questions. There's a lot of opinions and speculation. And the first question that's asked is, Well, who is this angel?

Is this an angel, a created being, or is something else going on here? And the question is asked because of the description. You'll notice that he was clothed with a cloud. There's a rainbow on his head. His face is like the sun and his feet are like pillars of fire. And this description resembles or is close to the description that's found of Jesus in Revelation chapter 1.

And so because of the similarities there, it brings many people to suggest or to say that this mighty angel is in fact Jesus who is coming down out of heaven and going to do the things that we'll be reading about in the next few verses.

And so that's one idea, that's one perspective. Others suggest, well, it's not actually Jesus, it's a forerunner to Jesus. Much like John the Baptist was Jesus' forerunner, you know, with his earthly ministry. Here as he's coming to conquer, this angel is his forerunner. And that's why he's got similar descriptions or parallels between the way that he is and the way that Jesus is.

Now, my personal opinion as we look at these things is that what we have here is another mighty angel. I know that's kind of simple, but that's what it says and that's what I believe it means. The word another means another of the same kind.

And so we've been looking at all kinds of different angels, but what we have here is another angel that's of the same kind of angels that we've already seen. In fact, a particular angel that we've already seen. Because he uses the word mighty angel.

And mighty, it means powerful or strong, and it's sometimes translated strong and sometimes translated mighty. In fact, there's three times here in the book of Revelation that an angel is referred to with this specific description. It's referred to in chapter 5, verse 2 of Revelation. There's a strong angel here.

And then in chapter 18, verse 21, there's a mighty angel. And then here in chapter 10, verse 1, there's another mighty angel. And so what we see is there's a particular kind of strong or mighty angel. There's three different ones that are mentioned.

And notice the timing or the placement of them. In chapter 5, that's at the beginning of the tribulation period. In chapter 10, we're right here in the middle of the tribulation period. And then chapter 18, we'll get there, but that's the end of the tribulation period. And so these strong angels seem to have a particular role in the beginning, the middle, and the end of this tribulation and the work that's going to be happening.

And so I believe it's just a mighty angel. It's a created being that has been given certain authority and power by God to accomplish a work that has been laid out for him. Verse 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, and cried out with a loud voice as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices."

And so this mighty angel comes down out of heaven and he has a little book that's open in his hand. Now here comes the next question. What's the book? What's in the book? What does the book say? Why is it open? What's going on here? Why is there this little book that's open in his hand?

Now, some suggest that this book that he has in his hand is the scroll that we saw in chapter 5, the title deed to the earth, and that is one opinion. Another idea that others suggest is that it's a title deed, but it's not the title deed to the earth. In fact, it's just the title deed to John's inheritance. So when he receives it, when he consumes it, he's just receiving his own personal inheritance for eternity.

What I believe about the little book is that it's the rest of the prophetic message that John is about to deliver. And we'll get into why as we get farther into the chapter this morning.

But I don't believe that it's the scroll that we saw in chapter 5 because it's a different word that's used. It's the word biblion in chapter 5 referring to the book or the scroll. And then this one, it's bibliari dion, something like that, which in English we would say book and then booklet.

And so it's a different type of word, a different type of book, a different type of scroll that is being referred to. But this one is little and it's open. And he comes down with this book and he sets his right foot on the earth. I'm sorry, his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land or on the earth.

And the way I visualize this for me, you know, it's a stance of authority, it's a stance of power, and I picture it like someone who is claiming land for his country. You know, you kind of think back to when they first claimed the United States or claimed America, right? And they planted the flag, and this land belongs to, you know, America.

the Queen of England, or this land belongs to the United States, or this moon belongs to us, or whatever. That stance of just like, this is authority, we claim it. And that's kind of what's happening here. As we'll see in the next couple of verses, the angel is claiming this territory, claiming the earth for the Lord. He's proclaiming, this earth belongs to Jesus.

And so the mighty angel here, he stands with one foot in the sea, one foot in the land. It's like he's planting a flag and saying, this world belongs to God. And as John sees this play out, he hears the angel cry out with a loud voice is when a lion roars. I think this was an incredible, powerful scene. As the angel comes down and he sets foot and he goes, and then seven thunders utter their voices.

This loud thunder now goes on. Just an incredible scene. Something significant is happening here. And we see what that is in the following verses. Look at verse 4. He says, 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. Here in chapter 4 is one of those... I'm sorry, chapter 10, verse 4 says,

It's one of those times where I just wish John would have been disobedient. You ever wish John would be disobedient? I wish. He hears these thunders, right? Seven thunders. It's this incredible scene. And then he's about to write them. He's got the pen right there. But then God speaks from heaven and says, don't write what you just heard. John understood what he just heard. John understood the voices of the thunders. But God tells him, don't write it.

Now it kind of brings up the question in my own mind, well, why record the event if you're not going to tell us what happened?

You know, you ever have a friend, you know, they start telling you a story, oh, did you hear about so-and-so, and this was happening, and then this happened, and then Jewish, oh, wait, maybe I better not tell you. You ever have that happen, right? And you get all involved, you're like, oh, man, I want to know what happened, and they're like, oh, maybe I shouldn't say anything. You know how frustrating that is? That's kind of how I feel with verse 4. It's like, you got me all involved, and then like, where's this, you got to tell me now. You already started telling me, you got to finish. Right?

But I think what we have here in verse 4 is a great reminder for us. And this is an important reminder, so pay attention. Listen, we don't know everything. You okay with that? We don't know everything. And we could not handle knowing everything. This is a great reminder for us. God knows everything.

And we don't need to. That's enough for Him to know everything is enough. Is that enough for you? Is that enough for me? The fact that God knows what those seven thunders are?

Is that enough for you that God knows the truth and God knows and sees all things that are going on? If you would just bear with me for one moment here and participate with me, could you look at your neighbor and say, I don't know everything. Go ahead. Oh, that was lame. Say it like you mean it. I don't know everything. There we go.

Now, I know why it was lame, because most of you are sitting next to your spouse, and you don't want to admit that to your spouse, right? But the reality is, I don't know everything, but God does. What we see here in the book of Revelation, here in chapter 10 specifically, but also throughout the book, we see a lot of questions. There's a lot of things that are left out.

And so there's a lot of opinions and speculations about what's going on. But we need to understand as we study the book of Revelation, it's not about having all the answers.

It's not. In fact, studying the book of Revelation is just like studying the rest of the Bible. It's about getting to know the one who has all the answers. It's not about getting all the answers. We're getting to know God. Jesus is revealing himself and his plan to us and we're getting to know him and he knows everything. Listen, if you can only believe what you understand, then your God is your own mind.

We believe what God has revealed to us, what He has declared to us. We know there's much more and we trust. He knows it and He's in control. We don't like to admit it, but in reality we understand you're on a need-to-know basis. I'm on a need-to-know basis and when it comes to the seven thunders, we don't need to know what they said. God knows and that's enough. Is that enough for you? Can you live with that? Can you handle that?

And not just here in chapter 10 verse 4, what the seven thunders uttered, but with the rest of your life. Are you content? Are you okay with the fact that God knows everything and you don't? Because as we go through difficulties and trials and things happen and we look at the world situation and say, why is that happening? How could you allow that? How come this is happening? What's going on over here? We have lots of questions. We don't know the answers.

We don't know the truth. We don't know what's really going on. But we need to learn to trust and rest in the fact that God does. He's not confused. He's not deceived. He's not blind. He's not short-sighted. He doesn't need glasses. He knows what's going on. And He's in control. He's accomplishing His will and His purposes.

We're on a need-to-know basis. He only declares to us what we really need to know. You do not, and you cannot, and you will not know everything. We need to learn to trust God and live with that understanding. And so I think it's a good reminder here. It's kind of frustrating John didn't record it, but it's a great reminder. We don't know everything, but God does. So let's trust Him and rest in His plan.

Well, God tells them there in verse 4 to seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered and don't write them down.

There's an interesting parallel that you could spend some time looking into if you would like. It's in Daniel chapter 12, verses 7 through 9. And a similar event happens. Things that we're about to read that the angel does, where in Daniel chapter 12, verse 7, he sees a man who holds up his right hand. He swears by him who lives forever, which is what we're just about to read in the next couple of verses. And he gives a duration. It shall be for a time, times and a half a time. That's three and a half years. And it says...

Daniel declared, although I heard the voice, I heard what was said, I didn't understand it. And so he asked, what does this mean? And God said, seal it up, close it up. This is a message, this is a word that's sealed up to the time of the end. It's a very similar passage and perhaps it's the same event that is being recorded by Daniel and by John. And so you can spend some time looking at that later on.

But as we go forward into the next point this morning, we find in verses 5 through 7 that the mighty angel promises there will be no more delay. Verse 5, The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 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.

Here what we see happening is this mighty angel who's standing there on the sea and on the land. He raises up his hand. He takes an oath. He swears by him who lives forever and ever. That is by God. And what he swears, what he promises is that there will be no more delay. There will be delay no longer.

Raising your hand in an oath is something that we see throughout the scriptures. And so it's a serious or a solemn oath. It's a promise that's being declared. And the mighty angel promising to God, declaring to God, the delay is finished.

No more delay. Now what is the delay? Well, we've been talking about that as we've studied the past few weeks in Revelation, making reference to 2 Peter 3, verse 9. And there in 2 Peter 3, verse 9, it tells us that God is not slack or slow in keeping His promises, but He's long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

And so what we find here as far as a delay is concerned is that God has been delaying the end because He wants people to have an opportunity to repent. He's not slow in keeping His promises. There's a lot of promises that have been made and they're going to be fulfilled, but they're not being fulfilled yet because God wants all men to come to repentance. The delay is an opportunity to

For us to turn and to get right with God. In fact, the time that you and I are living in right now, we're living in that delay where God is holding back. And the events are all there. The situation of the world, it's all coming together. And these things can begin to happen any moment, any second, any instant. The Lord can return for His church. We're living in that delay where God is holding back these judgments that we've been studying.

Because God wants us to have opportunity to turn and get right with Him. But at this point, right here in the middle of the tribulation period, the delay will be over. And from here on out, those who survive on earth will have to make a choice. And what will the choice be? The choice will be, take the mark, swear your allegiance to the beast, worship him, and be forever condemned without chance of repentance or redemption.

Or, refuse the mark, hold fast to Jesus Christ, and be put to death for your faith. There won't be delay any longer. There won't be the option of, well, maybe you can be wishy-washy or kind of a, you know, just a Sunday morning Christian or a lukewarm Christian. No, no delay any longer. No more chances. No more opportunities. You have to decide right now. Take the mark and be forever condemned. Or refuse the mark. Hold fast to Jesus.

And be put to death for your faith. And so he swears there will be delay no longer. Going on to verse 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. And so not only is there not going to be a delay, that there's not going to be the time, the opportunity to be wishy-washy,

You'll have to make a decision for or against Jesus at that point. But also, he says, the delay is over in regards to all of the prophecies that have been given. He says, in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, as the seventh trumpet is sounding, it won't be just a short blast. It will be actually continuing on for the three and a half years. And during that three and a half years, concluding the tribulation period,

all of the prophecies are going to be fulfilled. Everything. All that the prophets have written. All the things that we study in Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah. All the things that God promised are going to take place. They're going to then be accomplished and fulfilled during that last portion of the tribulation period. He says the mystery of God would be finished as he declared to his servants the prophets.

Now the word mystery is not like, you know, like we think of mystery like a whodunit, you know, kind of like a thriller. The word mystery, biblically, is something that you could not know unless it was supernaturally revealed to you.

And so there's a lot of mysteries. There's a lot of prophecies as we read through the scriptures. There's a lot of things that were written that they could not be known by intelligence or by some natural means. God supernaturally spoke to men of God and they recorded it for us. And at that time, there would be no more delay. All of those things that God revealed to His servants, that God revealed to the prophets, it's going to happen.

It's going to be fulfilled. They're all going to happen in a very short time frame of that three and a half years at the end of the tribulation period. Well, that brings us to the third point.

Here in Revelation chapter 10, it's in verses 8 through 11, and what we see is the mighty angel gives John the little book. Verse 8 says, 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. 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.

And so now God speaks to John and says, go to that angel, kind of intimidating thing to do, right? But he goes and take the book from him. And so he goes up to the angel. He says, hey, give me the little book. Probably didn't say it quite like that, but you get the point. He goes and the angel says, okay, here's the book. Now take it and eat it. And when you eat it, it's going to be sweet in your mouth like honey, but then in your belly, in your stomach, it's going to be bitter, right?

Now again, this little book, I believe, is the rest of the prophetic message that John is about to deliver.

And the reason why I believe that is because of verse 10 and 11. It says, Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. Verse 11, And he said to me, You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.

You see, the little book that he consumed is connected to the prophecies that he's about to give about many nations, peoples, tongues, and kings.

And so I believe what he's doing is he's consuming the message, the prophecies that God is calling him then to deliver. And we do see a parallel of this with the prophet Ezekiel. You can spend some time there. I would encourage you to do so. In Ezekiel chapter 2, as well as chapter 3, we have the account of God telling Ezekiel, don't be rebellious, open your mouth and eat what I'm about to give to you.

And he doesn't make him try sushi or something weird like that. What he gives him is a scroll. He gives him a book. And so Ezekiel is commanded to eat this book. And then God says, after you eat the book, then you're to go and speak to Israel the things I've commanded you. And so he's consuming the message so that he can then go and deliver the message to God's people.

And it's interesting that Ezekiel describes it the same way in verse 3 of Ezekiel chapter 3. He says, I ate it and in my mouth it was like honey in sweetness. It was really sweet. It was like honey. But then as he goes on and he goes now to deliver the message that God had given to him, in verse 14 of Ezekiel 3, he says, I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

And so he describes the same type of experience. He eats the scroll. He eats the message that God gave to him. It was sweet like honey. But then as he digested it, as it entered into his system, as he prepared to deliver the message, it was like bitterness. It was like bitterness. Because as you look at, well, look at the things that we're studying, right? In the book of Revelation and the things that are coming up, there's some intense things that are coming up. Intense judgments. Intense judgments.

And we look at these things and some of this is like, oh, this is sweet. I mean, this is some really cool stuff. We look forward to the rapture of the church, all the things that are happening and how God has it all tied together and all the things that are going on behind the scenes. Wow, this is sweet, man. This is awesome. But then also there's that bitterness that goes alongside of it.

And so as we go a little bit deeper, as we consume the message, as we digest God's word, there's a bitterness that accompanies it because there's a realization, there's judgment that's coming.

And this is really sweet. This is cool for me as a believer. But as I consider the impact on the world around me and the fact that Jesus declared He is the only way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him, well, now I have the realization that whoever doesn't receive Jesus Christ is condemned to hell. Eternal judgment. And so on the one hand, it's like, oh, this is sweet, man. Jesus, there's no sweeter name.

But then there's also the bitterness that goes alongside of it, that goes along with it. And so John consumes this message of God and it's sweet. Man, there's some cool stuff. God's doing amazing things. But there's also this bitterness because now he has to go and declare and proclaim to the world the judgments that are coming. You know, I think this is something that's very important for you and I as believers.

As we study and consider the book of Revelation, there's a lot of great things, a lot of good things, a lot of stuff that you would say, wow, that's sweet. But I think we need to also experience the bitterness. I think it's really important for us to experience that bitterness in our stomach. You ever have that knot in your stomach, that hole in your stomach? Because you're looking at the people around you and you're realizing they're lost. They need to receive Jesus Christ. They need to hear the gospel message.

It's easy just to enjoy the sweetness and then kind of like, oh, I don't want to think about that stuff. Don't tell me about hell. I don't want to hear about it. We just kind of like to partake of the surface. But we need to let it digest. Let it sink in. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. These events that we're studying here in the book of Revelation, they're real. They're true. They're actually going to take place. And we need to let this bitterness sink in so that we can be like John. Look at verse 11. And let's make it personal.

John says, he said to me, God is speaking to you. He says, Chuck, you must prophesy again. And you're going to speak to peoples and nations and tongues and kings. You've got to open your mouth. You've got to proclaim. You've got to declare. This is what the Bible says. This is who Jesus is. This is the offer of salvation and forgiveness that he offers to us. We need to experience not just the sweetness, but the bitterness, the burden, the

Ezekiel says, the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Oh, we need that passion, that burden, that heaviness that I must declare and share and reach out to the world around me. I would encourage you and I would challenge you as we study through the book of Revelation. Lots of cool trivia answers I know. Lots of cool details and information. But don't let it just be that. Let it go deeper. Let it be real to you.

that it becomes bitterness in your stomach, that it gives you a burden and a passion to reach out to those who don't know the Lord. And if you're here this morning and you're not a believer, you've not given yourself over to the Lord, you've not received His offer of forgiveness and said, Lord, I want to serve you with all my heart and soul and mind and strength. If you've not received His offer of forgiveness and been set free from the burden of guilt and sin,

Listen, we're living in that delay where God is holding back the judgment that is coming so that you have an opportunity to repent and to get right with Him. And I would challenge you, I would exhort you, I would beseech you, I would beg you today, don't let this moment be wasted. Don't let that delay be wasted on you.

seek the Lord while he may be found. There's a time coming, it's going to get harder to serve him. It's going to get harder to commit yourself to him. It's going to be harder to believe in him. And as the tribulation progresses, it's going to get even more difficult. The best time to turn your life over to the Lord is right now. And you can experience all the things that he has in store for you, wonderful blessings, incredible things.

And so I would challenge you, I would encourage you, you need to get right with God. You need to give your life to the Lord. We are sinners, we're separated from God because we fall short, but God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die upon the cross.

Because of His sacrifice, He was perfect, but He died for us. We, by believing in Him, can be washed of our sin. We are forgiven by believing in Jesus Christ. And not only does He forgive us of our sins, but He gives us a brand new spiritual life, a whole new start in life, a life of walking with Him and in relationship with God.

Not only does He give us forgiveness and a new life in Him, but then He gives us the hope and the promise of eternity with Him and all the things that He has in store for us in Heaven. It's great reasons to walk with God, to turn to Him. But you've got to do it. You've got to make the choice. You've got to decide. And I challenge you to do that today. Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I lift up those who do need to make that decision. Lord, those who...

That delay, Lord, you holding back judgment is specifically for them. Lord, because you love them and you want them to turn and to get right with you. You want to forgive them. You want to bless them. And so, Lord, you've held back so that they might have this opportunity. I pray, Lord, that you would break down whatever barriers, Lord, whatever sin or pride or things are keeping them back.

Lord, I pray that you would pierce their heart, that they would see you clearly. And Lord, that they would see how much you love them and what lengths you've gone to in order to offer them salvation in you. And Lord, I pray that you would help them to respond, to turn to you and to receive you as Savior and Lord.

And Lord, for the rest of us, I pray, God, that you would help us to have a burden. Lord, not just to enjoy the sweetness, but to experience the bitterness. Lord, that it would encourage us, that it would challenge us, that your hand would be strong upon us to speak your word to the world around us that desperately needs to hear it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.