Revelation 10:1-27 The Angel W/ The Little Book & The 7 Thunders / Greg Bahnsen {37 of 63}

Go ahead and get started. I think we have some people still straggling in or out on vacation, but let's get going. We'll begin with a word of prayer. Oh, Lord, we thank you for your bountiful mercies to us. We thank you that they're renewed every day, that we're reminded how you are faithful to your promises even when we have been faithless to you. We would come to you this day pleading forgiveness for our sins in the name of Jesus Christ and his shed blood. We ask you, Father, that you'd receive us into your presence because of the righteousness which is your Son's, which he imputes to us as his people. We ask you, Father, that you would see us in him, that you would make us righteous because of him, that you would grant to us his spirit, that we might live in a manner which pleases you. We ask you, Father, that spirit would enable us to understand your word this morning and appropriate it for our lives. We ask that that spirit might create holiness in us, that he might make us to walk in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. We ask you, Father, that spirit might give us an understanding, he might give us boldness to witness, that he might make your people truly a witness before the nations. We ask you, Lord, that you might bless the preaching of the Gospel and our witness to it, and that you might hasten the day in which the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdom of our Savior and your Son. For it's in his name that we pray all these things. Amen. Well, we come in our long trek through the book of Revelation, finally to chapter 10 this morning, and if all goes well, we'll cover the entirety of chapter 10 this morning. I'd like to begin by reading Revelation chapter 10 in its entirety. John says, and I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven arrayed with a cloud. And the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open. And he set his right foot upon the sea and his left upon the earth. And he cried with a great voice as a lion roareth. And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write and I heard a voice from heaven saying, seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not. And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven and sware by him. That liveth forever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth, and the things that are therein, and the sea, and the things that are therein, that there shall be delay no longer but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants, the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard it again speaking with me and saying, go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, take it and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey. And when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. And they say unto me, thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations, and tongues and kings. This is one of the shorter chapters in the book of Revelation, and I hope that we will be able to get through it this morning. But for all of its shortness, it really carries a very significant message, significant not only in its own right, that is significant because of what it has to say in itself, but significant for the interpretation of the entire book. A good deal of the interpretation of the book of Revelation rests upon what you will do now with chapter 10. And as we go through the lesson, I hope that will become more and more apparent to you. Let's begin at verse one and work through slowly. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven. Now, in light of our previous discussion of the another angel in previous chapters, I'm a little perplexed this morning what to make of this. Notice that John sees an angel in the act of coming down from heaven. Those of you who are following in your Greek testaments, most of you students who will probably be doing that this morning, you'll see, of course, that it's the present participle that John is using. And he saw an angel coming down out of heaven. He actually saw the angel descending from heaven. Now, that indicates, of course, that John is where John is on the earth. He's seeing things from the perspective of earth. And that's indicated, I think, also in verses 4 and 8, when he hears a voice from heaven, you get the impression that a voice from heaven Over John is being heard authoritatively declared to him. And so John is now on the earth, whereas he apparently had been writing from the perspective of heaven. And chapter nine, look at chapter nine, verse 13, as one illustration of that. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God. John is standing, you see, very near the golden altar which is before God. And God's throne, of course, is envisioned in the book of Revelation as in heaven. And so John now is upon the earth. He sees an angel coming down out of heaven. And the way he describes this angel is very interesting. He says, this is another angel. And he says, this is a strong angel. Another strong angel. Look at chapter eight, verse three, Chapter 8, verse 3. And another angel came and stood over the altar, having the golden censer. And I'd ask you just to recall our lessons having to do with chapter eight, chapter nine, and especially that short discussion we had when Jim Jordan was expounding something from Ezekiel for us. And I was mentioning the possibility that this another angel, strange as it may seem in terms of the way the Lord Jesus Christ is usually designated in the Bible, this another angel very likely is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. In virtue of the things that the angel does here in the chapter, and in virtue of the Old Testament parallels, another angel appears to be the angel of the Lord, who in the Old Testament account brings judgment in the form of spreading coals of fire, you see, among the people of God, bringing judgment upon them for their sins. And here this same angel who John designates comes to the altar of God and takes coals of fire and casts them upon the ancient people of God, Israel, because of her sins. And so the parallels are quite striking. And so another angel, possibly John's way of designating Jesus Christ. Moreover, this is another strong angel. Look at chapter five, verse two. Chapter 5 begins, of course, with the vision of the seven sealed scroll in the right hand of God. Verse 2 says, and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. At this point I think our tendency would be to think that would not be Jesus Christ the strong angel, if for no other reason than that he is to be the Lamb of God, the lion of the tribe of Judah, introduced in just a moment in the book, in the chapter five. And he is responding to the cry of the strong angel who is worthy to open the book. Then turn to chapter 18, verse 21, we will see another designation of the Strong angel, chapter 18, verse 21. And a strong angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down and shall be found no more at all. Now, in this particular case, the strong angel is an angel of judgment. And the angel is carrying out a symbolic act which has parallels in the Old Testament. Again, the symbolic act of casting a stone into the water. And as the stone sinks to the bottom so quickly, so shall Babylon sink. You see, in the sight of God, the judgment will come upon Babylon, which is, in this particular case, Rome. Now, would we be inclined to think of this angel as Jesus Christ? Well, I think maybe we would in terms of the imagery of the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament and in light of the judgmental work of this another angel throughout the book of Revelation. And so what I'm suggesting is it becomes difficult to know exactly whether another angel coming down out of heaven, this strong angel coming down out of heaven, should be seen as the angel of the Lord and Jesus Christ himself. I wouldn't be able to say for sure if we were left with that being the only designation. But as it turns out, John goes on to say something about this angel that makes it absolutely clear, I think, that this is a divine personage that he has seen. I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven. And then listen to the way the angel is described. Arrayed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun and his feet as pillars of fire, you know. And with four heavy strokes, John says that with this, the divine imagery and the messianic imagery, that he's seeing the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each point of that description has connections with divine and messianic symbolism in the Bible. First of all, John says that this angel is dressed with a cloud. Look at Psalm 104:3 describing Jehovah. The psalmist says, who layeth the beams of his chambers and the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind. And so the association of clouds as the as associated with God his chariot in this particular place. And there are other indications of the Old Testament as well, of the clouds being the place of the divine habitation, the mode of divine manifestation and travel. So also this strong angel coming down out of heaven that John sees is dressed with a cloud and he has a rainbow around his head. Look at Revelation 4, 3. Here John is describing the Lord God Almighty upon his throne in all of his splendor. And in verse three of chapter four, and he that sat was to look upon like a Jasper stone and a sardius. And there was a rainbow around about the throne, like an emerald to look upon. And so the rainbow around the throne of God, you see, is repeated here now as the rainbow about the head of this angel. And then his face is said to be as the sun. Revelation 1, verse 16 describes Jesus Christ in this glorious manner, saying, and he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth recedes the sharp two edged sword. And his countenance was as the sun shining in its strength, like the sun shining at noonday, the countenance or the face of Jesus Christ. And so this angel has the same countenance as the sun, with the rainbow around his head and the clouds as accompanying his travel. And finally we are told that his feet are like pillars of fire. Now that's a little bit misleading in the English translation. Although the word pous in Greek can mean foot, it also means the leg, including the foot. And I think here you should understand. And his legs are as pillars of Fire. Exodus 13:21, 22 will give you the Old Testament background and allusion of John's words here. Exodus 13:21. And Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light that they might go by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night departed not from before the people. And so the angel of the Lord enabling the people of God in their exodus of the Old Testament to be led to the promised land, does so in terms of a pillar of fire by night. And so John sees this angel now this another angel, this strong angel coming out of heaven. And his face is as the sun, and there are clouds accompanying him, as many commentators say. I think we are to understand that the brightness of the sun shining upon the clouds creates the rainbow effect. You see the rainbow around about his head, around the throne of God, as in chapter four. And his legs were seen as pillars of fire. This is a divine person. And verse two tells us that this angel had in his hand a little book open. The angel had a little book. Now, the word for little book here in the Greek is not previously attested. Apparently this is a very unusual form, but it's clearly diminutive in its affordable effect. It's a book, but it's a little book. It's a slight book and it's in the hand of the angel. But the little book that's in the hand of the angel is said to be open, the scroll is unrolled, and in fact, again, I keep taking you into the kitchen, I guess, to give you the background here to this Greek, instead of just giving you meat and potatoes today. But in the Greek, it's the perfect participle. It's open, meaning it's open. And it continues to be open. The effect of its being opened is continuous. It's permanently open. This scroll is open. And it's not likely to be shut up. It's not likely to be rolled back together. And so the book is not concealed, and the book is not likely to be concealed either. Now that has a definite contrast to the book, the biblion that we read of in chapter five of the book of Revelation. In chapter five, look at verse two. Well, look at verse one. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book, a biblion, a scroll written within, and on the back closed, sealed with seven seals. And I heard a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. Here you have the image of a book, a regular sized book that is closed, sealed, that is, it's firmly sealed, seven times sealed, so that it isn't to be opened up except by one who is worthy, who is powerful, who is authoritative enough to do it. And now John sees an angel with another book here in chapter 10. This is a little book, and this little book is permanently open. It's not sealed, it's unrolled, and it's in the hand of the angel. So there's quite a contrast in terms of it being open and being a small, smaller book. But John says that this angel, now that we've been looking at this magnificent angel, now becomes like a colossal figure. The angel is a colossal figure with its foot upon the earth, upon the land, and another foot upon the sea. And this colossal figure towers over them. The affairs of men, the affairs of men on an international scale too. It doesn't make any difference to this figure whether it's across the sea or here at the land of Israel. This figure and its significance is for all men. That probably would be a message that the church of Jesus Christ in John today would have picked up that we aren't likely to think of. For you see, the world in that day, the persecuting world of the ancient church's Arab looked upon the church itself. You see, see as Just minuscule. It just saw the Church as a minor force, as something that was just like a fleeting breath about to die. The church was very small. The church was persecuted. It was put down. It was a minority. And yet John has shown the angel that has, you see, the prophecy of God in his hand. And that angel, it stands for the Church. The angel of the Lord, you see, comes, and he's a colossal figure. And in his word, in his personage, towers over the affairs of men. And he treads upon the earth and he treads upon the sea, and nothing stops him. So while the earth, and while people of the earth, the unregenerate of mankind, look upon the church as very small and insignificant, the church realizes that it really, in terms of the word of God and the sovereignty of God that it knows is very significant for world history. This angel has mastery over both land and sea because he treads upon both. And of course, that's a figure from the Old Testament. How the Lord plants his foot upon the sea and upon the earth. Nothing stops the Lord. He does what concerns all men, whether they be across the sea or the land. And now, when this colossal. By the way, the significance of the angel planting his foot upon the sea and upon the land, apparently, is to be seen by us and remembered. Because God will repeat it three times in this short chapter. Every time the angel is referred to, he'll be the angel with his foot upon the land and the sea. And the angel in verse 3 is said to have a loud voice, just like the angel of chapter five. Again, the angel has a loud voice. And the voice is likened to the roaring of a lion, like the lion of the tribe of Judah. Now, there's a very strange element of this chapter, and not many commentators know what to make of it. I think from my research, when the colossal figure, this angel, this magnificent angel with his foot planted upon the sea and upon the land, speaks, it's like a roaring light lion. And that immediately generates the response of the seven thunders. That doesn't mean that there are seven peals of thunder that follow. There's a specific group, the seven thunders in the Greek construction, which then sound. And when they sound, they aren't simply peals of thunder, because you'll notice verse four. And when the seven thunders uttered, and then usually it supplied their voices. But anyway, when the seven thunders uttered. I was about to write, John hears the speaking of the seven thunders as something significant. It has meaning. It's something that can be recorded, you see, in language and so he's about to write what the seven thunders have said, when then the question becomes, who or what are the seven thunders? And then the question is, what did the seven thunders say? Because John is about to write what the seven thunders say. He's quite taken by it. In fact, you'll notice in the book of Revelation, John is usually told by God, write this down, John. And now John, without any initiative from God, without any invitation from God or directed from God, John takes it upon himself. He says, that's very significant. And he's going to write it down, he's going to put it in his notebook. But God says, no, seal up the words of the seven thunders. And so we are to be told what the seven thunders have said. It was a very mysterious thing. Why did God tell us that this happened? Of course we get asked also, why did it happen? But more importantly, why, since we can't know what the seven thunders said, why does God bring it to our mind that it happened at all? Well, stop and think about that for a moment. Who are the seven thunders? Well, there have been a few suggestions and of the few, very few worth even telling you about today because they're so speculative and far fetched. One which I'm not convinced of, I should say, but one which is more attractive than many of the others says that in, in the 29th Psalm of the Old Testament, you'll see the phrase the voice of the Lord mentioned seven times in connection with the thunderstorm. The voice of the Lord seven times. So the seven thunders you see, connected with the thunderstorm. Now, I don't give that to you to necessarily be believed, but you know, you might meditate upon it. It comes the closest to being an adequate interpretation. But it's not very good either. I don't really think, well, the seven thunders. Some definite voice from heaven that John hears. And John is about to write what the seven thunders uttered. Their voice, as I say, has meaning for him, but then he's forbidden by a voice from heaven, obviously a voice which is divine in origin, if not divine in itself. A voice from heaven tells him, don't do it. And John is told to seal up the words of the seven thunders, seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. Now, there's two things unusual about that commandment. In the first place, in the ancient world, sealing the sealing of something was usually a procedure for identifying it or for authenticating it. And so that if I were to write You. A letter, a formal letter, what might be considered a legal document today. I would want to make sure that you could identify it as mine and I could certify it as having my authority. And so I put my seal upon it. I would seal it with wax and put the insignia of my ring in it. And so usually a seal is for identifying something and authenticating it. But in this particular place, sealing means to keep it hidden, not to give its authority, not to authenticate or certify it, but rather to keep it closed up and to keep it hidden from sight. Look at Daniel 12:14, the prophecy of Daniel in the Old Testament. In chapter 12, verse 14 of Daniel, the prophet is given a similar piece of instruction. Well, it's not going to be 1214. Give me a second. I think it's nine. Is it 4? That's. That's my problem. And 10 verses to it and get right out of the chapter. Okay, verse four. Thank you. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel is to take this prophecy and to seal it up until the time of its accomplishment. It's to be hidden from sight for a particular period of time. And that is the Old Testament parallel, I think, background to this commandment to John that he too is to seal up the words of the seven thunders. They aren't to be revealed, they are to be kept hidden from men. Of course, what's unique now, secondly about this is not just that the seal is a special kind of sealing, sealing up so that it's hidden from sight, but usually what is sealed, as in the case of the prophecy of Daniel, is something which has already been written. Daniel's written the prophecy, but now roll it up and seal it. But John hasn't written anything yet, and yet he's told to seal it up. Nevertheless, the meaning, I think, is quite clear. For all the uniqueness of the construction, we know what John's being told or John's being told. Don't write it down, Keep it a secret. In Revelation 1:1 19, this is what John is told. Write, therefore, the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter. God commands John to do this writing. In fact, he tells him to write the things which shall be hereafter. And in this portion of the Book of Revelation, the things that shall be hereafter. John begins to write. You would think it's appropriate. He's already been given a general commandment to do so. But now God says, not this, John. Don't write this portion. Don't tell people what the seven thunders have said. And again, I renew my question. We don't know what the seven thunders said. So why does God tell us that they said anything at all? Anybody want to suggest an answer? What's the significance that we know this little event took place, but we can't know the content of it? There's nothing really deep about it. I mean, there may be something deep beyond what I'm looking for right now, but right now it's quite obvious that God doesn't really care to tell us what the content is. But God does want us to know that there are certain things that John knows that we don't. Not so hard to accept is right on the surface of it. What's important is that the event took place. What's not important for us anyway is the content of what was said by the seven thunders. It's important for us to know that the seven thunders speak and John knows what they say, and John understands it. But John isn't to tell us. There's something very important about knowing that all of revelation hasn't been given to us, not even as much as have been given to the apostles. There's a similar sort of event or a similar sort of outcome seen in the experience of Paul. In 2 Corinthians 12, 4. Look at 2nd Corinthians 12 and a verse 4. Paul is speaking of a certain man. Most commentators seem to think that he's with tongue in cheek, speaking of Himself. Verse 3 says, and I know such a man, whether in the body or apart from the body, I don't know. God knows how he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Verse 5 continues, on behalf of such a one will I glory. There's something very significant, something very glorious about the fact that a man has this mystical experience, being caught up into paradise in hearing words in heaven, words which are not to be uttered on earth, words which are not appropriate for human consumption, if you will. Paul, I think, had such an experience. Paul received revelation which he was not to communicate to us. In fact, he says, it is unlawful for me to tell you these things. They are unspeakable things to you. And John also now, you see, hears the voice of the seven thunders, whatever that may mean. But God tells him, you aren't to speak. It's against the Law for you to speak these things to God's people. So the apostles in the first place, I guess just minimally we can of the apostles know more than we do. And of course you wouldn't have been hard pressed to admit that anyway. I mean, even if we just had what Paul said, we think Paul understood what he said a lot better than we did. But the point is Paul had more content than we do. And in the book of Revelation that has significance it seems to me also for people who have a tendency to overly, I don't know how to put schematize things the book and set dates. You see, there's missing information. There's something of a puzzle about the book of Revelation overall the mystery is known. God does tell us the meaning of the book. But we are to think therefore that we've got all of the history written in advance for us, as though the newspapers have been printed weeks in advance or years in advance and it's all laid out us as though we could tell just exactly where the Red Chinese fit into the plan of God and what the events of the Middle east are all about. John has a lot more information than we do and he doesn't even tell us all of that information. There are missing pieces from the puzzle and it's unlawful for God's people to behold everything. Well, you might meditate upon that. And I trust, if nothing else, that should make you very appreciated of what God does say. You see, there are portions you don't need to be worried about, like what the seven thunders say or what Paul caught up into paradise may have heard in heaven. We don't need to hear those things, but the things which are revealed are for us and they are to be taken and appropriated and made use of. You see what a shameful thing it is for people who come to the Bible and really only pay attention to certain points. Portions of the Bible many people ignore, for instance, the Book of Revelation. Or if they look at the Book of Revelation, they pay attention only to the passage on the millennium in chapter 20. And there's something I think rather shameful about that. Every bit of what God gives us should be appreciated and every bit of it should be used for our lives, for our godliness. Paul says that all scripture is inspired of God and is profitable. And if we live in a day in which the church seems so weak and so beggarly and so ignorant, if the church seems so lacking in holiness, it can only be because the church has failed to see the full profit of the word of God, John is told things which he can't tell us, but he does tell us a great deal. Isn't it shameful when we don't even pay attention to that portion that has been given to us? Now, I think there's more that can be made of this passage than even I'm making it today. But I will say at least that much with confidence. God wants to make it clear to you that there's something very special about being told something from him. John has something even more than you do. But what John does tell you, take with all due solemnity and apply it to your life. All scripture is profitable for godliness. Well, let's continue with our exposition of chapter 10, verses 5 and 6. Six now. And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein. Now, before I get to the content of the oath, you've got to appreciate the sense of climax. You see, that's going to come. John is really building up to something. Now, these few words that you're going to speak are going to be very significant. John sees another strong angel coming down from heaven. And this angel is glorious. His face is like the sun and the rainbows about his head and the clouds accompany him. And he has legs like pillars of fire. And he's a colossal figure. He stands upon the earth and upon the sea, and he has this open book. And when he speaks, you see the thunders roar in response. But what the thunders roar in response, John is not to say. And so there's this deep sense of mystery and awe. And it's a crescendo effect, you see. And now this figure raises his right hand to heaven, and he takes an oath to the living and true God. And it isn't just that. You have to envision this colossal angel standing upon the earth and upon the sea, raising his hand to heaven, taking an oath, which in itself is magnificent. But when he takes the oath, he uses the name of God in one of the longest forms that you could conceive of. To the one who lives forever and ever. And the one who created the things in the earth. No. In the heavens and the earth and the sea. No. And he created the heavens and the things therein. And the earth and the things therein, and the sea and the things therein. Now, the Heavens, the earth and the sea, of course, is standard Old Testament imagery for everything. I mean, if you want to capture everything that has been created, the three categories are the heavens, the earth and the sea. That's very common in the Psalms, for instance, that the Lord created them all, which is to say that everything outside of himself has been created by God. But now when we have detailed that standard formula for God the Creator, it's he who created the heavens and the things therein, and the earth and the things therein and the sea and the things that are in. And this is being uttered by the angel with his right hand lifted to heaven. And when he mentions the almighty God, the everlasting God, it's the one who lives forever and ever and created the heaven and the things therein, and the earth and the things therein, and the sea and the things therein. Very long way to say the everlasting Creator. So he's taking an oath, this mighty angel is taking an oath and he's lifting his right hand to heaven and he's calling upon the name of God in this magnificent fashion. So John has really been building and building and building. What? When does God take an oath? When even does the angel of the Lord take an oath? The book of Hebrews chapter six tells us that it's impossible for God to lie. Of course, even if the Bible didn't tell us that, we would know from all the designations of God's truthfulness, his veracity, his faithfulness, that he couldn't lie, he couldn't mislead us. But God takes an oath. Now there's only one other time in Scripture at Hebrews chapter six that I can think of the significance being brought out of God taking an oath. In chapter six of the Book of Hebrews we are told that by two immutable things wherein it is impossible for God to lie, he showeth the immutability of his counsel by taking an oath. And since God can swear by none greater, for in every oath of men, they swear by the greater, but who is greater than God? So God has to swear by himself. And what is an oath? An oath is a self maledictory sort of thing. An oath is if I don't do as I tell you, then let judgment fall upon me. You've just got to stop and let that sink in for a minute. God says, let judgment fall upon me. Upon God, if I don't do what I'm going to tell you now. God takes an oath. Now, in Hebrews chapter six, the oath is the surety of our salvation. If you want to know how secure your salvation is, you ever want to know, you know how you can count on once saved, always saved. Hebrews chapter six tells us that God can't lie and he's promised salvation. And God backs up his promise, the promise that can't lie, with an oath that if you should perish, he shall perish. Howeverlasting is your salvation, it says everlasting is the person of God himself. That's magnificent stuff. And if I don't watch it, I'll be over here preaching out of Hebrews six in a moment. But there you see God taking an oath and the significance of God backing up his own word, the word that can't lie. He backs it up with an oath. So now here we have the angel of the Lord, his foot planted upon the earth and upon the sea, colossal figure raising his right hand to heaven and taking an oath, and a magnificent oath at that, the way he designates God. So have I said enough to get it into your mind that John has been building and building and building. He wants you to know there shall be no more time. God says he swears by himself. There aren't going to be any more moments of delay. The events which this angel speaks will certainly take place. If these events don't take place, you can't count on God for anything. And you know very well you can count on God for everything. And that's why it's very important to see the surety of what's going to take place. Now, what's the content of the event? Now we come to it, what is it that God wants us to see? In your Bibles you'll probably have a translation like this. There shall be time no longer. And that translation would be all right if it weren't for the fact that certain philosophically minded people using the English translation have tried to make something of this that just isn't there at all. Let me tell you what that is, and then we'll get on to what I think the truth of the matter is. There shall be time no longer. It's been speculated and speculated and speculated and found in any number of places. And any number of sermons have been built upon the idea that in the next life there will be no experience of time. Here's the oath of there's going to be time no longer will no longer be subject to the conditions of time in temporal sequence. In the next life, men will live in the great eternal present. By the way, in all of my study, a little bit of study, of philosophy. In all of that study, I've yet to have anybody explain to me what the eternal present could possibly mean in the English language. But nevertheless, a lot of philosophers get very enthusiastic about that kind of talk. The eternal present, the eternal now. Time is going to be replaced with eternity. We'll no longer go through change and sequence. Everything will be solid and immutable and eternal. And that's the vow of God here. There's not going to be any more time, only space. Apparently, no more time, just space. But of course, if there's only space and there's no time, then there's no sequence through space. And so there's no movement, which is to say there's no eventuation, which is to say there's no human experience. And so I don't know what good it would be to be in an eternal present, because we wouldn't be able to experience it anyway. I mean, there's all sorts of philosophical problems, but more than that, there's exegetical problems. That just isn't what the Bible says. When the angel says there will be no more time, he means there'll be no more delay. No more delay of what? Well, God had given a certain promise to the martyrs, hadn't he? That he was going to vindicate them for all of their sufferings. Let's look at chapter six, verses nine to 11. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a great voice, saying, how long, O Master, the holy and true, Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And there was given them to each one a white robe. And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little time. The same word. They should rest for a little time until their fellow servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. And so we see the souls of the martyrs, the blood of the martyrs, at the foot of the altar of God. And the blood cries out from the ground, how long, O faithful and true, must we wait to be avenged? And he says, yet a little time. Chapter eight, verses three to six. And another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. There was given unto him much incense, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up before God out of the angel's hand, and the angel taketh the censer. And he filled it with fire of the altar and cast it upon the earth. And there followed thunders and voices and lightnings and an earthquake. And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. And now the seven angels of God will beckon judgment to fall, to vindicate the people of God for their persecution. And so now this mighty angel in chapter 10 says that he swears to God, the eternal God, the creator God. He swears no more delay. God has promised vindication. God has set his angels for judgment. And now God swears by himself it's as secure as his own character. It will happen. He's not talking about the end of the world. He's not talking about the state of eternity after the end of the world. He's talking about a judgment to fall in history. He had told his saints a little time. And now the angel says, time, no more. No more delay. The time has come for God to cease delaying judgment and to bring it to bear. The promised destruction will fall. God's long suffering has ended. Chapter 10, verse 7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants and the prophets. Now the word in Greek here at the beginning of verse seven. But is the strong adversative Allah. It means, but on the contrary. And so what oath is taken by the angel? There will be no more delay. But on the contrary, I'll tell you when the delay will end. In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, then shall be finished, shall be climaxed, shall be brought to a full end. The mystery of God. Now we get into how significant it seems to me this chapter is for the interpretation of the the Book of Revelation. The martyrs have been crying out for judgment. We've been told that God is going to judge the earth, that God is going to vindicate his people. He's going to bring historical judgment upon their persecutors. And now God, in the person of the angel of the Lord, which I take to be the Messiah himself, swears by himself no more delay at the voice of the seventh angel. It's going to happen. And when it happens, his mystery will be complete. Well, what is the mystery of God? Usually in the New Testament, the mystery of God refers to his secret purpose associated with the gospel. Let's look at a few passages very quickly in that regard. And then I'll become more specific. First Corinthians 2, verse 1. And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the mystery of God. Some of your translations will have testimony, but the ancient manuscripts support the word mystery. What was Paul proclaiming this mystery of God? What he was proclaiming the Gospel, of course. And Colossians 2, verse 2, He says, that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ. And at first Corinthians 4:1, Paul says, Let a man so account us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Stewards are ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Ephesians 1:9, Making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in him, that is, in Christ. Moreover, when we read in Revelation 10:7 that the mystery of God is going to be finished according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants. The word for declare there is the Greek word euangelion, which means to proclaim the gospel. And so this is a word connected with the gospel. This mystery is the gospel mystery. And it's declared to be finished, to be accomplished at the sounding of the seventh angel. The gospel involves not only deliverance and vindication, but the gospel. Listen well now the good news. The gospel includes a message of judgment on evil. It is good news that God doesn't let evil prolong itself, that he doesn't turn over history to Satan, that he vindicates his people and he afflicts their persecutors. God's purpose, part of the gospel will not be jettisoned. More importantly, we need to understand this mystery of God that is going to be accomplished when the seventh angel sounds. We know it's a historical judgment. We know it's going to fall upon somebody who's been persecuting the people of God. And when it's done, some mystery of the gospel is going to be finally completed and confirmed, as nothing will remain to be done to show that God has done everything with respect to that mystery. And what is the mystery? Well, now become very specific. Look at Ephesians 3:3:6, and we'll begin to see how important this chapter 10 of Revelation is. Ephesians 3:3: 6. Paul says, how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before, in few words, whereby when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ. Remember, Paul has already said that the mystery of God, even Christ. Now he's going to speak of the mystery of Christ which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men as it hath been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. To wit, what is the mystery that's been kept secret for so long? The mystery of Christ. The mystery that Paul would proclaim as the Gospel minister. That the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. What an offense to the early Jews, the Gentiles, those dirty Gentiles, those people who don't even speak the divine language. Those people who haven't had the promises of the Old Testament delivered to them. Them. Those people who live in such wickedness. The Gentiles are going to be what? Fellow heirs. They're going to come into the kingdom and they're going to come into the kingdom on an equality with the Jews. On a par with the Jews. On an equal footing with the Jews. Paul says yes, that's the mystery of the gospel in Christ, that they will all be fellow heirs of the kingdom. What is the book of Ephesians dealing with? What's the problem in chapter three in Ephesians? Why does Paul have to make so clear that the middle wall of partition in the temple has been broken down by the death of Jesus Christ? There is no longer any middle wall of partition. As though the Gentiles stood outside as second class citizens and the Jews had some special place now in Christ they're all one body. See, that's one of the themes of the book of Ephesians. One body, all of all the saints, all of Christ's people, all believers stand together on an equal footing before Christ and before God. That's the mystery that hadn't been understood in ages past, but which now Paul proclaims, is the message of God. Look at Colossians 1, verse 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the affliction of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church whereof I was made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which was given me to you ward to fulfil the word of God. Even the mystery which hath been been hid for ages and generations, but now hath been manifested unto his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of his mystery. Among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Paul, of course, was the apostle to the Gentiles. Because I'll tell you the dispensation and the ministry that's been given to me to proclaim to you the mystery of God. Christ in you, the hope of glory even among the Gentiles. Now John is telling you that a strong angel, a glorious angel, a colossal angel, has taken an oath by God that when the seventh angel sounds, there'll be no doubt in anybody's mind that God has brought such judgment that the mystery of God is accomplished. The mystery that the Jews have made no special standing in his sight. That the Jews and the Gentiles, if they have any standing, have standing only in light of the Gospel. And they have equal standing in light of the Gospel. Now, I've been interpreting to you for all these weeks now that this series of trumpet judgments are a series of judgments on Jerusalem. That as Christ said on his way to Golgotha, you know, women, don't weep for me, weep for yourselves. If they do these things in the green tree, what shall happen in the dry when God brings judgment to bear for the persecution and the death, the martyrdom of his own son? That's when you should weep. God will vindicate his son. God will judge Jerusalem indeed, as Jesus said week before his crucifixion, Jerusalem, your house is left unto you desolate. And now John has been saying, yes, these Pseudo Jews, Jerusalem that has been persecuting the true people of God, they will be judged. Judgment will fall on Jerusalem. And when it is when the seventh angel sounds, that is, when the final trumpet sounds, when that judgment is complete, then the mystery of God will be evident, that the Jews have no special place. And God swears by himself he'll do that. He'll make that mystery clear. So the destruction of Jerusalem and the calling of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God indicates the termination of the predominantly Jewish nature of God's kingdom. And it indicates the replacement of Israel with the church. The church is the new Israel. Old Israel no longer has standing in the sight of God. It is judged. And that will be known by the oath of God when he destroys Jerusalem. What's the little book that the angel has? We're going to run out of time here this morning. Let me give you a preview of our next lesson. That little book is taken by John, and he eats it. And then there is a certain sweetness and a certain bitterness about it. And then at the very end of the chapter John is told that he must prophesy again. You see, there's going to be a termination point after the seventh angel sounds. God will destroy Jerusalem utterly and show the completeness of his mystery, that the Gentiles are his people as much as the Jews, that the Jews no longer have a place in his sight. But when that's done, John, there's now this little book. And you must prophesy again. But this time it's not a prophecy about one nation, about Jerusalem and about Israel. Now you must prophesy over many peoples and many nations and many tongues. And now in the only place in the book of Revelation where you have a list like this, over many kings, John. Now the judgment will turn from that seven sealed scroll, the significance of God's judgment against Jerusalem, to the little book that talks about the whole empire. And so after chapter 12 of the book of Revelation, John's prophecy will turn to the little book, the prophecy against Rome against the Roman empire. So we see in the book of Revelation 2 scrolls, the scroll of Chapter 5 and the scroll introduced in Chapter 10, which takes up its content at Chapter 13. John sees the little, the scroll of judgment against Jerusalem. John will then have the scroll of judgment against Rome, and that will take up the second portion of the book. And so this is a very significant chapter here because it tells us for certain what the meaning of the first half of the book of Revelation is. And it tells us with very solemn notes of authority, the angel who says these things, the angel who takes an oath tells us that the time is now finished, that God's delay is over and Jerusalem will fall. And when it is fallen, then it will be clear what that mystery has been of the Gospel. And then John is told to eat the little book up and prophesy again, this time over many kings, over the whole empire, because it too is persecuting the people of God. Let's close in a word of prayer. Father, we ask that we, in some similar manner, would like John, be willing to take your word and to digest it and make it our own. We thank you both for its sweetness and for its bitterness. We thank you that the Gospel is a two edged sword, that it cuts both ways, that it saves your people and causes them to rejoice in their salvation, to glorify you for your grace. And we thank you that it cuts the other way as well, condemning those who rebel against you, those who will not repent. And Lord, we rejoice in your justice, in the wrath and curse that falls upon those who will be but enemies of the kingdom of God. We ask you, Father, that you would enlighten our minds to understand the meaning of this prophecy and in understanding its fulfillment, to be reassured again of your veracity and truth that there is no lie in you, that whatsoever you say is true, that we can count on every word that has been given. And finally, Lord, we ask that you would make us more appreciative of every word that is you have given us, and that you'd make us students of every word. For we would confess that each and every word you've given us is profitable to us. And we wish to be your people, godly people, and we wish to receive the full profit of what you have to say. We thank you for the many blessings which are ours as your people, the blessings of your grace, the blessings of your truth, and and we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.