Revelation 10 – The Little Scroll
John
saw another strong angel with a little book in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and the left
on the land. This must have been a very
large angle with great authority and what is about to be revealed will affect
all people of the world. He cried out
like a roar of a lion and 7 peals of thunder responded. John doesn’t tell us what the thunder said,
because a voice from heaven said, “Seal up the things which
the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.” – Rev. 10:4. This tells us there are still things about the
future and we don’t known until that time.
Then
the strong angel lifted his right hand to heaven and swore that there will be
no more delay – the Day of the Lord is coming.
The seventh angel will sound his trumpet. Then the mystery of God is finished. God had been merciful waiting for all people
to come to Him, but there will be no more waiting.
Then
John was told, “Go, take the scroll which is open in
the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land… Take it and eat
it; and it will make you stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
– Rev. 10:8-9. John ate the scroll or book which was sweet
in his mouth, but it made his stomach bitter.
The
words of the little book were the words of God so it was sweet, but why did it become
so bitter? Maybe it was that the
contents were so awful and terrible.
There would be such persecution and desolation of earth that the thought
of it made John sick to his stomach. This
book was a message to people on earth.
It was sweet because it came from God, but bitter because it told of
troubles to come. God’s people would
overcome in the end, but before that people would suffer greatly. The message that there would be no more delay
was sweet, but the actual end would be unpleasant or bitter.
God’s
Word is sweet, but bitter if you do not believe. Matt.
11:28 says, “Come to
me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” John
8:24 says “unless
you believe that I am he, you shall die in your sins.”
What
mysteries has God revealed you in this study?
Are you
disturbed by the thought of what is revealed in Revelation?
Who
will you tell about Christ before it’s too late?
John
was told to prophesy again to all the nations.
The end would be soon. The
seventh trumpet was ready to sound.
Revelation 11 – The Two Witnesses
After
eating the little book, John was given a measuring rod and told to measure the
temple of God. He was not to measure the
court outside the temple, because during the last half of the 7 years (3 ½
years) or 42 months (1,260 days), the holy city (Jerusalem) will be given to
the nations (Gentiles) who will tread it under foot. In Daniel
9 speaks of the 7 year period. The
Gentiles will abuse and disregard the city.
They will worship other gods. God
will allow this to happen. This final 3
½ years will be the worst of all.
“I will grant authority to my two witnesses and they will prophesy
for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” – Rev. 11:3. The witnesses are
identified as olive trees and lampstands.
We saw in chapter 7 there would be 144,000 Jewish men preaching to the
world, but these 2 witnesses here are special.
They have authority and would be known throughout the world. They are believed to be Moses and Elijah. They will prophesy for 1,260 days. They are wearing sackcloth which shows they
are greatly grieved by the evil and unrepentance in the world around them. The lampstands indicate they are prophesying
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
People
won’t like what they are preaching and will try to harm them. When others try to harm them, fire will come
out of their mouths and they will be killed.
They will have the power to shut up the sky during the time they are
prophesying. They will have the power to
turn water into blood and send plagues to the earth. (Rev. 11:3-6).
God
will protect them during this time. He
said if anyone tries to harm them, they must die. Again, God always protects His own.
Then
when the witnesses finish their testimony, the beast that comes out of the
abyss in chapter 9 will make war with them and kill them. The beast is Satan and is given authority by
God to do this. Nothing happens without
God’s approval or authority. (Rev.
11:7).
Their
bodies will lie in the street of the great city (Jerusalem) for 3 ½ days. People won’t like what these men have to say
and will be afraid of them. Now that
they were dead the people will rejoice. Their
happiness will last only a short time. After
the 3 ½ days lying dead in the street, God will breathe life into them. This is a beautiful picture of the
resurrection for all the believing dead who wait in the grave. The two witnesses stood up and great fear
came over the people. They were then
called up to heaven. (Rev. 11:8-12).
How
have you been persecuted because of your testimony for Christ?
How has
God protected you?
In that
hour where was a great earthquake, 1/10 of the city fell, 7,000 people were
killed, and the rest were terrified.
They gave glory to God, but it doesn’t say they repented. They only recognized there was a God in heaven,
but did not repent. This is God’s
judgment on the wicked people. (Rev.
11:13).
“The second woe is past; behold the third woe is coming quickly.” - Rev. 11:14. It is now time for the third and final woe.
As the
seventh angel sounded his trumpet John was in heaven and heard voices saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” – Rev. 11:15. Satan is no longer the ruler of the
world. God has reclaimed His rightful
rule over the earth. He is still in the
cleansing process. Soon we will see all
the wicked followers of Satan judged in the bowl judgments in the following
chapters.
The 24
elders fell on their faces and worshiped and thanked God. Then the temple of God in heaven opened and
the ark of His covenant appeared. There
were flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great
hailstorm. (Rev. 11:16-19)
How do
you respond to God and His promises?
Does
the thought of Jesus’ return frighten or encourage you?
How has
your relationship with Him changed in light of the judgments to come?
The
time had come for God to reward or punish all who have died. He will reward His servants. He will reward those you believed in
Him. We can be confident that God will
save His people even in times of trouble.
For the unbelievers He will punish those who oppose Him.
Are you
now a believer after studying Revelation? If you weren’t before, I hope you are
now. It’s never too late. God is waiting for you to surrender to
Him. See the bottom of this blog for His
Plan of Salvation.
Next
week we will study Revelation 12. Hope
to see you here.
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