Revelation 10 – The Little Scroll
John saw another mighty 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 angel with great authority. What is about to be revealed will affect all people of the world. He cried out like a roar of a lion and seven peals of thunder responded. John doesn’t tell us what the thunder said, because a voice from heaven said, “Seal up what the seven peals of thunder have said, and do not write them down.” – Rev. 10:4. This tells us there are still things about the future and we won’t know until that time.
Then the mighty angel lifted his right hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them 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 that lies 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 sour, 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 sour and 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. John was to prophesy again about the people, nations, and kings since he now knows the fate of all unbelievers so he must try to reach them before it’s too late. 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.
John was told to prophesy again to all the nations about all that was revealed to him. He was to focus on the Gentiles and their treatment of Israel and Israel’s response to God’s work. He was to tell about the two witnesses. He was to tell about Satan, the beast, false prophet and their persecution of Israel. He was to tell about the 144,000, the fall of Babylon, and Jesus’ defeat of the nations. He was also to tell about the punishment to the lake of fire for all unbelievers from all of history. The world end would be soon. The seventh trumpet was ready to sound.
Principle: God mercifully waits for all people to come to Him.
Revelation 11:1-14 – 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 (3½ years) or 42 months (1,260 days), the holy city (Jerusalem) will be given to the nations (Gentiles) who will tread it under foot. Daniel 9 speaks of the 7 year period. The Gentiles will abuse and disregard the city. They will worship other gods and God will allow this to happen. This final 3½ 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. Some believe these witnesses to be Moses and Elijah because of the miracles they performed in the Old Testament. Some believe they are Enoch and Elijah because are the only two who did not die. Some believes they are Peter and Paul because of their role as martyrs. 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 people try to harm them, fire will come out of their mouths and they will devour their enemies. He said if anyone tries to harm them, this is how they must die. These witnesses 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, because 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 3½ 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., but their happiness will last only a short time. After the 3½ 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. John then saw the two witnesses stand up and great fear came over the people. They were then called up to heaven. (Rev. 11:8-12).
Principle: God always protects His own.
In that hour there 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).
John gives God’s promises about eternal life to all who believe:
“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.
Revelation 11:15-19 – The Seventh Trumpet
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)
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. (Rev. 11:18)
Then John saw God’s temple in heaven open and there he saw the ark of His covenant. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. The twenty-four elders fell on their faces and worshiped God. What an awesome sight!
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.
Principle: God will save His people, but will punish all those who oppose Him.
Next week we will study Revelation 12. – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
__________________________________________
If you have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share this post with the buttons below.
No comments:
Post a Comment