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Near the end of the sounding of the sixth trumpet outlined
in John’s book of Revelations of Jesus Christ is presented a new scene and
description of events. Indeed in what
has been foretold of 3 great woes in the sounding of the last 3 trumpets; it is
this scene that takes place BEFORE the second woe is completed. Based on our earlier examination in the study
of the series of the seven trumpets then, the timing for what John is going to
reveal here must be near “the last days”.
Whether the sixth trumpet is to be interpreted in a political, or
spiritual, or modernistic method; all interpretations point to a time period in
the mid 1800’s that continues till Jesus returns, the central idea being it is
a last message that goes out prior to the permanent establishment of kingdom of
our Lord. So as we examine what John
reveals to us of Jesus Christ within chapter 10 of his book of Revelations, we
find a sense of urgency for us as readers, for it appears this message is
directed more to those who live on the earth in the last days before He
returns.
John begins in verse one saying … “And I saw another mighty
angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his
head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:” John here refers to an angel, a mighty angel
coming down from heaven. The description
of this angel is reminiscent of Christ. His
face shining as the sun, his feet as pillars of fire, clothed with a cloud and
a rainbow upon his head – all indicators and descriptions of Jesus as outlined
in other passages. However, John knows
Jesus personally. John has Jesus
revealed to him in the form of the Lamb of God in an earlier vision. He has seen Jesus glorified as the Son of God
walking amidst the candlesticks and delivering messages of love and redemption
to His churches in the earlier visions recorded in this book. So given that John knows Jesus in His earthly
form, and has seen Him in His divine form, it is possible that this is a
different angel coming to our world, and not Jesus Himself. Perhaps the angel descending is Gabriel who
had replaced Lucifer when he abandoned his post as angelic leader. Lucifer at one time was the third highest
created being second only to the Godhead.
He was at one time chief servant of all, and lead servant of the most
high. With that proximity to God the
Father, His countenance might well have an effect on those who are near
Him. When Moses returned from Mt. Sinai,
his hair was white, and face carried a radiance that did not originate within
him, but was reflected by him as he had been in the presence of our God. So too might this angel having been so close
to God, might be reflecting characteristics of the Most High in his assigned
mission to our world.
John continues in verse 2 … “And he had in his hand a little
book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the
earth,” The mighty angel carries to our
world a little book, that is both open and unsealed. Unlike the book John earlier described that
was sealed seven times, this one is made open to begin with. The destination of the angel is to put his
right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth. This may indicate that the message contained
in this open book will be one of world-wide consequence. It is not intended only for a small group,
but for all of our world, across every sea.
There are those who believe the open book is a representation of the
Bible. However the designation “little”
might preclude this idea. But perhaps a
particular book within scripture, perhaps the previously sealed up book or
prophecies of Daniel that are a part of scripture (i.e. small), but not the
whole of it, might be the message that is here conveyed.
John continues in verse 3 … “And cried with a loud voice, as
when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their
voices. [verse 4] And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was
about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those
things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.” This is most unfortunate. When engaged in the study of our God, the
more information we have, the more details we have, the more we want. We can and will spend an eternity getting to
know who our God truly is, and trying to grasp the enormity of His love. Here, John alone is privileged to know the
meaning of the messages contained in the seven thunders. What might they have said? What clarity might they have added to this
vision? What might the world, and our
faith have benefited from the revealing of what now will become secrets to
us? The seven thunders were preceded by
a loud cry (as when a lion roars). There
is no clear discernable message in the loud cry, other than perhaps like the
trumpets to garner our attention.
Perhaps it is designed to wake us from our spiritual slumber to the
reality of our position in the soon ending fabric of time.
John continues to relay what he witnesses in verse 5 … “And
the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand
to heaven, [verse 6] And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who
created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things
that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there
should be time no longer:” First, it is
worthy to note that we humans are forbidden to sware by anything in heaven or
earth. To do so, is to attempt to make a
promise fueled by our own will, determination, and control. Since we control nothing, we are to simply
let our “yes” be yes, and our “no” be no.
This angel however, seems to want to call our attention to the source of
his mission. He points out in his oath,
the nature of the God his declaration is coming from. God, as his oath attests, is the God who
“lives forever”. God is immortal and the
source of all life. It is God who FIRST
created heaven and the things that are there.
BEFORE we were created, before this world was transformed from a dark
asteroid in the void of space that was without purpose into the blue green orb
of abundant life that it is today; God created heaven and its inhabitants. Angels predate mankind. The other sentient life forms John describes
as the four beasts predate mankind. The
city of heaven predates mankind. Lucifer
and the fallen angels predate mankind.
Creation is NOT isolated to us alone, but is instead a characteristic
and manifestation of the love of God that has existed as long as God has.
Those who believe the big bang theory happened on day one of
our creation are likely a bit misguided.
“Let there be light” might well have been about the positioning of our
planet out of the void of deep space and into a solar system or galaxy where
light would be present to the face of our world. But as creation predates mankind, so too
could a different declaration of the separation of light from darkness would
have been the result of our God’s power many eons before our existence came to
be. And for those who would restrict the
power of our God, who is to say, that the creation of “this” universe is the
“only” universe He may have made? Perhaps
like the innumerable cells that make up our bodies, this universe is only one
of many collections of galaxies that make up a greater vision of what existence
means than what we are today able to discern.
But as the oath of this mighty angel points out, creation
did not end in the broader universe, or in heaven. It continues in the creation of “this” world,
and of “these seas”, of the life that exists in both of them. It is interesting that the angel identifies
the 2 traits of God that can quickly distinguish Him as God. He is immortal and the source of all life,
and He has demonstrated His unique ability to bring into existence the contents
of His imagination and creativity. The
life He creates, becomes the object of His love. He cares for His creations, loves them, and
shares with them the joy of learning to love others. It is these 2 characteristics that Satan is
always attempting to get mankind to deny, in order that they quit believing in
an all-powerful, all-loving God. Satan
attempts to deny that God created life, and that God is the author of this
world in particular. If evolution can
supplant creation, then the “need” for a God disappears into the random abyss
of meaninglessness, and the worship of self can be elevated and unrestrained.
After describing the nature of the God who this angel takes
his oath by, he declares that there should be time no more. If we were to ponder this text for a deeper
meaning, we must ask ourselves, in the light of eternity and a God who made
life to be infinite through His power, does “time” still have any
relevance? There may come a day, or a
point in our existence, when measuring the linear passage of seconds on a
clock, or rotations of planets around a sun that have no end, is not still
something we spend any attention on any longer.
Will you really celebrate your 10 thousandth birthday with the same
vigor as your 50 millionth birthday, or 50 billionth? At what point do birthday celebrations lose
their meaning when you retain the perfection of agelessness, when you cannot
discern the difference between parent, child, grandparent, or 7-generations
decedent? The relevance of time may be
changed when our minds truly understand what it means to see His gift of life
in us on an eternal basis.
But more likely in this context, the angel is declaring that
there should be time no more for a specific purpose. Whatever the delay has been, whatever the
period of time that was allocated for a particular purpose, that purpose has
reached its fruition. John then reveals
the contents of the angel’s declaration, “time is no more” and in verse 7 the
angel further states … “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when
he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath
declared to his servants the prophets.”
This declaration appears to be one of great hope for us. It identifies that in the days of the seventh
angel, the angel who is intended to sound the seventh trumpet. We will read later about the events that
occur when the seventh trumpet is blown, but most all interpretations identify
the seventh of any of these series as the permanent establishment of His
kingdom. This message however is
targeted in the days of the seventh angel, and only as he “begins” to
sound. So prior to His second coming and
return to take us home, something is about to occur. “The mystery of God should be finished” as he
had declared it to his servants the prophets.
I believe the “mystery” of our God, is His ability to
create, or more precisely in our case, to re-create in us what has been broken
by our choice to embrace evil. I believe
it is a mystery to us, how we can be remade at all, because we do not perform
any work at it, at all. It is His
work. It is His love that sees us
transformed by His power. All we do is
permit it. But in so doing, we see
ourselves transformed from the sin craving self-loving degenerates we are, into
a harmony with His law, and His love for others we have never truly known
before. It is the work of our perfection
He offers to us. This is a work only He
can perform. This is a mystery to us,
because we cannot comprehend how His love could have this effect in us. We cannot comprehend why love would do this
for us. We cannot comprehend the extent
to which we will be remade and how different we will think and want and do.
The mystery of our God is His power to redeem and reconcile
unto Himself, in the perfection of His love, you and I who today know only the
pain of our lives of slavery to self.
This was the promise of our God to His servants the prophets who carried
his messages of love to this world. The
prophets carried His attempts to see us redeemed unto Himself. Every message, even those of the great
consequences of our disobedience were designed to call us to repentance that we
might accept His gift of our salvation, and see ourselves embrace perfection
before it is too late. This is a gift we
should long to receive right here and right now, without any delay. For it is His gift, that frees us and gives
us a life worth living, both now and forever. To delay receiving that gift, is
to deny ourselves what is truly in our own best interests, to deny ourselves
the freedom to love, and the joy that comes in the loving. It is not just the absence of sin that is our
goal, but in its place is the immeasurable joy of relationships founded on
unselfish love. We have yet to imagine
how good, “good” really is. We struggle
so much against our sins, we have not the imagination to know what it is like
to be freed from them, and see what was intended in its true light.
John continues in verse 8 … “And the voice which I heard
from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is
open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.” It is important to note, that the direction
to go and take the book from the angel comes for the voice in heaven,
presumably Jesus Christ. The attainment
of this book, the opening and discovery of this book, is being directed to
occur from the voice in heaven. John
continues in verse 9 … “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me
the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make
thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” At this point the conversation shifts from
hearing the voice in heaven, to discussing with the angel what has been
directed. John asks for the book, and
the angel tells him to “eat it up”. In
effect to open this small scroll (perhaps the prophecies of Daniel which until
now have been sealed up and little understood), and “dive in” to it. John is to study this book. What follows is an analogy of what will occur
as John follows the directions given to him.
The angel predicts that the book will be sweet as honey in
John’s mouth. Or in other words, the
first response to the opening and understanding of the prophecies of Daniel
will bring John great joy. But this will
be followed by bitterness in the stomach.
Upon digesting what was thought to bring great joy, follows greater
disappointment. It is not that Daniel
was wrong, mistaken, or attempting to conceal bad news. The problem which has occurred many times in
history, and likely continues in our day, is that we may first misinterpret the
meaning of prophetic scriptures and thus find ourselves disappointed. The Pharisees were bitterly disappointed when
the Messiah came with a mission of peace, instead of sword to drive out the
Roman oppressors. We modern Christians
sometimes too become equally disappointed when we realize our own efforts to
see us rid of sin, fail repeatedly. We
prefer the control of our own salvation, but come to the realization we have no
control at all. We are wholly dependent
on Christ to be MADE free from sin, and are unable to make ourselves free of
anything.
Despite the prediction from the angel, which should be as
clear as any revelation given to John … he continues writing in verse 10 … “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 as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.” What the angel had just predicted came to
pass exactly as proscribed. Knowledge of
the outcome must also have been doubted or ignored, as nothing was done to
change what was predicted. The “loud cry”
of the early 1800’s messages that was preached and taught around the world at
nearly the same time, had a consistent message.
The interpretation of the Daniel prophecies led to the conclusion that
the cleansing of the Sanctuary would be the return of Christ. As study evolved, a specific date was
selected upon which this event would occur.
Knowledge of the outcome did NOT prevent the “sweet as honey” in our
mouths message from going out. People
ignored this analogy. The bitterness of disappointment
that was to follow was ignored or doubted or disregarded. Christ had said that “no man knows the hour”
except His Father in heaven. Yet a
worldwide message was taught naming exactly the day in which His return would
occur.
The timing of the prophecies was correct, but the
interpretation was not. The same was
true of the Messiah on His first appearing.
He came on schedule. But He did
not come as political conqueror, He came as spiritual conqueror. He came to show us how to enter His kingdom,
not the change the temporary governments of this world. The interpretation of the cleansing of the
temple occurred on schedule, but it did not result in the cleansing of this
world. It had a different context. It had a different interpretation. We were warned of our disappointment. But we paid no heed. We took the book, ate it, and found it sweet
in our mouths. But in our stomach, came
the bitterness of our neglect of the warnings and prediction of the inevitable
outcomes. And still, to this day,
various churches, groups, denominations, continue to try to predict the exact
day of His return. They live lives of
anticipation, always looking forward, but failing to see a change in their day
to day behavior. And inevitably the
council of Christ is ignored, “no man knows the hour”. Despite calling ourselves Christians, we
ignore our leader, and predict His return anyway. You would think we would learn. But attempts to lead, and teach scripture,
sometimes see us get ahead of Christ, and like all those who came before, we
fail.
People wanted to believe the 1844 message. People wanted to think they knew how much
time they had left. But they did
not. We do not. It is not for us to live as if a certain
future date is when our hopes will be realized.
It is for us to see our hopes fulfilled TODAY. We can experience the beauty of salvation
right here and right now. We can find
the freedom of His re-creation of us right now.
We do not have to look forward to tomorrow or any other date
certain. We can see His redemption in us
today. We prefer the known to the
unknown. We prefer the certain to the
things that require our faith. We prefer
control to dependence. Interpretations
of prophecies that give us the feeling of certainty, can take away our
dependence on Christ to know “His truth”.
The problem is that we have not learned submission, we have learned to
prefer taking control. But it is our
self-deception about the notion of control, that sees us remain bound in
slavery to self. To submit, to let go,
is to be made free by His power. This
was the lesson to learn from what history has shown us of the 1844 “great
disappointment”.
The angel then gives a message of hope to John at the
conclusion of this vision as he continues in verse 11 … “And he said unto me,
Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and
kings.” Perhaps the angel referred to
the idea that “prophesy” itself, the study and interpretation of John’s
revelations, would once again emerge as important in the last days. I am sure John would have preferred a more
literal interpretation that he might be resurrected to reveal to us the
messages bound in those thunders he was told not to disclose as yet. But in our day, is there any who would accept
the idea that the apostle had risen from the dead? Do we even think it possible? As it is, we are skeptical by nature of all
those who claim the “gift” of prophecy.
We doubt them, because we doubt ourselves, and our own lack of faith
that could see the gift in us. We judge
the messenger before we listen to the message, almost of incapable of separating
the two. Yet all Biblical authors would
pale in the spotlight of the misdeeds done throughout their lives. To open ourselves to the ideas of prophecy in
our day, even when it does not conflict with scripture but rather amplifies it,
seems almost unfathomable. Yet the angel
foretells it.
Are we to repeat our mistakes in ignoring the predictions of
sweet taste, and bitter stomachs? The angel
foretells prophecy being important again.
Are we to doubt this prediction as we have done so often before? If we are to trust in our God, then we must
trust in what He says. It does not
matter if it makes sense to us. It does
not matter if we can see the feasibility of it, or not. It only matters that He does not lie, and has
never been wrong. To that end, we who
live in the days of the beginning of the sounding of the seventh angel, are to
see the mystery of God fulfilled in us.
When this occurs, to prophecy is only to reveal what has been revealed
to us. His gift is more than we can
imagine. But the second woe was not
completed as yet …
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