The first five verses of Psalm 95 state:
| 95:1 | O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. |
| 95:2 | Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. |
| 95:3 | For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, |
| 95:4 | In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. |
| 95:5 | The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. |
This is a truth we as believers have, for the most part, forgotten and which the world, as a whole, in its rejection of God, denies. This world, the land, the sea and all they contain do not belong to us. They belong to Him who made them, the Creator, the Lord God Almighty. We who currently reside upon this earth, who claim ownership of various portions of it, from the humblest hovel thrown together on a few square feet to the palatial estates of world leaders, are only allowed to remain by the sufferance of the true owner. And yet we raise our hands and voices in defiance, believing we may do what we will with what we mistakenly think is ours. However, the day is coming—it may already be at the door—when the Creator will reclaim all He made and place it in the hands of the one He has chosen to administer it in truth and righteousness.
For us who believe, the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the promise and the picture of that day when God Almighty returns the kingdoms of this world to Jesus Christ, our savior who will rule as King over all kings and Lord over all lords, who will establish justice, restore balance and harmony and make this world to be what the Creator intended it to be from the beginning. As we have read and looked at this book, we have seen the coronation ceremony of the King taking place in heaven and, on the earth, we have seen the outpouring of the wrath of God, which is His just judgment upon sin and disobedience.
The Lamb has taken the scroll, claiming the crown. He has broken all seven of its seals and now has the authority to rule. Trumpets, seven in number, now sound in fanfare announcing His ascension. As the first six sound in the courtroom of heaven, on earth, terrible judgment has fallen. One-third of the surface of the earth has been devastated by asteroid strikes. The resulting firestorms have destroyed all vegetation on that affected part of the earth's land surface; toxic ash and debris have poisoned the water supplies and killed all life in the oceans and seas affected. There has been an untold toll on all who live in this quadrant of the world. Then worse has come. God released demonic hoards, imprisoned for ages. The first has brought unimaginable torment to the living, the second, death to another third of the earth's population. Moreover, the seventh and final trumpet has yet to be blown. Before it sounds, however, God sends an emissary or witness to claim back the earth. This symbolic act is as much a promise of hope for those who are suffering under the attack of the enemy awaiting the return of their King as it is a warning to those who oppose the reign of the true sovereign. This act will be bittersweet, sweet to those to faithfully wait for their Lord's coming, bitter to those who exalt themselves against Him. It will be sweet in that it heralds the establishment of an earth with perfect peace, justice, and balance but bitter in that there will be much death and destruction before these things are established. John writes of this claim made upon the earth.
Revelation 10:1-11.
| 10:1 | I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; |
| 10:2 | and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; |
| 10:3 | and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. |
| 10:4 | When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.” |
| 10:5 | Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, |
| 10:6 | and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer, |
| 10:7 | but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. |
| 10:8 | Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” |
| 10:9 | So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he *said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” |
| 10:10 | I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. |
| 10:11 | And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” |
In the first seven verses, John witnesses the event as it takes place; in the last four verses, he interacts with the angel claiming the earth. In the first seven, we see the earth claimed; in the last four, we see the scroll eaten.
The Earth Is Claimed
The stage we are viewing is still the earth, for John sees a strong or mighty angel descending from heaven to the earth. This angel is wrapped in clouds or a mist; his face glows like the sun, and his feet like fire. There is an aura about his head. Although John does not say how large this being is, I would expect that he was quite large. This would, without a doubt, make him appear strong or mighty. In addition, he was able to place one foot upon the sea and one upon the land. If you have ever visited the seashore, you know how difficult it is to keep one foot on land and the other in the water with the waves breaking and rolling up the sand. This angel straddles both land and sea. As I understand the text, he does not stand in the sea but upon it. John does not tell us where this takes place, but because the sea usually refers to the Mediterranean in the Scriptures, I expect this is where this event takes place. The Scripture does not reveal the exact location along the Mediterranean where this occurs, but it will happen at a specific location. This is not just a figurative description rather a literal event.
In this angel’s hand is a little book or, more accurately, a small scroll that is open. This means it was unrolled to be read. We do not know the contents of this scroll, but it is evident it is an announcement to be made. It is an announcement from Heaven to the earth. The angel then, in a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion, begins to speak.
Again, we do not know what the angel said at this point. Perhaps he is calling on the earth and sea to hear and witness the proclamation, or perhaps he calls upon all who are present in that location to hear and attend. We do not know. However, we do know that after he cried out, other voices spoke. These voices are deep and loud, described as the seven peals of thunder. That it was not just loud thunderclaps, but a message delivered by voices as deep and rolling as the thunder is unmistakable since John starts to write down what the thunder said. We do not know what was said by these voices described as the seven peals of thunder, for John was forbidden to communicate this to us. He was told to seal it up and do not write it down. It was not the will of God for us to know these things at this time. During the Tribulation Period, at this point in these terrible times, these voices speak, and they will be heard and understood. While not stated, we can guess these voices were proclaiming the contents of the small scroll carried by the angelic messenger.
We have come to believe in our day that we have the complete revelation of God, that He has given His full truth to us. We think the canon is complete, that nothing remains to be added. Perhaps this is a perception of every generation and not just ours. Nevertheless, this passage clearly shows us that more is yet to be revealed. It is sealed up in our days but will come when the time is right. We do not know or understand God’s entire plan. Just like as the Old Testament saints did not see or understand the church for it was a mystery, something hidden to them, so we also might not be able to see or understand truth to be yet revealed during the Tribulation Period because it is now sealed up and hidden to us.
Following the declaration of the contents of the scroll by the seven thunderous voices, the angelic messenger concludes the announcement with an oath. He raises his right hand to heaven and swears “by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it.” While Scripture tells us that as believers, we are not to use oaths to attest to the truth of our words because our word should always be true, there are times when God’s messengers and even God Himself use an oath to emphasize the certainty and surety of a statement. So it is here. This is not just the proclamation of an angelic being; this is the word of God. The angel swears by the ever-living creator that what is stated will be fulfilled.
He states that “that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.” "The days of the voice of the seventh angel" refers clearly to the time following the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet announcing the reign of the King.
What then is the mystery of God that He preached to His servants, the prophets? A mystery in the Word of God is something that has been hidden but which has been (or will be) revealed. In the New Testament, the following are called or designated as mysteries:
| 1. | The kingdom of God itself (Mark 4:11) |
| 2. | That there will be a partial hardening of Israel until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled (Romans 11:25) |
| 3. | The rapture of the saints (1 Corinthians 15:51) |
| 4. | The mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7) |
| 5. | The seven stars and the seven golden lampstands (Revelation 1:20) |
| 6. | Babylon the Great, the woman and the beast that carried her (Revelation 17:5,7) |
| 7. | The greatest amount of space is devoted to the mystery that God revealed through the apostle Paul, the mystery of Christ. |
The two key passages declaring this mystery are Ephesians 3:1-12 and Colossians 1:12-27, but it is also found in Romans 16:25, Ephesians 6:19, Colossians 2:2 and 4:3 and 1 Timothy 3:16. In short, what was spoken of by the Old Testament prophets, but not clearly seen or understood by them, was how God would work through the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, to effect our salvation and establish the kingdom bringing together both Jew and Gentile into one body, which is the church, His bride and lifting her by virtue of her identification with Him to a position of honor and glory.
The angel declares that which God has promised for so long a time is about to be completed. The marriage of the bride is about to be consummated, the kingdom is about to be established, and the King is about to return to take up His rule. That is wonderful news, but there is a downside. With the sweet, there comes the bitter.
The Book Is Eaten
A voice from heaven now commands John, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” John does this. He approaches the angel and asks for the scroll. The angel gives it to John with an instruction and a warning, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” John did exactly as he was instructed, and the result was exactly as the angel stated; the book was sweet to the taste, but when eaten, it was bitter in his stomach; that is, it was hard to digest, it caused indigestion and discomfort.
John does not explain the significance of this action, but I believe it is clear. The message God is giving to our world, i.e., that which is contained in the scroll, is both sweet and bitter. It all depends on who you are, whether you believe or not. It is much the same as what Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16:
| 2:14 | But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. |
| 2:15 | For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; |
| 2:16 | to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? |
The message Paul proclaimed, the gospel of Jesus Christ, was, on the one hand, a fragrant smell to those who believed and were being saved, but, on the other hand, to those who did not believe and who were perishing, it was the stench of death. So it is here in Revelation chapter 10. The message proclaimed by this angel and the seven thunderous voices was a message that was, on the one hand, sweet, but on the other hand, bitter as well. It all depends on who hears the message. If you are a believer living during these days of darkness, this is a sweet message. It promises victory, deliverance, hope, life, peace and joy evermore. However, if, on the other hand, you are not a believer, if you have thrown your lot in with the ruler of this world, if you have received his mark and bowed in worship before him rather than the true God, the creator, then this message is one of death, defeat and despair. It promises only physical and eternal death. A bitter message indeed! For our physical world, it is the promise of having balance and harmony restored, yet before that is achieved, the world will see destruction and ruin on a level never before experienced. A sweet yet very bitter message!
Finally, the angel gave John a promise, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” There are several possibilities of what this means. It might be a reference to the fact that there is further revelation given by John in the book of Revelation itself. John does convey more prophecy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings in the following chapters of this book. If this is what the angel means, he is telling John to wait. John has more to see and record. He is not finished yet. An announcer on television might say, “Stay tuned; there’s more coming up shortly!”
This might be a reference that John would indeed prophesize further in his life, that this book, Revelation, was not his final ministry. If that is the case, then we have no record of his ministry other than he probably returned to Ephesus following his exile on Patmos. While we have no other works by his hand that are a part of the Scriptures today, that is not to say he did not minister and write such. If he did, the Spirit of God did not include them as part of the canon of Scripture for us today.
There is a veiled reference to an idea that John would not die until our Lord comes (John 21:20-23). While John states in verse 23 that our Lord did not say he would not die, he did not say that he would either. He simply told Peter, if He chose to have John live until His coming, what business was that of Peter. If our Lord did choose to have John remain until His coming, then perhaps he is the other prophet with Elijah that ministers during the first half of the Tribulation Period and will indeed prophesize about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings before his death at the hands of the antichrist.
What we do know is this. John either did or will prophesize about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. Either we have that prophesy contained in the final chapters of this book, the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, or we do not have it today because the Spirit of God chose not to include it in Scripture or because it has not yet been given.
The world does not like the message of the gospel today. It is a message that says Jesus Christ is the way of salvation and the only way. While that is a sweet message to many, those who believe, it also is bitter to those who do not believe, for it clearly states those who reject the message are condemned. The world does not want such an exclusive message; they want one that includes everybody. The good news is a sweet fragrance to those who believe but a stench to those who do not. The message God gives the world before the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign will also be bittersweet. Bitter to those who have rejected it, sweet to those who believe.
That is the message we proclaim. We must remember not all will accept it. Those that reject it will hate it and those who proclaim it.
