October 17, 2008

• Revelation 10

  Revelation 10:1-11 KJV  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:  (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,  (3)  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.  (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.  (5)  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,  (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:  (7)  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.  (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.  (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.  (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.  (11)  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

  little book – bibliaridion – a little book, a “smaller” (diminutive) form of biblion, which already is a “small book”. This is a “really small” book.

  It’s possible that this is the same book that we saw in chapter 5, only it’s now opened -

  Rev 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

  But it’s not quite the same Greek word, it is a “smaller” book.

  What’s this book?

  I think it is a book that contains the remaining events in Revelation, or at least the things in 11:1-15.

  John is going to be told to eat the book, and after that he will be told to prophesy about coming events.

  I think the concept is that after John eats the book, he is then enabled to prophesy, because he has the book inside him.
  
  Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

  This same type of thing happened to Ezekiel:
  
  Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:3 KJV But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. {9} And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; {10} And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. {2} So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. {3} And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

  There are several places in Scripture where it seems that when God speaks, people hear thunder.
  
  2Sa 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
  
  Job 40:9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

  When God spoke to Jesus once, it sounded like thunder to those nearby:

  John 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

  Perhaps the idea here isn’t that there are seven “thunder creatures” that are speaking, but the idea that God speaks with seven thunders, and each thunder has some kind of meaning or message.

  Some have suggested a connection to -

  Psalm 29 A Psalm of David. Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. {2} Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. {3} The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. {4} The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. {5} The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. {6} He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. {7} The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. {8} The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. {9} The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. {10} The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. {11} The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

  There are SEVEN times that the “voice of the LORD” is mentioned.

  The “voice of the LORD” is often associated with thunder.

  Could this be related to Revelation 10?

  The seventh angel hasn’t yet blown the seventh trumpet. That’s not going to occur until Rev 11:15. This sounding of the seventh trumpet is going to wrap up everything.

  Revelation 10:8-11 KJV  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.  (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.  (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.  (11)  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

  We can get all caught up in the wonderful fact that we’re going to see Jesus face to face! We can get all caught up in the glory of getting new bodies, ruling with Jesus, and living in heaven. But we should also balance that with the bitterness that comes from knowing that the unbelieving world is going to be judged. Even as we are spending eternity in God’s presence, in bodies designed to be able to withstand the joys of heaven, those who reject Christ will spend eternity in bodies designed to endure the pain and judgment of hell. It’s sweet, but it’s also bitter.

  God’s Word is sweet, it is refreshing, it is nourishing to our spiritual lives. But, if you refuse to keep God’s Word, then there is judgment that will come. You see, as you begin to digest the things of God you also see the consequences of disobedience. There is the message of judgment that is coming upon those who have rejected Jesus Christ. It is bitter when you realize what is going to happen to the lost. Judgment is coming and your heart should burn for the unsaved. It should be a wake-up call to the reality of what we should do – share the Gospel!  Point people to Jesus!

  Our responsibility is to tell others of Christ. Then it is up to them to either reject or accept the Gospel message. But judgment is coming on those who refuse to accept. You see, God’s Word contains sweet promises and assurances, but it also contains bitter warnings and prophecies of judgment!

  There is another point I would like to make here and that is this. It is your responsibility to take in God’s Word.  God will never force you, God will not thrust it down your throat, God will not force-feed you. God hands His Word to us and we must take it into our lives, we must have that desire to know God through His Word.

  When people want to hear God’s Word, share it with them. When people don’t want to hear God’s Word, share it with them.  Yes, they may not want to hear it, but they need to hear it. Don’t be obnoxious about it, but share it in love.

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