God’s Message, Sweet & Bitter

Transcript

GR 1534
06/14/09
God's Message, Sweet and Bitter
Revelation 10:7-11
Gil Rugh

We're in Revelation 10 in your Bibles. Many of you are students of biblical prophecy and these are very interesting days to say the least in what is taking place in world events. We'll be moving into a section of Revelation that directly touches on some of the things that we see forming in the chapters before us as we deal with events taking place in the tribulation, and particularly in the middle of the tribulation. It seems with chapter 10 we are coming to about the middle point in the tribulation. We've mentioned the tribulation events happen sequentially, starting in chapter 6 with the opening of the seals, one seal after the other. Out of the last seal, the seventh when it is broken, come seven trumpets. And each of those trumpets follow one another. So we are moving along in time. Out of the seventh trumpet will come the seventh bowl. And it seems in chapter 10 as we prepare for the sounding of the seventh trumpet, we are brought to events that transpire around the middle of the tribulation, 3½ years in. Remember that seven-year period divided into two 3½ -year segments because the events that take place in chapters 11-13 will focus on matters that really begin in the middle and happen over the last 3½ years.

We saw in chapter 10 a strong angel coming down out of heaven with verse 1 and he has a little book in his hand which is open. And he places one foot on the sea and one foot on the land, showing his authority over all the earth, land and sea. And what he is about to unfold in the subsequent events will encompass the whole world. This strong angel has his background in the prophecies of Daniel. Come down to verse 5, the angel which I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven and swore. He takes an oath. By Him who lives forever and ever, the eternal God, the One who created heaven and the things in it, the earth and the things in it, the sea and the things in it. This sovereign God, eternal God, who has created everything is now going to bring His creation to His divinely ordained conclusion. And the declaration of this strong angel and the oath that he takes is, verse 6, there will be delay no longer. The King James translates it there will be time no more. The time will never cease to exist for us as created beings. We are created beings and time is simply one thing happening after another. Even in eternity we will not live in how we sometimes speak of God dwelling in the eternal present because we will always be created beings. So what he's talking about here as we have it translated in the New American Standard Bible, there will be delay no longer. The idea time has run out as far as now we come to the end where God is ready to bring to completion His plan.

Turn back to Daniel 12:7, a little bit of review. Daniel has a vision of this heavenly messenger. I heard the man dressed in linen who was above the waters of the river, he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever. Here we have the same scene here as we have in Revelation. This angel now standing above the waters with his hand raised to heaven, swearing, taking an oath by Him who lives forever and ever. Same as we have in Revelation 10. He doesn't say there will be delay no longer, he says it will be for time, times and a half time, a time, two times and a half—3½ time periods, which are 3½ years in the context of the book. Look down in verse 11, from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up there will be 1290 days. So 3½ years. A prophetic year in scripture is 360 days, 1290 days is a time, two times and a half time. You want to do it by days it's 1290 days. We'll talk about these periods here and why we have 1290 and blessed are those who come to the 1335 days and why we have some additional days in these figures here. But the time we're talking about is the time, two times and a half time. And you see we're in that basic 3½ year span.

Come back to Revelation 12, which will be in the section we are coming to, you see verse 6, she would be nourished for 1260 days, 1290 in Daniel 12, we'll talk about the extra 30 days and then the additional days that bring us to 1335. You see we're talking about that basic period of time, half of the seven-year period. Here it is 1260 days that he speaks of. Down in verse 14, two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman so she could fly into the wilderness to a place where she was nourished for a time, times and a half time. That's the same thing as the 1260 days. You see what we have in the book of Daniel now is carried over here. So we have the time, two times and a half time is 3½ times. What are they? Well they are 1260 days and here you have it identified with the days. You have it close to that with 1290 in Daniel, the extra 30 days there we'll see as we get to the end of seven-year period. Come down further into chapter 13 verse 5, authority was given for 42 months. How long is 42 months? You see we're identifying that 3½ year period again.

So I take it when you come back to chapter 10 and the angel announces that there will be delay no longer, he's saying the same thing as we had in Daniel with the angel who swore by the God who lives forever and ever, there would only be a time, two times and a half time or 1260 days or 42 months. So we've come down from all the millenniums to the last 3½ years in God's plan to bring in the kingdom over which His Son will reign on the earth. So indeed we are near the end of God's plan for His creation in anticipation of the coming kingdom.

Verse 7, we have the sentence continuing on. This angel, verse 5, standing on the land and the sea, he declares his oath, swears his oath in verse 6. Then verse 7, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he is about to sound, when he has sounded, when he will sound, then the mystery of God is finished as He preached through His servants the prophets. So you see here we come to the culmination, the realization of what the Old Testament prophets spoke about. The mystery of God is finished. God's plan in bringing this about will be done in the time that the seventh angel sounds. But we have seven bowls. But you understand when the seventh angel sounds, the seven bowls are ready to be poured out, they are contained within the seventh trumpet. You see in the flow of the book of Revelation we had the seals, the trumpets which bring us to the middle of the tribulation and then the bowls that encompass the last half of the tribulation. I've noted the timing of these events and for our interest it seems to me just in the flow of Revelation the seventh trumpet brings us to the events that he's going to take time in chapters 11-13 to talk about that all tie into events related to the last 3½ years. And these timelines will be repeated.

In chapter 10 verse 7, in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he is about to sound. And it can be translated when he shall sound. So don't think that these things will be brought to completion just before he sounds. The point is when he sounds the trumpet that will be the announcement of the last phase when the bowls will bring us to the return of Christ. The mystery of God is finished, it's brought to completion, brought to fulfillment. Here we have the plan of God that has been preached to His servants the prophets in the Old Testament, called the mystery of God. Mystery in scripture is something that cannot be known apart from revelation from God. It's not something complicated, mysterious as we might use the word, a mystery that is a puzzle to solve. It's just something that can't be known apart from revelation. That revelation was given to the prophets. There is going to be a fuller revelation now given through John as we'll see in a few moments that tie the package together. Remember Daniel was told to seal up the words of his prophecy, they could not be understood with fullness until God's revelation is completed. The book of Revelation completes the revelation God is giving and now we're unfolding the final details of God's plan.

Come back to Romans 16. Just to look at a passage that uses the word mystery. You can look at the mysteries in the New Testament, get a concordance and look up the word mystery, mysterion, the English word mystery. Here is a passage that shows the significance and meaning of the word as it is used in the New Testament. Verse 25, now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, which Paul claims in Galatians 1 he received by direct revelation, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past but now is manifested. And by the scriptures of the prophets. So the prophets spoke about these matters but the fullness has been now unfolded through the Apostle Paul. That had particularly had to do as he talked about in Romans 11, he speaks about in Ephesians, that the Gentiles have a unique place in the plan of God. It's not just Jews in Israel, but He has joined Jew and Gentile together to form the church. And that was a mystery that hadn't been revealed. You see what a mystery is, something kept secret but revealed then. They are things you wouldn't know about. This is why unregenerate people have all kinds of ideas about the world, how it began and how it will end. But it is fantasy because they are trying to solve these matters apart from revelation. And God has ordained the only way to know and understand His working in the world and where He is taking His creation, what the ultimate end will be is by revelation. So a mystery is something that cannot be understood, period, apart from revelation from God. And the revelation from God can only be understood by the children of God. And Paul addresses this in his letter to the Corinthians.

So come back to Revelation 10. So when the seventh angel sounds, then the mystery of God is finished, brought to completion as He preached to the prophets in the Old Testament. The announcement is about the kingdom, the details regarding its establishment. Look over in chapter 11 verse 15 when the seventh angel sounds. Then the seventh angel sounded. What happens in heaven? There were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ and He will reign forever and ever. The twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped and on they go. So you see now we've come to the final phase. And all heaven recognizes this is it, the final 3½ years are here. That which, from a human perspective, seemed like it would never come. Generations have come and gone, millenniums have come and gone, now we're here 3½ years. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, we are ready for the end. There will be no more delay, it's not going to take another thousand years, another hundred years. Only 3½ years. So there is celebration of the kingdom arriving. Now we have seven bowls, we have 3½ years. But this is the final events. With the sounding of the seventh trumpet the seven bowls will come out and at the end of that we're going to have Christ returning in glory to establish His kingdom. All heaven will recognize that. You and I will be there, we will know, the seventh trumpet sounds, here we are. We're ready for the climactic act to bring God's program to completion.

Back to chapter 10. In the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he is about to sound, or when he sounds, then the mystery of God is finished, completed as He preached to His servants the prophets. We go back to the Old Testament to find out about the kingdom. We're not going to look at the kingdom passages because of time. But let me encourage you to do something. Sometime this week sit down and read at one sitting, it won't take you long, Isaiah 60-66. I say read it at one sitting, it's all about the kingdom. And you'll note mixed in there are the judgments that come upon the rebellious which we are seeing in Revelation, and the establishing of the kingdom, and the new heavens and the new earth. God says He is going to bring Israel back and establish them and all nations will come and honor them. He's doing it for His glory. The prophets wrote about that, Amos 3:7, God says He doesn't do anything that He doesn't reveal through His prophets. He wants us to know what His plan is.

He's going to establish the kingdom. That's a mystery that was revealed to the prophets, He preached the good news of the kingdom to the prophets. We looked at passages like Isaiah 2, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11. There are passages in the prophets outside of Isaiah on the kingdom, but Isaiah has much great material on the kingdom. Now there is additional revelation being given that fills in more details. And we can understand even more clearly about the establishing of that kingdom and the bringing to fulfillment all that God has promised.

Look at Revelation 10:8, then the voice which I heard from heaven I heard again speaking with me. This is the voice, verse 4, when the seven peals of thunder had spoken I was about to write, I heard a voice from heaven saying, seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have said. And this would be the voice of God speaking. So God hasn't revealed everything as we noted when we studied verse 4. There are certain things that were revealed to John, for John's purposes. Why did God even tell us then about the seven peals of thunder? Well, it was for John's information, not to be conveyed to us. One of the things we may be able to ask God when we get to heaven. John, I just wondered, what did the seven peals of thunder say? All the things we have to find out about from the book of Revelation. We wonder what wasn't revealed as though we needed that. But God doesn't intend us to know that, it's not necessary for us. This same voice now speaks again in verse 8. The voice which I heard from heaven I heard again speaking with me saying, go take the book which is in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land. So this mighty angel, this great angel, strong angel who had the open little book in his hand, as he raised his right hand to heaven and swore there would be no longer delay. The book in his hand, what is that for? That's for John. So now the voice of God speaks, you go and take that little book out of the hand of the angel. And we're reminded, this is the angel who stands on the sea and on the land. This angel with authority over all the earth, you take the book from him.

And what is John to do with the book? Look at verse 9, I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. Obviously the angel would have heard the voice also, but John is to go and tell the angel to do this. And this gives the angel opportunity to give John the necessary further instructions. 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. 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. What this pictures is John taking the message from God, the additional revelation given him and assimilating it, taking it in as you would food. He's taking in the Word of God so he then can be God's spokesman.

Come back to Ezekiel 2:1, Ezekiel is told, son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you. And He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet and I heard Him speaking to me. And Ezekiel is told that he is being sent to the sons of Israel, verse 3, a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me. This has been true back to the days of their fathers. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God, as for them whether they listen or not, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them. You come down to verse 8, now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you, do not be rebellious like the rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you. Then I looked and behold hand was extended to me and lo a scroll was in it. When he spread it out before me it was written on the front and back, written on it were lamentations and mourning. So you see the similarity. A little book, a little scroll. Here a similar idea is given to Ezekiel.

Then chapter 3, He said to me, son of man, eat what you find, eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and He fed me His scroll. He said to me, son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll I am giving you. Then I ate it, it was sweet as honey in my mouth. Then He said, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. You see it was the word of God taken in, to be assimilated into Ezekiel's life and then given out to the people of Israel. Further down in verse 10, son of man, take into your heart all my words which I will speak to you. Listen closely. So you see that parallel that you take in the Word of God, you take it into your heart. So what has symbolized here by eating this small scroll is assimilating this word that God has given him into his heart so he can speak to the people of Israel out of his heart the Word of God that has been taken in.

Now up in Ezekiel 3:3, then I ate it, it was sweet as honey in my mouth. Then you come down to verse 14, so the Spirit lifted my up and took me away and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit. And the hand of the Lord was strong on me. And there is a twofold impact on Ezekiel here. The scroll was sweet as honey in his mouth, but it has an impact on him, it embitters him. He went embittered in the rage of his spirit. This is not a fleshly response because it was the hand of the Lord upon him because Ezekiel has a message of judgment as well as a message of salvation to convey. The message of salvation is sweet, but the message of judgment is bitter.

And so you have the parallel as you come back to Revelation 10:9. It will make your stomach bitter, in your mouth it will be sweet. That's the same idea, the same impact. The rest of John's message will be a message that has sweetness to it and for the people of God who are truly saved it is a message of salvation. It's what we've been looking for. But it is a message that has bitterness to it because there are awful judgments coming on the rebellious, the disobedient, those who would not listen

Go to Jeremiah 15. You have a similar picture from another prophet. Verse 16, your words were found and I ate them and your words became for me a joy and a delight of my heart. For I have been called by your name, oh Lord God of hosts. See the same picture? He is taking it in, he is eating, he has devoured the Word of God, it has been assimilated into his life. And it caused joy and delight to his heart. Well what about the bitterness? Jeremiah didn't escape that part of it either. Turn over to Jeremiah 20:7, oh Lord you have deceived me and I was deceived, you have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long. Everyone mocks me. Each time I speak I cry aloud, I proclaim violence and destruction because for me the Word of the Lord has resulted in reproach and derision all day long. You see there has been the bitter side because he had to proclaim judgment. People always want to hear good things, they don't want to hear bad things. But the true message of God's Word contains both condemnation and judgment on the rebellious and salvation, life and ultimately the kingdom on those who believe. Jeremiah says, I'm stuck. I know when I give out the Word of God and its message of judgment it will only cause trouble for me, but verse 9, if I say I won't speak His name anymore, then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, I cannot endure it. Verse 11, but the Lord is with me like a dread champion. Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail, they will be utterly ashamed because they have failed with an everlasting disgrace. They will not be forgotten. Same idea in taking in the message.

The same thing we are to do as God's people. We don't receive revelation from God directly, we receive it indirectly through the messengers who received it directly. So what did Peter write in I Peter 2:2? As newborn babes long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow in respect to your salvation. The Word of God is pictured again as food to be taken in, we feel upon, that is assimilated into our lives. That's what enables us to grow. It's not just an external word, it's a word to be taken in and absorbed into our lives, and for us by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Back in Revelation 10. What we have here is what John will be unfolding through the rest of the book of Revelation, and the message you have. And it is an exciting message. We have studied it as believers and we are thrilled with it because we read the bringing to completion what God has promised through Old Testament prophets. And now He is reiterating and clarifying and isn't it a sweet message to us, to know that we will rule and reign with Christ. But it is a message that brings bitterness because there are horrific judgments about to be unfolded on the world. I mean, there have already been terrible judgments, but the worst is yet to come as God brings judgment, not just on portions of the world but on the whole world, land and sea as we've seen this angel portrayed.

Verse 11, and they said to me, you must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. You see John is now entrusted with an earthly message, a message to earthly people, the peoples of the world—peoples, nations, tongues, kings. We're about to have unfolded to us additional clarity on the nations of this earth, on its final rulers and of the ultimate end of all earthly kingdoms. It's an awesome message he has. It encompasses the world. It is similar to Jeremiah's commission back in Jeremiah 1, similar idea. He talks about the consecration of Jeremiah and God has put His words in Jeremiah's mouth. Verse 9, behold I have put My words in your mouth. Verse 10, see I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to pluck up and to break down, to destroy, to overthrow, to build, to plant. That's sovereign power. God's Word is the final word. The rulers of this world go back and forth, the great minds of this world try to sort things out. Here is the only true explanation. Do you want to know how it all will end? Where we are going? What is coming in the future? It's all right here.

So back in Revelation 10:11, you must prophesy. You see that's why you took in the book like Ezekiel. What was Ezekiel to do with that? He is to go and now give it out. You go tell it to people, you tell it to them whether they listen or not. What is John to do? You prophesy concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. It's all here as we bring to completion the plan of God for His creation.

I want to summarize some things here. 1. For our reminder, the sovereign Creator is behind the final redemption of creation so it will take place, verse 6. We looked at it in more detail in our previous study. We always keep that in mind. I like to read the newspaper, I like to read news magazines. But you know the hand of My God is on it all. I like to read what is going on in the nations of the world, what is happening here, what is happening there. But you know what? You see the hand of the sovereign God moving it toward this. So He is behind everything. Verse 6 is a reminder of that. 2. The plans of God as revealed to the prophets in the Old Testament will be brought to completion, verse 7. You know it has been 2500 years since Ezekiel prophesied, it's been longer than that since Isaiah prophesied. It's been longer than that, it's been 4000 years since God gave His covenant to Abraham and the promises contained in that covenant. But you know what? What He preached to His servants the prophets will be accomplished, it will be realized, there will be no longer delay. God's schedule is right on time. There have to be no adjustments in His plan. So when the seventh angel sounds all heaven will know where we are in the plan of God and that we are now ready for the final phase and the bringing to fulfillment of everything He has promised. 3. A reminder here that the Word of God is to be assimilated into our hearts and lives. It was to be in this visual way with John, it was to be in a visual way with Ezekiel. We understand as we referred to I Peter 2:2, the Word of God is to be taken into our hearts and lives. Job 23:12 says, I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. See that same picture. The Word of God is not just some book we study, it is something that as we study it we take it into our hearts and minds and meditate upon it, we assimilate it, it becomes part of us, part of our being. It is to control us, direct us in all that we do. It is the food for us, truly spiritually. 4. The Word of God is sweet and delightful, it speaks of the joys of our salvation. I love those portions of the Word. It is exciting to read about how it will end for us in the kingdom, reigning with Him. Not just for a thousand years, but on through eternity, as we'll see when we get to Revelation 20 ff. It tells us about His salvation. Turn to Psalm 119:103, how sweet are your words to my taste, yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth. You see why God says when you eat this book it will be sweet like honey in your mouth. That's what the psalmist said, how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. It brings a message of salvation, joy, we delight in it. 5. We also understand the Word of God is bitter, it proclaims a message of wrath and judgment, culminating in an eternal hell. The same Word is a message that is sweet and delightful and bitter and awful. And we need to take it in and assimilate it and understand it. It's not bitter to us in the sense that we are under its condemnation, but it is bitter. Before the kingdom is established we have some awful things to place. This is a message we have to tell people about. Wrath is coming. Why do you always have to be so gloom and doom? I have to tell you the truth. Why do you have to share with people the wages of your sin is death? That's part of the message just as much as the free gift of God is life in Jesus Christ. Right? People want to hear the good and not the bad but you understand it is all God's Word and we have to give out the gloom and the judgment as well as the sweet and the delightful. 6. I find verse 11 very encouraging. God's word rules over the kings and over the nations. He has determined their course, their destiny and you and I rest secure in that. Do you realize that? You know the turmoil going on in our country and the frustrations that we sometimes feel as we disagree maybe with decisions being made by the leaders are all part of God's plan. These are remarkable days. We get so concerned about the decline of our country but then we study His Word and we find that is exactly is how God says they will end. We don't even find our country as a significant player. Should I be surprised if we are nearing the final phase of God's plan and that seven-year period and for Israel that maybe we see events in the world taking shape that are going to alter the makeup of the world. And maybe what we are hearing that we don't want to hear and the days of the United States being the dominant player are over as one prominent leader in Europe said recently. That can't be, what do you hear? We always come back, we will come back again. You watch the financial channel and you have the positive people, we always bounce back, we are a resilient people, we will. But you understand, we've read the last chapter, we know who the final players are. Right? We know where it is going. So how out of character, out of step would it be for us to be getting upset, to be speaking evil of the leaders. You realize the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, He turns it wherever He chooses. That includes the President, the kings, whatever. Even ungodly men ruling ungodly nations, their rebelliousness against the living God is being used to direct them by God using their rebelliousness to accomplish His purposes. That will be true ultimately of the antichrist who will come to power and we will see him in the coming chapters. You understand as the agent of Satan, man's counterfeit Christ, he won't in any way frustrate the plan of God.

Any wonder that we as God's people have peace in our hearts and minds in days that seem unsettled and in turmoil. They are exciting days for us. I like to read the last chapter, so when I'm reading the rest of the book I don't get all worked up because I know how it ends. That's the beautiful thing about the book of Revelation, we've read the last chapter, we know how it ends. This is all part of it. Even the things we don't like, even the decline of my retirement account. That's okay, because my retirement account is not my real retirement account, right? We have treasure laid up in heaven. Inflation doesn't touch it, deflation doesn't touch it, moth or rust, nothing. It is secure and that's what I'm counting on for my eternal retirement.

Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for the promises of your Word. Thank you that you are sovereign and in control and even in this awesome scene as John beheld the angel from heaven stand and swear with an oath upon your very character, the work that you have accomplished in bringing creation into existence, you are the God who will bring it to its appointed end. Everything is under control, everything is on schedule. Lord, may we as your people have peace in our hearts and minds in these days, the confidence of knowing that we are part in a special way of what you are doing in the world. And may these be days when we seize the opportunity to give out the message of life to people who have no hope, who have real reason to fear, to be frustrated, to be insecure and unsettled. The message of Jesus Christ and His salvation is their only hope. May we seize every opportunity in the days of this week, may you use us as lights in the midst of darkness as we anticipate with eagerness the return of our Savior to gather us into your presence and the world is prepared for its final events. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.