In chapter 10 we see a transition from the main message of Revelation concerning God’s judgment on Israel and Jerusalem, to His work throughout the Church Age. The “little book” appears to be this secondary prophecy, covering chapters 11, 12, and 13, and is marked by three different but equal time designations: 42 months, 1,260 days, and time, times, and half a time.
[powerpress]
The Little Book
Revelation 10:1-11
Thus far in our study of the Book of Revelation, we have seen
- a vision of the risen and glorified Christ in chapter 1,
- His seven letters to seven different churches which existed in John’s day in chapters 2 and 3,
- a vision of the throne of God in chapters 4 and 5,
- the Lamb slitting the seven seals producing God’s judgments on the earth in chapter 6,
- a vision of the people of God on earth sealed and protected by God, with another vision of His people safe in heaven in chapter 7,
- a vision of 6 of the 7 different trumpet judgments in chapters 8 and 9.
Just as there was in interlude of chapter 7 between the sixth and seventh seals broken by the Lamb, so there is an interlude of chapter 10 and most of 11 between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. Why this interlude here? I believe it is because we are going into a new section of the book.
I believe the 7th seal speaks of the end of the world. Let’s read it together.
Revelation 11:15-19:
15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
18 “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
Why do I believe that the sounding of the 7th trumpet indicates the second coming of Christ and the end of the world?
- This is the 7th and last trumpet. When Paul writes of the last trumpet in 1 Cor. 15:51 he says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” The last trumpet is connected to the resurrection of the dead which takes place at the second coming of Christ.
- 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” The kingdom of the world will not become the kingdom of Christ until He returns. And when He returns, He will reign forever and ever.
- 11:18 says, “Your wrath came and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” The sounding of the seventh trumpet brings about the judgment of the dead, the rewarding of the saints, and the destruction of unbelievers. That all happens at the second coming of Christ.
- Also, immediately following the seventh trumpet, in chapter 12 we go back to the beginning, to the birth of Christ (12:5). The story starts all over again, from a different vantage point.
So, if it is true that the seventh trumpet is the end of the world, and the sixth trumpet is the destruction of Jerusalem as I proposed in our last study, then the material we are about to study would be the things which are to take place between the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world.
If someone in the first century were to read about God’s judgment which would come upon Jerusalem, they might ask, “So, is this describing the end of the world?” These prophecies sound like it. They might ask, “How could God’s ancient people and city and temple be destroyed, and it not be the end of the world?” God’s answer in the book of Revelation, is “No, it is not the end of the world, there is more to come before the end of the world. When Jesus looked at God’s next big judgment, He saw the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Then, the next big judgment after that would be the end of the world. There is a lengthy gap between those two great judgments, and the book of Revelation gives us some insights into that period of time.
Remember, last week I told you that at this point in my studies I find myself leaning mostly toward the Preterist position, but also believe there are some parts of the book which should be looked at through the Idealist perspective? I believe we should read chapters 11, 12 and 13 through the Idealist perspective.
Chapter 10 functions as a transition between God’s judgment on Jerusalem in the first century, and what will take place in the world from 70 AD to the end of the world.
As we seek to understand Revelation 10, we will need to focus on
- The Strong Angel
- The Little Book
- The Mystery of God
1. The Strong Angel (10:1-4)
Another strong angel. The word “another” carries the meaning of “another of the same kind.” That is important because we might come to the conclusion that this angel is none other than Jesus Christ. In fact, many expositors believe that is the correct identification of this angel. Why would they conclude that?
- He is clothed with a cloud. God often manifests His presence in a cloud. God manifested Himself to the children of Israel in a cloud by day. God appeared in a cloud at Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus ascended to heaven in a cloud in Acts 1. Jesus is going to come on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory (Mt. 24:30).
- The rainbow was upon his head. The last time we saw a rainbow in the book of revelation, it was around the throne in chapter 4.
- His face was like the sun. In Revelation 1:16, we are told that the risen Christ’s face was like the sun shining in its strength. When Jesus was transfigured, His face shone like the sun (Mt. 17:2).
- His feet were like pillars of fire. In Rev. 1:15 Jesus’ feet are described as burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace. In the Old Testament, God manifested Himself in the wilderness as pillars of fire (Ex. 13:21).
All of these descriptions of the strong angel connect him with God or Jesus. Therefore, it would be natural to identify this strong angel as Jesus Himself. But I don’t think this strong angel is Jesus. Jesus is never referred to as an angel in the New Testament. This is “another” strong angel. He is another strong angel of the same kind. Same kind as what? As the other angels we have read of thus far.
- There is a strong angel in 5:2 that cried out “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
- There are four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth (7:1).
- Another angel ascends from the rising of the sun in 7:2.
- Another angel appears in 8:3 who holds a golden censer at the golden altar of incense.
- Then there are 7 angels who sound 7 trumpets.
So, when we get to 10:1 and read of “another strong angel”, we are meant to understand this is another angel of the same kind that we have already read about. But why is this strong angel described as having many of the same characteristics as Christ? Because this strong angel, by virtue of being in the presence of God, reflects something of that glory, just as Moses reflected the glory of God when he came down from Mount Sinai.
He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. This may imply that the message in the little book will concern the entire world, because the earth is made up of land and sea. There also may be a symbolic meaning. In Rev. 17:15 we are told “the waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” In other words, the waters represent the Gentiles. The “land” may symbolize the land of Israel, meaning the Jewish people. So, when this strong angel places his right foot on the sea and his left on the land, this may symbolize that the message in this little book is for both Jew and Gentile. Now, if it is true that the main message of Revelation concerns the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., then this is significant, because it tells us that the message of this little book, does not just concern the Jews, but concerns all the peoples of the world.
The sea and land are repeated three times in this chapter (10:2,5,8). In every occurrence, the sea is mentioned before the land. Perhaps that is to emphasize that this little book is especially concerned with God’s plan for the Gentile nations (sea).
He cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. What happens when this strong angel cries out? The seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. John heard the seven peals of thunder and was about to write down what they had said, but he heard a voice from heaven that told him to seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder had spoken and don’t write them down. So, what did the seven peals of thunder say? No one knows. John knew, but he didn’t write them down, so it is impossible for us to know today. This confirms what we read in Dt. 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” There are secret things that belong to the Lord, which He has not revealed, and we will never know them in this life. There are some mysteries that we just have to be content with not understanding.
However, John was told to seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder uttered. Now, that is very interesting, because in Revelation 22:10, John was told not to seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Well, when the strong angel cries out with a loud voice, the seven peals of thunder utter a message, but John is told to seal it up. If a prophecy is sealed up, it means that its fulfilment is not near, but centuries in the future. If a prophecy is not sealed up, it indicates that its fulfilment is near at hand. The seven peals of thunder are associated with the strong angel with the little book open in his hand. It seems likely to me that whatever the message of the seven peals of thunder are, they are going to be fulfilled in the distant future, unlike the rest of the book of Revelation. And I believe we are to understand chapters 11-13 in that way.
2. The Little Book (10:8-11)
What exactly is this “little book”? Some think it is the same book that Jesus took from the hand of God and then broke its seals. However, that book is never called a “little book.” It is just called a book sealed with seven seals. I believe this “little book” is different than the book we read of in chapter 5.
You must prophesy again (10:11). John had already been prophesying for 9 chapters. Now this strong angel tells him he must prophesy again. I take that to mean, that this little book is a new and different message other than the one he has been giving in Rev. 4-9.
So what is this new message, this new prophecy? I believe it is the contents of the next three chapters in Revelation – chapters 11, 12 and 13. Why do I think that is this “little book”? It is because it is in these three chapters alone that we find the mention again and again of three and a half years. Sometimes it is expressed as 42 months, sometimes as 1,260 days, and sometimes as time, times and half a time.
11:2 “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.”
11:3 “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Here are mentions of 42 months and 1,260 days. According to the Jewish calendar, each month was 30 days, so 42 months would equal 1,260 days.
12:5-6 After Jesus is born and ascends to heaven, the woman fled into the wilderness for 1,260 days.
12:14 The dragon persecutes the woman, but the woman fled into the wilderness where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time.
13:5 “There was given to the beast a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.”
All of these time indicators speak of the same period of time. 42 months is the same as 1,260 days, which is the same as time times and half a time.
These time indicators only appear in Revelation 11-13. I take all of these time designations as symbolic for the time between the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world.
It is also interesting that this “little book” appears exactly in the middle of the book of Revelation. Once chapter 13 comes to an end, we return to the prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem again. But God interrupts the main prophecy to give us the “little book”, the smaller prophecy within the larger prophecy.
It is also interesting that this smaller prophecy occurs after the sixth trumpet (destruction of Jerusalem) and before the seventh trumpet (the second coming of Christ).
You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings (10:11). If we are right in interpreting the main body of Revelation as a prophecy of God’s impending destruction of Jerusalem, that would mean that the main portion of the letter concerns one nation – Israel. However, this little book that John must prophesy again concerns many nations. It is international in scope and worldwide. So, I believe that chapters 11-13 are not focused exclusively on Jerusalem or Israel, but on what God will be doing throughout the world during the entire church age. The church age is the time when the gospel goes out to the entire world.
Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey (10:9). John is told to eat this little book, which means his next assignment is to give the contents of this little book as a new prophecy. This is reminiscent of Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:3. Ezekiel was told to eat a scroll also. The scroll he ate was filled with lamentations, mourning and woe. That’s why the scroll was bitter. However, it was also sweet at the same time, because it was the Word of God and was filled with His promises of salvation. John had the same experience. He must eat this little book. I take that to mean John had to consume and digest the contents of this little book, so that he could prophesy again.
His prophecy in one respect sweet as honey. The prophecy speaks of the ultimate victory of the two witnesses, and the woman that flees to the wilderness over the dragon. But it is also bitter in his stomach. This prophecy speaks of the killing of the two witnesses, the war the dragon makes on the church, the beast from the sea that speaks great blasphemies against God and makes war on the saints, and the beast from the earth who makes all to worship the first beast. This prophecy has both sweet and bitter elements to it.
3. The Mystery of God
10:5-7. Notice “there will be delay no longer”, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel (11:15-19), when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.
What is the “mystery of God”? I believe the clearest explanation of God’s mystery in the New Testament is found in Ephesians 3:4-6, “By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel…”
In the Old Testament, the people of God were made up almost exclusively of Jews. The mystery revealed to the apostles in the New Testament is that God is going to do something different. He is throwing the doors of the church open to all peoples, Jews and Gentiles, and they will be united together on the same equal footing. So the mystery of God has to do with the church, a union of both Jews and Gentiles sharing the same spiritual privileges.
Well, if we take that understanding of the mystery of God to Rev. 10:7, what do we find? We find that when the seventh angel sounds at the second coming of Christ, the mystery of God (the church) is finished. What does that mean? It means that by the sounding of the seventh trumpet, every person, Jew or Gentile, who is going to be saved and joined to the church will have done so. All the elect will be saved and become part of God’s church. The mystery of God will be finished because it will be completed. The church is likened to holy temple in 1 Peter 2, and each believe is likened to a living stone in that temple. Well, when the last and final living stone is added to the temple God is building, the temple will be finished.
Conclusion
What does all of this tell us today? Is there any relevance to us from this chapter? I think there are at least two messages for us.
- Be Content With The Revelation God Has Given Us. Just as we saw in the seven thunders that spoke, but were sealed up and John was not permitted to write them, there are things which we would like to know, but never will in this life, because God has not revealed them. If you are like me, you probably have many questions that you would like answers to.
- God, how can you be completely sovereign over all things and yet man is completely responsible for his actions?
- God, how is it that you can be One and Three at the same time?
- God, why did you tell us to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in the book of Acts they baptized in Jesus’ name?
- God, what are the good works you prepared beforehand that I would walk in?
- God, why did you ordain that my son should die at 20 years old?
- God, why did you bring my son and his family into the Orthodox church?
And I’m sure you have plenty of questions of your own that you would like answered. However, the secret things belong to the Lord our God, not to us. There are plenty of “secret things” that we are not going to get answers to this side of heaven. Can we be content not knowing the answer to those questions? Can we just trust God regarding those things? Since we know He is good, wise, and sovereign, can we just trust that there are good answers to them? Perhaps we will know them in the next life. And perhaps in the next life we won’t even care about know them any more!
- Rest In God’s Sovereign Plan For His Church. Yes, it is true that God had a sovereign plan for Israel which ended in His judgment on Israel, and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood.
It is also true that God has a sovereign plan for His church, which we will be unfolding in chapters 11-13. His plan for His church includes many great trials, battles with the dragon, persecutions, conflicts with the world’s political and religious systems. However, in the book of Revelation, the church emerges victorious. It may be that individuals within the church will have to forfeit their lives, but they are victorious in the life to come. “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Rev.12:11).
The church will never disappear from the earth. God has always had His church in the world since He ascended to heaven. The church on earth has never died. Jesus said “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” God has always had His true disciples, born again blood bought children of God who trusted in Him alone for salvation. You can look at the 5th or 7th or 10th or 13th or 16th century, and God always had His church in the world, and the devil could not exterminate it. And he never will before Christ returns.
Living for Christ in this world may not be easy, but it will lead to ultimate and eternal victory! Rest in God’s sovereign plan for His church.
______________________________
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Follow Us!