(upbeat guitar music) ♪ I love growing in your grace ♪ ♪ You have your hand on me ♪ ♪ And all that I do wrong ♪ ♪ Love will keep me strong ♪ ♪ I love growing in your grace ♪ - Revelation chapter 10 verse one. You that have been with us and I should tell you, if you're new, all of our studies are on CDs, DVDs and the bookstore, all of the notes are there as well. If you wanna catch up, they're also online for the most part, so you can catch up there. But this is God's last book to us that sows up everything that's before it. All of the 60, five books before. All of the promises that God makes, all of the conclusion of God's plans. So John at nearly 100 years old in his 90s was exiled to an island 30 miles off the coast of what today is Turkey. He was there for his faith. He probably thought his days were about over, but God had other plans. He sent this vision to him. Chapter one, he sees Jesus high and lifted up, glorified. He's told to write down what he saw. Then he is told to write down what was. And in chapter two and three, we find the Lord's letters to the churches. And it is really God's word directly first person to us tonight and as we gather together. Chapter four verse one, the rapture of the church takes place. Chapter four and five finds the church in heaven, worshiping the Lord lots to learn there. Chapter six verse one and two, the great tribulation begins with the taking out of the church. The first three and a half years is revealed under the first seal that the Lord removes from a document that was given to him. A scroll, a title deed. The Antichrist comes to power without a shot being fired, if you will. He has a bow without arrow. He's very manipulative. But beginning in chapter six verse three forward, we spend almost the rest of our time in the Bible. In this book, I should say, in the last three and a half years, where the Antichrist comes to a rebuilt temple, demands to be worshiped as God, says if you don't take his mark, you'll die, you can't buy, you can't sell. And then the fallout begins of that issue. And seals two, three and four, the rest of chapter six. Tell us of the 42 months of war and famine and death and suffering that have been caused as a result. In chapter seven, there is a pause as the Lord and introduces us to 144,000 sealed JWs, Jewish witnesses. And the innumerable multitudes that begin to gather in heaven as the death right rate goes up, but those who will not accept, if you will, that kind of life, their lives are taken from them and they are calling upon the Lord for justice. They are told to wait. They were closed in white robes. They are told there's many more coming. And in this end times with the judgment of God falling, they are dying in faith by the multitude. We then arrived at the six trumpet judgments or actually the six, yes, the six, beginning in chapter eight and nine. The first four trumpet judgments are known as the one third judgments as a third of something upon the earth dies as a result, something that sustains life. We are told in chapter eight, verse 13, China is told, "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." There's three more to come. And in chapter nine, we were given the fifth trumpet releasing some demons from the abuso, from the bottle musk pit led by the devil himself, Abaddon or Apollion, like scorpions that can sting and hurt. You read chapter nine, it's very frightening. But there will be five months of torture if people will wanna die, but they cannot. But the pain will be insufferable, the maybe the most tragic verses are at the end of chapter nine where it says, after all of this, there's a lot of folks that just wanna repent, they just will not turn away from their sin to follow the Lord. If you ever wondered how dark sin can get, these are the kind of pronouncements that you just wanna shake your head out. Daniel when he was writing said, at this time of trouble, such as the nation has never seen or ever will see, they'll be great suffering. And certainly this judgment of God upon a unbelieving world while the church has been delivered is just described here. Jesus said in Matthew 24, unless those days had been shortened, the very elect couldn't survive. No flesh could be saved. So horrendous times, how close are we to the coming of the Lord? I believe very close, the world seems very prepared. The world has certainly seen some horrific times in their history from the bubonic plague to World Wars, the slaughter this past century of six million Jews. As the world for the most part, sat idly by, the natural disasters, the earthquakes and the floods and hurricanes and droughts and terrorist attacks. Now these pandemic this last year and three months, nothing is gonna compare to this. This is worldwide, it is constant, it is God's wrath, it is a result of our unbelief. And he is now in great mercy bringing punishment, but punishment will come. Before the seventh trumpet sounds that will bring forth the last seven judgments, they're called the bull judgments. And they will, as we've mentioned, I think three or four times, the bull judgment, the last seven, occur within days or weeks, not months, and they are mirror images to the trumpet judgments, except they come with greater intensity, but they're all seven of them are in the same order that we find them when we look at the trumpet judgments. Again, God pauses, and it seems like at the end of six, there's always a pause to either look around to see the fruit or just to give us encouragement. So the sixth have come and gone. We looked at the sixth last week as this angel from the Euphrates River is released, and he rides forth with millions of demons, if you will, to plague a third of mankind so that they die, verse 18. Before they wanted to die, they could now, they may not want to, but they will. And yet, verse 20 and 21 says, "It still seemed to have no effect on many." Tonight, we begin chapter 10. I just tell you as a layout, 'cause it seems to me, if you can have the chapters, if you can see them in your mind sort of as an outline, you'll keep things in order. But chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 chronologically take us nowhere. It's like we just stopped, and now we, okay, look to the right, look behind you, look around, look up, look down, you know, God gives us views around us about the things that are happening during this time, but we don't move forward. We don't get to that seventh trumpet. Actually, we're gonna get there very quickly. In heaven, the trumpet will sound, heaven will rejoice, it's almost over, they'll say. But then from our reading standpoint, it won't really be until chapter 16 that that seventh trumpet will sound in those last seven plagues will fall upon the earth before Jesus returns. So, we're tonight starting an area that we call, you can call them parenthetical chapters, they're just kind of in parentheses, you stick them there in the chronology. They're gonna give us a fuller view what's happening during this time, especially the last 30 and a half years of judgment and the timeline, like I said, won't really move forward. You'll hear the trumpet sound, I think in chapter 11, verse 15, next week. But then, following that, it'll still be quite a bit of time before on the earth, we'll see the result of that. The theme of the chapter tonight, and we're only gonna look at this chapter, it's only 11 verses, is the declaration of God's intention and to take full possession of the earth, to come and to rule and to reign, to fulfill every prophecy and promise that God has made, to establish his kingdom upon the earth, and to declare to John, very clearly, it's almost over. I know we're only in chapter 10, and it's a long way to the end of the book, but it's almost over. Like I said, we're parked for these next four chapters, just we're parked in the parking lot, we're just looking around. And so the Lord is giving us much to look at and think about and know about during this time, but we're not moving forward. We're really closer to the end than we are to the beginning, and yet the Lord will look back and say, well here's the things that have been taking place that we haven't had a chance to look at yet. The suddenness of the many judgments near the end of this three and a half year timeframe, Jesus compares to the time of Noah's days. He says in Luke chapter 17, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. And so great upheaval, people just kind of ignorant of what is going on, unbelief running where Ampit. In chapter 10 and again, in chapter 11, we're given three very important testimonies. The first is from a mighty angel. We'll look at him tonight. That will literally say to John, there'll be no further delays. This is, we're running downhill now towards the end. We will hear from two very specially chosen witnesses, whom God will use mightily and protect until they die. And then he'll raise them up again three and a half days later. And then we will look at the elders in heaven, declaring God's soon coming victory and the assurance of that. In chapter 12, these are all these parentheses and chapters. The Lord will show us how he has protected his nation and how the Antichrist being barred from heaven at the three and a half year mark, turns his anger and his frustration against God's people. He knows his time is short. The narrative here in chapter 12 will tell us that since Israel has brought forth a son and he gave his life and rose into heaven and is coming again, the enemy has always stood against him. But this time, he's going for blood and God is going to move this nation to a place called Petra or Selah in the wilderness to protect them for these three and a half years, even opening up the ground to armies that would chase them down and destroy them. So we're going to look at that in chapter 12. In chapter 13, we'll see the beast that comes from the sea and that comes from the earth, the Antichrist himself. In chapter 14, the Lord will show us 144,000, pretty much done with their jobs, if you will, standing with victorious with him in glory. We'll be told about an angel that flies through the skies with an everlasting gospel. We'll be told about some angels flying around saying, "Don't take the mark, you'll seal your fate, don't do it." All during this three and a half year timeframe that we haven't looked at, that God wants to kind of color in for us. But tonight, chapter 10, so that's kind of what we're looking forward to. It does seem that chapter 10 is spiritual in nature, and I say that to mean this. This angel that we see here does not seem to have a period upon the earth to men, but that he is only seen in heaven or in John's vision, if you will, he clearly demonstrates the victory that Jesus is about to bring. He prepares to claim the earth for him, and it does seem like it is a very near event. So like I said, everything in the Bible screams, it's almost over. And if you've been reading this on your own and tried to think it through and how this must have gone in these months, you know, you can't wait. We know that no angels nor Jesus himself is declared in the Bible to have returned physically to the earth during this time. So it's hard to place this event upon the earth, not until the end of the tribulation, but the point of chapter 10 is very, is clear. Whether you place this in heaven upon the earth and that's the discussion, the message is, hey, it's almost over. And I would say to you tonight as a Christian, hang in there, it's almost over. You know, the Lord is coming. He's coming. Maybe you last 100 years and then you go, but he's coming. Right, and maybe he comes for all of us and we all leave together, which is what we would obviously prefer. So it won't be long now. But even here in the final kind of chronological events that will hurry us to the end, chapter 10, you could call the chapter, the end is in sight, John, it is almost here. For all of us reading it and for John having to view it, and I can just imagine what's gone through his mind, having to watch all the tragedies that have unfolded before him, you know, it's left him on his face. It's left him in tears. It's left him bewildered. He doesn't know where to turn sometimes. This must have been tremendously good news. And to know that you and I tonight are closer to the Lord's coming is very encouraging 'cause our nation doesn't seem to be getting better. So if you're suffering and waiting for Jesus, great hope, if you're not suffering, but you're waiting for Jesus, still great hope. Well, here's what the first four verses say. John writes, "I saw still another mighty angel "coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud. "And a rainbow was on his head. "His face was like the sun. "His feet like pillars of fire. "He had a little book open in his hand "and he set his right foot on the sea "and his left foot upon the land. "And he cried out with a loud voice "as when a lion roars and when he cried out, "seven funders uttered his voices, their voices. "Now when the seven funders uttered their voices, "I was about to write what I heard a voice from heaven "saying to me, seal up the things "which the seven funders have uttered "and do not write them." The question obviously becomes, who's this angel? There are many Bible commentators that will tell you this is none other than Jesus himself coming to demonstrate or to declare that his victory is near, that John will soon see the victory over Satan that is, who is currently, as we've read, causing the world to suffer the rampage that is going on the terror, the Lord is coming to take the earth, land and sea. This angel shows to John, to the rest of us reading this prophecy, that as in heaven, it has been declared, Jesus is worthy to take the scroll and open the seals soon upon the earth. His right to those things and his rule will be found. In other words, it wasn't just an act in heaven, this was a declaration of the truth and it will be enforced. Those who teach that this angel is Jesus turn to the description of the angel is poof, proof, that's proof, that's proof. He comes down from heaven in a cloud, well that sounds familiar. The Lord is often associated with the clouds. Acts chapter one, it is ascension, right? He disappeared into the clouds. In the same manner that you saw him leave, in the clouds he'll return to you. We read in Matthew 24, I think verse 30, the signs of the son of man will appear in heaven and the tribes of the earth will mourn and they'll see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with glory. Now those are references to a second coming, mind you, but they will use those verses often. Chapter one way back when we started, remember verse seven, it says, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him." And they'll look upon him and they've pierced the tribes of the earth will mourn. So they use those verses. In the Old Testament, in the Exodus, the cloud was God's presence by day. It signified, they could see it with their eyes that the Lord was with them and with them in the wilderness. That cloud that covered the tabernacle of meeting, that was the glory of the Lord. He makes the clouds his chariot, I think we read in the songs. They mentioned this description here, a rainbow upon his head. The last time we see a rainbow in the book of Revelation was in chapter four, verse three. It was around the throne of the father, a reminder as we mentioned earlier of the Lord's promise. It is mentioned for the first time back in Genesis chapter nine, as a sign of God's covenant with man that he would never destroy the earth again in a flood and he won't. This time fire is going to be falling in brimstone and the day of the Lord will come and the heavens will burn with a great noise and the elements made melt with a fervent heat. And so Peter describes the judgment that is coming upon the earth this time. But they mentioned this cloud or this rainbow upon his head. His face is like the sun. You might remember back in chapter one, verse 16, John's description of the resin Lord. He says that his face or his countenance was like the sun that is shining in its strength. Like he couldn't look at the Lord in his appearance. And so they say, well, you see, this has to be the Lord. You remember Moses hanging out with the Lord there in the mountain and coming down and it says his face shined. And so he covered it. But he didn't cover it because it was too bright. He covered it because it was fading. And it began to go away after he was kind of a passing and temporary, if you will, glory, if you will. I think Paul mentions it that the face of Moses, your glory of his countenance, but that glory was passing away. It was, you know, the relationship with the Lord was that that's not gonna be a permanent one. We read here that his feet were like pillars of fire. And again, if you go back to Revelation 1, 15, they describe the feet of Jesus as like fine brass, burned or refined in a furnace. The alloy of judgment in the scripture is brass, the brass pull upon the serpent. It speaks of judgment for sin, if you will. So with all of these descriptions, they conclude many Bible commentators that there's none other than Jesus, who now shows John in the spirit. If it didn't happen in heaven in a demonstrative way rather than upon the earth, he shows him in the spirit the victory that he would soon accomplish so that John might be encouraged as he waits for that seventh trumpet in that final judgment to come around, the final round of judgments. But similarity does not necessarily mean identity. I wanna at least give you a couple of things to think about. And I should say to you, whatever side of defense you land on because these aren't always easy verses, the lesson will stay the same. It's almost over. But here's a couple of things to think about if you read those things as well. Number one, in verse one, the word for another angel is the word alos. Alos as opposed to heteros. Heteros means of a different kind. But alos means of the same kind. Maybe the best example I can give you, if you have a pen that you love but it's leaking, you might go to the store and say, "I want one just like this." But you don't really want just like that when leaking, you just want one like that, that doesn't leak. But it's the same kind. As opposed to every time I get one of these pens at leak, so I want another kind of pen. And that's the word heteros. Well, the word alos is here just means an angel of the same kind is the last angel that we ran into. And so the very reference will take you back to chapter five, verse two, where the word strong there is the same word as mighty here. And the angel in chapter five, verse two is certainly not Jesus. The same word later describes another angel in chapter 18, also not Jesus, but the same word of description. The angel in chapter 18, verse one, by the way, also has very God-like appearances, though he's not God. It says to me, seems better to understand this angel as an angel that the Lord sent. Because from all that I can gather from the scriptures and remember God wants us to know him. So you stick with what you have. Jesus is the lamb in heaven in the process of opening the scales, passing out the wrath of God upon unbelieving man. And he seems to be there until chapter 19, verse 11, where we read, and I saw heaven's opened and behold a wide horse. And he who sat upon it faithful and true in righteousness. He judges, makes war, and the Lord comes riding out of heaven. So my personal persuasion is this is just an angel that bears the marks of the Lord's anointing, but is not the Lord himself. However, I think what you like. Secondly, since I'm arguing, Jesus is not described as an angel anywhere else in the book of Revelation. In fact, he's not described like that anywhere in the New Testament after his birth. That's a word that is not used to describe Christ. In the Old Testament, he is oftentimes proclaimed the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ as the angel of the Lord. And so we see the Lord prior to his birth appearing in the Old Testament time and time again, but then he is clearly called the angel of Jehovah. And you'll find that phrase used a lot, and you'll find the attributes of that angel being only the attributes that God possesses. And so that is very different. Certainly, there are many mighty and strong angelic ranks. There are 75 references to angels in this book alone, and they all have to do with their service to the Lord. Specifically, I'm strong to do the work that God has given me to do. So it is my view that this is not Jesus. It is a divine emissary whose great glory and declarative actions indicate he's acting as God's authority, asserting God's rights, and declaring to John this is a bad over. But having said all of that, at the end of the day, the identity angel is of little importance compared to his declaration. All right, I got that out of my chest. Verse two, in his hand, he has a little book that is open. His right foot lands on the sea, his left foot on the earth. And like I said, I just truly believe this is a vision that John is given in heaven not taking place on the earth, though it certainly may represent the earth. I get a picture of a huge angel, the one who is coming to tell us about the victory Jesus is bringing. Again, this little book, some believe that this book is the title scroll, that Jesus is opening up, right? And it's getting smaller because much of it has been accomplished. I would suggest to you that rather than it is that scroll, which it seems to me Jesus still has in his hand, that it is rather a small list of things that still need to be accomplished before the Lord is coming. And that that scroll doesn't leave Jesus's hand. In fact, I think the words even, as we get down to verse eight, nine, 10, and 11, will support that as John has given this scroll to eat and what the effect it will have on his body. Also, a few chapters ago, remember, no one was even worthy to take it or so much as look at the scroll. And so we really can't be handing this off to some guy now, chapter five, verse three. And John takes it, like I said, eats of it and it disappears. So I just really believe that this scroll, because of the message that he is bringing John, is that there's little left to do, but what is left to do is difficult. You're gonna have to write it down, see it through, but the Lord's coming. We're near the end, we're not just getting started. John, there's not much more to hang in for. Verse three tells us that this angel cried out with a loud voice like a lion that is roaring. Lions only roar when they are sure of their prey, but it sounds like the kind of roar that might send a chill down your spine. Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah, will roar as he returns. I think Amos writes in chapter three, verse eight, a lion has roared. Who will not fear, the Lord has spoken. I like that. Yeah, you hear that, that's the Lord. Yeah, that's gonna give you a little chill down your spine. Joel writes in chapter three, the Lord will roar from Zion. He'll be a shelter to his people, as the heavens and earth shake. He'll be a strength through the children of Israel. So as the lion is the king of the beast, Jesus is the Lord of lords and the king of kings. As this angel roars, notice seven thunders utter their voices and John has been told to write down what he sees. And so being an obedient guy, he's okay, I'm gonna start writing. And as he begins to write, obediently, as he'd been told to do chapter one, verse 11, verse 19, twice, write it down. This time he is that that order is countermanded and he's told not to write it, don't write it down. We've read before of the thunderous voices that proceed from the presence of God. You might remember chapter four, verse five. I think it's Psalm 29 says, "The voice of the Lord "is upon the waters, his glory thunders "through the heavens over the many water." It really is a communication of God's declaration of who he is and of his power. We have no idea what John heard. This is the only event in the entire book of revelations that is sealed up. We're just left in the dark. God still has some things that he's hidden. Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29 says, "The secret things belong to the Lord, "but the things that are revealed "belong to us and our children forever." So I don't know why God doesn't want you and I to know what was said, but I have no idea what it is. And by the way, if you go read books on Revelation, there'll be a hundred guys that will tell you that they know. I don't know. And apparently John didn't want to tell me. Interestingly enough, if you go back to Daniel, I think chapter 12, as Daniel was given a lot of revelation that he wasn't very much aware of either, or understood very well. The Lord said to Daniel, "Shut up the words, "seal up the book until the time of the end "when many will run to and fro, "and knowledge will increase." The book of Daniel for many years was a mystery to Bible teachers. But then as things began to unfold and God began to work, the things that he prophesied, especially historically as far as kingdoms and those that would come one after the other, things began to immediately become very clear. And so today, I think for the most part, Daniel is an open book, but here's a sealed revelation, right? It is the glory of God, I think it wasn't Proverbs 25, it says it's the glory of God to conceal a matter. So the Lord has decided not to show us, but we have these seven voices. Interesting, if you go read Psalm 29, I think it is. The Psalmist writes of the voices of the Lord, seven of them, and his declaration about the character and the nature of God. So the only place that you'll find seven voices mentioned in a row and they're articulated, beginning I think in verse three of chapter 29. So we can guess at what it might be said. I suspect it has something to do with the mystery of God finishing his work or fulfilling his promises, but for now, John has told this is off limits and I guess we'll find out when we get there. One thing we know for sure, the world is about to figure out that they've chosen incorrectly by putting Jesus to the side. It is a dangerous thing, and I was talking to a guy about this this week, and it's a dangerous thing for us to simply follow the majority. Follow the truth, right? Not the majority. And I thought about it. Years ago, Aristotle and Ptolemy told us that the world, you know, the earth was the center of the universe. And if you read anything that they wrote during their time, if you didn't agree with them, you're an idiot. You were a dummy, you didn't pass muster, you know. Can't you see it, you know? It's as clear as the nose is on your face, but the problem is that position brought up more questions than answers. Yet any challenge to their position was usually swept away with, you know, you just don't understand or you're not smart enough to get it or it's like almost was intellectual suicide. And then some years later, Copernicus and Kepler came along, they had proof and truth that the sun was the center of our solar system, that the planets, you know, followed in elliptical kind of orbit around the sun and all of a sudden, all the questions were answered. Everything made sense. There was no any doubt anymore, no more arguments amongst men. So, look, if Jesus is at the center of your life and life revolves around him, what you're getting from the Lord is answers. Things become more clear. If he's over here somewhere, you're always lost, right? You're always kind of muddled and if your life doesn't revolve around him, you're gonna end up with more confusion and questions than ever answers about life and life after death. But that's kind of what was unfolding before us here, right? Tonight, you can by invitation give your life to Jesus, but eventually you're gonna be forced to decide, live or die. Eternity or no eternity for you as far as life is concerned. And that time is sneaking up here as John is being told by the angel about this victory. Well, we read in verse five, the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hen to heaven. And he swore by him who lives forever and ever who created the heavens and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it and the sea and the things that are in it that they should be no delay any longer for in the days of the sounding of that seventh angel, the seventh trumpet, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished as he declared to his servants the prophets. So the angel stands a stride of the earth and the sea, raises his hand and takes an oath to the Lord, takes an oath in the name of Jesus that these things should now go forward without delay and when the trumpet sounded, next chapter, in those days, the mysteries of God, the plans of God, the ways of God will be finished, but once he's declared to the prophets for centuries. So we're on the brink, if you will, of seeing those things accomplished. Although the seventh trumpet will be carried out over a number of days, notice the word days there is plural, it marks the spot from which the angel declares it will be soon over. Nothing will delay. There won't be some protracted waiting period. There won't be some lengthy suffering period, if you will. All the things will have like full speed ahead. For he will, I think Romans 9, 28, it says of the Lord, he will finish the work and he'll cut it short in righteousness and the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. And I think it really does refer to this, this final, if you will, judgment that is to fall before the Lord returns. Man has been living with God's patience delays for century and the world around us grows worse and sin, but now the Lord says it's time, it's about over, I can't wait no longer. So, today we get opportunities to receive the Lord, to repent, to turn to Jesus, to be saved. We're encouraged to have that heart as well towards others, as we share with them, be patient like the farmer, for the fruit of the earth. Just hang in there, pray a lot, God is working. But here, the word to John is, no more delays, no more waiting, no more waiting. Jesus could have certainly wiped out man long ago. I am surprised he hasn't done it. But he continues to offer life through his son, God is patience, but understand at some point, patience runs out. And when that patience of God runs out and there's this oath of urgency with no more delays, you better know that this is about over with, right? Even the devil is very much aware of that. We'll read in chapter 12 that the devil has come down to you with great graft, knowing he has but a short time. So he's aware that this is about it, this is about over. The mystery of God revealed to the prophets, which really is a big chunk of information, right? The promised Messiah, his death and manner of salvation, his resurrection, salvation by grace, the church age, the 70th week of Daniel, God's dealing with Israel, his return. It's all of the mystery of God, right? It's God's plan to save man. It's what God has been laying out. And as we near the end of all of these things, God's prophetic promises are not just personal in salvation, they're applicable to the world's redemption, right? To the world having to answer to him. So notice in verse seven though, the word days. And I think that'll help you when you get to verse 15 of the next week where we read the words and the seventh angel sounded. There was a loud voice in heaven declaring that the kingdoms of the world had become the kingdoms of our Lord and of this Christ. He'll reign forever and ever. But then you still have seven or eight chapters to go and wait a minute. I thought we're gonna hurry through this thing. Well, in time frames, we are in sense of the Lord writing out what we want us to know, maybe not so fast, but certainly the clock is moving and it's moving quickly. So everything that the Lord reveals to us, and even in the New Testament that, you know, what's declared a mystery in the New Testament? The church is, the gospel is. Jesus, our Jews and Gentiles belonging to one body is called a mystery, the bride of Christ. It's called a mystery, the rapture of the church. It's called a mystery, Christ dwelling in you and I, by his spirit is called a mystery, the revelation of Jesus, terms of the rapture, is all called a mystery. But then very soon, no more mystery. Everything will be revealed when the Lord comes to rule and to reign. In fact, when Peter gave his first sermon in Acts chapter three, he, in speaking about the Lord, says whom heaven must receive, talking about Jesus' resurrection and ascension, until the time of the restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all of his prophets since the world began. So the Lord has gone until he's returning to restore all that he has promised to do. Well, verse eight then says this, "Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again, the one that told him not to write." And he said this, "Now go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth." And so I went to the angel, said to him, "Give me that little book." And he said to me, "Take and eat of it and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth." So I took the little book out of the angel's hand and I ate it. And it was as sweet as honey to my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, "You must prophesy again about many people's nations, tongues and kings." So John has now sent to this angel to take from his hand this little book that is open, open because it is open business. I think it hasn't been done just yet. And he's told something interesting, eat the book. The word means to consume or to devour or to swallow. It would suggest, eat God's word, digest it, let it have its effect upon you. John would have to do more in sharing God's word to get to the bitter end. And John, I think, has worn out. Put yourself in John's shoot, he's 90 years old. He's seeing stuff that no one's ever seen. He's trying to explain things he can't understand. People are dying, the judgment of God is falling. He's spent in heaven, had enough, not yet. He's still got a few more messages to prepare, John. But hang in there. You have some more to write, more to say, more work to be done. But it's almost over. Just keep speaking and the Lord will use you. You remember in, I think, Jeremiah chapter 15 that the Lord came and spoke to Jeremiah, who was also just discouraged. In fact, I think, as a teenager, he really thought, gosh, I can't do this anymore. And the Lord came to speak to him, and he said to him, and Jeremiah responded to the Lord, your word was found, and I ate them, and they were to me, the joy and the rejoicing of my heart, and I called you by your name. And he found that, gosh, the one he was representing, the Lord was worth representing. Though it just overwhelmed him with grief. And certainly, the opposition was very difficult. You might remember in Ezekiel chapter three, the Lord said to Ezekiel, son of man, I want you to go and eat what you find there at the temple and eat the scroll, and then speak to the house of Israel. So he said, so I open my mouth, and I ate the scroll. And he said, feed your belly, fill your stomach with the scroll I gave you. So I ate it, and it was like in my mouth, honey. And so the Lord said, go and now speak these words to my people. And the words of the Lord was a joy to Ezekiel, but it was terror to the people. So in all of those examples as you watch that language take place, that the idea of eating what God has said really means to consume what the Lord has said to you. Or in other words, you've got to depend on it for your spiritual wellbeing. You might remember in John chapter six that Jesus had spent a long couple of days with folks that had followed him around the Sea of Galilee just to get some free meals. And the Lord rebuked them at some point and said, you know, you shouldn't labor so hard for the meat that perishes but the things that lead to everlasting life. And then he said to them, I'm the living bread that comes down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, pointing to himself, they'll live forever. And the bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world. And they began to argue with each other and said, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? And Jesus said, truly I say to you, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you'll have no life. Whoever eats the flesh and drinks the bread, we'll have life in them, else, no life. And this is a lot of people went gross and stopped following the Lord from that day forward. As they turned away, Jesus said to his disciples, will you also leave? And he said, Lord, where do we go? You have the words of eternal life. And then Jesus said this to them, the words that I'm speaking to you are spiritual and their life. In other words, he explained to them, he didn't mean take a bite out of my arm, but he meant that as you eat food to remain strong physically, you need to partake of Jesus in that same manner to be alive spiritually, right? Your relationship has to be with him. Spiritual truth have to be spiritually received. And the Bible is oftentimes compared to honey and water and bread and milk and meat eat. The point is you can't share with others what you have in partaken of yourself first. It's hard to give out what you don't have been taken in. Here, John, eat. Let it have its full effect on you because you're gonna have to go tell others. You can't eat mechanically. You can't just fill your head with information or you can't quote verses that don't touch you. Ministry is always the place of overflow. In other words, you take it in, then you can give it out. If you're trying to just give it out, but you're not taking it in, you know, I were to a quote in my Bible. I don't know where I got it from. I should probably write down when I hear it where it comes from, but the quote says is, if it doesn't work at home, don't export it. If it doesn't work at home, don't export it. If it isn't ministering to you, you can't really give it to anybody else. And I guess that's why you're in church tonight, right? If you're consistently in the place where God can speak to you, then you find yourself able to give out what you're taking in, which is one of the reasons we always encourage people in ministry here to come to church a couple of days a week, not because we're seeking to lay rules upon them, but we want you to be full so that you can then give out what you've received. We have to partake first. We can't browse, we can't scan, we can't just read. We have to devour, right? The word has to be an integral part of our life. And if food is good for my body, then the word of God is good for my spiritual wellbeing. So John did what he's told. He took and he ate. He is hungry for the things of God. And it did taste great to him. The Lord is coming, God is good. He's going to rule the world. But it came with a two-edged sword, right? A bitterness. There was going to be great joy, but tremendous suffering. And so John, he's told in verse 11, you're still going to have to speak to the world. You're still going to have to speak to the nations. You're still going to have to address the people. It was going to get worse before it got better, but John found it difficult to continue because it had touched him so deeply. So one of the things I think you have to come away from the book of Revelation with it, since you're not even here in all of these chapters, is to worry about those that would be left behind. Enough to tell them otherwise, right? Enough to invite them to church and invite them to Christ and share the gospel with them. Because if it doesn't move you, if it doesn't move within you, it won't move you out. It can't get you out. You've got to be touched by it first. And John went through it. The gospel is like that. To the believer, the Bible is filled with great promises. It's glorious, it's hopeful, the love of God, the awesome future that we held. But there's also a tremendous amount of bitterness, right? There's judgment to come. Paul said to the Corinthians, we're like the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and the aroma of death of those that are dying. Who's ready for that? You got to deliver good news and bad, right? Who's sufficient for these things I think Paul wrote there in Corinthians? So we're going to share God's word out of sincerity and just trust the Lord, he's going to do a work. So John is left in chapter 10 after all that we've been reading, all of those six trumpets, the six judgment, even the seal judgment before that, just overwhelm the Lord, stop them, show them an angel. This is victory is coming and hang in there buddy. There's just a little bit left to do. Well, in the next chapter and we're not going to, like I said, go back into the moving forward until chapter 16, we will talk about the inner temple, the temple that has to be built for the Antichrist. Now, if you've been to Israel or you've seen the temple mount, you might say to yourself, how in the world are they going to build the temple up there? It'll be a war like you've never seen. I don't know if you watch the uprising here for those 11 days last month. Much of it took place up on the temple mount. It's always a place that's a little tense. We take our groups up there. You can always kind of sense, you know, the stress and the spiritual battle. But the Lord has a solution for where this temple can be built that we'd love to show you. And I think it's been taught actually in Israel for quite some time. And so we're going to look at that. We're going to look at the two witnesses that are going to come. These two witnesses are cool, man. I like these guys. I want you to look up and figure out who they are and tell me. Before I tell you, you tell me. You'll get one of them. I want to hear your other one. I think you'll get the one. Anybody know who the one is? Excuse me? (laughs) Somebody yell. Eliza, for sure. Who's the other one? You sure? I'll see you next week. It'll be awesome. (audience laughs) Let's have a word of first. Father, thank you tonight for your goodness to us, for your love for us. And Lord, I know as we're studying these verses that there's so much to consider and think about. And yet you paint these pictures for us. You give them to John so that we might, as the church, be encouraged by what we read and be changed by what we learn. And Lord, it's the only book that we were told as we began, that the reading of it and the study of it will bring a great blessing to our lives. That you've promised that through this word, blessed are those who read it, who those who hear it, those who keep the things written there up for the time is near. Chapter one, verse three, that's what he told us. So Lord, we want to continue each week to just talk together about these verses, try to just imagine what John must have seen, trying to, to hear with ears that would hear your voice and your spirit speaking, and that we'd have a good understanding. We may not have all the points clear, but we have a good understanding of what's going on in the timeframe and what is being accomplished so that we might be moved in our hearts to get out and tell the world what a dangerous place it is to live without Jesus. I know many will not listen, but some will. As we've been able to do, we came. Certainly others will come. And Lord, we believe from your word that the only reason you haven't come for the church today is you've got your eye on a few more souls. It's your desire that all men would be saved. Because of your grace, your mercy. So maybe we'd be about your business this week as we go out to tell others about you. Tonight, if you don't know the Lord, know this. He's waiting to give you life. There's nothing else you need to do, but agree with him about you. You're sinful and the judgment of sin is death for God is holy and we're not. But God's gift to you in your sinfulness is to send his son as a substitute to take your punishment, to stand in your place, to get what you deserved, to take the wrath of God who is holy and pay the debt that you owe so that he could then make you holy in God's sight through his sacrifice by his work. That's what all salvation is. God will save us from our sin. And tonight, if you'll ask him to do just that, agree with him about you and recognize who he is. You'll be born again. You'll be saved. The Lord will send his spirit to begin to live in you. And you will be his child forever more. And the work that he begins in you, they'll continue until that day. If you're here in the sanctuary, the pastors will be upfront. Come and pray with someone after we dismiss. If you're next door in the overflow room, there'll be someone in there to pray with you. If you're online, just click that button down there. The link in the description page, it'll take you to a page on our website that says, "Did you pray with Pastor Jack to receive the Lord?" And you'll have plenty of Bible studies and information there so you can begin to just go through the scriptures and understand what God's promises to you. Really no excuse the Lord has brought you here tonight to listen to his words so that he could give you life. He doesn't want you to suffer. He doesn't want you to be separated from him. The Lord doesn't rejoice in the death of the wicked, but he does rejoice in the death of the saints because the absence from the body then they're present with the Lord. So come to him tonight, give him your life. Open your heart, thank him for his goodness. And be saved, let him save you from the sin and the destruction that sin brings. Lord Jesus, forgive me, save me, wash me, Lord, make me your own. It's all he wants to hear. He is so excited that you would come. Just can't wait to hold you, love you, bless you. So come. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Well, thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and rating our podcast. You can visit us on the web at morningstarcc.org and on our YouTube channel at MorningstarCC. Again, that's @ MorningstarCC. If you'd like to support this podcast, please look us up at patreon.com/morningstarcc. Again, that's patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com/morningstarcc. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
