Revelation 10:1-11

(Revelation 10:1-11)

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

 

Chapters 10-11 serve as a comma. "Until the sixth trumpet is heard, even though severe judgment has been received, verses 9:20-21 where idol worship without repentance is the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of Christ and acts as a comma between 11:15-19, when the seventh trumpet sound, which the Lord will reign with forever, is heard. In order not to forget what this is the apocalypse for, it turns our faces looking into the future towards the present. It is a record of how those who are located between judgment and the end should live. It promises that the faithful will have protection beyond tribulation and death and the absolute reward of becoming a people of God's kingdom, and at the same time, the wicked will surely be judged.

Chapter 10 amid this pre-determined fact that John is commanded to take on the ministry of prophecy, and that the ministry of prophecy must be passed on to the church community.

Another powerful angel came to John. Between judgment and the end, an angel who has the same strength as Christ comes to the saints. An angel comes down from heaven in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head, his face like the sun, his feet like a pillar of fire, holding a small open scroll in his hand, his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the ground. Shouted out loud. The rainbow, which he gave as a promise of judgment to come again after Noah's Flood, is above his head like a crown. He wore clouds and made his feet as he led him to the pillar of cloud and fire to go to Canaan, the promised land of Egypt.

A face shining like the sun gives overwhelming glory, and stepping on the sea and the earth means that he has influence where the saints stand. He was like Jesus who would come again. However, he delivered the small scroll that had been opened to John.

The angel cried out like a roaring lion, and then seven thunders cried out. Psalm 29 depicts God's thundering, the content of which is to worship the glory and power of the Absolute who judges the world and gives strength and peace to his people. John was forced to lift a pen in admiration as he heard the sermons calling for seven complete repentance. However, he said that recording was forbidden in the sky.

This verse gives the saints great joy and freedom. Not only does it require knowing everything, but it also teaches that some knowledge must remain hidden to the end. The idea that if I know everything, I will change, and if I tell it all, people will change, it is an illusion of taking human sinfulness and society's evil too lightly. The power of the gospel does not come from knowing everything. In Deuteronomy 29:29, ``The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. 』, and 1 Corinthians 13:9 reads 『For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 』. The saints must humbly acknowledge that they are creatures who know God's will and plans in a limited way, and do what God has revealed and prophesy.

The angel raised his right hand and swore. The content of the oath is that we will not delay and that the mystery will come true when the kingdom of the world becomes Jesus's. When Jesus comes again, the mystery will surely come true. The voice of heaven commanded John to take a scroll, and he ate a small scroll from the angel's hand. The book the angel was holding was sealed with seven seals in Chapter 5, and the Lamb removed the seal, a symbol of the coming of the end through Jesus Christ. By the way, by deliberately using the word small scroll, it is emphasized that John deserved it and ate the Word humbly rather than despairing at the limited revelation, that is, the word that cannot be understood altogether.

God gave the Word, but he told John to take it and eat it. Eating the Word is something you must do yourself. Rather than just looking at the rice cake in the picture, I have to eat with a spoon in front of me. Instead of just listening to the sermon and ending it, you must meditate on and apply the Word yourself. Hearing the Word is for application in life. The Word always commands that the saints should be witnesses. He repeatedly emphasized that it is sweet on the mouth but bitter on the inside.

Living as a witness like this should not be a one-off event, but a life-long routine. He said in Jeremiah 1:10, See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. 』Quotes the word, but intentionally added the word 『again』. Just as the Word of God was given to John again, John had to continue to preach the Word again. The Word continued to drive John onto the stand.

So, John wrote this book. Saints must also do their best to live as witnesses. Just as the apostle Paul repeated (again) the labor of dissolving for them until the image of Christ was formed in the children of faith (Galatians 4:19), the saints have been wasting the capacity to maintain and take leadership in the small society of the church. Should be used to live as a witness. After Chapter 11, we will hear the story of the future again. Then we must not forget the content of Chapter 10. We hear about the future to endure and change reality. It is the promise of God that has come to the saints, and even if they do not understand everything, they will apply what they have learned humbly every day, and through those who live as witnesses, the kingdom of God will be accomplished.