REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 10.8

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

                                                                           

Chapter Ten

The Great Tribulation

(Parenthesis)

 

 

Prelude

At the beginning of the book of Revelation, the directive given to John from Jesus Christ was to write down everything he witnesses concerning end-time events, especially with regard to the Great Tribulation.

 

During Chapter Ten's interlude, almost every verse begins with him writing, and I saw this happening, or, and I saw that happening. However, before the final verses of chapter 10, John is instructed not to write what he is seeing. This one time, God has decided there is no need to describe the gruesome atrocities caused by His wrath.

 

Some main highlights of Chapter 10 are as follows:

1. The activities and appearance of the mighty angel:

a.   He comes down from Heaven (v. 1)

b.   He is clothed with a cloud (v. 1)

c.   He has a rainbow upon his head (v. 1)

d.   His face shone like the sun (v. 1)

e.   His feet were as a pillar of fire (v. 1)

f.    His (left) hand held a little book (v. 2)

g.   He set his right foot upon the sea (v. 2)

h.  He set his left foot upon the earth (v. 2)

i.    He lifted his (right) hand to heaven (v. 5)

j.   He swears to Creator God (v. 6)

 

2. Three times the reader is told the mighty angel is standing on the sea and earth:

1. Verse 2

2. Verse 5

3. Verse 8

 

3. Speaking from Heaven, John hears three voices:

1. The voice of the mighty angel

2. The (collective) Voice of seven thunders (Almighty God)

3. The Voice from Heaven (Jesus Christ)

 

Before the seventh angel sounds the seventh trumpet, John hears the third Voice (Jesus Christ) from Heaven speak to him again…

 

 

(Verse 8)

 

And the Voice (of Jesus Christ) 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 [mighty] angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

 

In effect, Christ's command to John is, "Immediately go and take the opened little scroll out of the mighty angel's hand that is standing on the sea and earth." John must do something very unusual, thus causing him to no longer be an observer, but an active participant in the dramatic events occurring in heaven.

 

 

(Verse 9)

 

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

 

So, John is obedient (literally, John went away). As a result, three strange actions are expected of the Apostle:

1.  He is to procure the scroll

2.  He is to eat the scroll (literally, swallow and digest), the Word of God

3.  He is to prophesy or forecast its message (v. 11), i.e., the final revelations of God

 

Next, the Voice of our Lord informs John what the effects will be after he takes and eats the scroll:

a.  In his mouth

1. It will taste sweet as honey syrup

b.  In his belly or stomach

1. It will be bitter, acrid, or pungent

 

The Little Book

Eating a book has biblical significance throughout Scripture, namely, analogous to the Word of God. Consuming, absorbing, or assimilating God's Word to the point of saturation, enables blessings. In turn, a person is accordingly prepared to exhort and proclaim its contents to others with unapologetic boldness. 

 

Bittersweet

When a person hears God's truth for the first time, the Words are beautiful sounding to the ears. As one begins to comprehend its mysteries, an overwhelming delight is elicited. Consequently, the Revelation of God is pleasant to taste and becomes sweet in thy mouth.

 

Several passages reinforce the principle of sweetness:

1. Psalm 119:103 – How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

 

2. Jeremiah 15:16a – Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.

 

 

3. Ezekiel 2:8b–3:4, 10 – Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And He spread it before me; and it was written within and without (both sides): and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. And He said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And He said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them…Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, all My words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

 

Review Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:10. Perhaps one of the clearest passages in Scripture is found in the instructions given to Ezekiel by God. Eating the words of the book accurately summarizes how a person should study, digest, and fully understand God's Word.

 

Thus, in doing so, one is better equipped to proclaim its contents to others who are incognizant of its truths. And likewise, the Word of God must have saturated the personality of John, the proclaimer, before he proclaimed and exhorted his readers (v.11).

 

 

(Verse 10)

 

And I (John) 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.

 

Even though the Apostle John is exiled to the Isle of Patmos, while he is in a different dimension (the realm of the spirit world), he continues to be obedient to the Lord's command which was dispatched to him.

 

Bittersweet

Bittersweet is a word analogous to the double-edged sword - Salvation versus Judgment. As it was with John, so may it be with you when issuing its doctrines.

A. Sweet - It is only when we absorb and assimilate the Word of God one is nourished and able to assert its perceptive truths.

For believers, the Word of God becomes sweet because it promises our future hope:

1.  The Messianic Kingdom of 1,000 years of peace

2.  No more sorrow, tears, heartaches, death, and decay

3.  Wars and rumors of wars abolished

 

B. Bitter - For unbelievers, it is bitter, because of God's judgment on disobedience. The message is a foretelling of future doom:

1. Entrance into Hades preserved for Satan and fallen angels

2. Eternal punishment for sin

3. An eternal life of unquenchable thirst

 

As the Word is digested, just the contrary occurs – One has a pungent, upset, or sour stomach causing indigestion and heaviness to the heart. Namely, because the contemplation of His wrath is pronounced on unbelievers who are oblivious, and disobedient; for they purposefully reject the truth of the Gospel.

 

At this point in the drama of Revelation, these things have already transpired:

a.  One-half of the world's population was annihilated

b.  The waters turned to blood

c.  The intense heat scorched the earth

d.  The earth plunged into darkness

 

 

(Verse 11)

 

And He (They - the Seven Thunders) said (say) unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

 

Words and Phrases

1. He said unto me is translated, "They say unto me."

Seven Thunders speak once again to John. They inform him to continue going forth as God's representative, regardless of his physical or mental condition. It is incumbent upon him to foretell the newly (about-to-be) revealed final series of prophetic events (those which are revealed in the second half of the book of Revelation), to all the tongues, nations, and kings of the earth.

a.  Many peoples – The Israelites, those in bondage

b.  Many nations – Pagan people, non-Jewish

c.  Many tongues – Foreigners; speaking a different language

d.  Many kings – Those having sovereign power over a people

 

2.  Must prophesy again – a binding necessity, something John is obligated to do once more.

 

3.  Before is best translated as "of" or "concerning" many peoples…

 

Commentary

What John has witnessed and recorded thus far, overwhelms him with all the death and destruction. But there is more to write. The newly commissioned orders are encouraging John to continue, chronicling the most horrific judgments which are soon to emerge.

 

Even though the command is a reiteration, it appears as if God is allowing him to gain a second breath, so to speak. At the end of all this, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and do not give up hope.

 

We too as Christians are being given the entire counsel of God so the entire truth can be preached and revealed. Our responsibility becomes a necessity to study, learn the advanced course in personal witnessing, and utter biblical end-time truths for unbelievers in the present – Evangelism 102.

 

The theme continues to reverberate: Godless men (sinners everywhere) will be judged; Satan's demise will be made manifest. Not just a health, wealth, and prosperity Gospel, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ (belief in His death, burial, and Resurrection), the only means of deliverance and salvation. Be reminded, Jesus said:

John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

 

And the Apostle Paul Teaches:

Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

 

In the next study, as we move into Chapter 11 (the interlude amidst the suspension of Judgment), John will be seen measuring the Temple which is to be built to exist during the Great Tribulation.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   Name three voices that speak to John in this chapter.

2.   What is the description of God the Father's voice?

3.   Whose voice gives the main commands to John?

4.   What is John told to do?

5.   What is the significance of bittersweet?

6.   What additional instructions are given to John?

7.   What are the believer's responsibilities today?

 

 

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