Revelation 14: Three Angels

Today’s reading is Revelation 14.

Angel, Angel, Angel to Those Who Dwell on the Earth

Okay, I admit it. That heading is a bit weird. But go with me on this. In Revelation 8:13, we read:

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” (ESV)

As the sealed 144,000 (Revelation 14:1-5) contrast with those sealed by the false prophet (Revelation 13:16-18), the three angels shouting their messages in Revelation 14:6-11 contrast with the three angels who blew their trumpets of woe in Revelation 9-13.

An Eternal Gospel

I don’t mean to suggest a one-to-one correspondence between the two sets of angels. Rather, the full picture of each set contrasts with the other.

The first three angels proclaimed woe; the latter three proclaimed an eternal gospel. The three trumpets declared woe, sorrow, judgment, warfare, struggle to those who dwell on the earth. The latter three angels, however, proclaim an eternal good news to those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 14:6). But what is that good news? Judgment is coming. By itself, that doesn’t sound like good news. The good news part is that fearing, worshiping, and giving glory to the true God of creation (see Revelation 4:11) makes a difference in how judgment will impact people.

Repent and Believe the Gospel

If we are not careful, we may miss the really important point the seven churches needed to grasp. On the surface, we see what seems like two completely different sets of people. Those sealed by the Spirit versus those sealed by the false prophet. Those who worship the beast and the dragon versus those who worship the Lamb and the Father.

However, let’s recall two different groups we saw in the second woe. In Revelation 9:20-21, following the warning partial judgment of the sixth trumpet, we read, “The rest of mankind…did not repent” (ESV). However, in Revelation 11:13, following the ministry, death, and resurrection of the two witnesses and a warning partial judgment in which a tenth of the city fell to an earthquake and 7000 people are killed, we read, “The rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

The two groups contrasted by experiencing woe versus experiencing gospel are not one viciously evil group who always served the beast and one righteously holy group who always served Jesus. The two groups contrasted are actually one impenitent group versus the other group who repented. This, of course, takes us right back to the seven messages given to the particular churches. What were they repeatedly called to do? Repent.

All of this also takes us right back to Jesus’s primary message when He came on the scene. “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'” (Mark 1:14-15, ESV). The gospel has always been and will always be, Repent! And you can experience the positive blessings of the kingdom, power, reign, rule, and even judgment of God. After all, as we noticed among the sealed 144,000, the issue was not how great the 144,000 were at preparing to meet God by their own strength, it was about being redeemed and ransomed by the blood of the Lamb. Only that redemption made their preparation worthwhile.

Day and Night

We must notice an incredible contrast in the middle of the three angel gospel:

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name (Revelation 14:11, ESV).

Do you recall what the accuser does? In Revelation 12:10, he accuses the brethren of the Lamb day and night. His attack is relentless. He tests and tempts and seeks a way to accuse us day and night. But hang on, if we give in to his temptations, the eternal torment will be far worse than his temporary testing and accusation.

Further, in the kaleidoscope of visions, we will come back to this judgment in Revelation 20:10. There we will learn the unholy trinity of dragon, beast, and false prophet will suffer this same torment day and night eternally.

By contrast, the redeemed of the earth who hold fast and let no one take their victor’s wreath, who have been ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, washed in His blood, and prepared to meet God on Mt. Zion are:

…before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:15-17, ESV).

Why do we hear of an eternal gospel and eternal good news? Because the shelter and refuge of King Jesus is not for a moment, an hour, a day, a week, a year. It is not even for 1000 years. It is day and night forever. And the alternative is horrific.

Which will you choose?

Today’s reading is Revelation 14.

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Revelation 11: Friends of the Bridegroom

Today’s reading is Revelation 11.

Remembering the Big Picture

Before diving into the two witnesses, let’s pull back and recall the big picture of Revelation. While the story is told in cycles in which the “timeline” doubles back on itself and repeats from different perspectives, it begins with a victorious King riding out conquering and to conquer. It ends with that King “getting the girl.” In between, there are intrigue, war, scandal, struggle, friends, enemies, victories, setbacks, even monsters. This is the story of a Hero defeating the monster in order to win the bride. He does, and He will.

However, no story like this would be complete without the sidekicks, the friends. In fact, every wedding needs groomsmen, right? In the middle of this story, we meet the friends of the bridegroom. And what makes them so great is they look and act a lot like the groom.

The Two Witnesses

The vision of the two witnesses brings together multiple ideas. First, we have the picture from Zechariah 4:1-14, the last verse of which is almost quoted in Revelation 11:4. In Zechariah’s vision, the two olive trees almost certainly represent Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor, the two who led the building of the second temple.

However, we cannot help but see Elijah and Moses in the descriptions of the work of the two witnesses as they are described in Revelation 11:5-6. Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume the soldiers sent by the king to take him captive (2 Kings 1:9-17) and his prayer prompted the 42 month drought over Israel in the days of Ahab in 1 Kings 17. Moses turned water to blood and brought plagues down on Egypt (Exodus).

From one picture we have a priest and a ruler building the temple. From the other picture, we have the representative of the Law and the representative of the Prophets.

The unifying part of the picture is this: God is working, but He’s working through people. Elijah was God’s mouthpiece to wayward Israel in the days of Ahab and Jezebel. Moses was God’s mouthpiece to rebuke Pharaoh and deliver His people from bondage. The two anointed ones in Zechariah 4 are explained clearly. God says the vision for Zechariah didn’t so much represent the two men as it did the means by which the two would accomplish God’s goal for them:

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” (Zechariah 4:6-7, ESV).

That is, the message of these two anointed ones, two lampstands, two olive trees, two witnesses is the Lord’s people can do amazing things by the Lord’s power, strength, and Spirit.

Mirroring the Messiah

We’ll talk more tomorrow about whom these two witnesses represent in Revelation. Today, let’s rejoice in whom they mirror.

God sends two witnesses, no doubt, because by the mouth of two witnesses every fact can be established and no one should be put to death by the word of only one witness (see Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:1-7; 19:15-21). These two men bear witness about Jesus to the people of God and to the surrounding nations. The people should listen.

Instead, the beast kills them. (Pause: Don’t miss this. The beast hasn’t even shown up yet. We don’t get to see him until Revelation 13. If this doesn’t convince us Revelation is not attempting to give us a chronological timeline of events either back then or today, I don’t know what will.) Though it is not specifically stated, the implication of vss. 12-13 is the two men, especially their deaths, then bear witness to the sins of the people prompting God’s judgment on the city.

But Revelation 11:8 drives home the point to remember. In case we were about to miss it, John makes sure to call the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to mind. These men are amazing not because of the powers described in the first part of their story. Rather, they are amazing because they mirror the Messiah. They testify to the people for three and a half years. Then they are dead for three and a half days. Then they are resurrected and caught up to heaven in a cloud. Don’t forget, Jesus was Himself called “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead” (Revelation 1:5, ESV).

Friends of the Bridegroom

These men are friends of our Bridegroom. We know they are friends because they follow in His footsteps. They bear witness to Him. Then they die defending His honor. Don’t forget John is on the island of Patmos “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9, ESV). Additionally, when Jesus opened the fifth seal, John “saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Revelation 6:9, ESV).

These friends of the Bridegroom did what Peter failed to do on that night in the garden, but eventually did in Rome. They kept their commitment to die with and for their Messiah. And because they mirrored their Messiah in life and death, they mirrored Him in resurrection and ascension.

That is the point the seven churches of Asia needed to see. Hang on to Jesus. Mirror the Messiah. If you do, the beast may kill you, but it can’t defeat you.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 11.

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Revelation 11: The Glory in Our Midst

Today’s reading is Revelation 11.

Measuring the Temple

After John is recommissioned through the eating of the scroll in Revelation 10, he is told to measure the temple of God In Revelation 11:1-3. Let’s not get distracted arguing about whether this is God’s temple in heaven, the temple in Jerusalem, or the church as God’s temple in the New Covenant. The message of this measuring will be the same no matter which of those we choose. Notice, John measures the temple, the altar, and those who worship there. He is to leave out the court because it is given to the nations and the Gentiles will trample it underfoot for forty-two months.

Did you catch it? Why was the court not to be measured? Because it is unprotected and given over to trampling. Why then were the temple, altar, and worshipers within to be measured? Because they are not given over to be trampled. They are protected.

The Meaning of the Measuring in Ezekiel

As we’ve already been taken back to Ezekiel by the eating of the scroll in Revelation 10:8-11, we can’t help but be transported back to the measuring of the visionary, cosmic temple in Ezekiel 40-43. In Ezekiel 43:6-12, God explained why He had the visionary temple measured and what it was supposed to mean for Ezekiel’s preaching to Israel. The temple was the place of His dwelling and the people were to stop profaning it and defiling His holy name with their idolatry. Then He specifically says:

As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out (ESV).

Whatever we make of the temple Ezekiel saw measured in his vision, God explains the entire purpose of the vision was to tell Israel to quit profaning His name and to start observing His will and carry out His statutes. Isn’t this precisely what John has been telling the seven churches?

The Meaning of the Measuring in Zechariah

In addition to Ezekiel, we see a callback to a similar scene in Zechariah. Be aware, right after the measuring of the temple in Revelation the reference to two witnesses, two lampstands, and two olive trees is a hyperlink to the two lampstands and two olive trees of Zechariah 4. Thus, the Revelation measuring is sandwiched between allusions to Ezekiel and allusions to Zechariah.

Don’t be too surprised then to recall we find a similar measuring scene in Zechariah 2:1-12. In this one, we witness the whole city of Jerusalem measured. The man measuring the city is told by an angel:

Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst (ESV).

WOW! The meaning of the measuring was a declaration of God’s protection. Though the city of Zechariah’s vision would have no walls, God would be her wall, and a wall of fire at that. Further, the city’s glory would be God Himself dwelling in and among His people. Praise the Lord!

But keep reading Zechariah and see the instruction based on this declaration:

Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them” (ESV).

Israel was called to flee into the protection of the city which has been measured, because all who stayed outside with Babylon would become plunder.

The Meaning of the Measuring in Revelation

The measuring of the temple in Revelation 11, sandwiched between callbacks to Ezekiel and Zechariah bring together both of those visions. As the 144,000 were sealed and protected under the sixth seal (see Revelation 7:1-8), the temple and altar along with the worshipers therein are measured and protected under the sixth trumpet.

However, to be in the protection of the measured temple, the Christians must not profane the name of God. They must not carry on with idolatrous practices. They must not listen to the Balaamite Nicolaitans or Jezebel the prophetess. They must not compromise with the cities around them. They must worship God and God alone. They must align with the order of the true cosmos, centered around and bowing before the throne of God.

But perhaps the significant difference between Revelation 11:1-3 and Zechariah 2:1-2 gives us the biggest indication of the meaning of this measurement. In Zechariah the entire city is measured. In Revelation only the temple and the worshipers inside it are measured, the rest of the holy city is given over to the trampling by the nations/Gentiles.

This is hard for us. But recall the messages sent to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. The church, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ was tarnished. Many in the “holy city” were faltering. Though they were “in” the holy city, they were actually living in Babylon. They were compromising with Babylon around them. Rather than aligning with God and true worship of Him, they were aligning with the nations around them, with the Gentiles around them. They thought they found safety with one foot seemingly in the church and one foot in the city. But God explains these compromisers will be trampled. Interestingly, not trampled by God, but trampled by the very ones from whom they thought they were receiving protection.

Once again, God explains if we don’t give ourselves wholly to Him, He will give us up to our compromising, backsliding, idolatrous ways. Then we’ll find out how those false gods will deal with us. They will trample us.

Fire and Glory

But let us not end on the negative note. Yes, those who take comfort outside the temple in the holy city will be trampled. But the main point of this is not to fear trampling out there, but to see the protection in the temple. Up! Let us escape the treacherous Babylon and flee into God’s holy temple, gathered around His altar, worshiping Him. Inside the temple, we stand behind a wall of fire and God is the glory in our midst. No matter what is happening in the earthly realm, that is what is happening when we pull back the curtain and see faithfulness to God from His perspective.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 11.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
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How does Revelation 11 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Revelation 10: Eating the Scroll

Today’s reading is Revelation 10.

Another Call Back

The angel giving John his vision clearly made a connection back to Daniel. We noticed that yesterday. Additionally, in the latter half of Revelation 10, he takes us back to another ancient prophet: Ezekiel.

“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give to you.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it out before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey (Ezekiel 2:8-3:3, ESV).

Sadly, God went on to tell Ezekiel his audience would not listen. They were hard-headed, hard-hearted, stubborn, and resistant to repentance. However, Ezekiel was sent as a watchman. He was sent to warn. Perhaps we can see why this call back is set in the middle of the sixth trumpet in which God declared, despite all the warnings, the people would not repent.

John’s INtended Audience

Reading on in Ezekiel, we learn his audience. He wasn’t “sent to a people of foreign speech and hard language, but to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 3:5, ESV). If I were a member of one of those seven churches receiving this letter of apocalypse, this connection back to Ezekiel would draw me up short and scare the daylights out of me. The point would be utterly clear.

John wasn’t writing to the city of Jerusalem. He wasn’t writing to the city of Rome. He wasn’t writing to the seven cities of Asia. He was writing to the seven churches of Asia. He was writing to my church. Certainly, John “must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings” (Revelation 10:11, ESV), but keep in mind Christ reigns over those whom “by your blood you ransomed…for God from every tribe language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 4:9-10, ESV). That prophesying is about us.

In this one picture, Jesus reminds His church the high calling and expectation He has for them, but also the dark fear. He has ransomed them to be a kingdom and priests to reign on the earth. However, if they do not take care, they will become the recipients of the coming judgment.

Eating the Scroll

In Ezekiel, the difference between Ezekiel and the rebellious house was illustrated by the eating of the scroll. He fed himself on God’s Word. John is called to the same measure of faith and allegiance. After all, as Jesus Himself told Satan, we don’t live by bread, but by every Word that comes from God’s mouth (Matthew 4:4). Jesus explained His food was to do the will of God who sent Him (John 4:34).

The churches had a choice. John was sending them an apocalyptic scroll (Revelation 1:11). They could either eat it or throw it away. That is, they could either read it, imbibe it, internalize it, live by it. Or they could ignore it, change it, distort it, pervert it. They could add to it or take from it (Revelation 22:18-19). However, if they did. They would experience the plagues.

Don’t miss this. The angel didn’t just say read the scroll. He said eat it. No, we don’t cook up and serve a Bible for lunch. But we need to do so much more than simply read these books of God’s Word. We must live in them. We must let them live in us. We must imbibe them. We must internalize them. The message may even be bitter in our stomachs. Sometimes the message is one of lamentation, mourning, and woe. It may cause us pain. But only by letting God’s Word get down into the very center of our being will we be victorious with Him. Better a bitter stomach than a bowl of wrath, don’t you think?

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 10.

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Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

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Revelation 10: The Mystery of God is Fulfilled

Today’s reading is Revelation 10.

The Angel Takes an Oath

After John sealed up the message of the seven thunders, the mighty angel raised his right hand to heaven and took an oath. By the Eternal Creator, there would be no more delay. God’s mystery would be fulfilled when the seventh trumpet sounds. It would all happen just like God promised to His slaves, the prophets.

Wow! Talk about expectation. The thirty minutes of silence in heaven, producing expectation for the first trumpet, don’t even hold a candle to this oath. I am on the edge of my seat awaiting the glory of that seventh trumpet. I expect it to sound right away. Nope. We’re a whole chapter away. In fact, we have to go through two visionary scenes before we get to hear that trumpet. But something incredible is going to happen.

Channeling Daniel

Before we attempt to figure out God’s mystery about to be fulfilled, we need to pay attention to the scene John’s vision is setting. Without doubt, the scene surrounding this mighty angel calls to mind God’s prophet Daniel.

While the details of the description are not the same, in Daniel 10:5-6, the ancient prophet saw an incredible vision of a man in linen just as jaw-dropping and awesome as the mighty angel of Revelation 10. Daniel sees an incredible vision. Then in Daniel 12:4, just as John is told to seal up the thunders, Daniel is told to “shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.” In Daniel 12:7, the angelic man in linen takes an oath by Him who lives forever in much the same way as the angel John sees. One interesting contrast provides a connection as well. In Daniel 12, a prophecy is sealed because the time is delayed. Further, the man in linen takes his oath that after a time, times, and half a time “all these things will be finished.” However, in Revelation 10, the angel declares there will be no more delay. The fulfillment is about to happen. We can’t help but see the connection. What Daniel said was some time off, Revelation says was about to happen.

By the way, please note that. Just as Revelation is bookended with declarations that the things written in it will “soon take place” (Revelation 1:1) and the “time is near” (Revelation 22:10) and the Lord is “coming soon” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20), right in the middle of the apocalypse the point is John’s message will not be delayed. John is not writing about something to happen 2000 years after his book was written. We may struggle to figure out how the mystery was fulfilled. We may be confused at the symbols in the chapters to come and what they represented in the days of John and his readers. However, whatever the answer is, John told His audience there would be no more delay. He simply was not writing about something that would delay until our time.

The Mystery

Possibly, to understand the mystery in Revelation 10:7, we need to trace the use of “mystery” in the New Testament. We’ll see things about the gospel, the coming of Jesus, and the inclusion of Gentiles in the kingdom. Maybe that is what the angel is telling John. However, the fact this part of the vision so clearly channels the ancient prophet Daniel, I think we would be better off looking there. Adding to this desire, we note the word for “mystery” here is found eight times in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. All eight times are in Daniel 2.

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had a troubling dream. Ultimately, Daniel revealed the dream and its meaning. The dream was of a tall statue with a head of gold representing Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. Its chest and arms were made of silver, likely representing the Medo-Persian kingdom (actually named in Daniel 8:20). Its middle and thighs were of bronze, likely representing the Greek kingdom (actually mentioned in Daniel 8:21). Its legs were of iron with feet partly of iron and clay, likely representing the Roman Empire. Eight times in the telling of this dream and its interpretation, the mystery is mentioned: Daniel 2:18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 47 (2x).

The important point about this mystery is seen in the final scene of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold” (Daniel 2:44-45, ESV).

When the Seventh Trumpet Sounds

Jump ahead and read what is declared as soon as the seventh trumpet sounds in Revelation 11:15-18.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and satins, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth” (ESV).

In that final trumpet, John will then reveal an incredible story that clearly begins with the birth of Jesus, then proceeds to a war between the Holy Trinity and an unholy perversion of the trinity and between those sealed by Satan and those sealed by God, and ends in judgment on the enemies and victory for the people of God. Hmmm. Sounds a lot like a heavenly kingdom destroying a bunch of earthly kingdoms just like Daniel 2.

The Fulfillment

Sadly, too many have looked at Revelation and said, “Oh, it must be about the final judgment and the end of the world.” Then noticing the similarities with Daniel, backfilled and said, “See, Daniel is also about the final judgment and end of the world.” That simply isn’t true.

The mystery in Daniel was about the establishing of the Messianic reign during the days of the Roman Empire and the victory the Messiah’s kingdom would have over all other kingdoms. John is now telling his first century readers the judgment on Rome was foretold way back in Daniel. Don’t compromise with Rome. Don’t be like Rome. Come out of Rome. No matter how the Romans treat you, understand God has said for a long time His kingdom would conquer them. The Christians in the seven churches have a choice. They can either give their allegiance to the emperor and follow the pagan gods or they can give their allegiance to Jesus. John essentially declares, “Look! I’m not the first one to tell you which side to choose. Choose wisely!”

Whatever struggles we might have for understanding how the specific symbols were meted out in the days of Rome and those seven Roman cities in Asia, can we from our vantage point recognize Rome is conquered? However, Jesus Christ still reigns as King.

A Lesson for Us

Those ancient Christians in the churches meeting in those seven cities could likely not imagine how their little communities could conquer Rome. But they did. We today can similarly not imagine how judgment might occur on the world cities and nations around us or how we might reign victorious over them. But let us learn from our vantage point. Rome no longer stands. The kingdom of Jesus does. One day, the United States of America, the British government, Russia, Canada, France, Mexico, Israel, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Hamas, Isis–whatever government or movement or organization tries to hold power–will fall. But Jesus’s kingdom will endure.

Repent! Hold Fast! The message is clear.

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 10 prompt or improve your trust in God?

Revelation 10: Seven Sealed Thunders

Today’s reading is Revelation 10.

Seven Thunders

The second mighty angel called out with a loud voice like a lion roaring. The heavens responded with seven thunders. While “seven” calls to mind all the sevens in Revelation, mentioning seven thunders triggers a memory in those who love and are familiar with the Psalms. In Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord thunders. It is powerful and full of majesty. It breaks trees. It makes animals run and give birth. It flashes forth flames of fire and shakes the wilderness. The careful student notices “the voice of the LORD” sounds seven times in the psalm.

The seven thunders in Psalm 29 prompted worship. All in His temple cried “Glory!” At the same time, the seven thunders prompted a further memory in Psalm 29:10. “The LORD sits enthroned above the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever” (ESV). The psalmist chose a word for “flood” only used thirteen times in the Hebrew Scriptures–once in this psalm, the other twelve in the story of the cataclysm of Genesis 6-9. The psalmist wants us to think of the flood in which God knew how to bring judgment on those who refused to repent. However, He also knew how to preserve those who worship Him. What a great reminder during the sixth trumpet of the Apocalypse. Judgment is promised, but protection is offered to those who will surrender to the Lord’s seal.

sealed

While the seven thunders bring to mind an incredible memory and connection, we still would like to know precisely what the thunders said and revealed. However, a voice from heaven tells John to seal them up and not write them down. The scrolls are opened. The message of God is available. However, that doesn’t mean God reveals everything. After all, the secret things belong to God (Deuteronomy 29:29a).

I recall John’s two summary statements about his gospel record:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31, ESV).

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25, ESV).

God could include so much more. He could reveal so much more. However, God doesn’t tell us everything. While eternity and curiosity may be in our hearts, God gives us only what we need. After all, His goal for revelation is not to sate our curiosity, but that we may do all the words of His law (Deuteronomy 29:29b). In John’s gospel, He gave us all we needed to believe and have life. In John’s apocalypse, He gives us all we need to repent and hold fast to the Lord. We have no need to speculate what the seven thunders said. Their message is not for us. The message for us is quite simple: Repent and Hang on!

An Object Lesson for Today

Please, grasp this point. Far too often we get distracted speculating, discussing, even arguing about things which simply don’t matter. Take these seven thunders for instance. We can track down all the uses of thunder throughout the Bible. We can make academic and intellectual cases for different messages God might have revealed. We can discuss why God chose not to let us know the message of these thunders. In the end, will any of that change the need for the five struggling churches in Asia to repent and the two faithful ones to hold fast? Nope.

It won’t change a thing for us. Paul told Timothy the aim of our charge is love issuing from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. However, some people swerve from this simplicity by digging into speculative matters striving to make a name for themselves as doctors of the law (1 Timothy 1:5-7). How many things do we argue about that even if we figured out the right answer really wouldn’t matter? In the end, most of our arguments are nothing more than posturing to impress others with our mental prowess. What we need to do, however, is give attention to the public reading of Scripture and simply offer exhortation and teaching based on what we certainly read there. By working on that, folks will be able to see our progress, and we will save ourselves and those who hear us (1 Timothy 4:13-16).

Let’s keep reading. Let’s keep encouraging.

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 10 admonish you?

Revelation 10: Another Mighty Angel

Today’s reading is Revelation 10.

Another Mighty Angel

As Revelation 10 begins, John sees “another mighty angel” (ESV). Are you asking what I’m asking? When did John see other mighty angels?

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (Revelation 5:1-2, ESV)

We only read of three mighty angels in Revelation. We will meet the third in Revelation 18:21, in which a mighty angel will throw a millstone in the sea as an object parable of the overthrow of “Babylon the great city.”

An Open Scroll

Surely, we can’t help but notice some connections between the first two mighty angels. The one in Revelation 5:1-2 seeks someone to open a sealed scroll. The one in Revelation 10:1-2 delivers an open scroll to John but then prompts seven thunders to sound which must be sealed (more on those tomorrow).

Despite their similarities, I doubt we are to see these two angels and scrolls as a dividing line between two major sections of the Revelation as some authors suggest. How odd would it be to rhetorically divide this book in two sections, but place the rhetorical dividing line smack in the middle of the sixth trumpet of a cycle of seven and in the middle of the second woe of a cycle of three? However, we are most certainly to recognize just as the earlier scroll allowed the narrative in the Apocalypse to occur and progress, this little scroll allows the events and narrative to continue. The Apocalypse might grind to a halt in the middle of this sixth trumpet, except another scroll is supplied.

We do not, however, have to witness another dramatized opening of this scroll as with the previous because the conquering King has already opened the scrolls. That is, all God’s scrolls, books, Word are now available for God’s people because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who is the Lamb that was slain, conquered death. The books are opened. John doesn’t need the scroll opened in order to see it, experience it, know it. He needs to eat it (more on that on Thursday).

Praise God for the Open Scrolls

Perhaps it is odd to thank God for open scrolls right now. After all, we are reading what seems to many of us to be one of, if not, the most confusing books in the Bible. It seems like this scroll is closed to us. Or at least very blurry to us.

For the moment, though, let’s rejoice in the point behind this. God’s Word is revealed. God’s books are available. Certainly, they contain some things hard to understand (see 2 Peter 3:16). Certainly, they contain some things we have to work at to understand. Certainly, we need to keep reading and rereading to grasp them fully.

However, they are available and they are open to us. So let’s get working on them.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 10 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Revelation 9: Scorpions and Serpents

Today’s reading is Revelation 9.

The Two Armies

The fifth and sixth trumpets in Revelation 9 are actually quite similar. When the trumpets are blown, two armies march forth to wreak havoc on those who are not sealed by God. The creatures who make up the armies are beyond frightening.

In the first, we find locusts with human faces, women’s hair, lions’ teeth, breastplates of iron, and tails like scorpions. These locusts are not to attack the grass and the vegetation, but only the unsealed people. However, they are not to kill any of them. They only make the people wish they were dead. In the second army, we see soldiers with breastplates the color of fire and sapphire and sulfur riding horses with lions’ heads and serpents for tails. From the mouth of the lion heads come fire, smoke, and sulfur. This army does kill, wiping out a third of mankind.

A Subtle Reminder of the Exodus

Perhaps I’m making too much out of a subtle detail in these pictures. However, we are obviously to recall the plagues on Egypt and the Exodus as we read the plagues caused by these seven trumpets. Darkness, hail, locusts, water turned to blood. Obviously, the vision shown John borrows from God’s judgment on Egypt to promise judgment on the enemies of the seven churches (and on the churches themselves if they fall from faithfulness or refuse to repent).

Because my attention is already directed toward the Exodus, my imagination is caught by the descriptions of the creatures in the two armies. While one is a locust, it has a scorpion sting for a tail. While the other is a horse, it has a serpent head for a tail. Bringing these two creatures into parallel reminds me of an ancient promise from God to Israel following the Exodus as Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land.

Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.” You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the LORD your God and go after others gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 8:11-20, ESV).

God brought Israel through the wilderness with serpents and scorpions. Also, notice also the parallel of a lack of good drinking water. But God provided Israel with water to drink.

A Subtle Warning for the Seven Churches…Again

You may be sick of hearing this, but do you see the warnings to the seven churches in that passage in Deuteronomy?

As Israel was warned not to forget the Lord or the works He had commanded, Ephesus was directed to remember the works of devotion and submission it had done at first. As Israel was warned against following after other gods, Pergamum and Thyatira were warned against listening to teaching that would lead them into idolatry and immorality. As the Israelites seemed to be blessed with life, but were pursuing a course of death and destruction, Sardis had a reputation of life but was dead. As Israel had great wealth and would allow it to cause them to forget God and forget their wealth truly came from God, Laodicea was enamored with the wealth it had and had forgotten to actually get the wealth it needed from God. As the Lord had tested Israel in the wilderness, Smyrna was going to be tested for ten days. Finally, while Israel would boast in its power as the means of its wealth, Philadelphia would only have a little power but would use it to be faithful.

A Subtle Promise to the Seven Churches

Revelation 9 clearly points out the armies only attack the unsealed masses on the earth. The sealed saints will be protected from these terrors. In case they struggled to believe it, these two armies carry that subtle reminder of how God brought Israel through the terrors of the wilderness, specifically fiery serpents and scorpions.

Of course, some people fell in the wilderness to these terrors. Those who would not listen to God and stand against the cities of men. Those who fled in terror from the Promised Land. Those who grumbled and complained. But in the end, those who faithfully followed the Lord entered the Promised Land even if that only included two from the original generation: Joshua and Caleb.

God subtly promises with this reminder of scorpions and serpents that He knows how to preserve His people from the terrors of the wilderness. He knows how to provide for His faithful when others are falling and dying. He knows how to preserve His people from plagues. But, He allows His people to face terrors and testing “to do you good in the end” (Deuteronomy 8:16, ESV). Praise the Lord!

One More Subtle Reminder

In like manner to this reminder of Deuteronomy 8:11-20. The reminders of the Exodus and its plagues calls to mind Psalm 105, in which the Psalmist praises the Lord for protecting Israel and bringing them out of Egypt by using plagues to destroy and judge the enemy.

Two things stand out in the psalm. In Psalm 105:24-25, the psalmist claims the reason Egypt began to persecute and oppress Israel is because God “turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants” (ESV). As awful as that sounds, the purpose was so He could bring judgment on the enemies and deliver Israel into something far better than they had even though they were in the best land Egypt had to offer. It may be a bit much to claim God had turned the heart of the Asian cities against His people. But the reminder is whether God specifically caused it or not, God is in control.

At the end of the Psalm, God “brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing. And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil, that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 105:43-45, ESV). The promise in that reminder is plain. Yes, the trek through the wilderness is terrifying, but the Promised Land on the other side is worth it.

These trumpets are horrific. And while the sealed saints are preserved and protected, they are still present, walking through the wilderness full of these scorpions and serpents. Keep this in mind as you read of these trumpets and warnings. But the Lord knows those who are His. He knows how to test those who are His to do them good in the end. He knows how to preserve and protect those who are His. He knows how to bring us out on the other side of the wilderness with joy and singing so we might be with Him.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 9.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 9 prompt or improve your hope in God?

Revelation 9: Sevenfold Discipline

Today’s reading is Revelation 9.

Seven spirits. Seven lampstands. Seven stars. Seven angels. Seven churches. Seven seals. Seven trumpets. Seven thunders. Seven bowls. Seven clearly matters. We are, of course, taken back to the very beginning. God created the world in seven days. God works in sevens. Seven is divine. Seven is complete. However, as we consider the notion of warnings, judgment, and an appeal to repentance, another seven might come to the mind of an ancient reader familiar with the Torah, the Law.

The Lord Warned Israel

In Leviticus 26:14-18, the Lord warned Israel what would happen if they refused to listen to His commandments:

But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consumes the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins… (ESV)

If Israel did not obey the Lord, He would bring judgments on them. But those very judgments were intended to lead them to repentance. Then…do you catch it? If they do not repent, the Lord will discipline them sevenfold for their sins. He went on to describe that discipline and then said again in Leviticus 26:21:

Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins… (ESV)

He repeats the warning again in vs. 24 and vs. 28: “I will strike/discipline you sevenfold for your sins” (ESV).

The Lord Warned the Churches

Certainly, God reveals to John what was coming for the Lord’s enemies in a sevenfold discipline represented by seven trumpets. In a few chapters, He will drive this nail home in another sevenfold discipline with seven bowls of wrath. Obviously, this is a warning against the seven cities of Asia Minor. Folks in those cities would do well to hear these messages, heed them, and give allegiance to King Jesus who had gone forth conquering and to conquer before He comes and conquers them.

But don’t forget whom the Lord had already called to repentance. John reveals to the Christians of the seven churches why they want to either repent or hang on as the charges fit their circumstances. No doubt, as we learned in previous discussions, John was not telling the Christians some day in the future literal locusts with scorpion tails or horses with lion heads and serpent tails would attack them. He was explaining if they didn’t repent, they would be horrified by the ultimate results.

The Lord Warns Us

God is explaining how bad being against Him will be not merely for those ancient disciples, but also for us. These apocalyptic images are horrific precisely because whatever they mirror in the world of our experience will be horrific. We do not want to be lulled into thinking compromising with the world is the path to peace and prosperity. It is not. It is the path to sevenfold discipline.

I for one don’t want to get in any kind of situation which can be described as longing to die, but not being allowed to. I want to be sealed. I want to be like Philadelphia no matter how little influence, wealth, and power she had. I for one do not want to face anything that would mirror the horror of horses with lion’s heads and snake tails. I do not want to face anything that would be as horrific in God’s eyes as dying in a plague of fire, smoke, and brimstone. I want to be like Smyrna no matter how much men made her suffer.

Where the shoe fits, let us repent. Where we are standing strong, let us hang on. Jesus always wins. We want to be on His side today and forever.

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 9.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Revelation 9 prompt or improve your trust in God?