January 1, 2017
Evening Service

In chapters 8 & 9 we saw the angels blow the first 6 of the 7 trumpets.  Each one brought on the earth a new plague.  The sixth trumpet alone killed 1/3 of the people remaining on earth.  Along with the ¼ of people killed in chapter six with the opening of the 4^th seal this makes over half of the world’s population has been killed.  Chapter 9 ended with this statement.

Revelation 9:21 And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

·         Even with God’s wrath in full display men still did not turn to Him for help.

 

Revelation 10:1-4  And I saw another mighty angel coming down out of the heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.  (2)  And he had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth.  (3)  And he cried with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. And when he had cried, seven thunders spoke their sounds.  (4)  And when the seven thunders spoke their sounds, I was about to write. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, “Seal up what things the seven thunders spoke, and do not write these things.”

·         A new and mighty angel now is on the scene before the seventh trumpet is blown.  His head was surrounded by a rainbow, standing for God’s covenant.  His face shone like the sun, standing for the unveiled glory of God.  His feet were like pillars of fire, standing for the judgment of God.  His feet were placed on both the land and the sea, meaning the message was for the whole world.  His voice sounded as a lion’s roar with thundering.  What he said however is hid from us at this time as John was told not to write them down.

·         Does this bother you, that some things have been hidden from us?  There are some people who can’t handle a mystery or not knowing the whole story.  We as Christians, however, are a people who live not by sight, but by faith.

 

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

·         We choose to believe things that we cannot see with our eyes or hold in our hands.  We believe them because we trust the One who told them to us.  Peter revealed to us a great truth that we can build our faith upon.  (Rom. 10:17)

 

2 Peter 1:2-3  Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,  (3)  according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue,

 

 

·         The Holy Spirit through Peter tells us that “all things” that we need pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us.  We have not been given the full understanding of certain things and we have to, by faith, accept that reality.  If we need it, we have it.  If we don’t then it is not given.

·         Peter went on to say that we need to “give all diligence to add to your faith.”  He told us to seek virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.  We are given more understanding as we actively seek and ask for it.  Jesus said in Matthew 7 that we should ask and it will be given, seek an we shall find,  and knock and it will be opened to us.  We are given what we need for the moment, yet still some things will remain unknown to us.

·          We must not, however, “wrestle” these unknown things and allow them to trip us up in our walk with God.  It is okay to say “I don’t know” or simply ask the Lord to reveal that to you in His time.

 

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall fully know just as I also am known.

·         As we walk with the Lord, we will be allowed to see things more clearly along the way, but we will never see it perfectly until that day that we stand before our Savior.

·         Whatever it was this angel spoke is not given to us at this time.

 

Revelation 10:5-7  And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth lifted his hand to the heaven,  (6)  and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there should no longer be time.  (7)  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he will begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He has declared to His servants the prophets.

·         With the word of this angel the mystery of God’s wrath will be finished according to all that has been prophesied.  All prophecy will be fulfilled with nothing left out.

 

Revelation 10:8-11  And the voice which I heard from Heaven spoke to me again, and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”  (9)  And I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take it and eat it up, and it will make your belly bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in your mouth.”  (10)  And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up. And it was sweet as honey in my mouth, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.  (11)  And he said to me, “You must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

·         Ezekiel, in a vision, was also told to eat a scroll that contained God judgements.  It too was sweet to taste yet bitter in his stomach.  There is no sweeter story than the one of salvation.  It tells of a God who loved us so much that He came down to us and gave His most prized possession in exchange for a chance to have fellowship with us.  He gave His Son to pay for our sins, a debt we could not repay, and created a path for all mankind to attain eternal life.

 

 

 

·         The story does not end there like the fairy tales where “everyone lives happily ever after.”  There are those, as we saw in chapter 9, which will refuse to accept the gift of salvation and in so doing reject God.  The wrath they will face is indeed bitter to the stomach.  God is love, but yet He is also holy and just.  He will bring judgment on those who reject Him and His Son’s offer of salvation.  It is not a pleasant thought, but it is reality.

·         Verse 11 reveals to us that John’s time of prophecy is not done yet, there is much more to share.  We will see this as we continue on into chapter 11.

 

Heavenly Father, allow us to fully understand all knowledge You have given us, and grant us the grace and faith to trust You for the rest.