“Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire. He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voice…But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets....So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” So I took the little scroll from the angelʼs hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.” (Revelation 10:1-3; 7; 9-10)
The “powerful angel” is Jesus. “His face like the sun and legs like pillars of fire” are the description of Jesus in chapter vs. 1:14-15. “Wrapped in a cloud” comes from Daniel 7. “Rainbow above his head” illustration in v. 4:3. “Voice like a roaring Lion” references “The Lion of the tribe of Judah” in v. 5:5.
The mystery that is being fulfilled is the restoration of the kingdom, that is what was revealed to the prophets. The righteous dead will be resurrected, the Davidic king will be restored as king of kings and lord of lords, and it will be a completion of the old testament covenant that Israel will be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. But God can’t restore the kingdom until sin is taken care of in the covenant people. That is the mystery announced to the Prophets. Paul tells us in Colossians this is the mystery that has been hidden for ages has now been revealed., Christ in You, the hope of Glory! We being restored into the image of Christ.
The open scroll: because it is opened it means what it contains has already been revealed. It is the Old Testament, and the covenant of the promise to be delivered from sin and to restore people to live in covenant with God, be who they were created to be. So the old covenant was “as sweet as honey” in the mouth. It promises the resolution of the 5th and the 6th trumpet, the end of sin and its destructiveness. But, the Old Testament never fulfilled the promise, so it is bitter to the stomach. The promise is sweet, but the fact that the OT and the Law could not actuate the promise is bitter.
“Then they told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.” V. 10:11. The “they” are God and Jesus. They are the only two mentioned in this portion of John’s vision. We, like John who now have this knowledge, are to share this truth to the fallen Babylon, those who are without knowledge of Jesus, outside of his covenant, and outside of His salvation. Prophets in the Old Testament were mainly not about describing a future vision, but calling people to repent to the known truths about God and from the way they were living their lives outside of those known truths. They stood in the gap and mourned over their neighbors and community that were living ”lost lives” and intentionally and desperately loved them enough to speak the truth to them.
My family, We are about half way through the season of Advent. The “New Year” season of the church where we have a clean slate, new commitments of faith we can make, and new hopes for the coming year. I pray today you will break out of and repent to the silence of your faith, and “prophesy to many people.” I pray you will ask the Holy Spirit for a heart that mourns and weeps for those who do not know Jesus. I pray you will actually share with those around you the truths your know of Jesus; intentionally, out of desperate love, as if their lives depended on it, because they do. In Jesus’ name. Please ray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I want to encourage you to please join me by also sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s reading in the comment box below.
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