Revelation 10 - Thunderstruck
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Revelation 10 (NIV)
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.
He was
robed in a cloud,
with a rainbow above his head;
his face was like the sun,
and his legs were like fiery pillars.
2 He was holding
a little scroll,
which lay open in his hand.
He planted
his right foot on the sea
and his left foot on the land,
3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.
When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.
4 And when the seven thunders spoke,
I was about to write;
but I heard a voice from heaven say,
“Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.
6 And he swore by him
who lives for ever and ever,
who created
the heavens and all that is in them,
the earth and all that is in it,
and the sea and all that is in it,
and said,
“There will be no more delay!
7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet,
the mystery of God will be accomplished,
just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more:
“Go,
take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll.
He said to me,
“Take it and eat it.
It will turn your stomach sour,
but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’”
10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it.
It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth,
but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
11 Then I was told,
“You must prophesy again
about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
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Previous DIG DEEPER posts on Revelation
Revelation 10 Summary
There are two things to focus on here in this strange little chapter.
First, the seven thunders. By now you should be noticing and keying in every time you read 'seven'. We saw that the seven lampstands referred to the seven churches. We're in the middle of the perspective in which we see the seven trumpets warning mankind of God's judgment, and in the next perspective we will see seven bowls of wrath poured out.
Second, John hears the seven thunders speak (imagine what that sounded like!), but then he's told not to write down what he heard. We have no idea what the thunders said. This is critical for our interpretation of Revelation: even though this book reveals much about the future, we still don't know everything. We have to be very careful coming to hard and fast conclusions about things we are not told directly because there are facts that we do not know. Remember to stay humble as you interpret this book.
But stay tuned. The mighty angel promised that this mystery of God will be accomplished (v7)!
Dig Deeper
This short chapter ends with John being told to eat the scroll, which will turn his stomach sour, but ‘in his mouth it will be as sweet as honey’ (v9).
Here the angel is quoting Psalm 119:103, which says How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
You can probably relate how the taste of God's Word is sweet, as it communicates grace, mercy and peace into your life. But these sweet words often have sour implications for our life as they call you to kill off your old sinful self and separate yourself from the world.
Even though these Words are sweet, ingesting them into your life will cause you pain and grief as the world persecutes. By God's grace, you probably haven't experienced this 'sour stomach' in that you have not been persecuted, but you need to be ready to endure that if that's where the Lord leads.
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it (v6)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will trust God's Word, even though His will is often mysterious.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: