“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like fiery pillars, and he had a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, and he cried out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders spoke with their voices. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!” Then the angel that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. He swore an oath by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will no longer be an interval of time, but in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, when he will blow his trumpet, then God’s hidden plan will be completed, as He announced to His servants the prophets.” Now the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. And I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.” (Revelation 10:1-11 HCSB)
Life never turns out quite like we expect, does it? The dreams, the plans, or the goals we have in our minds always seem to get muddled, even if just a little. I’m not saying things go badly, just not quite the way we expected. The vision or dream you had in your head is always just a little bigger, a little better, a little brighter, or, at the very least, a little different than the one that actually plays out in your life. But looking back, is there anything you’d actually change? Do you live with any regrets? I think if we’re really honest with ourselves, there’s always something that we could have and probably should have done better or differently. In this week’s focal passage, John faces a situation that is bittersweet— one that is both pleasant and unpleasant at the same time.
As we’ve worked our way through John’s revelatory vision, we’ve encountered some churches that were praised and commended for their obedience and faithfulness, while others were censured for their failures and unfaithfulness. We’ve heard martyrs cry out for God’s justice, and we’ve heard God’s response in the form of judgment. We’ve seen unimaginable glory and incomprehensible suffering. Some scenes have caused our hearts to soar into the heights of heaven in awe of God’s glory, even as others have plummeted us into the depths of despair over God’s just and righteous judgment. To be honest, it has all been a bit bittersweet.
This week, there’s no way around it. We’re going to be confronted with the very real struggle of the bittersweet feeling that Revelation leaves us with. Even as I began sensing that God wanted us to tackle a study of this awesome book, I was overwhelmed with a sense of challenge and some dread. Initially, I thought my struggle with this book stemmed from my struggle with those who mistakenly try to identify current events, conflicts, and even specific dates with John’s vision. But I think much of my struggle is just the bittersweet taste of God’s justice and truth in my mouth. Revelation forces us to face the facts regarding truth, justice, and God’s judgment, and it is just as John discovers, bittersweet.
We begin this scene with “another mighty angel” that descends from heaven, surrounded by a cloud and crowned with a rainbow. The mighty angel has been misidentified as Jesus by some, but it seems clear that is not the case. It may be Michael, the archangel, but that’s just my speculation. Listen to the actual description: his face shines like the sun, his legs were like fiery pillars, and he has a small scroll, book, or scrap of papyrus in his hand. He places his right foot on the sea and his left on the land and cries out with the voice of a roaring lion. When he lets loose that mighty roar, the seven thunders reply. John is about to write down what he heard, but a voice from heaven tells him, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!”
Endless speculation has been made as to what the seven thunders spoke, but the main point seems to be that we aren’t allowed to know, and it will remain a mystery. John heard but was commanded to seal it up and NOT to write it down. It would do little good for us to speculate as to what was said, but I think we can and should deduce why he was not allowed to write it down. Notice immediately following the response from the seven thunders the angel swears an oath by the (only) One who is self-existent (or eternal), “There will no longer be an interval of time…” and the seventh angel will sound his trumpet, and God’s secret plan will be completed.
There will be no more delays! A literal translation of this phrase from the Greek is: “there is no more time.” We’ve seen several “interludes” or delays in the breaking of the seals and the unrolling of the scroll. The fact that the mighty angel places one foot on the sea and the other on the land indicates the universal authority he’s been granted in making this statement – no more time, for anyone. The delays in God’s judgment were intentional, and we’ve talked about God’s patience and His long-suffering attitude towards man and our sinful rebellion. “Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9 HCSB) With the mighty angel’s declaration, those delays are now past, and God’s judgment is imminent. We’re out of time!
The seventh angel is preparing to blow his trumpet, and God’s hidden, secret, or mysterious plan will be brought to completion. What He has started, He is going to bring to its full and intended completion. But just what is this hidden plan, this secret, or mystery that is about to be brought to fruition? Well, you can hear Paul’s explanation of it in Ephesians 1-3. Here’s a brief excerpt: “The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. By reading this, you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of His power.” (Ephesians 3:3-7 HCSB)
That brings me to the last part of this passage: John is told by Jesus to take the small book or scroll fragment from the mighty angel. This is the same voice from heaven that forbade him to write down the words spoken by the thunder. As you can tell, I believe it’s Jesus’ voice. John goes to the angel and requests the little book. The angel complies but tells him: “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be sweet as honey in your mouth.” John takes the little book and eats it, and it is sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach, just as he was told. So, what is this little book or scrap of papyrus that is sweet to the taste but sour in the stomach? I think it all ties back to the scroll that only the Lamb was worthy to open and the words of the mighty angel: “There’s no more time!”
If you recall, John’s vision started with a heavenly scene of the One seated on the throne of heaven and the Lion of Judah. In God’s hand is a scroll with seven seals, but nobody was found in all of God’s creation who was worthy to open and read the scroll. But there was One who was worthy, the victorious One – the Root of David. John turns to look and sees a slaughtered Lamb who takes the scroll from God’s hand. I told you then and will remind you now, that scroll is the complete history of creation, man’s sin, and God’s plan of redemption.
In our current passage, that complete plan is brought to its intended fulfillment. Some see the “small book” as a different scroll, but I believe it is the same scroll. It may be just a fragment or small part of that scroll, but if it is, then it must be the part that brings history to its conclusion. So the book or scroll holds the full history of man and his sinful rebellion against God and the plan God put into action before time began to redeem man from his sin. Go back and read that Ephesians 3 passage, above. God’s plan didn’t fail or change when Israel rebelled and rejected the Messiah. God’s plan has always included the Gentile nations in His redemption. You and I were on God’s mind and in His plan before He spoke the world into existence.
Yes, that’s right. The mystery of God’s plan is the depth, breadth, height, and absolute limitless reach of God’s love, mercy, and grace. When I was a kid, I learned a song that goes: “Deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.” God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s grace are all vastly deeper than you can even imagine and infinitely wider than you would ever expect. Let me put that into perspective for you: God loves people you think are unworthy of His love, and God extends His mercy and grace far beyond the limits of your willingness or understanding. To put it in simple terms, you know why God loves you, but you really can’t imagine why He would love THEM! (Just for you, Princess Bride fans: Inconceivable! You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.)
For some of you, those words probably ring true, but some of you may be struggling to understand why God would ever love you. You’ve never felt worthy of anyone’s love and certainly not God’s love. If that’s where you find yourself, then you’re right where you need to be – right in the middle of His mystery, that secret plan. You and I don’t deserve God’s love, but He loves us anyway; that’s the mystery of it all. God loves us even when we are unlovely and underserving of His love. Paul put it this way: “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8 HCSB)
Yes, God absolutely loved you while you were still in your sin, but He loves you far too much to leave you there. Sweet!
So the sweetness in John’s mouth is the limitless love of God and the redemptive work of Christ to save us. But what’s the bitterness in his stomach? Actually, he’s told: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.” There’s no more time, and John must prophesy about God’s final, full, and absolute judgment upon all peoples, nations, languages, and kings— all those of the earth who have rejected His kingdom and His rule over their lives. Everything we’ve seen up to this point in Revelation has been based on limits— God’s hand holding back, not pouring out His full wrath. We’ve seen destruction and death but always in a limited sense. Go back, look at those passages— one third, not kill— only torment, five months, a third of all humans killed, but they did not repent.
“So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected — this One has become the cornerstone, and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined for this.” (1 Peter 2:7-8 HCSB)
The truth about salvation and judgment is sweet to the taste but sour in the stomach. To those who believe the gospel, it is the fragrance of life, but to those who reject Him, it is the stench of death (see 2 Cor 2:14-17). To the believers who listen to the words of John’s Revelation, it is sweet in their mouths, to unbelievers, it is bitter in their stomachs. But even to those of us who believe, it is hard to hear and “stomach” the bitterness of God’s sovereign and just judgment. But it will be just and it will be righteous. God’s judgment is never wrong, never misplaced, never too harsh. It may be sour in our stomachs, but it should be.
“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have said this, ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive?’ Tell them: As I live” — the declaration of the Lord God — “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:10-11 HCSB)
Don’t wait until you’re out of time. Taste the sweetness of His grace, now!
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