Revelation 10

but let's turn tonight to revelation chapter 10 as we continue our journey and coming to the end of our journey through the bible wrapping it up in the book of revelation and we are just about halfway through the book of revelation almost through the whole bible john said i saw another mighty angel now we are in the midst of the seven angels that stand in the presence of god who are given trumpets to sound and with the trumpets there come corresponding judgments of god upon the earth but this is a separate angel from them and is he is called a mighty angel now the word angel is a title of an office it is not speaking of a nature jesus is referred to in the old testament many times as the angel of the lord the ministers of the seven churches in that are addressed in the book of revelation are called the angels of the churches and that is because the greek word translated angel means messenger and so it can be a divine messenger it can be a human messenger and usually the name is a reference to those spirit beings created by god in the numbering into the millions that worship the lord and that are serving him but if you're a messenger of god the word angel would apply to you i believe that this mighty angel because of his description is none other than jesus christ you notice that he is coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud and a rainbow upon his head jesus said and then shall you see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory and then in mark 14 62 when the high priest said to jesus are you the messiah jesus said i am and you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven when jesus after his resurrection had been with his disciples for a period of about 40 days they were gathered with him on the mount of olives they're near bethany and he ascended into heaven and a cloud received him out of their sight and there stood by them two men in white apparel that said ye men of galilee why do you stand here gazing into heaven for this same jesus shall come again in light manner as you have seen him go into heaven and so we see here the mighty angel coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud and with a rainbow upon his head his face as it were the sun go back to the description of christ in the first chapter and his feet as pillars of fire again taken from the description of christ in the chapter 1 of the book of revelation it is interesting that daniel the prophet had a vision of jesus as he was coming to the father to receive the authority to rule over the earth and daniel describes him in his chapter 6 as clothed in linen revelation chapter 1 john sees him clothed with a garment daniel sees him girded with gold john sees him with a golden girdle daniel sees him with a body as light burl which is sort of a clear diamond type of stone and john sees him his head and hair white as wool daniel sees him with a face like lightning john sees him with the countenance of the sun daniel sees him with eyes like lamps of fire john sees him with eyes as a flame of fire daniel sees him as uh with arms and feet like polished brass john sees him with feet like fine brass daniel describes him as having a voice like a multitude john describes his voice as like many waters so we see how the description sort of parallel if you were there you would describe it in your own terms but the descriptions would be rather similar as we see that they are the description of daniel and the description of john as they see the lord in his glorified form so he's coming the description could really only describe jesus christ his face as it were the sun his feet as pillars of fire he has in his hand a little book that is open or a little scroll that is open and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth back in chapter 5 we were introduced to a scroll that was in the right hand of him who sits upon the throne it was sealed with seven seals and the mighty angel with a strong voice said who is worthy to take this scroll and loose the seals and john began to weep when no one was found worthy in heaven and earth or under the sea until the elder said to john don't weep behold the lion of the tribe of judah has prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals in chapters 6 through 8 we see as the seals are broken and the subsequent judgments that come upon the earth with the breaking of the seals of this scroll as we studied it we showed that this scroll was probably the title deed to the earth that was forfeited by adam to satan jesus came to redeem the world back to god that was his purpose in coming he said i've come to seek and to save that which was lost and when satan tempted him he took him to a high mountain showed him the kingdoms of the world and he said oh if you will bow down and worship me i will give these to you because they are mine and i can give them to whomever i please jesus did not dispute satan's claim to be the possessor of the world in fact jesus called him the prince of this world the ruler of darkness and he rules over the earth it was forfeited to him by adam he still is in control it is not until we get to chapter 13 that he turns his power and authority his throne over to the antichrist the man of sin but jesus came to redeem the world back to god and he paid the price of redemption been redeemed through his blood the scripture said and back in chapter 5 as we are there in heaven worshiping him as he takes the scroll the title deed we declare his worthiness to take the scroll and to loose the seals because he was slain and thus redeemed us by his blood out of every nation tribe tongue and people and he's made us unto our god a kingdom of priest and we shall reign with him upon the earth the time has come for him to lay claim to that which he purchased in the book of hebrews we are told that he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death but he is now crowned with glory and honor and god has put all things in subjection unto him but the writer says we do not yet see all things in subjection it that part hasn't yet been fulfilled he is coming though to lay claim paul writing to the ephesians talking about the wonderful work of jesus on our behalf declares that he has given to us the holy spirit which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession jesus purchased the earth when he died on the cross he has not yet laid claim to it satan still controls and rules but he told us to pray thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven and as we get into chapter 10 we see him coming now the scroll is opened he is worthy he can fulfill the requirements within the scroll the scroll opened he puts one foot on the sea one foot on the earth and he declares that there shall be no longer a delay he cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth back in isaiah 31 verse 4 isaiah said for thus hath the lord spoken unto me like as a lion and the young lion roaring on his prey when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him he will not be afraid of their voice nor abase himself for the noise of them so shall the lord of hosts come down to fight for mount zion and for the hill thereof then in chapter 42 13 isaiah said for the lord shall go forth as a mighty man he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war he shall cry ye roar he shall prevail against his enemies jeremiah wrote in chapter 25 30 therefore prophesy thou against them all these words and say unto them the lord shall roar from on high and utter his voice from his holy habitation he shall mightily roar upon his habitation and he shall give a shout as they that tread the grapes against all of the inhabitants of the earth joel 3 16 declared the lord also shall roar out of zion and utter his voice from jerusalem and the heavens and the earth shall shake but the lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of israel finally amos in chapter 1 verse 2 said and he said the lord will roar from zion and utter his voice from jerusalem and the habitations of the shepherd shall mourn at the top of carmel and the top of carmel shall wither so the roaring lichen lion prophesied by many of the old testament prophets as he comes it is a roar of triumph it is a roar of victory the time has come that the enemy is to be subdued and the kingdom of god is to be established and so he declares and when he had cried the seven thunders uttered their voices now when the seven thunders had uttered their voices john said i was about to write and i heard a voice from heaven saying unto me seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not so john does not tell us what the seven thunders uttered and because john didn't tell you i'm not going to tell you either and the reason why i'm not going to tell you is because i don't know there are a lot of bible expositors who have attempted to tell you what the seven thunders uttered but john was ordered to seal them up evidently it isn't necessary for us to know god has given to us all that pertains to life and to godliness all we need to know is there the seven thunders what they uttered remains still a mystery we don't know what the seven thunders uttered uh john was about to write it but yet told to seal it up it's interesting that daniel was told to seal up the vision but with daniel it was declared it is for the time of the end and in the last days knowledge will be increased so the bible tells us that the old testament writers many of them wrote of things that they didn't understand they were curious they tried to figure out what they were writing as they wrote of the work of god and the grace of god among the gentiles and of the glorious coming of the kingdom of god and so it's interesting with the book of daniel he was told to seal up it is for the time of the end but he wasn't told not to write it he just after he wrote it he said now seal it daniel was asking some questions lord just said seal it's for the time and the end and in the last days knowledge will be increased and it is interesting as we are living in the last days how that the knowledge of the book of daniel has been unfolded and and and now as we read the book of daniel uh that now that so many of the events have already transpired it is fascinating reading now because it reads almost like a history book at this time at the time that daniel wrote it it was still future and that it was still a great mystery but now that most of it has been fulfilled we look at it and it reads like a history book and it is amazing how accurate daniel wrote the history of man before it took place and in fact so much so that daniel poses a real problem to the bible critics they have a real tough time with daniel and the only way they've been able to handle it is to say well daniel really didn't write it some fellow wrote it after it all happened and put his name daniel on it and it's a forgery that it really wasn't written by daniel well they have difficult times with that because daniel actually wrote of things that are happening today and and how could he you know that that's pretty good uh he's still writing the book and uh he wrote it last week after the newspaper came out you know um but uh here the seven thunders are sealed we'll we'll be there one day and we'll understand them and will probably understand why god had him seal them and the angel which i saw that was standing on the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven making now this proclamation and he swore by him that lives forever and ever now some people say well you see it couldn't be jesus christ because he is swearing by the father he swears by him who is living forever and ever who created the heaven and the things that are therein and the earth and the things that are therein and the sea and the things which are therein and he swore or he took the oath that there shall be no more a delay time shall be no more is is not really a good translation it is really there shall be no more delay i was in a pastor's conference uh several years ago in phoenix arizona and the speaker uh used this as his text time shall be no more because it was a pastor's conference and pastors many times have a pretty heavy schedule and they're always working by the timetable the clock the appointments set and so forth and and he was uh exhorting the pastors of this glorious day when time would be no more and you don't have to worry about watches you don't have to worry about your calendar you don't have to worry about your point time will be no more and get them all excited over the fact that one day we're going to be freed from the time schedules that we try to keep he was a brilliant bible scholar so i went up afterwards and i said you know i understand that the the greek really doesn't support that time shall be no more but in reality he is saying there shall be no longer a delay he smiled rather sheepishly and said i figured you would catch it but i didn't think the rest would but what he is declaring is there not going to be any further delay for the setting up of the kingdom of god but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound the mystery of god will be finished as he hath declared to his servants the prophets throughout the old testament there were the glorious prophecies of the coming of the messiah and the establishing of the kingdom age when the earth would be restored when the animals would no longer be wild and ferocious when there will be peace like a river when righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea the glory of god the deserts becoming as a rose the lame leaping for joy the blind beholding the glory of the lord the mute singing praises unto god these wonderful things that were to transpire when the messiah would come and establish god's kingdom upon the earth now it is also true that there were many prophecies in the old testament concerning the messiah that he would be despised and rejected by men he would be a man of sorrows acquainted with grief that he would be crucified that these other prophecies and thus the jews had a great problem trying to understand the scriptures because they seem to be so diametrically opposed to each other how can he be despised and rejected the stone would be said of not by the builders how could that all be if he is to set up the kingdom of god and reign over the earth so to solve what seemed to be a difficulty in the prophecies of the messiah they spiritualized the scriptures that referred to his suffering that referred to his death that referred to his rejection and all they spiritualized those and only took literally the passages that dealt with the glory the subduing of the nations the ruling over the nations and all and and they took those literally but they spiritualized the other passages there's a great danger in spiritualizing the scriptures unless the scripture itself warrants that it's best to just take the scripture at face value what it says god said what he meant and god meant what he said if he didn't mean what he said why didn't he say what he meant i mean that makes sense doesn't it and it's best to take the scripture maybe you don't understand it there are a lot of things that i don't understand i do have a file in my brain that is marked wait for further information and there are a lot of things i have filed in that file that i'm just waiting to get further understanding further information but in the meantime i take the scriptures at face value seeking not to draw too many spiritual analogies because when you get into this spiritualizing you sort of have a license to go anywhere with it if this represents this and this represents that and and all you can just oh mother hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor dog a bone can you picture this poor lady going to the cupboard to find a bone for her dog now we don't know what kind of a dog it was but you know and you can preach a whole sermon on oh mother hubbard and you can spiritualize it the cover was bare how many people the cupboard is bare you know there's nothing there they don't have anything for the future you know or to help others they don't even have enough for them and you can spiritualize the thing and go everywhere with it so i am careful not to spiritualize the scriptures but just to take them face value for what they say and just to believe that god meant what he said now we are told in hebrews that because god can swear by no higher he has to swear by himself you always swear by something that is greater and when you take an oath you swear by the bible you swear by god or you swear by something greater but when god wants to confirm his word with an oath he's got a problem nothing greater than god so in order to confirm what he has said by two immutable things one it's impossible for god to lie he then took the oath and so now here comes this mighty angel which i told you i believe to be jesus christ and he swears by him who lives forever and ever by the creation of god that there shall be no longer a delay but in the time of the sounding of the seventh trumpet things will be finished it will bring the glorious kingdom of god to the earth as you turn to the 11th chapter and you see the sounding of the seventh trumpet in verse 15 when the seventh angel sounded and there was a great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our lord and of his christ and he shall reign forever and ever thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven and the time has come he comes with the scroll the title deed that which he purchased as we sing in revelation chapter 5 he is purchased with his blood redeem the earth back to god and he comes now and lays claim to the purchased possession and the whole mystery is finished oh there are so many mysteries concerning god the mysteries of why god allows righteous people to suffer the mystery of why god allows wicked people often to prosper these are things that have troubled men throughout the scriptures job asked the question why do the wicked prosper jeremiah said lord i'd like to talk to you about a problem i've got i know that you're righteous but why do you let the wicked prosper and you know wield such power and it is a mystery why god allows these things there is the mystery of the patience of god in setting up the kingdom look how long we've waited since jesus purchased the earth look how long god has waited and he hasn't come yet to lay claim to that which he purpose purchased that's a mystery but on the other hand it's a mystery that you can be thankful for what if the lord had come back in 1800 where would you be you wouldn't be in the kingdom aren't you glad you waited till now you know there are some people that accept the lord here this morning praise the lord he waited there will be many that will come to christ tonight down in san diego in greg's crusade praise the lord that he waited but as he said to noah my spirit will not always strive with man there will come a day when the lord will signal the son that the time has come and he will come for his church and he'll take us to be with him and then we'll begin the great judgment of the earth prior to his return to establish god's eternal kingdom upon the earth we've been waiting a long time but when this mighty angel comes with the open scroll setting his foot upon the land and upon the sea and swearing by him that lives forever and ever that there will be no longer delay in the sounding of the seventh trumpet it will be finished these mysteries of god and the voice which i heard from heaven spake again unto me and said go and take the little book which is open or the little scroll which is open in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon the earth and i went unto the angel and i said unto him give me the little book and he said unto me take it and eat it up and it shall make thy belly bitter but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey and so i took the little book out of the angel's hand and i ate it up and it was in my mouth sweet as honey and as soon as i had eaten it my belly was bitter and he said unto me thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings the mystery of the little book sweet as honey in the mouth but bitter in the belly as we have a term he really devoured that book it is a term that refers to a person reading it with great interest he devoured it he said he read it at one sitting he really devoured the book so it is the the words it is the thought it is the teaching of the book that one devours and thus john as he was eating it it was in his mouth sweet as honey when you realize what the kingdom of god is going to be the glories of god's kingdom when jesus comes and reigns the glories of this world when it is restored as it was in the beginning when you see the world the deserts blossoming as a rose no more vast uninhabited areas of the world when you see siberia looking like hawaii and you know just the north pole a beautiful tropical jungle when you see the lion and the lamb you know eating together and all when these things happen it's going to be so sweet but when you contemplate the sin of man and the essential judgment of that sin the bitter things that the world must go through as god brings his judgment it it's when you devour it and you really contemplate it though it the the results of bringing the kingdom are sweet yet the things that bring it to pass when really considered are indeed bitter david said in psalm 119 how sweet are thy words to my taste yes sweeter than honey to my mouth solomon wrote in proverbs 16 24 pleasant words are as a honeycomb sweet to the soul and health to the bones ezekiel said moreover he said to me son of man eat that which you find eat this scroll and go and speak to the house of israel and he said unto me son of man cause your belly to eat and fill your bowels with this scroll that i give to you then i did eat it and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness so the spirit in verse 14 he said lifted me up and he took me away and i went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit but the hand of the lord was strong upon me so the bittersweet the bitterness of the effects of sin but the sweetness of the coming kingdom john is told that he must prophesy again he said unto me you must prophesy again before many peoples nations tongues and kings some interpret this to mean that john will be one of the two witnesses because in the very next chapter we are introduced to two witnesses now most everyone is in agreement that the one witness is elijah it has been accepted from the prophecy of malachi that god is going to send elijah back to the earth before the great notable day of the lord but there is a lot of discussion and differences of opinions concerning the second witness who is that second witness some say well it is john because here he tells him that he's going to prophesy again before many nations and tongues and kings but just who is that second witness well next sunday night we'll be looking at the 11th chapter and taking possibilities of who that second witness might be and so uh read ahead and we'll get into the two witnesses their ministry and we'll show you here in chapter 11 how that this particular incident could not take place until the last 25 years or so the events which are described here could not have happened 50 years ago 100 years ago technology did not exist but now today there is technology in order that this 11th chapter can be fulfilled another sign that we're getting close to the end we'll be looking at this next sunday night let's pray father we are thankful that your purposes shall be accomplished that which you have spoken shall surely come to pass your kingdom will come and we look forward to that day when your will is done here in earth even as it is in heaven and so lord we thank you for the hope that we have of the better world a world that is filled with righteousness a world that is filled with peace lord we see a world today that is torn by sin we see the wars we see the inhumanity we see the atrocities we read in horror of things that are going on in the world in which we live and lord our hearts cry out thy kingdom come thy will be done here on earth even as it is in heaven and so even lord as you closed out the book and said to john behold i come quickly we with john respond lord come quickly in jesus name amen let's stand [Applause] the pastors are down here at the front this evening to pray for you whatever your needs might be the bible tells us to pray one for another bear one another's burdens so fulfill the law of christ and so if you'd like to have someone just share your burden to pray with you about your needs come on down that's why they're here to minister to you this evening whatever type need you might have we know that god is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think and as james said you have not because you ask not and many times it's just that simple you haven't really prayed the bible tells us if two or three agree together on earth concerning anything it shall be done and so they're here to pray with you and agree with you on that request and that need that you have so as soon as we're dismissed we encourage you to come on forward they're here to minister to you tonight that you might discover the help of god the strength of god the guidance of god for the things that you're facing this coming week the lord bless thee [Music] and keep thee the lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee and be gracious unto thee the lord [Music] his countenance upon thee and give thee peace god bless you and now on behalf of the word for today the broadcast ministry of pastor chuck smith we thank you for joining us in today's broadcast for more pastor chuck's studies and biblical teaching resources visit our website at pastorchuck.org you can contact the word for today at the word for today p.o box 890-820 temecula california 92589 or email us at infopastorchuck gmail.com we'll return with more of our verse by verse bible study in our next broadcast with pastor chuck

Channel: Chuck Smith TWFT

Views: 259

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 5-8yq-2RSFc

Length: 43min 3sec (2583 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 16 2021