Vol.4, No.43 – October 27, 2019, Countdown to the end – 30
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from Heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire –Revelation 10:1
It is the midpoint of the Great Tribulation. The final 42 months are coming. There is a slight intermission time in God’s judgments—a break in the action.
The chapter opens with an awesome description of the archangel, the Herald-Angel. Almost every classical scholar admires the portrayal. Unfortunately, the admiration slips from the scriptural spiritual meaning; simply addressed by these “scholars” as a literary production. The fact: Scripture stands unrivaled by anything scholars meet in all the pages of the Grecian and Roman literature; indeed, anything the world has ever produced.
We get a flavor of what John saw. This archangel, his appearance includes his apparel, his ascendancy on the sea and on the land, and his actions are declarative. He speaks and the regions of the earth echo. There is a mighty roar as a lion. There is great thunder, on call, and sounding as if artillery in the skies. Everything is at his command. All this, in just the first three verses!
Some academics argue for this archangel being the Lord Jesus Christ; however, the text does not warrant that assumption.
Beginning in verse four, John intrudes upon the scene: “I was about to write, but I heard a voice from Heaven saying, ‘Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.'”
The rest of chapter ten occupies itself with John and his response to the archangel—along with a “little book (a scroll).”
John approaches the archangel and tells the archangel to give him the little book.” (I do not think that a person would approach this way if it had indeed been the Lord Jesus Christ.) The archangel’s response is, Sure, take it, and eat it. It will first taste like honey, but after you swallow, it will give you a stomachache.
Must taste like chicken. Now, I do like sweet and sour chicken, and other chicken recipes, but I do not think the scroll will be anything like that. However, this was definitely sweet and sour. Digesting the Word of God is sweet as we discover the will of God for our personal life, experience our communication/relationship with God through our prayer life, and discover God’s eternal plan for all who have accepted Christ as Savior.
Bitterness/sourness, however, is the taste of life we get, before things of our life come under the oversight of God. True bitterness occurs in the final judgment with Satan, demons, bowls, trumpets, seals, and battles—all with the clear victor, Almighty God.
In fact, we cannot hear the last word until we have heard the next to the last word –Bonhoeffer
Charles Dickens, in his Tale of Two Cities writes, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . “
Worthy are you, our Lord and God! Revelation 4:11
He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches! Revelation 2:7
Behold, Jesus is coming soon Revelation 22:6
Life Application
The context of this section of our Scriptures contains the sweet message of grace, and the bitter message of judgment and damnation. The Bible is a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways. It is both bitter and sweet.
Where do you and your friends sit with regard to the sweet and the bitter?
