(For link to audio & video recording on SermonAudio.com, click here )
(If you would like to receive Pastor Harris’ weekly sermons via e-mail, Click Here)
(If you would like to download the PowerPoint presentation for this sermon, Click here – The Angel & The Little Book)
(To see video of the worship service, click here to go to our youtube link
Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
July 6, 2025
◘The Angels & the Little Book
Revelation 10:1-11
Introduction
Thank you for your prayers for Diane and me while we were away. We enjoyed visiting with family and friends in Tennessee. David & his family as well as Gallinas and Walters extend their greetings to you. The Lord gave us a safe trip with the only incidence being some mechanical maintenance on the car that I had been hoping to put off until we got back. The Lord directed us to a good, nearby family business that took care of the problem while we were at the conference, so the only inconvenience was having to drop the car off and pick it up a few days later.
The conference was very good with encouraging messages focused on training up the next generation to be leaders in the church. You cannot get a mighty oak without planting acorns and nourishing saplings. The purpose of the church has always been and remains glorifying God by making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. That process begins with evangelism and baptizing those that respond to the gospel message for sinners to repent and believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and then it extends throughout the rest of life in learning to obey all the commands and teachings of the Lord. That reality is seen in church conferences because the young and old alike that are attending are taught or reminded of what the Lord wants us to do in serving Him so that we can be more like Him and more effective in our ministries upon returning home. It was good to catch up with old friends and make new ones and to encourage and be encouraged by one another.
◘I trust you were encouraged by the sermons Ed and Randy preached while I was away. There is nothing more important in life than being in Christ since the very purpose of the existence of the Christian is bound up in that reality. It is God in His abounding love, mercy and grace that has chosen us before the foundation of the world to be in Him that we would be holy and blameless before Him. It is in Christ we have redemption, forgiveness and adoption into God’s family. It is according to God’s purpose and will that in Jesus we have believed to receive His promised inheritance guaranteed by the sealing of the holy Spirit. If you missed Ed’s message, you can go to our SermonAudio page where it has been posted. (Being in Christ)
Randy’s message was a personal confession and encouragement toward adapting to change. (Adapting to Change). Though I am not planning to retire sometime after May next year, now is the time to be praying about the changes that are and will be coming. Pray for our existing church leaders as they take on more responsibilities, and pray for finding the right man to come and shepherd this church to what the Lord has planned for the future. Part of the reason for my attending our church association’s conference was to make contacts toward that endeavor. Our confidence is that God has already chosen the right man to replace me, we just don’t know who that it is yet, but we are seeking the Lord to reveal and bring that about in His perfect timing.
◘Review
This morning we return to our study of the Apocalypse. We have worked our way through chapter 9 of the book of Revelation. Since each of these chapters builds on the previous ones, if you have missed the earlier ones in this series, I encourage you to go to our website and read or listen to them to catch up, or if you need a hard copy of the notes, you can ask and I will print those for you. ( Revelation Sermons)
◘Revelation 1 is John’s introduction to the book in which he explains his situation and the commission he received from the glorified Christ to write down the future events that were going to be revealed to him. ◘Chapters 2 & 3 are the letters from Jesus Christ to the seven churches in Asia dictated to John and sent by seven messengers to each church. Each letter had a personal message of encouragement and admonition as needed along with a copy of the rest of the book. That is important because it means that though the revelation of the future given in this book will be important to all people who live prior to the fulfillment of its prophecies, it is written to specific people living in specific places at a specific time and must be understood in that historical context. One of the great problems people have in properly understanding the Bible is failure to interpret it in its grammatical and historical context. That failure allows the message of God to be replaced by the musings of man which can be very imaginative and far different from what is actually written.
◘John is taken to heaven in the spirit and Revelation 4 & 5 are his description of what he sees and experiences there. It is majestic with God seated on His throne and angelic creatures giving praise and glory to Him. The Lamb standing, as if slain, is found worthy to open the seven sealed scroll that was in the right hand of God the Father because He had purchased for God with His own blood people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Much glory and praise are given to him by the myriads of angelic beings and all creation.
◘Revelation 6 describes the breaking of the first six seals and the wrath of God against those who dwell on the earth begins. These first six judgments correspond to Jesus’ description of the “beginning of birth pangs” in Matthew 24. ◘Revelation 7 describes an interlude in which the 144,000 Jewish witnesses are sealed before the seventh seal is broken and the remaining judgments can begin. John also describes a great multitude of martyrs from the tribulation that are standing before God’s throne in heaven and serving Him.
◘Revelation 8 describes the breaking of the seventh seal which brings about the trumpet judgments which are far worse than the previous six seal judgments. The first four of these are directed at elements of creation in which a third of the earth’s trees and all the green grass is burned up; a third of the sea becomes blood killing a third of all sea life and a third of all ships; a third of all fresh water becomes wormwood killing many men; and then a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars are darkened so that there is no light from them a third of the time. There is no longer any means by which the events occurring can be explained by any natural means for some of these defy the laws of physics. ◘It gets worse in Revelation 9 with the fifth and sixth trumpets. The fifth trumpet releases terrible demonic creatures from the abyss which torture all people that do not have the seal of God upon them for five months. The pain from the stings from their scorpion like tails cause people to seek death, but death flees away. With the sixth trumpet death returns and a third of mankind is killed by an army of 200 million horsemen. Their “horses” do the killing and defy interpretation by anything currently known to man and would be best to be understood in a similar way as the creatures from the abyss. They are supernatural demonic creatures specifically equipped for this task.
◘Even with all of these events which are clearly supernatural intervention by God in judging those who dwell on the earth, the vast majority of mankind do not repent from their idolatry, murder, sorceries, immorality and thefts. This brings us to chapter 10 which describes an event that occurs between the sixth and seventh trumpet.
◘Revelation 10
1 And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; 2 and he had in his hand a little scroll which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the earth, 3 and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.” 5 Then the angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven, 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He proclaimed good news to His slaves, the prophets. 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” 9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
◘The Strong Angel & His Announcement – Revelation 10:1-7
Revelation 10 is usually described as an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet. However, the sixth trumpet judgment, which is the second woe announced by the angel in Revelation 8:13, does not conclude until 11:14, so the events described here and in the first part of chapter 11 are part of the second woe that begins with the blast of the sixth trumpet. It is an interlude only in the sense that the events described are in contrast to the judgment that comes upon “those who dwell on the earth” who are unrepentant. ◘The term interlude is used in plays and concerts to describe a pause between acts or a musical contrast between music sets in a concert or verses of a hymn. Using that sense, these events in chapters 10 and 11 which are still part of the second woe might be better described as different scenes in the act of the sixth trumpet. The events described here may overlap in time with earlier events, but time has not stopped. What has changed is the focus. These are events that are in preparation for the blowing of the seventh trumpet and John’s attention is switched to something meant to be an encouragement to believers. Even in the midst of the terrible judgments that occur in the tribulation, God is in complete control to fulfill His promises and carry out His will. The strong angel and his announcement are the answer to the cry of the martyrs under the throne of God in the fifth seal of “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10). God will judge those who dwell on the earth and avenge their blood.
◘The Description – John describes the strong angel in verse 1. “And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.”
◘Throughout chapter 9, John’s viewpoint has been from heaven from which he has observed the wrath of God poured out on the unrepentant on the earth, but now his position shifts to the earth and his attention is drawn to an angel coming down from heaven. ◘This is another strong angel of the same kind he had seen earlier in his description of heaven that had proclaimed with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” (Rev. 5:2) There is apparently many of these strong angels for another one will appear in Rev. 18:21. There is quite a bit of speculation as to the particular identity of this angel including claims it is Michael or Gabriel or even Christ, but since the text does not give such a specific identification, it is not germane to what is being revealed to John and therefore to us. In addition, it cannot be Jesus since the second person of the triune Godhead would not swear the oath recorded in verses 5-6 we will look at in a few minutes.
◘This angel is described as “strong” both due to his loud voice described in verse 3 “as when a lion roars,” and due to his appearance which is glorious. Clouds are often part of the description of descending from or ascending to heaven (Psalm 104:3-4, Daniel 7:13; Isaiah 19:1; Acts 1:9; Revelation 1:7), which is why some have erroneously thought this is a reference to Christ, ◘but this angel is “clothed with a cloud.” This adds to the majesty of his appearance and is most likely also related to the judgment he is going to announce since clouds are often associated with scenes of judgment in the New Testament and occur four more times in Revelation.
◘John notes that a rainbow was upon the head of this angel and that his face was like the sun. Perhaps the bright light from his face refracted in the cloud with which he was clothed causing the rainbow, but like the rainbow described in Rev. 4:3, it would be a sign of mercy pointing back to the rainbow as the sign of God’s promise after the flood not to destroy the earth in the same way again. Mercy is part of God’s character, so that even in His wrath and judgment, mercy is still present. That is why in Habakkuk 3:2 the prophet could pray with confidence, “O Yahweh, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O Yahweh, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.”
◘A face shining like the sun is part of the glory of this angel as it was for Jesus at the transfiguration and at His appearing when He commissioned John in Revelation 1. The angel in Daniel 10:6 was similar in having a face that had the appearance of lightning. Feet that appeared “like pillars of fire” add to this. A pillar of fire was one of the ways in which God manifested Himself during the Exodus and wilderness wanderings. This is a glorious angel.
◘In verse 2 John informs us that this angel “had in his hand a little scroll which was open.” The term “scroll” is a diminutive form of the word, so this is a little scroll. It is better translated as “scroll” than “book” since we think of a “book” as individual pages bound together that would lie flat, and this would have been a long page that would be rolled up. This little scroll should not be confused with the seven sealed scroll of chapters 5 & 6. First, this scroll is open and so its contents could be easily read as compared to the earlier scroll which was sealed. Second, there is no direct reference to what is written on this little scroll compared to the earlier scroll which had its contents revealed by what happened as each of its seals was opened in succession. Clues about what was written on the little scroll will come in John’s reaction to it and his re-commissioning in verse 11.
◘Verse 2 also describes the position this strong angel takes. “He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the earth.” This has to be a large angel to do that, and note his right foot is upon the sea and not in it. That demonstrates this is a spiritual being that is manifesting himself physically to be seen, but he is not of material substance to sink into the water. His stance symbolically demonstrates possession of both sea and land with authority to execute the judgment he will pronounce that will involve all who dwell on the earth.
◘The Actions – Verse 3 then states, “and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.” ◘The content of what the angel cries out it not recorded, but the volume and pitch of it are noted, and it is loud and deep. A lion’s roar can hit 114 decibels, which is a little louder than a trombone, a chainsaw, a leafblower, or a jackhammer, and can be heard up to five miles away, in part because it is at a lower pitch which carries farther than a high pitch. That it why fog horns are at a low pitch.
◘In response to the angels loud cry, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices which are also loud – a thunder clap is 5 decibels more than a lion’s roar. Note that this is not just “seven peals of thunder,” but is “the seven peals of thunder.” Though we do not know the identity of these seven specific peals of thunder, it must be assumed it was known at that time or John would not have used the article for them. ◘Most often commentators equate this with God’s voice since so often it is described as thunderous such as in talking with Moses (Exodus 19:19), the descriptions by Elihu (Job 37:2,4,5), David (2 Samuel 22:14; Psalm 18:13), and the people who heard God answer Jesus’ prayer in John 12:28-29, and also with the Lord’s thunder being associated with His judgment (1 Samuel 2:10; 7:10). However, this is specifically the seven peals of thunder, so perhaps there is a tie to the Holy Spirit? We can only speculate.
◘What is known as described in verse 4 is that this was not just loud noise, it was articulate speech. And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.” John could understand what was said in the seven peals of thunder, but when he prepared to write down what was said, ◘ he was stopped by an unidentified voice that came out of heaven. John usually refrains from specifically identifying heavenly voices and he has heard quite a few voices in heaven. However, it was specifically the glorified Jesus that commissioned John to write and brought him to heaven in the spirit to be shown what will take place in order to record it (Revelation 1:11, 19; 4:1), so it would make most sense that it is the voice of Christ that he is hearing from heaven commanding him to seal up was said and not write it down. It is not uncommon for the Lord to reveal things to one of his prophets or an apostle beyond what he would be allowed to tell others.
◘This happened to Daniel who had been given great understanding of what would occur in the future much of which he did record. However, in Daniel 12:4, 9 he was told concerning additional revelation given to him to “conceal the words and seal up the book until the end of time.” That information will eventually be revealed, but that was not the time to do so. Paul also experienced something similar. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 he speaks of being caught up into Paradise and hearing inexpressible words, but which a man was not permitted to speak.
◘There has always been a restrictive element in what God has revealed to man. For one thing, there is an overwhelming amount of material that could be revealed as John states at the end of his gospel account (John 21:25), “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” ◘2 Peter 1:3-4 makes it clear that what God has given to us is sufficient for life and godliness, though we must be diligent to learn His precious and magnificent promises and live according to them. As much as people may claim they would like to know more about God and His will, relatively few spend the necessary time in His word to learn what He has given us. ◘Second, God knows what we can and cannot handle. That is why Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to Yahweh our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” Keep that in mind as you live your life. You are obligated to know and live according to God’s word. If you do not, there will be natural negative consequences. If you do, you will know and experience God’s blessings of walking with Him.
◘It is also common for people to claim they want to know what the future holds and many will seek answers from fortune tellers in ignorance they are opening themselves up to demonic forces which are limited in knowledge and characterized by lying who will lead them astray. ◘Only our sovereign creator is omniscient to know absolutely all of the future, declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and He is also wise, loving and kind to only reveal what is good for us to know. Judging from the reactions of many people to the Biblical prophecies that are given, I can only imagine the reactions if even more was revealed. For the vast majority, that would not be good. ◘There are those that are so focused on prophecy they seem to forget that life is lived in the present, and there are those so afraid of prophecy that they neglect it and fail to live in the light of its warnings that motivate living a godly life in the present (2 Peter 3:10-15). God in His merciful and gracious wisdom told John to not write down what the seven peals of thunder said. There is enough in what God has chosen to have revealed to us.
◘The Oath – In verses 5-7 the angel swears an oath regarding what is coming. In verse 5 John clearly identifies who is making the oath. 5 “Then the angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven.” This repetition emphasizes the position and authority of this angel. ◘Lifting his right hand is the normal gesture of taking an oath – one still used our own court rooms today. This is the same gesture and response of the angel in Daniel 12.
◘As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 5:33-36 in the Sermon on the Mount, the strength of an oath is dependent upon what is sworn by. The idea of an oath is to strengthen the affirmation of what will be said by calling on the person you are swearing by to judge you if you are false, or if swearing by an object, to forfeit it if you are false. ◘ This angel “swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it.” This is the eternal God who is creator of all things in heaven, earth and the sea which is simply an emphasis on being creator of everything with nothing existing left out. This is the God who has the complete right and freedom to do whatever He desires with anything He has created – which is everything.
◘The oath itself is at the end of verse 6 and verse 7, “that there will be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He proclaimed good news to His slaves, the prophets.” This is the answer to the martyrs cry in the fifth seal in Revelation 6:9-11. How long before God brings judgment and avenges their blood? ◘No more delay. Literally, “that time no longer to be,” not as a reference to the end of time, but no longer a delay of time between the seventh angel sounding his trumpet and the mystery of God coming to its finish. When the seventh trumpet sounds, everything moves rapidly as prophesied to its culmination. This is essentially the same point the angel in Daniel 12:7 makes about all God’s plans coming rapidly to fruition in the final time frame described.
◘What is this mystery of God? It is bringing His kingdom to fruition. It is bringing about God’s final series of wrath on the evil people dwelling on the earth and the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom. This was the message to God’s prophets throughout the ages. God will punish evil and bring about the salvation of His own. There will be a blessed future kingdom of God in which righteousness reigns. That is a consistent message in the prophets, especially Amos, Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah. That is an encouragement to all that pursue righteousness.
◘The Little Scroll – Revelation 10:8-11
The nature of the little scroll is seen in John’s reaction to it in verses 8-11. This section begins with a command coming from heaven. 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” ◘John is commanded by the same voice, which is most likely Jesus who has been giving him commands, to go get the scroll from this same angel. He is described for a third time as standing on the sea and earth which again emphasizes his position and authority over the whole earth. This also shows that John is on the earth where this angel is located.
◘John heeds the command and is warned by the angel in verse 9, So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” John has moved from being just an observer and witness to what is happening to an active participant. ◘The instruction to “eat” the scroll uses a Hebrew idiom for receiving knowledge similar to our use of the word “digest” for thinking thoroughly about what has been learned. However, the instruction is also physical in the same way Ezekiel was commanded to eat the scroll fed to him (Ezk. 3:1-3).
John does as he is commanded and it had the effect the angel said it would – vs. 10, “And I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.” Again, this is the same action Ezekiel took and initially John had the same experience. ◘It was a sweet as honey in his mouth which was the sweetest food available in the ancient world. But for John, when the scroll reached his stomach, it made it bitter. Bitter is an antonym to sweet and describes a sharp sensation to sound, taste or feeling. It upset his stomach. Both the sweetness of eating the scroll and the bitterness that followed were to the whole scroll and not different parts of it being sweet or bitter.
◘The symbolic meaning is simple and obvious. The scroll is a word from God about what was going to happen in the future. The initial reaction is pleasant and even joyful. In this immediate context it would God being in control and keeping His promises. The ancient prophecies would be fulfilled and He will bring about His kingdom on earth as stated in verse 7. In bringing this about God will also judge the wicked and avenge the blood of the martyrs which answers their cry of how long before that would be done. ◘There is a definite sweetness when we think about God’s future kingdom and the wonderful blessings it will brings. There is also a certain satisfaction that comes from justice finally being carried out on those who have caused us and those we love so much pain, ◘yet at the same time, there is also a sharp pain in knowing the judgment necessary to bring about God’s kingdom will destroy much of what you have known as already described in the seal and trumpet judgments, and it will also include people you care about that refuse to repent.
◘The symbolic meaning of John’s physical consumption of the scroll is verified in the re-commissioning he is given in verse 11. 11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” The “they” in the immediate context would refer to the voice from heaven (vs. 4 & 8) and the angel (vs. 9) who had spoken to John. (Note: A few Byzantine Greek texts have a variant of this as the singular, “he,” and so shows up in the T.R., but it is so rare that it is not mentioned in the textual apparatus). ◘Since John is told that he must prophecy again, this is a renewal of the commission he had been given in 1:19 and a strengthening of him in preparation for what will come with the blowing of the seventh trumpet which will be even more intense and burdensome.
◘John’s continuing prophecy will be concerning four groups: people, nations, tongues, and kings with the qualifier, “many,” applying to all four categories. Together these make a comprehensive referral to all mankind with an emphasis on the rulers. People are those of the same family line of descent. Nation refers to those who are grouped together by common culture or political boundaries. Tongue refers to those who speak the same language. Kings refer to the rulers over any of these groups. What was still to be revealed to John and recorded so that we will know what the future holds concerns all of humanity.
◘Conclusions
The future has always been in God’s hands and remains that way. The future events described in Revelation in which the wrath of God is poured out is frightening to say the least and disturbing even to believers. ◘But that fear is meant to have a positive effect. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom, and fear of God’s coming judgment is meant to cause the unrighteous to turn from sin and self to the Savior. It is also meant to motivate the righteous to continue to strive to live a holy life. ◘Up through Revelation 19 there is scene after scene of God’s wrath coming upon the wicked. However, punctuated throughout the book are sections such as this one today that are meant to encourage the righteous that will be saved during and will go through the Tribulation that God is still in control and is bringing about His will culminating in the fulfillment of all the prophecies He gave to His slaves, the prophets. Revelation 20-22 is the great hope of the righteous. Christ’s return, the establishment of the millennial kingdom, the final judgment of the wicked, and then eternity in dwelling with God in the new heavens and earth.
◘If you have not repented to turn and place your faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, today is the day of salvation. Do not delay to get right with God.
If you are saved, these same truths apply to whatever you may be going through. God is still in control, He knows what He is doing, and He has you in His loving hands to bring you in life to just where you need to be. He never leaves you nor forsakes you. He is completely trustworthy for the present and the future.
Sermon Notes – 7/6/2025
The Angel & the Little Book – Revelation 10:1-11
Introduction
https://www.sermonaudio.com/broadcasters/gracebibleny/
Review
Revelation 1: _______________ and commission of John
Revelation 2-3: The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia – ________ in people, time & place
Revelation 4-5: John’s ____________ of the throne room of God
Revelation 6: The breaking of the first ______________& the wrath of God on those who dwell on the earth
Revelation 7: An interlude – sealing the 144,000 ____________ witnesses; the great multitude of martyrs
Revelation 8: Breaking the 7th seal & the first 4 _______judgments – 1/3 of trees, sea, water, celestial bodies
Revelation 9: The 5th & 6th trumpet judgments on the wicked – creatures from the abyss; _______________
Even with these supernatural judgments the vast majority of mankind fails to _____________
Revelation 10
The Strong Angel & His Announcement – Revelation 10:1-7
The 6th trumpet which is the _________________ ends in Rev. 11:14
This is an interlude in the sense of being different ___________ in the same act
The Description – Rev. 10:1-2 – John’s position shifts from an observer in heaven to the ___________
This is another strong angel of the ____________he had seen in Rev. 5:2, & there will be more (Rev. 18:21)
The angel is “strong” as demonstrated by his loudness, appearance, and ___________he takes on sea & land
“Clothed with a cloud” – glorious in appearance & probably related to ___________
Rainbow upon his head – glorious appearance and probably related to ____________
Face like the sun & feet like pillars of fire – _____________ appearance, holiness
A little scroll that was open – it could be easily read, it is not the 7 sealed scroll, it concerns the __________
Right foot on the sea, left foot on the earth – possesses ________over both land and sea to execute judgment
The Actions – Rev. 10:3-4 – A loud cry. A lion’s roar can hit _____decibels & low pitch heard up to 5 miles
The seven peals of thunder respond with their own _______- also loud, a thunderclap can reach 120 decibels
The identity of these 7 __________peals of thunder is not known to us – God? Holy Spirit? Specific Angels?
It is articulate speech which John could _______________,
A voice from ____________ (probably Jesus – Rev. 1:11, 19; 4:1) stops him from writing it down
A similar thing happened to __________ (Daniel 12:4,9) and to Paul (2 Corinthians 12:1-4)
There has always been a ____________element to God’s revelation – there would be too much (John 21:25)
God has given us _______ that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4)
God knows the limits of what we can handle & keeps some things ___________ – (Deut. 29:29)
People commonly want to know the future & often seek to learn it from ___________ sources.
Only our sovereign God knows the future (Isa. 46:10), & in His wisdom He reveals _________what we need
Prophecy is not to obstruct life in the present, it is to _________godly living in the present (2 Peter 3:10-15)
The Oath – Rev. 10:5-7 – Lifting the right hand is the common __________in taking an oath – it still is
The strength of an oath is dependent on the object or ___________sworn by (Matthew 5:33-36)
This angel swore by the ___________ ___________of everything in heaven, the earth & the sea
This oath is the ___________ to the cry of the martyrs in the 5th seal (Rev. 6:9-11)
There would be no more _________between the 7th trumpet & the culmination of the prophecies (Dan. 12:7)
The mystery of God here is His bringing His ____________to fruition – as had been revealed to the prophets
The Little Scroll – Revelation 10:8-11
The angel is described for the 3rd time as standing on the sea & land – John is to get the _____from the angel
John heeds the command and becomes an active ______________ and not just an observer
To “eat the scroll” is both ____________ as with Ezekiel 3:1-3 & also figurative of thoroughly learning it
The scroll was sweet in his mouth, but _________ (upsetting / painful) to his stomach – he physically ate it
The symbolic meaning is that the _____________still will be both sweet to hear and bitter to experience
There is sweetness in knowing God is in control and will fulfill His promises for a future _____________
It is upsetting to know God’s judgment _________so much including those you care about that don’t repent
They symbolic meaning of John’s _____________consumption of the scroll is verified in his re-commission
He is to prophesy again – a __________ of his commission in 1:19, & strengthening for what is to come
The prophecies will encompass many people, nations, tongues & kings – a referral to _______ humanity
Conclusions – the future is in God’s hands & He will fulfill His will
Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge & wisdom – which should bring about _________& holiness
Revelation details God’s wrath on the unrighteous, but it is punctuated with encouragement for the _______
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children: Draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following:1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times John & the angel are mentioned in the sermon. Talk with your parents about how prophecies of the future are both sweet and bitter to the righteous.
THINK ABOUT IT! – Questions to consider / discuss with others. Review the first 9 chapters of Revelation and outline their major points. What does the appearance & position of the strong angel reveal about him? Why is John stopped from writing down what the seven peals of thunder said? Why does God reveal some things but conceal others? What is the significance of this angel swearing by the eternal God, the creator of all things? What is his oath? What is its significance? What is the mystery of God preached through His slaves, the prophets? When will it be finished? Where is John when he gets the scroll? Does John eat the scroll? Explain. Why is it sweet in his mouth? Why is it bitter in his stomach? What is he re-commissioned to do?
If you would like to receive Pastor Harris’ weekly sermons via e-mail, Click Here)
Grace Bible Church Home Page || Sermon Archives
For comments, please e-mail Church office
To unsubscribe, click here