sovereign – walklikejesus

Our journey through Revelation in this is the 15th post brings us to chapter 10. A recording of this will be available on the Shofar Durbanville Youtube channel.

Let’s first catch up where we are in our journey through this apocalypse. In that glorious scene of God’s throne room (ch 4), the Lamb received the Scroll containing God’s redemptive plans to renew all of fallen creation (Ch 5). As the Lamb opened the seven seals of the scroll, terrible judgments were released on earth (ch 6). These judgments were paused to mark God’s servants with a seal of protection from the final judgment (ch 7). With the opening of the 7th seal, heaven became quiet as God focused his attention on the prayers of his saints, which were mixed with the fire from his altar and poured out as six more severe judgments on the earth (ch 8-9).

In chapter 10, the scene continues, but the judgments are interrupted again (as in chapter 7). This time, the focus is on John, who is invited to move from spectator of the vision to participator in Christ’s Revelation.

In John’s vision, a mighty angel comes down from heaven, standing with one foot on the earth and one on the seas (sovereign over land and sea, refer 8:7-8). He was clothed in white, his face shone as the sun, and he had a rainbow around his head, his feet were like fire, and his voice like a lion. John describes the Angel as Jesus himself (compare 10:1-3 with 1:15-18; 4:3).

The Angel had a little scroll in his right hand (compare 10:2 with 5:7), and when he spoke, there were seven thunders. But when John wanted to record these seven thunders, like the previous seven seals and seven trumpets, the Angel prevented him and then raised his hand and vowed to God “that there should be delay no longer” (10:6). This scene is a powerful allusion to Daniel 12 – a vision about the end, where the wicked will grow more wicked and the righteous will grow more righteous.

John was commanded to take this scroll and to eat it – compare this to a similar command given to the prophet Ezekiel, with the following charge: “All My words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.” (Ezekiel 2:10-3:2, 10). As John ate, it tasted “sweet as honey”, but his “stomach became bitter” (10:9-10; compare Jeremiah 15:16 and Ezekiel 3:3). Then John is sent to “prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings” similar to the commission given to God’s prophets and apostles (compare 10:11 with Isaiah 6; Jeremiah 1; Ezekiel 3; Acts 1:8; 9:15).

From spectator to participator. This pause after the six trumpet judgments, which still left the nations unrepentant of their wickedness and rebellion (9:20-21), shows the mystery of God’s redemptive plan. Here, we see that John was invited to discern and understand God’s redemptive acts and participate in his plan. The scroll – which no one could receive and open – was now handed to John. The scroll that unleashed God’s redemption of creation through terrible judgments was given for John to take and digest. John, as with everyone who reads his words and “beholds” this Revelation, is invited to embody God’s plan – the renewal of all things…

[Read the full commentary of Revelation in Faithful to the End]