Revelation: Part 27

Now, this is a chapter that’s strange. I noticed that most expositors who write commentaries on the book of Revelation usually have very little to say about this chapter. They just gloss over it. It’s poetic, it’s this, it’s that, and don’t say much about it.

But I find this chapter to be extremely important. Now, I want you to realize, in the course of the book of Revelation, we’ve arrived at a very critical point. We’ve just gone through 12 consecutive judgments, six judgments in the seals, the so-called seal judgments, seventh seal opened up the six trumpets. And so we’ve seen 12 increasingly devastating judgments brought on the world, and that brings us very near the end of that seven-year period that immediately precedes the return of Christ to the earth, which is called the Tribulation.

And so at just that point, we saw a third of the population of the earth being wiped out at the last half of Revelation 9 last week where we saw the asian invasion that was spurred by demonic forces that had been prepared to stir this up. Now, there’s an interlude. We’re brought right up to the point where we are just before the final utterly devastating judgments that will bring the earth to the point where it can no longer sustain life, part of Christ’s coming at the moment he does, and reinstituting the ecology so that man can continue to live. So we’re at that point, and so at that point, God once again shows his grace by holding up and giving man a chance, one more chance, mankind, to think about what has happened.

Look at the evidence of God’s direct intervention in history and to see that he still offers them a gift of forgiveness and eternal life. And so it’s in this interlude and it’s the longest one in the book we’re brought right up to the end of the Tribulation, and then we have this interlude where we have chapter 10, and I call chapter 10 the ambassador from galaxy h. And you’ll see why I say that. H, of course, heaven.

And then in chapter 11, we have the introduction of two of the greatest personalties that will be in evidence during that seven-year period. These personalties are the two great prophets from the Old Testament, and they are Moses and Elijah. So chapter 11 tells us about that. It tells us about the building of the temple in such a way that there’s also a Gentile temple standing right next to the temple of God.

We’ll talk about that when we get there. Then chapter 13 introduces the two most powerful evil leaders of that period, the two antichrists. And there are two. The first one is the Antichrist of Rome, the second one is the Antichrist called the false prophet who is from Israel.

Chapter 14 introduces us again to the 144th Israelite evangelists, and it shows that they have been preserved all the way from the beginning of this terrible period and see them standing victorious, all of them still alive, at the end of it. So it explains their tremendous supernatural ministry of evangelism again. Chapter 7 introduced, chapter 14 shows they’re still there after impossible odds. Now, chapter 15, we’ll have to spend a little time on that one, that’s a difficult one, but it is also of this interlude.

Chapters 16 and 17 is another part of the interlude. It explains the mystery of Babylon, explains its origin and history, its embodiment during this period, and it shows it is a false religious system that is also wedded with economics – chapter 18 will show that, and it shows that this religious economic system is what the Antichrist uses to bring the whole world under his control, and it explains mystery Babylon, it explains that it is inseparably united with Rome because it says at the end of Revelation 17:18, as it explains the symbols, the woman who is the harlot called the mystery of Babylon, it says, the woman whom you saw is that great city which is ruling over the kings of the earth. Of course, that great city at the time John wrote this was what? Rome.

So the woman who’s the harlot who is mystery of Babylon is Rome. So the system associated with it is mystery Babylon. We’ll see that. And then after 17 and 18, we come back to time again, no longer an interlude, and the seventh angel blows his trumpet, and it opens up the final seven judgments, which are called the seven golden vials, and that’s chapter 16.

That absolutely brings devastation to the earth. Chapter 19 is the actual coming of Christ back to the earth. Chapter 20 explains a thousand-year period where the Messiah of Israel will fulfill all that was promised. And that’s Jesus.

He will rein on the earth for a thousand years. And at the end of that, there will be the last judgment called the great white throne, and contrary to what most of us think, the great white throne is different than what we would imagine. All of us were – most of us were brought up to believe that the last judgment will have believers and unbelievers, and it’ll be determined who’s a believer and who’s an unbeliever at the great white throne. Is that true?

No. Who will stand at the last judgment? Only unbelievers. If you’re there, you don’t have a chance.

And the purpose of the judgment there is not to see whether you made it or not but to show you why you didn’t make it. And every good deed you ever did is written in a book. That is, everything you thought was a good deed.

There’s another book, but God’s not even going to bring up the things that you know are sin. He’s going to bring up the things you thought were good, and then compare it to his righteousness and show that you couldn’t possibly deserve to go to heaven. Horrible thing to be there. An angel will find the person who’s an unbeliever, an angel will find his or her pardon with his or her name on it in a big stack and show, this was yours, it was paid for.

You wouldn’t accept it. Those are the sorts of things that will happen at the last judgment. And then that’s the end of history. After that, heaven begins.

Chapter 21, 22 explains things about that. So that’s where we’re going, okay? But now let’s look at this wonderful, glorious person that appears here in chapter 10. The splendor of this description usually escapes people.

I hope the Holy Spirit will grip you with what a majesty is happening here. Okay. Let’s read. Revelation 10.

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; and he had in his hand a little scroll which was open. And he placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; 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. 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.” Now, I know people have pondered over what did he hear and what did he not write for centuries.

And I’ll tell you, I don’t know. But I sure wished I did. Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, 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 delay no longer. In other words, he’s saying God’s patience have finished.

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 preached to his servant the prophets. And then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, saying,” go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. 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.”

I took the little book 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. And they said to me, “you must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” All right, let’s see if we can understand this. I’m going to lean on my book a little bit here because in the book on this that I wrote some time ago, I commented on a number of these things.

First of all, I think it’s important to note who is this angel? The first clue is that the word in Greek “another” is allos, allos. And the Greeks have a word for everything, that’s why I love it. Allos means “another of the same kind.”

Now, they have another word, and in the english, it’s never distinguished, and it should be. Heteros. And heteros means another of a different kind. So you could distinguish little nuances of thought that were very important.

Well, this word is allos, which means another angel of the same kind. Now, to find out what he’s talking about, you have to go all the way back to chapter 5:2. Hold your place there and let’s go back there. And we come to the introduction to an angel in chapter 5:2.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one in heaven, other on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look into it. And I began to weep – this is John the apostle testifying here. He said, I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, “stopbey; behold, the lion that is from the tribe of judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

Open the scroll, actually. So this is another angel of the same kind as this one that we’re dealing within chapter 10. So the Holy Spirit gives us the word allos to make us know that. And it’s interesting, the same word, , is used to describe that he is powerful.

It says a strong angel. Now, this word means “mighty angel.” You remember last week we talked about, if you were here, we lost a few people this week, but if you remember last week, we talked about the angels and the different order of angels that exist, both fallen and unfallen have ranks and levels of authority that God established. And the highest angels, either fallen or unfallen, are called cherub.

Now, when we think of a cherub, we think of a cute little roly poly baby, don’t we? Well, that’s not what the Bible describes. A cherub is of immense power. Lucifer was a cherub, only he was the highest of them all.

And the arcons, which are among the cherubs, are the archangels. And this, when it uses this word, , it has to be a cherub who is one of the archangels. And so – and you note that in chapter 5, he’s the this one is associated with who is worthy to open the scroll that has the judgments against the earth and man. And it says, only the one who is the Lamb that was slain who is also the lion of the tribe of judah, Jesus, is worthy.

Okay. So now that was when the mighty archangel of chapter 5 handed him the scroll to begin to open the judgments on the earth, now there is another of the same order, another of the same kind in chapter 10 that has another scroll. And he comes as God’s, actually, God’s ambassador, I say, but we could also call him, he comes as God’s commander because in chapter 10, he comes and he obviously is doing what? When the angel stands with one foot – his right foot on the sea, his left foot on the land, what’s he doing?

He’s taking control, he’s declaring possession. And then in one sense, he comes as the preceding ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. In another sense, he comes as the commander to set loose Armageddon in its fullness. And to bring in the final judgments, he said there will be no more delay, and then comes the most horrible judgments that will ever be unleashed on

And that he was not to fear but to take her as his wife? You remember he doubted? Remember the mighty archangel, what he said? He said, I am gabriel who stands in the very presence of God, and I have come to tell you this news.

If you have the guts to be a real revolutionary, come forward right now and accept Jesus Christ as your real revolutionary, and he’ll make a revolutionary that will change lives.

Thank you so much for standing with me as a watchman on the wall. I pray daily that he will reward your faithfulness and protect and prosper you in these difficult times. Thank you again for being a vital part of my team.