God is not going to delay fulfilling His mystery. This devotional reading looks at what that means.
Nuggets
- The mystery of God will be accomplished at the seventh trumpet.
- Jesus’ oath can provide us with assurance.
- Jesus is swearing that the Day of the Lord will not be delayed.
- The mystery of God concerns this life.
- In my viewpoint, the voice from Heaven has to be God, giving direction to be ministers to others.
The next section of Revelation 10 gets a little confusing. It talks about a mystery and eating the scroll.
Let’s see what it is really saying.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Trumpets and the Bowls series
God's Mystery
“And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets” (Rev. 10: 5-7 ESV)
The mystery of God will be accomplished at the seventh trumpet.
We talked in the last devotion about how the footing of the angel — Who is probably Jesus — on both land and sea showed his constancy. What He says is true. Nothing is going to deviate from what He says.
Henry said the stance may also be used to show Jesus’ power. It can also be used to show His rule over the earth.
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The Oath
Jesus’ oath can provide us with assurance.
God’s Word tells us what will happen in the end times. Jesus gave an oath that this accounting is true.
Jesus basically swore by Himself that what was contained on the scroll was true. God had done this before.
- “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you’” (Heb. 6: 13-14 ESV).
- “And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice’” (Gen. 22: 15-18 ESV).
- “By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance’” (Isa. 45: 23 ESV).
Why does God swear on Himself? There is no one greater than He. He is swearing by His own character.
Because Jesus is swearing on the character of God, we have assurance that what He has said will come to pass. God is unchangeable and pure. He won’t change His mind, and whatever He swears has no sin in it whatsoever.
Why is Jesus giving an oath? He wants to show how important this is. Whatever ambiguity we may have experienced in the past, we can now take this to the bank that it will occur just as Jesus promises. It is no longer open to interpretation.
No More Delay
Jesus is swearing that the Day of the Lord will not be delayed.
The purpose of the Book of Revelation is to comfort the Messianic congregations in their upcoming trials and tribulations.
Jesus is swearing an oath that those trials and tribulations had an end date. He is also swearing that the Day of the Lord will not be delayed.
Doesn’t that make it easier to endure trials when we know it has a sunset date? We know that — eventually — it will be over.
That brings up the discussion of what exactly is time. Payson had a good definition. He wrote, “Time, as far as man has any concern with it, is that portion of duration which is commensurate with the existence of our world, and which is measured by its diurnal and annual revolutions.”
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What happens when there is no more daily and yearly spinning of the earth? The new Heaven and new earth may not revolve because there is not going to be a sun.
Goulburn made an interesting observation. He noted that time, itself, cannot cease. It must always go on. It is what happens within that time that has a beginning and end.
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Let’s apply that to eternity. I don’t know if I am going to say this right, but let’s try it.
Eternity is a measure of time. It is a way to describe time as unending.
We will be singing praises throughout eternity. Time doesn’t stand still to allow us to do that. Time marches on throughout eternity.
We have talked about several songs that will be song in Heaven. While the singing may be constant in Heaven, each song has a beginning and an end. When one ends, another starts.
Is it possible that some songs could be on an unending loop? Yes. “And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” (Rev. 4: 8 ESV).
But I think there will be variety in the songs we will sing. They will be sung one after another however 24/7/365/eternity will be calculated.
What I think this means is we are going to be on God’s way of telling time. “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (II Pet. 3: 8 ESV).
God has been and always will be on a different measurement of time.
I think this, too, could also mean that we won’t be watching the clock. We won’t be upset if the worship service goes over an hour.
The Mystery of God
The mystery of God concerns this life.
I never thought of it the way Conway described it. I always figured the mystery is about how the Day of the Lord will shake out.
Conway said no. It is this life that is the mystery.
Scratching your head on that one? Conway wrote,
“As He gave, so it gives, solemn assurance that what now is — so much of it so mournful, so full of mystery — is not ever to be, but shall have an end. Life is a mystery now, even in these comparatively calm days of ours; but what must it have appeared to the persecuted, outraged Church of St. John’s day?”
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Isn’t that true? We don’t know how long we have to live. We don’t know how many jobs we will have — or if we will have any. When we are young, we don’t know if we will get married or how many kids we will have. We don’t know if we will contract a horrible infectious disease, have a devastating auto accident, or live a long, healthy life.
What we do know is that Jesus is returning. When He does, this Heaven and earth will pass away. We know we will spend eternity based on whether we have ABCDed or not.
Payson agreed. A new way of telling time will be implemented when the mystery of God is finished.
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Well, it probably will just be new to us. It is probably the way God has always told time.
Eating the Scroll
“Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land’. So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ‘Take 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 from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings’” (Rev. 10: 9-11 ESV)
In my viewpoint, the voice from Heaven has to be God, giving direction to be ministers to others.
Think about it. John was being directed to take the scroll – the Word of God – from Jesus.
God’s Word is God’s message of the salvation offered by Jesus. It details the Plan of Salvation, which we must take and allow it to enter every aspect of our lives. We must allow it to change us through an inward transformation.
I like how Thomas described this. He wrote, “The spirit of this ‘little book’ must become the inspiring and the regnant spirit of our being.”
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Salvation brings both joy and sorrow. We have the joy of restoration, but that highlights the need for restoration, causing us sorrow for all the sin we have committed.
John wasn’t the first prophet told to eat a scroll.
- “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.’ Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey” (Ezek. 3: 3 ESV).
- “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts” (Jer. 15: 16 ESV).
There was a reason John was supposed to eat the scroll beyond his salvation. He was to become a minister to others, telling them of God’s saving grace through Jesus’ sacrifice.
Whyte gave us a great reminder. The angel told John to eat the scroll, not read it.
Knowledge of what the scroll says is not enough. We must have the inward transformation that comes through acceptance of and submission to God.
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As we continue to sin, it will leave a bitter taste in our mouths. But God offers His sweet honey as He continues to forgive us as we ask.
We have to accept all of God’s Word. We can’t pick and choose what we are going to believe. We must read it all to truly know God.
We have to be careful, though, how we read it. We are not supposed to speculate or rationalize it. We are to meditate on it so that we hear what God is revealing to us.
Making the Connections #1
Whyte called religion an experimental science. That gives an initial kick.
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Why is it called science? What is science?
Science is the study of the physical world. We study it through observation, experimentation, and testing.
I can see where it could be called experimental. Sanctification is a process that we will be engaged in the rest of our physical lives. It isn’t a one-and-done thing.
What becoming a disciple does is show us how our personal physical worlds need to be changed to become more like God. Sometimes, we will get it right. Sometimes, we get it wrong.
We have to learn — experiment — to determine how God wants us to apply His Will to our lives.
Making the Connections #2
On the Day of the Lord, we need to have ABCDed. We need to have eaten the scroll.
Once we ABCD, some of the mystery is taken out of it. Oh, yes. We still don’t know what will happen in this lifetime.
We do know what will happen in the next.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
How Do We Apply This?
- Accept this world is temporary, making earthly pursuits insignificant.
- Be prepared for the end of time as we know it.
- Look beyond our day-to-day existence to what our lives will be in eternity,
- Set our minds on things above (Col. 3: 1).
- Consider ourselves as strangers just passing through this world.
- Don’t let the temporary trials of this world make a lasting impression on us.
- Be humble.
- Use this life to build a foundation for our eternal lives.
- Honor God.
- Serve God and man.
- Hide the words of God in our hearts.
- Practice what we read in God’s Word.
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Father God. We look to the day when You mystery will be revealed to us. Until then, help us as we navigate the Sanctification Road. Help us to grow to be more like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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