The Might Angel And The Small Scroll

INTRO

We’ve now covered John’s vision of six of seven angels who blow trumpets. Right before the trumpets blew, 144,000 people, 12,000 from each tribe of Israel who were Jewish evangelists, were sealed by God so they would not be harmed by anything to come. Chapter 10 presents an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. Remember there was also an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals.

So far six trumpets (angels) have revealed warnings about coming dangers: (1) fires; (2) polluted seas through blood; (3) contaminated fresh water; (4) the sun, moon, and stars damaged as nature changes; (5) the demonic invasion that torments those who don’t have the seal for five months; and (6) 200,000,000 demons in the form of an army of locusts wage war. After the sixth trumpet, over half of the world’s living population will be destroyed. According to Revelation 6:8, one-third of the population had already been destroyed, so at this point, over one-half of the world’s population is gone. This leads into the pause of chapter 10.

TEACHING

Revelation 10:1: In verse 1, John saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven in a cloud with a rainbow over his head. MacArthur points out that “another” mighty angel identifies another created being, not Jesus, and describes the angel as “filled with splendor, greatness, and strength.”¹

Look at the angels already presented in Revelation:

• Revelation 5:2 also proclaims the presence of “a mighty angel” asking who was worthy of opening the seals. The answer was Jesus.
• An angel is described as having “great authority coming down from heaven” in Revelation 18:1.
• In Revelation 12:7, the angel there is identified as Michael.

About the angel in Revelation 10:1, Nelson’s Commentary explains, “It is unlikely that this is Michael, who is referred to by name elsewhere (Revelation 12:7, Daniel 12:1), or Christ, since He is never called an angel in the New Testament.”² In Exodus 16:10, a cloud appeared, revealing God’s glory. The language of Revelation 10:1 is similar.

Revelation 10:2–3: The bottom line is that no one knows who this angel will be. The angel has a little scroll open in his hand, and he puts his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land (v. 2). I wonder if this is the same scroll that was opened with the seven seals. If it were that scroll, then this angel is Christ. The angel cried out like a roaring lion and seven thunders spoke with their voices (v. 3).

Revelation 10:4: John was ready to write down what the seven thunders said, but a voice from heaven told him not to (v. 4). Revelation 1:4 spoke of seven Spirits of God, but we cannot tell if these seven thunders are the same Spirits. Nelson’s Commentary explains that the voice from heaven is different from the mighty angel and is probably Christ.³

Revelation 10:5–7: The angel who stood with one foot on the sea and one on the land then raised his right hand to heaven and swore an oath to the Eternal God and Creator of all things. The angel swore, “There will no longer be an interval of time, but in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, when he will blow his trumpet, then God’s hidden plan will be completed as He announced to His servants the prophets” (vv. 5–7). Nelson’s Commentary states, “After the sounding of the seventh trumpet, there will be 'no more delay' in the unfolding of events leading toward Christ’s return.”⁴

When I read verse 7, I think this is exactly what we set out to do in Revive School. MacArthur says verse 7 explains, “The mystery [or hidden plan] is the final consummation of all things as God destroys sinners and establishes His righteous kingdom on earth. This mystery, though not fully revealed, was declared to God’s prophets (Amos 3:7).”⁵

God’s plan will then be complete. MacArthur points out that the Greek term for mystery or hidden means “to shut” or “to close.” That means everything that has been shut or closed will now be open (Ephesians 3:4–5).

The value of the oath is huge because it promises that all will come to fruition. Our key verse for all of Revive School is Matthew 5:17: “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” This whole mystery—this whole plan—will come to fruition.

Revelation 10:8–11: The voice from heaven spoke again and told John to take the scroll from the angel’s hand. John did as he was instructed, and the angel then told John to eat the scroll that would be bitter in his stomach (bitter to swallow) but sweet as honey in his mouth (vv. 8–9).

The scroll shows the contradiction of what is to come. What is to come will not be good because people will be hurt in the process, but it will be good because of the fulfillment of God’s plan. God’s Word is described as bread (Matthew 4:4), as milk (1 Peter 2:2), as a delight (Jeremiah 15:16), as meat by the Apostle Paul, and as honey in Psalms. In Ezekiel 2:9, the scroll was fed to Ezekiel.

John took the scroll and ate it. It was sweet like honey in his mouth but bitter in his stomach (v. 10). Then he was told he “must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings” (v. 11).

CLOSING

Sometimes when the Word of God is released, people don’t like it because it tastes bitter. If you don’t believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that He is coming back, then you are going to hell. That’s a bitter message for unbelievers. Unbelievers will face eternal destruction. But if you believe Jesus died on the cross and came back to life to be your Lord and Savior, then you can have hope eternal in this entire process.

The oath is that everything we’ve talked about through our entire study of the Bible is coming to fruition. We haven’t even gotten to the seventh trumpet yet when all this is released. John was given a message of warning to tell everyone.