Revelation 10: No More Delay!

No More Delay!

Revelation 10

Introduction: 1 Peter 1:10-12 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” 

Let me ask a question. We have repeatedly read and talked about the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of Jesus and the blessings of the messianic age. As the Hebrew writer said, we have “tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come…” How much do you think we appreciate that the prophets were talking about us and the age we live in? 

While it is true that we have only “tasted” it, and as Paul said, at present we have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we surely do not give enough value to what we have in Christ. We are immersed in the blessings of knowing and enjoying what people like Abraham, David, and the prophets could only dimly imagine.

I say all of that to introduce you to the key verses of chapter 10: verses 6-7, “…there would be no more delay…the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Imagine the anticipation and relief. Hundreds of years have gone by since the original prophecy. And now, now more delay. 

1. Visualizing the Scene & the Message
   1. As we saw a pause between the opening of the sixth and seventh seal, we now see a similar pause between the blowing of the sixth and seventh trumpets. This interlude prepares us for another climatic event. It builds anticipation for what God has planned next for his enemies. For disciples, it is a matter of hope. For the rebellious, it is a terror and a horror. The Lord is about to keep his promises made centuries ago. Are we ready?
   2. “A mighty angel…wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head.”
      1. Whether it is God, Jesus, or a messenger from God, coming in a cloud is a sign of impending judgment. Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.”
         Isaiah 19:1, “Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.” 
      2. A “rainbow” over his head is a reminder that God keeps his covenant promises. In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter said that “the Lord is not slow about his promises, but patient toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance.” God had been patient with Israel, but the time to keep his covenant promises to those who are faithful had come. The saints under the altar had asked “how long…” and now we see the time is up.
   3. “Seven thunders” – The angel has a little scroll in his hand, which will be explained later in the text. But for now the angel calls out with a loud voice like a lion roaring, which causes seven thunders to sound. The roaring of a lion instills fear and panic just before his attack and seven thunders give warnings of more judgments. However, the thunders are sealed up, indicating that it is sufficient to know that God has more judgments he can and will use to satisfy the avenging of the blood of his people.
   4. Now we want to pay careful attention to this mighty angel:
      1. Notice that he is “standing on the sea and the land.” 
      2. Next, we see him raising his right hand and swearing by God that there would be no more delay.
      3. Finally, we see that the object of “no more delay” is that “the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” 
   5. With this information and the fact that whatever is happening was “announced to the prophets,” we can figure out the message. Again, the answer is in Daniel 12 where we see a near identical picture:
      1. 12:1 Using the same words Jesus used in Matthew 24 to speak of the destruction of Jerusalem and a “time of trouble such as never has been…” we see the time frame and the targeted nation, physical Israel. 
      2. 12:4 Daniel is told to “shut up and seal the words of the book/scroll until the time of the end.”
      3. 12:5-7 mirrors our text with angels standing on either side of the bank of the stream. Then we see one above the waters of the stream being asked, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” The angel answers in the same way the angel in Revelation spoke with one exception.
         1. The angel in Daniel raising his hands toward heaven and swears by God, but then says “it would be for a time, times, and a half a time.” Once that time period was fulfilled (time of great trouble), “when the shattering of the power of the holy people come to an end all these things would be finished.”
         2. The angel in Revelation swears in a similar way, but instead of saying there would be a “times, time, and a half a time” before the fulfillment, the Revelation angel said, “there would be no more delay, and the mystery of God would be fulfilled.” 
      4. In Daniel 12:9, after Daniel asks for a clarification, the angel answers that “the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.” But in Revelation, the angel says “there is no more delay.” 
      5. We now can be absolutely positive that the judgments that have been spoken of and the judgment of the seventh trumpet, are against the physical nation of Israel.
2. The Open Scroll
   1. Now we need to take a careful look at the little scroll in the hand of the mighty angel. First notice that the scroll is open (2, 8); there are no seals, or at least, the seals have been broken and the scroll is open for anyone to read.
   2. Second, this scroll again parallels the scroll in Daniel 12 that was sealed. Of course, in Revelation, it is no longer sealed. Therefore, we know that this scroll parallels the prophecies of Daniel both of physical Israel and of Rome.
   3. Next, we see the voice from heaven commanding John to take the scroll from the hand of the angel. I love this part. John just goes over to the angel and says, “Give me the little scroll.” I love the confidence to walk up to a mighty angel and say, give me the scroll! 
   4. Then, the angel gives him the scroll but tells him to eat the scroll. The angel warns him that it will be sweet as honey to the taste but bitter to his stomach. Of course, John did just what the angel told him to do, he ate the scroll and it was sweet to the taste but bitter to his stomach.
   5. You will not be surprised to find out that this scene is also in the Old Testament. Ezekiel was told to eat a scroll before he prophesied of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians and judgements against the nations. See Ezekiel 2:9–3:3 –
      “And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 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.” 
   6. Finally in verse 11, John is told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” Now we can draw some fairly simple conclusions: 
      1. The scroll is the same scroll that the Lamb opened and now John is told to eat.
      2. Further, not only did the scroll reveal judgments against Israel, there is also going to be judgments the Gentile nations and kings. We will see that set up in chapters 12 and following.
3. The Challenge of Repentance (9:20-21)
   1. As we study Haggai and Zechariah, we are struck with the fact that though God brought a remnant of the nation back from captivity, the very first thing God had to do was confront the people concerning their lack of repentance (Haggai 1; Zechariah 1). What gives? These returning exiles happen to be the best of what was left of the nation. They at least had the desire to return to their homeland. But soon after they arrived, it was business as usual with God being second place to their ritualistic service.
   2. You would think that after 70 years of exile and captivity their thankfulness to God for allowing them to return home would stimulate a passion for God that would supersede all else in their lives. The temple was to stand as a beacon  to the whole world of Yahweh’s presence. But they not only did not demonstrate anything compared to Nehemiah’s determination to build the walls 90 years later, but even their building did not seem to stimulate any excitement. Zechariah spends his whole prophecy on trying to stir up their passion for God and his global purpose.
   3. Did Haggai and Zechariah’s prophecies have any lasting success? Hardly! Malachi writes in 430 BC and describes a pitiful nation with priests who do not teach, people who perform and “check-list” worship, and grumbling because they are not living wealthy like their Gentile counterparts. 
   4. Then through the 400 years between the testaments, God’s judgments against the nation only got worse. When Jesus comes, he gives a wholesale condemnation of the nation and its leaders. He refuses to join their apathy, their ritual worship, and their ignorance of the law, and pronounces their doom. Do they repent? Absolutely not! A remnant turns to Jesus, but very quickly it is the Gentiles who rejoice at the good news.
   5. The question is why? Why after years of warning and years of judgments, and the very Son of God coming to earth to confront them, do they remain unrepentant? The answer is a lesson for us: 
      1. First, they delayed obedience. Repentance involves change, and a change of lifestyle is extremely difficult because our fleshly passions demand to be fed – Peter said, we are to “live the rest of our time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” Jesus said whoever does not deny himself cannot be my disciple. This is not a negative! By giving up self, we exchange the fleshly and temporary for a greater permanent pleasure both presently and eternally: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11).
      2. The problem with delayed repentance is that the flesh becomes more addicted to having its desires satisfied. A lack of repentance is simply boiled down to, “I don’t feel like it; I have no desire to change.” Exactly! Therefore, our first step toward repentance demands going “cold turkey.” At some point self must discipline self! When James speaks of the first step of repentance, he says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
         Eternity is at stake!
      3. Finally, when comes to a proper life change, we must remember that the Lord is not just talking about stopping sin. There is no apparent “sin” being practiced by the people of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. It all had to do with their passion, love, and time spent pursuing God’s purposes rather than their own. As Haggai said in response to the people not being blessed by God, “Why? Declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house” (Hag. 1:9).
         Jesus said, “…the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).
   6. Pleasures forevermore are awaiting us in eternity; we do not need to seek them here. Israel did as they pleased, refused to change, and believed that God would not render his judgments on them. They stand as an eternal example for us. Eternity is at stake!

Berry Kercheville

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