The Revelation of Christ – Part 25:
The Mighty Angel
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON
INTRODUCTION
The
Book of Revelation, or the Revelation of Christ, is the most challenging book
in the bible.
Because
of this fact, many avoid it or ignore it altogether. Some fear lack of
understanding; others afraid to misinterpret, which I guess it is better to
avoid than dive in and get it completely wrong.
Many
times, when a new believer comes to me for direction, they want to jump right
into Revelation and find out what’s to come.
This
is equivalent to deciding one day to learn Mandarin and sitting down to author
a novel in Chinese that very same day.
Or,
a kindergartner learning how to count, and then trying to calculate quantum
mechanics calculations.
The
words in Revelation have caused much debate on rapture, judgment, even some who
claim John was writing about the events in his day in code rather than Jesus
Christ revealing to him about the coming events and Judgment.
A
special blessing is promised to those who read Revelation.
Although
it may be a difficult book, we could all use a special blessing, reading this
is good for us all, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will take the
Revelation of Christ in small portions and gain understanding, little by
little.
SERMON SERIES
THE THINGS WHICH
ARE – The Church Age (Age of Grace)
Part 3 – Ephesus The
Backsliding Church
Part 4 – Smyrna The
Steadfast Church
Part 5 – Pergamos The Immoral Church
Part 6 – Thyatira The Careless Pagan Church
Part 7 – Sardis The Spiritless Church
Part 8 – Philadelphia The Favored Church
Part 9 – Laodicea The Church God Hates
THE THINGS WHICH
SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 10 – The Throne of God
Part 11 – The Scroll and Seven Seals
Part 12 – The Lamb is Worthy
Part 13 –
The First Seal
Part 14 – The Second Seal
Part 15 – The Third Seal
Part 16 – The Fourth Seal
Part 17 – The Fifth Seal
Part 18 – The Sixth Seal
Part 19 – The 144,000 Sealed
Part 20 – The Great Multitude
Part 21 – The Seventh Seal
Part 22 – Trumpets 1-4
Part 23 – The 5th Trumpet (1st woe)
Part 24 – The 6th Trumpet (2nd woe)
TODAY’S SERMON -
THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 25 – The Mighty Angel
SCRIPTURE READING
Revelation
10
Then
I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud,
with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were
like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his
hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and
he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of
the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to
write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders
have said and do not write it down.”
5
Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right
hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created
the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the
sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the
days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God
will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
8
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take
the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea
and on the land.”
9
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to
me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it
will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s
hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten
it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many
peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
I.
THEN I SAW ANOTHER MIGHTY ANGEL COMING DOWN FROM
HEAVEN
a.
The description of the mighty angel
i. The description of the
Mighty Angel reveals His identity
1. Robed in a cloud (Jesus and
clouds: Acts 1:9; Luke 9:34; Revelation 1:7; Daniel 7:13;
Matthew 24:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:17)
2. A rainbow above His head (Genesis
9:13; Ezekiel 1:28; Revelation 4:3)
3. His face like the sun (Malachi
4:2; Luke 1:78-79; Habakkuk 3:4; Matthew 17:2; 2 Corinthians 4:6, and many more!)
4. His legs were fiery pillars
(legs represent movement, such as coming to earth as described in the verse,
and fire represents judgment. So this is saying Jesus is coming to judge the
earth)
5. He was holding a little
scroll (opened!)
ii. This is obviously Christ
1. So, the usage of “angel”
here represents “messenger of God”, or the fact that Jesus is doing this
fulfilling God’s Will.
iii. He placed one foot in the
sea and one on land
1. Representing His authority
over the entire earth, and everything in it, on land or sea.
iv. He gave a loud shout like a
lion
1. Shout meaning loud,
powerful, full of authority, or all of the above!
b.
He commanded the seven thunders, and they obeyed
i. These “thunders” may be
disembodied voices from the heavens, or angels
ii. They obey Christ’s command
He shouted like a lion (the lion of Judah)
iii. And the seven thunders spoke
c.
John was about to write down what they said, but told
not to
i. What they said is mere conjecture,
because we are not told
ii. They may have been
proclaiming the details of the coming 3rd woe
1. God does not reveal
everything to us
2. These words may be for the
lost on earth only, or perhaps the Tribulation people only
iii. Or perhaps, they were speaking
the Words given to them by God (just as He gave other angels abilities to
perform tasks to obey His commands)
1. These words they spoke may
have been what brings about the 3rd woe, or causes it to enact.
II.
THE ANGEL RAISED HIS RIGHT HAND TO HEAVEN
a.
The mighty angel’s authority
i. Christ standing on sea and
land proclaiming His ownership
ii. He raises His right hand to
heaven and swears the oath
1. But aren’t we told not to
swear an oath by heaven in Matthew 5:34?
2. “But I tell you, do not
swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;”
3. Yes, but it is God’s
throne!
4. We cannot swear oaths
because we break them; Matthew 5:33-36 “Again, you have heard that
it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the
Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all:
either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it
is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by
your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.”
b.
The mighty angel’s proclamation
i. Vs 6-7 “And he swore by him who
lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the
earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said,
“There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel
is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced
to his servants the prophets.”
ii. Colossians
2:2-3
“The Bible tells us that the mystery of God is Jesus Christ: “My purpose is
that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have
the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the
mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge”
1. A “mystery” in the New
Testament is something that had at one time been hidden but is now revealed to
God’s people.
2. Jesus spoke of “the
mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11) that He was at that point revealing to His
disciples.
3. The apostle Paul used the
word mystery 21 times in his Epistles. In each case, the “mystery”
involved a wonderful declaration of spiritual truth, revealed by God through divine inspiration.
4. A mystery is that “which
was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed
by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians
3:5)
iii. Here, Christ is saying the
“mystery” or Spiritual Truth of God is about to be revealed…those alive during
Tribulation are about to have a “Spiritual Epiphany”, just as those during
Paul’s time had mysteries of Christ and the New Covenant revealed to them!
c.
In the days of the 7th angel’s trumpet (the
3rd woe)
i. “There will be no more
delay!”
ii. During the “time” of the 7th
Angels Trumpet blast and the 3rd Woe, the “mystery” or Spiritual
Truth, of Tribulation will be revealed to the inhabitants of earth.
1. This will come in the form
of the Two Witnesses
2. Just as the Spiritual
Epiphany of the New Covenant purchased IN Christ’s blood was revealed to the Apostles
to preach the Gospel and Good News, these Two Witnesses are about to enlighten
the inhabitants and participators of Tribulation by revealing the Spiritual
Truth of the judgment coming against them for rejecting the grace and Peace of
Christ.
III.
THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN SAID, “TAKE THE BOOK AND EAT
IT,”
a.
The book was sweet to eat, but sour in the stomach
i. Symbolism used here refers
to the “reading” and “digesting” or thinking about and coming to an
understanding of what was written in the opened book John took from Christ’s
hand.
ii. The book was taken from
Christ’s left hand
1. Matthew
25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
2. Matthew
25:31-35
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations,
and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the
left.”
iii. When John read it, it
sounded “good”, but after he “digested” it, (thought about it) it made him
sour.
iv. What did he read? No one knows.
v. 1
Corinthians 1:18
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
vi. Perhaps the words in the
little scroll was specific Words of God that are pleasing when first read by
those who are His, but after thought, sour because to those who are not His, a
terrible punishment is coming.
b.
John must continue to prophesy
i. John was then told to
continue to prophesy
ii. In verse 4 he was commanded
not to write what the voices said, now he is being commanded to continue where
he left off in verse 11
c.
About many peoples, nations, languages and kings
i. This needs attention.
ii. When the “mystery” of the
New Covenant was revealed to the disciples, Jesus commanded them in Matthew
28:18b-20a
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you.”
1. They were commanded to take
the Word to all nations
iii. Now, the “mystery” is what
is coming during Tribulation
iv. And John is to write it so
when it is time, it will be revealed through the Two Witnesses, empowered by
God’s Holy Spirit, and established in His Holy Word, just as the New Covenant
was!
CONCLUSION
–
What we are reading here
is;
·
Jesus
proclaiming ownership of all of creation
·
Commanding the
7 thunders to speak
·
The 7th
Trumpet is about to be blown by the 7th angel
·
The 3rd
Woe is about to begin
·
John MUST
record the following as a testimony and establishment of what is about to take
place so as to reveal the mystery of Tribulation in the same way the New
Covenant was revealed in the Word and through the Holy Spirit is the Disciples
·
The Two
Witnesses are about to appear for the second half of Tribulation
Next week… The Two
Witnesses
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