REVELATION LESSON 23
We will begin this lesson in Revelation 10:1 "And I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a
rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun,
and his feet as pillars of fire:"
In this, we must remember that John is having a dream or a vision.
God appears sometimes in visions and dreams in some other way than His
Godhead. This is Jesus in a form of an angel. "..clothed in a cloud.."
shows the royalty of this being.
The "...rainbow...upon his head..." reminds us of the covenant of
God with man. This covenant has been fulfilled through Jesus. So He
has the rainbow on His head. Jesus is the Light of the world, that is
why His countenance would be as bright as the sun.
Jesus is the Judge of the world, and in one of the visions John
had of Him, he saw bronze feet of judgement. "Brass" means judgement.
God is a consuming fire. This is Jesus in the form of an angel.
Revelation 10:2 "And he had in his hand a little book open: and he
set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth,"
Jesus has always held the Bible in His hand. It has never been
closed, and never will be, until God Himself closes it. Just the fact
that it is opened tells us that it is to be revealed to those who will
consume it. As believers, we are told to eat this book, just as John
was told to eat it. This "...little book...", I believe, is the Word
of God, the Bible.
"...His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth..."
just means that it is for whosoever will. Many times the sea is
spoken of as great masses of people. The earth symbolizes world power.
There is a church, professing to believe in Jesus, that does not
teach the importance of Bible study. Studying the Bible is more
important to our life than our daily bread. Praise God, the Bible is
of no private interpretation. God the Holy Spirit will teach each of
us what the Bible is saying to us. Jesus is in dominion over
everything.
In John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God." You see the Word (Jesus) is the Living
Word. The Bible (Word) is alive. When we eat the Bible it gives us
the strength to live victorious lives before Him. Jesus is in dominion
over everything. He is our source of power.
Revelation 10:3 "And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion
roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices."
Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. When He speaks to the
entire world, it is a loud voice and would be as loud as a lion
roaring.
These "...seven thunders..." came from very near the throne and is
probably coming from the four living beings. The four living beings,
as we have said before, are symbolic of the four gospels. What could
speak louder than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, to the believers?
Revelation 10:4 "And when the seven thunders had uttered their
voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying
unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and
write them not."
It seems that John was attempting to write down everything as he
saw it. This little book is not for the world to see. That is why
Jesus spoke in parables. Only the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ
are supposed to understand what is in the Book, and them only through
the guidance of the Holy Spirit and Bible study. This message then
from these voices is not for the world in general. Jesus, or God the
Father, stops John from revealing these things by telling him not to
write this down.
Thundering voices must come either from God or something very near
Him. These voices are a secret for just God the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. I will not presume what it is.
Revelation 10:5 "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and
upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,"
Revelation 10:6 "And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever,
who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth,
and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are
therein, that there should be time no longer:"
Jesus raises His hand to heaven and swore by Himself. Jesus is the
Everlasting One, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator of the World. This
oath is taken on the name of Jesus.
"...there should be time no longer." What is time? Where did it
begin? How do you explain time? Time is not anything in and of
itself. Time exists only in relation to something else.
Have you ever considered how we relate to time? If someone were to
ask you when would you like to get up in the morning? You might say
thirty minutes before school starts, or even fifteen minutes after
eight. You relate it to something else.
Webster's dictionary says time is: a period during which something
exists or continues, measurement or duration, designations on a clock
or a sun dial, and about 200 other meanings. Not a one of them can
explain what time really is.
Did you know that if you could go in a space ship fast enough, and
go faster than the speed of light and you went out into the
atmosphere, and then came back to this earth, that it would be
possible for you, by your time table, to be gone just an hour or two
and your friends on earth, who were young when you left, would be old
when you came back; some even already dead? Time is revelant to a
situation. You see time has 100's of meanings.
When I wrote, "God Said Let There Be Light", I discovered
something very interesting. If you could sit on the planet Regal
looking through a telescope powerful enough to see the earth, you
could actually see Columbus discover America. This would be possible
theoretically because Regal is over 430 light years away from the
earth. This is mind boggling! God does not expect us to understand
all of this. The only "time" that should be important to us is the
time schedule that God placed here on this earth until we go to life
in our home in heaven where there is no time, only eternity.
God gave us the moon changes for something as a measurement of
time here on the earth. A Biblical month is each full moon. That is
why the Jewish calendar is different from the lunar calendar.
God said the evening and the morning made the first day, Genesis
1:5. Six of these for work and one holy day made up a week, Exodus
20:9-10. For the part of the universe God set up for our use here on
this earth, we have twenty-four hours - one day, seven days a week,
one full moon a month.
God created the whole universe. Seven days in a week, seven years
for the land, seven - 1000 year days for the earth.
One out of each of these "seven" was Sabbath.
Six days of work in a week, then one day of rest.
Six years of work for the land, then one year to rest.
6000 years of work for mankind (since Adam), then a sabbath of
rest for the earth, which is the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ
on the earth. This is the sabbath of rest for believers.
In eternity there will be no marking of time, just one eternal
day. There will be no need for the sun and moon, Jesus is the Light.
II Peter 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day."
You see God's time and our time is not necessarily the same. God
is not controlled by time; He is the controller of time.
Revelation 10:7 "But in the days of the voice of the seventh
angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be
finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."
This is when Jesus reveals Himself to the Christians in heaven.
The Bible says that when we get to heaven, we will recognize Him,
because we will be like Him. I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is."
You see this is a mystery to us now. When it is revealed, it will
be so simple that we will think, "Why didn't I think of that?" It is
not for us to know this right now.
This seventh trumpet means this is the final judgement. Throughout
the New Testament, God spoke in parables so the world would not
understand. Just those to whom Jesus would reveal Himself would
understand.
Revelation 10:8 "And the voice which I heard from heaven spake
unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open
in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the
earth."
Here John is receiving the open Bible from Jesus.
Revelation 10:9 "And I went unto the angel, and said unto him,
Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it
up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth
sweet as honey."
In Ezekiel chapters 2 & 3, we see that physical Israel refused
the New Testament and its teaching of Jesus. This sweetness is the
beautiful message received, but the bitterness is the disappointment
when they refuse the message. This bitterness is the terrible
judgement, as well.
We are told over and over to eat this Word (Bible) to keep from
being deceived by the devil. "...Man shall not live by bread alone
but by every word...", Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4.
Revelation 10:10 "And I took the little book out of the angel's
hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as
soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter."
He is everybody's private God. We come to Jesus seeking
salvation, and Jesus says take it. In the Old Testament, we see how
much in need of a Savior we really are, and it is bitter in our
stomach. When we use this Book to win others, it is sweet in our
mouth.
Revelation 10:11 "And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again
before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings."
John is told he is to prophesy. How could he prophesy any more
than to write the book of Revelation, St. John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
John? Millions of people have read this prophecy, so John really did
follow these instructions from God. The Bible is the most read book in
the world.
Other scriptures to look up: Exodus 16:10, Luke 21:27, Isaiah
42:13, Jeremiah 25:30, Hosea 11:10, Acts 1:7, Ezekiel 2:9 to chapter
3, Daniel 7:5.
Memorize 1 John 3:2 and Matthew 4:4.
REVELATION QUESTIONS 23
1. How was this angel clothed?
2. What was upon His head?
3. What was His face like?
4. What were His feet like?
5. What is important to remember here?
6. Being clothed in a cloud shows --------?
7. What is the rainbow symbolic of?
8. Who was the covenant fulfilled through?
9. Who is the Judge of the world?
10. What did He have in his hand?
11. He set His right and left foot where? What does that show us?
12. What is the little book?
13. Why is it open?
14. Who were told to eat the book besides John?
15. Studying the Bible is more important than what?
16. Why should we eat the Word ?
17. What did the voice sound like?
18. When He cried, how many thunders uttered their voices?
19. What was John told to seal up?
20. For who has Jesus made it possible to understand His parables?
21. What secret are we not to delve into?
22. Who did this Being sware by?
23. Explain time?
24. How does time exist?
25. Give two of Webster's definitions of time.
26. Does anyone really understand time?
27. What planet could you sit on and see Columbus discover America if
you had a telescope strong enough? Why could you?
28. What time cycle did God establish for the earth?
29. How many days of work and how many of rest? How many years for
the land and the earth?
30. What is the 1000 year day called?
31. With God one day can be as how many years?
32. God is the --------- of time?
33. When shall the mystery of God be finished?
34. Who did He declare it to?
35. In 1st John, what do we find out about Jesus and us?
36. Who would understand?
37. Who was told to go and take the little book?
38. What was he to do with it?
39. What would it taste like?
40. What things do the bitterness mean?
41. What was John told to do in V-11?
42. What is the most read book in the world.
43. Write 1 John 3:2.
44. Write St. Matthew 4:4.
45. Write your own explanation of the mystery of God that is finished
here.
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