Sermon Tone Analysis

| *When God Breaks His Silence*(Revelation 10:1–11) |

* *

/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: 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, 3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

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.

5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 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: 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.

/

/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.

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.

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.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

* (10:1–11)*/

 

*Intro*: A question that has troubled God’s people throughout history is why God has allowed evil in the world.

The wicked often appear to prosper.

Sin seemingly runs wild and unchecked.

Why, people ask, does God not stop all the carnage, corruption, and chaos in the world?

Why does He allow His children to suffer?

When will divine justice prevail and the righteous be delivered and the wicked punished?

·         In the midst of his trials Job complained that “/the tents of the destroyers prosper, and those who provoke God are secure.

… Why do the wicked still live, continue on, also become very powerful?////”

/(*Job 12:6****; ****21:7*).

·         The psalmists frequently ask why God tolerates evil men.

In *Psalm 10:1–5* the psalmist asks God, /Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?

Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?/

·         /“////How long, O God, will the adversary revile/,” lamented Asaph, “///and the enemy spurn Your name forever?

Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?////”/ (*Ps.

74:10–11*).

·         In another Psalm Asaph pleaded, /“////O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.

For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have exalted themselves////”/ (*Ps.

83:1–2****).*

·         In *Psalm 94:3–4*** an anonymous psalmist complained to God: /“////How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult?

They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; all who do wickedness vaunt themselves.////”/

·         Echoing the cry of the psalmists, Jeremiah prayed, Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered?

*(****Jer.

12:1–3****)*

·         “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,” affirmed Habakkuk, “and You can not look on wickedness with favor.

Why,” the confused prophet went on to ask, “do You look with favor on those who deal treacherously?

Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?” (*Hab.

1:13****).*

·         The Tribulation martyrs in heaven cried out to God, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (*Rev.

6:10****).*

·         All the pain, sorrow, suffering, and evil in the world cause the godly to long for God to intervene.

A day is coming when He will break His silence, a day when all the purposes of God concerning men and the world will be consummated.

·         At that time, the Lord Jesus Christ will return and establish His earthly kingdom.

o        He will rule righteously, with “a rod of iron” (Ps.

2:9),

o        and “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa.

11:9).

o        All the atheists, agnostics, and scoffers who mocked the thought that Christ would return (2 Pet.

3:3–4) will be silenced.

o        The millennia of sin, lies, murders, thefts, wars, and the persecution and martyrdom of God’s people will be over.

o        Satan and his demon hosts will be bound and cast into the abyss for a thousand years (Rev.

20:1–3), unable any longer to tempt, torment, or accuse believers.

o        The desert will become a blossoming garden (cf.

Isa.

35:1; 51:3; Ezek.

36:34–35), people will live long lives (Isa.

65:20), and there will be peace between former enemies at all levels of society—and even in the animal kingdom (Isa.

11:6–8).

o        The ravages of sin—broken hearts, broken relationships, broken marriages, broken families, broken dreams, broken people—will be healed.

o        Sorrow, sadness, mourning, and pain will vanish like the morning mists before the noonday sun (cf.

Rev.

7:17; 21:4).

The sounding of the seventh trumpet, which heralds the imminent return and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, will usher in that long-anticipated day: /“////Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘////The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever////’ ///” (11:15).

The seventh trumpet will release the seven rapid-fire bowl judgments that immediately precede Christ’s return to earth (16:1–21).

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But before the seventh trumpet sounds there will be an interlude, which stretches from 10:1 to 11:14, allowing John (and present-day readers) to pause and assimilate the startling truths that have just been revealed to him.

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The interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets parallels such interludes in the seal and bowl judgments.

Between the sixth and seventh seals came the interlude of chapter 7; between the sixth and seventh bowls comes the brief interlude of 16:15.

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These interludes encourage God’s people in the midst of the fury and horror of divine judgment, and remind them that God is still in sovereign control of all events.

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During the interludes God comforts His people with the knowledge that He has not forgotten them, and that they will ultimately be victorious.

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That is especially true in the longest (in terms of the amount of material devoted to it) of the three interludes, this one between the sixth and seventh trumpets (10:1–11:14).

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Believers alive during that time will endure the unimaginable horrors of a demon-assaulted, sin-mad world.

Like the believers of Malachi’s day (cf.

Mal.

3:16–17), they will fear being swept away by the divine judgments that are ravaging the earth.

God will comfort and reassure them that He has not forgotten them and that He still controls events and protects His own.

#.

Chapter 10 describes the opening events of this interlude preparing for the final trumpet blast.

It does so by describing five unusual features: an unusual angel, an unusual act, an unusual answer, an unusual announcement, and an unusual assignment.

*1.

**An Unusual Angel*

*I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open.

(10:1–2/a/)*

a.

As it does throughout Revelation (cf.

4:1; 7:1, 9; 15:5; 18:1; 19:1), /eidon/ (*I saw*) marks the beginning of a new vision.

b.

Following his vision of the first six trumpets (8:6–9:21), John saw a vision of someone he had heretofore not seen.

This *strong angel *is distinct from the seven angels who sound the seven trumpets.

c.        Noting the similarities between his description and that of Christ in 1:12–17, and that he, like Christ, descends in a cloud (cf.

1:7), some identify this angel as Jesus Christ.

But several factors argue against that identification.

i.

First, the use of /allos/ (*another* of the same kind) identifies this angel as one exactly like the previously mentioned trumpet angels.

If Christ were being referred to here, the word /heteros/ (another of a different kind) would be expected, since Christ is essentially different from angels.

Christ could not be described as an angel exactly like the other angels, since they are created and He is the uncreated, eternal God.

                                                              ii.

Second, whenever Jesus Christ appears in Revelation John gives Him an unmistakable title.

He is called “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (1:5), the son of man (1:13), the first and the last (1:17), the living One (1:18), the Son of God (2:18), “He who is holy, who is true” (3:7), “the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God” (3:14), “the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (5:5), the Lamb (6:1, 16; 7:17; 8:1), Faithful and True (19:11), the Word of God (19:13), and “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (19:16).

It is reasonable to assume that if Christ were the angel in view here He would be distinctly identified.

iii.

Third, other strong angels, who clearly cannot be identified with Christ, appear in Revelation (5:2; 18:21).

Since other angels are so designated, there is no compelling reason to associate that title with Jesus Christ.

Further, while the preincarnate Christ appeared in the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord, the New Testament nowhere refers to Him as an angel.

iv.

Fourth, it is inconceivable that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, could make the oath that this angel makes in verses 5 and 6: “Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it.”

Since He is God, the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ would swear by Himself (cf.

Heb.

6:13).

v.

Finally, this angel came *down out of heaven *to the earth.

To identify him as Christ is to add another coming of Christ to the earth unfore seen elsewhere in Scripture, one that is not in accord with the biblical descriptions of the Second Coming (cf.

Matt.

24:30; 25:31; 2 Thess.

1:7–8).

d.