Forerunner Christian Fellowship – Mike Bickle
Walking in the Spirit: Fellowship with the Holy Spirit Page 6
I. intro to revelation 10 – the final rejection of the nations
A. As Revelation 9 comes to a close, the second of two “woes” has just taken place. The escalation of the rage of man and the two great resistance movements (each resisting either the established false kingdom or the true one breaking in with power) has come to a frightening crescendo – a partial unveiling of the supernatural realm (which began with the sixth seal – Rev. 6:14) by the Lord gives men the ability to see the true nature of the demonic realm while giving demons permission to do what has always been in their hearts to do.
B. These terrifying expressions of God’s wrath and mercy have brought the events of this age to their conclusion – and the nations make their terrifying choice in the face of God’s wrath against darkness to continue on in their embrace of it (Rev. 9:21).
C. It is at this point, as John is left breathless at the stunning refusal of the nations to repent, that a “mighty angel” descends from heaven to provide an interlude, or parenthesis, to the unfolding events. The desire of the Lord is to establish His goodness and mercy in the heart of John and all “who have ears to hear” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22) – which Jesus spoke seven times as a means of inviting hearts to be open, hungry, and predisposed to embrace His agenda for the end of the age and lay aside their own in repentance.
D. The Lord is establishing His goodness and mercy to the nations to remind us again for the reason for the seeming severity of these unfolding events. All of us deserve eternity in hell because of our sins – these events are not severe enough in that context. That God would escalate the intensity of these judgments only in context to do what is needed to set men free (if they would say yes) is evidence enough – but God wants to keep the hearts of those who are “hearing” tender and leave no room for offence. His desire is that all agree with His leadership – and so, in intimacy He tenderly provides a pause to give us a window into understanding His kindness towards all who are involved in this drama.
E. In this passage, He reveals His goodness towards the many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings who are raging against Him by promising to prepare, establish, commission and send prophetic messengers to “plead His case with all flesh” (Jer. 25:31) to both stand and plead and judge (Isa. 3:13) compelling any who will come to the wedding to come in (Lk. 14:23). These prophetic preachers are both vessels of mercy as well as “witnesses for the prosecution” (Matt. 24:14) who will stand in judgment with Jesus during and after the choice of the nations.
F. Secondly, God is establishing His kindness and goodness towards the many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings who are joining with Him in worship and intercession – the saints who emerge from the tribulation from among these who enduring the greatest fire of testing ever recorded. He gives them, through John, his solemn oath to bring their trouble to a conclusion after the first two woes and not delay any longer (Rev. 10:5-6).
II. the mercy strategy of the lord to the nations:
1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. (Rev. 10:1)
A. The rainbow is the proof of the commitment of God to His covenant with the nations (Gen. 8:20-22); unity / union with the glory of God requires the mercy and kindness of the Holy God who cannot abide with darkness. This incredible mercy is motivating the thoughts of the Lord as He executes His great judgments:
…Then the Lord said in His heart: “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living thing as I have done.” (Gen. 8:21)
1. John has seen the nations at their worst – he is seeing the “days of Noah” unfold before his very eyes:
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mat. 24:37)
2. Men are fully hardened against God, giving themselves to murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft – just as they had done prior to the catastrophic flood. God had made a solemn commitment “in His heart” – that He would not destroy every living thing in the manner that He had done in those days.
3. The “rainbow” on the head of the angel that John sees is the sign of God’s commitment to follow through on His great promise to the nations, even at the height of their wickedness – He will work furiously until the very end to save any who could be reached by His unique end-time prophetic messengers. They will be trained, equipped, and prepared for that specific time in human history to reach the near “unreachable”. God’s strategy before the “flood” of the bowls is to evangelize the earth in a way that He did not before the great flood.
4. Even then, He will not destroy “every living thing” as He did in those days – the survival of the nations who are left after the bowl judgments are poured out (the “resistors”) is a testimony to the extent of God’s commitment to the rainbow covenant He made with Noah and the nations of the earth thousands of years ago.
III. the seven thunders messages
4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them." (Rev. 10:4)
A. The divine information related to the scroll is for all who have ears to hear. The prophetic messages that are uttered by the “seven thunders” (possibly the thunderous voice of God Himself as “thunderings” proceeded directly from His throne) are not for all – they have specific application to exhort and encourage the final generation and thus must be sealed until the end – an allusion to Daniel 12:9 –
And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:9)
B. These prophetic messages will not contain new information, but are specific encouragements for the end-time church and exhortations to the rebellious nations related to the perfection of God’s prophetic plan (signified by the “seven” thunders). The point of these messages is not that they will contain some new, unique “twist” on scripture but that they will be surgical in their purposes related to that time-frame in human history.
C. The allusion is to the passage, but also to the person – Daniel, whom John the apostle is most similar to in calling and character – as the two who are “greatly beloved”. John, like Daniel, is being commissioned yet again to carry a significant and weighty message for the nations as well as for his people. This is to be the calling and character of many who are part of the mercy strategy of God at the end of the age – to fill the earth with these messengers who carry the five-fold anointing to accompany messages of surgical precision and accuracy.
IV. The time frame of the prophetic messengers:
5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever…that there should be delay no longer, (Rev. 10:5-6)
A. This is another allusion to the book of Daniel (related to the sealing of the message):
And one said to the man clothed in linen… “How long shall these wonders be?” Then I heard…when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time…(Dan. 12:6-7)
1. These words are to be an anchor of hope and expectancy for those who are undergoing the great trial of Dan. 12:1 – that there will now “be delay no longer” as it relates to the events that follow in Dan. 12:2-3.
2. The “time of the end” is now at hand, and those whose power has been “completely shattered”, as well as those saints who are still alive on the earth, must be told that the next phase of history is about to begin with the ending of the tribulation of the saints and the beginning of the second coming of Jesus to the earth.
3. This is his kindness to all – to cut these days of great tribulation short, so that some “flesh” might be saved, or spared from the trauma of death to experience the glory and beauty of Jesus on earth (Matt. 24:22) – that the “elect”, or the unsaved remnant of Israel, might escape or emerge intact that the fullness of Israel might usher in greater glory for the nations of the earth that rejected them. This is a key aspect (not the fullness) of the “mystery of God” – that the nations (Gentiles) might be fully reconciled and joined in unity to Israel (Jews) (Rom. 11:25)
7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God (purpose, plans, and person) would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. (Rev. 10:7)
B. “But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound…” – this does not primarily speak of the days following the sounding of the seventh trumpet (as in continuous trumpet blasts throughout the rapture of the church) but is speaking of the days leading up to the sounding of the seventh trumpet, or the final days that mark the completion of the “mystery of God.”
C. “…The mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.” This is speaking of the mystery of God that encompassed more than a message or an idea – the veil of mystery that separates God (and the supernatural realm) from men is about to be removed, and all the mysterious nature of God encompassed by His person, purposes, and plans are about to be made known. The mystery is finished – that which has been hidden from men, shrouded in mystery revealed only to the hungry – will now be expressed clearly to all.
1. This does not mean that all mysteries will be revealed, or that the mystery will be complete – the process of “the restoration of all things” related to this mysterious dimensions of God’s purposes and plans that Paul often spoke of (i.e. the Gospel, the one new man, etc.) takes 1000 years under the leadership of Jesus. This means that the mysterious hiddenness of God will be finished – believer and unbeliever will all testify to the reality of God and His plans to fellowship with men in fullness.
V. the nature of the prophetic messenger:
10 Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. (Rev. 10:10)
A. This is an allusion to the commissioning of Ezekiel as a prophetic messenger – he must do more than repeat the message given to him by the Lord, he would have to become the message. He would have to be transformed by the Lord to accurately convey the heart of God and be able to reach the difficult people he is being sent to – this is the commitment of God to fulfill His covenant to the nations made through Noah, to establish in His mercy prophetic messengers able to be “set against” the historic hardness exhibited by the nations at the end of the age:
1 Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. (Ezek. 3:1-3)
1. This internal transformation was both transcendent and costly for Ezekiel – it required everything from him and was not easy to “digest”, or synthesize, even though the words themselves were pleasant and sweet – not harsh or angry. The way of a hardened heart into God’s ways is bitter and difficult – there will be much internal turmoil and struggle:
8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house." (Ezek. 3:8-9)
2. Ezekiel had to fully receive all the words spoken by God – they had to be fully integrated into his very being, transforming and shifting him completely. As God is calling and inviting man into deep unity and union with His person, men must agree to submit to the process of unity and union with His Word as well. The process of becoming a prophetic messenger is one of the most difficult and exacting in the entire Word of God:
10 Moreover He said to me: "Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them,' Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse." 12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: "Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!" (Ezek. 3:10-12)
B. John is re-commissioned by the angel under the authority of God to take the scroll from the angel and consume it. He had been commissioned initially to record and proclaim, but now he is being asked to consume the words and live wholly according to what is contained within.
C. That John the beloved, mature apostle is being asked to move to another level of wholehearted abandonment and agreement speaks of the great need for the prophetic church to fight for (“contend earnestly” – Jude 3) the faith that was “once for all delivered to the saints”.
1. If John, nearing the end of his life, is still being challenged to “come up higher” and “draw nearer” than how much more must we recognize the vast gap between message and messenger in our own lives?
VI. the mission of the prophetic messenger:
11 And he said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings." (Rev. 10:11)
A. Specifically, this is relating to the same “peoples, nations, tongues, and kings of Rev. 11:9 who rejoice over the dead bodies of the two witnesses. Relating this to Ezekiel 3, the Lord is divinely setting him to go to a people who are “not of unfamiliar language” (Ezek. 3:6) – language or difficulty of understanding will not be the barrier, but hardened hearts.
B. This hardening is the point of Rev. 9:21, as well as 11:7-10. That they “will not hear” is the reality that every prophetic messenger commissioned by God (i.e. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.) must face. God promised to establish a supernatural resolve within Ezekiel to confront this reality and walk in a supernatural boldness – this is the essence of the promise of the angel to John as well as the messengers that will be established by grace at the end of the age.
C. The peoples, nations, tongues, and kings will not listen, but John must prophesy, “whether they hear, or whether they refuse”. This is the burden of the prophetic messenger, yet the proclamation (and hearing) is just as much a key component of God’s plan as the reception of the message – for refusal is part of the righteous judgment to come.
VII. the fruit and the reward of a prophetic messenger: rev. 14:12-16
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. (Rev. 14:12-16)
I. review – the final rejection of the nations and god’s response
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance (salvation), as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:28-32)
And they (the rest of mankind that is raging against God) did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. (Rev. 9:21-10:1)
A. Rev. 6:12 (the opening of the sixth seal) and Rev. 9:21 (the sounding of the sixth trumpet) are part of a terrifying progression in...
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