The Mystery Revealed

Revelation 10

Immanuel – 5/1/22

In chapter 5, John saw a scroll in the right hand of God, sealed with seven seals. In chapter 6, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb that was slain, begins to break its seals.

Immediately, judgements are declared. First comes a white rider, a symbol of Christ riding in covenant judgement upon Apostate Israel. Following behind Him are three other riders, symbols of covenant curses; curses detailed in Deuteronomy 28. In reality – outside of the symbolic – these covenant curses come upon Israel at the hand of Rome, preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

When the fifth seal is broken, those slain for the gospel cry out to God, asking Him to avenge the unjust spilling of their blood. They are told to wait just a little while longer. But the breaking of the sixth seal is a promise to them and a declaration against those that spilled their blood. The Days of the Vengeance were coming; Jerusalem’s fiery end was fixed.

Then an interlude breaks the wrathful rhythm; an interlude of salvation. Suddenly the elect are sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked by their unity to Christ. John hears a number – 144,000 – but when he looks it is an uncountable multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation. It is a symbol of the people of God, loved and chosen by God, victors in Christ and overflowing in glorious praise.

In chapter 8, the scroll comes back into focus and Christ breaks the seventh seal. A hush falls upon heaven. God is receiving the prayers of the saints from the fifth seal. Their wait is over. Seven angels begin blowing seven trumpets. Again, the trumpets symbolize covenant curses. And these curses will bring down the walls of false security in Jerusalem. These are the curses fulfilled in 70 AD, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem.

For our consideration today, it is important to note that we have not yet moved beyond the seventh seal. All seven of the trumpet judgements emerge with the breaking of the seventh seal.

With the sounding of the first four trumpets, God forever divorces the covenants from Israel’s bloodlines and laws. Israel becomes like Sodom and Egypt. As we saw last week, the fifth and sixth trumpets unleash demonic plagues of destruction upon Jerusalem. And there are still more judgements to come with the sixth trumpet, yet this trumpet is interrupted by yet another interlude of salvation.

Chapter 10, where we are today, is that interlude.

Purpose

Chapter 10 is filled with new covenant symbols.

What is the mystery?

Ours is a message of salvation and judgement.

Read Revelation 10

The Mighty Angel

This chapter begins with an angel descending from heaven. But if you have been following this series, then you should already know that this is no mere angel. Likely, the symbols are beginning to make sense to you, just as they would have done for the original readers in the first century.

Such is the nature of the symbolic, showing us things beyond what eyes can see, drawing elements together that give far deeper understandings.

This angel is wrapped, or clothed, in a cloud. There is only One in the Bible who is clothed in a cloud. And this cloud is not a normal cloud, but the shekinah cloud, the cloud of glory that wraps the Almighty.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. -Exodus 40:34-35

Repeatedly, the Old Testament symbolically imagines God to be clothed in a cloud of glory. A detail I am not going to unfold, this cloud also symbolized the entire angelic host: in other words, the Mighty Angel is clothed with the entire heavenly host – glorious clothing indeed!

And let us not forget Revelation 1:7.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the [land] will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.

-Revelation 1:7

And the angel has a rainbow over His head. Remember, back in chapter 4, John saw a rainbow encircling the throne of God – and that vision had echoes of Ezekiel’s visions in it? The rainbow that encircled God now rests upon the Mighty Angel – a crown worn only by the divine God of Promise.

Indeed, the rainbow symbolized a divine promise, a covenant.

“This [rainbow] is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” -Genesis 9:17

Now the angel is crowned with the rainbow, as if this angel is the covenant keeper, the victorious upholder all God’s promises.

The angel’s face is like the sun; and if His identity isn’t obvious already, it should become so with this symbol.

In the midst of the lampstands [I saw] one like a son of man…and His face was like the sun shining in full strength. -Revelation 1:13,16

The Might Angel of Revelation 10 is the Son of Man in chapter 1. The Mighty Angel is yet another of Revelation’s symbolic pictures of Jesus Christ. And Christ does indeed shine with the splendor of the sun.

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” -John 8:12

The symbolism of verse 1 reveals that all truth and life radiates from The Mighty Angel’s face. He is the radiance of the glory of God.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

-2 Corinthians 4:6

Also, Angel’s legs are like pillars of fire. When God led the Israelites through the wilderness, during the day He led them by a pillar of cloud – and we have already seen clouds in Revelation 10. But during the night God led Israel in pillars of fire. The Israelites, and Scripture, symbolically thought of these as the legs of God. God walked before Israel, leading Israel along the way

Again, from chapter 1:

In the midst of the lampstands [I saw] one like a son of man…His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in the furnace. -Revelation 1:13,15

Burnished bronze in the furnace – those are fiery feet!

The Mighty Angel leads of the people of God through the wilderness, all we must do is follow Him.

The symbolism of verse 1 is so powerful. Christ is the Mighty Angel, clothed in the glory of God, the conqueror who upholds God’s promises, illuminating the earth with life and truth, leading His people through the wilderness and on to the final Promised Land. How much more we can see through the powerful lens of symbolism!

Not only does this symbolism expand our perspective, but it charges our passage with meaning; preparing us for the trajectory of the chapter. This is not an angel of judgement, but one of salvation and promise!

Read vs 2

In Revelation there is one scroll. It first appeared in the right hand of the Ancient of Days and no one was worthy to take it.

I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. -Revelation 5:1

John sees this, and then an angelic cry resounds through all creation, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (5:2) Not one was found. John wept. And John wept because he understood the nature of the scroll.

John understood that the sealed scroll contained the new covenant – all the promises of God fulfilled: a paradise without borders, a vast and diverse people unified and loving, and unrestrained favor from God. The scroll held the longing of John’s heart; and dare I say, the longings of every human heart. So when it seemed like those contents, and the longings of humanity, might never be released, he burst into bitter tears.

It would be like wandering lost in a vast wilderness, with a map you don’t understand, and finally coming to terms with the reality that no one is going to rescue you; and there you will die.

Then comes the Lion of Judah, appearing as a Lamb, standing though slaughtered. Because He has appeared, was killed, and has conquered, He alone is worthy to open the scroll.

And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. -Revelation 5:7

The yearning of all creation has come. Every voice erupts in glorious worship.

I wonder, did you see how the scroll has changed between chapter 5 and chapter 10? The difference means everything, and if you miss it you miss the meaning of this chapter and all that follows. In fact, this is a pivotal moment in Revelation. In chapter 5 the scroll was sealed, now it is opened. The seals are broken; the contents of the new covenant are opened.

We’ll come back to what exactly these contents are.

Notice also how the Mighty Angel, who is the Lion and the Lamb, Jesus Christ; as He holds the open scroll He stands with one foot on sea and the other on land. This is not to show the immensity of the Angel. Rather, there is some powerful symbolism at work here, pointing towards the mystery of the open scroll. It’s symbolism we have seen a number of times in Revelation now.

For the Israelites, the Promised Land was intrinsically tied to their identity. The land was given to them by God. When they lived in obedience to God, God brought covenant blessings and allowed the land to prosper. When Israel lived in disobedience to God, God brought covenant judgments and allowed the land to become cursed.

That to say, the land becomes a symbol of Israel; specifically of the state of Israel’s relationship with God. When Christ places His foot upon the land, it is a symbol of His sovereignty over Israel. He is Lord of the land, and He is the upholder of the promises of God, the keeper of the covenants. Like in the days of Moses, the fiery feet of the Lord bring blessing and salvation.

The angel stands also in the sea; and as we have seen a number of times in Revelation, the sea is a symbol for the gentile nations. For from Israel’s perspective, across the ocean were the vastness of the nations.

Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of the nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! The nations roar like the roaring of many waters. -Isaiah 17:12-13

[God] stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe of your signs.

-Psalm 65:7-8

See the close link between the nations and the seas? In many places, the sea is simply used as a symbol for the nations, as we see it here in Revelation 10.

When the Mighty Angel has His foot upon the seas it is a symbol of His sovereignty over the nations. He is Lord of all peoples, the One who extends the promises of God to whomever He wills, the keeper of the covenants for all who believe. As it was for the Jews, so it is for all.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. -Galatians 3:28-29

Read vs 3

The Mighty Angel who is the Lion of Judah roars. His call is the call of the seven thunders and the seven thunders are His voice.

The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon…The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness…The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare, and in His temple all cry, “Glory!” -Psalm 29:4-5,7-8,9

The voice of the Mighty Angel redounds with glory, striking fear and awe in the hearts of men like chest rattling thunder.

Read vs 4

John hears the voice of the Lord. The thunder carries an intelligible message. As he has faithfully done throughout the visions of this book, he lifts his pen to write, and in that moment a divine command arrests him. God will not permit John to disclose the message of the thunders to the church.

Unlike the content of the scroll, the words of the thunders are sealed. No one knows what John heard. If you have ever come across someone claiming to understand what John heard in the thunders, do not believe it. God has not given those words to the church.

None-the-less, there is a powerful message in the lack of message. You’ll see what I mean.

Read vs 5-7

The Eternal Oath

Here is a solemn moment. An oath is being made: an everlasting covenant. Jesus Christ the Lord swears by the Triune God that there will be no more delay. Delay for what? Verse 7 tells us. It is time for the mystery to be fulfilled.

Biblically, a mystery is not something that humans can uncover; as if after following a string of clues you will solve the mystery. That is not what mystery means. The mystery is hidden from human understanding until God reveals it. Shadows can be seen, but not the fullness.

Here is a snapshot of the mystery from the prophets.

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” -Isaiah 2:2-3

According to the oath of Christ in Revelation 10:7, now is the time for the fullness – or, the fulfillment of the mystery. And the New Testament makes it abundantly clear what is the mystery.

The mystery was made known to me by revelation…which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. The mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

-Ephesians 3:3,5-6

The mystery hidden for ages and generations but [is] now revealed to His saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. -Colossians 1:26-27

Christ is the cornerstone that has become a great mountain, and from this mountain does our help come. He is our food in the wilderness and our living water in dry lands. He is the sacrifice for sins. He is our High Priest who brings us into the presence of God. He is the Holy of Holies. He is the fullness of Zion. He is true Israel. He opens the Promised Land. The mystery is revealed in Christ!

And to Him do the nations stream. Together Jews and Gentiles ascend to the hope of glory, and only through Christ can Jews and Gentiles enjoy all the promises of God: every promise made to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Israel, to David – all of them are yes in Christ Jesus our Lord. With blazing feet and crowned with promises, He stands upon land and sea, uniting Jew and Gentile. Now people from Israel and Iran, Ukraine and Russia, North Korea and Nigeria, Hezbollah and Hasid, can come as one family – a holy nation – and enter into the eternal temple of God.

When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope that is set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.

-Hebrews 6:17-20

Christ’s entire life is the demonstration of His oath. He was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father that our promises might be secured in Him; and that we would worship the Father who put all of this in motion. Believe and enter into the new covenant! Christ has promised it, and because He has made an oath and cannot lie, His word is more firm than the planet on which we stand. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Your hope is secure!

Now, let’s consider the thunder again. The scroll is unsealed and opened. The seven thunders are sealed and closed. The Mighty Angel roared the thunders and John was not permitted to write what he heard.

You must ask, if John was not permitted to write, then what was the point of even mentioning that he heard thunders? Is it like saying, “I have a secret and I’m not telling,” or, “I have this info, but it’s need to know, and you all don’t need to know”? Of course, I don’t think any of that. God has purposes in this, as He does in all things.

John is not permitted to disclose the message of the thunder because God is disclosing that not everything has been disclosed.

I know that is confusing. I’ll put it another way. The great mystery of the new covenant has been revealed. But God wants us to know that there are further mysteries still, more unknowns worked together for the good of those who love God. As the church, there are things we cannot yet understand, things we await, things we long for; and these glories proceed directly from the mouth of Christ – even as they remain hidden today.

Yet we will not speculate; we will trust. And we will live in the glory that has been revealed.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

-Deuteronomy 29:29

Read vs 8-10

The Bittersweet Scroll

The scroll is open, the mystery is revealed, and John is told he must eat it. This is a direct parallel to Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry.

[The Lord] 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…The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit.

-Ezekiel 3:1-3,14

Ezekiel ate a scroll containing a message of salvation and judgment. And the eating of the scroll was a symbol of Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry. He would proclaim a message of salvation and judgement. The judgements would be fulfilled when Babylon invaded Judah, destroyed the temple, and took the people into captivity in 586 BC. The message of salvation was Judah’s eventual return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple. But even Ezekiel’s message pointed to a much more permanent destruction and an enduring salvation.

These greater portents flavored the scroll eaten by John. When John writes, Israel’s abandonment of God was wholesale; and now a final covenantal judgement was coming upon Jerusalem. That city would no longer hold any significance in God plan. For John, who so loved Jerusalem, that was a bitter pill to swallow. And the thought that he was commanded to proclaim such a message nauseated him.

Paul had a similar experience:

I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. -Romans 9:2-3

The message of judgement is difficult, even sorrowful, and God takes no pleasure in such bitterness.

“Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?’” -Ezekiel 33:11

Bitter as it may be, the message of judgement must be proclaimed. Perhaps it will lead some to turn away from their wickedness. And if not, it will be painfully clear that their destruction is justified. Thus God commands both Ezekiel and John to declare judgements, even though He knows it will be hard to stomach.

Brothers and sisters, never forget that God is infinitely sovereign and perfectly loving. What right does the pot have to question the Potter? He is righteous, without error, and plays a long game we cannot fathom. So we close our mouths and trust in Him, for He is God and we are not. We must accept the bitter with the sweet.

And how sweet the taste of eternal salvation! God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that if we believe we would not perish but live eternally. Jesus, this mighty roaring angel, spilled His blood to secure our forgiveness. He rose from the grave to defeat our death and secure our life. He reigns from heaven to secure our freedom from sin. By faith we can have life and have it abundantly.

So let us join in heaven’s song!

Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth…To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! -Revelation 5:9-10,13

The barrenness of Jewish Jerusalem below was being cut down to make way for the gloriously diverse Jerusalem of above. The weeds were being cleared for a crop that would bear much fruit. No longer will there be any pressure for Gentiles to become Jews. Now all can equally ascend Mount Zion and drink from its rivers of living water. There is no sweeter taste than this. Oh yes, in Christ we taste and see that God is good!

Such was the scroll that John ate: sweet in the mouth, but there was much that was hard to stomach. Regardless of how he felt, he still had to submit himself to the command of the Lord: proclaim salvation and judgement!

Read vs 11

Knowledge of revelation is not enough. John must go and proclaim. How interesting that after the Mighty Angel is seen with a foot upon the sea, revealing the mystery of unity between Jew and Gentile, confirming it with an eternal oath; John is then sent to proclaim the new covenant among the nations.

Jerusalem has rejected God, crucified her Messiah, and persecuted His followers. Judgement comes to her. Jerusalem is fallen! But there is a new covenant, and with it comes a New Jerusalem – a city of freedom and life.

Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar…she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem from above is free, and she is our mother. -Galatians 4:24-26

The New Jerusalem is free, and from this freedom we are born; for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! We did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into the fear of condemnation, but we have received the Spirit of adoption. Now, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are children of Abraham, sons and daughters of God, heirs of all God’s promises. And our Promised Land is the whole earth, and we long for the day when God’s will is done as it is in heaven.

And if we want to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven, then we must carry a message: it is both similar and different from the bitter scroll John swallowed. We do not proclaim a judgement upon Jerusalem, but a coming judgement for all men.

It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement.

-Hebrews 9:27

If we die in our sins, never having repented, then we face a fearful expectation of judgement and a fury of fire that will eternally consume us (Hebrews 10:27). How bitter this news; and we take no pleasure in it!

So we go to all people and cry, “Repent, and believe in the gospel! (Mark 1:15) Turn from your sins and look to Christ crucified and risen, the hope of the nations! He stands sovereign over all. He has secured every promise. In Him is glory and truth. Come to Him and live!”

This is our message. The horrors of judgement should sicken you so much that you cannot help but proclaim the sweet words of salvation! For this the Lamb has been slain; and we are the mouths through which the Lion of the tribe of Judah roars to the nations:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20

The scroll is open and the mystery is revealed. Your neighbor needs to know, and your cousin, and your boss, and your children, and Utica’s refugees, and the Irish, and Iranians. Like John, we must carry this scroll to many peoples, nations, and languages; so that all peoples will know joy in God.

God is making all things new!