REVELATION Chapter 10 "The Angel with the Book" This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's transcription is provided with written permission by http://www.theseason.org 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:" 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," This is a vision given by Jesus to John about this mighty angel. The fire did not burn the little book, and in most cases, fire indicates the burning of the Spirit of God. This is a cleansing fire that comes upon the whole earth. For the key to understanding what is burned upon the earth, we go to II Peter 3:10; "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements [evil rudiments] shall melt with fervent heat," Those "elements" are the "rudiments of all evil", for all of Satan's works and evil deeds will be gone. God's children shall not be touched. God's wrath will only directed towards his enemies. Revelation 10:3 "And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered, and write them not." 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." What ever those seven thunders uttered, it is not recorded for us to know. 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:" The angel swore by Almighty God. The thunders covered the full cycle of all events about to happen, but the angel is announcing the close of this earth age: This earth age is over and finished. The seven seals took us to the end of this earth age, the age where man lives in the flesh body. The earth continues on into eternity, but man no longer will live in the flesh following the close of this earth age. The seven trumpets exist in the same time frame as the seven seals, and end with the "day of the Lord". However, we are still in the sixth trumpet during this part of the vision. So then, what are the thunders? Thunder is the report, or sound caused by the movement of lightning. The lightning is the action that took place, while the thunder follows later. The thunder is indicating the distance in time that has passed since the action had occurred. By the time you here the thunder, the lightning is long past. This is why the thunders are sealed. By the time the thunders take place; you will have already lived through it and it will be history to you. If you wait to recognize the thunder, it's to late for you. Jesus told us in Luke 10:18. "...I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." We saw in the Revelation 9:1, when the fifth angel sounded his trumpet the star [lightning] fell from heaven. This sixth trumpet then is the announcement of that fall from heaven. If you are waiting for that announcement, your already part of Satan's system. You must know before hand from God's Word, for without that knowledge [seal] in your mind, God will turn you over to Satan [Revelation 9:4]. You must know that the trumpets give the action of what is to takes place in this time of testing. To not know this report [prophesy] before it comes about will cause you to be caught up in the action as an "actor", and not an "observer". God gives you His prophecies so you can be an observer. Do you get it? 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." When the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, then the mystery of God shall be finished. Should this be a mystery or surprise to you as a Christian? Not if you have studied God's Word. For God revealed every detail of what we shall see, and hear, in His Word. There are no surprises. Jesus said many times, "It is written". What is written will come to pass. All the prophecies uttered by the prophets, and disciples, as well as our Lord, referring to these latter days, is what the thunders revealed. This seal is broken by the blood of Jesus Christ, and through Him we can take it the knowledge of God's Word into our minds, and act upon that knowledge. Revelation 10:8 "And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke 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." "The little book which is open," is God's Word, the Bible. This book is not sealed, and never has been. It is open to you as a believer, but to those not of God, and many others, it is confusion. 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." When you partake of it, it's going to be as sweet as honey, but later it will be bitter in your belly. When you read it and first take it in, the words are sweet to you. Then as the Words are taught to you for their meanings and you live by it, it can become bitter. Meditation of God's Words are sweet, However, when you act upon it, then comes the bitter persecution in many ways. 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." Did the angel force feed John? No. John asked for the book, he took it and ate it. The angel required John to "take it", so he did. What you get from God's Word requires an action on your part. You have to take it, read it, meditate upon it, understand it, then you can act upon it. God's way is for you to search the Scriptures. Revelation 10:11 "And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." When you start sharing God's Word you can see how much honey flows, as those around you think your nuts, and with a few screws lose. God's messenger is giving to John this command. What day was John in at this time? This happened on the last day of this earth [flesh] age. The day when the seventh trumpet sounds. John did go back to the Isle of Patmos, in 90 A.D., and wrote all the things he had seen, and you and I have them recorded in our Bibles today. Through this little book, the Bible, many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings have received John's prophecies that were given to him in the Spirit, by our Lord Jesus Christ.
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