You Must Again Prophesy: The Sweet & Bitter Gospel – Revelation 10

YOU MUST AGAIN PROPHESY:

The Sweet & Bitter Gospel

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 10

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 10. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

¹ Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. ² He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, ³ and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. ⁴ And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” ⁵ And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, ⁷ but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

 

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

Human taste can be distilled down into 5 basic taste qualities. Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory. Some of you have big sweet tooths. Raise your hand if that’s you. Others love salty foods. Raise your hand if you are a salty person. Now, of course we know that it’s often tasty to mix salty foods with sweet foods. For instance, to cover a pretzel with chocolate. Or, even better, who has dipped your French fries into a frosty?

Well, I’m going to need little audience participation here. I’m going to name a food item and I want you to audibly respond with either the word sweet, or the word bitter.

• Vinegar
• Honey
• Coffee
• Cranberry Juice
• Horseradish
• Sugar
• Garlic
• Grapefruit

Grapefruit is one of those foods that, depending on who you ask, is sweet or bitter. Dark chocolate is another. To one person, its nothing but bitter. To another, there’s a sweetness.

In Revelation 10, John is told to proclaim a message to the world, and it’s a message that some will be attracted to and find sweet while others are repulsed at its bitterness. But before we dive into the passage itself, let’s take a moment and fit this chapter into the larger context of Revelation.

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

There are a total of 22 chapters in Revelation, which means that we are essentially half-way through the book. Chapter 10 serves as a pivot point or a transition from the first half of the book to the second half. John has already written letters to 7 churches, and unveiled seven seal judgments and 6 of the 7 trumpet judgments. Chapter 10 is an intermission between the 6th trumpet and the 7th which will begin the cycle of the 7 vials of wrath.

As I’ve said before, Revelation is a book that ratchets up the intensity with each successive page. John has already proclaimed terrible judgments, but in the last verse of chapter 10 he is told that there is more that he must say. Look at verse 11:

¹¹ And I was told, “You must again prophesy…”

In a sense, this is John, halfway through his message being recommissioned to shared the second half.

As we consider the ministry of proclamation that John was called to carry out, we find that it is a model for our own ministry. The message that he preached would be bittersweet, so is ours. It’s a message that he directed at the kings and rulers of his own day, which we must direct at our leaders today. It’s a message of Christ’s authority over all the earth. It’s a warning that Christ will judge the earth. And it’s a message that Christ will redeem sinners.

In this page we are told:

1. WHO THE MESSAGE IS FOR (10:8-11)
2. WHAT THE MESSAGE IS (10:1-3; 5-7)
3. HOW THE HEARERS WILL RESPOND (10:9-10)

Church, this passage tells us that we measure success not by how many people respond favorably to our message, but by how faithfully we are to proclaim the message we’ve been given.

Non-Christian, this passage explains, through symbols, the fundamental belief of Christianity: that the risen and ascended Jesus Christ is Lord over all. And for now, he is drawing those who are far from him to himself. But a time is coming when he will no longer draw unbelievers. Instead he will return again as judge.

So my prayer is that you will turn to Christ today—resting in his saving work at the cross, and following him as Lord of all. Maybe you will even put your faith in him as this sermon is being preached.

Let’s begin our study by first seeing…

1. WHO THE MESSAGE IS FOR (10:8-11)

John is commissioned to preach, and he is told at the very end of the passage to whom he is supposed to preach:

¹¹ And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

On the one hand, John is to preach, or prophesy to all people . That’s what the word prophesy most often means “Art of Prophesying” by Perkins. Verse 11 sounds a lot like the Great Commission Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 28: 19

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

John, and us as well, are to preach to the nations—all the ethnic groups; to all people. The word for people is laos, from which we get “laity” meaning people in general, and we are to preach to every tongue, or language.

And the church is doing just that. One of the most fascinating ministries you could begin praying for is Wycliffe Bible Translators. Their focus, as you may have guessed, is to translate the Scriptures into the native tongue of every nation, tribe and subgroup on the planet.

Their ministry is currently in engaged in translating the Bible into 1,633 total languages. However, there are 1,336 languages which still do now have a full Bible translation. This means that 1.5 billion people still don’t have a full Bible in their language. 128 million don’t have any Scripture in their language.

Christian, do you realize how rich we are in Bible translations? Since William Tyndale began his translation in 1526, translators and publishers have created over 900 different English Bibles. I have more than 20 in paper copy and over 100 digital version. Most of you are using software applications which will read the Bible to you in any translation you wish.

Church we ought to regularly pray for the work of ministries like Wycliffe who are putting the gospel into the languages of the nations. John was called to preach to the nations, and so are we.

But I want to pay special attention to the final word of verse 11. John was commissioned to prophesy to all people in general, but specifically to kings. Why is that significant?

It’s significant because the second half of Revelation has much to say to the kings of the earth. In fact, you might say that the entire second half of Revelation is the story of the overthrow of evil kings and the return of the true king, Jesus Christ to rule and reign forever.

In the next few minutes, you will be greatly helped to have your Bible open and ready to survey several passages.

In Revelation 16:12 we see that the kings of the earth are assembled to go to war against God.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. ¹³ And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. ¹⁴ For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

In Revelation 17:1-2 we see a picture of the kings of the earth desiring to have the same power and might as ancient Babylon which is portrayed symbolically as a prostitute.

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

In 17:12 we see that the kings of the earth unite together in one beastly government to war against Christ:

¹² And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will make war on the Lamb,

Chapter 18 records the fall of Babylon and we’re told that the kings of the earth lament her downfall:

⁹ And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.

In chapter 19:17, those kings who oppose Christ are defeated.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”

The final mention of kings is in Revelation 22:23 when we are told that some kings, who bowed the knee to Christ are present in the New Heavenly Jerusalem:

²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, ²⁵ and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

Do you see what’s happening here in Revelation 10:11 – John is given a message – to all people, yes, but especially to the rulers and kings of the earth. The message of the end of Revelation is not that Christianity takes over the world resulting in the conversion of kings—but that the kings of the earth reject Christ and persecute the saints—and for their disobedience, they will be condemned.

Friends, we are called to relay this message to the leaders, the magistrates, the authorities of our own day, who deny Christ, who disobey his commands, who subvert the truth.

We are officially in primary season for the presidential race. All this year you will hear me say this a lot: the church is political, but we are not partisan. We are political because we declare that Christ is Lord—and that’s a political statement. But we are not partisan. We are not the errand boy for any party or candidate. We don’t stump for Murray. We speak for Jesus Christ.

So, when you go vote, vote for those who will defend the unborn. Vote for those who will affirm a Biblical view of male and female. Vote for those who don’t legalize theft through the confiscation and redistribution of your property. Vote for those who will defend the right of your pastor to stand here and say all that I am saying.

So, who is the message for? It’s for everyone—but especially for kings and rulers. But what is the message?

2. WHAT THE MESSAGE IS

The message that John is commissioned to preach is directly connected with the contents of the book that he eats as well as with the identity of the angel who carries the book. Take a look at verse 8:

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it;

This little scroll or book in the hand of the angel is curious. What is it? What does it contain? There is more than one possible explanation. This little scroll could be the same scroll, sealed with seven seals that we saw back in chapter 5. We notice that just as the scroll in chapter 5 had seven seals which Christ has already broken, this scroll is already open as well. So, if this is the same scroll, then the contents of the scroll are the eternal decrees of God.

But this may be a different scroll than the one mention in chapter 5 because this scroll is referred to as little, or smaller. So, some believe that this scroll is the scroll that shows up in Revelation 21:7:

²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

So, this scroll could be the Lamb’s book of life, containing the names of all God’s elect.

I believe this little scroll, or little book contains the second half of Revelation itself for several reasons. First, in verse 5-7, the angel carrying the book swears an oath to initiate the 7^th trumpet judgment which in turn will unleash the 7 vials of wrath which are to come. Second, in verse 11, after John receives the little scroll and eats it, he is told, “You must prophesy again… to kings.” In other words, John had to some extent set forth God’s will in the first half of the book, and he is now required to complete the message.

So, what do we find in the second half of this book? The final salvation of all God’s people and the final judgment of those oppose God. The angel raises his hand to heaven and says: “I swear by the God who made the heavens and the earth that the final trumpet will sound. And the mystery of God—that he will gather to himself a people from every nation—will be fulfilled, and final judgment will come.” The great gathering of God’s people will end. The time of God’s patience with evil will end. History itself will end.

That’s the content of the book. But I also said that the message John was commissioned to preach was bound up with the identity of the angel carrying the book. So, who then is this angel? Look back at verse 1:

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. ² He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, ³ and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.

I believe this angel is either Christ himself, or at the very least an angel who stands as a direct representative of Christ. We know that in the Old Testament, the Son of God often appeared as the “Angel of the Lord” (Gen. 16) Angel can refer to the angelic beings that God created, but it can also simply mean a messenger. So, why do I believe this mighty angel in Rev 10 is Christ, or an angel representing Christ?

All of the descriptions of this angel at pulled directly from other parts of Scripture which describe God.

The cloud (Psalm 97:2), rainbow (Rev. 4:3), the face like the sun and feet like fire (Rev. 1:14-16); these are all the insignia of deity. This angel holds the opened scroll in the hand, signifying he is entrusted with the judgments of God.

In verse 2 he sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. This is the language of conquest and possession. In other words, all the earth is under his feet—he has authority over the entire earth.

In Greek mythology, a giant named Atlas is ordered to hold up the earth. And in all the statues and paintings the giant bends and groans under the weight of the earth. But Christ is greater than Atlas. He doesn’t bend beneath the earth. He stands above it.  He holds and upholds the earth with the word of his power.

This means that Christ is the judge of all the earth; every nation, every king, every ruler, every law. He is the ultimate standard of measurement.

So, if we take all of this together, here is the message given to John and to us:

Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord over all. He is Lord over the galaxies and he is Lord over the dishes in your sink; Lord over every molecule and every black hole and everything in between. And, by his power, he will bring about the redemption of God’s people and the judgment of evil.

How does he redeem God’s people? He offered himself, 2,000 years ago in their place. What is the cross of Christ all about? Friend, it was there that Christ suffered and bore the wrath of God in order to satisfy the justice of God.

You and I have disobeyed God, and therefore we deserve God’s wrath. We deserve to be cut off. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God in flesh, perfectly obeyed God’s law—and deserved God’s pleasure and life. That is what justice is: to receive what you are owed.

But on the cross, Christ received what we were owed. He was cut off, in order that we might receive what he was owed—we are welcomed and favored.

Friend—the perfect life and sinless death of Christ were so pleasing to God that John Owen once said, “God was more pleased with the obedience of Christ than he was ever displeased with the disobedience of Adam.”

And, though Christ died, God raised him from the dead so that we might know God’s approval of all that Christ had done. So that we might be raised with him.

A Christian is someone who can say, “When Christ died, my sins died. When Christ was buried, my sins were buried. And when Christ was raised, my sins were not raised. Their still in the tomb.”

And the only proper response to this gospel message is to respond in repentance and faith. Turn away from all you have trusted before now and turn to Christ in trust today.

So, how will the hearers of this message respond?

3. HOW THE HEARERS WILL RESPOND

¹⁰ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.

Very simply: as we proclaim that Christ is both the redeemer and Lord we can expect two opposite responses. To some, the message will be sweet. To others it will be bitter.

In 2 Corinthians 2:15 the Apostle Paul put it this way:

¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

Here’s what this means: the proclamation of the church will be both attractive and repulsive. That’s one way you know you are preaching the truth. If you are only attractive, if your proclamation never repulses—then you aren’t preaching the true gospel. And, conversely, if you only ever repel and offend, then you aren’t preaching the true gospel.

The message we proclaim is sweet for us when it is heard and received and believed. Nothing thrills us more than to watch people confess their sins and trust in Christ. Nothing excites us more than to baptize new Christians.

Yet, even the sweet gospel of Christ can become bitter when our testimony is rejected and despised by the world. It’s a reminder that it will not be easy to declare this message to those kings who oppose Christ. Our preaching will not, indeed, it cannot please everyone. In fact, often our preaching will enrage the world.

Often, your testimony will drive a wedge between you and your spouse, or you and your children, or you and your friend. But it is impossible to be faithful to Christ and avoid the displeasure of some.

In John 6, Jesus declared to the crowds that he and he alone was the bread of life; that only those who feasted upon him would find real and lasting nourishment for their souls. That no one can come to the Father unless he first granted it.

And in John 6:66 we hear these words:

⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

Friend, even Jesus Christ himself, the perfect man, knows the bitter taste of rejection.

As we continue to unfold the second half of Revelation there will be many opportunities to turn away. There will be many truths which, in our sinfulness, are unpalatable. There are many sermons which, if we preach them faithfully, will draw the ire and scorn of the lost world.

And yet, there will be a sweetness. God has chosen to use our preaching as the means by which many will turn to Christ and receive life. Our calling is not to please the world, but to be faithful to Christ. Our calling is not to be sweet, or to be bitter, but to say what is true no matter what.

Church—if you displease Christ, it does not matter who you please. And, if you please Christ, it does not matter who you displease.