| << | Contents | >> |
Fulfilling the Mystery
And 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.
It is helpful to remember that the word “angel” (Greek, AGGELLOS) means a messenger. This word can refer either to created spirit beings like cherubim and seraphim, human beings (Luke 9:52, Mark 1:2), or even God himself being His own Messenger. Old Testament references to the Angel of the Lord often reveal the Lord himself bringing a message to men (Genesis 22:11 - 18).
Whoever the mighty messenger is in the above verse, one thing is clear, it is not a fallen angel. Consider Revelation 9:1.
Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. And to him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
John sees a star that has fallen from heaven. Of course, in John’s vision, stars signify angels (Revelation 1:20). Here John sees a fallen star, a fallen angel to whom is given the key to the bottomless pit. When he opens the pit, many locusts come out having the sting of scorpions.
Hell lays siege to the earth by releasing locusts upon her. Apparently, locusts have one job description – to consume the harvest, God’s field. Today we see in our own society specific expressions of hell arising to devour everyone, including God’s people. Demonic power influences men toward greed, lust, judgmental attitudes, manipulative control, etc. These temptations are accompanied by torments likened to the sting of scorpions. All nations are affected and infected.
While the fallen angel of Revelation 9:1 releases demonic attacks, God responds by sending the mighty Messenger of Revelation 10:1. This One is not fallen from heaven, but comes down from heaven and is clothed with a cloud. In Scripture, God’s visitations are often connected to clouds. When He delivered Israel from Egypt, He went before them in a pillar of cloud. When He manifested His presence in Moses’ tabernacle and in Solomon’s temple, He did so in a cloud. When Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord coming to judge Egypt, he saw Him coming on a cloud (Isaiah 19). Finally, both Jesus’ ascent to heaven after Calvary, and His future return are in clouds. So who else could this One be except the Lord Jesus Christ – heaven’s solution to hell’s demonic attacks on the earth? Notice also, that John saw a rainbow on His head.
Rainbows signify God’s mercy. After the flood of Noah’s day the Lord said He would never again destroy the earth by water. As a sign of His promise of mercy, He put a rainbow in the heavens. Also, John describes God’s throne as surrounded by a rainbow (Revelation 4:3). God’s sovereign rule among men is rooted in His mercy.
Heaven’s mighty Messenger is clothed in a cloud, has a rainbow on his head, His face shines like the sun, and his feet resemble pillars of fire. Earlier, when John saw a vision of the risen Lord Jesus, he described Him similarly – with feet like burnished bronze that has been made to glow in a furnace and His face like the sun shining in full strength (Revelation 1:15-16).
Since Jesus’ face shining like the sun signifies for us the revelation of God’s glory (2 Corinthians 4:6), the heavenly Messenger in Revelation 10 is again confirmed to be the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
What was the little book or scroll that was open in the Lord’s hand? Looking back, we think of the perfectly sealed scroll in Chapter 5. Because there were 7 seals, we are reminded of the absolute inaccessibility of God’s mysteries and purpose. Simply stated: no one was worthy or strong enough to open what God had declared shut. No one would on his own be able to understand God’s work in His creation.
But when John began to weep over the magnitude of the problem, the One found worthy to open the scroll stepped forward. Because He had prevailed at Calvary, God’s Lion/Lamb could now rip open the seals and reveal to men the mysteries of God (Revelation 5:5).
In the hand of the Lamb, the insurmountable has now become small. The seven-sealed scroll is now seen as little and lying open in the hand of the heavenly Messenger. Clearly, the purpose of God is small compared to the One who has purposed it. He holds it in His hand.
We look at what God intends to do and we wonder how on earth He will ever accomplish it. How will He ever unify His people? To be honest, we sometimes doubt that He can do such a miracle in even our own local churches, or our own families, much less the whole Church. Then how about filling the earth with His glory? How will He do so in light of the many prominent evil people in politics, the entertainment industry, etc. enticing our nation toward wickedness? Indeed, God’s objectives seem so lofty as to be almost unbelievable. But what seems impossible to us is to Him but a small matter.
Therefore, the primary focus of the Church must not be God’s purpose, but His person. It can be easy to get caught up in doing works of ministry while gradually losing sight of the One who empowered us to do them. The Church spends a lot of time talking about what God intends to do but comparatively little time beholding His beauty. But we will only accurately understand His goals to the degree that we spend time with the One out of whom those desires flow.
John informs us that the mighty Messenger set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land (Revelation 10:2). This informs us that He is the Lord of the whole earth. If you remember, Moses had told the children of Israel that if they would love the Lord and walk in His ways, then He would drive out and dispossess their enemies in the land. Every place where they set the sole of their feet would be theirs (Deuteronomy 11:23-24).
So also, because the mighty Messenger puts one foot on the dry ground and one foot on the sea, the whole earth is His. This One who is clothed in a cloud is in fact the Lord of the whole planet.
John then sees this mighty One begin to cry out with a loud voice as when a lion roars (Revelation 10:3). When a lion roars in the jungle, people shiver and animals quake because the king of the jungle has just let his presence be known. So also, God arises to confront in human history hell’s assault against His harvest field. Clothed in the cloud of His own glory, He begins to announce His lordship over His creation. At this point, it is those who hear His voice who proclaim on earth His sovereign rule (i.e., they preach with power and authority the gospel of His kingdom). It is indeed good news that Christ’s supreme rule over the universe guarantees His ultimate victory.
…And when he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. 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.”
Whatever it was that the thunders said, we know that it was for John’s ears alone. He heard something from the Lord that he was not permitted to write down. Indeed, there is more truth in God than what we discern in the Bible; He is bigger than the book He wrote. While we are to honor the Scriptures as God’s inerrant revelation, we must realize that His intent in writing them was that as we prayerfully read them, we would come to know Him. The Scriptures are not an end, but a means to an end – the knowledge of the Holy One. While what He shows us individually in the Spirit will never contradict the Scriptures, clearly, He is other than and greater than the Bible.
In the next chapter, we will consider God’s mystery, when it will come to fulfillment, and what are the implications for the nations.
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0004 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page