Let's take our Bibles, turn to
the book of Revelation, chapter 10. Revelation. Chapter 10. The sixth trumpet. Has already sounded. That was the trumpet that sounded
the next to the last woe spoken of in chapter 8. The thing that
we want to be reminded of today is that these things of which
we read and speak and hear are surely coming to pass. The first of the last three woes,
you remember, that was in that thirteenth verse of the eighth
chapter. John said, I heard an angel flying
through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe,
woe, woe, to the inhabitors of the earth by reason of the other
voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to
sound." That first woe that was announced by the trumpet was
the strong delusion that is sent by Almighty God. for this reason, because he is
a just God. Sent because man by nature desires
to believe a lie. I know when I hear men preach
as though that God is not fair, not just, in sending what a man
truly wants. Now you think about this. If there was someone that you
knew and they truly, this is what they desire, this is what
I want. Don't give me anything else but this. I'm not going
to have it. It's the only thing I want. This is what you'd say. If that's
what you truly want, then okay. Leave a man or a woman to themselves. And this is what they want. I
want to believe a lie. You say, well, I don't think
that that's what a man truly wants. I don't believe that.
Well, what are they doing? What are they doing? Don't you
do what you want? I do. Well, if I don't, I'm trying
to figure out a way to do it, you know. This is what I want. The first of the great woes is
that Almighty God gives a man what he desires. Thanks be unto
Him that Almighty God would make a man willing, willing to come. Brother Scott just said, If a
man has a heart to come with nothing and say in his heart,
Lord, I know that if you do not have mercy on me, I have no hope. That is a miracle of God's grace. The first woe is that the Lord
said, I sin strong delusion. Not because God is not fair,
not just, it's because He is just. Secondly, the second great
woe we read of is that the Lord said, Matthew, He said, you'll
hear of wars and rumors of wars and nations shall rise against
nations, kingdoms against kingdoms. The reason we looked at last
week, the reason that these things are so. Why are we fighting? Why is there always war? Why
are there wars? God Himself is sending this message
through famines, pestilence, the sword. He is sending this
message. There is no peace on this earth. There is no comfort in this earth. And He is sending a message through
war. that this is a battle going on,
that God's people are in a battle. They're hated for His sake. He said, They hated Me for they
hated you. Why do men rise up in rebellion
against God's people? Why? Because they hate God. Someone says, Oh, that's a little
hard. You know who said that? The Lord God Himself. He said, By this shall all men
know that you are my disciples. You have love one for another.
Whenever you find men fighting against God's people, they are
evidencing their own heart. Is that too hard? Is it the truth? Now in chapter 10, we are waiting
with John for the sounding of the last trumpet and the revelation
of the final woe of judgment. And while John is waiting, verse
1 of chapter 10 reveals His and our great peace and comfort and
joy. Now you think about this. is
this, God is going to give a man what he desires. He is going
to send strong delusion, the smoke out of the very bottomless
pit, the smoke of false religion, false gospel, false Christ, false
preachers. What a woe in the midst of this
world and we are witnessing right now. The second great woe is
that they are fighting in wars and famines and pestilences.
things that it's just absolutely speaking and speaking and speaking,
God Himself is going to send judgment. And now in the midst
of waiting to see what is God going to say now, John sits and
he watches and waits, and while he's waiting, and by God's grace
this morning, you that I want you to understand that this vision
that John is about to see is the greatest of all comforts. Knowing that these things are
coming about, I want you to see, and may I see, what John has
seen and sets forth in this book. He said, 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. 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." John said, The first thing I saw was a mighty
angel. Oh, let His providence in all
of our trials and chastenings be but the manifestation of His
glorious person and will and pleasure. You know what gives
me great comfort, no matter what we're going through. As I've
said before, I am aware of many things, and most of which myself
and many of you are going through. I know some of the things. But
listen, in the midst of all that we are going through, in the
midst of the woes that have been announced and the woe that is
ready to be announced, John said, the first thing I saw was a mighty
angel. Here He is, the mighty God, mighty
to save. He saved some of us and is saving
some of us. Mighty to keep. Just think, we're
here today by the grace of God. We came back this morning. Why?
Because we desired to. Had a heart to. Wanted to. Mighty to teach of Himself. We've
learned something. I've learned something. Going
through this book right here, what a blessed revelation of
the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some things that I
saw that I just never realized before. Is anybody in here that
knows it all? I didn't think so. Mighty to
intercede. Here I am. Here you are. And
just while we've been sitting here this morning, there's been
enough waywardness and thoughts of, think about what you just
thought just a moment ago, just then, now just before I just
made this statement, what's going to happen tomorrow or what happened
yesterday or just today or whatever and, you know, what you've got
to do or something. Aren't you glad that he ever
liveth to make intercession? Keeping by his very presence,
his blood answers. and forgives, pardons, mighty
to rule. Mighty. John said, I saw a mighty
angel with the sight of Him as the mighty angel. How wonderful
His words ring. Be not afraid. It is I. John said this mighty angel came
down from heaven. Come down. Come down from heaven.
Now, without a doubt, truthfully, we are so aware that our Lord
came down from heaven as our Messiah. The Word Himself made
flesh that tabernacled among us, pitched His tent among us. He came down, why? To seek and to save that which
was lost. And here he comes down as the
protector and the defender of his people in the midst of great
woe upon this earth. Never forget, believer, that
no matter what's going to happen, no matter what's going to follow
this verse right here, whatever comes, whatever transpires, whatever
comes to pass, number one, he's ordained it. Number two, he ordered
it. And number three, He said, I
will never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Yes,
but what if I will never leave you? I'll be there. I'll keep you. Lo, I'm with you
always, even to the end of the world. Here He is seated on the
throne of glory. I am absolutely convinced. right now that He is interceding
before the throne of God. Where is that? Wherever He is.
And I will tell you this, I am absolutely convinced that He
is in the midst right now. I am convinced where two or three
are gathered together in my name to preach my gospel, to hear
my glory, to set forth my beating my person. I'm in the midst of
you. And here I am with you, fellowshipping. And here John sees this mighty
angel come down from heaven. How often has the heart of his
people cried unto him for comfort and assurance. Lord, help me.
Help me. I even in my weakness, my frailty. I stand before, as I have said
before, some that I am convinced that the Lord God has everlastingly
loved, standing before some that the Lord Jesus Christ shed His
blood for, laid down His life, bore their guilt in His own body,
made sin for them, and Almighty God forsook Him for His people. Is it a light
thing to stand before the people of God and speak, as Paul says,
in Christ's stead? To speak the words that are Christ's
alone? And here John says, I saw this
mighty angel come down from heaven flying. to them as their shield
and protector, brother and friend, their assurance and their rest.
And he was clothed with a cloud, encompassed with cloudiness as
the Lord Jesus came down for the purpose of the assurance
of all of His people. John said, I saw Him. He was
clothed in a cloud. But John said, I had eyes to
see. in the cloudiness that hid him
from those who had not eyes to see. Let me ask you this. Someone
says, I don't see him. Let me ask you that believe.
Do you see him? Sure you do. You have eyes to
see. Someone says, what is that? Ask a believer. They know. Eyes
to see him. It's cloudy. He is manifested to them as their
protector. Turn to Exodus chapter 13. I want to show you something.
Exodus chapter 13. You remember when the children
of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, the land of bondage?
It was going through the desert there. Exodus 13, 21, 22. Exodus
13, 21. went before them by day in a
pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar
of fire to give them light and to go by day and night. And He took not away the pillar
of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from
before the people." This cloud was there. John saw Him. He said,
I saw Him. He came down clothed in a wrapped
in His glory in the way that He had purposed to manifest Himself. We preach the gospel, and a person
that God has not given ears to hear, they hear the voice. They hear the Word only, and
they hear this Word only with impatience. Wanting to know how
quickly is this guy going to be done, then I'll be out of
here. But to God's people, they hear
Him clothed in a cloud that's hidden to those that hear not
and see not, but they hear Him. Here He was, their protector.
And also, this cloud is a cloud of darkness to the wicked." John
said, I saw in the mighty angel come down from heaven clothed
in a cloud. Look over in Exodus chapter 14,
verse 19 and 20. It said, And the angel of God
which went before the camp of Israel removed and went behind
them. The pillar of the cloud went
from before their face and stood behind them, and it came between
the camp of the Egyptians camp of Israel, and it was a cloud
and a darkness to them. But He gave light by night to
these, so that the one came not near the other all the night."
This cloud, John said, I saw Him, this mighty angel come down
from heaven clothed with a cloud. A believer sees the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of all things. Someone has some trial and adversity,
and while that trial and adversity is going on, someone else looks
at that and says, I tell you what, I'm sorry, I just hadn't
had any luck. Man, everything happens to you. And I tell you what, it seems
like every time you turn around, Something bad is happening to
you. And the believer, reminded and
taught by Almighty God, said it is the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth to him good. God Almighty, those that He loves,
He chastens, teaches as a Father in His mercy, goodness, grace,
And in that, we learn, oh, there's no peace in this world. Lord,
come quickly. Teach me. Oh, these locusts and
those to whom they appeal, they speak His name, but He's a cloud. He's in a cloud and they don't
see Him. They speak of Him. They say the Word, Jesus Christ,
but they have absolutely no knowledge of His power. They speak of His
death. They said He died on the cross.
But they absolutely possess no truth as to the accomplishment
of what He actually did. They say He died on the cross
to save everybody. And in those very words, they're
so disrespectful because what they're actually saying is they're
making Him out to be a failure because He's trying to do something
that He just couldn't do. They say that he saves, but he
doesn't know how he saves. They say, we believe in salvation
by grace. And you'd ask them, then, how
does God save a sinner? Salvation by grace. They said,
well, all you have to do, and you'd say, you've said enough
right there. You disqualified the untruthfulness that you're
about to speak. of grace, but they don't understand
that grace means no more works. They're in a fog of smoke out
of the bottomless pit. And he's in a cloud, and they
don't see. And John says, I looked, and there was a mighty angel
come down from heaven clothed with a cloud. And he had a rainbow
that was upon his head. Now, this rainbow, if you remember,
back in Genesis chapter 9, let's turn there, Genesis This rainbow
was a token. It was a symbol. It was a sign
of God's covenant, number one, to never destroy the earth by
flood again. But it is a token. It is a picture
of the everlasting covenant of mercy and grace to God's people. In Genesis chapter 9, 15 and
16, He says, And I will remember My covenant, which is between
Me and you, and every living creature of all flesh. The waters
shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh, and the
bowls shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, that
I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every
living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. God said
unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant. which I have
established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."
Brother Scott just read just a moment ago in Isaiah 54, talking
about that everlasting covenant that God has made. John said,
I saw this mighty angel come down from heaven. He was clothed
in a cloud and had a rainbow upon his head. John sees in that
rainbow the remembrance of God that has said, I will not forget. He is ever mindful of His promise
and His covenant. He will not allow His people
to be deceived by false religion from hell, from that first woe.
Here is that false religion being preached everywhere. Why do you that believe not believe
it? Because God Almighty has kept
you from it, gave you a heart, wrote His law on your heart,
taught you, kept you. I am not going to forsake you.
I am not going to allow you to believe a lie. He will not leave
them to destruction by the hand of the wicked. Men can do whatever
they do. There's been some, the Scripture
says, that were sawn in two and boiled in oil, and some that
were crucified, and some that were slain by the sword. And
the Lord said, I'll never forget. Never forget. There was Stephen. You know the story of Stephen
while he was being stoned. And here in the indescribable
mercy and grace of God, while a man had others taking some
rocks and just bashing his brains and body in. And he said, I looked
and I saw him standing and receiving Stephen to himself and said,
Lord, don't lay this to their charge. Let trouble come. It is sent
by God Himself. to His covenant. John said, I
saw His face as it was, and His face was as it were the Son. This is not the first time that
John had seen the glorious manifestation of Christ like this. Turn with
me to Matthew 17. Matthew 17, verse 1. 8 It says, After six days Jesus
taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them
up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them,
and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white
as light. 9 Behold, there appeared unto
them Moses and Elias, talking with them, then answered Peter,
and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If
thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and
one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice out of the cloud,
which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him? And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And
Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their
eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only. Scripture says that He
was transfigured before them. That word transfigured is the
same word that we get our word metamorphosis. It means to change
the form or the structure. They actually were able to behold
somewhat indescribable glory of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Lord knew on that mountain
that they were going to be with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew that they were going
to witness these things that He would go through, and no greater
preparation could have been given those men than to assure them
of His power and to behold Him in the brightness of His glory."
Just a glimpse. They saw Him. And here John,
in the midst of getting ready to hear that last trumpet which
is going to usher in the final woe upon this earth. John saw the brightness, the
fullness of the Lord God Himself, purity, glory, God and man. His face, the Scripture says,
was as the sun. John had said in 1 John 1-5,
this then is the message which we have heard of Him and declare
unto you. God is light and in Him is no
darkness at all. When a believer hears that, they
think God is light. There is no darkness. There is
no dimness. There is nothing. In Him that
is unaware, there's nothing. He's full. He's light. Just the same thought that's
coming through. What shall happen to me in the
midst of the woe that God is going to send out? What will
happen to me? Nothing. Nothing. He is light. No darkness. I will not take
a step that is not ordered and providentially designed. The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. John says, he said,
also his feet were pillars of fire. Now this was also spoken
of. John saw him back in Revelation
1, chapter 15. Revelation 1, verse 15, it says,
were likened to fine brass as if they burned in a furnace.
Here, the feet, these things are symbols. They speak in symbolic
terms. And the feet speak of His ways
or His walk. And here we behold the glorious
Christ who was sent. Sent of the Father to redeem
His own, He who tread the winepress God's judgment as the sheep's
surety, whose walk of obedience, who completely fulfilled the
law of Almighty God for the sheep, and whose walk to the cross itself
was to put away their sins. Scripture says in Isaiah 50,
it says, he set his face like a flint, straight. This I came to do thy will. O Lord, as I've said before,
what's the will of Almighty God? He says, this is the will of
God, that of all that the Father hath given me, the son should
lose nothing. Is that not great comfort to
know that in the midst of whatever that the Lord has promised, He
said, I'm not going to lose one. All that the Father hath given
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me." Brother Scott
says, without money, without prize, without nothing to come. All that come to him, he said,
I'll in no wise cast him out. Here John says, I looked and
his feet were as pillars of fire. of fire, strong, stable, able,
sure, pillars of fire, a fit symbol of the holiness of God
Himself, fire that consumes all that opposes His glory, a wall
of fire that is about His people as the protection of His church.
These are the feet that John saw of him in Revelation 1 15. All that he does is according
to absolute justice from the bearing up and the support of
his people, or in his wrath and vengeance in treading down and
trampling upon all of his enemy. Here before the final woe is
to be heard, John is again given The privilege, the glorious privilege
to be comforted by the Redeemer and the friend of the sheep,
the mighty angel himself. John is reminded, as we are,
no matter what comes. That's what I said a while ago.
Trials of our faith are going to come. The chastening hand
of His love is going to be felt by the servants of God, but in
the midst of great tribulation, No matter who comes out of the
sea, the beast with the horns and the power, and no matter
what comes out of the earth, no matter what, here is the mighty
angel, the almighty angel. His face is as the sun in its
brightness. His face is going to be seen.
His feet are ever going to be beheld as the pillars of fire
that have borne the wrath of God's judgment for us. being
made sin and having been forsaken by God in justice. Well, let's just start in verse
2, and we'll just go for a minute or two, and then we'll just stop.
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. Now, we're reminded,
first of all, of a book that was in the right hand, the Scripture
says, back in Revelation 5, 1, of him that sat on the throne,
written within, and on the back side sealed with seven seals.
There was a book. Now that book was to be opened. You know, the Scripture says
that there was one that was found, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
who had prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals
thereof." Now, that book right there was the secret because
it was sealed. That's what it meant. It's secret.
You know, it's sealed up, closed. You know, some might say, well,
what does this book say? Well, it's going to have to be
opened for me to see. So it was the sealed book that
set forth the eternal decrees of Almighty God concerning His
church and their preservation through great tribulation totally
revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ through the Gospel. That's how
we know what those seals set forth. It's in the Gospel. It's been opened. It's opened
to God's people and they hear it and they understand. The Scripture
says, now though in this passage of Scripture, He had in his hand
a little book open. Now, having in his hand, obviously,
sets forth who possesses this book. It was the mighty angel. So as we look and we, exactly
what's being said, that's when you take a book like Revelation,
there's all the books in this blessed book. Look at exactly
what is being said. He had in His hand, in His possession,
and of course the only one that holds the words of God Himself
is God Himself. But as to it being referred to
as a little book opened, there are some things that are revealed
in this scripture, in this chapter, chapter 10, that reveal and give
us some insight as to the meaning of a little book open. I kept reading over that. It
was a little book open. It just appears as though there's
just a few little words that are there, but it's a little
book open. We know that the little book
is open. It says, He had it in His hands,
so I know who possessed it. And it says it's a little book
that's open. I'm going to go back to little
book in just a minute, but just look at the word open. I know
this and it's revealed. That's obvious. It's a little
book open. Deuteronomy 29, 29 says, The
secret things belong unto the Lord our God. But those things
which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever,
that we may do all the words of this law. So I know this.
It's in His hand, so He possesses it, and I know that it's open.
The third thing I know about it is that it's a book. Now,
the word book, right there, is a word that is a little different
than the normal word book or scroll. Biblos is the word where
we get the word Bible. is a book without a doubt. But
this word or book that we're looking at now, normally it refers
to the setting forth of God's purpose, decrees, mercy, wrath,
being, attributes. It is setting forth the Lord
Jesus Christ revealing God. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son hath declared
Him." So it's a book. It's a biblos. But this word
is a little book. And there's only one word in
all the Scriptures that means that right there, a little book. Now this little book is a book
that does not refer to insignificance. Now that's pretty obvious. It's
not a little book, meaning it's an insignificant book, but it
has to do with a portion. It's a little book that's open.
It's in His hands. It's a little book open or revealed. Now, I'm going to show you this,
and then Lord willing, we'll have to just pick up. I'm just
out of time. But this little book I'm going to show you speaks
of John's commission. of the Holy Scriptures to a certain
people. It is the book. It's a book. And it's a book that's opened
by the Lord Himself who possesses it. But it's a little book that
is open. Let's just read verses 8 to 11,
and I'm going to stop. It says the voice, and I'll deal
with this a little bit more tonight. The voice which I heard from
heaven spake 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." Now, you think about those words.
I read that and I thought, whoa. Here is him, the mighty angel,
whose face shines as the sun. He's clothed in a cloud, a rainbow
upon his head, whose feet was as pillars of fire, and he had
in his hand a little book open. And John heard a voice that said
from heaven, ìYou go and take that little book which is open
in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon
the earth.î I thought, ìBoy, thatís a pretty mighty commission.î
Verse 9 says, ìAnd I went unto the angel, and I 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. 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. And he said unto me, Thou must
prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. Though all of God's preachers,
pastors, preach from the infallible and divine Word of Almighty God,
they are each given a commission to a people. Therefore, their
commission is referred to as their portion or their little
book opened This little book open was John's portion. This commission given by Almighty
God, it is, number one, in the hands of Him who is the mighty
angel. It's His Word, Brother Scott.
It is a book. It's a book that's open. It's
a book revealed. It's a little book. And that
word little, as I said, remember, it doesn't mean insignificant. It means the portion. John was
going to have to go preach to a people. If you had a little
book open, you still do. A Scotsman pastor right here,
a little book. He preaches out of the book.
He sets forth the Word of God, but he's called to this place
right here. It's the word God's called me
to this place. And the voice from heaven told John, said,
you come and you take out of the hand of him. And John said,
I did. And he said, you take it. And
you eat it. You appropriate it. It's yours. You got it from me. It's going
to be sweet in your mouth. It's going to be bitter in your
belly. And the reason But you're to eat it because you're going
to go preach to a people. God's teaching him. Carl is the
way he's doing it. It's his portion, his part. Well, okay, I'm going to have
to stop. Gary, you come.