Let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation
10. We'll just pick up where we left
off. John saw the mighty angel come down from heaven clothed
with a cloud. A rainbow was upon his head and
his face. was as it were the sun, his feet
as pillars of fire, and had in his hand a little book open. This little book, as we looked
at this morning, first of all set forth the commission. As I said this morning, it is
not a little book in its significance. The message that is preached
from this pulpit or every pulpit where the gospel is faithfully
preached is not little, meaning the significance, but it's the
portion. It's the commission. It's that
part of that pastor's commission or evangelist's commission. When Brother Walter and Betty
Gruber went down almost 40 years ago to the Yucatan Peninsula. Why did they go there? Was it
that something they were preaching was not what was being preached
to other places? No. That was where the Lord sent
them. And we saw also in the last part
of this chapter where John's commission was to go to a people
and preach to a people So this commission is spoken of as this
little book open. But also this commission, we
read about another place before I look at the second meaning
of that. And it was found in Ezekiel,
chapter 2. Ezekiel the prophet, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, chapter 2. Ezekiel had a similar command
given him, Ezekiel 2, 6. And then we'll read into chapter
3 a few verses. But starting in verse 6 of Ezekiel,
it says, And thou, Son of man, be not afraid of them, neither
be thou afraid of their words, though briars and thorns be with
thee, and thou doest well among scorpions. Be not afraid of their
words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious
house. And thou shalt speak my words
unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear,
for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what
I say unto thee. Be not thou rebellious like that
rebellious house. Open thy mouth, and eat what
I give thee.' And when I looked, behold, a hand was sent unto
me, and lo, a roll of a book was therein. He spread it before
me, and it was written within and without, and there were And
there was written therein lamentations, mourning, and woe. And moreover,
he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest. Eat this roll, and go speak unto
the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he
caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man,
cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that
I give thee. Then did I eat it. And it was
in my mouth as honey for sweetness. He said unto me, Son of man,
go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words
unto them. For thou art not sent to a people
of a strange speech, of a hard language, but to the house of
Israel, not to many people of a strange speech, of a hard language,
whose words thou canst not understand. Surely have I sent thee to them,
they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel
will not hearken unto thee, for they will not hearken unto me.
For all the house of Israel are imputed, hardhearted. Behold,
I have made thy face strong against their faces, thy forehead strong
against their foreheads, as an adamant harder than flint. have
I made thy forehead, fear them not, neither be dismayed at their
looks, though they be a rebellious house. Moreover, he said unto
me, Son of man, all my words, that I shall speak unto thee,
receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears, and go get thee
to them of the captivity unto the children of thy people, and
speak unto them, and tell them thus saith the Lord God, whether
they will hear, or whether they will forbear, then the Spirit
took me up. And I heard behind me a voice
of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from
His place. And I heard also the noise of
the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and
the noise of the wheels over against them, and the noise of
a great rushing. So the Spirit lifted me up, took
me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit. But
the hand of the Lord was strong upon me." Keep your finger there
for just a minute. But what I want to say concerning
this is, did you notice that in the reading of that passage,
the Lord sent Ezekiel to a people, to a certain people? He didn't
leave it to Ezekiel's choice. He didn't say, well, I'm going
to give you a message and you decide where you're going to
go. Well, we know this, that God has a people and He has a
pastor that He'll send to that people and He gives that people
a heart for Him and vice versa. He a heart for them. So this
little book opened can certainly be applied to every preacher,
pastor of the gospel in the sense that they are given divine truth
and secondly, they are given a place The Lord raises them
up, prepares their heart for a place, and they're just happy,
they're content, they're filled with joy. I was telling the men
a while ago, I've had people ask me, they said, you miss Franklin. Well, there's some folks there
that I, I mean, you know, I've got a daughter that lives there,
grandchildren that live there. I miss seeing them, you know,
but missing Franklin, no. Why? Fairmont, West Virginia. This
is my home. This is where I am. God give
me a heart for this place. This is a little book open. Not
in its insignificance, but the portion. This is where I am to
be. But there's a second meaning
back in Revelation. I say just hold your finger there.
We'll look at something. Oh yeah, don't do that. I'll bring you back there in
a minute. But there's a second portion
that we also want to consider of this little book, open. And it has to do with the understanding
of the fullness of the truth. It was a little book that was
open. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, let
me just quote this for you, 13.9, he said, we know in part, And
we prophesy in part. Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 13
says, For now we see through a glass darkly. That means we see now in a riddle
is actually what it means. We see divine things wrapped
in an enigma, meaning a baffling matter. The Scripture says, we see through
a glass darkly in a riddle, but then face to face, Paul says,
now I know in part, or I know imperfectly, but then shall I
know even also as I am known. Now, if we are real honest, We
would have to admit that the clearest revelation of Almighty
God in His Word is really obscure in our understanding of it compared
to the way that we shall see Him in glory. It's not that we
see something and it's not the truth. We see it. We perceive
it. but to see it and to understand
it and to grasp hold of it perfectly. Paul said we see in an enigma. Whenever the law and the children
of Israel were in the desert and they would offer the sacrifice,
they would slay that lamb. In the fullness of time, the
Lord Jesus Christ came He actually laid down His life. Now, that
understanding, the fullness of it, compared to the glass darkly
of seeing a lamb that was slain and a goat that had the priest's
hands laid on its head, this is clear compared to that. But compared to what we shall
see, reading that the Lord was made sin, Can you understand
that? Can you perceive that He actually
took Himself, made sin our nature? Can you understand that? That
we were in Him. Paul says, I was crucified with
Him. You say, I understand that. But
don't we see that through a glass darkly? Just obscure. So this book, the little book
open, means also not only that commission given where John was
sent to a people, that's his portion. Not insignificance,
but portion. But secondly, it also means the
understanding of it. This little book open, the amount
or portion of the Scriptures was by the hand of Almighty God
given to him And the Scripture says that John saw in his hand
that little book open, and he set his right foot upon the sea
and his left foot upon the earth. We soon shall behold in the next
few chapters the beast with seven heads and ten horns. Just flip over to Revelation
13 verse 1. Just look at that verse. John
said, I stood upon the sand of the sea, And I saw a beast rise
out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon
his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
John saw that coming out of the sea. Look at verse 11 in chapter
13. He said, I beheld another beast
coming up out of the earth, And he had two horns like a lamb,
and he spake as a dragon. Now, we're getting ready to see
that. In the portion that we're in
right now in chapter 10, we don't know that yet. John, you know,
he wrote this as he saw it. And we have the benefit of seeing
what's going to take place by turning a few pages over. But
when John saw it, He saw this mighty angel come out of heaven,
had a little book open in his hand, and he put one foot on
the sea and one foot on the land. Before that seventh angel sounds
his trumpet and the third woe is announced. We behold here
the sea and the earth are gloriously set forth as the Lord's. He put
his foot on top of it. Whatever is going to come out
of that sea and whatever is going to come out of that earth, the
Lord is the Master. His foot is on it. 1 Corinthians
10, 26 says, For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Whatever comes next, Almighty
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, He rules in this universe. The government
of it is upon His shoulders. He is the triumphant King who
reigns. John saw His foot on the earth
and the sea. Even the terrible woes of judgment
that's going to fall upon this earth, and we know that they're
coming. We know that the Lord has said
they shall come, but we realize that our God rules. Isn't that
comforting to know? No matter what. What is that
beast that comes out of the sea and all those horns and the blasphemies
and that beast that comes out of the earth. What is that? When
we look at whatever it is, we know this, they are under the
foot of God. I know that. And verse 3 says,
And he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth. And when
he had cried seven thunders, uttered their voices. Again,
we behold the might and the power of Him who is set forth and described
as the Lion of the tribe of Judah." He roared as a lion, the voice
of the eternal Word Himself, who according to Psalm 46, 6
said He uttered His voice and the earth melted. He just spoke
it. Here is the one Mike that spoke everything into existence. Here is the One who opposed all
things by the Word of His power. He speaks and it is. It is. He is the Almighty God. And He cried with a loud voice. And seven thunders, it says,
uttered their voices. Now, the word thunder has to
do with divine truth unmingled. There's been Scriptures that
we've looked at, and John would say, I saw and heard voices and
lightnings and thunders coming from the throne. So this thunder
has to do with divine truth. James and John were surnamed
by the Lord Himself as the sons of thunder." That is, to roar. And having uttered, the Scripture
says, their voices, these seven thunders, these voices that were
particular to them and not previously set forth to men. I want you
to look at that wording. It says in verse 3, He cried
with a loud voice as when a lion roars. And when he had cried,
seven thunders uttered their voices." You see, it doesn't
say they uttered a voice. He uttered their voices. They
had something to say. They had some divine truth that
was to be set forth. And they did. He cried and they
uttered their voices. And the Scripture says, and when,
verse 4, the seven thunders had uttered their voices, John says,
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. Boy, I'm telling you, it's just
like with anticipation. What did they say? What did they
say, John? He said, I heard a voice and
said, Don't say it. Don't write it. Don't write that
down. Turn over to Daniel 12. Daniel
was given a similar commission. Daniel chapter 12, verse 1 to 4. And at that time, Daniel 12,
1. At that time, Michael is referred
to as one of the archangels. And I won't labor this point. I'll tell you what I think after
reading it. I think that Michael is set forth
as the Lord Jesus Himself, as the Mediator. But anyway, it
says, At that time shall Michael stand up. Read these words and
see if you don't understand what I mean. The great prince which
standeth for the children of the people. Who do you think
stands for his people other than the Lord Jesus Christ? Michael
shall stand up, the great prince that standeth for the children
of thy people. And there shall be a time of
trouble such as never was since there was a nation even at that
same time. And at that time thy people shall
be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the
book. And many of them that sleep in
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and
some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that
turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the
words and seal the book. Even to the time of the end,
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." And
here we see from the voice of Him that We see this, number one, that
God's people are secure, being sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise. We know, secondly, the godly
are kept from the fullness of the horror of the evil to come. We know they are. They're sealed.
I know the trumpets are going to sound, judgment is going to
come. But you remember back just a
few chapters before, the Lord had told, He said don't blow
any trumpets, don't do anything until all the servants of God
are sealed, protected, kept. Kept from delusion of a false
gospel. Kept from being persecuted and
wiped out unto eternal death. Kept. Kept. So terrible are the
judgments of God against all unrighteousness that God has
seen fit up to this point to conceal a portion of their revelation. John said back in Revelation
chapter 10, he said, those seven thunders uttered their voices.
And he said, I know he heard what they said because he was
about to write it down. And he said, a voice told him,
he said, don't write that. Hold it. That's what he told
Daniel. Don't write that. So merciful
is our God that He withholds even the full knowledge of His
indescribable wrath on the wicked. The indescribable judgment of
Almighty God. John said, I heard with those
seven thunders when that seventh trumpet was getting ready to
sound. I heard what they said. The voice said, Don't write.
Seal that up. Hold it. Will they ever be revealed? Yes,
they will. And there's a chapter coming,
chapter 2 coming over that we're going to be able to see. But
for right now, they're sealed up. In verse 6 or 5 and 6 of
Revelation, back in chapter 10, Revelation 10, 5, he says, In
the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted
up his hand to heaven and swear by him that liveth forever 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
that therein are that there should be time No longer. John said what he uttered his
voice. The thunders uttered. They roared,
uttered their voices. I heard what they said, and he
said, I was about to write. I heard a voice from heaven say
to me, don't write those things. Hold off on that. And he said,
the next thing that I know, he said, that angel standing there
lifted his hand. up to heaven and swore before
heaven itself, swore by Him that liveth forever and ever who created
heaven. You say, well, I thought this
was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is. And here it is. He is swearing by Him that liveth
forever who created heaven. The Scripture says in Hebrews
6.13, God made promise to Abraham Because he could swear by no
greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely, blessing, I will
bless thee, and multiplying, I will multiply thee. There is
an oath that he swore by his own name. Here is the Lord Jesus
Christ swearing by no higher could he swear by. He swore by
himself. Now we see that John Though He
could not impart the revelation at this time of the seven thunders,
He that stands on the earth and the sea swears by Him that liveth
unto the ages of the ages." That He Himself says in the last portion
of that sixth verse, this is what He says, that there should
be time no longer. He swears the thunders roared. John heard them. He couldn't
write them down. And the One that stands on the
earth and the sea raises His hand and says, there should be
time no longer. This is it. That word time there means delay. That's what it means,
that there should be no. It doesn't mean that time is
going to end. and eternity because there's
going to be some things that's going to happen in time after
this right now, but there should be no more delay. Time is not
going to... delay is not going to be any
over. The appointed time of delay for judgment is now at an end. Why is God long-suffering right
now? Obviously, this time that we shall see. obviously is coming. Why is the Lord long-suffering
right now? Well, you know the answer to
this. Because there are some of His sheep left to call Him
to Himself. He is long-suffering to us, not
willing that any should perish. But of that time, no man knows. And here we see that time absolutely
approaching. The sounding of the seventh trumpet
announcing the last woe is going to be sounded, what the Lord
is saying, and that without delay. Verse 7 says, 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 that hath declared
to his servants the prophets." The mystery of God should be
finished. The theme of this little book
that is open is going to be declared. John's portion, John's understanding,
John's commission, the setting forth of the mystery of God's
redemption for a chosen people, everlastingly loved and protected
from the wrath of his judgment in the surety of the Lord Jesus
Christ is going to be known. That verse right there, when
he says time is going to be no longer, that is in anticipation
of Chapter 11 and verse 15 to 18. We can just read it. Revelation 11 and 15. And the
seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in
heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and
ever. And the four and twenty elders
which sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and
worship God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, that
thou art and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken
to thee thy great power, and has reigned, and the nations
were angry, and thy wrath is come, the time of the dead, that
they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto
thy servants the prophets, to the saints, and them that fear
thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth. The trumpet is going to sound. And now we wait in anticipation. In verse 8 to 11, we read this
this morning, but let's just read it again. It says, And 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 angels, which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 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. 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." He says in verse 9, take it. I want to look at a few portions
of this passage we just read. Take it and eat it up. Here is
what we know first of John's commission and also of John's
understanding, that little book open, we know this, that there's
no reluctance in the Lord Jesus Christ giving His Word to His
own. Take it. That's what the voice
said in verse 8. He said, I heard a voice say,
you go take the little book which is in the hand. And he said,
I went to the one that stood on the sea and the earth. And
he said, take it. Then he said in verse 9 also,
he says, eat it up. Appropriate its contents to be
a part of yourself. You eat this. We symbolically
eat of the Lord's flesh when we eat of that bread. We symbolically
drink and we're symbolizing. the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We appropriate that to ourselves. He said, you take this little
book open and you eat it. You digest it. Now that is something
that must be done for a man. But the Lord gives him a heart. You sit down. Brother Scott will
sit down and read. I sit down and read and study. I know this. I know that I sit
down with all of the dictionaries and the commentaries and everything
else, and unless God gives a man a message, unless He appropriates
it, but the Lord gives a man a heart to eat it up. He desires that. Eat it. You
desire to do that. That's what you want to do. Eat
it. The eating of this book is to
partake of His Word. That's what He said, you eat.
Eat of Me. That's what we're doing tonight.
We're eating of Him. We hear that. We sit down and
in our heart we're being taught. In the midst of all that's going
on, in our mind's eye, by faith, we believe and we see. We see
Him standing on the sea and on the earth In our heart, we're
taught He's sovereign. He's mighty. Here's the God. And I heard those thunders roar
and I was going to write. And He said, don't write. And
He that stood up, He raised His hand to heaven and swore before
heaven. He says, time shall delay no
more. John said, I heard this voice.
He said, you go take that little book out of His hand. And He
said, I would. And He gave it to me. He said,
you take this and you eat it. And He said, it's going to make
your belly bitter. You're going to eat this. It's
going to be bitter in your belly, but it'll be in thy mouth sweet
as honey. It'll be bitter in your belly. And the effect or consequences,
first of all, of eating this book, would bring bitter persecutions
and trials for the sake of the gospel. How many times have we
read in Scriptures where for the sake of the gospel, women
were persecuted and tried? But in John's mouth when he ate
it, the consolation and protection from the wrath of Him that sat
on the throne was sweet. I mean, we eat of the gospel
and the freshness, the honey taste of it. It's sweet. But the trials and the tribulations
that we find concerning the gospel, he says, those are bitter. I
mean, we stand here and we've got to be honest with men. When we preach the gospel, I
realize that I'm just dust. I'm just a man. And I think to
myself as I eat of this gospel and taste the sweetness of it,
and I taste the thought that the Lord God Himself has an everlastingly
loved people, and that God would give me a heart. I truly believe
this. I believe that the Lord's given me a heart to believe and
to trust. that He's my only hope. I believe
He has. I believe He has. And I see the
sweetness of that thought that He would have mercy on me. But
there's some trials and tribulations that come with that. And you
see, for the sake of the gospel, those things that a man or a
woman endures in the bitterness of this life for the sake of
the gospel. And the Scripture sets forth
that in verse 10, that the revelation of these things, that they are
right and they are so. The Lord told him, when you take
that book, it's going to be sweet in your mouth and bitter in your
stomach. And John said in verse 10, out of the angel's hand,
and I ate it up. And it was in my mouth sweet
as honey, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter."
There's another thought there. In my mouth, I eat of the gospel
of free grace. In the sweetness of the taste
of the mercy of Almighty God, and I appropriate And in my belly,
in my being, I see myself as I am, knowing what I know, as
I taste the sweetness of the gospel of free grace. And Paul
says, in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwells no good thing. And
there is a bitterness to it. There is a sweetness in the taste
of it, and there is a bitterness in the understanding of what
I am before Him. I eat it, he said. He said, eat
it. He said, verse 11, Thou must
prophesy again before many tongues and nations and kings and peoples. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9,
16, For necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe unto me, woe is
unto me, if I preach not the gospel. Can a man, can God call a man
to preach? Could God call one of His saints
to Himself through the gospel and that person just let it go?
No. No. When God called that preacher
right there, John the Apostle, the beloved Apostle, You think
about all these things that we've read. Think about what they went
through, what they endured, not outwardly and inwardly. And I
tell you this, the inward struggles are tougher. Don't you think
so? I mean, I hate, I hate seeing the attitudes that I have. I
taste the sweetness of the gospel and I appropriate it, and in
my belly I think, oh, wretched man that I truly am. But the Lord told him, He said,
You've got to preach. You're going to have to. Thou
must. Thou must. Verse 11. Thou must prophesy
again. Why do I come here today to preach
the Gospel? Why do I come here again today?
Why will Brother Scott next week, Lord willing, preach the Gospel?
You've got to. You've got to. What if the Lord
is pleased? to call out one of His own, and
they're one of your own. He's going to have His own. He's
going to call them out. But what if it's one of yours?
Thou must prophesy. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. You've got to preach before many
peoples and nations and tongues and kings. Why? Because God's
got a people in those places. that must hear the truth, for
it is the power of God unto salvation." God's preachers are given a commission
to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. That's what it said. There's not a person in this
area, who lives in this area, that I truthfully, I'm truthful
with you. that I wouldn't have desire to
have them come sit and hear the gospel. Come. In this commission is the hand
of His providence guiding the steps of His people for His honor
and for the good of those sheep. John, in this chapter, asks,
We know this, the seventh trumpet is going to sound. And it's going
to sound in the eleventh chapter. But in the mercy of Almighty
God, two trumpets had sounded of those last three woes. Two of the woes were already
given. And this entire chapter before that last trumpet sounded,
the mercy of our God who would not leave John nor us to ourselves
in despair of wondering what's going to happen before it happens
and it will. He set forth the glory of Him
who is on the throne, the God who reigns who loves his people,
who told them, I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to
forsake you. Judgment is going to come on
the wicked, but not one hair on your head is going to be hurt.
Isn't that a comforting thought? A whole chapter in the midst
of the judgment of Almighty God being poured out on wickedness. And God Almighty stops. Just to tell us one time, one
whole chapter in the book of Revelation to remind us, I'm
in control. Everything's going to be okay. Don't worry. I'm not going to
leave you. I'm not going to shake you.