Revelation 10:7-11

 

(Rev 10:7 KJV)
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.

This verse looks ahead to Revelation 11:15.

(Rev 11:15 KJV) 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 for ever and ever.

In Revelation 10:6 we see that a divine oath had been sworn and here we see the focus of that oath. When the seventh angel shall begin to sound, then the mystery of God will be finished. When we look at 11:15, we can see with no uncertainty that the end has finally come. The kingdoms of this world which had been under Satan’s control since the Garden of Eden have now been relinquished because the end of the age of evil has come. When we look at the fact that God had revealed this mystery to His prophets, we must seek to find where this mystery has been written for us.

(Eph 2:19-20 KJV) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; {20} And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In Ephesians 2:20, we read that the body of Christ is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. For us to find where the mystery is hidden that was revealed to the prophets, we must look to the Scriptures because this is where we will find those things which are a mystery unto the unbelieving world but have been revealed to the body of Christ.

(Mat 13:17 KJV) For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The Lord Jesus had commented on this great mystery in that the prophets of old, who penned the books of the Bible did not have understanding of what was written. They desired to understand those Scriptures that the Holy Spirit spoke through them but the timing of the revealing of the mystery was not made known unto them. God had been declaring the mystery of Christ and the Gospel since Genesis 3:15 but the understanding of it was couched in parables and similes especially concerning the law and the animal sacrifices leading up to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament prophets did not make the spiritual connection between the animal sacrifices, the tabernacle, and the feasts as all pointing to Messiah. Even though this verse looks forward to the point prior to the Lord’s return, the rest of the second vision shows us that there is much persecution which must be endured by the body of Christ before His return as detailed in Revelation 11:15-18.

(Rev 10:8 KJV)
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 angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

For the third time John hears a voice from Heaven commanding him to take the little book from Christ who is portrayed as this mighty angel enveloping both land and sea.

(Rev 10:9 KJV)
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.

Here John is told to eat this book and that it will be sweet in his mouth but when it hits his belly it will be bitter. This is a typical characteristic of the word of God. We read many of the passages and they give us joy and comfort but when we begin to digest the word of God as we get into it more deeply, it becomes bitter to us because it contains great judgments which include eternal damnation and I can positively say that everyone who reads this right now knows someone who died unsaved and is awaiting the final judgment. While the word of God may be sweet to the believer because of the great promises of eternal life, it is also very bitter to digest because of its judgments.

(Eccl 1:18 KJV) For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes and he penned, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that in much wisdom is much grief and an increase in knowledge increases sorrow. This is why when someone comes to the biblical doctrine of Limited Atonement, they loathe that doctrine because it is God who has determined who He will save and has not left it up to man to accept or reject. The more we know of the Scriptures, the more we become sorrowful for the millions around us who have not been chosen by God. When John symbolically swallowed the little book, it became bitter because he was seeing the persecution, both spiritual and physical, which the church had yet to undergo before the return of Christ on the last day.

(Rev 10:10 KJV)
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.

Here John takes the little book and does as the angel commands him. The word of God is sweet with all the promises of heaven and joy but when the world must first be judged brings a bitterness to the soul. A true Christian will not take pleasure at the thought of the judgments which will come upon the unbelievers upon the earth but as the saying goes “it is a bitter pill to swallow.”

(Rev 10:11 KJV)
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

John was required to digest the word of God because his ministry was not yet finished. The word of God must go out through all the world and then the end will come. (Mat 24:14 KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. In the midst of tribulation and persecution the word of God must be sown throughout all the world. Even those nations which are hostile to the Gospel, and there is no nation which holds the true gospel in high esteem, will have the true gospel preached in them so the Elect of God will hear the word and become saved until the last one is saved and then comes the end.