All of these have the symbols of the cloud applying to God, the Lord. And so, you know, we read these things and we do not dismiss them as students of the Scripture. We look for their meaning and their application. Of course, the rainbow being on his head, as it tells us here in verse 1, is a symbol of God's sovereignty from the book of Genesis. and his trustworthiness.
Because God says, I'm not going to wipe out the world again with water. And we who believe, we trust that that's what He said, that's what He means. Uh This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation.
Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation chapter 10 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. I think this section, as I was looking at it earlier, requires some inflection to understand better just how this exchange is going. Verse eight Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, Go take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.
So I went, To the angel and said to him, Give me the little book. And he said to me, Take and eat it. it will make your stomach bitter, but it w be will be as sweet as honey in your mouth. Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it. and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but When I had eaten it, My stomach became bitter.
And he said to me, You must prophesy again about many peoples, Nations and tongues and kings I added a preposition. Not on purpose. The little book, that's the title of this morning's message. This is the first pause.
Well there's three parentheses within the revelation This is the second one. before we get to the seventh trumpet. And there will be another And so we have this pause, and God is giving us some information about the believers. And then he will have the seventh trumpet blow in chapter eleven. And then there's another pause, and God will give us a little bit more information.
And then, by the time we get to chapter 16. The bowls or vials will be poured out. God's wrath. on the tribulation uh people on earth. And so this is some an explanatory note.
from the Lord chapters uh ten eleven twelve on to fourteen before the judgment. And it's not like God is trying to prove anything. He's telling us what's coming. And as I've tried to point out going through this, There will be people converted to Christ during this great tribulation period, and these are. perhaps the greatest reason why we have so much information within the revelation.
But it also helps us who are not going to go through the great tribulation period to be more useful as messengers of God when we have a better overview of what's happening now, what has happened in the past, of course, all related to Christ. And what's going on now? And just a little statement like that. What's you know, what's happened in the past in relationship to Christ?
Well, that's the Old Testament. That's the entire Old Testament pointing to him. loaded with predictive prophecy. But The carnal man or the natural man, the natural man, does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. for their foolishness to him.
Nor can he know them. They're spiritually discerned. And we must it's difficult to remember that. When we're excited about God's Word and we're understanding it and we're enjoying it, the person that we are speaking to may not be there. And that's one of the problems of preaching.
You're trying to reach those mature Christians, those who are in the middle and those who are young, but what about those who think they're Christians. But they're not. Not that they're carnal, they're natural. They're not born again. And as for those within Christianity, you know, the letters pointed out.
Some become dull. for a lot of reasons. They've made up their mind what they want to hear, and that will dull the senses, the spiritual senses. And as we go to Revelation, you might be saying, Well, I'm not getting it. Paul said this We have much to say.
and hard to explain. since you have become dull of hearing.
Well, as a Christian, you read that, you say, I don't want that to be said to me. What do I have to do to keep my head in it?
Well, you have to do a lot. Longer time passes by, the more you've got to work.
So That's the introduction to this tenth chapter. We now look at the first verse. 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.
Well, Revelation is the book of flaming symbols. I mean, they just like all of that is saying something to us. I don't want to spend too much time on the identity of this impressive figure. No other angel in the book of Revelation gets this sort of an introduction. And I think one of the reasons is God is saying there's more might in heaven than there is With the demons of chapter 9.
You know, we had the scourge of the demons and the killer demons in chapter 9, and now we have this angelic figure. And we want to know. Is this the Christ? Or is this just an angel? He appears to be Jesus Christ.
I'll get ahead of myself, I think. He's Jesus Christ. metaphorically personified. And you say, what did you just say? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Mm.
Well, if I say it's Christ, you'll say, Oh, yeah, well then how come? He's called an angel. How come he's this? And later in this chapter. And if I say, well, he's an angel, then you say, whoa, whoa, then wait a minute.
Why do the symbols point back to him being Christ? See, it's one of those difficult situations.
So the way I answer it, and commentators are divided, and it's cute to see them do that. You read one, you say that's the answer. And then you read another guy who has a different opinion, oh no, I think he's right. And then you re and then finally you say, you know what? This angel is saying to humanity that Christ has the authority He is totally into this.
And all of the symbols are saying that to John without him ever having to say. It's the Lord Jesus. because the symbols make the point. not the details necessarily. Give you a quick example of that.
when the Apostle Paul had a dream or vision, of a Macedonian man saying to him to come over to Macedonia and give them the gospel. And Paul does go over to Macedonia to give the gospel. But he doesn't find a man there waiting for him, he finds Lydia and the women down at the river. But the vision did its job. The point was made.
And so it keeps us sensitive to what's going on, not to be too caught up in the symbols, but certainly not to lose the point. And so The point is revealed to John. with the full authority of Christ. And the full authority of Christ, for instance, when you share the gospel and the Spirit comes upon you, do you not sense the full authority of Christ in that moment of sharing Christ? That's what anointed preaching is.
That's what an anointed evangelism is. And so as we do find speculation in the Revelation perhaps more than any other book in the scripture, that speculation does not allow us to cause prophetic Picasso where everything is deflated and deformed and makes no sense. But it does of course, with the speculation, cause us to think the matter through. Would anyone say the book of Revelation is casual reading? No, you got to you got to put something into it to get something out of it.
Anyway, this fourfold description I think it's too majestic for an angel. But it um It's still, you know, you want it to come out, you want John to say, it's the Lord, and he doesn't do that. For instance, parallels with Christ in chapter one and then in chapter four concerning how the the face like the sun and the feet like fire. I mean, they're they're found throughout the scripture. The word messenger is an angel, yes, but Christ in Malachi 3 is referred to.
As the messenger of the covenant, Malachi 3, verse 1. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. even the messenger of the covenant In whom you delight. I mean, I hope you have read Malachi. It is just a great.
Little prophecy, only four chapters long. You can read it on your drive home if you're driving.
Well, everybody's texting while they're driving. Why don't I just read that versus our Bible? Anyway, 1 Thessalonians 4. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel.
So you see some links. going there on there between the word messenger And this messenger coming down. And it's okay, don't fuss and argue about that.
Well, I disagree. I think it's, well, that's fine, you've got that opinion. But that doesn't there's not grounds to arm wrestle the person who has a a counter position. Not on this point. Anyway, clothed with a cloud.
Uh you know, like a pillar Of a cloud, the shekinah, the presence of Christ.
Now, there are many supporting verses for this, and I'll just give you a few. If you're a student of the word, you're going to you enjoy that part of a sermon. I know when I used to sit in the pew and the pastor would quote scripture or reference scripture, to me that was the, you know, some of the most exciting parts of the message. Exodus 16, 10, Leviticus six two Ezekiel ten, four, I don't see anybody writing, so I can speed up. And then in the New Testament, Matthew twenty four, thirty, twenty six sixty four And then Revelation fourteen, verses fourteen through sixteen.
All of these have the symbols of the cloud applying to God, the Lord. And so we read these things and we do not dismiss them as students of the Scripture. We look for their meaning and their application. Of course, the rainbow being on his head, as it tells us here in verse one, is a symbol of God's sovereignty from the book of Genesis. and his trustworthiness.
Because God says, I'm not going to wipe out the world again with water. And we who believe, we trust that that's what He said, that's what He means. And you can reference that.
Well, let's just read it. Genesis chapter 9. Verse thirteen. I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. And in my Bible, I have something extra that Moses added.
He said, And those fake rainbows with the six lines, six colors, those are from hell.
Okay, my Bible doesn't say that, but if I mean, if that's what it means. Isn't it interesting that Satan would choose the rainbow as his flag and it's a defective rainbow?
Well, uh anyway, this angelic figure here. Is Just Clothed with this cloud and this rainbow on his head, his face was like the sun. And so, yeah, things like that: the first impression: this is the Lord. Malachi 4, 2 talks about it. Matthew seventeen, two.
Luke 17, 24, and Revelation 21, 23. I would rather read the verses. But then we go too long. And so it's your fault. You should do ma you should be out with placards and sandwich boards protesting for longer sermons Yeah.
Some of you said, yeah, but not most of you. Anyway, his face was like the sun. And of course, this recalls the imagery from Daniel of the Son of Man, Daniel seven. And his feet like pillars of fire. This right out of Revelation chapter one in the fifteenth verse.
It also brings to mind when God led the people out of Egypt. this same language is used of Yahweh And so we move to verse ten.
Well, before we go to verse ten, I want to add I do believe the point is made to John and to us that this character says to us that Christ himself is locked in to what's coming. Uh verse 2. 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. And cried, verse three, with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Well, this little book again, I think I mentioned it already, is a head up, heads up. The seventh trumpet is coming. It is the third whoa trumpet. And it is going to be The wrath of God and the finale of the wrath of God on a sinful world. And remember, this world is freely and gleefully persecuting Christians.
giving gifts to each other when the two witnesses are killed. They are committed to rejecting Jesus Christ. And of course, They are in immoral and idolatrous and sinful. collectively, globally. And the Internet is is helping that Along.
Well, this book is small, but it's not unimportant, and it's small enough for John to consume. And it is attached, I believe, to the scroll of Chapter 5. That's the sealed scroll that was closed, and only the Lamb of God could open the scroll, and the seals have been pulled back. And so far, we've seen six of those seals open. And this book is a part of that scroll.
Christ alone opens the scroll. No man is worthy. We love that truth about him. And here we are. With this angelic being coming down with this opened book in his hand.
So this angel is symbolic of Christ. and no one else. That's my conclusion. And God is vindicated by what's coming. It's not like God is just in a bad mood and He's flexing His deity.
man has called for this they are getting what we would say what just desserts. But it is a tragedy. It is not something So this scroll that or book little book that John Is going to devour. For those of you who are Bible students, of course, you're mindful of Ezekiel. having the same experience.
having to take a message of woe to the Jewish exiles. He says here in verse three, and he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. That's global ownership. God said this to the Jews in Deuteronomy 11: Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours.
Well, this is the Lord claiming The authority.
Now, the rolling thunder, well, the thunder, thunderous voices of verse 3. Uh of course Is the Lamb of God. He's all part of all of this. And so we look back at verses 2 and 3. 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, and cried with a loud voice.
When a lion roars, as when a lion roars. And so there's the link. Do not weep. Behold, from chapter five at the other scroll, or the seven-sealed scroll. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah.
And so we don't miss these little things. In fact, if you take Daniel chapter twelve, Ezekiel two and three, and you take out a highlighter and you read through those chapters and you highlight everything that is linked and matches This tenth chapter, you'll be surprised how much highlighting you'll be doing. They are very much connected, and it's a very good exercise. If you want to develop your ability to follow prophecy, end time prophecy in the Scripture.
Well, verse four.
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.
Well, clearly, God is saying there are some things that aren't for us, but they're there. letting us know He's got it, and even if we don't, John makes it clear that These thunders said some things that were understandable. It also says he's not sleeping, he's not having a dream. And the difference between a dream and a vision is a dream you're sleeping, a vision you are awake, and he is awake to receive all this vision. The revelation was received in a single vision, and therefore, it is not the revelations plural, but singular.
But I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered and do not write them. That is a firm prohibition. Twice Daniel was told to what he was shown. but not to conceal it. To conclude it, To preserve it.
But here, John is being told this is this is inside no, that's not the what it makes me think of the stock market. Yeah, that, right. This is off the record, John. You're getting something for you. And it's not for everyone else, except the takeaway for us is: well, there are things that God is just not.
going to reveal in their entirety. And so Daniel, he too. Had such an experience from angelic beings telling him, okay, seal this up, but they're a little different. I think there's just some things we can, information, that we cannot handle. We'll do the wrong thing with it, and so God has withheld it.
That's my opinion, and you don't have to share that. Ecclesiastes says this A time to keep silence. and a time to speak. And why that verse from Ecclesiastes, I think, fits well here is because here, for some things, he can't Share. But by the time we get to the end of this chapter, he is told, you have to go and prophesy these things.
There are some things that are not to be said, and there are others to be said. The discipline and the wisdom to know the difference marks the matured Christian. In verse five, the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven.
Well, it's common for oaths in other parts of Scripture, Ezekiel 20, Daniel 12. An oath is a pledge. but this one's a little different because of who is making it. In verse six, and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that are in it. the earth and the things that are in it.
and the sea and the things that are in it that there should be delay no longer.
Well, this does not imply that Jesus is inferior to the Father. nothing implies that he is inferior to the Father. His role, his assignment had been when he walked the earth, but never was he inferior. And it is also saying, therefore, They are in absolute agreement with each other.
Now as I mentioned, an oath is a guarantee. Not only a promise coming from This character To attempt something, as men make oaths that they promise to deliver, but they could die before they fulfill. that oath And that's the difference. God is saying, this is an oath. and there is no death on me.
The New Testament warns men against making solemn promises that go beyond yes or no. Christ came along. He warned us not to make these super duper promises. Just say yes or no. Let your yes be yes or no.
No. He says beyond this, the Satan's going to deal with you know, you're going to get involved beyond this This trouble, he tells us. makes that very clear. And so we avoid well, well, how do you feel when someone says, I swear it's true? Oh, okay.
Now you said the swear word. I've got to believe you.
Well, they could be wrong. It could be sincere, but wrong, or they could be sinister or they could be right, but it's not necessary. He says, By him who lives forever and ever.
Well, the contrast between the living God and the dead idols of the world is also made here. But God of course sees things Already done. To God, I'm already in heaven. Cool as can be. Uh and and probably you too.
Yeah. Romans 4 verse 17. God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. This is the one. This is the Godhead.
You could look at this and say this is the Godhead interacting in front of us. assuring us That these things are faithful and true. We have to be reminded of that repeatedly in Scripture. When we get to the end of Revelation, he's going to say, These things are faithful and true. Write that down, John.
How many times do we hear Jesus say, Most assuredly, I say to you, or of the old King James, verily, verily? When he says In the world, you will have Much tribulation. Is there anybody here that says objection? And then he says, Be of good cheer, I've overcome the world.
Well, that's an art. You have to learn to do that for the long haul. Anybody can come through a a a catastrophe with flying colours, but to do it over and over again. That now is getting into a walk with Christ. that um is available to the Christian.
Uh Yeah. This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Yeah.
