Revelation 10:1-3a (ESV) - Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring.

There is not a single part of the earth that will be able to hide from the power of God’s judgment. The entire universe is His – He created it – and everything and everyone is subject to His rule.

God’s voice commands attention and demands obedience. Everyone and everything is accountable to Him.

Revelation 10:3b-7 (ESV) - When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” 5And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, 7but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

Hope doesn't come from knowing all the details or every specific event. Hope comes from knowing that Jesus reigns!

God, as Creator, is sovereign and Lord of both heaven and earth.

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV) - The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God’s plan is about His glory and it is about the care of those whom He created in His image.

God delays because He loves us, the ones uniquely created in His image, and He desires more to be saved.

Revelation 10:8-11 (ESV) - Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

“The directions that the angel gave to John should remind us of our responsibility to assimilate the Word of God and make it a part of the inner man. It was not enough for John to see the book or even know its contents and purpose. He had to receive it into his inner being.” – Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary.

So what?
1. Trust God’s plan – you won’t and can’t know every detail, but trust that God is sovereign and in control.

2. Internalize God’s Word. Blessed is the one who reads, hears and keeps what is written in it (Rev. 1:3).

Discussion Questions

1. What purpose did the mighty angel fulfill by coming to earth? What can we learn from John’s description the angel’s appearance and posture?

2. What are possible reasons John was told to “seal up” the message of the seven thunders?

3. “No more delay” the mighty angel announced in Revelation 10:6. Why is God choosing to delay His judgment today? Consider 2 Peter 3:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10 in your answer.

4. Scripture often refers to God’s Word as being eaten or is referenced as “food”? Consider Ezekiel 2:1-3:3, Jeremiah 15:16, Matthew 4:4, 1 Peter 2:2, 1 Cor. 3:1-2, Psalm 119:103. What do these references suggest people are to do with God’s Word?

5. In what ways does God’s Word contain both sweetness and bitterness?