Revelation 10:8-11 Then the voice that I had heard from Heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
 
THE mighty angel showing God’s glory and authority stands with one foot on the sea and one foot on land. Imagine you are John, and God commands you to go to his majestic angel to receive a scroll from his hand. Would you be afraid? Might you wonder if you would be acceptable in this angel’s presence? But perhaps John was confident and sure of Heaven’s command. After all, hadn’t he seen Jesus transfigured in Heaven’s glory? He had talked with, eaten with and walked with the risen Christ. For decades, too, John had watched God’s Spirit work remarkable miracles among the Jews and Gentiles to advance the gospel.
   It is likely John was again eager to see what God is about to teach him. What is God’s message? Most likely it is the specific revelation of God’s sovereign majesty to be spoken again to the church on earth. We know this is God’s message because the scroll’s words were sweet to taste. Hear Psalms 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Noah to John, the Bible describes God’s blessed sweet words offering salvation’s refuge for his chosen leaders.
   But the Word turns sour to many opposing hearts. God’s patriarchs, prophets, disciples, apostles and even his Son experienced the sour taste of abuse, neglect, condemnation and death. And how many pastors, teachers and godly leaders have tasted the sour opposition from hard hearts, denying God’s Word? Even John is in exile because of the gospel’s sweet words.
   But through the angel, the Lord still commands John, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
   Jesus was still commanding John, “Follow me.” The apostle still had an apostolic mission to fulfil. John obeyed; that’s why we read his words today.
   Are you perhaps sour about the lack of response to Jesus’ sweet words you preach, teach, write, pray or share? Be encouraged. Be a warrior. Be sweet in God’s sight. Renew your mind with Jesus’ sweet words from Scripture each day. Pray to be joyful in your faith, so others will see God’s joy. Follow Jesus, and you will be ready to do what is good and pleasing for the Lord.
 
Prayer: I pray, Lord God, you help me offer your honey-like words to many, many people – especially my friends, neighbors and relatives near and far. Amen.

Revelation 10:6-7 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
 
“AH HA!” you’ve exclaimed. “Now I get it!” Some concept or process was a mystery to you. You heard many times, “This is how it’s done.” But you couldn’t quite understand all the details and processes. Now, suddenly, you know.
   There will come that day when God will suddenly be completely clear to the world. Millions of lost souls have heard the truth of God’s great salvation through Jesus Christ. Sadly, millions of those souls have said, “I don’t understand, and I don’t want it. God is too complicated for me. He’s not real in my view.” But on that day when God is clear to the world, they will fully know who God is. And the unbelieving people of the world will cower in fear. Too late, they will know they can never ask,, “What must I do to be saved?” The Day of Judgment has come. Yes, as we saw in the previous verses, God does not reveal all. But he reveals what we must know for our eternal life.
   We thank God he has taught us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) We know Jesus came in the flesh to exchange his perfection for our sin. His death, resurrection and ascension are clearly seen in the depths of God’s love, power and promise.
   God has revealed himself to his people since he created us. He came in person. He gives even more visions of the future. I once heard a sermon on the question, “How do we know Heaven is real?” The short, true answer is, “Read the Bible.” Our work is to tell people now that they surely can trust the revelation of God come to earth in human form. Tell them, too, they can be sure God comes now in his Spirit to wash clean their sin as they confess Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. And tell them he will come again to judge believers and unbelievers.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for revealing your love and grace to promise, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2) Amen.
 

Revelation 10:1-5 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from Heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from Heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” 5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to Heaven.

ONE of the challenges in understanding Revelation is to 
identify the various angels involved in the vision. “Angel” has several meanings. For example, the angels of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 are earthly leaders - messengers – to those churches. Other angels are the seraphim in Heaven, directing worship and the release of four horsemen. Some angels are demons, described as bound and then released. Here is another angel who displays Heaven’s glory and power. 
This angel is very Christ-like. Jesus is described in the Transfiguration (Mark 9) and Revelation 1:13-16 in similar 
glorious brilliance. But we know this is not Jesus because he is never called “angel” in the New Testament and especially in Revelation. This angel is one designated to carry the authority 
of God onto the earth. Because he stood on the sea and the land, the angel’s announcement will affect the entire earth. His authority is sure. The lion-like voice that quiets the seven thunders (loud tumult), commands, “Seal up!” and then raises the right hand to Heaven to demand obedience. 
Thus, the contents of the second, smaller scroll remain unknown. Although Revelation reveals many characteristics of God such as his justice, his authority and his Heaven, we will not know all until the end of the age. Paul writes of Heaven’s mysteries in 2 Corinthians 12:1a, 4 “I know a man who … was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.”
One aspect of a living faith in Christ is to believe Heaven is much, much more than we can imagine and understand. Sometimes we can become entrenched in the details, only to miss God’s grand majesty. Shaping Heaven in our own image closes our mind to the Heaven God created in his image. Let us be open to hear God’s Word and to see what he makes plain. May we anticipate Heaven’s inexpressible wonders. 

Prayer: Lord God, I look forward to eternally celebrating Heaven’s glories with you. Amen. 

Revelation 9:13-21 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. 17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. 18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. 20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.
 
THIS is overwhelming, isn’t it? But let’s work through the vision to learn how it applies to each of us today.
   The sixth trumpet blows, and the second woe is released. Against man’s great sin comes God’s greater judgment. A voice either from God or from one to whom he has given authority speaks, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” These angels are demons bound until this time. God’s angels are neve bound.
   God’s purpose is threefold: 1) to encourage his persecuted church 2) to inspire his church to teach salvation and 3) to warn the sinner of this great death.
   God has always been about these purposes. He first spoke blessing and warning to Adam: Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  Since sin entered Eden, God has repeatedly promised life blessing for the obedient and warned of sin’s death curse for the disobedient. Whether this plague symbolizes God’s judgment over time or describes one particular day in the future, the message is clear. Sin kills. We pray for those who do not know this.
   How good it is to thank God he has made a way out of the curse. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13) Believe this and be saved from this awful judgment.
   This vision is, indeed, for you today. God is speaking right now of sin’s curse and his life promise. Are you hearing him?
 
Prayer: Move my heart, Lord, to love others so much I tell them of sin’s curse and your eternal salvation. Amen.
 

Revelation 9:1-12 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. 7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. 12 The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.
 
THIS is the fifth of the seven trumpets, the first of the three “woe’s”. Let’s understand what God is revealing here. First, the star that had fallen from the sky is an angel coming from Heaven at God’s command. He opened the Abyss – a place of demonic forces. To John’s contemporaries the sea is the abyss. The sea was regarded as the home of evil forces.
   From the Abyss came evil as smoke from a fiery volcano. The ash darkened the sky. Then locusts, given power like that of scorpions, harmed only those people who did not have God’s seal on their foreheads.
   This is a plague of suffering. Even though people wanted to die because of their great pain, God would not allow them to die. The locusts were armored with fearful strength. And the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
   The locusts’ leader is a demon. His name, Abaddon, means “destruction”. God’s Word is constant and true. How precious is his salvation to seal his own from pain and suffering.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your promise of Psalms 121:7 to keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life. Amen. 

Revelation 8:13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
 
THIS verse is a brief break, a transition between the first four trumpets and the last three. An eagle is God’s messenger of judgment.
   In many cultures and in the Bible, the eagle can be a symbol of strength and comfort: Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Rejoice in God’s comfort for you. Be assured, you can pray and receive strength, rest and peace for your soul.
   But the eagle’s strength for God’s people becomes a devouring image for unbelievers. Through the prophet Habakkuk, the Lord described Babylon as a devouring eagle. Habakkuk 1:8c Like eagles they swoop down to devour. This was God’s judgment against the
unrepentant Israel as he sent them into exile. God’s people experienced great woe because they rejected him.
   The Lord God gives to John the same judgment message to the unrepentant world. The three “woe’s” reflect the three-part repetition of completion in the Hebrew language. As “holy, holy, holy” (Revelation 4:8) affirms God’s complete holiness, the three woe’s confirm the sinners’ suffering will be complete.
   This is God’s revelation to unbelievers. It’s not new. He’s been speaking this since Genesis: Sin separates you from God and brings great suffering and death. As Israel did not repent to stop God’s judgment, much of the world will reject repentance and be exiled into Hell.
   The first four trumpets brought horrible physical suffering on the earth. The next three will bring spiritual suffering to the unbelievers. History has proven these words are true. The future will continue to prove God’s Word. You can thank God that as you are in Jesus, you are sealed from such suffering safe with Jesus.  
 
Prayer: Lord God, turn hearts to faith. Teach the world of your powerful blessing to keep your church safe from judgment. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Revelation 8:7-12 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water – 11 the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
 
EXODUS 7-12 record the plagues against Egypt. Those plagues that included the Nile River turning to blood and a great darkness over the land, served two purposes: 1) To show that the Creator, not creation must be worshiped. 2) The Lod God is sovereign over the heavens and earth.
   Now as we see what “must take place” (Revelation 4:1b) God expands the Exodus plagues onto a third of the earth. One third of the world’s water turns red. Darkness also covers one-third of the earth. Mountains fall into the sea. Fire scorched the earth. People who have witnessed severe volcanic activity and flowing lava know how fire scorches the earth and the mountains can seem to fall into the sea.
   Wormwood is a bitter root. In the third trumpet, this symbolizes the bitterness of sin’s sorrow and death. This water that becomes bitter is especially grievous as it reverses God’s blessing to Israel as they began their journey to the Promised Land: Exodus 15:23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter…25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
   Blessing is bitterness to sweetness. Curse is sweetness to bitterness. Sin turns sweetness into bitterness, living water into blood, light into darkness, fertile ground into scorched earth and life into death.
   Might you consider God’s judgments are too severe? Then it is good to stop and remember his great blessing for the world: Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.
   God’s grace is his unmerited mercy. We only deserve judgment. But he has given to us the way to life. Without Christ, our lives are cursed and bitter. Faith in Jesus turns bitter death to sweet salvation.  
 
Prayer: Thank you, LORD God, taking us to Jesus, the Living Water, so we may drink of your sweet salvation. Amen.    
 

Revelation 8:3-6 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. 6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
 
MANY in the church often express a disinterest in Old Testament Scripture. But see how a passage in Exodus points to today’s Revelation passage: Exodus 30:7 “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight, so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.”
   The incense from Aaron, the High Priest, helps us see how God is constant to welcome his people to come to him in prayer and worship. Aaron’s incense is for the same reason as the angel’s incense in verse 3. The rising incense from the tabernacle’s altar would remind Israel that Heaven welcomes their prayers. And God would answer their faithful petitions.
   In a like manner, the angel of Revelation acts as a priest, taking the prayers of the church to the Father. The prayers could be specifically for the justice and peace prayed by the martyrs in Revelation 6:10 “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” This is a prayer for God’s justice to condemn the wicked.
   We should often pray for God’s justice against the great wrongs that swallow up life throughout the earth. After all, Jesus taught us to do so: your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:10) Justice is God’s will. He will not allow sin to endure forever. Yes, there is much injustice in the world, but God has removed many unjust leaders and causes throughout the centuries. One day he will remove all, so his will is done on earth for eternity.
   In verse 5 God begins to answer the saints’ prayers. God’s authority and power are again illustrated in the fire and earthquake as his creation groans in judgment. Exodus also records similar passages as God demonstrates his justice to Israel.
   As we continue in Revelation, God’s justice will be relentless against his broken creation. The seven angels prepare to blow their trumpets for three purposes: 1) to warn that judgment is certain, 2) to call the forces of good and evil to battle, and 3) to announce the return of the King, the Messiah. Our Almighty God will bring disorder onto his creation to ultimately establish his ordered justice.
 
Prayer: We pray, Father, for justice. Establish your truth in our homes, communities, states and nations. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Revelation 8:1-2 When Jesus opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
 
ENJOY the silence. Following this quiet 30 minutes in Heaven, Heaven’s judgment will break loose against hell’s evil on earth. The Judge will wage war to the end. As Jesus then opens the seventh seal, know this is not the end of the Father’s revelation. It is, instead, the beginning of the Seven Trumpets, a third revelation within the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
   Let’s count the ways Revelation tells of God and his future plans for the world: We have heard from God regarding 1) the Seven Churches and 2) the Seven Seals. Next, 3) the Seven Trumpets are about to resound throughout creation. The trumpet sounds will release more angels to deliver God’s wrath on sin. Then be prepared. After this will come 4) the Seven Bowls of judgment!
   But let’s not be overwhelmed. Still your mind. Count it joy you have the opportunity to learn more of our God and his sure hold on your life. Let your heart and soul be still in God’s presence each day to anticipate a deeper understanding of his Holy Word.
   Consider the 30 minutes of silence. What would that be like? Is it possible to rest for 30 minutes from the daily activities of your life? Can you really sit and be quiet to meditate on God? What would happen if you did? Perhaps 30 minutes of silence will lead you to prayer to care for others and seek God’s voice for your own life. Some think the heavenly silence here could be God’s silence to hear your prayers.
   But perhaps the silence is another view of the biblical image of God calling us to be still amid turmoil. For example: Psalms 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Then we see our Comforter offering us his stillness amid the physical storms. Mark 4:39 Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?”
   That’s it, isn’t it? Why are we so afraid? When we believe our Lord is with us, standing against hell’s fury for us, we can be still! We can put away our grief, doubt, worry and anxiety to say, “I know you are my God.”
 
Prayer: Jesus, turn me from myself to see your gracious love and care for me and for your people. Amen.
 
3:18-........... Am praying for you always psalm  

Revelation 7:15-17 “Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat 17 because the Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
 
BECAUSE the New Testament repeatedly refers to Jesus as the Lamb, we readily accept this image. We can understand to some degree he is the sacrificial Lamb, who has died on a cross. But this image would be very difficult for a culture that herds sheep. For centuries, many cultures have raised sheep for meat and sacrifice to God or other cult gods. In addition, sheep are essentially helpless to care for themselves. A lamb has no mind of its own and will follow other sheep even to its own destruction. Shepherds are necessary to keep sheep alive.
   How then does the image of Jesus as the Lamb of God correspond with Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the Lion of Judah? Why would the Father reveal Jesus as a Lamb, not a Shepherd or a Lion, at the center of Heaven’s authority?
   In the context of the passage, those who have been martyred surround the throne. They have been as lambs taken to the slaughter. But now they are in the presence of the triumphant Lamb of God. Jesus, the Lamb, reminds the redeemed martyrs that God has required no more of them than he was willing to give. Jesus has given himself entirely to suffering, sacrifice and death. The Lamb illustrates Jesus has walked earth’s roads, faced scorn and unbelief. He has been mocked, threatened and afflicted. The Lamb knows your needs, your sufferings and your joy because he has experienced a suffering life that ended in his triumphant resurrection and ascension to Heaven’s throne.
   The sacrificed Lamb then becomes the Shepherd. Risen from the grave, he knows the way out of death and into life. Jesus has walked the true pathway of salvation, and we can trust his leading.
   See, also, the image of a tent to shelter you. He will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. This is the Good Shepherd caring for his faithful followers. God has promised this also in Isaiah 33:20 Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken. Hunger, thirst and discomfort will be in the past because the Father has sacrificed the Lamb, and the Shepherd leads us to victory.  
   Jesus, the Lamb and the Shepherd, will then come in power and glory one day as the Lion of Judah. His power will judge the world and save the church into the New Creation.
   These three images of Jesus illustrates God’s complete character to serve his beloved creation in sacrifice, leadership and power.  
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you chose humility and weakness to make us pure before you in Heaven. Thank you for leading us into your salvation. We trust your power to bring all events to their final victory in your name. Amen.