Prophesy Again (part 1)
Revelation 10:1-11
November 27, 2016
This morning we are entering ANOTHER PARENTHETICAL SECTION
Here in the book of the Revelation.
This book does flow chronologically, but many times we see breaks in the action
Where explanatory truth is presented.
Commonly this is done to make a much needed point for the reader.
For example after the 6th seal was broken we saw a great earthquake that literally caused the sky to roll up like a scroll and when the people of earth saw the anger of the Lord on His throne they asked:
Revelation 6:17 “for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
At that point the chronological flow was paused and we saw the parenthetical chapter of Revelation 7 which was given to answer that question.
We were told who was able to stand.
It was those whom God caused to stand through the redemption of Christ
And the preaching of the gospel.
And after that question was answered we returned to the chronological flow in chapter 8 with the breaking of the 7th seal.
Well here we just experienced another one of those issues
That requires another much needed point.
We just saw God’s wrath poured out in an almost unbelievable way.
• We saw 1/3 of the earth burned,
• 1/3 of the oceans ruined,
• 1/3 of the water poisoned,
• 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars darkened.
• We saw a 5 month demonic attack compared to a locust invasion.
• We saw destructive demonic army compared to Sodom and Gomorrah.
The judgment has been almost unbelievable
As now we have seen ½ of the world’s population killed.
AND AGAIN, WE WERE SHOWN THE RESPONSE OF EARTH.
After the 6th seal they said, “Who is able to stand?”
After the 6th trumpet we read:
Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”
It was a very sobering reminder that no amount of external pressure is enough to cause sinners to repent.
AND YOU KNOW THE TEMPTATION
If they won’t repent even under such pressures as a demonic oppression and death, ONE HAS TO WONDER IF IT IS A LOST CAUSE.
You read of that level of stubbornness
And wonder if it’s worth continuing.
It is that issue that this next parenthetical section addresses.
First let me show you where it BEGINS and where it ENDS.
If you will remember, following the 4th trumpet we had an eagle with a message.
Revelation 8:13 “Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
Then following the 5th trumpet we heard another message.
Revelation 9:12 “The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.”
However following the 6th trumpet we don’t see that message until 11:14
Revelation 11:14-15 “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly. Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
So you see that everything that occurs from 10:1 – 11:13
Is simply a parenthetical section.
(If you want to put a little note in your margin that the chronological flow pauses until 11:14 that might help you in future study)
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION?
It focuses on the necessary commitment of proclaiming the truth
Even though it is a difficult thing to do.
Chapter 10 addresses John’s need to prophesy again.
Chapter 11 reveals the ministry of two faithful witnesses and how much the world hates them.
In fact, look at what the world will do to them:
Revelation 11:7-10 “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”
It’s obvious the world will hate their ministry.
They actually celebrate “Dead Prophet’s Day” like it is Christmas.
Is it any surprise that this sinful world which refuses to repent even under judgment would hate the proclamation of truth? NO
THIS SECTION HELPS US UNDERSTAND
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROCLAIMING THE TRUTH
REGARDLESS OF THE DIFFICULTY.
AND IT BEGINS WITH A SPECIAL REVELATION TO JOHN.
As you will see that special revelation ends with the mandate for him to (11) “prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
John will be left we sort of a reaffirmation of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
John is left with a sort of restating of Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
You can hear that same message being proclaimed to John at the end of chapter 10.
And why wouldn’t John need this encouragement?
Consider where John is and why he is there.
Revelation 1:9 “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
• Preaching Jesus had landed John in prison on Patmos
• Preaching was costly for John and on top of that he just learned that sinners
are so stubborn that they won’t repent even under unbelievable judgment.
The thought had to occur to him to stop trying so hard.
That is the reason for this section.
You may have seen the stubbornness of those sinners at the end of chapter 9 and thought, “Why bother?”
This section then is addressed to you to tell you to do it anyway.
To tell you to “Prophesy Again”
And so THIS MORNING we are given a really good OPPORTUNITY
TO REVISIT A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE.
It is an issue that strikes at the very heart of the church.
It is an issue which addresses the purpose of the church.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BEING WITNESSES OF THE TRUTH.
Paul said it very clearly:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
That is our purpose.
And so we are going to use the truths of this chapter
To remind ourselves of this purpose and the truth about
What fulfilling this purpose will look like.
THERE ARE A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS FLOATING AROUND
Regarding what it will look like when a church becomes faithful to this calling, which I think must be addressed even before we look at our text.
On such misconception is this:
THAT SINNERS WILL LOVE THE TRUTH ONCE THEY HEAR IT.
(I would think the response of sinners after the 6th trumpet should satisfy that answer)
And yet that is certainly a prevailing thought.
We think that if we just show people truth they will naturally love it.
But can I remind you of what Jesus said?
John 3:19-20 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
Can I remind you what the world thought of Jesus who was the Light of the World?
John 1:9-10 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”
The world which lives in darkness is not drawn to the light.
THEY HATE THE LIGHT.
OK preacher I see what you are saying,
But why is it so important to know this?
If it is true that the world hates the message you are preaching
Then there is no way they can love you for preaching it.
This is yet another misconception.
THAT BEING A CHRISTIAN IN THE WORLD CAN RESULT IN POPULARITY.
I don’t that anyone actually says it like that,
But that’s really the sentiment at its core.
I heard it at the community service this past Sunday night. I don’t know if David meant it like this, but he said, “You should just look so much like Jesus that people are drawn to be around you just because of the fruit that is falling off of you.”
And maybe you’ve heard it before.
This notion that Jesus was loved and popular and always drawing a crowd
So if you look like Jesus then it only stands to reason that
You would also be loved and popular and would draw a crowd.
Some even go so far as to say if we aren’t loved
Then we must not look much like Jesus.
Can I remind you why the people flocked to Jesus?
Because they were selfish and they wanted Him to satisfy their selfish longings.
• They wanted to be healed
• They wanted to be fed
• They wanted to be delivered from Rome
And when Jesus refused (as He often did) to be merely a genie in a bottle,
They hated Him for it.
And we don’t have time to be near exhaustive on this point, but it is worth hitting several examples here since it is such a misconception of our day.
Look at the incident involving His hometown.
TURN TO: Luke 4:16-30
• They were only interested in gratifying their selfish desires.
• And so long as Jesus did that, they loved Him.
• When He sought to stop gratifying their flesh and start confronting their sin, they sought to kill Him.
SOMETIME READ THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF MARK
• And see what efforts Jesus took to avoid crowds.
• Listen to Him continually tell those He healed not to tell anyone.
• Gratifying the flesh of sinful humanity was not the main goal.
• He worked miracles to prove who He was so that His message would have validity, but the miracles themselves was not the goal.
TURN TO: John 6
In verses 1-14 Jesus feeds the 5,000 and the crowds love Him.
In fact in verse 15 they want to make Him king, so Jesus flees.
He isn’t interested in being the local food provider,
He is interested in confronting their sin.
He actually crosses the sea, but the crowds find Him.
(Read vs. 25-36)
They only wanted their selfish desires granted,
They had no interest in saving faith or of leaving their sin.
In fact later Jesus is going to confront their selfish living and command them to deny themselves and trust solely in Him as the Savior from heaven.
(38-42)
See they don’t like this notion of submitting to Christ as the One from heaven, they were just interested in having Him gratify their selfish desires.
(51-52) There it is again.
The call to trust Him and His sacrifice, and they don’t want that, they want actual bread.
They basically say, “What good is His sacrifice, you can’t eat that!”
“We want something that fills our stomachs!”
(60-66)
There was that crowd that wanted to make Him king, now abandoning Him.
THE POINT?
He was only popular so long as He was willing to gratify their selfish desires, but when He pushed for something more,
They rejected Him.
AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DRIVE THE POINT, ALLOW ME TO REMIND YOU HOW IT ALL ENDED FOR JESUS.
This world that “loved Him” – crucified Him.
If you are using Jesus as an example that it’s ok to be loved by the world
Not only are you misrepresenting His life on earth,
But you are also turning an absolute DEAF EAR to what He preached.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN PREACHER?
TURN TO: Matthew 10:16-39
• Did Jesus promise you that the world would love you for following Him?
• Did Jesus promise that it would make you popular?
• Did Jesus talk about how preaching His truth would unify all people?
TURN TO: John 15:18-16:4
• There again are we to assume that looking like Jesus will make the world love you?
This notion that following Jesus should make people love you is a lie.
That is not what Jesus said or taught.
He promised that if you follow Him and if you look like Him
Then you will be hated for it.
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
Are you getting the point here?
• If someone told you that following Jesus should make people love
you then they lied to you.
• If someone told you that your unpopularity is an indicator that you
don’t look like Jesus, then they lied to you.
Consider the apostle Paul and his ministry.
(I think most would agree he was one of the greatest Christians to ever live)
• In Acts 14:19 the Bible says he was stoned in Lystra.
• In Acts 16:19 he was beaten in Philippi
• In Acts 17:10 he had to flee Thessalonica
• In Acts 17:18 he was mocked in Athens
• In Acts 18:12 he was arrested in Corinth
• In Acts 21 he was warned that more was coming.
You’re familiar with his resume:
2 Corinthians 11:24-29 “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?”
The point you must see is that
Being faithful to Christ will not make you popular in the world.
THE PROBLEM OF COURSE IS THAT
WE ARE CREATURES THAT VALUE COMFORT.
If you tell me that proclaiming the gospel is going to make life difficult for me, then I’m going to be tempted not to preach it.
I’m going to be tempted just stop confronting sin,
To stop proclaiming repentance,
And to just try to be a good person that everyone can like.
And scores of believers have sought to settle into this role.
There was actually much more I intended to get to this morning, but we’re just out of time.
I just want to leave you with the understanding that we are called by the Lord to proclaim the gospel with a full understanding that doing so will not be easy.
It would have been real easy for John, who was now in prison for preaching the gospel, to want to naturally shy away from preaching this new revelation of judgment.
Quite honestly preaching the good news of the gospel hadn’t worked out that well for him, one can only imagine how this new message of God’s wrath is going to be received.
But the hardships associated with proclaiming the truth do not undermine the mandate that we are to proclaim it anyway.
We’ll talk about this more next time, but please just understand that we are called to preach truth to a world that is promised not to like it.
We are called none the less.
