John was told he must again prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings. He had digested the prophecy—in the form of the little scroll—and now he must communicate it. His prophecy would focus on the Gentiles and their treatment of Israel, and Israel's response to God's work on her behalf. He would prophesy about God's faithful two witnesses in Revelation 11; about Satan's vicious persecution of Israel in chapter 12; about Satan's two evil henchmen, the beast and the false prophet, in chapter 13; about the faithful 144,000 in chapter 14; about the assembling of armies at Armageddon in chapter 16; about the fall of Babylon in chapters 17 and 18; about Jesus' defeat of the nations in chapter 19; and about the consignment of unbelievers from all periods of history to the lake of fire in chapter 20.

The Roman Emperor had banished John to isolation on the island of Patmos, but he could not silence his witness. God would use John to write Revelation, the New Testament's book of prophecy, which millions have read.

Revelation 10:8–11 records that the voice John heard from heaven commanded him to take the scroll from the mighty angel's hand. John obeys the instruction and is told by the mighty angel to eat the scroll. Upon eating the scroll, John finds it is sweet to the taste but bitter to his stomach. John receives word that he must prophesy again about many people and nations and languages and kings. The rest of the book of Revelation unfolds what lies ahead for the Gentiles and the people of Israel.

The apostle John reports what he saw after the sixth trumpet judgment. He saw a mighty angel descend from heaven. The angel held a little scroll open in his hand. His right foot rested on the sea and his left foot rested on the land. Next, John heard the mighty angel call out to the seven thunders, but the angel would not allow John to record the thunders' response. The angel promised there would be no further delay: the seventh trumpet judgment would fulfill the words of the prophets. Finally, John is commanded to take the little scroll and eat it. When John obeyed the command, he found the scroll to be sweet to the taste but bitter in his stomach. The angel told John he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.

The tenth chapter of Revelation provides an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. Chapter 9 described the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, which were somehow even worse than the first four, as described in chapter 8. Here the apostle John reports that he saw a mighty angel descend from heaven and place his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land. He predicted that in the days of the seventh trumpet judgment the mystery of God would be fulfilled. God will soon complete His program for Israel and the Gentiles. In the remaining chapters of Revelation, we see how God deals with apostate Israel, Jewish believers, and the unbelieving Gentiles. This chapter is related to Isaiah 42, Jeremiah 33, and Daniel 2:31–45.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/1/2024 6:43:50 AM

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