Bible Gem 2276 – The Pause Before the Seventh Trumpet (Revelation 10:1 – 11:14)

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¹Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. ²And in his hand was a small scroll that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. ³And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered. ⁴When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.” ⁵Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven. ⁶He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay. ⁷When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets.” ⁸Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again: “Go and take the open scroll from 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 small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” ¹⁰So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach. ¹¹Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

Revelation 10:1-11

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¹Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers. ²But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. ³And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.” ⁴These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. ⁵If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. ⁶They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. ⁷When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. ⁸And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified. ⁹And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. ¹⁰All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them. ¹¹But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. ¹²Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. ¹³At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.

Revelation 11:1-14

In my reading and preparation for these next passages I have begun to wonder why I ever decided to gem Revelation. We have reached the next of John’s pauses. I have told you before there is a pattern to the unfolding of the Revelation. You know yourself if you have dared to read the book of the Letter to the Seven Churches of Revelation that you encounter a Series of Sevens. We meet ‘sevens’ at almost every turn. You know also that 7 is an important number in God’s Kingdom. Seven symbolises perfection, consummation, completeness. I have told you before, Revelation contains repeated patterns. In the presentation of the seven seals there is a 4 : 2 : 1 pattern in the unveiling of the contents of the seals. In the unveiling of the seven trumpets of judgement there is a pattern of 4 : 2 : 1 in the content of the judgments. But in each case when we get to the penultimate event (seal or trumpet) there is a pause. A pause of silence in heaven for 30 minutes. The same is true for the trumpeted judgements, which is where we are poised with bated breath at the moment. The way John tells what he has seen and heard is long and drawn out for a purpose. Why? Is it John doing this? No, I don’t believe he is the one responsible for these delays and long suffering pauses. I sense God is behind all this. After all, cast your mind back to the beginning of this letter. I told you what John is sharing with us is simply what he has seen and heard. Not only that, but he has been told when to write and when not to write. That happens again in this portion before us.

Not only that, but each time we come to the ultimate revelation – the seventh event in each series – be it seals or trumpets, we are left with a pause, hanging on the edge of our seats or standing on the brink of what we long to know. But each time the seventh element in the unfolding story morphs into yet another ‘seven series’. It happened with the seventh seal morphing into seven trumpets and you know if you have read this Letter / Book before that the seventh trumpet morphs into the series of seven bowls of God’s wrath. Oh come on God, please stop doing this to me. Just allow John to give us the punchline. Why does God do this? I am getting the idea that it’s because of His long suffering patience with human kind. He doesn’t want any to perish and be destroyed so He keeps giving warnings and opportunities to turn around and change our ways (repent).

Not only have I read and read and reread the text of this book, I have pondered long and hard over the contents and I have dared to ask the hard questions and go down whatever rabbit holes are presented to us in order to increase my understanding. You, my readers, are aware that from time to time I give you opportunity to ask your questions so I don’t miss anything. I invite your questions to ensure I don’t miss any subtle twist in the tale or hidden element, however disguised or blatantly obvious. I want to understand this Revelation in a way and to the degree I haven’t thus far. In order to do that the LORD of all the universe has provided me with a heaps of resources [50+ resources and commentaries to delve into the depths of what is recorded here and research the elements I believe to be important. Besides that I follow the leads of others who have gone before me. Some are helpful but many just serve to cloud or complicate our understanding. However, often times it is hard to tell if something is important or not. One only knows as result of following the trail.

I am aware that this Pause Point before us is important. Not only do I sense it but others have pointed it out as well. Many say Chapter 11 is the most important chapter in the Revelation. I agree, this particular pause is pregnant with meaning and confusion. Gordon Fee writes:

‘. . . the reader is now faced with one of the most complex moments in John’s narrative. . . The key to understanding would seem to lie at two points. First John’s own role in the vision and second, the entire narrative revolves around John eating the little scroll, introduced in 10:2 and finally eaten in 10:9-11″.

Gordon D Fee ‘Revelation’ p 140

Yes, this pause is significant and sets the stage for what follows. But along with the clarity it gives and the light it sheds on the whole narrative, it adds complexity and mystery as well as confusion. It leaves us with paradoxes and puzzles along the way, some which I hope to unravel and I am sure some will escape me. Thus be prepared to ask your own questions. I have said before, I sense in moments like this I am a fool to invite your questions. But I do so in the quest of more fully understanding for myself and not believing that I know it all but knowing I will benefit from your perspective as well. (See Gem 413) – Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Here are seven puzzles which lie before us:

• “Another strong angel”? The same one as in 5:2 or a different one?
• A ‘small scroll’ or a normal scroll?
• Eating the scroll in what order: sweet – bitter or bitter – sweet?
• Measure the temple; yet the measurements of the temple are well known?
• Measure the temple (what part?); but don’t measure the outer court?
• No more delay; yet delay?
• 7 thunders speak intelligible words; yet keep it secret?

I think you would agree, those seven questions are not the only questions we could ask. Readers like you tend to come up with more practical questions as compared with the academics or the commentators. Hence the reason I throw the ball back in your court is to ensure I have covered all the questions which need to be asked. Feel free to add your questions or comments on the things which puzzle you.

One more problem we have to contend with concerns John’s use of the verbal tenses. I have told you already the use of past, present and future tense in communicating the Revelation is quite free and fluid. In 11:11 John used the past tense in his narrative to talk of events which actually are in the future. We have to remember that, when the action is set in a future time period. In John 11:3 and 7 he uses the future tense when prophesying yet in verses 10:9-11 he uses the present tense, while in 11:11-13 he uses the aorist tense to describe what he had already seen and heard in the vision at a particular moment in the past. John also speaks of things in the future as though they had already happened in the past. In true Hebrew dramatic style [the prophetic perfect], a future event can be spoken of in the past tense as if it has already happened. So certain is the prophet of the fact that it will come to pass because God Himself has spoken it.

We need to keep our wits about us as we approach this section under scrutiny in this Gem. There are many surprises and many features we have to investigate. Then we have to put the details together in order to find the overall purpose. Now is the time for you to read the section above and ask your questions.

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived; it is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

Nelson Mandela

The true goal of life is not to cross the finishing line first, but to take as many others with you as you can.

Bob Gass

Your level of Influence reflects your level of Understanding. You can never influence what you do not understand.

Jose Carol

The repeated message of the Revelation is to open our ears to hear God and persevere to the end; how are you doing? If you really want to understand Revelation, understanding this current segment is the key.

Ian