What is in the Angel's Little Book? Rev. chapters 10-14

The question that has always perplexed human beings is the question of why it is that good people suffer. We ask the question at times: Is there really going to be justice for those who are so wicked and so evil? This question was raised several times in the Psalms: “How long, O Lord, will the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer?” It is when we study the book of Revelation that we come to an understanding of how God is going to bring all things to a right and judicial end, and that even though there is suffering and chaos in the lives of people today God will indeed execute justice and bring about just before human history is over with. What we learn from the Scriptures is that justice delayed is not justice denied, and it is only when we come to the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation, that we can understand God’s end game where we are able to see why God delays justice. This is also a question that is asked by those who are martyred during the first part of the Tribulation period. God has a timetable and He will deal with injustice and evil in its right time. We have to wait upon the fact that He is omniscient and understands all of the facts and all of the details, and eventually and surely He will bring about justice. This is one of the major themes in the book of Revelation and it is only when wee understand what happens in the Tribulation period that we can see all of these different threads of evil and injustice come together in this final great end-time rebellion against God when God will indeed judge Satan, who is the author of all the evil and all of the suffering in the universe, and those who have followed him.

This next section is chapters 10-14. The bowl judgments do not start until chapter 15.

Revelation 10:1, 2 ^NASB “I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.” This little book is different than the scroll that was in the hand of God the Father in chapter four; this is a much smaller book. It contains a portion of the prophecies related to the Tribulation period. So there is a break in the action that we have seen.

Chapter ten is the introduction. What is important here at the beginning of the chapter is the picture of this angel. It is reminiscent of the vision John had of the Lord Jesus Christ back in chapter one. The thing that they do have in common is that the feet or the lower part of the legs are like burnished bronze. It is a picture of a brilliant metal that is shining. The idea is that it is a fiery metal and the picture there is one of judgment. That is what comes across in both the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in chapter one and the angel here: it was a scene of judgment. There are those who believe that this angel is the Lord Jesus Christ, but that is not founded. The Lord Jesus Christ is never called “an angel” in the book of revelation. He is given many titles in the book and it is always clear when the writer is speaking of the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are, however, several angels appearing in the book of Revelation to carry out certain decrees, certain missions from the Supreme Court of heaven who are called “strong angels.” The fact that this angel puts his right foot on the sea and the left on the land indicates that his announcement here will apply to the entire earth and to all who dwell upon the earth. When he cries out it is like the roar of the lion and there are seven peels of thunder that come at that particular time. These are seven thunder judgments and we do not know what they are because John was prohibited from revealing the content of those thunder judgments.

Then we hear the angel announce in verse 6 and swear “by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer.” Justice delayed will no longer be delayed. This is the prelude to that final period of the Tribulation when then full judgment of God is going to be poured out upon those who have rebelled against Him, and this is when all things are brought to their final culmination—v. 7, “…the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.”

So the angel then tells John to take this little book and to eat it. This is reminiscent of similar commands to Jeremiah and to Ezekiel in the Old Testament. It is a picture of completely ingesting and assimilating the prophetic message, the Word of God. He is told, v.9, “…it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” What that is picturing is the fact that just as we have learned for centuries that God would finally bring about justice upon His creatures, upon those who are wicked, and upon those who are evil, there is a sweetness to that to observe that, and to know that God is going to finally bring about justice. But when the severity of that justice is witnessed it is seen to be bitter. We saw something similar to that in Revelation 8:1 where we are told that there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. So we see this emphasis from Scripture that judgment is certain, judgment is severe, and though on the one hand we are glad and rejoice that God has brought evil to final judgment there is also a solemn aspect to that as we see that when it is executed it is in deed severe and harsh for those who receive it.

Then in verse 11 he is given a new commission: “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” This is an important phrase to track through the book of Revelation. It is used many times. It is used in chapter 5:9, with a slight variation (the word “kings” is not used). The collective use of these nouns, i.e. all races, all members of humanity, all nations, all languages, means that this is an all-inclusive judgment. There is no group that has somehow held out and missed this judgment, so it relates to all of mankind. This phrase is picked up again in the next few chapters—11, 12, 13, 14—and what we discover is that the content of this prophecy is about how God is going to bring about and finalise and bring to completion His judgment on all of mankind for their rebellion against Him and for their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ as saviour. So the next few chapters will depict this judgment on the peoples, nations, languages and kings. The content of this little book prophecy is what is contained in chapters 11-14. These chapters represent a shift and a departure from the chronological flow we have seen up to this point. Here there is a pause in the action, and this pause is so that other aspects of what is going on in the Tribulation will be addressed. These will be covered in chapters 11-14. In essence what the writer will do is go back and pick up different topics and different issues and bring us up to date on those issues to this point in the Tribulation period.

Chapter eleven is going to tell us about the two witnesses, two of the most interesting individuals in the Tribulation period. They are Old Testament prophets who will reappear on the scene and they specifically have a ministry to the remnant. So we have this introduction of Israel into chapter eleven, and emphasis on Israel and what is happening in Jerusalem. The remnant refers to regenerate Jews, those who are true Israel in the Tribulation period, and will be described further as the woman in chapter twelve. This takes us up to the point where these two witnesses are martyred. They are then resurrected and ascend to heaven. The action of chapter eleven stops just after the mid-point of the Tribulation period, the period of one thousand two hundred and sixty days (3-1/2 years). The second half of the Tribulation is described by the term “42 months,” and this is the time when the two beasts have their greatest exercise of power. This is covered in Revelation chapter 13. Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles during this time; it is called the period of the “great Tribulation” is Matthew 24:21 as distinct from the Tribulation as a whole, and in Malachi 4:5 it is called “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” So this is the intensified period of the Tribulation when the greatest amount of authority is given to the beast and to Satan to do all that they can to try to subvert the human race and to realise their rebellious goals against God.

We have to talk about some verses in Daniel chapter nine because they pertain to this operation that comes up in the first part of chapter eleven.

Revelation 11:1 ^NASB “Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, ‘Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it’.” The idea of measuring the temple is a picture of God’s control over events that will take place during this time period. [2] “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.” The picture here is that the Jews will have a measure of control over this Tribulation temple but that ultimately they will lose that and the holy city itself, Jerusalem, will be under the dominion of the Gentiles for forty-two months. This will bring to a conclusion the period that Luke refers to as the “times of the Gentiles.” It refers to the second half of the Tribulation when the Antichrist has his greatest degree of authority and power.

Revelation 11:3 ^NASB “And I will grant {authority} to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” If this were to be the same period of the forty-two months that number would have been repeated again to show that they were identical, but by changing from 42 months to 1260 days we see that this is a distinct period. So these two witnesses will come upon the scene and they are then described in verse as having a ministry similar to these “two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.” There is a comparison between these events and what we find in Daniel chapter nine.

Daniel chapter nine talks about the fact that the beginning of the Tribulation will come when the Antichrist signs a peace treaty or covenant with Israel. This is important because a lot of us get the idea that the Rapture begins the Tribulation. The Rapture ends the church age but it is the signing of this covenant between the Antichrist and Israel that really starts the stopwatch going again. This is what starts the countdown of Daniel’s seventieth week. If we look at what is allowed by this peace treaty it is that Israel will be able to reinstate the Levitical services, rituals and sacrifices on the temple mount. That is not going to happen today in the current scenario because there is a little thing called the Dome of the Rock that is one of the great sights for Islam. There is only going to be a possibility of Israel’s restoring sacrifices if somehow militant Islam as it is currently active is rendered impotent. Something must happen between now and then to defang Islam, to render Islam impotent to react to this. There will be a restoration of the sacrifices because in the middle of the Tribulation period when there is that event known as the abomination of desolation the Antichrist brings sacrifices to an end, according to Daniel 9:27. That means that sacrifices have been reinstated, and he ends them. When he ends them he sets up a statue of himself in the holy of holies in the temple on the temple mount, and he will be set up to be the ruler.

It is in this context that these two witnesses will appear. They will be given authority and they will prophesy for 1260 days. The imagery used of the olive trees and the lampstands goes back to Zechariah 4:3 and it relates to the ministry of two people when Israel returned from the Babylonian captivity—Zerubbabel who was the political leader and Joshua who was the high priest. The picture of them in Zechariah is that they are receiving power from oil directly out of the olive trees, and that is a depiction of them being empowered by God the Holy Spirit. In the Tribulation period these two witnesses are thought by most scholars to be Moses and Elijah because of what they do. The power that they have is given in Revelation 11:6. They have power to shut up heaven so that it doesn’t rain: that is what Elijah did. And they “have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire,” which is like the ministry of Moses when he delivered the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. One of the reasons that God brings them back is that after the Rapture there is no one left on the earth as a witness of the truth and the primary witness in that period is going to be these two witnesses who appear at the beginning of the Tribulation time. So we see here a shift in chapter eleven to this focus on Israel. Cf. Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:10-12. This must take place before the second half of the Tribulation.

The Antichrist is extremely angry with them and we are told in 11:7-10 that they will be martyred: “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. [8] And their dead bodies {will lie} in the street of the great city [Jerusalem] which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. [9] 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. [10] 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.” How did they torment them? Primarily because they told them the truth. Mankind in negative volition, hostile to God, hates hearing the truth. You can’t do anything to torture a negative, hostile unbeliever more than to emphasise the truth of God’s Word.

After three days, we are told, God will breathe life into them, they will be resurrected and will ascend to heaven. But the important thing to notice is what happens in verse 13: “And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake….” And note that last phrase: “and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” This means everybody else living in Jerusalem, primarily the Jews and by extension those living in the land, gave glory to the God of heaven. This is a positive term everywhere it is used in Scripture, and what this indicates is that at this point the remainder of unbelieving Jews in the land will believe the gospel, the message of these two witnesses and will respond in faith, accepting Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. Then we have the chronological note in v. 14: “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.” So this puts us right near the mid-point of the Tribulation and what is happening at this time is the abomination of desolation when the Antichrist will set himself up to be worshipped as God. Verse 15-19 is a sort of interlude period and in this we see a heavenly scene where again it is recognised that the great completion of God’s judgment is immanent.

Then in chapter 12 we are introduced to some other players. We have a woman mentioned in v. 1 and she is Israel. The dragon is introduced in this section and he is identified as Satan, and further the dragon is identified as the serpent of old called the devil and Satan, in verse 9. The male child that the woman gives birth to is the Lord Jesus Christ. Michael the archangel is mentioned in his battle with Satan and the fallen angels in heaven. There is a picture of the remnant persecuted (saved Israel); this is the woman persecuted in vv. 13-17 as she goes out into the wilderness. The point of this is that if the seven trumpet judgments at the end of the Tribulation period then why is all this information about the mid-point given after the trumpet judgments?

The woman in v. 1 picks up the image of Joseph and his dreams about his brothers and his mother and father in Genesis 37:9. She is pictured as being with child. Another picture appears in heaven in v. 3 which is the great fiery dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his head. That comes right out of Daniel chapter seven, it is the power base of the ten-nation revived Roman empire of the Antichrist in the Tribulation period. Verses 4-6 describe the male child who is to rule all the nations, obviously the Lord Jesus Christ. Then in v.6 the woman flees into the wilderness. So this is just a quick synopsis of the history of Israel, ending with her fleeing into the wilderness.

Verses 7-12 describe what is happening in the angelic realm and then vv. 13-17 come back to focus on the woman who has fled to the wilderness. This is described in v. 14: “But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” But the serpent attacks, there is a military assault, described as a pouring out of water in v. 15. “And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. [16] But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.” The picture here is a military assault and there is an earthquake that swallows up the armies of the Antichrist.

Chapter 13 introduces the two main players who are described as beasts. The empires of mankind are described as beasts in Daniel chapter seven. It is the beastly, the inhuman quality of mankind as a result of sin and rebellion against God. So the first beast is depicted in v.1 of chapter 13 as coming out of the sea. This is generally understood to indicate that he is a Gentile. This is the Antichrist and in his power he is described in the same terms as the bestial kingdoms of man in Daniel. His kingdom embodies the strengths of all of the ancient and powerful nations described in Daniel. The text talks about the fact that he has a mortal wound that he miraculously recovers from and all of this is during the first half of the Tribulation period.

Then he begins to blaspheme God, v. 6—the abomination of desolation—and, v. 7, “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” That is during the second half of the Tribulation where he has free reign. [8] “All who dwell on the earth will worship him…”

In chapter 14 is a heavenly vision of the Lamb on Mount Zion, and with Him are the 144,000 who have all been martyred by this time. By the mid-point of the Tribulation they have all been martyred, just like the two witnesses.

Before the Lord Jesus Christ returns there are three angelic announcements that take place. The first announcement is that there is an angel that flies through the heavens proclaiming the gospel to all mankind. Why is that? The 144,000 and the two witnesses are off the scene halfway through the Tribulation period, so in the second half there is an angelic evangelist who proclaims the gospel world-wide and announces impending judgment. In the second announcement there is a warning that the kingdom of man is about to fall—“Babylon the great is fallen”—and the nations who are allied with the Antichrist will be destroyed. The reason this happens at the beginning of the second half of the Tribulation is because of the third announcement. The third announcement warns that any of those who receive the mark of the beast are destined for the Lake of Fire. So there is a warning there. The reason they go to the Lake of Fire is that by talking the mark of the beast they know that they are aligning themselves against God; they have rejected Christ as saviour; these are specifically stated in these chapters to be those “earth dwellers.” This angelic announcement to all mankind leaves all without excuse so that when the Antichrist institutes whatever this mark is people who take it know what the issues are and that to align themselves with the Antichrist is to formally reject Jesus Christ as saviour.

The end of chapter fourteen signals the preparation for the final judgment, depicted as a reaper coming with a sharp sickle to reap, to bring about that judgment. The chapter fifteen comes back to the bowl judgments. So we have this pause in the action between the end of chapter nine, the sixth trumpet judgment, and chapter fifteen the prelude to the seventh trumpet judgment which contains the seven bowl judgments. In these five chapters, 10-14, we are caught up to date with these other activities that are going on during the first half of the Tribulation period. What we see is the certainty of divine judgment as it is announced, beginning in 14:15, that God will indeed bring about justice in human history, answering the prayers that have gone seemingly unanswered for centuries. God will finally intercede because the number of saved has reached its fullest mark and there will be no more who are saved; all have made their decision and it is time to bring human history to a close.

Illustrations