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a sealed future

Revelation 10:1-11

Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty agent coming down from the sky, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire,
Revelation 10:2 and he held a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land,
Revelation 10:3 and he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders raised their voices.
Revelation 10:4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from the sky, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!”
Revelation 10:5 Then the agent that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to the sky.
Revelation 10:6 He swore by the one who lives for ages and ages, who created the sky and what is in it, the land and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will no longer be a delay,
Revelation 10:7 but in the days when the seventh agent will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God will be completed, as he announced to his slaves the prophets.”
Revelation 10:8 Then the voice that I heard from the sky spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the agent who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
Revelation 10:9 So I went to the agent and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
Revelation 10:10 Then I took the little scroll from the agent’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter.
Revelation 10:11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

a sealed future

John sees the future as a “mystery” that is revealed to him, but he is told to seal it up and not to write it down. It should be enough to know that God has a plan, and that when the time is right, there will be no more delay. Our tendency is to be impatient with God. We have a glimpse in the sweet word of God of the precious inheritance that awaits us, but after eating the little scroll, it turns bitter in our stomach. The troubles of today make us forget about the blessed hope.

One of the big ideas revealed in Revelation is that God has a plan that he has set in motion. It involves “many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” They have a destiny. Because of the gospel we preach – some will come to Christ and join us in eternity. Others will experience his judgment. We do not know the future – at least not all of it. But we can trust the one who does.

LORD, give us the wisdom to proclaim your gospel to the lost, and trust you with the future.