PERFECT TIMING
Opening Prayer
Teach me to trust You more, Lord.
Read Revelation 10
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Footnotes
a Revelation 10:9 Ezek. 3:3
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Are we there yet?” How often did we ask that when young, and maybe had to answer it when older?Let’s take a moment to get our bearings. We’re in the long section of Revelation that unveils the dynamics of God’s power to judge and to save. It covers the period between Christ’s ascension and the new creation: our time.
Three parallel images shed light on this one period: seals, trumpets and bowls. Each starts with a prelude in heaven that anticipates salvation.
Then there are troubles on earth that crescendo to the sixth seal, trumpet and bowl. Before the seventh in each series, there’s a pause in which we are encouraged to keep going. Today’s passage is part of a pause.
God has not lost the plot. The seven thunders (messages not to be known yet) and the little scroll (the story that is to be known) will all be accomplished in God’s perfect time. “How long, O Lord?” is my most frequent quote from the Psalms. “How long must the struggles, pains and troubles go on? For your global church? For me?”
The answer is not a number of years to count but a sovereign God to trust. The one in the driving seat knows what he is doing.
Apply
Are you asking, “How long, O Lord?” Take a deep breath. And take the next step in following God’s directions as revealed through his Word. He will complete his plan in his time.
Closing prayer
Thank You, Father, that the key to persevering is not to know the timing but to know You, the One whose timing is perfect.
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