02.30. LECTURE No. 30 -- Rev_10:8-11; Rev_11:1-2

LECTURE No. 30 -- Revelation 10:8-11; Revelation 11:1-2 A Word About Scoffers - What John the Baptist and the Apostles Believed - The Lord Has Tarried a Long While - The Time Will Surely Come - John Becomes an Actor in the Chain of Events - He Was Representative of Others - A Present Day Application of This Truth - Our Experiences Both Sweet and Bitter - John’s Work Not Yet Finished Because He Must Prophesy Again - Christians Still Have a Great Work to Do - What It Was That John Measured - A New Temple to Be Built in Jerusalem by the Jews - It Will Need to Be Cleansed and Taken over by the True Christ
IN our last lesson, based upon Revelation 10:1-7, we considered the account of the mighty angel with the little book, whom John saw come down from heaven, and who set His right foot upon the sea, and His left foot upon the earth. This we pointed out was an act of taking possession of the earth and the sea, which were rightfully His.
The open book which He held in His hand was the same book described in Revelation 5:1-14, which the Lamb took out of the hand of Him that sat upon the Throne. Since this Mighty Angel was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who had prevailed to open the Seven Seals of the Seven Sealed Book, it served in this instance as His warrant or legal right to take possession of the earth and the sea.

We concluded our last lesson with the thought suggested in Revelation 10:7, where the Mighty Angel, with His hand lifted to heaven, sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, that there should be time no longer, for it says,

“In the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the Prophets.” The Time Will Surely Come But listen, friends, there is one thing we can be sure of, and that is, that even though the Lord has tarried longer than we would desire for Him to, the time will surely come when He will no longer delay.

For, in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God we are told (shall) be finished, “as He hath declared to His servants the Prophets.” Our Lesson Text Now let us advance in our study by reading first of all what is written in Revelation 10:8-11, where it says,

“And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the Angel, which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

“And I went unto the Angel, and said unto Him, Give me the little book. And He said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

“And I took the little book out of the Angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

“And He said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues and kings.”

John Took Part This is a very interesting passage, because at this point in the Revelation the Apostle John changed from being a mere Seer and became an actor in those things that were taking place.

John heard a voice from Heaven directing him to go and take the little book out of the hand of the Angel. We have already stated that the little book, in the beginning, represented the title deed to the earth, which had been conveyed away because of man’s sin.

Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and as the root of David, had prevailed to open the Seven Seals of the Book, and according to our lesson text, he was ready to return the open book, representing the title deed to the earth, to John. This was an act of no little importance, as we shall see.

There is no question but what John here was acting in a representative capacity. It would be unreasonable believe that the title deed to the earth would be given to John as an individual. There is no scripture to sustain such a view, whatever, but we do know that it is God’s purpose and promise to return the title deed to the earth to redeemed ones; for Jesus Himself said in the beatitudes, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” A Glorious Promise This is a glorious promise, and one which should cause the heart of every true Christian to rejoice; but let us notice the strange experience which the Apostle John had when he ate this little book, which represented the title deed to the earth.

In his mouth it was as sweet as honey, but when he had eaten it, it made his belly bitter!

Now, what are we to understand from this strange incident recorded here? Certainly the act was itself prophetic of what was to be accomplished in the future.

As an object lesson, it indicates that when men hear for the first time the great promises of God, recorded in the prophetic scriptures, they are pleasant to hear, and as it were, sweet to the taste.

For example, when God promised to the Children of Israel in Egypt that He would deliver them by the hand of Moses, and bring them into the Land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey, it was pleasant to their ears, and was as it were a sweet morsel for the taste and to meditate upon, but when they came to Kadesh-Barnea and discovered that there were giants in the land, who lived in walled cities, the promise was turned into bitterness, and fear filled their hearts, and they even murmured against the Lord and against Moses, and as a result were turned back into the wilderness for they could not enter in because of their unbelief.

Today To make a present day application, a lot of people rejoice when they hear an explanation of the great prophecies of the Bible, which reveal the future blessings and rewards, and the final triumphs and victories of the saints of God. They rejoice to hear of judgments upon the wicked, and of deliverance for the righteous, but they little realize the awful pain and suffering which will be caused by the fulfillment of these things which have been prophesied in the Word of God.

Today those of us who believe the prophetic scriptures, and who rejoice in the fact that God is fulfilling His Word before our very eyes, have already begun to suffer because of our faith in the Word of God. Personally, I have suffered much already because I believe and teach these things.

I never shall forget how my soul was stirred when I first heard the doctrine of the Lord’s Second Coming preached, which lead me more and more into a study of prophecy. How I did revel in the study of these things, but;

- Little did I realize that if I should begin to preach the Second Coming of Christ, which is definitely taught in the Word of God, that I would be persecuted by many professing Christian people.
- Little did I realize that the more I came to understand the Word of God, the more I would have to stand alone in order to preach it to the people.
- Little did I realize, when I began to study and preach these things that I would be driven into poverty, even to the extent of reproach, because of preaching to others the very things which had brought light and joy to my own heart!
- Little did I realize that I would have to carry the weight of financial indebtedness, as I have been compelled to do for many years, and which I am still doing for the sake of the truth, which by the grace of God, is going out to the people.

So, out of personal experience, I know something of what the Apostle John meant when he took the book, and ate it, which was sweet to his taste in the beginning, but in his belly it became bitter.

Indeed, my friends, if we expect to go through with God, and to receive and enter into our inheritance with Christ, we may expect that these promises, pertaining to the future, which are sweet to us now, will become bitter as time goes on, but no matter how bitter our lot may become, because we have believed the promises of God, we should in no wise be discouraged, but we should press on to the very end, and be faithful in our appointed task of witnessing to the truth, and by the grace of God we shall enter into our inheritance, and our bitterness will be turned into joy once again when we hear the Lord of the harvest say, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord.”

John Must Prophesy Again

Before we leave this passage we must call your attention to the fact that the Mighty Angel said to John, in Revelation 10:11, after he had eaten the little book, “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
This certainly was a divine appointment for the future, and is very interesting to say the least.

Here again we must take into account the fact that John was a representative of the entire Church, and that the Lord in this statement did not mean that John only would prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues and kings, but if John was a representative character, representing the entire Church, then this statement means that all who are true Christians will have future opportunities to witness and testify for Christ even after we have been resurrected and raptured away to be with our Lord.

We all know that after we have been caught up to be with Christ, we shall be forever with the Lord, and when Jesus Christ returns to the earth at His revelation, at the close of the Tribulation period, the saints of God will come with Him.

This is confirmed in Jude 1:14-15, where it says, “And Enoch also the seventh from Adam also prophesied of these saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
This passage would indicate that the saints of God who will be caught up at the rapture will return with Christ at His revelation, and will share with Him the work of judgment against the wicked.

What Paul Said

We need not be surprised at this, as if it were something contrary to the scriptures; for this is not true. In 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, it says, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life.”

Also in Psalms 149:5-9, it says,

“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people: To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written. This honour have all His saints.”

There is an illusion to this fact in Revelation 19:11-16, where we have a word picture of the Lord Jesus Christ coming to the Battle of Armageddon, and there we are told that “The armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod iron.”
The position we have taken in regard to this matter is fully sustained in Revelation 11:1-19 which we are now ready to study.
In Revelation 11:1-2, John said:

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

“But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
This is a great dispensational passage and we invite your careful attention as we endeavor to find out just what it means.
By this time the little book, representing the title deed to the earth, had been taken from the hands of the father, who sat upon the throne by Christ the Lion of the Tribe of Juda and the root of David, and in successive order, had opened the seven seals thereof, after the book had been opened he gave it to the Apostle John, who represents the redeemed of the earth, to whom the lost inheritance was to be restored.

And from our lesson text, we have every reason to believe that after the saints have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air and have put on Immortality and the work of judgment has progressed thus far, the saints will be changed from being mere spectators of these events and will become actors in the administrations which are to follow.
This is indicated by the fact that the work of measuring the temple of God, and the altar and them that worship therein, was committed unto John. The work of measuring indicates the act of actually taking possession of something. It is a judicial act, the laying down of lines and borders which are intended to mark the exact area to be possessed. In other words it is a sign of appropriation, whereby a person actually takes possession of his inheritance. Whatever has been measured becomes his from that time forward.

What John Measured

Now when John, acting in a representative sense, took the reed and began to measure; the first things that he measured were the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

We all know that there has been no temple of God in Jerusalem since the Jewish temple was destroyed about 70 A. D. by the Roman Army under Titus. The only temple of God upon earth from then until now has been the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. That the Church is a Spiritual Temple is confirmed in Ephesians 2:19-22 where it says:

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints and of the household of God:

“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

“In whom ye also are builded together or an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

Yet to Be a Literal Temple But our lesson text implies the fact that there is yet to be a literal temple of God with an altar and with worshippers therein in Jerusalem here upon earth, which is to be measured and thereby, through this act of appropriation, become the acknowledged inheritance of the Lord and His saints.

We should not think for one moment that the temple spoken of here is the temple in Heaven, because there would be no reason for measuring the temple there as an act of appropriation because the temple in Heaven has never been defiled and has always belonged to God the father and to the son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But we know this has not been true and will not be true of the earthly temple which is to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. The Jews Are Preparing to Build a Temple

We know that the Jews are now returning to their own land in great numbers in fulfillment of the scriptures. We know also that one of their chief ambitions is to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem as quickly as possible, and all they are waiting for is a chance to repossess the temple area so that they can rebuild the temple on the very site where the temple once stood. And there is no question but what eventually the temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt by the Jews who are now returning to the land. When the temple is rebuilt, they will seek to reestablish the ancient Levitical order of sacrifice, thus manifesting their faith in Moses and their unbelief toward Christ! We know that God will not be pleased with their effort in this regard because he gave the Lord Jesus Christ His son, as the last and final and complete sacrifice, who shed His blood upon the cross to make an atonement for the sins of the people.

Therefore in his displeasure at their unbelief God in his permissive will, will allow them to make a covenant with the coming Antichrist who shall deceive them, and who shall defile their temple by the wicked exaltation of himself. This is confirmed in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 where it says:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the Son of perdition.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God.

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

It Will Need to Be Cleansed

Thus, my friends, we see that the future temple of the Lord in Jerusalem will be in need of cleansing as much or more so than the temple which was Jerusalem when Jesus was upon earth.

You will remember how Jesus made a whip of small cords and cleansed the temple of those who had made His father’s house a place of merchandise and a den of thieves. And so when the new temple is built, it will need to be cleansed because it will be defiled by the very personal presence and abominable acts of the Antichrist.

It stands to reason, therefore, that Christ must come and destroy the Antichrist, and that the temple must cleansed, and measured as an act of appropriation and of taking possession of it before it could be occupied by the Lord and His people.

~ end of lecture 30 ~