Audio Download

Rev 10:5-11-Part 3- The Connection Between The little Book And The 7 Thunders  

[Study Aired Sept 29, 2024]

In this study we will consider why the seven thunders are placed where they are right after introducing the little book:

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written?

This little book is introduced to us just before the seven thunders utter their voices. We saw that John, the type and symbol of God’s elect, heard the voices of the seven thunders and “was about to write” what he had heard. If this little book signifies Christ and His Words working their fiery work of judgment within us, if John is the symbol of us and Christ in us being judged in this present time, and if thunder typifies the wrath of God upon the unrighteousness of those who are in the process of becoming His elect, then the connection between the revelation of this little book and the seven thunders, is the revelation of the work of Christ’s Words upon all that is within us which is contrary to those Words of Christ. While we are not given any specifics, which is the meaning of the words “write them not”, we are given to know what those seven judgments entail because the only thing the scriptures tell us is withheld from us, is “what tomorrow holds” and “the day and hour” of Christ’s appearing:

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Seal up the seven thunders

7) What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? What exactly is thunder? Exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know?

The only other thing, besides the time of Christ’s appearing, which the scriptures tell us we do not know is exactly what will happen to us in the immediate future… “the morrow”:

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

We saw that ‘thunder’ symbolizes the wrath of God, on all that withstands His Word and His Work.

Psa 18:7  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psa 18:8  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

Psa 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

We saw that the Lord withholds nothing good from His elect.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

We know that what the seven thunders uttered did not concern the overall plan and “counsel of God”:

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

We also saw that it is just after telling us that the thunder of God’s wrath will destroy all that is contrary to His Words within us, we are told that “the secret things belong to God”.

Deu 29:24  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28  And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [it is] this day.
Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Compare those words of Deu 29 with these words of Rev 10.

Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Since we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear, it is obvious that what the seven thunders utter is “the secret things” which belong to God, concerning whatever lies ahead of us which we are not, at this moment, able to bear.

Joh 16:4  But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Joh 16:5  But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
Joh 16:6  But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

“But ye cannot bear then now” is the answer to the spiritual significance of the “write them not” part of the seven judgment trumpets. It is in the Lord’s great mercy upon us that we are not given to know the details of the seven trumpet judgments. But there is a connection between the seven trumpet judgments and the contents of the little book. That is why they are mentioned in the same context. While we are not given the specifics of the contents of the seven thunder judgments, we are given to know the counsel of God concerning what is in that little book and how the scriptures describe the Lord’s judgments upon the kingdom of our old man within us. This is the general content of what is written in that little book which is so sweet in our mouths and so bitter in our bellies:

Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

There were no chapter breaks in the original Hebrew manuscripts, and these are the very next words here in Ezekiel:

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Eze 3:4  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

Speaking The Truth is a sweet experience but the consequences of speaking The Truth is a revolutionary and bitter experience in our belly both in Ezekiel and in Revelation:

Eze 3:10  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
Eze 3:11  And go, get thee to them of the captivity [in Babylon], unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Eze 3:12  Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.
Eze 3:13  I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
Eze 3:14  So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

Ezekiel’s witness to the Lord’s people in Babylon while sweet in his mouth, the mouth signifying his heart and mind, became ‘bitter in his belly’ signifying how his witness affected his bodily experience. It is a bitter experience to speak The Truth to those who reject The Truth. The book of Revelation is a confirmation of Ezekiel’s experience:

Rev 10:8  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.
Rev 10:9  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.
Rev 10:10  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 soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

The only difference between these two accounts is that Ezekiel is sent only to ‘they of the captivity’, while the Revelation account sees us, signified by John, “prophesying again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”.

Paul had this sweet in the mouth, bitter in the belly experience while witnessing to all the churches he had established:

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

There are well over 40,000 Christian denominations who are all testifying against themselves as spiritually being “carnal… babes in Christ”. They are “in Christ” in the same sense that the five foolish virgins are “virgins”. If we remain a spiritual “carnal… babe in Christ, we will hear the same words spoken by the spirit to the five foolish virgins:

Mat 25:7  Then all those [ten] virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8  And the [five] foolish said unto the [five] wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Being ever vigilant is signified by ‘bringing oil in vessels with our lamps’:

Mat 25:3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

The witness given by the Lord’s elect is signified by the witness of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3, and the witness of the “two witnesses” who speak the Words of The Lord in Revelation 11:

Rev 11:1  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.
Rev 11:2  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.
Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred andthreescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Without verse 4 we would never know for certain what these “two witnesses” signify. But we have verse 4 and we find what they signify in Zechariah 4:

Zec 4:1  And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
Zec 4:2  And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
Zec 4:3  And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
Zec 4:4  So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
Zec 4:5  Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

There it is. “This is the Word of the Lord…” That is the significance of the symbol of “the two olive trees” of Revelation 11. “The two olive trees” have nothing to do with the literal number ‘2’. Rather that particular number in scripture signifies all those who faithfully witness the Lord’s Words which are ‘sweet in our mouths’. But those words which are sweet while we faithfully witness to what is right there in the Bible… those same ‘sweet words’ precipitate a very bitter experience in our spirit when that witness is rejected by this world. The details of that rejection are what we are not given to know. But we are made certain to know that the things that are “not written” have everything to do with the bitterness in our bellies and the bitterness of our spirits. Remaining faithful even through that ‘bitterness in our bellies’ is the very meaning of ‘standing faithfully by the Lord of the whole earth’:

Zec 4:11  Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
Zec 4:12  And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
Zec 4:13  And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec 4:14  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand [faithfully] by the Lord of the whole earth.

If we are given to be faithful to the death of our old man while yet living in these corruptible clay vessels, we are considered by our Lord to be “dying daily” in His service (1Co 15:31). He considers us as being “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), and “presenting our [physical] bodies as a living [scapegoat] sacrifice” (Rom 12:1). These verses are all signified by these words  concerning the two witnesses:

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

We also saw the verses of God’s Word which promise to “prepare our hearts” before we are faced with any trial.

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: 

Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

It is only after we have been prepared, that we, with John, are given ears to hear the voices of the seven thunders and we are prepared for our trials which lies before us. But it is always sealed up, and we only hear it when we need to. It is “not written” because is it for us alone at that moment. “The secret things belong to God” who alone knows what we will do tomorrow, but we do not know because “The secret things [of our trials and tests] belong to God… because we have forsaken the covenant of our fathers… [so] seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.”

There should be time no longer

Now let’s look at the two verses we have not yet considered:

Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But 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.

In verse six we are reminded that God is the Creator of the heavens, the earth and the sea, and all the things which are therein. It is by our Creator that this great angel swears and declares “that there should be time no longer.” What are we being told? The thousand years have not yet even begun, and the great white throne judgment and the lake of fire is not yet finished, so why are we being told “that there should be time no longer”?

In the days of the voice of the seventh angel… the mystery of God should be finished.

The answer to this question is actually revealed in the next verse, verse 7, where we are told “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel the mystery of God should be finished as he has declared to his servants the prophets.” When we know what the seventh trumpet is, and we know what the mystery of God is which He has declared to His servants, then we will understand why we are being told “that there should be time no longer”.

What is the voice of the seventh angel?

What happens “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel”? What happens at that time is the judgement of the world in us. As Christ plainly told His disciples just before His crucifixion:

Joh 16:8  And when he [the holy spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

That judgment “must begin at the house of God”.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“The days of the voice of the seventh angel” signifies the seven last plagues of God’s wrath upon our sins, as detailed in chapters 15 and 16. This study concerns the sixth trumpet, and we are in Rev 10. Chapter 15 lays the groundwork for the pouring out of the seven last plagues of God’s wrath upon our idols and our sins. Here is what we are told in the last two verses of that chapter.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

“No man is able to enter the temple of God, till the seven plagues of the seven angels is fulfilled.” Put that phrase together with our verse here in chapter 10 and we should begin to understand what “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the mystery of God should be finished” means.

Rev 10:7  But 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 seventh seal, which is the seven trumpets, is opened in the first half of chapter 8. The last half of chapter 8 contains the events of all of the first four trumpets. Chapter nine contains the events of the fifth and sixth trumpets, which are referred to as two of “three woes.” These trumpets are even called “plagues” in chapter nine.

Referring to the 2 hundred million army of the horsemen of the sixth trumpet, “the second woe”, we are told this:

Rev 9:20  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Notice that Revelation 9:20 refers to these trumpets as also being “plagues”. The Greek word for ‘plagues’ in Rev 9:20 is G4127, ‘plege’. That is the exact same word used in chapter 15 referring to “the seven last plagues” [G4127, ‘plege’]. Therefore, the events of the seventh trumpet, which is also called “the seven last plagues”, are obviously not the only plagues, and they are not the only wrath of God. What the seven last plagues accomplish is that they “fill up the wrath of God.” What that tells us is that God’s wrath continues on all sin until “the last trump.” If that seventh and “last trumpet” has no place in our lives, then neither will the finishing of the mystery of God, nor the first resurrection have a place in our lives in this present age.

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall [in this present time] take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

If that “mystery of the gospel” (Col 1:27) is finished “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel”, and if that ‘mystery’ really is “Christ in you the hope of glory [in] this present time”, then we must conclude that the work of this seventh trumpet begins early in our spiritual lives and continues till we die and are “raised a spiritual body”, and we are changed.

So we really do need to ask ourselves, How then will the mystery of God be fulfilled in you and me if the voice of this seventh angel has no personal application, as so many who teach that there is a way to avoid the wrath of God upon our ungodliness and unrighteousness:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Christ tells us this is a book of signs and symbols, a book which reveals the beginning and the end of the entire process of Christ being formed within us as He is being revealed in us. He tells us that we will “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” He tells us that these words are “a two edged sword,” and that “things present and things to come are ours.” He tells us we will realize this revelation only as we “look behind us”. So, for all those who believe that this book is telling them to avoid keeping the things which are written therein” (Rev 1:3), including the seven last plagues which must be poured out upon all men who wish to enter the temple in heaven (Rev 15:8), instead of seeing this prophecy as an overview of the entire Adamic experience, we ask again, How will the mystery of God be fulfilled in you? How will you enter into the temple of God if these seven plagues are not experienced and “fulfilled” in your life?

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

We will pause our study at this point and meditate on that question, and we will continue to seek to know exactly what is “the mystery of the gospel”, and whether that ‘mystery’ includes the pouring out of the seven last plagues upon the kingdom of our old man in our next study.