Day 169

“ I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;” Rev 10:1 (NASB.)

The importance of the angel of Rev 10 cannot be overemphasised. He is making more than an announcement – He is making an oath, based on the creator that made heaven and earth. His message is that there will be no more delay (v6). The books of Daniel and Revelation must be studied together; the prophecies in one are repeated in the other. The little book that is opened in the angel’s hand in v2 is the book that was sealed in Daniel 12:4. The “time of the end” began with the opening of the book at the end of the 1260year prophecy. The Bible refers to the time of the end from 1798 until Jesus’ second coming as “the time of the end.” The ‘no more delay’ refers to the fact that there would be no more time prophecies given beyond this point. The 2300 year prophecy of Daniel 8:14, which terminated in 1844, indicates that this world has entered its judgement phase.
Mankind has reached the point where the last movements will wrap up the cosmic controversy, and Christ will return. John will refer to this time and the blowing of the 7th trumpet in Rev.11:15-19. Without a doubt, this is referring to the coming of the Lord. It is then that the mystery of God, which is the plan of salvation, will be complete.

A Postscript:
As I drive and walk to and fro I struggle with making the narrative of Revelation understandable in this trickle flow method of SMS reflections. I have mentioned often the chiastic pattern. We have been working our way up one side towards the apex of Revelation 12: 10-12. We will soon be on the mirror side. I thought the following layout may help you gather this together in your mind.

Prologue: Revelation 1
Revelation 2 & 3, The 7 churches – The church from the inside.
Revelation 4 & 5 is the first interlude where we go into the throne room of Heaven for a magnificent scene of worship, and an amazing Revelation of the Divinity of Christ.
Revelation 6 & 7 are the 7 seals; The church in the world. The 6th seal ended with the question, “Who will be able to stand?” which was followed by Revelation 7 that answered that question – those who are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Revelation14 will pick up on this. The 7th seal is opened in Rev 8:1 and the 7 trumpets sound.
Revelation 8 &9; the 7 trumpets. These are outlining the fate of the unsaved through history. The 6th trumpet is followed by the interlude, (who shall stand in this time?) So we are now in Revelation 10 & 11 which is showing the experience of God’s people, leading up to the final showdown.
Revelation 12 will take us through the whole period of 2,000yrs again – from a different perspective. If we are in the end times – which is clear from scripture in 100s of ways, then we are His end-time people (regardless of denominational preference.) Therefore, we need to take heed of His end-time message, which was given to help us and to shore up our minds in the coming controversy. This will be the climax of the great controversy between Christ and satan that has raged throughout history.