COMING FULFILLMENT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I saw another powerful angel come down from Heaven. This one was covered with a cloud, and a rainbow was over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like columns of fire, and with his hand he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He stood there with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. Then he shouted with a voice that sounded like a growling lion. Thunder roared seven times.

After the thunder stopped, I was about to write what it had said. But a voice from Heaven shouted, “Keep it secret! Don't write these things.”

The angel I had seen standing on the sea and the land then held his right hand up toward Heaven. He made a promise in the name of God who lives forever and who created Heaven, earth, the sea, and every living creature. The angel said, “You won't have to wait any longer.  God told His secret plans to His servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.”

Revelation 10:1-7 CEV

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When the sixth trumpet was sounded in the prophecy found in Revelation 9, a marauding, supernatural army invaded the earth and killed one third of mankind which by today’s population factors would equal around 2 billion people, taking into account that the world’s population is a little more than 8 billion and 2 billion of those are Christians who will be removed from earth by Jesus at the Rapture.

In yesterday’s message, we looked at the aftermath of this and sadly, there wasn’t any spiritual impact. For the scriptures tell us that the two thirds who survived the onslaught refused to repent and instead continued in their sinful ways.

Nonetheless, God still had a judgment plan that would continue to be carried out until the day set aside for His only Son Jesus to settle things for good. As we see in the opening seven verses in chapter 10, God sends an angel to let all people on earth know that his plan was near its fulfillment. Look again at that passage here:

I saw another powerful angel come down from Heaven. This one was covered with a cloud, and a rainbow was over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like columns of fire, and with his hand he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He stood there with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. Then he shouted with a voice that sounded like a growling lion. Thunder roared seven times.

After the thunder stopped, I was about to write what it had said. But a voice from Heaven shouted, “Keep it secret! Don't write these things.”

The angel I had seen standing on the sea and the land then held his right hand up toward Heaven. He made a promise in the name of God who lives forever and who created Heaven, earth, the sea, and every living creature. The angel said, “You won't have to wait any longer.  God told His secret plans to His servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.”

Here, we find John continuing to document everything he witnessed. Had he not, we wouldn’t have a Book of Revelation in the Bible.

In our verses for today, we read where John saw “another powerful angel come down from Heaven” and he was “covered with a cloud” and had a “rainbow was over his head”. This wasn’t all that caused this angel to gain immediate attention for the scriptures tell is that “his face was like the sun” and “his legs were like columns of fire”. It had to be an incredible, terrifying sight for anyone as the angel stood with “his right foot on the sea” and “his left foot on the land” while shouting “with a voice that sounded like a growling lion”.

John tells us that in the angel’s hand there was a” little scroll” that “had been unrolled” in “his hand” he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. We’ll see the intent of this scroll tomorrow but today we need to focus on the voice of thunder that “roared seven times” from Heaven. The scriptures don’t tell us what the thunder said but John seemed to hear it clearly because he was about to write it down before a voice instructed him not to do so saying:

“Keep it secret! Don't write these things.”

Then, the angel “held his right hand up toward Heaven” and “made a promise in the name of God who lives forever and who created Heaven, earth, the sea, and every living creature”.

What was that promise?

We find the answer at the end of our passage as the angel said”

“You won't have to wait any longer.  God told His secret plans to His servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.”

It was a reminder that there was still one horrifying woe to come when the seventh trumpet was sounded as God would fulfill the “secret plans” that He had revealed prior to “His servants the prophets”. The worst was still to come.

You know, as I considered these words for today and the assurance of God’s plans expressed to the prophets of old coming to fulfillment, I couldn’t help but find my heart and mind drawn to the matter of salvation and how God so loved the world that He gave His only Son Jesus so that anyone who would believe in Him wouldn’t perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). For this is the ultimate, overarching plan that transcends all others He made. Everything ties to it and leads to it, including everything that we read about in the Book of Revelation.

Thankfully, we know the end of this story already, the story of mankind and two final destinies.

For when Jesus comes to judge the earth, those who believed in Him will be ushered off into the new Heaven and earth, taking up residence in the light and glory of the New Jerusalem. The rest will depart to their final destination as well, one where there is everlasting darkness, torment, and torture, a place that will make the events of the Tribulation seem like child’s play.

Friends, nothing is going to stop what God has planned. This has been true since the dawn of creation when in the beginning, there was only Him. And a day is coming when His overall plan for salvation will be fulfilled and all we know now will be no more.

Where will you end up when that happens?

Will you be in Heaven or Hell?

Do yourself a favor and believe in Jesus as your Savior today so that when the Rapture comes, you will go to Heaven with Jesus before the world falls under judgment. Trust me when I say that you’ll never regret that decision.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.