| (Copyright) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| “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. 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. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars, and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I [John] 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’” (Revelation 10:1-4). Here we have the apostle John witnessing this mighty angel from heaven standing upon the sea and the earth who then shouts as loud as a lion roaring which sounds like the voices of seven thunders. John wants to write down what they uttered but is then commanded not to. In so doing, the message or pronouncement of The Seven Thunders would be sealed. Why did God want the message of The Seven Thunders sealed? This has always puzzled me. Can we find any clues to this mystery? Let’s continue with chapter ten: “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that lives forever 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. 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 has declared to his servants the prophets” (Revelation 10:5-7). What is the mystery of God? “Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [in the grave], but we shall all be changed. 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” (I Corinthians 15:51-52). Paul is describing the First Resurrection which occurs at the last or seventh trump when Christ will return to gather His Elect from the four winds. This ties perfectly to the statement we just quoted from Revelation ten. The First Resurrection is the hope of all Christians who desire to be in God’s kingdom ruling with Jesus Christ for a thousand years and for the rest of eternity. God wanted to assure us of His promise of eternity by sending a mighty angel from heaven who then swears by God Almighty that the Resurrection is guaranteed by God Himself. In the Book of Daniel, we find a parallel account similar to the one found in Revelation ten. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Daniel 12:1-2). Here we have another description of the Resurrection. Drop down to verse six. We read about a “man clothed in linen.” This man raises his right hand and left hand to heaven and then swears by Him who “lives forever.” This is very similar to the mighty angel of Revelation ten. We then learn that it shall be for “a time, times, and half a time” until all these things are finished. Notice the similar wording. In Revelation 12, we see a woman who must flee again into the wilderness for “a time, times, and half a time” after Satan is cast out of heaven by Michael. Most everyone believes that this “time, times, and half a time” means three and a half years. The Greek word here meaning “time” refers to a holy day. The same word is used in Galatians 4:10: “Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” This shows that a “time” is not a year. The account of the mighty angel and The Seven Thunders occurs between the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet and the Seventh Trumpet. This is a clue as to the Timeline of the Book of Revelation. The Seven Trumpets of Revelation will sound in a four-three pattern. This same four-three pattern is found in the Seven Annual Sabbaths according to the Civil year of the Hebrew Calendar which begins with the Feast of Trumpets. Many believe that the last or seventh trumpet will sound on a future Feast of Trumpets. But we must ask when will the other six trumpets sound? It is highly unlikely that all seven trumpets will sound at the same time on a future Feast of Trumpets. If the Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of the Civil year, then will it also mark the beginning of the sounding of the Seven Trumpets rather than the ending? Very likely which is why they will sound in the same four-three pattern of the Annual Sabbaths according to the Civil year. This means that the seventh and last trump will then sound on Pentecost, the Feast of Firstfruits. For more details of the Timeline, see my article “No One Knows The Day” in issue #54, February 12, 2022. So, the Fifth Trumpet will sound on the First Day of Unleavened Bread and the Sixth Trumpet will sound on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. In between the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, we usually have Seven Sabbaths. It is interesting that The Seven Thunders are pictured in between the sounding of the Sixth Trumpet and Seventh Trumpet as described in the Book of Revelation. Could the time period of “a time, times, and half a time” include the time between Passover and Pentecost? A time, Passover; times, Days of Unleavened Bread; half a time since the Resurrection will occur on Pentecost. This time period is also when the Great Tribulation will occur, and the Two Witnesses will be killed. The Seventy Weeks prophecy of Daniel nine also ties into this period which will be explained in another article. To get back to the question asked at the beginning of this article: Why did God want the message of The Seven Thunders sealed? Wasn’t Daniel also told to seal up something? “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). I have always thought that the book that was to be sealed was the Book of Daniel. But the Book of Daniel has been available for everyone to read for centuries. What book did God mean for Daniel to seal? Go back to verse one of Daniel 12. It says that everyone will be delivered who are found written in the book. That is the book that was to be sealed. Not the Book of Daniel which contains history and prophecy. Where else do we find a book that had been sealed? “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals” (Revelation 5:1). Most everyone thinks this book that is sealed with seven seals is the Book of Revelation. Not so! The Book of Revelation is John’s recording of the events given to him by Jesus Christ. In Revelation four, John is taken to heaven perhaps in a vision where he sees the throne room of God Almighty. In His right hand there is a book which is sealed with seven seals which no one is able to open. This causes John to begin to weep. Why? What is so important about this sealed book which causes John to weep? It is then declared that the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book by removing the seals. This is an obvious reference to Jesus Christ. Why is Jesus the only one who can loosen the seven seals and open this book? He is also referred to as the Lamb that had been slain (Revelation 5:6). “Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). If we can only be saved by the name of Jesus Christ and only Jesus can open the book sealed with seven seals, then it must be God’s Book of Life (Revelation 20:15). No wonder John wept when he thought this book could not be opened. If the Book of Life could not be opened, then the names written therein would not receive eternal life. Is this the book that Daniel was told to seal? And did The Seven Thunders utter the names of those written in the Book of Life? Is this why John was also told, like Daniel, to seal up what he had heard? Why were Daniel and John not allowed to reveal the names of those written in the Book of Life? This is where we have to ask some hard questions. For those who have repented of their sins and accepted the blood of Jesus and now walk in newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can feel fairly confident that our names are written in the Book of Life (Luke 10:20). But, given our human nature, if we knew by divine revelation that our names are in the Book of Life, there is a tendency to not be as zealous as we should be. If an angel appeared and told you the day before you had to take an important test at school that you would pass the test, this may boost your confidence to the point that you decide to watch a movie rather than spend more time studying. We have all done this. “Therefore let him who thinks that he stands take heed lest he falls” (I Corinthians 10:12). Thus, the Book of Revelation addresses the seven churches in Asia who have various spiritual conditions which need to be overcome. Over and over, it is emphasized that Christ is coming quickly. The Book of Revelation was written centuries ago. So, was John the first “used-car salesman” who grossly exaggerated the need to be ready? “You better grab this deal today because it will go quickly!” Absolutely not! It does not matter if Jesus would actually return ten, twenty, or a hundred years from now. What we need to focus on are not dates, but our desire to serve our Lord with the utmost zeal. This only happens if we believe that He is coming quickly. “But and if that servant say in his heart, ‘My lord delays his coming,’ and shall begin to beat [mistreat] the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken [bad behavior]. The lord of that servant will come in a day when he does not expect and an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him off, and will appoint his portion with the unbelievers” (Luke 12:45-46). This warning is not to be taken lightly! Let us encourage each other to be zealous because Jesus is coming quickly. None of us knows what tomorrow may bring. We do have God’s protection. Yet, time and chance happens to us all. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. . .. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:8-21). |
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