Can you think of some mighty figures, either real or fictitious?
I think of George Washington, a mighty general and president.
I think of Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady,” who led Great Britain for so long.
I think of Genghis Khan, the mighty leader of the Mongol Empire.
I think of Joan of Arc, the young and mighty warrior from France, during the Hundred Years War.
I think of Thor from Marvel comics.
I think of The Incredible Hulk, as well.
I think of Samson from the Bible.
I think of Elijah on Mt. Carmel.
These are just a few figures who come to mind when I think of the descriptor “mighty.”
In today’s passage, we’re going to hear about a mighty angel and then two mighty prophets, known commonly as “The Two Witnesses.”
We’re going to hear about the ministry of these figures in a sermon I’ve entitled “The Ministry of the Mighty.”
Before we go any further, let’s pray to God and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
Ok, we’re covering two sections, but they flow nicely together.
First, let’s look at . . .
I. A mighty angel and a little scroll.
Now, remember, we’re still talking about what is happening during the blowing of the sixth trumpet that is part of the seventh seal on the scroll that Jesus is opening in this part of Revelation.
So, with that in mind, turn your attention to Revelation 10:1-10:
10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire, 2 and he held a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, 3 and he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders raised their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!” 5 Then the angel that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 He swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will no longer be a delay, 7 but in the days when the seventh angel will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God will be completed, as he announced to his servants the prophets.” 8 Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Ok, as we dig into this section, let’s identify some questions that arise:
Who is the mighty angel?
Well, we don’t know exactly who this mighty angel is, but the word mighty is not usually associated with angels in Revelation. So, there must be something different about this angel.
We heard of another mighty angel before, in Revelation 5.
However, here, John says, “I saw another mighty angel.”
So, this is likely a different mighty angel than in Chapter 5.
This mighty angel was standing with one foot on the land and one on the sea, he held a scroll in his right hand, and he called out with a loud voice.
Verse 3 says that when the mighty angel called out, the seven thunders raised their voices.
So, who or what are the seven thunders? That’s our second question.
Who/What are the seven thunders?
The seven thunders are likely not the kind of thunder that we have here in Florida because this thunder was speaking.
The seven thunders were not just making noise; they were speaking a discernible language.
We must remember that the number seven represents completeness, so perhaps these thunders represent a complete authoritative voice. Perhaps they represent something different.
Nevertheless, they speak something, but John is told by a voice from heaven not to write down what the thunders spoke.
Instead, the mighty angel spoke about something else. He said that the mystery of God would be completed.
That takes us to our next question.
What is the mystery of God?
There’s one big clue about what the mystery of God may be. Look at verse 7:
“ . . . then the mystery of God will be completed, as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
Well, what has God announced to the prophets? Several things, right?
God announced that Messiah would come.
God announced that He would judge sin.
God announced that sinners would be saved.
God announced that He would build His kingdom.
God announced that He would rescue His people.
However, there’s some mystery to how all of this will work out, right?
Jesus the Messiah came, but then He left. When will He return? It’s a mystery!
If God said that He will judge sin, why does sin still exist? It’s a mystery!
If God is going to save sinners, why are they not all saved at this point? It’s a mystery!
If God will build His kingdom, why is it not yet fully revealed? Why are there competing kingdoms? It’s a mystery!
If God will rescue His people, why has He not yet done so? It’s a mystery!
Yet at some point in God’s timing, His mystery will be completed.
What was unknown will be known.
What was prophesied will be fulfilled.
This will happen all in God’s timing.
This final question is . . .
What is up with the scroll?
Notice that the scroll is bitter in John’s stomach yet sweet in his mouth.
We’re not exactly sure what this means. Some suggest that it means the word of God is sweet to hear but sometimes difficult to accept, making it bitter.
Still, John has more to prophecy. Look at verse 11 again. It says:
And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
The ministry of the mighty angel is that he will give the scroll to John to continue to proclaim the prophecies of God.
Next, we see the . . .
II. Two witnesses and one mystery.
Let me just say that there’s more than one mystery in this passage, but there’s one big mystery. You can add that to point two if you would like.
Let’s look now at this section about the two witnesses.
Look at Chapter 11, starting in verse 1:
11:1 Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there. 2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies, will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 And some of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb. 10 Those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. 11 But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. 13 At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe has passed. Take note: The third woe is coming soon!
Ok, those are the two witnesses. What’s the one big mystery?
The mystery is that we don’t know who these witnesses are. There’s just simply not enough information to determine who they are.
There are certainly guesses about who they might be:
Some say the witnesses represent the church, or the people of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some say they are Elijah (who represents the prophets) and Moses (who represents the law of God).
Some say they are Enoch and Elijah, who both were taken to heaven without experiencing death.
Some say they are two angels.
I’d like to think that one of them might be John the Baptizer. He was a fiery character. I think that would be fun.
However, their identity is a mystery.
What’s not a mystery is the ministry they will perform. The ministry of the witnesses is that . . .
They will prophesy. Verse 3 says:
“I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”
They will perform miracles. Look at verses 5 and 6:
5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.
They will be killed. Look at verse 7:
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.
Who is this beast who comes from the abyss? Well, we’ll dig into that more on Wednesday night. For now, just know that it’s a demonic figure coming from the same place that the locusts came from in Chapter 9.
They will be resurrected. Look at verse 11:
11 But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.
They will go up to heaven. Look at verse 12:
12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
What is happening here is something that is miraculous and mysterious. The Lord God is at work and He is accomplishing His purposes for His glory.
There’s one big mystery:
Who are the witnesses? We don’t know.
There are some other mysteries here as well:
How will all of this happen? We don’t know.
When will these things happen? We don’t know.
There’s a lot of mystery here, right?
Well, if there’s so much mystery, what should we do?
Here’s what we can do:
We can be ready, we can be on the lookout for God’s work, and we can take this bottom line to heart:
Bottom Line: Our eyes must be open to recognize the mysterious work of God.
God is not obligated to tell us everything about His plan.
God does not always reveal things in the way that we would prefer.
However, He is at work now, and He will continue His powerful work in the future.
We must have our spiritual eyes open to recognize when God is accomplishing the miraculous and the mysterious.
Weekly Challenge #1 – Proclaim the message.
John was told by the mighty angel that he must proclaim more of God’s message.
The two witnesses proclaimed God’s message.
Listen, church: Servants of the Lord proclaim the message of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, we are servants of the Lord. We must proclaim the message of the Lord.
Challenge yourself this week to be someone who proclaims the message of God.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Prepare for the mysterious.
We don’t know how everything is going to end, do we?
We know some of the details, right? However, we don’t know everything.
There’s so much mystery. However, we can prepare now to have open eyes and open hearts to trust God and His plan.
We must trust that He knows everything. It’s not a mystery to Him. We can prepare best by following Him and trusting Him.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
