Revelation 10

Revelation 10

As a disciple, there are two striking features in this chapter that we need to apply to our lives. The first is a lesson about boundaries. John hears the voices of seven peals of thunder. These voices say something dramatic and important and powerful, and as John is about to record them, he is told, “Do not write them.” I suppose there is no end concerning guesses about what the voices said, wonderful news, terrible news, dates, times, judgments, etc. But that is not the point. One of the lessons that we can take from this is some things are none of our business. In the great mystery of Revelation and of eschatology, we learn that some stuff is none of our concern. In an age where we often feel we should have an opinion on every subject and express that opinion on every social media platform, we need to learn there are some things that are beyond the bounds of our expertise and learn to be content with that. That's enough for us to live in faith, trusting to God what is sealed away from us.

There's a second lesson desperately needed in Christianity today from this passage. John takes the book, eats it, and then finds it is sweet to the taste and then bitter or upsetting to his stomach. This book is, like the scroll in chapter 5, God's plan or will. When we follow or submit to God’s will, there's a delight, sweetness, and a profound joy. But part of following is the inescapable suffering of discipleship. This picture reminded this early suffering disciple and us as well that bitterness was an inevitable part of following Christ. In many parts of the world today, to follow Christ is a matter of life and death in the most immediate and physical terms. On average a follower of Christ dies for their Lord every 6 minutes, and that is to say nothing of the beatings, privations, kidnappings, and efforts of the enemy to silence the Gospel message. When Jesus calls us to follow Him, he doesn’t deceive us about the cost of being a disciple. When He calls us, He calls us to come and die. The cost of following can be high; it can be bitter.

We have lost that message in American Christianity. Many of us have never heard that there is a cost to being a disciple. We were never told that to come to the cross of Christ means we must also take up a cross. We have too often been told we can have the life we want with the Gospel as icing on our cake. We can’t name and claim our way around the message of the little book that following Christ is sweet, but it will cost us bitterly.

We need to take these two lessons together. First, there are things we do not know. Second, suffering and hardship are part of being a disciple. These two are not placed together randomly. As a disciple, we must learn to anticipate the unknown future, which may include bitter suffering, with the faith that God is the author of history and He is in control. 

“Help me, Lord, to enjoy the faith and embrace the hardships. AMEN”