Revelation 10: Jesus Sends Us With Purpose

Have you ever felt frustrated by the mysteries God keeps hidden? In this illuminating episode of Bible Breakdown, Pastor Brandon tackles one of Revelation's most enigmatic passages – Chapter 10, where John is instructed to keep the message of the seven thunders secret. With characteristic honesty, Pastor Brandon admits his own curiosity and frustration with this divine withholding, creating an immediate connection with listeners who've felt the same.

The episode unpacks the powerful symbolism of John eating the scroll that tastes sweet as honey but turns sour in his stomach. This paradox perfectly captures the Christian experience – God's word brings joy and comfort, yet living it out often leads to difficulty and opposition. For the early church facing Roman persecution, this message would have been profoundly reassuring.

Pastor Brandon delivers a timely reminder that perhaps resonates more today than ever: persecution doesn't necessarily indicate you're doing something wrong – it might mean you're doing something very right. When we make a spiritual impact, opposition often follows. With pastoral wisdom, he distinguishes between suffering for righteousness and suffering for our own mistakes, encouraging listeners to persevere through difficulties with the confidence that "wherever God guides, He provides."

Whether you're navigating personal hardship, feeling confused about God's direction, or simply curious about Revelation's mysteries, this episode offers both theological depth and practical encouragement. Join us as we discover how Jesus sends us with purpose, even when that purpose includes challenges along the way. Remember, experiencing God's goodness often requires being in positions where we desperately need it.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Chapters

• 0:48 Welcome to Bible Breakdown
• 1:22 Podcast Information and Links
• 2:04 Purpose of Revelation: Jesus Wins
• 3:39 Reading Revelation Chapter 10
• 6:06 The Eaten Scroll: Sweet and Sour
• 7:29 Persecution Means You're Making Difference
• 9:34 Closing Prayer and Tomorrow's Preview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, revelation, chapter 10, and today's title is Jesus Sends Us With Purpose Jesus Sends Us With Purpose. I gotta tell you, chapter 10, to me, is probably one of the most frustrating chapters in the entire book of Revelation, and it simply has to do with the fact that I just am way too curious of a person Like I just gotta admit it, I'm nosy. I wanna know and I wonder if you're gonna be the same way. So get your Bible open, get it ready for Revelation, chapter 10. While you're doing that, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like share-star review on the podcast. Also, if you would like direct links to the podcast and youtube channel and all the good stuff, you can text rlc bible to 94 000 and there are so many people who get the chapter of the day and they also get all the other links every single morning and we would love to send that to you. Also. Make sure you're going to the bible breakdown discussion on facebook. If there's ever been, if there's ever been a book of the Bible, when you need to be going to the daily discussions, it's this one, Because I'm going to tell you something the more we dig, the more we find, and there's a whole lot in the book of Revelation that we're not even trying to get to, so make sure you go there, okay, all right?

Speaker 1: 1:40

Well, as always, while you're opening up to Revelation chapter 10, don't forget the overall goal of the book of Revelation, and that is simply that Jesus wins. The whole goal of the book of Revelation is Jesus is victorious. And the apostle John is writing this to the early church during a time of great persecution, and he is telling them that, even though everybody else is worshiping the emperor and even though everybody else is saying that we're doing it wrong, and even though they'd be killing us, we are still doing the right thing. Jesus is the winner. Jesus is victorious, and he's talking about this through this revelation that he received. And it's just chapter after chapter after chapter of encouragement, and I know that for many of us, we didn't grow up reading the book of revelation as a book of encouragement. For some of us it was spooky. We read it around halloween just because it scared us half to death, and especially in chapters like yesterday when you got locust with armor on and they'd be stabbing fools, you know, like scorpions. I mean that that's terrifying, right. I mean that's stuff out of nightmares. But the reality is is the point of it was almost missed, right, like we almost missed, right, like we almost missed the whole point, because, after all this creepy stuff is happening, the Bible said at the end of it, they still didn't turn to God, which is the whole point, right? Well, today is more of the same, because we're going to read about something that, if I'm honest, it is one of the most frustrating things in the entire book of Revelation. But also, remember, so much of this is pointing back to the Old Testament. So let's read this together and I just want to be honest with you. Here we go.

Speaker 1: 3:15

Revelation, chapter 10, verse 1 says this Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. Sounds like a caribou. And when the seven thunders spoke which reminds us of Psalm 29, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying keep secret the seven thunders and do not write it down. Can I tell you pause for a moment that is one of the most frustrating. I want to know what the seven thunders meant you done told us about the seals and about the trumpets, and you got some bowls coming, but you ain't going to tell us about the trumpets. I mean, you ain't going to tell us about the thunders. Come on, man, I'm telling, when I get to heaven, the first thing I'm doing is I'm making a trip over to that angel and be like hey, care, bear. No, I'm not going to call him that because he's terrifying. But I would be like hey, hey, broski, what's the seven thunders? I'm in heaven now.

Speaker 1: 4:31

Let's talk about it, all right, anyway, verse five then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven and he swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever and he created the heavens and everything in them, and the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything. And he said. Then the voice of heaven spoke to me again Go and take and open the scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land. And I went to the angel and told him to give me that small scroll. Yes, take it and eat it. He said it will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach. So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel and I ate it, and it was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it it was sour in my.

Speaker 1: 5:42

So what we see is, even though Jesus is not directly mentioned in Revelation, chapter 10. His presence is felt because it is he that is sending this angel. And then it is the voice of heaven that says go and eat the scroll. And pretty much unanimously in the Bible, especially in the book of Ezekiel, whenever there is a scroll being eaten, it is a symbol of someone taking in the word of God. And what he's actually saying is is he's saying when you take in the word of God, it will be sweet, but there's also a sourness, there's a sadness, there's pain that comes with it. And that's true because, especially when you're looking at in the early church, there is this place where we see that they understood God's word, but yet with it came persecution, came difficulty, when they had to stand on God's word because of the other things that was happening, but at the same time there was power that goes with it. And so what can we learn from this today, and that is to realize that Jesus sends us and he sends us with purpose. Notice how John was told okay, you're going to have to eat this and we're going to assume it's talking about the told. Okay, you're going to have to eat this and we're going to assume it's talking about the word of God and it's going to be good, but it's also going to be difficult. And then he was told you must go and prophesy. You must go and tell people again about the things that are happening. And can I tell you that's what God does for us, the people. The early church would have been reading this and what they would have been hearing was even though you love my word and even though it has created difficulty in your life, I am still sending you to share it with everybody else.

Speaker 1: 7:20

Just because you're experiencing persecution doesn't mean you quit. It means you double down because you know you're making a difference. And can I tell you that's a lesson that some of us need to hear today. That's an encouragement to say just because you're experiencing trouble doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Sometimes it may mean you're doing something very right because you are making a difference and you have a spiritual enemy called the devil. That doesn't like it. So be very careful. When you think that bad things mean that things are going wrong, it may be because things are going right Now.

Speaker 1: 7:50

1 Peter also says make sure if you're being persecuted you're being persecuted for the right reasons. So in other words, if you robbed a bank and you go to jail, you're not going to jail because of Jesus, you're going to jail because you robbed a bank. And so he's saying make sure it's for the right reason. But when you're doing the right thing for the right reason, god will always point you in the right direction. But here's the thing the right direction may have potholes along the journey and it may not mean you're doing anything wrong. It just means that's the journey that God has called you to. But here's the thing Wherever God guides, he provides. And if you want to experience the goodness of God, you need to be in a position where you need to experience His goodness. That's the way it works. Let's pray together right now.

Speaker 1: 8:30

God, thank you so much for today.

Speaker 1: 8:31

Thank you for your word.

Speaker 1: 8:33

Thank you because your word teaches us that you send us.

Speaker 1: 8:38

You send us forward with a purpose, just like John had seen all of this stuff and seen all this difficulty, but instead of backing up, you're telling him push forward. I know that for many of us, god, many times you'll tell us it's time to move forward. God, your word is hard to understand in places, and the book of Revelation is one of the most difficult, and I think it's because sometimes it's wrapped in mystery. And, lord, as we grapple with the mystery, we also grapple with reality, and that is that you have a purpose for all of us, and I pray that that purpose will be an encouragement, not that we'll never have difficulty, but that every one of those difficulties has a purpose. We're thankful for that today. In Jesus' name, we pray amen. And what God's word says in Revelation 1, verse 7,. It says look, he is coming with the clouds of heaven and everyone will see him. My prayer is is that the idea of the coming of Jesus will fill us with excitement and joy always. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Revelation, chapter 11.