Revelation 11 - Two Powerful Prophets and the Seventh Trumpet

In Revelation 11 we are introduced to two powerful prophets.  These two witnesses who will preach for 1260 days are a mysterious duo.  Scholars do not agree on their identity, but one thing is clear.  They are serving God faithfully, standing up against incredible evil, are martyred for their faithfulness, and are resurrected and taken up to heaven.  No small feat.

It makes us wonder just what the world's condition is that these two important servants of the Most High God are put to death, and the world's response is that people gloat and celebrate.  Although it's perhaps not that difficult to understand, being that the two prophets were carrying a message that stood opposed to the cultural norms.  Simply put, they were rocking people's worlds, and the masses were glad to be rid of them.  Although they weren't really rid of them, were they?

At the end of the chapter we see the seventh trumpet sounded (finally!) and are reintroduced to the 24 elders from earlier in the book.  As is their custom, they fall on their face in, providing us an example of submission and worship.

Revelation 10 - A Mysterious Angel and a Tasty Scroll

One of the best parts of reading through Revelation is that although I've read through it before, I haven't read it nearly enough to remember the particulars and how things tie together.  Reading chapter 10 makes me wonder how all these strange happenings will come into play in later chapters.

For all the odd things I've read so far, chapter 10 is right up there with the strangest.  Now that six out of the seven trumpets have been sounded, we await #7.  But that won't happen until later.  For now, we meet a mighty angel, presumably enormous, since one of his feet is on the land and the other on the sea.  He speaks a powerful message with a voice like a lion, and commands John to keep from writing it down.  Hmm.

Later, John is told to take a little scroll from this mighty angel and eat it.  It tastes sweet like honey but turns his stomach sour.  Sounds kind of like a Halloween candy binge.  Once John has eaten the scroll, which is weird enough because who eats scrolls?, he is told that it's OK for him to prophesy again.

I absolutely can't wait to get into chapter 11.

Revelation 9 - Locusts That Look Like Horses

In this chapter we really begin to see John's struggle to describe his vision.  The fifth trumpet ushers in creatures that defy description.  Locusts that have power like scorpions of the earth.  They cannot kill, but can torture people for five months.  The locusts look like horses prepared for battle, with faces that resemble human faces, golden crowns on their heads, women's hair, lions' teeth and breastplates of iron.  They have tails with scorpion-like stingers.

That is stranger than anything I have ever seen, probably stranger than anything I have ever imagined.  Reading this chapter is a good reminder of just how incapable we are of grasping many aspects of the spiritual realm.  It's also a good reminder of just how frightening the spiritual battle is that rages every day.

The sixth trumpet releases four angels to kill a third of mankind by way of fire, smoke and sulfur from their mouths.  Yikes.  The horses with deadly tails like snakes sound particularly devastating.  At the end of chapter 9, we see the cause of all this destruction.  People are worshiping demons and idols, and refuse to repent of the evil they do.  A final reminder from this chapter is just how loving and gracious our God is to provide a way for us to avoid this punishment that we deserve for our rebellion against a holy God.  Jesus took all of it on the cross.  For those who know Him, the debt has been paid in full.