Bible Study and Revelations: Chapters 10 and 11

Welcome to everyone here with us, as well as those joining at home on YouTube, Facebook, and in our online archives. If you haven’t been with us, we have deconstructed these gatherings down to the essentials. We begin with prayer, sing the Word of God set to music as a means to get it into our heads, and then we sit for a moment in silence here at the Church/Studio. When we come back, we pick up where we left off last week in our verse-by-verse study.

Revelation 10 and The Vision of the Angel

Okay, we are going to finish chapter 10 today and enter into chapter 11, which introduces us to the third Woe and the Seventh Trumpet. It's full of imagery and passages that will come to us with standard interpretations, but once we really look at them relative to ancient history, we may find ourselves surprised. We left off in chapter 10 with John having a vision of a mighty angel coming down from heaven with a small book in his hand. We talked all about this as this angel placed one foot in the Sea, representing gentile lands, and then on earth, representing Israel, and cried with a voice of a lion, then receiving corresponding thunders. This left us off at verse 8. Let’s read through to the end of the chapter.

Revelation 10. Part IV

Revelation 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Comparison with Ezekiel’s Vision

Alright, back to verse eight and the wrapping up of chapter 10.

8 And the voice which I heard from heaven (which was the same voice which told John NOT to write what the seven thunders spake) spake unto me again, and said, “Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.”

9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, “Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.”

And at this point we have a New Testament echo, mirror, or fulfillment of an event in the Old Testament—in the book of Ezekiel.

Turn with me to Ezekiel 2:9-10 and then we’ll continue to Ezekiel 3:1-3.

Ezekiel 2 beginning at verse 6, has God engaged in a discussion with Ezekiel about the rebellious fallen nature of Israel. And He says:

6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

This is an actual state of the Nation of Israel back in Ezekiel's day and the heart of Israel in John’s day was not one whit less fallen. So God continues to speak to Ezekiel and says:

8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Concluding Thoughts on the Little Book

Here the hand came to Ezekiel bearing a book and in the book there contained “lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” I have described the small book in the hand of Jesus here in Revelation 10 as the summary of the Law because it was a small book and therefore could not have represented the Bible.

Interpretations of John's Command in Revelation

wrong and premature in making this assessment. I change my mind and now suggest that the small book were the judgments that were about to fall upon Israel which John was being commanded to go and preach. This interpretation is in better harmony with the rest of scripture AND with what John is told to do in verse ten.

Then in the next chapter of Ezekiel (which is a continuation of chapter 2) we read:

Ezekiel's Command to Speak to Israel

Ezekiel 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. (We know that John was literally the last one to be standing in proximity to the remainder of the House of Israel so the parallels in his day are apparent to what we are reading in Revelation 10)
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, “Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. (which is a direct quote taken and applied in Revelation 10 to John which ties its meaning directly to what Ezekiel was called to do – speak to the House of Israel, right!?)

4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel (as was John, one of the original apostles of Christ sent to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel);
6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

As was the House of Israel to John. When Ezekiel was told to do this the people did not hearken to him and were destroyed and taken captive by Babylon. Here in Revelation the remnant of the Nation would be met with a far more formidable force that would come upon them – the Romans – once they rejected John’s words one last time.

The Bitter-Sweet Roll

We note that the roll Ezekiel he was commanded to eat he found it to be "in his mouth as honey for sweetness" but in John’s case he added that though "sweet in the mouth," it made "the belly bitter." Last week we talked about how the mystery (which we said was that the Gentiles would be included in the House of God) and that this would happen at the fulfillment of the Seventh Seal – which is coming in the next chapter. Apparently, before this Seventh Seal is opened and the contents are unleashed upon Israel John was to go a preach one last time.

So John writes, “And I went unto the angel and said, Give me the book.” “And he said unto me, take it.” I’m not sure why Ezekiel was approached by the hand and given the book and John was told to go and get the book from the mighty angel, but perhaps there is some imagery hear of the Mighty Angel being pre-occupied with His foot upon the Gentiles and the also on Israel (symbolic of Him holding them down and in place) as a means for John to actually go a preach the words of the book. Whatever the case, John was commanded to go and get the book while the book was brought to Ezekiel. And like Ezekiel he is commanded to eat it up. Literal or figurative, bible literalists?

Both in the Old and New Testament we have to admit that these were figurative symbols. The problem with admitting this then is who decides what is literal in scripture and who decides what is figurative? The answer is the Spirit, and the application is to each individual, and the outcome when there are differences of opinion is love, love, love – as defined by scripture.

I submit to you that this whole “Bible situation” has been orchestrated and allowed by God as a means to let the Spirit reign and as a means to constantly give all who are His the opportunity to love others patiently, kindly, humbly and

The Consumption of Scripture and Prophecy

without accusation. Those who choose to make enemies over differences of opinion, from what I can see, miss the point of the faith in its most elementary ways.

We have pointed out in the past that this same language is used in Jeremiah where it says in chapter 15:16:

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."

In the vulgate (which we know is in Latin) the words for eat are “propinare, imbibere, devorare, deglutire,” which are all terms used to describe the greediness with which knowledge is acquired. We have similar expressions when talking about reading books we like and if we really absorbed a certain book we will say we, “devoured it.” Same with a steak we love or whatever.

Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John were being told by God to “greedily consume the information in the books they were given” and in so doing they would not only receive the spiritual nourishment from them but would be in a position to then regurgitate or share the knowledge with others.

The Bitterness of Prophecy

But John would experience something a little different from his Old Testament brethren as the mighty angel tells him:

“And it shall make thy belly bitter.”

In his mouth, the place of initial reaction to the substance, he would find the words like honey but once it arrived in the location where it would be digested, lookout – bitterness. Just as a food that is good going down but has severe effects upon our bodies thereafter, this would be the result of the Word John was going to consume upon his mind and heart. Perhaps the message would be upsetting to John because it was full of woe’s and lamentations for Israel. Perhaps, like Jeremiah John would find the imprecations from God upon his people to be sad.

We have to wonder why the words would first taste good to him but wind up making him feel ill. Maybe the words were satisfying initially to John but after a while, once he realized their full impact they troubled him. We don’t really know.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

John's Time of Revelation

Did you catch this – John the Beloved – is told right here by the messenger that he must prophesy AGAIN before (that means in person) many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. After eating the book given to him Ezekiel was told to go and prophesy too and to predict the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Is this true? It’s true.

So if this Revelation was given to John after the destruction of Jerusalem how would John be a type for Ezekiel? Additionally, if Revelation was written in AD 95-96, like most of the churches today believe and accept as gospel truth then John would have been over ninety years of age. This was not like unto the days of Noah or Methusaleh. In that day and age ninety was old and traveling was brutal. Not that God couldn’t have supported him in such labors (He could) but it typically would have been very difficult for John in his nineties to travel and preach before:

“many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

However, if Revelation was written earlier, which I strongly suggest that it was, John would have been in his mid-60's (at the oldest) and at that age, his traveling would have been more reasonable.

So that takes us up to chapter 11, the halfway point in the Book of RevelationA symbolic prophecy fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not a prediction of future global events.. Let’s read through chapter to get our feet wet and then we will get into some verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty..

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

4 These are the

The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses

The text describes two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. If any man attempts to harm them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, devouring their enemies: if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have the power to shut heaven, so it does not rain in the days of their prophecy, and they have the power over waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with plagues as often as they wish. When they have finished their testimony, the beast from the bottomless pit will make war against them, will overcome, and will kill them. Their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Representatives from all peoples, kindreds, tongues, and nations shall see their bodies for three and a half days and will not allow their bodies to be put into graves.

The Seventh Trumpet

People on earth will rejoice over them, celebrate, and send gifts to one another, because the prophets had tormented them who dwell on the earth. After three and a half days, the Spirit of life from God will enter them. They will stand upon their feet, and great fear will fall upon those who witness it. They will hear a great voice from heaven saying, "Come up hither." They will ascend to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watch. The same hour, a great earthquake will occur, causing a tenth of the city to fall, and seven thousand men will be killed. The remaining people will be struck with fear and give glory to the God of heaven.

Worship and Judgment

Then, verse 14 marks a transition: "The second woe is past; behold, the third woe cometh quickly." The seventh angel will sound, and there will be great voices in heaven, proclaiming that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever. The twenty-four elders, who sit before God, will fall on their faces and worship God, saying, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, the time of the dead has arrived, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward to your servants, prophets, and saints, and those who fear thy name, both small and great; and should destroy those who destroy the earth." The temple of God will open in heaven, revealing the ark of his testament, and there will be lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

John's Commission and the Measuring Reed

Back to verse one, chapter eleven is a continuation from chapter ten, leading through the first 14 verses to the beginning of the seventh trumpet and its events. After consuming the little book and being told to "prophesy again before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings," John writes:

"11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein."

John does not specify who gave him the measuring reed, but it can be logically assumed it was from the mighty angel. His request is rich with symbolism. This reed, described as a plant with a jointed hollow stalk growing in wet grounds, refers to the stalk as a measuring-stick or, in some contexts, as a mock sceptre or writing utensil. The rod is used to denote a measuring-pole, as seen in the Psalms and other books. The line, "And the angel stood, saying," is omitted in most manuscripts and considered a spurious addition by many scholars.

The Context of John's Revelation

That is worth. And the command given:

“Rise, and measure the temple of God.”

Now, if this Revelation was received in 90 or 95 AD we might wonder why John doesn’t say, “What temple? For it was destroyed 25 years ago.” And if it was John being told to measure a new, future temple that would be built some 2000 years plus later, we would think that John would have said something like: “And I looked and say a new temple, like I had never before beheld . . . or something like that.

But John seems to take this command in stride – which tells me that this Revelation was given well before the destruction of the only Temple John would have been familiar with. This little insight gives us more evidence for Revelation to have been given well BEFORE the Destruction of the Temple. Now some may say, “but this is all in vision so whether it was standing or destroyed John would have been measuring a temple seen in vision."

The Timing of the Temple Measurement

This is true. But I still think the Angel or God would have told John to measure the “temple that once stood,” OR “the temple that would be” if this was written after the temple was destroyed. But we get nothing out of the ordinary so I suggest that the Temple was still standing which is one of the most compelling proofs that Revelation was written before Jerusalem was destroyed.

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

The First Century Temple

How else can we tell that this was the temple of the first century and not some future one? First, there is not one verse in the entire Bible that speaks of a "rebuilt" Jewish Temple. Not one. That alone should be proof enough. What people do is infer that a temple will BE rebuilt because it would be physically impossible for the “man of sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace.” discussed in 2nd Thessalonians 2:4 to "sit as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" if there is no temple. They also say that it is physically impossible to take away the "daily sacrifice" (mentioned in Daniel 8:11-13) if no daily sacrifice is being offered. Likewise, Daniel 8:14 explicitly says that after 2300 days "then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Again, it is physically impossible to cleanse a sanctuary that does not exist.

But Ezekiel does not explicitly say that the new temple will be built. But it describes the future temple in great detail, and explicitly says it is "the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever." (Ezekiel 43:7) From this, people assume that such a temple will be rebuilt. I am going to quote from some work by a man named Steve Gregg. His article first appeared in the Practical Hermeneutics column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 35, number 03 (2012).

The book of Ezekiel closes with a vision of a temple and its associated rituals. In chapter 40, the prophet is transported in vision from his home among the exiles in Babylon to Israel, where a messenger holding a measuring rod appears to him. The messenger gives Ezekiel a tour of the temple, measuring the various walls, gates, and courts. At one point, the glory of the Lord, which was seen departing from the temple in an earlier vision (chap. 10), is seen returning to inhabit the temple (43:1–4). Then in the following chapters describe various sacrificial rituals performed by priests. Special attention is given to the role of one who is referred to as "the prince." Near the end, a river is seen flowing out of the temple from under the threshold. The book closes with portions of the land assigned to various tribes.

Biblical scholars acknowledge that the temple vision, which occupies the last nine chapters of Ezekiel, presents special challenges in its interpretation. Some have even described it as the most difficult passage in the Old Testament. As with the descriptions in Exodus of the tabernacle and its furnishings, many readers will find

Ezekiel's Vision of the Temple

This section of Ezekiel can be tedious due to its many arcane details, but this is not the greatest difficulty presented by these chapters. By far, the greater difficulty has to do with identifying the time and manner of the fulfillment of the vision.

First of all, let's ask: Is It Solomon’s Temple? When Ezekiel saw the vision (573 BC), there was no temple standing in Jerusalem. Solomon’s temple, which had previously stood there, had been destroyed thirteen years earlier by Nebuchadnezzar when he conquered Jerusalem and deported the citizens to Babylon. This means that Ezekiel was not seeing Solomon’s temple or any temple that was actually standing at the time. What temple, then, was he shown?

Potential Interpretations

Is It Zerubbabel’s Temple? Perhaps the answer that first comes to mind would be that this was the temple that came to be built, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, on the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem. However, this solution seems to be ruled out by the fact that Zerubbabel’s temple ended up being much smaller and less elaborate than the one Ezekiel describes. If Ezekiel was prophesying that the temple built by the returning exiles would fit this description, the prophecy failed to come true, and this is not an option for those who believe in the inspiration of Scripture. Other interpretations, therefore, have been offered by evangelical scholars.

Some Christian commentators have understood the content of these chapters as an apocalyptic vision, which is best interpreted spiritually. They point out that the church, in the New Testament, is often referred to as God’s “temple” or habitation. Each Christian is a “living stone” (1 Pet. 2:5), built, along with others, “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2:20) into a “temple of God” (1 Cor. 3:16). On this view, the features of temple worship—priests, altars, sacrifices, blood rituals—would be seen as pertaining to spiritual, rather than literal, realities, and applied to our worship of God in the present time. In particular, Ezekiel provides a description of a flowing river, in chapter 47, that would seem to support a nonliteral interpretation. If this is the correct view, we would be required either to see many of the tedious details as being either superfluous or as corresponding to spiritual ideas that would be very difficult to identify with confidence.

Dispensationalist View

Is It the Millennial Temple? Another view of this vision, commonly held among dispensationalists (futurists), is that Ezekiel’s temple will be established after the second comingChrist’s return, fulfilled in 70 A.D., ending the old covenant—not the world. of Christ and will serve as the worship center for all people during the “millenniumA symbolic period of Christ’s reign—fulfilled by 70 A.D., not a future thousand-year timeline. More.” On this view, the one described as “the prince” is often identified as Christ Himself, ruling over the millennial kingdom.

In choosing among these options, we are compelled to decide between differing hermeneutical priorities. Hermeneutics is a term that describes the manner in which we approach the interpretation of scripture. One of the chief hermeneutical principles recommended by dispensationalist scholars is that of maintaining a consistently literal interpretation. This would mean that “spiritualizing” the text must be seen as a departure from the most faithful handling of Scripture. Therefore, dispensationalists argue for a literal, physical building to be established in fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision. Since the temple erected after Ezekiel’s time did not fit Ezekiel’s description, they believe that there must be another temple in the future that will do so more admirably.

Challenges to the Millennial Temple Interpretation

Here are some problems, however. The most obvious is presented in the book of Hebrews (especially chapter 10:1–18) which speaks of the deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of Christ on the cross as a termination of the efficacy of bloody animal sacrifices, such as those Israel offered in the temple. If Ezekiel’s vision applies to a future time, why do we again find the offering of animal sacrifices?

The dispensationalist answer is that the millennial sacrifices will not be intended to atone for sins. The blood of Christ precludes any need for that. Just as the Old Testament sacrifices anticipated the death of Christ as a future event, it is suggested the future millennial sacrifices will commemorate the death of Christ as a past event. The text of Ezekiel, however, seems to preclude this, since the various offerings in the temple are said to “make atonement for the house of Israel” (that’s in Ezekiel 45:17). Cannot get around that the sacrifices described in Ezekiel are presented as an atonement for sin, not as a memorial. Do you recall what Christ Himself recommended to use in the commemoration of His death? Wine and bread (1st Corinthians 11:24–26). Why would God replace?

Understanding Ezekiel's Vision

This with animal sacrifices in which God admits all through scripture that in them He never found any particular pleasure (Ps. 40:6; 51:16; Heb. 10:6)?

Further, Ezekiel says that “the prince” will offer a sin offering “for himself and for all the people” (Ezekiel 45:22).

If the prince is required to offer sacrifices for his own sins, this would militate against any theory that identifies him with Christ, who never sinned.

Other objections to the idea that Ezekiel’s vision describes a future worship include:

The fact that his vision presents a centralized worship (in a specified geographical place) as happening. This was the common expectation in the Old Testament where people were expected to approach the tabernacle and later the temple FROM all locations TO one location.

But Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the time of centralized worship was soon to end and to be replaced with spiritual worship, which does not depend on being in any particular place (John 4:21–24; cf. Acts 7:48–50).

The Priesthood and Spiritual Worship

Also, Ezekiel’s vision, the Levites and Aaronic priesthood are seen in their former places of service. According to the New Testament, there has been a change of the priesthood (Hebrew 7:12) and the Jewish priesthood has been replaced by a different priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5) and a non-Aaronic high priest (Jesus). This modification will not be reversed, for Christ is said to be “a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7:17, 21).

These difficulties of the dispensational interpretation are insurmountable, and while literal interpretation is good when it is best there is another hermeneutic principle that overrides literalism—namely, the superior revelation given in Christ, which is abundantly supported in the Book of Hebrews especially. For example, Hebrews 1:1–3 affirms that, while God spoke to Israel through various prophets in the past, the revelation that has come through Christ is more comprehensive because He is no mere prophet, but “the brightness of [God’s] glory and the express image of His person.”

Christ's Fulfillment of Revelation

The New Testament is not a mere appendix added to the writings of the Old Testament prophets. It is a revelation of the new order in Jesus Christ, in whom all previous revelation finds its fulfillment, and through whom all previous revelation must be understood. People insist on going back to the Old Testament and saying: “Well this needs to happen and that needs to happen” when in reality it has all happened and been fulfilled in and through His Son. This is easily forgotten when people place the written word and a literal interpretation of it OVER the fact that God, in these last days, has SAID IT ALL – through His Son. Remember, Jesus Himself said that the scriptures SPOKE of HIM.

This being the case, it would be foolish for us to seek a meaning of the prophets contrary to that which Christ and the apostles taught. It is their witness that provides the strongest objections to any literalistic interpretation of Ezekiel 40–48. In Christ’s new order (which, unlike the old order, is permanent and unchangeable), the temple, priesthood, and sacrifices are all spiritual. Lose sight of this and you lose sight of Jesus having had the victory. So how then are we to understand the temple vision?

First, one might reasonably refer to the vision as that which “might have been,” had the Jewish exiles in Babylon exhibited a more thorough repentance than they did. There is a strong indication that the realization of this vision in Israel’s future was contingent on the people being sufficiently ashamed, or repentant, of their past sins: “Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple” (Ezek. 43:10–11).

The response of the Jews to their opportunity to return and to rebuild their temple was notoriously tepid. Only a small remnant opted even to return to Jerusalem, while the rest were content to remain in Babylon. As a result, the temple they built proved to be inferior to the one that Ezekiel described.

Though the Jews did not meet the conditions to have such a temple as Ezekiel’s, the pattern preserved in these chapters stands as a description of an intended order, which, had it materialized, would have testified, as the tabernacle once did, as a type and shadow of “heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5)—the new order in Jesus Christ. This, we may assume, was the long-term purpose served by the

Vision of the Temple

Though some features of the vision were probably intended symbolically from the start (e.g., the seemingly miraculous, ever-deepening river), it is probable that the temple and its rituals would have been literally instituted, as here described, had Israel met God’s conditions.

Fulfillment in Christ

Whether or not the temple had ever actually been rebuilt, the new revelation in Christ encourages us to see its pattern as having been fulfilled in Jesus Christ Himself, who is the final atoning sacrifice and the eternal high priest of God’s people.

Conclusion

We’ll end here.

Comments/Questions?