So many wrong predictions have been made about Christ’s Second Coming that there is a Wikipedia page devoted to the topic. Hippolytus of Rome, for example, predicted that Christ would return in AD 500. More recently, a cult leader predicted He would come back on Pentecost in 2019. They are only two examples of many who have been proven wrong!

Jesus said that only God the Father knows the day or the hour (Matt. 24:36). Just as there was an interlude before the seventh seal, so now there is an interlude before the seventh trumpet. A “mighty angel” appears, straddling land and sea and holding a “little scroll” (vv. 1–4). He’s met by “seven thunders,” but John is forbidden to write down what they said. What they said, and even why it was hidden, remains a mystery. No one should ever be able to think that they have God’s plans all figured out!

The angel raises his right hand—just as we do in a modern court when promising to tell the truth—and swears by the Creator that there will be no more delay (vv. 5–6). “The mystery of God will be accomplished” (v. 7). Our redemption will soon be completed. The end of history is nearly here. All prophecies are about to be fulfilled. This oath would have been a tremendous encouragement to John’s original readers.

John is told to go and take the “little scroll” from the angel’s hand (vv. 8–11). He eats it, and as he was told, it tastes sweet, though it sours in his stomach. Ezekiel had had a similar experience (Ezek. 3:1–4). This means that John’s vision is not yet over. He must continue to watch and write down the end times prophecies he sees.

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