Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: It's a question that's been asked for centuries: When will Jesus return? Welcome to Thru the Bible. I'm Steve Schwetz, and in just a few moments, Dr. J. Vernon McGee is going to tell us about some important events to happen between the time the Lord Jesus takes his church out of the world and his return to earth in power and glory. So grab your Bible, find your seat on the Bible bus, and as you do that, Greg and I have got a few letters we want to share with you.

Greg: And these letters all come from the US, and Steve, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that we are completing the 11th five-year cycle. Just think about this. It defies human logic, doesn't it? That people would want to hear the same five-year program taught over and over again.

Steve Schwetz: And not just limping towards the finish line. This is true. I mean, the ministry continues to grow. We continue to be able to do more because people respond, and it's just been such a blessing. People are praying. We know that, and thank you for that. And we pray that you wouldn't—don't stop. Keep going. Even though Revelation is the end, we're starting up in Genesis. Guidelines for the understanding of the scriptures. Join us again if you're on your 11th trip, then hop on board, we'll put you up front.

All right, so let's start with Marlene, who wrote this. "I came to the US from Mexico and could not understand English well. But when I heard Dr. McGee saying that Peter was from Texas—by the way, if you don't know what he's referring to, you're going to have to just listen—she says, "I started to laugh so much. I understood then that he had a good sense of humor, yet I could not believe that humor and the Bible could go together."

"I'm now 46 years old. I have six kids from 6 to 16 years old. My goal every day is that we sit together after or even during dinner and listen to Dr. McGee. I get many compliments in church because they say that our kids know so much about the Bible. It's still a big fight. We have different schedules, and my husband can barely make it when we can. Could you please pray for us so that no matter what, the whole family is always present and that we can listen every day?"

Greg: "For me, a true biblical formation is more important than any other accomplishment. I hope I can one day write to you that we indeed finished the five-year journey together. Thank you so much for all you do. You too are in my prayers." Thank you, Marlene, for that encouragement, and we will pray for you and your six kids and your husband to be doing this.

Here's a letter from Daniel. "I was raised to believe that belief in God was at best ridiculous and at worst evil. Gradually over the years and decades, I thankfully rejected my atheist upbringing. I dabbled in a few religions before realizing the truth of the Bible. I've repented of many sins and begged Jesus Christ for forgiveness. I continue to do so, but how can I know that I have been forgiven? I pray daily for belief and for God to help my unbelief. For the past few years, I have regularly listened to TTB and I am grateful for the wit and wisdom that I hear from Dr. J. Vernon McGee. God bless the whole TTB organization."

Steve Schwetz: Wow, those are such encouraging letters. And as we pointed out before, this ministry isn't just limping along on people that have listened forever. There are new listeners, people are getting new insights, families are growing. I mean, this is such a dynamic ministry that God has built.

Greg: It is so exciting to be a part of it. And I hope, as you listen, you feel a part of it as well. Amen. Why don't you pray for us?

Father, you've heard our words and you know our hearts. We are thrilled that you are doing something great here through the Bible. We aren't, but you are. And we thank you that your word is touching people powerfully here and all around the world. And we ask you to continue to do it for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, friends, we come to the 10th chapter of Revelation. We put in today at verse 2. And we're in that section that is an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. And that gap is being filled by chapters 10 and 14 verses of chapter 11. And we have now in this chapter the strong angel with the little book. That's in the first seven verses. And then we see John eats the little book. That's verses 8 through 11.

Now, I want to come back today to verse 2 because we merely got our foot in the door here last time. And I'm reading my translation now. "And he had in his hand a little book opened." And I'm going to pause there to say that we saw a mighty angel come down from heaven. And that mighty angel, we don't attempt to identify other than is told us here: he's another strong angel. That's all that you can say. And apparently, there are quite a few angels, and so he doesn't stand out other than he seems to be by his uniform, the personal envoy of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we believe that it's not the Lord Jesus Christ. But this is not a place where brethren divide, I can assure you.

Now, we read here about this angel. He had in his hand a little book opened. In other words, this strong angel has a little book. "And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth, and he cried with a great voice as when a lion roareth. And when he cried, the seven thunders spoke their own voices."

The little book also causes some division among us brethren that we don't scrap over it because it's—we do not think an essential. But could we identify the little book? Well, there are several reasons that I feel that it is the seven-sealed book, simply because that's the only book that's been before us. And it's not identified in any other way than it's called a little book. And frankly, there is a little different word used here for book instead of the word *biblos* that is used for the other book. But that would not preclude the possibility of it being the same book. In fact, we have no reason to think it might be any other, and have, I think, every reason to believe that it is.

Now, we find here that this little book then, if it is the same, it was originally in the hands of the Father in heaven. That's in Revelation 5:1. We've already seen that. And it should be noted how it is first transferred to the nail-pierced hands of God the Son. It was given to the Lord Jesus. He's the only one that could open this book. And it's now opened because the opening of the seven seals, that opened the book, and this is still part of what's in the book, the seven trumpets, and six trumpets have been opened already.

And then the Lord Jesus Christ, after he removes the seals, he in turn transfers it to the angel, who gives it finally to John to eat. This is the book of the title deed of the earth. It contains the judgments of the Great Tribulation by which the Lord Jesus is coming to power. The book is now opened, and the judgments are on display. And this book is his authority for claiming both the sea and the earth for Christ.

In other words, we find in the word of God that he puts one foot on the sea and the other foot upon the earth. So he's claiming both for God. And we're told back in Leviticus, the 25th chapter, verse 23, the Lord gave instructions to Israel concerning the land he'd given them. He says, "The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me."

Now, there may be some of you that think you own a pretty good piece of the real estate of this earth. Well, I want to say to you that you don't. You say, "Well, you're wrong, preacher. I have the deed and I have the title deeds. And I have the title has come down, so and so transferred it to so and so, and so and so to so and so, and I paid good money for it and it's mine." Well, I still say you're wrong because your title didn't go back far enough.

Somewhere back, somebody stole it from the Indians. And then back of the Indians, they got it from somebody. They took it; maybe there was nobody there and they just walked in and occupied vacant property. But who does it belong to? Well, your property belongs to God. Now, I don't care who you are, you haven't paid Him for it. The earth is His and the fullness thereof.

Now, God not only claims the land, but He claims the sea and the land. And in Psalm 8:6 and 8, listen to this: "Thou madest him (that is, man) to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea." Now, God says, I own the seas also as well as the land, and I have given this to you. I put man on the earth and we are a tenant on the earth. Some of us haven't paid our rent lately. But we're in a little world that God created, it belongs to Him, and man hasn't been able to pay Him for it yet.

Now, we have here something else that is quite interesting. This angel now claims the earth and the seas for the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is a method that we are acquainted with today. When Columbus landed here in the Western Hemisphere on an island, he got off the ship and went to the shore and planted the flag of Spain and claimed it in the name of the king and queen of the country that had sent him out. And he planted the flag there upon the shore. That's been a method that's been used from time to time when men come to unoccupied territory, they've claimed it.

Now, with the title deed of this earth in his hand, that is in the hand of this angel, and by placing his right foot on the sea and his left foot upon the earth, in a great voice, he claims all for Christ. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that will be through judgment. As creator and redeemer, the world belongs to Him.

And the book here is described here as a little book. The reason I think it's called that is because the time of the Great Tribulation is not going to be long. I think that we've come to the halfway mark through the book of Revelation, and we're going to be told that there's not much more time left. And so there's not much more to write down. It has to be a little book. And we're told that. For instance, in Romans 9:28, it says, "For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth."

The Great Tribulation is really a short time. The Lord Jesus said it was a brief time. Daniel labeled it as seven years. That's not long, certainly. And the seven thunders here, I think is God's amen to the angel's claim. And Psalm 29:3 says the God of glory thundereth. And in Job 37:5, it says, "God thundereth marvelously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend."

And Dr. Vincent makes this very enlightening comment. He says the Jews were accustomed to speak of thunder as the seven voices of God. And if you examine Psalm 29, many of you, if you can remember back when we were studying the book of Psalms, I called attention in that Psalm to how many times the voice of the Lord is mentioned. A brief Psalm, but it occurs seven times: the voice of the Lord. The seven voices of God, and they spoke of thunder as being that.

So this is something that would be understood by Israel. And it's too bad that we don't take time to study this enough to find out what it means instead of trying to cut off the corners and trim it down and make it fit into some system of prophecy. Reminds me of the lady that went into a shoe store and said she wanted a pair of shoes, described the kind she wanted. And the clerk there says, "Well, what size do you wear, madam?" "Well," she says, "I can get a four on. But she says, really, five is my size. But since six feels so good on my foot, I always buy a six."

Well, may I say to you, that's like some of these systems of interpretation. They trim it down to fit into the system. Well, let John say what he's saying here. These seven thunders here as the voice of God. I think the voice of the Lord Jesus now in heaven confirms what this angel is claiming because He's going to come to power on this earth.

Now, in verse 4, I read my translation: "And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders spoke." The seven thunders, therefore, were intelligible. And this confirmation was also a statement. And John was a scribe and he was taking down the visions as they were given to him. Turn back to Revelation 1:11, and you'll find that's the way that he did it.

Now, he was about to write what the seven thunders had spoken. He evidently heard it; they were audible words, but he was forbidden to do so. Now, this is a book of revelation. Why is there something concealed here? And this is the only place in the book of Revelation where anything is sealed. Nothing else is. God makes it very clear at the end of the book that He's told everything. He's not holding back anything from man today.

But it looks like he is. He was told at the end, "Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." That's Revelation 22:10. And yet here, this particular message he's not permitted. And that is quite interesting. If this angel were Christ, then John probably would have fallen down and worshiped him. He did it first when he saw the glorified Christ in the first chapter of Revelation. But if this is Christ, why didn't he fall down? But he doesn't. Why? It's an angel.

It's a mere assumption to presume to know what the thunders spoke. Now, there are wild speculators that have made ridiculous guesses. Vitringa interpreted them as the seven crusades. What nonsense. Daubuz made them the seven nations that received the Reformation. How far-fetched can you be? Elliott makes them the Pope's bull against Luther. And that just isn't true, friends. And several of the cults, they have presumed to reveal the things which were uttered.

May I say to you, the Lord Jesus Christ said to this angel, "Seal them up." And he says to John, "Don't you write down this." And they remain to this day a secret, and you don't know and I don't know and no one knows. And if we attempt to say, we're going to find ourselves ridiculous in a few years. There are those that step over the line and attempt to say even today. Many men are attempting to say that. Why not just leave it as it is and draw the lesson from it? May I say this, that though He's revealing here, Jesus Christ, there are a lot of things He's not telling you. There are a great many things today that God's not telling you.

And this is important to see. Will you listen to him as he continues in verses 5 and 6? And I'm reading my translation: "And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there shall be no longer delay."

Now, you can see that in my translation, I did not attempt to smooth out the grammar. Made it a little difficult even for me to read it, and it's my own translation. But as I say, I don't recommend it, and I didn't smooth out the English because I wanted to just lift out the original as it is.

Now, this angel here makes it clear that he could not be Christ, since he takes an oath by the eternal creator. He lifted up his right hand to heaven and sware, he took an oath, by the eternal creator, by Him that liveth forever and ever. Now, if he were Christ, he would swear by himself. Because you remember, the writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews 6:13, "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself." He couldn't swear by anything because there's none greater than God.

Now, the angel swore by another, not by himself. Why? Because he's not God. He's not the Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal God. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, the same was in the beginning with God. John 1:1 and 2. And the Lord Jesus himself made this declaration in John 8:58: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."

And Christ is the creator. Listen to him in John 1:3: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." And again in Colossians 1:16: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." And the angel takes an oath in the name of Christ, who's in heaven, and as Christ's representative, he claims it all for Christ.

And you notice I changed that last part of verse 6. "Then there shall be time no longer" to which it says "there shall be no longer delay." Actually, it doesn't mean that there shall be time no longer. And I'm not going into that; I just want to bring out what the angel is really saying. It's the glad announcement from heaven to God's saints on earth. They're in the midst of all this trouble. How long will it last? The meaning is that the time now is very brief before Christ returns. It's a confirmation of the words of Christ in His Olivet Discourse: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matthew 24:22.

And he's telling the elect now, it's not going to be long. It won't be long. And it brings out the fact he's saying to them, "You don't worry, he that endureth to the end the same shall be saved." Why? Because they're sealed, and they're going to make it through the Great Tribulation. And the prayers of the martyrs we saw in Revelation 6:10, that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and it is the fulfillment of what we call the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come." And it's coming soon at this particular time. That doesn't refer to right now because I don't know and no one knows on earth.

Now, verse 7: "But in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, when he's about to blow the trumpet, and the mystery of God is finished, as he gave glad tidings to his servants, the prophets." This all takes place when the seventh angel is preparing to blow the trumpet. And this would indicate that the seventh trumpet brings us to the conclusion of the Great Tribulation.

It is at this time that the mystery of God is finally made clear. Many single facets of this mystery are here. There are many things God hasn't revealed today. There is a mystery concerning the nation Israel, concerning judgment, concerning suffering, concerning injustice, and the silence of God, and the coming kingdom.

The basic problem is this: Why did God permit evil and why has He tolerated it for so long? And you want to know something? I've studied theology for many years, and I know the answers that men give today, but God hasn't handed in His answer yet. And He's going to someday. I've got a lot of questions to ask Him, and there are many things I can't answer today. Maybe you didn't know that, but if you listen to me long, you'll find out I don't have the answer to many of the questions of life today.

I'm disturbed because we've got some brethren that seem to have all the answers. We don't have all the answers. And this passage of Scripture and the fact there's something that we don't know about yet and it's been sealed means that God's got a whole lot to tell us yet. And when we get in His presence, we're going to find out.

Now, what is the answer to your question today, friend? I can't answer it. And I want to say this to you: I don't think there's anybody else that can answer it for you. But there are many that will give you an answer. May I say this to you: I do not know the answer to your problem, but I know the One who does. And I'd like to say to you, I don't have the answer to my questions, but I put my hand in His. And He's saying to me, He says, "My child, you walk with me through the dark; it's going to be all right and we're going to come out in the light, and when we do, you'll understand."

And I suggest to you today, just put your hand in the hand of the Man of Galilee. I don't mind using that, because That One is the One that has the answer to your questions because He isn't just the Man of Galilee; He is very God of very God. Until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: Learn more about the Man of Galilee by clicking on "How Can I Know God" in our app or at TTB.org. Remember, you can also call 1-800-65-BIBLE if you want some additional information. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll meet you right back here next time as the Bible bus rolls along.

Our story on the Bible bus today is just one step in a five-year journey through the entire word of God. Come along for the ride and you'll study both the Old Testament and New Testament, discovering God's great redemption story. Is this your story, too?