Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #12 of Revelation, chapter 10, and we are continuing to look at Revelation 10:7:
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
We saw that “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,” it is pointing to the “third woe,” which is also known as the sounding of the seventh trumpet; the seventh trumpet sound is the “third woe” and it is the last trumpet, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Now, of course, this is relating to the statement in Revelation 10:7, where it says, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,” and that relates back to verse 6, where it said, “there shall be time no longer.” It is the end of the world.
What we have to be careful with in our understanding is that the seventh trumpet and the “third woe,” as well as the fifth and sixth trumpet and the “first woe” and the “second woe,” all sound during the beginning of Judgment Day and throughout the prolonged period of judgment. In other words, on May 21, 2011, judgment began upon the world and the “three woes” came upon the inhabitants of the earth and the last three trumpets sounded or began to sound. They began to sound on May 21, 2011 and continued on May 22nd and May 23rd and every day since then. Remember that God views this entire period of time as Judgment Day (singular) and yet it (very possibly) spans 1,600 days in total. God also views this time period as a “moment.”
So when we think of that trumpet, there is the resurrection of the dead (as 1 Corinthians 15:52 says) and that is going to occur at the very end of this period of Judgment Day, on the 10,000th day (of total judgment) and the 1,600th day since May 21, 2011. It will happen in the prolonged Day of Judgment, but it happens at the very end of this time period. Then the dead are raised and those that are “alive and remain” upon the earth are raptured, all on that final day, according to how God speaks of it. Yet, it will be some four years after May 21, 2011.
We should also notice in 1 Corinthians 15:52, it says, “In a moment,” and it can be show in the Old Testament, especially, that the term “in a moment” is a reference to the entire period of Judgment Day. It says, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,” and that phrasing “at the last trump” gives us the idea that as soon as the sound is made, that is when this is happening. But, actually, the Greek word that is translated as “at” is the very same Greek word that is translated as “in” in the verse we just read: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” so it should read, “in the last trump.” The translators did not translate it that way because it did not sound as good as “at the last trump,” but “in the last trump” is more accurate. The trumpet begins to sound May 21, 2011, and continues to sound throughout this period of Judgment Day and then on the “last day” comes the resurrection of the dead, so that is what verse 52 goes on to describe. Therefore, “in” or “within” the period of sounding, the resurrection takes places. Then we have no difficulty. We have no discrepancy of any kind and nothing that contradicts with anything else in the Bible. Everything fits and harmonizes. This is what our verse is saying in Revelation 10:7:
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.
We were discussing in our last study the “mystery of God,” concerning the hidden truths of the Bible. We looked at what Jesus in the parable in Matthew 13. Let us look at a parallel Gospel account, after Christ had spoken the parable of the sower, in Mark 4:9-13:
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
You see, the Lord is pointing to this parable as an example of understanding all parables. It is a mistake to think, “Well, then, this is just helpful information. Whenever Jesus is speaking a parable, He is giving us an insight as to how to understand that particular situation.” Jesus is the Word made flesh and the Bible says: “Without a parable, he did not speak.” He is giving us insight into how to understand the entire Bible – the Bible is basically a parable. The whole Bible contains hidden truth; from Genesis to Revelation and all throughout, God has hidden truth, not only in clearly parabolic statements, but even in, seemingly, simple statements like John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” There is hidden truth there. Many people misunderstand that statement and think that Christ loves everyone and He died for the whole world, but that idea is not true at all; Jesus did not die for everyone. God, therefore, “hid” truth in what many would say is a simple, plain statement because it is not spoken of as a parable.
Let us go to a couple of verses where Christ’s words concerning that “it is given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom, but unto to them it is not given,” can be seen in action; that is, when we look at these verses, we will quickly see how many have misunderstood them and it is only the Lord’s people that properly understand what is being said because they have been given the understanding. Let us go to Romans 11:25:
For I would not, brethren…
And “brethren” is a key word that tells us God is addressing the true believers.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery…
As soon as we see the word “mystery” used, we should all be “on guard” that what follows is a “parable.” Why? It is because when we follow that word in the Bible, we saw, in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, that when Jesus said, “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God,” it had to do with parables and, here, that very same word is being used in this verse: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery.” That word “ignorant” would mean to not understand or to lack understanding.
Then it goes on to say in Romans 11:25-26:
… lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved…
Here it is. Do you see what God has done? Do you see how important it is that we understand the whole Bible as “they mystery of God”? The entire Bible contains hidden truth and we must look for the deeper spiritual meaning everywhere in the Bible, not just in the parables that Jesus spoke, but everywhere. Here, God is speaking to the true believers and saying, “Do not be ignorant. It is not my will that you be ignorant of this particular mystery which has to do with the fullness of the Gentiles.” The “fullness” would mean all of the Gentiles that God intended to save. The word “Gentile” means “nation,” so it would mean the fullness of the nations would come in – the fullness of God’s elect that were out there among the nations of the world.
Then it says, “and so,” or “in this manner,” “all Israel shall be saved.” And that is where the mystery is found, as God’s people were put on alert to look for a figurative or spiritual meaning and they realized, “Oh, God has people from every nation and tribe and tongue. They are the seed that was promised to Abraham – not the physical blood descendents – but the elect are counted for the seed through Christ. God speaks of a spiritual Israel as those that have had their hearts circumcised through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ who saved them through His atoning work from the foundation of the world.”
The true believer then quickly understands what it means that the “fullness of the Gentiles” must come in, and “in that manner,” all spiritual Israel is saved. On the other hand, the natural-minded man, the natural-minded theologians and the churches (the ones that follow the doctrine that you must understand the Bible literally and plainly and you cannot look for another meaning), develop the doctrine that God intends to save the Jews – God intends to save national Israel: “It says it right here, ‘And so all Israel shall be saved.’” You see, to them it was “not given” to know the mystery of the kingdom of God on this particular point and it results in Christians making many trips to the “Holy Land.” Of course, it is no longer the Holy Land. When God abandoned national Israel, the people of Israel were no longer the holy people and Israel was not the Holy Land. God had nothing further to do with Israel and, yet, the idea persists, based on a misunderstanding of this parabolic language and the hidden truth. It is hidden from them and their eyes are blinded. They cannot see; they cannot hear; they cannot perceive it and, therefore, they come up with completely wrong doctrine. This is an example which we can see happening in our present time as we come into contact with individuals that still insist that God will save the Jews, because they are ignorant of the “mystery.”
Let us go to 1 Corinthians 2: 6-7:
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
This is what the child of God speaks. “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery.” The true believer speaks of Judah representing the church, of Babylon representing the world, and of the king of Babylon typifying Satan. We speak of Babylon’s fall as picturing the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of Judgment Day. We speak of the King of the Medes and Persians (Cyrus) as a type of Christ. When we read of the “abomination of desolation stand in the holy place,” we know it is referring to Satan in the churches. Then we knew we were to “flee to the mountains,” which was a command to come out of the churches.
All of this is “gibberish” or it is as if we spoke with “another tongue and stammering lips” to the people that simply profess to be God’s people and they say they are Christian. But to them it is not given to understand the mysteries of God and, therefore, they do not understand the entire Book of Jeremiah and they do not understand much of Isaiah or Daniel or Ezekiel. They do not understand what Matthew 24 is talking about and why we keep insisting the church age is over. After all, they say, “Was that not completed back in 70 A.D.?” You see, the natural tendency of their thinking goes to the “plain, literal” statement of the Scripture they are reading. Therefore, they are blinded.
God has hidden just tremendous amounts of truth from them. Of course, they do not understand that God sealed up the words until the time of the end and then He began to open the Scriptures. They do not understand that Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world: “What are you talking about? Just read the Gospel accounts and you will see Jesus going to the cross.” They fail to comprehend and they are ignorant of the mysteries of God’s kingdom. They do not understand that “hell” has to do with the grave and that the final judgment of God for the sin of the unsaved is annihilation: “What do you mean? It speaks of Hell here in the Bible and, certainly, there is a place called Hell.” They do not understand God’s revealing of truth through the historical precedent of the flood of Noah’s day. They fail to grasp the idea that God could say to Noah, “Yet seven days and I will bring the flood,” and then relate it to the Scripture that “one day is as a thousand years.” And, remember what God said in 2 Peter 3:8:
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing…
It is similar to what He said in Romans 11, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery.” It is similar language. God is saying, “Do not be ignorant. You will understand, true believer.” It also means that to the rest it is not given to understand and we should have no expectation that they will understand.
Then it goes on to say in 2 Peter 3:8:
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
God does not use the word “mystery” itself in this verse, but He could have, because it is exactly what He is talking about – a hidden truth that identifies with the statement to Noah, “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.” And He destroyed all outside of the ark and that ark pictures Jesus Christ and the “safety of salvation.” But, you see, in order to understand that, you have to understand the “mystery.” You have to understand the hidden things God has placed in the Bible and how He has used “types and figures” to represent all kinds of hidden truth. Yet, they do not understand. So they did not understand the 7,000 year timeline from the flood occurring on May 21, 2011, and then God brings about a Day of Judgment that is spiritual in nature and, of course, it is “hidden” from their eyes. They cannot comprehend or grab hold of the idea that God would judge the world spiritually. It just goes beyond them. They cannot “see” it or “hear” it, spiritually, and yet it is fully in keeping with how God has written the Bible. It is fully in keeping with the manner in which God brought prior judgments to pass. They do not understand it, so they will speak evil of it, as the Lord says in 2 Peter 2:12:
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
Here is the whole problem. Here is the whole point of controversy between God’s people, who are in the spirit, and those that think they are God’s people, who are still in the flesh. They are natural-minded and God’s people are spiritually minded because God has given them that mind and His Spirit indwells them, so God’s people understand the “mystery,” again, and again, as they study the Bible: “Oh, here is some more truth. Here is some more information coming forth.”
But those that are not truly born of the Spirit (yet, they think they are God’s people) hear it, but they do not understand it. It is not “given to them,” and you will find, time after time, that they begin to “speak evil of the things that they understand not.” They will say things like, “The end of the church age? Are you kidding me? Do you not see that Jesus said He will build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it?” What did they do there? They took that verse “naturally.” They do not understand that the church in view is the “eternal church.” That is the hidden truth concerning that Scripture. They do not understand it, so they begin to speak “evil” of it. They think we are heretics and we are making charges against God’s church, but, in reality, the fault falls at their own feet for failure to understand how God wrote the Bible and for failure to comprehend the “mystery of the kingdom of God.” That leaves them outside of the kingdom and it leaves them unable to believe the church age has ended, and so many other points.
It must have been terrible for an individual that had been indirectly associated with the faithful ministry of Family Radio for so many decades to have heard Mr. Camping teach the spiritual meanings of verses as he did his Bible studies; and maybe this individual was married to a true believer and maybe due to the circumstances in their family, he had to listen to Mr. Camping’s Bible studies, but he never got it and he never understood it – it always frustrated him and angered him and he would “speak evil” of the things he heard. That is just the way it is. God is the one that has sent this “sword,” the sword of His Word and God is the one who has so graciously and mercifully opened the ears of His people alone to understand these things. So God’s people have to be patient, kind and gentle and not strive and argue and fight with those that “fail to get it.” They fail to see the “mystery” or the hidden truth, whether it be the end of the church age or Judgment Day occurring on May 21, 2011, or just a simple, spiritual meaning of any verse. God’s people have to realize that only God can open someone’s eyes. Only God can give that understanding of the “mysteries of the kingdom of God.”