The Message and its Messengers

Title: The Message and its Messengers
Date: 22nd Feb 2023
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee

In Revelation 10, the message was very clearly stated in verse 6: 6 “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Let’s unpack this: what exactly does “no more delay” mean? In the original Greek, the literal translation is “no more time” (chronos). This meant that God will act immediately in the context of the suffering of the seven churches. No more time will be given. However, bible commentators struggle with this translation of “no more delay” because it is obvious that salvation and deliverance will not be immediate. Maybe the angel should have just said “the delay will be short” instead?

I’m reminded of my two experiences with kidney stones. The first time I experienced it, I had no idea the immense pain I was feeling was due to kidney stones. I couldn’t stand straight, and I couldn’t sit, and I couldn’t decide if the pain was more bearable inside or outside the toilet. At the A&E in the hospital, I was literally just staring at the queue number, feeling as if time had stood still. But eventually, I got an injection from the doctor and the pain was resolved. You would expect that my second experience with kidney stones would be the same as the first, right? However, I would say that they were very different due to one key aspect: I now knew what was going on, and I was equipped with the knowledge of what to expect, and how the pain would be resolved. And because of this, somehow the pain was a lot more bearable the moment I arrived at the A&E. Obviously the pain was still present and should technically be similar in magnitude as the first round, and the wait to see the doctor was just as long, but the difference is, in the second round, I knew being cured was only a matter of time. And so, it was as if the healing has begun the moment I knew that the resolution was confirmed to be on its way.

And that’s how I would interpret: “No more delay” in our passage tonight. Even though the pain relief would not be immediate, the people of God could feel assured as they knew that the process of deliverance had already begun. They just needed the official divine declaration: no more delay. In short: No more delay means, God’s intervention is already happening. As in my kidney stones analogy, the declaration of “no more delay” is the same as “you are in the A&E already, and the doctor will see you eventually”. The mention of prophets in the message “just as he announced to his servants the prophets” was therefore very intentional.

Therefore, you can see why the recollection of previous experiences was crucial for this change in perspective. The people of God needed to be reminded that this was certainly not their first experience of persecution, having gone through this process in at least three significant times, 2000 years ago in Exodus, 600 years ago in the exile, and as recently as 200 years ago during the persecution from the archetypical man of lawlessness himself, Antiochus IV Epiphanes . 【1】The seven churches who should be familiar with the teachings of the Old Testament, including the Maccabees, actually know the drill of the road to recovery. It is a drill they practice every Passover and Hanukah. No more delay means this will be the same drill, and the process has begun.

The vision of Revelation 10 channeled this recollection by clearly referencing two key passages of the Old Testament, Daniel 12 and Ezekiel 3. We see the same references to a mighty angel, the same sealing of the words, and the same swearing to God as in Daniel 12. The seven churches were supposed to recall the promises of Daniel and draw strength from the prophetic promises of vindication. Just like John’s times, Prophet Daniel was also addressing the people of God who had been living under politically turbulent times. 【2】Daniel comforted them by revealing that the destruction and suffering of the people of God were foreseen by God, and in God’s timing, they will end one day (Daniel 8-9). More importantly, in comparison to the kings and kingdoms who come and go (Daniel 10-11), God who is in his heavenly throne will give ultimate authority and an eternal kingdom to his chosen one (Daniel 7).

We may recall similar circumstances of persecution in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3. The only difference is in settings. In Daniel 12, the vision came by the rivers of Babylon, so you have one angel on each side of the river banks speaking to Daniel. 【3】 In Revelation 10, the angel spoke to John by the shores of Patmos, with “his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land”. But despite the different settings, the two passages were linked by the same promise and fulfilment of salvation. Referencing Daniel is therefore a timely reminder to them that they had faced similar troubles before, and they shall overcome them by God’s grace once again.

Now that the message is clear, tonight I wish to focus on the messengers of this message. Let’s start with the angel. One of the key conundrums of Revelation 10 is whether this was really an angel speaking to John, or if this person was actually Jesus Christ. The point of contention is that the description of the angel is mirrored by earlier descriptions of Jesus Christ, or even of God himself. And we are not talking about one or two similarities, but practically every single description, from the cloud and rainbow, to his voice of a lion, to his legs, they can all be linked to Jesus. Yet the passage clearly indicated this is an angel. If John wanted the seven churches to understand that this is really an angel speaking to him, then why were all the divine-level descriptions accorded to him? My conclusion is this: The messenger is truly merely an angel, but the messenger is honored as if he is Jesus Christ, because he is the bearer of Christ’s message.

I was watching a Chinese historical drama the other day, and the scene was of a general who had just arrived back in the capital. He had just won a huge battle, and was returning with his entire encourage all flushed in victory. Amidst the cheering crowd, you could say that he had all the honor and glory of the moment. Then a eunuch arrived with the royal edict: “圣旨到!” Immediately, he had to get off his horse to bow before the eunuch. It was a sharp contrast from all the pomp of the previous moment to his humble posture before the eunuch at that moment. But it was obvious why he suddenly changed his posture. It is not the eunuch, the messenger, that deserves the honor, but the message itself. The message and the messenger represents the king, and that’s where the honor is due.

I believe that the angel was described with all the similarities with Jesus Christ to convey the source of the message and the honor behind the messenger. We are reminded to not just see a eunuch, but to see the king who sent the eunuch. That is both a warning and a comfort that it is the king who is speaking to us. Because when the eunuch is a messenger with a royal message, he is no longer just himself, but carries the pride of his commission. John was reminded of Jesus the king of kings when he saw the angel commissioned to speak to him. In short, the messenger is the embodiment of the message.

In fact, that’s what’s happening to John in Revelation 10 as well. The angel is a messenger to him, and he will in turn be recommissioned 【4】 to be a messenger to the seven churches, and we shall see in Revelation 11 that the members of the churches will then be the messengers to the world in their witnessing for Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I shall say again: the messenger is the embodiment of the message. The seven churches, just like all of us today, were entrusted with the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. As messengers, we may be as lowly as eunuchs, but being commissioned means that people should see us as Jesus the king speaking directly to them. As eunuchs for the king, we don’t need people to bow down to us, but we certainly need them to feel either warned or comforted just as how the seven churches felt when they received the letter of Revelation. And maybe this is how my sermon tonight will go viral: eh, eh, tell you ah, Pastor Siow Hwee said that we are eunuchs too. Let us all recite the Great Commission again from Matthew 28: 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Just like John, in Ezekiel 3, Ezekiel was also given a scroll to eat that tasted sweet as honey in his mouth. Eating is a good metaphor for internalizing and embodiment. Just as what you eat becomes a part of you, the message is now part of the messenger. Ezekiel was commissioned to speak God’s warning to the people of Israel. But then, he went in bitterness because he was also informed that “7 the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.” Therefore, what started as sweetness ended with bitterness. The sweetness represented the good news of God’s intervention, but the bitterness would represent the difficulties of the reception. 【5】The referencing of Ezekiel 3 gave the seven churches a nuanced perspective on suffering in their ministry. They then immediately connected with the sweetness when they first heard the Gospel, but they are also struggling with the bitterness of facing tough opposition to their witnessing for Christ.

Tonight is Ash Wed, the beginning of Lent, a time where we remember the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful that we have periods of the liturgical year like this where we remember the occasional bitterness of our mission that comes with the sweetness of the Gospel. If you have been active in evangelism, or if you have been staunchly counter-cultural in your Christian living, then chances are, you may have encountered such bitterness as well. As Jesus reminded us in Matthew 10: 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 24 The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. Our Great Commission may come with bitterness just like our master Jesus himself, in the traditions of the prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel as well.

However, if the message tonight is “no more delay”, what does it mean to be the embodiment of the message? I believe a good example would be Paul. In Colossians 1: 24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness. 【6】You can see that Paul’s suffering brought him joy because it contributed towards the salvation of the church members. He knew that as a messenger, his life and what he was exemplifying through his living were part of the message too.

Our lives should also reflect the message of “No more delay”. No more delay also means God comes first for us. No more delay means we must be faithful messengers. We believe that most of the time we will experience sweetness and joy, just like Paul. And if we do meet the occasional bitterness, no more delay means any suffering becomes bearable, for we know God is near. No more delay means we are not afraid. Let’s be comforted by the promise at the end of the Great Commission from Jesus: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

【1】https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes#Persecution_of_Jews
【2】https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=1132
【3】See Psalm 137
【4】He has been commissioned on at least two previous occasions (1:10-20 and 4:1-2), although the first includes the whole book as well and the second probably includes also the remainder of the book.
【5】It was a similar experience in Jeremiah 15 who said, 16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty. But then Jeremiah immediately complained in the next two verses: 17 I sat alone because your hand was on me and you had filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? We call Jeremiah the Weeping Prophet for all the sufferings that he had to face in his ministry.
【6】https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=1110

Ash Wednesday Service Video Link: https://youtu.be/t2EtwOHZlRc