A Revelation Invitation

And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:5-7)

One of the major themes of Revelation is that God is sovereign over all that goes on in the world. Even as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we look at the chaos in the world and sometimes question that premise. As John assures us in this scene, we need not fear. John sees God’s angel standing on the sea and and on the land, exercising God’s authority over all creation, ruling over the turmoil of the nations. Though we are disturbed by the chaos, we can handle it knowing that God is sovereign over it. Whether we witness or even experience injustice, we endure it knowing that the sovereign Lord will eventually set everything right. When we suffer, whether from disease, natural disasters or persecution, we march onward joyfully knowing that God is carrying out his purposes through those tribulations. God assures us that relief will come at the proper time.

This angel declares upon God’s authority that there will be no more delay—which implies that for his own reasons God had delayed judgment. We may not be privy to God’s timing, but his delay demonstrates his patience even though it may result in our suffering longer than we might like. We endure our tribulations because through them God demonstrates his mercy as others are given the same opportunity to repent that we have. Despite the delay, we are assured that a time will come when God will exercise righteous judgment on earth—on his enemies and ours.

God will delay, until there is no more delaying. Knowing that “the mystery of God will be fulfilled,” we can persevere through our trials. The world was saved through the suffering of our Savior. In the same way through our suffering, God spreads his salvation among the nations and in our neighborhoods.