15.12 | Intermissions
Revelation 10
‘Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.’
Revelation 10:1
Remember where we are.
We’re working through three cycles of seven: seven seals on the scroll, seven trumpets that are blown, and seven bowls of wrath to come.
Seven is the biblical number of perfection, rest, or eternity. These sevens, then, give us three different angles that repeat the same basic message: Days 1-6 represent the days we are living in now (seals 1-6, trumpets 1-6, bowls 1-6), and yet the Seventh Day will surely soon come.1 The seventh day is the day to come. It is the meeting of God’s eternal age and our world, where the fallen kingdoms of the world become the perfected Kingdom of God. It is the end of this age, and the beginning of the eternal one.
We began these cycles in the heavenly throne room of God, where a scroll—the promises of the Old Testament and the inheritance of God’s people—was sealed up. Being sealed does not just mean being unknown; it means that those promise were also withheld. They were not yet reality. The slain lamb, Jesus, was the only one found worthy to open the scroll—for His Cross was the victory that opens all of the promises of God. And as those seals were opened, one by one, we had repeated imagery of warfare and poverty and sickness and death—a tragically accurate depiction of the age in which we live. And yet, as the seventh seal was opened, the full content of our prayers and longings were thrown down to the earth. We saw all that we are longing to see fulfilled would only come after a time of turmoil.
Which began the second cycle: seven trumpets. As the first six trumpets were blown, this time the imagery reminded of the plagues of Egypt, in the confrontation of the Empires of our day with the inbreaking Kingdom of God. Trumpets herald a coming victory and yet victory comes through a time of war. So too here.
And yet, into these cycles, we get little intermissions. Pause moments, where we find ourselves teetering on the brink of something to come. We had an intermission moment between the sixth and seventh seal (chapter 7). We’re going to have an intermission moment in chapters 12-14, before we arrive at the seven bowls. And we have an intermission moment today, between the sixth and seventh trumpet.
Intermissions feel like a disruption in the performance. And yet, the positioning of these intermission moments is so intentional, and so appropriate. Because they come just before the conclusion. They come when we know we’re right up to the final moment, but aren’t quite there. Intermission moments are pregnant with not yet. They leave us so close, leaning forward, waiting—with a sense of yearning anticipation for the conclusion that is so imminently upon us.
Which just seems to so perfectly describe the intended posture of how we are to live in our moment.
So close. Leaning forward. Waiting. Yearning anticipation.
Be encouraged, for into this moment of hopes yet unfulfilled, the promises of God are still sure. The imagery of today’s angel is deeply familiar to biblical memory. God’s presence is still with His people—as pillars of fire and cloud in the wilderness.2 God’s plan is still that shown in the rainbow of new creation, as Noah came out of the ark—not for global destruction, but for global regeneration.3 God still plants heavenly feet into the waters and onto the land where the beasts of corrupt Empires arise.4
In all the chaos, in all the pain, in all the sufferings, may our souls do what the intermission invites in us—gathering up all the expectation and longings and confidence of hope, and lean forwards. For eternity awaits with breathless imminence.
Reflect:
God with us in wilderness. God’s promise to renew, and not destroy. God’s assurance that angelic feet are planted more certainly than all the corruptions of human power.
Which image do you most need to hold onto today? Turn this to prayer.
Pray:
Father,
It seems to me that
Hope
Is something more substantial than I had seen.
That hope is not built on flimsy maybes;
And is no denial of what is real;
But hope, it seems,
Awakens when my heart tastes
Eternity certainty.
For here,
Promises are greater than problems
And salvation is more than suffering
And the powers of the earth are matchstick houses
Before the hurricane of your invading beauty.
For in hope,
I am learning to see the certainty
Of the greater realities,
That are poised on the cusp of my every breath,
And the inbreaking
Of Your coming Day.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Jonah 1-4 | Psalm 144
Tim Mackie at the Bible Project describes these like three Russian dolls, that are contained within each other, each layer giving us another window of insight into what is being described. There’s a great video introduction to this at: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/revelation-1-11/, accessed 22nd November 2024
Exodus 13:22
Genesis 9:11
This to come in Revelation 13.