(S2E11) Strongholds and Mysteries of God

In this episode, Gordon and Mark examine a critical pause in Revelation between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets.  This interlude introduces two key themes that frame the significance of what is about to unfold:  the Strongholds of mankind and the Mysteries of God.

The hosts begin with a sobering reminder that even if believers may not be present at this exact point in the timeline, the warnings in this passage are deeply relevant for our lives today.  Scripture consistently warns that many professing believers will drift away.  This will not be sudden, but gradual.  It will take place through apathy, distraction, fear, and deception.  This spiritual drift often occurs when worldly values quietly take root in the heart.

The discussion then moves to Revelation 9:20–21, which identifies a set of persistent sins that humanity refuses to repent from, which the hosts describe as spiritual strongholds.  These are not isolated actions but deeply rooted patterns that harden the heart and resist God’s truth:

• Idolatry: Elevating anything above God—money, comfort, status, or control.
• Murder: Extending beyond physical violence to broader moral issues, including the value of human life.
• Sorcery (pharmakeia): Associated with substance dependence, addiction, and altered states.
• Sexual immorality: Widespread and normalized in modern culture.
• Theft: Everyday dishonesty, including withholding what belongs to God.

These strongholds are internal and often hidden behind justification, habit, or comfort.  The hosts emphasize that now is the time of mercy when a window where God invites believers to examine their lives and allow the Holy Spirit to expose and remove these entrenched patterns before judgment is finalized.

 The episode then transitions into Revelation 10, where a mighty angel appears, signaling a major turning point.  Standing on land and sea, the angel declares, “there will be no more delay,” marking the end of prolonged waiting and the beginning of final fulfillment.  In response, God speaks through the seven Thunders, but John is instructed not to record what was said. This moment reminds listeners that while God reveals what is necessary, not all divine knowledge is disclosed.

 From there, the hosts explore the concept of the “mystery of God.”  In Scripture, a divine mystery is something once hidden but progressively revealed over time.  Through the prophets and apostles, God has been unveiling His redemptive plan in stages.  The hosts identify five key biblical mysteries:

• The Messiah (Jesus Christ) — revealed and fulfilled.
• The inclusion of Gentiles in salvation — revealed and being fulfilled.
• The Church (Christ dwelling in believers) — revealed and being fulfilled.
• The partial hardening of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles — revealed, not yet fulfilled.
• The ultimate unity of all things under Christ — not yet fully fulfilled.

Together, these mysteries form the overarching “mystery of God” which is the complete unfolding of His plan to redeem, unify, and restore creation under Christ.

 The announcement that there will be “no more delay” suggests that the fullness of the Gentiles is complete, signaling that God’s redemptive timeline is entering its final phase.  With the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, this long-unfolding plan reaches its culmination.  God’s people are gathered, the building of the Church is complete, and the final stage of judgment and restoration begins.

 The episode concludes with both urgency and hope.  God’s plan has been unfolding with precision and patience, but the moment is coming when that plan will be fully realized.  The time to respond is now before delay gives way to fulfillment.

Transcript

Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Hello everyone. Welcome to our podcast called On Guard Discerning Truth in End Times. My name is Gordon Douglas, and I'm here with my brother Mark. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us again today. We are so glad that you are back and continue to listen.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Yes, this is an understatement. Many of these episodes have been very detailed and intense. So we appreciate each of you staying engaged. Last week we worked through the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, where we heard about two of the three woes. They were mentioned in Revelation chapter 8, verse 13, after the first four trumpets have been blown. We still have one final woe to address, and it will come with the seventh trumpet, or right before the seventh trumpet. But today we take a break from the trumpet judgments to talk about the verses that are recorded in between trumpets six and seven.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

These verses are really good and will serve to tell us just how important that seventh trumpet will be when it arrives. Today, we're going to talk about two different topics. First, we'll look at the passage that serves as a warning for believers, even when the immediate context isn't quite apparent. We who remain faithful to God can still learn from what Scripture says about strongholds in our lives, even when its objective is to warn unbelievers. And then the second topic will be an intriguing topic which will show us just how great our God is in the way he works. We will talk about God's mysteries. Here in this chapter, we see the climax to God's mysteries.

Reminder of a Future Apostasy

SPEAKER_00 1:41

As we start with this first topic, which we subtitled Strongholds of Mankind, we want to remind you of an important point. On the timeline of the end times and in the previous episodes, we have taught that it is possible all Christians will be gone from the earth by this point. We believe all have either died of various causes, been martyred for their faith, or have been raptured by God just before his wrath begins. So you might ask us why we're spending time on something that only affects the unbelievers who are left. And our answer to that question is that we can always learn from what the Bible teaches and urges others to understand. These learnings are applicable to our own lives.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

But the question is valid. I want to remind all of us who are listening to what John is telling us in this incredible book of Revelation. There is a prophesied apostasy that will happen between our current time and the time of the rapture. We addressed this very point and told you this was the driving factor for us to do this podcast. In season one, episode one, we said this: the apostasy is defined as an action where professing believers choose to deny their faith in God and Jesus in order to follow a deceiver's way. This can be apathy towards God in such a way that your faith just dries up, or by personal choice, for whatever reason, through unbelief or fear, or confusion, or disinterest, or busyness, or the media. You might hear this apostasy also called a falling away, which means a falling away from the faith.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

That falling away can happen to people gradually as they are subtly and slowly allowing the world and its values to take root in their lives, and those choices Gordon mentioned become more than they should be. It can happen to all of us if we're not diligent in staying in the Word of God, focused on Him, and hearing from the Lord in our prayer time.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

And even for all of us who are doing our best to live this life obediently and faithfully to our Lord Jesus Christ, we can hear a message today and take note of something important to our lives. We can learn and use these words to shore up our defenses. We sometimes have blind spots or places in our lives that we've been unwilling to relinquish. Here is the lesson from the verses we will read. Let us take them to heart and hear them ourselves. Let us use the words of the Scripture to affect our own lives and our actions, because it is only due to the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be different from the world. The words, but for the Lord, there go I cannot be more true. We are only different from the unbelieving world because of the power of the Holy Spirit and the words God gives us to live by. As I was writing this episode a few weeks ago, Mark called me. You know, we talk frequently to discuss ideas and the content of what we're doing. Well, that morning Mark called with a word from his personal Bible reading. That word was from the book of Zechariah. You'll see in a minute just how relevant it was to this discussion today. No matter what we're studying about in the Bible, the most important lesson should be directed at ourselves and what our motivations and inclinations are based upon. We should ask, is God trying to teach me something? Or, Lord, show me about me. We should pray, Lord, give me eyes to see and ears to hear what you're trying to teach me. Mark, share that story from Zechariah.

Zechariah Lesson on Heartfelt Change

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Sure. The book of Zechariah is an incredible book of visions and prophecies, which we'll get into at a later time. I've read it before, but never really studied it like I am doing right now. A story from the first part of Zechariah chapter 7 is really applicable for us on this topic you just introduced. For those that don't know about Zechariah, he was an Old Testament prophet whose ministry was around 520 BC, when the exiles from Judah had returned from Babylon and were trying to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The people were struggling to get that temple rebuilt, and at one point they came to Zechariah and asked him to inquire of the Lord as to whether they should continue to fast and mourn as they had been doing over their seventy years in Babylonian captivity. Your first reaction is probably like mine. You might be thinking, Wow, these people must be really spiritual and close to God. They've been sacrificing of themselves and seeking God for such a long time. I wish I could be that disciplined in my spiritual life. Well, God's response is probably going to surprise you. Here is what he asked them in verse 5. When you fasted and mourned, was it for me that you fasted? And he added later in verse 13, As I called and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, says, so says the Lord. Uh-oh. God went on to mention things in verses nine and ten that should have been changed in their lives if they had truly been mourning for their sinful lives and sorry for how they were acting. Instead the scriptures say in verses eleven and twelve, but they refused to pay attention, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears that they may not hear. They made their hearts diamond hard, lest they should hear the law, and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. These people had been mourning and fasting as some type of ritual. In today's language, I would call this activity a religion or works, you know, whatever you call it. There's no heart change, right, engaged in it. They were just going through the motions. Don't we know that God cares more about the heart than anything else? He wants the heart change which will result in the life change. And you know what? He can't be fooled. He knows the difference. We can be fooled by outward appearance, but God knows our heart.

Stongholds

SPEAKER_01 8:02

That's an amazing lesson that we need to take to the deepest part of our lives. He doesn't want us going to church and lifting our hands and singing to the Lord, but keeping our ears closed to what he's teaching us. I think the direct lesson to me is that when I go to church and worship and sing weekly, do I hear what God is saying through the pastor or minister to me that might be directly applicable to an area in my life that I need to address and change? And then do I follow up and do it? Do I actually make a change in my life? We've said it many times. God wants obedience more than sacrifice. Our first passage for today comes from Revelation chapter 9, verses 20 and 21 that says, quote, the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver, bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. End quote. Again, this specific language is referring to the remaining two-thirds of the unbelievers who are being tormented by these final few trumpet judgments and are still alive at that point. Remember, one-third have been killed. Those people who remain are the ones being described here. But let's see what we can get out of this message for ourselves today. Maybe you're thinking that none of these things apply to you or me, but don't be so quick to think that thought. These sins are things that pervade our society in abundance. And if we are not careful, we won't see how they're impacting us.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

That's right. These specific items mentioned just about cover the range of wickedness that we need to watch out for and to stay away from. Here we see that through the Apostle John, God is pointing out to us that He sees these sins and hates them. He says that these works of the hands are strongholds for these unbelievers, and they have such a tight grasp on people who will not repent of them. So let's talk about them. So let's start with idolatry. Do you know anything that we worship other than God Himself is idolatry? We may not have actual idols in the house, but we can certainly worship false gods. Most of our problems are more likely putting our security and significance into objects other than God. For some it's finances. But for some it can be other things like status or comfort, pleasure, control, fitness, achievements, golf handicaps, travel, amen. Travel schedules or whatever, whatever, whatever. You put your potential idol in this blank. All right? And he talked about murderers. Obviously, most of us aren't killers. We don't go around and kill people. Well, what about abortion? I think God cares about the life of the unborn. He cares about the unborn babies that we have allowed to be destroyed in our lifetimes. There have been over 60 million abortions in the last 50 years in the U.S. alone, and probably twice that in the remainder of the world. We rationalize God's truth when we take this stance and allow this to be legal in our country.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

And then there is sorceries. So now we might think about this one as witches and black magic, and it includes that too, but the Greek word used in this verse is pharmacia. You know that word is the foundation to what we call drugs. Not just illegal drugs either, but legal drugs or medicines sold through pharmacies. How about the laws that legalize cannabis? Anything that has an influence over you and your mind or gives you the chance to escape from your issues can probably fit into this category, including alcohol, cigarettes, etc.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

All right. And then they mentioned sexual immorality. This issue is far too easy to gain access to in our world. You can get into pornography on your phone and computer without anyone knowing it. In fact, you can see it without even trying. You know, I've had to stop looking at social media due to the advertising that surrounds the software and because of the things I was seeing without really even trying to go and see. And then there's theft.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Most of us don't go into a store and steal things, but theft can mean doing almost anything dishonest. Do you lie on your expense reports or stretch the facts on your income taxes? Or are you totally honest in your business dealings? Also, the Bible talks about us stealing from God if we hold back our tithing or don't give God what He requires. That is defined as stealing from Him.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

So all of these works of the hands are items that God points out as strongholds, which mankind has used to keep them from repenting. That's why they're called strongholds. They're entrenched in people's lives. Each of these items can be so embedded in our lives that it becomes something that blinds us or deafens us, and we grow hard in our hearts or refuse to acknowledge how it impacts our relationship with God.

A Mighty Angel

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Neither of us wants to point fingers at anybody on these things. We don't want to be holier than thou. We are sinners too, but we want to use this passage to shore up our defenses against these sins, which God has pointed out as potential problems. Hear this discussion and use this part of the message to evaluate for yourselves whether you need to repent of these things and other weaknesses in your life. In the biblical passage we just read, the people who remain on earth do not repent of these things. So as we close this opening section, we want you to know the strongholds are inside people wrapped around their loved ones, their habits, their comforts, and their excuses. Please do not let your hearts become diamond hard. And if we're honest, every one of us has the potential to drift that direction when we stop listening to the word, stop submitting to God, and start rationalizing how we live. But here's the good news. We know that if we do repent, God will hear us and forgive us. Right now is the time of mercy. Right now the door is open. Isaiah 55, verse 6 says, Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. So give the Holy Spirit a moment to convict you and let repentance be your next step. It is a powerful thing. Ask God to search your heart, to expose what you have protected, to yield to what you know to be right, and to replace ritual and religion with real surrender. Our prayer for you and for us is that we wouldn't just study God's word, but that we would let it change us and tear down those strongholds that are weighing us down. Now, our next topic for today comes from Revelation chapter 10, verses 1 through 7, and amounts to an incredible announcement that shows that things are escalating and coming to a prophesied conclusion. This announcement is pretty interesting in its breadth or fullness. The message is delivered by what John calls a mighty angel. Just like he saw an angel descending from heaven in the fifth trumpet, he sees another mighty angel here who again descends from heaven. This Revelation 10 angel has a little scroll in his hand. It is not the same scroll that Jesus unsealed back in Revelation 6. This little scroll is already opened. There's no action required to know its contents. We'll see more about this scroll in a few weeks as we get to the two witnesses. For today, I want to concentrate on the other announcement that this mighty angel makes. Listen for it as Mark reads the passage.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

Okay, so in Revelation chapter 10, 1 through 7, Scripture says, quote, 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. He had a little scroll open in his hand, and he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and he called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down. 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 for ever 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 called to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. Our first question is, Who is this mighty angel? In some ways the description of this angel appears a little like Jesus himself. Look at verse one's phrases wrapped in a cloud, rainbow overhead, face like the sun, and legs of fire. Those characteristics surely do sound like God in many ways, but we don't believe that is who it is because John consistently distinguishes Jesus with language that is not like this, right, right, not like this phrase, another mighty angel. Plus, this figure is shown doing what angels do, which is to deliver a message. Finally, we also see this angel taking a solemn oath to the one who lives forever, rather than receiving worship or being identified as the Lamb of God. We conclude, therefore, this is not Jesus, but is an angel. John may also be reflecting back on previous visions, and he might be associating this new angel with the seven angels we discussed in Revelation chapter 8, verse 2, where seven angels were standing before God. Remember, John clearly thought those seven angels were also mighty angels. Now he sees this one and calls him mighty. Right? Or lastly, John could be associating this angel with the one from chapter 1, verse 1, which mentions that the angel was sent to John to give this whole message of Revelation. So, Gordon, what are your thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 18:59

To me, this angel sounds like the same one who appeared to the prophet Daniel around 535 BC as part of Daniel 10 through 12's final vision. Either way, this angel was incredible. You can tell by his description that he comes from the presence of God. He radiates with God's glory and aura. He is literally robed in the authority from the throne room, no doubt. And we see him put one foot on the sea and one foot on the land. So, Mark, what in the world does that mean?

SPEAKER_00 19:31

So, in the ancient world, putting your foot on something represented your ownership or possession of it. In this case, I think this angel is claiming authority and control over the whole created order. Land and sea can be interpreted in a couple of ways. The way I prefer to interpret this image is that the seas or waters are regularly pictured as the nations of the world, right? The Gentiles. Alright? And the land often carries covenant associations with the Jewish people or the nation of Israel. And you can see that in Genesis chapter 12, verse 1, and in Zechariah 12, 10 through 14. Alright? When the angel straddles both sea and land, it can be read as a sign that what happens next is meant for the whole world. God's decree is about to close history for both the Gentile world and Israel. God has total jurisdiction and authority over it all as the seventh trumpet approaches.

The 7 Thunders Speak

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Yeah, this angel is asserting control at this time over the whole created order. And then we get an interesting scena, which I know you love. I've heard you mention it several times. The passage says that in response to this angel's calling out, quote, the seven thunders sounded, end quote. And John was getting ready to give us the details of what those thunders said. I think it might be the key to understanding this whole thing. Why, you might say, I say that because John was told not to write it down. Martin, what do you make of that sequence? I know you're itching to say something about those seven thunders.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

I love the seven thunders. People never talk about the seven thunders. I would love to say something. Again, this is a hidden nugget in scripture. I just love these little tidbits that are mentioned that are so easy to skip right over. This is one of those blink and you miss it moments, and we don't want to overlook it. And as Gordon said, I think there's going to be some keys in what comes out of this language that matter for our deeper understanding. But first, notice the sequence. The angel roars and calls out, and then a voice responds with seven thunders. That tells me this isn't a random thunderclap sound effect from some storm. God is speaking, He is communicating. A message. It is as if the angel's call triggers a sevenfold complete response. And John, who is literally writing down everything he sees and hears in these visions, does what he's been trained to do. He lifts a pen, starts to record what he sees. However, God says, nope, don't write that down. God doesn't want it recorded yet. As we have said before, God is not trying to satisfy our curiosity with every little detail being spoon fed to us. He gives us what we need to be faithful, not everything we think we might need to know. That's right. That's right. So what do you make of it? So it tells me the thunders contain real content that the people on earth will likely recognize when God speaks. And here's the part I find interesting. Just after the thunders communicate this message, the angel swears an oath. He says, quote, there will be no more delay, unquote. So these thunders happen right at the point where the timeline pivots from waiting to fulfillment. And wouldn't you know it? Scripture gives us precedence for this type of interaction. In Daniel, Daniel is told that certain words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. And Paul talks about being caught up and hearing things that he is not permitted to repeat. So Revelation 10 fits a pattern. There are moments when God is saying, I'm not ready for anyone to hear that point just yet. Alright, so why even bring it up? What should listeners do with that kind of conclusion? Well, in my studies, I have found a psalm in Scripture, which I find really interesting. The seven thunders from the psalm describe what could possibly be the message out of the thunders of Revelation. With one of King David's Psalms, there are some great verses. I'm not going to be dogmatic about this conclusion. I mean, God said, don't write it down. So I need to be really careful with this interpretation. However, in Psalm 29, there are seven thunderous voice responses given about God and this world. You will have to read the entire psalm on your own. It's short. But the psalm fits so nicely here in support of this section. In the Psalm, God's voice is portrayed like a storm front moving from the waters inland, shaking everything in its path, similar to how the end times judgments are about to move in. The thunders all represent God's voice and are summarized like this. The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, and the voice of the Lord stresses and pressures life on earth. Here's what I get from Psalm twenty-nine. It complements the image of the angel's stance over sea and land and the whole created order theme. God is said to be majestic and powerful, is here to deal with the strong, the proud, and the unrepentant. God's voice shatters what humans think are truth, but he knows is not. The wilderness will now be addressed, and the message to the earth is life is about to change. All the world is about to be stripped bare. God is coming.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

The point of Psalm 29 says God is powerful, majestic, and his actions, when they come are about changing the game. Even after all that we have discussed in this chapter, my favorite part comes next. My favorite part is the announcement made by the mighty angel. This is an announcement that we are truly waiting to hear. The NIV version really captures the sentiments of this verse in a better way. It says, quote, there will be no more delay, 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, end quote. The most important piece to take from the verse is that when this seventh trumpet is about to be blown, it means we have arrived at the time. So what time have we arrived at?

SPEAKER_00 26:33

Scripture says, in the days surrounding the blowing of the seventh trumpet, this should remind us that everything doesn't happen in the twinkling of an eye. The end of this story we are discussing takes some days. There will be some amount of days where it all concludes.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

But there is a specific day on which the switch is flipped. What I mean is that there is an instant in time where everything begins to change. We have spent a lot of time discussing this point. At that moment in time, God says, Let's go. The first point is that something important will no longer be delayed. So this means that something has been delayed up until that exact moment. So let's talk about that thing which has been delayed. Okay. So what's this delay all about? I think the two questions are first, what had been delayed? And second, why had it been delayed? So let's discuss those questions. So, what was being delayed? Let's go all the way back to Seal 5. The souls under the altar are asking the question, how long before you avenge our blood? The question itself gives us the answer to what is being delayed. The answer gives us a glimpse of what this delay is all about. So we'll talk about that in a minute. The delay was concerning the wrath of God and when it would happen. God was going to punish evil, disobedience, and rebellion, but he is not ready to do it at that time when the question of seal five was being asked. But the time was coming. He is delaying his coming wrath for a purpose until the right moment. Then why was there a delay? Why has he not been ready to punish and destroy evil? As I mentioned above, the answer to the question posed in Seal 5 was that God's wrath would not come until the number of the fellow servants and their brothers should be complete. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3, verses 8 to 10, that God is waiting for every single person who will repent to repent. It says, quote, but do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. God is delaying the full destruction of his wrath until every single person who will repent and accept him has done so. And this fact is associated with something else, which is also mentioned here. We find an additional item in verse 7 that we read a little ear that we read a little earlier. Again, verse 7 says, But that in the days of the trumpet call, to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants, the prophets. I love this topic. There are mysteries of God that the Bible mentions that are part of the way the scriptures and the actual story unfold. So, Mark, what does this word mystery mean in this context?

Mysteries of God

SPEAKER_00 30:15

This is a great topic. There is a verse that we have read before that might help us understand it. Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29 says, The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the word of this law. That tells us a few things. The first is that God holds certain truths for himself. The second is that God reveals things to us. I think the mysteries are those things. He has certain truths that are all his until over time he chooses to reveal them according to his plans. This means that certain things he opens up to us as the story of redemption unfolds. I guess these truths are a little bit mysterious, so the Bible calls them mysteries.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

I know we've all read the word mystery in the Bible. There are some real specific mysteries of God which ultimately make up the full plan of God. Then the overall culmination of those specific mysteries is the complete, total mystery. By mystery, we don't mean that something is unknown. We just mean that it is something that God once hid, but is now revealing. We live in a time when many of God's mysteries have already been revealed, but they have not all necessarily been fulfilled. And the combined and total mystery has not yet been fulfilled. Think about those people in the past. Even the prophets weren't privy to what we are privy to. They knew about Messiah, but didn't know about Jesus by name. They didn't know about the church. They didn't know the Holy Spirit would be poured out on believers. They didn't know Gentiles would be given a chance to know God. But now we know these things. The prophets and then the apostles were stewards of the mysteries of God. It says that directly in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 1, where Paul says, quote, this is how one should regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, end quote. God used the prophets and the apostles to teach us new things when he was ready to have them taught. These new things unlocked truths that to that point were unknown. Typically, God provided pieces of it to the Old Testament prophets. In many cases, they are given words to write that even they likely didn't fully understand. But their words point to the truths that would one day come into the open and be revealed. Then God used the apostles to confirm those truths and even unlock them. And then these truths become evident. I think you'll understand this more clearly in a moment.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

The Bible describes at least five mysteries. Let's discuss them and see if we can zero in on what specific mysteries have been revealed and or fulfilled by this point on the timeline and how that helps God's complete, comprehensive mystery to be completed as of the blowing of the seventh trumpet.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

I like this verse from the prophet Daniel. Daniel chapter 2, verse 28 says, There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has been revealing these mysteries over many centuries and even millennia. Listen to them specifically, but also look for how they are related. The truth is that they are all infinitely related. We believe God's complete comprehensive mystery is the totality of each of the mysteries. Here are the five mysteries we have uncovered in our studies. Again, they are all really wrapped up together, which we will see. So the first one, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 2 through 6, quote, assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. End quote. The Old Testament prophets had been mentioning a Messiah for centuries. There was a promise of a Savior, but nobody really knew what this meant. Mostly the Jewish people thought he was coming to save them from their bondage to other countries and empires. They really missed out on what he was coming to do. The Jesus Christ we know and love and even understand as for his purposes and ways was all unknown to people until he was revealed. The second mystery Paul talks about here is that he would also be a savior to the world. Remember, one of the promises made to Abraham in the covenant God made with him was that he would be a blessing to the world. But how would that work? What did that mean? Abraham probably didn't know. Isaac probably didn't know. Jacob probably didn't know. The fact is the way in which that blessing was to happen was not known by people in the Old Testament. The Messiah would be the Savior of the whole world, not just for the Jewish people. So in this passage, Paul reiterates the revelation of the mystery that Gentiles are heirs to the promise together with Israel. God's plan was to include the Gentiles.

SPEAKER_00 36:11

That's so good. First Timothy chapter three, verse 16, is next and describes the mystery of godliness. It says this Great indeed we confessed is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory, unquote. This verse summarizes the whole plan of salvation, which is described as the mystery of godliness. How God would provide salvation for people through Jesus Christ was completely unknown by the Old Testament people. What we take for granted on this side of the cross was still a mystery until it happened and was explained to them. Jesus would provide a way for people to be reconciled to God through his blood on the cross.

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And next, Paul writes to the Gentile church in Colossians chapter 1, verse 24 through 27, and then in chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. Quote, Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the word of God fully known, the mystery, hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And then in chapter two, for I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those that lay Odyssea, and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. End quote. This plan was the church. At the heart of this mystery was that God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, will be directly and personally present in the lives of his people, even Gentiles who choose to believe him. In fact, for the predominant time of the church age, it is mostly Gentiles who make up the church. Jesus Christ Himself in us, the hope of glory. So from the time of Pentecost, Jesus is at work building up the body of Christ, which is called the church. He empowered the church with his promised Holy Spirit, which lives in each and every believer. Think about that sentence for a second. He is at work building something. As a foreshadow, when you build something, there comes a time when it is completed. Keep that in mind.

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Again, it's Paul who is talking to the Jewish people when he says in Romans chapter 11, verse 25 through 26, and then chapter 16, verse 25 to 26, he says, Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers. A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. And then the next section. In these verses, the mystery described is made up of three parts. First, a partial hardening has come upon the Jewish people. Second, this hardening will remain until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and third, only then will all Israel be saved. The point is that there will be a day when that offer is completed. After that time, or the time when the last Gentiles believe, there will be no more offers of salvation. God's plan, which we know and have always known since we live in the 21st century, was completely new to Paul's readers and hearers in his day. The Jews were the chosen people. They and everyone else thought that salvation was only for the Jews. But God changed that revelation when he shared this mystery with the apostles and the prophets. The actual plan is different than they thought. It has come to pass, like Jesus said in the parable of the wedding feast. In Matthew 22, Jesus says there is a feast and he has invited certain guests. When they reject his invitation, he goes out to the streets and he invites others. They accept his invitation and come to the feast. He's currently still inviting guests off the streets. We are are those guests. But the most important is that there will come a day when the last guest accepts.

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And finally, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 10, something very important. It is a rather long passage, but stay with me, please. Try and hear it all. Especially listen towards the end. So, quote, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight. So please hear these final two verses, quote, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. End quote.

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Complete full mystery of God. So let's summarize the verses. I think we're saying Mystery One says there was a Messiah coming and that it was Jesus Christ. Salvation would come by his incarnation and redemptive work on the cross. This one has been revealed and fulfilled. Mystery two says Gentiles are fellow heirs with Israel in the Messiah. This one has been revealed and being fulfilled. Mystery three says the church was the main tool through which the gospel would spread. He would empower this church with the Holy Spirit and be building it with a desired goal and end. This one has been revealed and is being fulfilled. Mystery four says the Jewish people's heart has been hardened and eyes blinded until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in and believes. And only then would all Israel be saved. This one has been revealed, but has not yet been fulfilled. And Mystery Five says, in the fullness of God's timing, he will unite all things in heaven and on earth under Jesus. This one has not yet been fully revealed or fulfilled. Is that correct? Did I get them all?

The Comprehensive Mystery

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I think you got 'em. Um they are specific mysteries which are revealed and being fulfilled at different points along the way. But it won't be until they are all revealed and fulfilled that the complete comprehensive mystery is completed. So what's the point? How can we bring all this back around to our passage today?

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We believe that the message given by this mighty angel is that another of the specific mysteries of God has been fulfilled. The next step can now be taken. God will reach the full completion of his comprehensive mystery, and it will be fulfilled by the time the seventh trumpet is blown.

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We mentioned earlier in the narrative around one of the mysteries that God was building something, and that when you build something, there comes a time when it is built. It gets completed. God was building a people who will make up his heavenly kingdom. The words of this section of Revelation say that the time has come where that is done. We believe the mystery that has been fulfilled at the timing of this announcement is that the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. We believe the building of the church is done. We believe that is why the delay of God's wrath is no longer necessary.

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So, based upon this announcement from this angel, God has completed the fullness of the Gentiles and He can move forward in His plans to get to the final mystery of uniting things. The verses we read say that when that seventh trumpet gets blown, these things will have happened. So the seventh trumpet is the capstone moment when God announces that the long-hidden architecture of his redemption story will have reached its intended endpoint. At that point, the plan is no longer in progress. At that point, the building process will be completed. We will see about this point when we get to read Revelation 11.

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Okay? God's plan is happening. There is a time where these events that must happen will move to a conclusion. We heard today that God is patiently waiting for that time. He will send out this mighty angel to make the announcement at the exact right time and not a moment sooner.

Conclusion

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And in the meantime, he tells John in the last verse of chapter 11, you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings. Unquote. I think for our purposes, this means give them more details about how and what will happen.

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And that's going to be exactly what we will get. For the next several chapters, we're given much detail about what is going to be happening during this period. And we will start to read about it next week.

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Yep. Next week we will get to some information about the temple and then into the story of two witnesses. I know many of you have heard about them. It'll be fun to discuss just what the Bible says. Be ready for that next week.

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