While We Wait

Anyone who watched the television show LOST when it originally aired remembers what it was like to wait. Every episode seemed to end with another cliffhanger, followed by a full week of speculation. Then, at the end of each season, fans waited months for the story to continue. During those long stretches, people debated theories, searched for clues, and tried to predict what would happen next.

That experience provides a helpful picture of Revelation 10.

Throughout Revelation, the action repeatedly builds toward a dramatic conclusion, only to pause. After six seals are opened, there is an intermission before the seventh. Now, after the sixth trumpet sounds, the story pauses once again. Naturally, we expect the seventh trumpet to sound immediately, but instead God gives His people another interlude.

The reason is simple: before we know what happens next, we need to know how to live while we wait.

Revelation 10 answers that question with a powerful reminder: while we wait for Christ's return, we must trust God's secret plans and treasure His revealed Word.

Trust God's Secret Plans

The first half of the chapter introduces a mighty angel who stands astride the sea and the land, announcing God's sovereign authority over all creation. Then seven thunders speak—but just as John prepares to write down what they said, a voice from heaven stops him. He is told to seal up their message because it is not meant to be revealed.

That moment teaches an important lesson. God has chosen not to tell us everything.

As Moses wrote centuries earlier, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever" (Deuteronomy 29:29). Throughout history, Christians have often been tempted to reverse those priorities. We become fascinated with mysteries God has deliberately kept hidden while neglecting the truths He has clearly revealed in Scripture.

That temptation extends far beyond Revelation. We often want God to answer questions He has chosen not to answer. Why did this trial come into my life? Should I take this job? Will my prodigal child ever return to the Lord? What does the future hold for my family?

Many of those questions belong to God's secret plans.

How can we learn to trust Him with what He has not revealed?

First, we must remember God's greatness. Whether the mighty angel in Revelation 10 represents Christ Himself or simply reflects His majesty, the message is the same: our God is infinitely greater than we can imagine. He is never surprised, never overwhelmed, and never frustrated by events unfolding in history. Because He is sovereign over all things, we can trust Him with what we do not understand.

Second, we must rest in God's goodness. The angel declares that God's purposes will not be delayed forever. One day the seventh trumpet will sound, Christ will return, evil will be defeated, and every promise God has ever made will be fulfilled. We may not know every chapter of the story, but we know how the story ends.

Ultimately, the cross and the empty tomb give us the greatest confidence in both God's greatness and His goodness. At the cross, we see the depth of God's love. At the resurrection, we see the greatness of His power. If God has already accomplished our salvation through Christ, we can trust Him with every unanswered question that remains.

Treasure God's Revealed Word

While verses 1–7 focus on what God has kept hidden, verses 8–11 shift our attention to what He has made known. John is instructed to take the little scroll, eat it, and then proclaim its message.

The image teaches us what it means to treasure God's Word.

First, we must get into the Word. We cannot treasure what we never read. Whether through personal Bible reading, family worship, sermons, Sunday School, Scripture memory, or listening to the Bible, God's people need a steady intake of His truth. Sporadic, hit-and-miss Bible reading rarely produces lasting spiritual growth. If we want God's Word to shape our lives, we must regularly place ourselves under its influence.

But simply reading the Bible is not enough.

Second, we must get the Word into us. John doesn't merely hold the scroll; he eats it. God's Word is meant to be digested through meditation and personal application. As the Puritan Thomas Watson observed, food nourishes us only after it has been digested. In the same way, Scripture transforms us not merely by being read but by being thoughtfully considered until it reshapes our hearts.

When we meditate on God's Word, we discover that it is both sweet and bitter. It is sweet because there we encounter Christ, hear God's promises, and find forgiveness and hope. But it is also bitter because God's Word lovingly exposes our sin, calls us to repentance, and challenges us to deny ourselves and follow Jesus. The same Word that comforts us also performs surgery on our souls.

Finally, we must get the Word out to others. After John eats the scroll, he is immediately commissioned to proclaim God's message to the nations. Scripture is never meant to stop with us. God's Word transforms us so that it might flow through us into the lives of others.

That happens in countless ordinary ways. Parents teach their children. Friends encourage one another with Scripture. Believers share the gospel with neighbors and coworkers. Mature Christians disciple younger believers. We are not merely called to accumulate biblical knowledge but to make disciples by sharing God's truth with the world.

Living in the Intermission

Revelation 10 reminds us that we are living in the middle of God's story. Christ has already come. He has died, risen, and ascended to heaven. But the final trumpet has not yet sounded.

We are living in the intermission.

Until Christ returns, there will always be mysteries we cannot solve and questions we cannot answer. Instead of obsessing over God's hidden plans, we are called to trust His character. Instead of endlessly speculating about the future, we are called to immerse ourselves in His Word and faithfully proclaim it to others.

One day, the waiting will end. The seventh trumpet will sound. Every mystery will be resolved. Every promise will be fulfilled. Faith will become sight.

Until that day, trust God's secret plans, treasure His revealed Word, and tell others about His Son.