After the sixth trumpet sounds there is an interlude just as there was between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. And what occurs in this interlude is similar in nature to what happened in the earlier interlude (chap.7). Both these interludes focus on God’s people. In this case, an angel of some importance (indicated by the splendour of the description) comes to earth to deliver the scroll that had been opened earlier to John. In this vision, John is representative of the church, which is given the mandate to announce to the world again the things that the biblical prophets had formerly declared. There is an urgency to this mandate because of the immanence of the judgement that is about to unfold (vs.6). It is good to be reminded of this mandate, since it is the same given to us by Jesus (Matthew 28:18–20; Luke 24:47, 48), but how are we to fulfil this? Many Christians get paralysed here because they envisage something far too dramatic, as though we were called to stand on street corners and preach to the masses. The answer is given in Acts 1:8 where Jesus says to his disciples that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit and would therefore become his witnesses. When Jesus is at work within you by the Holy Spirit you are a witness to God’s work of restoration. All that is required is for you to be open about this. You are a window through which people will meet God. Make sure the shutters are open.
Ask God to help you be more open about your faith.
Read Revelation 10, Acts 1:8
