The solemn oath
The picture here is unmistakable; we have a mighty angel, immense in size, straddling the entire earth and seas and raising his hand to heaven in a judicial oath which cannot be reversed. The fact that this angel is standing on the earth and in the sea is repeated three times( verse 2, 5 & 8). The writer is underlining the fact that God is taking possession of the earth in visible form. He lifts up his hand to heaven (this posture is repeated in every court of the land when truth is to be told) and he takes an oath by the name of Almighty God whilst expressing his divine right to the earth. He does it in two ways
- God's eternal existence. "Him that liveth for ever and ever", who is without beginning and without end. He spans all of time, indeed he is outside of time, He is eternal. There can be no higher authority than this.
- God's right of creation. It is interesting that in the last days which are being described here the message is of the God of creation, for things have gone so far away from that, as men treat the earth as theirs and wish to leave God out of their reckoning. People must be reminded continually that this is God's earth by right of creation. Psalm 24 "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the world and they that dwell therein." As if to leave no stone unturned the writer spells it out for us. He created the heaven and the things that are in it; He created the earth and the things that are in it; He created the sea and the things that are in it. There is not a drop of water, nor a blade of grass, nor a shaft of light which were not created by Him.
The present world is being overrun by atheistic and agnostic doctrines and attitudes because of humanist thinking. This thinking will fall to the dust when God visibly takes control of the earth and sets up His kingdom, but first He must destroy the kingdoms of this world.
The message is loud and clear "there should be time no longer." This is better rendered in other versions as "there should be no longer delay." Time has run out on man's day when God has allowed sin and evil (not unchecked), but He will permit it no longer and the end of time as we know it is about to take place. Picture the scene the angel straddling the entire earth, his right hand raised, the judicial oath pronounced, that the reign of sin and Satan is almost at an end. Puny, arrogant, rebellious man has squatted on God's earth long enough. The unfolding drama of earth's story is almost at a close; the judicial utterance is made, the decision is irreversible.
Readers should ponder the solemnity of this, a picture of which is prophesied in Isaiah 42v13-15 "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: He shall cry, ye roar; He shall prevail against His enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, dry up all their herbs, and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools." Once again we see "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom".
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