The Voices of the Seven Thunders
Revelation 10:1-4

Why is it that people are fascinated by the mysterious? A Sunday morning attendee, who never came to Bible School, once asked me, "Preacher, did you hear about those lost books of the Bible they just found?" She went on to declare: "I'm going right down to the library tomorrow and see if I can get a copy of them."

The reporters are always stirring up things by reporting on newly discovered "lost books" of the Bible. At least two hundred of these worthless documents were known in the early centuries of the church. They fooled no one. They were fraudulent attempts to get some strange doctrine out into the churches under the name of a some respected biblical character. The technical name for this trash is Pseudepigrapha.

I smiled as the church member asked about the "lost books" and thought to myself, "I wish I could get you just as excited about the sixty-six books we know are part of the Bible." Knowledge is power, and some people want a shortcut to superior knowledge of spiritual things. People of this mind-set, like the Athenians of Paul's day, eagerly devour the latest finds and the latest fads. They are unwilling, however, to invest the time and effort to engage in daily Bible study in order to become strong in the Scriptures.

The Book of Revelation contains plenty of mystery! This is a book full of symbols. We westerners find it difficult to think along the lines of eastern apocalyptic literature. In chapter 10, John saw a radiant angel with a "little book" in his hand. The angel placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. Then he cried out with a loud voice. When he did so "seven thunders uttered their voices" (KJV). John started to write down what he heard. But a voice from heaven told him to "seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them."

What mysterious things did the seven thunders utter? What is there here that God did not want us to know? Enquiring minds what to know!

Perhaps the thunders teach us an important lesson. God knows more than we know. Furthermore, he does not intend for us to know all that he knows, or even all that he revealed to his prophets. For my part, I find it a constant challenge to learn all that God does want me to know! With a solid background in earlier biblical teaching (the Old Testament; Gospels), there is probably much more about Revelation that could be understood than most believers presently are able to grasp. Be that as it may, it is not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that bother me, but the parts that I do understand!

I wonder if a clue to what the seven thunders uttered may be found in Psalm 29. The "voice of the Lord" in that Psalm refers to thunder, and it is mentioned seven times. Check it out. Then look at the first two verses and last verse of this Psalm. Get it? Well, even if you don't, you will have learned an important truth about yourself.