Most everyone has had the embarrassing moment of pushing on the front door of a store only to realize it won’t open unless you pull. It shouldn’t take long to figure out the problem unless you’re stubborn. A really stubborn person might think he or she could change the way the door swings if they just keep pushing.

That’s the way I picture those mentioned in Revelation 9:20-21. They’re stubborn. They refuse to surrender their lives to Jesus. Therefore when the church is raptured, they are left behind to face God’s wrath. In Revelation 6, six of the seven seals of God’s wrath are opened and they endure deception, war, famine and death. Yet instead of turning to God they run to hide from God (Revelation 6:15-17). In chapters 8 and 9 the seventh seal is opened and God’s wrath grows as seven angels blow seven trumpets. With each trumpet blast, those left behind experience the physical and spiritual wrath of God. By the end of chapter 9 around half of the world’s inhabitants have died and yet, out of stubbornness, verses 20-21 say they still refuse to repent.

20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

There are those in life that are stubborn, and then there are those like these in Revelation 9 that are extra stubborn.

You may have a family member or friend that you may describe as extra stubborn—not in all areas of life, just spiritually. You’ve tried talking to them, but they politely or rudely refuse to listen. When they experienced an accident or illness, you thought surely this would get their attention, but it didn’t. When their child was born, you truly believed this would soften their heart toward God—but, nothing. When it comes to spiritual matters, they want them on their terms. Though the door to God will swing only one way, they’ll keep pushing instead of pulling, wanting to live life on their terms. They’re extra stubborn.

How do you handle that friend or family member that’s extra stubborn and refuses to surrender his or her life to God? According to Revelation 10, you have to do something extra for the extra stubborn, for that’s what God did.

You might remember that right before God increased His wrath from the opening of seven seals to the blasts of seven trumpets, He once again extended His grace to the stubborn. In Revelation 7, God commissioned 144,000 Jews to preach God’s grace to those left behind. Now God’s wrath is about to reach its greatest intensity as it moves from the blasts of seven trumpets to the out-pouring of seven bowls. Yet once again, God extends His grace to the stubborn before He increases His wrath. In chapter 10, God does something extra for the extra stubborn. He gives them an extra picture, an extra promise, and an extra message—three things you may want to do for the extra stubborn person in your life.

An Extra Picture

In Revelation 10:1-4, God gives an extra picture for the extra stubborn.

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

Remember, when John says “I saw” in Revelation, he’s announcing a new vision. The focal point of this new vision is “another mighty angel.” There are over sixty references to angels in Revelation, and as we have discussed, God has given them rank and order. This angel falls in the same rank as the one mentioned in Revelation 5:2.

Because the description of this angel is similar to John’s description of Jesus in Revelation 1, some believe it is Jesus. One particular word, however, makes it clear that this is not Jesus. It’s the word “another.” In the Greek it means “another of the same kind.” This is another angel, not another representation of Jesus. However, John’s description of this angel does give an extra picture of an important quality about Jesus—His impressive and unchanging nature. You see this when you look at each descriptor:

Robed in a cloud	God’s presence and authority are associated with clouds throughout the Bible (Ex. 16:10; 19:9; 24:15; 34:5)	Authority of God’s judgment
Rainbow above His head	Reminder of God’s presence (Rev. 4:3) and His earthly judgment (Gen. 9:12-19)	History of God’s judgment
Face like the sun	Like the holiness of Jesus as described in Revelation 1:16	Holiness of God’s judgment
Legs like fiery pillars	Representing the firm and unbending justice of God throughout the earth (Revelation 1:14)	Jurisdiction of God’s judgment
Roar of a lion	Both the roar of a lion and the sound of seven thunders have been the sounds of God’s judgment (Jer. 25:30; Joel 3:14-16)	Intimidation of God’s judgment

What the thunders said and the picture that was given were even more intense, but John was told not to write it down. He had written enough to give a compelling picture of God’s unchanging nature and justice.

Though the spiritually stubborn would love for God to change His ways to fit their ways, though they would love for God to reverse the hinges on His door to swing any way they want, in verses 1-4 God is making a strong statement with this picture. He’s saying, “I’ve never changed and I’m not about to change now.”

It’s remarkable how much people will change when they realize the one in authority will not change. Before he retired from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, my brother-in-law let me ride a shift with him. In the passenger seat I could see the numbers on his radar flashing the speeds of the other drivers. I was truly surprised the way all the drivers were driving the speed limit. “When I’m in my car,” I thought, “people drive crazy.” Then it hit me. I’m not in my car. I’m in a patrol car. No wonder they’re driving so well.

When drivers see a patrol car it is a picture of authority. They know the law is not going to change for them, therefore they have to change to obey the law. However, some among the extra stubborn have refused to change because they feel they are in authority. You are a self-made success story or have come from family that’s a self-made success story. Because your shrewd, hard decisions have paid off, others seek your advice. You’ve made good family decisions as well so that your family life is good. It’s no wonder that when it comes to surrendering your life to God through Jesus Christ, you can be extra stubborn. It’s hard for you to surrender any authority to God, yet that’s why God has given you so many pictures of His authority. He has provided so many reminders that He’s the ultimate authority.

For example, God is the ultimate authority when it comes to the law of the land, for Romans 13 says that He establishes and allows governments to rule. According to Romans 1, He’s also the ultimate authority when it comes to nature. Just try to defy the law of gravity without a plane or parachute and you’ll see who’s in charge. God is also the ultimate authority when it comes to life. No matter how many vitamins you take or how many parts of your body are cryogenically frozen, you can’t defy death. Genesis 3:19 says the only one to defy death is Jesus Christ and the only reason He could do it is because He’s the ultimate authority.

I guess that’s why God has given this vision to John. The extra stubborn need an extra picture that God’s is the final authority. No matter how successful you have been on earth, no matter how much clout you have carried, your strong will will never be strong enough to change God or His ways. No matter how long you pull on a door that must be pushed, the door won’t open. God’s authority and judgment will not change for you. You will have to change for God.

An Extra Promise

Not all of the extra stubborn have authority issues. Some are extra stubborn because of a lack of trust. It could be due to your wits or because you’ve been hurt, but you refuse to trust anyone other than yourself—not even God. For you, God provides an extra promise in Revelation 10:5-7.

5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 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.”

Decades ago when our reverence for God and His Word was higher, witnesses in a court of law went through a common exercise before taking the stand. They placed their left hand on the Bible, raised their right hand and promised to tell the truth, “…so help me God.” Making that vow before speaking gave weight to the truthfulness of their words.

The angel’s vow in verses 5-7 is far greater than any ever made in a court of law. It was the same practice seen in Deuteronomy 32:40-42 and Daniel 12:5-7 when hands are raised to heaven and vows are made as though God is endorsing what’s being said. Yet when the angel announces God’s endorsement, he describes God the same way the twenty-four elders did in Revelation 4:11. This is not the vow of someone distant from God. This is the vow of an angel who’s part of the inner circle with God. Therefore, you can trust that what he says is true. You can trust his promise.

Then what is the promise that has God’s support? In verses 6 and 7, the angel says, “There will be no more delay.” The seventh angel will blow his trumpet and the mysteries of God will be accomplished just as the prophets foretold. The martyred saints, I’m sure, would cheer hearing this. They had asked God in Revelation 6:10, “How long…until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” In Revelation 8:3-5, they have been praying for this day to come and now God says there will be no more delay. I can picture the saints celebrating in heaven and the extra stubborn on earth saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The extra stubborn could say, “Preachers since the first century have been saying Jesus is coming soon.” I have a book in my library titled 88 Reasons why Jesus is Coming in 1988. Obviously, it didn’t happen, but what did happen is the extra stubborn just added it to an ever-growing list of reasons why they shouldn’t believe believers when they say Jesus is coming.

What’s sad is that, as believers, we often try to predict the fulfillment of God’s promise instead of just trusting Him to do it and then praise Him when He does so. When we spend more time predicting than praising, we are liable to miss seeing God’s promises fulfilled. That happened to the first century Jews as they were watching for the coming Messiah.

Conservatively there are 125 Old Testament prophesies that were fulfilled in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.¹ Amazingly, these 125 promises of God were made by thirteen different individuals over the span of a thousand years. These promises were being fulfilled before the eyes of those living in the first century, and yet only a few saw it. However, the fact that so many missed seeing God’s promises fulfilled shouldn’t take away from the truth that God did fulfill them. God did keep His promises.

The problem with the extra stubborn is they will focus all their attention on those who often get God’s promise wrong, instead of focusing on God who fulfills every promise He’s made. Therefore when you talk with someone who is extra stubborn emphasize the fact that God keeps His promises.

A good way for me to do this is to use American football as an example. I’d love to tell someone who is extra stubborn, “What would you say if a quarterback that was just drafted told the press that for the first ten years of his career he’d play as a back-up quarterback, and would throw only twelve to thirteen passes a season?” You’d probably say, “Doesn’t sound like much of a career.” Yet, he goes on to say that every time he’s put into the game to throw a pass, it will be completed. Now you’d say, “The guy’s crazy.”

In his first season, he throws twelve passes in ten different games, and you’re thinking, “He had a good season.” What if, for the next five seasons, he averaged throwing twelve to thirteen passes a season without a single incompletion. You’d probably say, “Why isn’t he starting?” After ten years, he’s now done what he said he would do. He’s thrown 125 passes without an incompletion.

Remembering what the quarterback said ten years ago, the press now surround him and ask, “What do you predict for the remainder of your career?” He tells them, “I don’t know how many more seasons I’ll last or how many more games I will play, but this I know. I’m going to throw another 329 passes without an incompletion.”

Having spent ten seasons completing every pass he threw, how confident would you be that the next time he enters a game to throw a ball it will be a completed pass?

Over the span of 1,000 years God made 125 promises regarding the first coming of Jesus Christ. Regarding the second coming of Jesus, it’s conservative to say that God has made 329 promises.² Realizing God’s flawless record at keeping His promises, you can be sure He will not miss one. If God promises it, you can be sure He will fulfill it.

This is why God provides an extra promise to the extra stubborn. In Revelation 10:5-7, He’s promising them that there will be no more delay. The wrath He has promised is imminent. The second coming of Jesus He has promised will now take place. That which has been a mystery to so many for so long will now be seen in full.

By giving the extra stubborn an extra promise, God is saying, “I have never broken a promise yet, and I’m not about to start now. This is your last chance to trust me.”

An Extra Effort

Thus far, the extra stubborn have been among those who challenge authority, and those who find it hard to trust. But not all of the extra stubborn fall into these two groups. Some of the extra stubborn are that way simply because it’s hard for them to see their life any other way. According to John 12:40 and 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan has blinded them from seeing their need to surrender to God through Jesus Christ.
That seems hard to believe when you consider all they’ve seen up to this point. Thus far in the book of Revelation they’ve seen,

• The deception of the Antichrist that leads to war (6:2-4)
• The war that leads to famine (6:5-6)
• The war and famine that lead to death (6:7-8)
• A black sun, a blood-red moon, and world leaders running to hide (6:12-17)
• Hail mixed with fire that burns a third of the world’s foliage and fruit (8:7)
• A third of the seas turn to blood, killing a third of the sea life (8:8-9)
• A third of all spring water becomes poisonous, killing many (8:10-11)
• A third of the sun, moon, and stars have become dark (8:12)
• Ungodly insects whose sting is worse than scorpions (9:3-5)
• An army of 200,000,000 killing one-third of earth’s inhabitants (9:13-19)

Yet as was read earlier, Revelation 9:20-21 records that even though the people had seen all of this they still failed to repent and surrender their lives to God. How is that possible? Well, it’s possible if they’ve never seen life any other way. With such blinders on, it would be hard to see God and their need for Him. That’s why in John’s vision, God underscores the need for an extra effort for the extra stubborn in Revelation 10:8-11.

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

In order to understand the extra effort needed for those blinded to their need for God, you need to grasp the details of these verses.

In the vision, John is told to take the little scroll from the hand of the angel. Some might confuse this scroll with the title deed of earth mentioned in Revelation 5, yet it’s not. It’s not because that chapter clearly states that only Jesus was worthy to take that scroll from God’s hand—not an angel. Furthermore, the Greek word used for this scroll is a diminutive form of the one used in Revelation 5. This scroll is distinguished from the other one by the word “little.” The only place you’ll find such a description of such a scroll is here in Revelation 10.

If this scroll is not the title deed mentioned in chapter 5, what is it? I believe it represents the Word of God. I gain this conviction after looking at John’s experience with the scroll. In verses 9-11, John is told to eat the scroll and it will be sweet as honey in his mouth but it will make his stomach bitter.

God never intended His Word to be a book for good reading. He meant it to be food for a fulfilled life. Just as food becomes a part of your life, God’s Word is to become a part of your life. Furthermore, its message is bitter-sweet.

No one wants to hear you have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Neither do you want to hear that you can’t live a good enough life to earn your way into heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9). And you especially don’t want to hear that unless you surrender your life to Jesus, you will spend eternity in hell (Luke 13:23-30). That’s the bitter truth that must be shared. However, don’t forget the sweet.

The sweet message in your mouth needs to be that though the wages of sin is death the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Did you hear that? God knows you can’t earn your way into heaven, that’s why He offers it as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). And God’s gift comes with God’s promise that if you surrender your life to Jesus you will spend eternity in heaven with Him (John 3:16).

There’s one other reason why I believe the little scroll is God’s Word. What John is told to do with His scroll is the same charge we are given with God’s Word. John is told in verse 11, “Then I was told, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.’” In Acts 1:8, we are told in God’s Word, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Preparing this message, two stories came to mind—Jesus’ and mine. I thought of Jesus on the cross. His face is probably unrecognizable from the blows He’s received. His body is matted with bloody mud as the dust from the crowd became pasted on his open wounds. The sounds around Him were a mix of laughter and anger, both at His expense. Somehow, though, in the midst of His pain, fatigue and misery, Jesus hears two voices. It’s the thieves crucified on either side of Him. One wants Jesus to rescue him first, and then he might believe. The other, however, says to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

The lives of both thieves had been shaped one decision at a time. Their view of themselves, others, and life in general had been forged by their decisions that led to actions and their actions that led to decisions. Suddenly, without realizing it, they were living life in a blind rut never realizing their lives could be different. Now with Jesus between them, one stays blind but the other finally sees the truth and opens up to Jesus. I love what Jesus says. He tells the thief, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Bloodied, belittled, and hurting, Jesus finds enough within himself to offer one extra effort for the thief beside Him.

As I thought of Jesus’ story, I considered mine. I wrote on a piece of paper the names of individuals I had considered extra stubborn but later saw them surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. Their ages ranged from fifteen to seventy-four. Some wanted nothing to do with church, while others had attended church for years. Each of the names I wrote down had three things in common. First, they were extra stubborn. They may have each been that way for different reasons, but make no mistake, they were extra stubborn when it came to surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ. Second, each of them required extra effort and not just by me. I learned that others had prayed for them and talked with them. Finally, each of them surrendered their lives to Jesus, even though there were times I wondered if they ever would.

I share this not to pat myself on the back, but actually to kick myself. In comparing my story to Jesus’, I began to wonder how many opportunities God had given me to give an extra effort, but I was too tired, too busy, too scared, or just too plain frustrated from all the times others had rejected my efforts. How many times had I failed to give the extra effort because I thought that extra stubborn friend or family member was just too stubborn to change?

If Jesus could give one more effort before His last breath, surely I could make an extra effort. I could offer an extra picture of God’s authority reminding my stubborn friend that God is not going to change His ways to fit theirs. I could share an extra promise of God to my friend who finds it hard to trust. If he could finally grasp the volume of promises God has made and kept, maybe he could finally trust God with his life. And when tired of praying, tired of caring, tired of sharing with my extra stubborn friend, maybe I can find that extra effort needed to help open their eyes to God’s love and their need.

Two Rules

Whenever I have the urge to give up on an extra stubborn person, I remember the story of George Mueller. Born in Prussia in 1805, Mueller lived to be 92 years old. Most of his life was lived in England. There he served as a pastor and built orphanages that cared for over 10,000 orphans. After turning seventy, he began to travel as an evangelist. Without the availability of an airplane, Muller traveled over 200,000 miles and preached in nearly forty countries. In my opinion, the key to Mueller’s amazing life was that he was an amazing man of prayer. It is from his prayer-life that we learne two important rules regarding our extra effort with the extra stubborn.

I once read that Mueller recorded 50,000 answers to prayer. Remarkably, 30,000 of those answers were individuals he had prayed for to surrender their lives to Christ. Five of those 30,000 were dear friends of his—friends that were extra stubborn. As he began praying for them he recorded that it took eighteen months of prayer before the first friend became a Christian. It then took five years of prayer for the second and twelve and a half years for the third. The remaining two friends were the most stubborn. After praying for them for fifty years, Mueller believed that both would be ready to surrender at any moment. Yet after praying for them for another twenty years, the fourth friend surrendered to Christ just before Muller’s death and the fifth one year later.

Because of his extra effort to reach his extra stubborn friends, Mueller’s persistence should inspire us to remember two rules when dealing with the extra stubborn in our lives.

Rule #1:
DON’T GIVE UP ON THEM
UNTIL GOD SAYS SO!

I realize that in Matthew 10:11-16 Jesus instructs his disciples to shake the dust ofR their feet and move on if a home is not hospitable to them and their message. Though Jesus gave this instruction, many are eager to shake the dust off and move on before Jesus has given His approval. We are far quicker to give up on our stubborn friends than Jesus is. Therefore, don’t give up on them until you have a firm conviction from God to move on. Besides, when it comes to whether you would spend eternity in heaven or hell, you wouldn’t want a friend or family member to give up on you.

Rule #2:
DON’T FOCUS ON THEM ALONE
WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY MORE TO BE SAVED!

What I love about Mueller’s example was that while he never gave up on his stubborn friends, he also never stopped looking for others who needed to surrender their lives to Christ. If he had remained focused only on his stubborn five friends, he would have missed seeing 30,000 others surrender to Christ. Though the extra stubborn friend or family remember is such an important part of your world, there are so many more throughout the world who also need Jesus Christ. Therefore, don’t let the extra stubborn of your life blind you to how God wants to use your life to help others throughout the world establish a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.