Introductory remarks:
Chapter 10 is an interlude between the blowing of the sixth and seventh trumpet, just as chapter seven was an interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. In this break, interlude, three personalities are introduced.
"This chapter contains the record of a sublime [magnificent] vision of an angel which, at this juncture, John saw descending from heaven, disclosing new scenes in what was yet to occur. The vision is interposed [introduced] between the sounding of the sixth or second woe-trumpet, and the sounding of the seventh or third woe-trumpet, under which is to be the final consummation, ch. 11:15, seq. It occupies an important interval between the events which were to occur under the sixth trumpet and the last scene - the final overthrow of the formidable power which had opposed the reign of God on the earth, and the reign of righteousness, when the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom of God, ch. 11:15. It is, in many respects, an unhappy circumstance that this chapter has been separated from the following. They constitute one continued vision, at least to ch. 11:15, where the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet occurs" (Albert Barnes).
The Angel and the Little Scroll
Verse 1, "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire."
LGT "And I saw another strong angel coming down out of the heaven clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow upon his head and his face as the sun and his feet as pillars of fire."
"And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven,"
Some expositors attempt to identify this mighty angel with Jesus Christ. Jesus is never identified in the New Testament as an angel. In the Old Testament He would be revealed as such, but never after He was glorified. The word 'another' in Greek is allon, which means, another of the same kind. The Greek word etteros means another of a different kind. This mighty angel must be identified with the good angels mentioned in Revelation.
"But the seventh trumpet does not sound till 11:15. This angel is not one of the seven or the four, but like the other strong angel in 5:2 and 18:21 or the other angel in 14:6, 15. The sixth trumpet of 9:13 ends in 9:21. The opening of the seventh seal was preceded by two visions (chapter 7) and so here the sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:15) is preceded by a new series of visions (10:1 to 11:14)" (Robertson).
"The angel is here characterized as a mighty angel - ischuron - one of strength and power; implying that the work to be accomplished by his mission demanded the interposition of one of the higher orders of the heavenly inhabitants. The coming of an angel at all was indicative of some divine interposition in human affairs; the fact that he was one of exalted rank, or endowed with vast power, indicated the nature of the work to be done - that it was a work to the execution of which great obstacles existed, and where great power would be needed" (Barnes).
"Clothed with a cloud:"
"This is his uniform as a special envoy [messenger] from Christ. The clouds of glory are associated with the second coming of Christ, but the angel described here is not coming in clouds of glory, but he is clothed with a cloud. Furthermore, this is not the second coming of Christ to the earth to establish His kingdom; rather, this angel makes the announcement that he is coming soon. Angels, you recall, announce His first coming, and they will announce His second coming to the earth" (McGee).
"And a rainbow was upon his head,"
"The Greek word for 'rainbow' is iris; the reference may be either to a rainbow or to a halo. The meaning of 'rainbow' may be expressed in some languages as 'a bow of light' or 'a curve of light' or even 'a ribbon of light.' The meaning of 'halo' is usually expressed as 'a circle of light' or 'a wreath of light' or 'a band of light encircling,' followed by the object which the band of light encircles" (Semantic Domains - Louw and Nida).
"In 4:3 the throne in heaven is represented as encircled by a rainbow. The rainbow is properly an emblem of peace. Here the symbol would mean that the angel came not for wrath, but for purposes of peace; that he looked with a benign aspect on men, and that the effect of his coming would be like that of sunshine after a storm" (Barnes).
"And his face was as it were the sun,"
The Greek word for 'face' is prosopon, meaning, the face, countenance, and visage. It also means personal presence. This angel's face shone as the sun from his personal presence with the Lord.
"This is his badge of identification. This is the signature of the glorified Christ (see Rev. 1:16). It does not follow that this one must therefore be the Son of God. Moses' face shone after he had been in the presence of God (see Exod. 34:29). This angel's face is shinning because he has come out from the presence of Christ. You will recall that the raiment of the angels at the resurrection of Christ also shone (see Luke 24:4). The angel of Revelation 18:1 is a light giver, as the sun and moon, yet no one asserts that he is Christ. Also, I take it that this angel in chapter 10 is not Christ, but he is what it says: an angel, another great, mighty angel" (McGee).
"And his feet as pillars of fire."
"oi podes autou hos stuloi puros - 'his feet were like pillars of fire;' it is possible that pous [foot] refers to the leg since the context of Rev. 10:1 would seem to favor this interpretation, but the meaning of 'foot' should not be excluded, especially since this passage refers to an image as part of a supernatural vision, and one cannot be certain of the specific intent" (Semantic Domain).
"This is still part of his uniform. He has come to make a special and solemn announcement of coming judgment. All of these features of identification are his credentials and connect him to the person of Christ as His special envoy. The Lord Jesus is running everything at this particular point. He is the judge of all the earth" (McGee).
Verse 2, "And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth."
LGT "And having in his hand a little book open. And set his foot the right one upon the sea, and the left one upon the earth."
"And he had in his hand a little book open:"
The Greek term for 'book' is biblion. The word used here is a diminutive of 'book' biblaridion, meaning 'little book.' Some commentator's including McGee believe that this is the same seven sealed book given to the Lord Jesus and was now opened for this angel to carry it out. It could be that the reference to the book being small as it is compared to being only a part of God's divine plans, the larger Book being the complete Word of God. McGee believes the book is described as little because the duration of the Great Tribulation Period is short.
"This little book, if it is the same as the seven-sealed book, was originally in the hands of the Father in heaven (see Rev. 5:1). It should be noted how it is first transferred to the nail-pierced hands of God the Son. It was given to the Lord Jesus who was the only One who could read it. The breaking of the seven seals opened the book; and the seven trumpets, six of which have already been blown, are still part of what is in the book. After He removes the seals, the Lord Jesus Christ in turn transfers the book to the angel, who gives it finally to John to eat" (T.T.B. - J. Vernon McGee)
"And he sets his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth."
This symbol suggests that neither land nor sea will escape the judgments of God. This angel seems to be claiming the earth back from man.
"This is the book of the title deed of the earth, and it contains the judgments of the Great Tribulation by which the Lord Jesus is coming to power. The book is now open, and the judgments are on display. This book is the angel's authority for claiming both the sea and the earth for Christ. He puts one foot on the sea and the other foot upon the earth, and he is claiming both for God. In Leviticus 25:23 the Lord gave instructions to Israel concerning the land He had given them: 'The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me.'
It may be that you think you own a pretty good piece of the real estate of this earth. You hold the deed. The title has been transferred down through the years to you, and you paid good money for it. You feel it is yours. I say that you are wrong because your title doesn't go back far enough. Sometime in the past, somebody stole it from the Indians. The Indians got it from somebody else - or maybe they just walked in and occupied vacant property. But to whom does it belong? My friend, your property belongs to God, and no matter who you are, you haven't paid Him for it. The earth is His and the fullness thereof (see Ps. 24:1).
God not only claims the land, but He claims the sea as well as the land. 'Thou madest him to dominate over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under His feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas' (Ps. 8:6-8)" (T.T.B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 3, "And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices."
LGT "And cried with a great voice as a lion roars. And when he cried, spoke the seven thunders with their own voices."
"And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth:"
It is not stated what is said by the angel, only that he cried with a loud voice as a lion roaring. It is possible that what he cried out was simply a loud expression of great woe from God. "The lion is the monarch of the woods, and his roar is an image of terror. The point of the comparison here seems to be the loudness with which the angel cried, and the power of what he said to awe the world - as the roar of the lion keeps the dwellers of the forest in awe" (Barnes).
"And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices."
These seven thunders must be the angelic messengers, relaying the message from Christ with their own voices.
Verse 4, "And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not."
LGT "And when spoke the seven thunders, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying, Seal up what [things] the seven thunders spoke, and do not write them."
"I was about to write:"
In Greek emellon graphein is an imperfect active form of mello, and the present active infinitive of grapho, which means I was on the point of beginning to write, as commanded in 1:11, 19" (Robertson). Barnes has an interesting note on this phrase: "He was about to record what was uttered, supposing that that was the design for which he had been made to hear them. From this it would seem that it was mere thunder - brutem fulmen - but that the utterance has a distinct and intelligible enunciation, or that words were employed that could be recorded. It may be observed, by the way, as Professor Stuart has remarked, that this proves that John wrote down what he saw and heard as soon as practicable, and in the place where he was; and that the supposition of many modern critics, that the Apocalyptic visions were written at Ephesus a considerable time after the visions took place, has no good foundation."
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,"
This is the fact that the voice was clear and understandable, and clearly a divine command.
"Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not."
Robertson notes: Seal up gr. sphragison is an aorist active imperative of sphragizo, the tense of urgency, that is, seal up at once.
"The seven thunders therefore were intelligible. This confirmation was also a statement. John was a scribe, and he was taking down the visions as they were given to him (see Rev. 1:11). He was about to write what the seven thunders had spoken - he heard it, and they were audible words - but he was forbidden to do so. Since this is a book of Revelation, why is there something concealed? This is the only place in the Book of Revelation where anything is sealed - nothing else is. God makes it very clear at the end of the book that He has told everything. He is not holding back anything from man today. At the end, John writes: And he saith unto me, seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand (Rev. 22:10). Yet this particular message of the seven thunders John is not permitted to write down. This is quite interesting. . . They remain to this day a secret which you don't know, I don't know, and no man knows. If we attempt to say what was spoken, in a few years we will find ourselves to be ridiculous. Why not leave it as it is and draw the lesson from it" Although Jesus Christ is being revealed in this Book, there are a great many things that God is not telling us (we will have to just wait to find them out in heaven)" (T.T.B. J. Vernon McGee).
Thieme adds an interesting note: "These proclamations would have been so dramatic that they would have interfered with the human free will of the angelic conflict. In other words, if all mankind knew what these proclamations said, mankind would be influenced to sit back in the stands as a spectator instead of as a gladiator in the arena of life - as we should be. It is a victory bulletin."
Verse 5, "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,"
LGT "And the angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his right hand to the heaven,"
Literally, lifted up his right hand to the heaven.
The customary gesture of lifting the right hand in taking an oath (see Gen. 14:22; Exod. 6:8; Deut. 32:40)" (Robertson and Vincent).
Verse 6, "And swear by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer,"
LGT "And he swore with an oath by the living One for ages to the ages, who created the heaven and the things in it and the sea and the things in it, because time no longer will be."
"And swear by Him that liveth for ever and ever,
This phrase is proof the angel is not Jesus Christ.
"Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things which are therein,"
"The essential idea in such an oath is an appeal to God; a solemn reference to Him as a witness; an utterance in the presence of Him who is acquainted with the truth or falsehood of what is said, and who will punish him who appeals to Him falsely. It is usual, in such an oath, in order to give to it greater solemnity, to refer to some attribute of God, or something in the divine character on which the mind would rest at the time, as tending to make it more impressive. Thus, in the passage before us, the reference is to God as ever-living; that is, He is now a witness, and He ever will be; He has now the power to detect and punish, and He ever will have the same power" (Barnes; - notes).
"That there should be time no longer."
This phrase does not mean that time will cease to exist. It is speaking of time as related to the sounding of the seventh trumpet; in other words, there will be no delay in the completion of the last part of the Great Tribulation Period, when Christ will return and set up His Kingdom. Kenneth Wuest gives a good transliteration of this phrase: that there should be no longer any delay or respite [interval].
Robertson comments on this phrase: "But this does not mean that chronos (time), Einstein's 'fourth dimension' (added to length, breadth, height), will cease to exist, but only that there will be no more delay in the fulfillment of the seventh trumpet (verse 7), in answer to the question, 'How long?' (6:10)."
Vincent adds: "The meaning is not, as popularly understood, that time shall cease to exist, but that there shall be no more delay before the fulfillment of the divine purposes respecting the church on earth. Possibly with allusion to the cry how long (ch. 6:10)."
McGee comments: "This is likewise in answer to the prayers of the martyrs in Revelation 6:10, and also it is fulfillment of what we (some) call the Lord's Prayer, 'Thy kingdom come' (see Matt. 6:10). The kingdom is coming at this point in time in the Book of Revelation but it does not refer to the time I am writing this. I do not know, and no one on earth knows, whether or not Christ is coming soon."
Thieme notes: "That time should no longer be delayed is an idiom [expression] - literally that time should be no more."
Verse 7, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets."
LGT "But in those days the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound a trumpet, also the mystery of God should be completed, as He announced the good news to His own servants the prophets."
"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,"
Literally, when he is about to sound, suggesting its imminence. This phrase means that when the seventh trumpet sounds this brings us to the last part of the Great Tribulation Period. Barnes notes: "The days in the period of time embraced by the sounding of the seventh trumpet. That is, the affairs of this world would not be consummated in that period embraced in the sounding of the sixth trumpet, but in that embraced in the sounding of the seventh and last of the trumpets. Compare ch. 11:15-19."
"The mystery of God should be finished,"
The mystery of God is the whole sphere of human events is meant. The Greek word for 'finished' is etelesthe, meaning brought to its completion. A 'mystery' gr. musterion in the New Testament is something that God has concealed from mankind until He is ready to reveal it. Barnes remarks on this phrase: "Then all the mystery would be revealed; the plan would be unfolded; the divine purpose, so long concealed, would be manifested, and the kingdom of the Messiah and of the saints would be set up on the earth. Under that period, the affairs of the world would be ultimately wound up, and the whole work of redemption completed."
"As He hath declared to His servants the prophets."
God has made known His plan from time to time to the prophets of the Old Testament. What was prophetically foretold in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. One of the profoundest evidences that the Word of God is just that, is fulfilled prophecy. Thieme notes: "The last part of the verse was a reference to the fact that God revealed both advents of Christ to the Old Testament prophets. For 1st Advent see Isaiah 53; and for the 2nd Advent see Zechariah 12, Isaiah 63:1-6."
Verse 8, "And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth."
LGT "And the voice which I heard out of the heaven [was] again speaking with me and saying, Go take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing upon the sea and upon the earth."
"And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again,"
The voice of verse 4 being that most likely of Jesus Christ. This is a divine command.
"Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth."
This is just the completion of the divine command that John was to take the book out of the hand of the angel. The reason I believe it is the command of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is now in charge of the destiny of the whole world.
Verse 9, "And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey."
LGT "And I went away to the angel saying to him Give to me the little book, and he said to me, Take and eat it up, and it will make bitter your belly, and in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
"And I went unto the angel, and said unto him,"
John left his position at the door that was set opened in chapter four verse one. John becomes a participant in the activities that were now taking place.
"Give me the little book."
John now takes the little book from the hand of the angel and is required to do what we think is a very strange thing.
"And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up;"
This same metaphor was given in Ezekiel 3:1-3; Then He said to me, Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. And He said to me, Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll, which I am giving you. Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth."
"And it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey."
"Every revelation of God's purposes, even though a mere fragment, a biblaridion [little book], is bitter sweet, disclosing judgment as well as mercy" (Swete). "Deep and bitter sorrows confront John as he comes to understand God's will and way" (Robertson).
Verse 10, "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter."
LGT "And I took the little book out of the hand of the angel and ate it all, and it was in my mouth as honey, sweet, and when I ate it, my belly was made bitter."
John immediately obeys and eats the words of the book. He makes known how this word affected him; it was bitter sweet. Thieme notes: "This brings out the humility of the greatest Christian alive at that time. John was told to eat, and he chewed and chewed and chewed - bringing out that he had time to spit it out - yet he swallowed."
"The part of the Word of God taken by John was judgment. It was sweet because the future is sweet. In Genesis 18:7 we read, 'And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do . . .?' In effect He was saying to Abraham, 'We are friends, and I would like to tell you what I am going to do.' It is sweet to know what God is going to do, but when you find out that judgment is coming, it is bitter. John eagerly received the Word of God, but when he saw that more judgment was to follow, it brought travail of soul and sorrow of heart. It was sweet in his mouth and bitter in his digestive system. If you and I can take delight in reading this section of the Word of God and the judgments that are to fall upon the earth, then we need to do a great deal of praying to get the mind of God. It is sweet to know the Book of Revelation and what God intends to do, but when we find out that judgment is coming to the Christ rejecting world around us, we cannot rejoice in that. The prophecy becomes bitter" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 11, "And he said unto me, thou must prophecy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings."
LGT "And they said to me, it is necessary for you again to prophecy against peoples and nations and languages and many kings."
John is told that he must prophecy again. This word again means that he will prophesy and tell all nations what they had heard before from the prophets of old.
"The meaning is, that, as a consequence of becoming possessed of the little volume and its contents, he would be called to proclaim divine truth, or to make the message of God known to mankind. The direct address is to John himself; but it is evidently not to be understood of him personally. He is represented as seeing the angel; as hearkening to his voice; as listening to the solemn oath which he took; as receiving and eating the volume; and then as prophesying to many people; but the reference is undoubtedly to the far-distant future" (Barnes).
Thieme adds this note: "From the book that John digested comes the rest of the book of Revelation. There are three major subjects. 1) Eschatology [things to come] of Satan's desperation - chapters 12-18. 2) Inevitable triumph of Christ/tactical victory of the 2nd Advent of Christ - victory in the Angelic Conflict - chapters 19-20. 3) Termination of human history as the extension of the Angelic Conflict - chapters 21-22."
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