Verse By Verse Through Revelation
Chapter Ten
Revelation 10:1-3 “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: 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, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.”
- John continues to see angels of various sorts (Revelation 5:2, Revelation 7:1-2, Revelation 7:11, Revelation 8:2, Revelation 8:6, etc.).
- This mighty angel appears clothed with a cloud an a rainbow on his head. We see similar imagery in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:20-28).
- Face as it were the sun is imagery to show that his face was bright. Similar to what we see when Jesus was transfigured (Matthew 17:2).
- His feet were as pillars of fire. This is fitting as the angels of the Lord are a flaming fire (Psalms 104:4).
- John is going to eat the little book this mighty angel had in his hand (Revelation 10:8-10).
- This book is different than the sealed book we read about earlier in this epistle (Revelation 5:1).
- A mighty angel setting one foot on the earth and the other on the sea is a magnificent image. Think about what David saw when God was punishing David and Israel for the unauthorized census (I Chronicles 21:16).
- The imagery of roaring like a loud lion is to show the force, the might of the cry of this mighty angel. Isaiah used like imagery to establish the might of the Lord (Isaiah 31:1-4).
- We will talk more of these “seven thunders” in the next verse.
Revelation 10:4 “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.”
- The seven thunders are communicating. Just think about this being voices that are as thunder (Revelation 14:2).
- Here we see that John was ready to write what the seven thunders uttered, but a voice from Heaven prevents John from revealing those things. Instead, John was to seal up that which the seven thunders uttered and not write about those things. Daniel was told to seal some things he saw too (Daniel 8:26 and Daniel 12:1-4).
Revelation 10:5-7 “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 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.”
- God has warned and sent plagues upon the earth as a punishment, but there has been no change (Revelation 9:20-21).
- The angel swore to God that the mystery would be finished as God had declared to the prophets. This is similar to what Daniel experienced (Daniel 12:5-13).
- The angel did [swear] what Christians are told not to do (James 5:12).
- He swore by God, our Creator (Isaiah 40:28).
- Throughout this Revelation we see the angels carrying out the wrath of God (Revelation 14:19, Revelation 15:1, and Revelation 16:1).
- The mystery was to be finished [brought to an end] when the seventh angel sounded (cf. Revelation 11:15).
- We know that whatever God has had the prophets write is certain to happen (Jeremiah 28:9, Acts 3:18, II Peter 1:19-21, and Revelation 1:1).
Revelation 10:8-10 “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. 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. 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.”
- The voice from Heaven spake to John again (Revelation 10:4).
- Ezekiel had a similar experience from which we can get much greater context and details (Ezekiel 2:1-3:14).
- Even to this day, the word of God can be very sweet (Psalms 119:97-103). The wisdom we can gain from the word of God is pleasant (Proverbs 2:10). However, with that wisdom there is a downside (Ecclesiastes 1:18).
Revelation 10:11 “And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
- “He” is still the voice from Heaven (Revelation 10:4; 10:8).
- John is on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9).
- The voice from Heaven is telling John that he is going to prophesy again before before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. This is not just to “preach”, but specifically to prophesy. That is to do the work of a prophet in foretelling future events (cf. I Peter 1:9-10).
- There is a purpose in prophets. That is for the hearers to hearken (Jeremiah 26:5).
- This whole book is a prophecy (Revelation 1:3, Revelation 22:7-10, and Revelation 22:18-19) that John has been tasked with revealing (Revelation 1:2).
Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22