Chapter Introduction
We will soon read of a time that is coming. It will be a brief time of deep deception. The Beast will be allowed to have his way for God’s purpose.
Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. (Rev 13:1)
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (Rev 13:11)
The first part of chapter 10 reminds us that God remains sovereign over all the Earth, in spite of the appearance of hell on Earth. This also prepares us for the rise of the Beast. With all we’ve seen at this point, we’ve not yet seen the Antichrist.
The fifth trumpet (first woe) brought forth an army of demon locusts on the earth. The six trumpets unleashed an evil army riding horses that brought death. A third of mankind was killed. The rest of mankind did not repent (the church is not mentioned).
Revelation 10:1-4
This scene of John’s vision opens with another angel, this one coming down from heaven and called “mighty.” Among the angels we’ve seen, there is only one other mighty angel. This was the one seen at the beginning of chapter 5 who asked, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to lose its seals?” In the NKJV the word translated to ‘mighty’ in chapter 10 is the same word for the “strong” in chapter 5. We’ll see a mighty angel in later chapters.
These angels are exceptional in strength compared to the other angels. Both had loud voices used to speak in bringing about God’s plan for the ages. He is “another” because he is not the same one as the one seen in chapter 5. He is not to be confused with any of the angels we’ve seen so far. Some identify this angel as the Lord Jesus. However, describing the Lord as “another mighty angel” doesn’t make sense. "Another" is one of the same kind.
What John noticed at first glance and what the first-century Christians related this angel to:
- He’s coming down from heaven.
- John’s vision shifts from heaven to earth. He is now giving us an earthly perspective, seeing the angel come down.
- Clothed with a cloud
- Like the Son of Man imagery from Dan 7:13 as well as the ascension of Acts 1:9. Jesus will return on the clouds as He ascended. His resemblance to the Lamb may be a display of his service. (Revelation 1)
- He’s crowned with a rainbow
- A reminder of God's mercy and promise.
- In Revelation 4:3, John saw a rainbow around the throne of God.
- Face like the sun
- In Revelation 1:16, Jesus is described as having a countenance like the sun shining in its strength. At the transfiguration, it was said the face of Jesus shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2).
- Feet like pillars of fire
- This image brings to mind the pillar of fire leading Israel in the exodus. Is this hinted at to bring comfort and hope to John’s readers?
- A scroll in His hand.
- Is this the scroll Jesus took from the Father, the seals all broken, and now it's open? Some say so, but we don’t know for sure.
- The scroll was little. This means small in size and doesn’t imply it isn’t important.
- The word “little book” is a single word in the Greek. It is only used four times in this chapter and nowhere else in the bible.
- The small book may be the highlight of God’s plan. The enormity of the angel and his feet on land and see indicate dominion.
- The scroll was open, its contents not a secret.
- He had a voice like a roaring lion.
- Literal roar? A lion can roar at 114 decibels. That’s 25 times louder than a gas-powered lawn mower. An ambulance siren, smoke detector, and fire alarm are all about 115 decibels. A jet engine is 120 to 140 decibels.
- This may have been a literal roar. It was to get the attention of all who would hear.
This could be Gabriel, Michele, or another angel like them. He comes from God's presence, clothed in God's light, to do His work. This angel looks like the Lord because he is acting on the Lord’s behalf.
With the book open, this angel sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. This is a show of his authority over the land and the seas. The message he brings is universal. The angel displays the enormity and supremacy of the Almighty. He came with a God-given authority, and he cried with a loud voice, compared to the roar of a roaring lion. Often, when we see a lion, it is quiet, majestic, unassuming, and in control. Then, when it unleashes a roar, it comes from a place deep within. The very sound and authority of it stands the hair up on the back of your neck. The very sound says, "Pay attention!" or "Take notice!" This angelic announcement given with the ferocity of the lion is a contrast to the quiet anticipation in a spiritual world where everyone is leaning forward, listening closely, waiting for the next event.
Jewish literature pictures a number of angels as being as high as the highest heavens, often shining like the sun (2 Enoch; 3 Enoch; rabbis; cf. Dan 10:6; cf. the Greek figure Atlas). Both evil angels (1 Enoch) and good angels could be very tall. Sometimes they were crowned (e.g., 2 Enoch; 3 Enoch), in this case with a rainbow; in 3 Enoch, even the crown is more than a five-hundred-year journey high. (Sometimes such language was also used figuratively, e.g., for a particular high priest.) John borrows the imagery of his day for a powerful angel over creation (see comment on Rev 7:1).
Keener, C. S. (1993).
The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament
(Re 10:1). InterVarsity Press.
As soon as the angel roared, the seven thunders uttered their voices, almost as if it were an answer to this roaring announcement. The seven thunders are presented as though the reader knew of them. This may point to the seven voices of the Lord in this Psalm.
3The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
4The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.
8The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” (Psalm 29:3-9)
John heard what the seven thunders said and began to write it down A voice came from heaven and stopped him. He was to seal up those things and not write them down. It was for John to hear but not to write down. It is for us to know there was an uttering of seven thunders, but we aren’t to know what they area. Some things will remain a mystery till the end.
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” (John 12;28:29)
This word for “thunder” is used twelve times. Ten of those are in revelation, each time associated with God’s throne or message. The other two uses are when Jesus named John and his brother Sons of Thunder, and John 12:28-29.
Thunder ripped through the heavens in John’s vision and makes itself known. Where did it come from, what did it say? There is a day coming when the utterance of the thunders will be heard. Will they be understood by a rebellious world? While I don't think anyone will be able to ignore it, it appears the message will be mostly disregarded by a hardhearted world.
This utterance of the thunders will be important in its time, but within the vision, the message of the little book is front and center. The seven thunders remain a mystery.
Revelation 10:5-7
Notice the second mention of this angel standing on the land and the sea. When this angel lifted his hand to heaven, he assumed a posture of taking a solemn oath. He swore by God, removing any idea that this was Jesus. Oaths were sworn to one greater than yourself. Jesus, being one part of the three of the Godhead would not swear by God (Himself).
Some see a similarity to Daniel 12:
Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. (Daniel 12:7)
In Daniel’s vision, within the things he saw in the vision, the angel declared there were 3 1/2 years remaining. In John’s vision, the lifting of the hand and sworn oath determined the time had come. There would be no more delay. This may mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation.
At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the third woe would begin, and the mystery of God would be finished. The declaration of no further delay is made before:
- The Eternal One
- The Creator of heaven, earth, sea and all who live in them
In the days of the 7th trumpet (Rev 11:15), as that angel is getting ready to sound, the mystery of God would be completed. This seems to be the final act to establish His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This is what God has spoken of through His prophets from the beginning. There is a day coming when all things will be wrapped up. All through the Bible, we see warnings of a coming day. The Bible gives prophecy after prophecy of The Day of the Lord. Testimony after testimony is given as the world progresses toward the end. Each testimony has a warning and an announcement. God is calling to all men, warning them that His just nature demands a day of reckoning.
This may have been the answer to the martyr's cry for vengeance in chapter six.
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10)
Did you ever give your kids a countdown to get their attention? "You have to count to 3 to start cleaning your room, and you better get going. One...... you better move!! Two........ I'm not kidding!! Two and a half......Two and 3/4.......Two and 7/8.......2 and 15/16." Why did we do that? We wanted them to make the right choice! We delayed that punishment as long as we could. That's what we see here. This is another interlude, another warning, another testimony so that God may call all men, but the delays are over.
This angel said there is no longer a delay. When the 7th trumpet blows, the mystery of God is finished. What is this mystery of God? Chuck Misler used to say that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. God revealed himself to the prophets of old that a messiah was coming. He spoke of salvation and redemption to keep men from His wrath when the "Day of the Lord" came.
The story of Jesus and our redemption is concealed throughout the Old Testament. This salvation and redemption story is then revealed in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ. All that the prophets spoke about made sense in light of Jesus. The New Testament brought to light the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, God revealed himself to man. The law is given, and that law revealed two things:
- The Holiness and perfect nature of God
- The fallen sinful nature of man.
If all we had were the Old Testament, the law, and no future hope, then we would be men most pitiable. But we do have hope. Jesus was the premiere revelation of the mystery of God. Remember, this is the Revelation of Jesus, the unveiling of the Lord and His plan.
The angel announced that the mystery of God would be finished.
- God's work with the Jewish people is a mystery.
- God's purpose of the church is called a mystery.
- God's fullness of the Gentiles is a mystery.
- The living presence of Jesus in a believer is a mystery.
- And the gospel itself is a mystery.
All these are God's mysteries that have been revealed to us. As we look at this passage saying the mystery of God is finished, we can see that all the mysteries of God will have been declared and revealed. The word “declared” is the ‘euangileso’ and means to preach, evangelize, bring good news, or declare the gospel. God will have dealt with mankind, declaring the good news, and it appears the door is about to shut.
The bad news of the first six trumpets was doom and gloom. With the seventh trumpet will come the good news to the redeemed. His wrath will be completed on a fallen, rebellious world.
Revelation 10:8-11
In Ezekiel 2:8-3:3, Ezekiel was given a scroll with words on both sides. It was a message of three kinds of judgment upon Israel. He was instructed to eat the scroll. It tasted sweet in his mouth but was a message of Judgement on Israel.
Notice the 3rd mention of the angel being astride the land and sea. To get a third mention in only 8 verses makes this very important to the message. This angel stands in the sovereign power of God, holding this little book that is open. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the small size of this scroll makes it unimportant. In fact, it seems completely opposite of that. It is a small book with a simple message, but it is profound, eternity-changing, and time is short.
The same voice that spoke from heaven telling John to seal up the words of the seven thunders now directed him to take the little scroll. This little book was unsealed, its message visible and available. John entered the narrative of the vision, becoming part of it when was instructed to take the scroll. He took it and ate it as the angel warned him it would make his stomach bitter even though it tasted as sweet as honey.
The sweetness John tasted is the word of God, as though tasting mercy, grace, and love. The bitterness is the judgment required by His justice.
- To truly taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), do we not have to understand our need?
- To truly know grace, don’t we have to come face to face with the bad news of our sin?
- To truly praise our Savior, don’t we have to know we deserve judgment?
To eat God’s word is to know:
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
Jeremiah came to know man's deceitfulness —not just some men, but a flaw in the human heart, a rebellious inclination bent to hatred and selfishness.
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:21-23)
But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
Isaiah gives a graphic example. We tend to think highly of ourselves, yet the natural man in God's eyes is defiled and filthy, pictured as the refuse of a woman’s time of the month.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
One of the most heartfelt pleas of the human state is that of Jeremiah. He is dejected as punishment falls on the land, on the people, and on him.
O Lord, You know;
Remember me and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail? (Jeremiah 15:15-18)
Jeremiah presented the dilemma of God’s word. It is sweet and rejoicing, but with it comes judgment for the condemnation sin brings. The pain would come from sin in life and this world, sin that becomes more evident when filled with God’s word.
The book wasn’t forced on John. He had to get it and take it for himself. The Lord is very polite and respectful of your free will. How often do we exercise that free will and keep the word at a distance only to complain later about not understanding the Lord, what He’s doing, or why we feel distant from him?
At ninety something years old, on a barren rock of an island, in a vision, John took the book and ate it. It was sweet because it contained God’s words. He didn’t just acknowledge it, agree with it or read it once in a while. He didn't measure it, weight it or consider it. In obedience, he ate it, put it in him, through him, made it part of him. In return, it would come out in every part of his life.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever,
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:9-11)
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:103)
John’s experience looks like that of Ezekiel as he is called as to prophecy:
Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. (Ezekiel 3:1-3)
Filled with God’s word, the prophet John was prepared to prophesy like the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel. It was bitter on his stomach because it contained judgment and justice, not just salvation and redemption. There is good news, but it comes as an answer to the bad. Those who won’t acknowledge the bad will never know the good news. Deep down inside, men know of the bitterness and avoid God’s word, missing out on the sweetness of it because men love darkness instead of light (John 3:19). It's the war that rages in each of us. We hear the word of God, and we speak the word of God, yet often, we give God lip service and never really take it deep within us. When we take God's word inside it begins to do its work.
That scares us, though, doesn't it? We start thinking. What would happen if I really let go of myself and give my all to God and take this word in and give it unhindered access to me? Here I am, God! It scares many of us, doesn't it? What is our fear? Are we afraid He might ask us to pray aloud or actually speak the name of Jesus to someone on the street? Or do we dread the thought of holding the hand of the sick and dying? Even worse, what if He called you to teach and take on that responsibility, commitment, and hours?
Many folks will never know the sweetness for fear of the bitter. They have cut the word out of their diet. We hardly ever miss a meal to feed our flesh, but we’ll starve ourselves spiritually. Are we afraid He'll cut into our TV time? Are we afraid he’ll invade our ‘me time’? Are we protecting our pride or harboring our favorite sin?
If you take the word of God in and let Him do His work, He will change you from the inside out. If He calls you to hold the hand of the sick and dying, He'll give you the desire first, and when He does, you won't care what's on TV. Whatever he calls you to He'll build the desire in your first. But He will only do it in a willing heart. He holds the word out to us. Child of God, it is so available today we really have no excuse.
When John took the little book and ate, it was declared for him, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” This was John's calling, his ministry. When he yielded to God and at the word, it was declared for him to prophesy. John was allowed to see the vision of the last days. And with that vision became a responsibility. There was a purpose for all this.
The word “prophesy” means to speak forth by divine inspiration. This book we are reading is John prophesying to us. He is writing of what he saw, speaking it to many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. This testimony is given to you today. What will you do with it? The mystery of God is revealed to us.
The prophets of God, therefore, were His spokesmen, into whose mouth the Lord put the words which they were to utter to the people. To prophesy, in Scripture, is accordingly, to speak under Divine inspiration; not merely to predict future events, but to deliver, as the organ of the Holy Ghost, the messages of God to men, whether in the form of doctrine, exhortation, consolation, or prediction.”
Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Moore, E., Craven, E. R., & Woods, J. H. (2008).
A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Revelation (pp. 221).
Logos Bible Software.
Apocalyptic things have a wondrous charm. To the honey-like sweetness of the little book in the mouth, that enormous mass of literature testifies, which is engaged in the eating of it. But whoever has, with some degree of understanding, appropriated the little book, is greatly pained within him by its startling perspectives and images. A termination is then put to all idyllic conceptions of the future and the end of the world.
Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Moore, E., Craven, E. R., & Woods, J. H. (2008).
A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Revelation (pp. 217–218).
Logos Bible Software.
But by the eating of the book the Seer is doubly as much a Prophet as before. As he has prophesied concerning the course of the world, down to its end, so he must now prophesy of the end itself, in the course of the world, in accordance with the words: Thou must prophesy again, concerning many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. The universal peoples’ life is now to form the foreground of his prophecy. By way of preliminary, however, an Earth-picture is annexed to this commission, in which the general effect of the seven Thunders is reflected. That is, it forms, in its conjunction with the seven Thunders, the transition from the course of the world to the end of the same.
Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Moore, E., Craven, E. R., & Woods, J. H. (2008).
A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Revelation (pp. 217–218).
Logos Bible Software.
Will you be among those upon the earth when the seven thunders speak? Only you and the Lord can answer this. If you are born again, you won’t be in the midst of this chaos, death, and destruction.
©2005 Doug Ford, revised and updated in 2007, 2012,2020, 2024
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