With
this post we encounter another one of those parenthetical inserts that give us foundational
information for better understanding of God’s actions as events continue to
unfold (similar to what was done in chapters 4-5). We are paused between the sixth and seventh
trumpet judgments, between the second and third warning woes announced by the
angel.
Revelation 10:1–4 “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. 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.”
John sees another (different) mighty
angel/messenger come down from heaven that is clothed with a cloud; a rainbow
is on his head, his face is as the sun, and his feet look like pillars of
fire. As you continue reading in this chapter and follow the pronouns, by
the time you come to chapter 11:3, it seems to identify this angel as Jesus (“my two witnesses…”). There are
other places in the scripture where the pre-incarnate Jesus is referred to as
the angel of the Lord:
When talking to Hagar – Genesis 16:10 “And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply
thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.”
When talking to Abraham re his willingness to
sacrifice Isaac – Genesis 22:15-16 “And
the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And
said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.”
When appearing to Moses – Exodus 3:2 “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of
fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned
with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
In the angel’s hand is a little book that is
open. He sets His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the
earth. I would assume this to be a symbolic gesture indicating that what
He is about to read from the book will affect the whole earth (land and
sea). He cries out with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth (cf Rev. 5:5),
and when He cries out, 7 thunders speak. John is forbidden—by a voice
from heaven, not the angel—to write what he heard the 7 thunders say, so it is
futile to speculate. I tend to think that the crying out of the mighty
angel and the expression of the 7 thunders were one and the same.
There is an interesting cross-reference in Psalms
re the voice of the Lord and thunder.
Psalm
29:3-9 “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth:
the LORD is upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the
voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaketh the
cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to
skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of
the LORD divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shaketh the
wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the
LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple
doth every one speak of his glory.”
“when he had cried” v3 – The Greek for when includes while as a possible choice, and I think it seems to be the better
choice.
The picture seems to be of a voice that speaks
with power, authority, force, and supernatural strength and knowledge—a voice
that reverberates with divine power and truth.
Obvious question—Why would the Holy Spirit inspire
John to write that he heard something and then not allow him to reveal what he
heard?
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.”
There are also other places in the scripture where
God swore by Himself since there is nothing of more value or power to swear by.
Genesis
22:16 “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast
done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.”
Isaiah
45:23 “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every
tongue shall swear.”
Jeremiah
22:5 “But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD,
that this house shall become a desolation.”
Hebrews
6:13 “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no
greater, he sware by himself.”
What does He swear? “…that there should be time no longer.” God is outside the
dimension of time. The dimension of time belongs to man. The
meaning of this verse seems to tie directly to the next verse. It is an
indication that the mystery of God (His complete plan of redemption and the establishment
of His kingdom on planet earth) should be finished, should come to pass, should
unfold on the world scene just as He had foretold through His prophets.
This has been a mystery since the full truth could not be understood until the
appropriate time in the ages of mankind had come.
Evidently, when the angel with the 7th trumpet
begins to blow, this will usher in the “great tribulation.” It is
interesting that the word days (plural) is used to describe the voice of the 7th
angel. This supports the concept of the 7 vials as an ongoing result of
the sounding of the 7th trumpet.
Revelation 10:8–11 “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. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples,
and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
John doesn’t hesitate when he is told to go and
take the book from the hand of the angel.
I keep reminding myself that John was the beloved disciple and had a
special relationship to Jesus. I also know that he would never have
presumed to try and take the book had it not been for the authority from heaven
directing him to do so. John is instructed to eat the book when it is
given to him. He is warned that even
though it may taste sweet, it will make him sick to his stomach as he begins to
digest its contents. The contents, I believe, spoke of God’s glorious
victory and reign (sweet to the taste), but also of the terrible things that
would have to happen on earth before He took His throne in Jerusalem (made the
belly bitter).
This is not a new concept. Ezekiel had a
similar experience.
Ezekiel
3:1-4 “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this
roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he
caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy
belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I
eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto
me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words
unto them.”
Obviously, asking John to eat the scroll is an
expression telling him to absorb the contents. Just as with Ezekiel, John
is then told to go and share the message—Ezekiel with the people of Israel and
John with many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. John is still
prophesying through the written word today. This is as was intended from
the beginning of the revelation. He was commanded to write (Rev. 1:19)
and then he was told what not to write (Rev. 10:4). The whole purpose of
the Revelation was to enlighten the churches and tribulation saints on a need
to know basis as determined by the Father until Jesus returns as King.
(to be continued…)
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