Revelation 10 - The Mighty Angel with the Little Book

© 2003-2004 Tony Garland - contact@SpiritAndTruth.org

COURSE COMMENTARY

10:1 - another mighty angel

• setting
  Between the sixth and seventh trumpets, although the effects of the sixth trumpet (second woe) extend beyond the ministry of the two witnesses (Rev. 11:14). The theme appears to be: the declaration of God's intention and right to take possession of the earth in preparation for the last trumpet.
• Divine Similarities of Angel
  
  

  Characteristic	Mighty Angel	Divinity
  Traveling with clouds.	Rev. 10:1	Ex. 16:10; Ps. 97:2; Dan. 7:13; Mat. 24:30; Rev. 1:7
  Associated with rainbow.	Rev. 10:1	Rev. 4:3
  Radiant face.	Rev. 10:1	Rev. 1:16
  Feet like fire.	Rev. 10:1	Rev. 1:15
  Holding a book.	Rev. 10:2	Rev. 5:8
  Like a lion.	Rev. 10:3	Rev. 5:5
  Swears by God.	Rev. 10:6	Deu. 32:40; Heb. 6:13
  Authority over land and sea.	Rev. 10:2, 5, 8	Gen. 1:9-10; Zec. 9:10; Mat. 28:18; Eph. 1:22; Rev. 5:13

10:2 - standing on the earth

• a little book
   "Little book" is biblari'dion rather than bibli'on . Similar to the scroll which Ezekiel ate (Eze. 2:9). A book containing prophecy which was Sweet to the taste, but bitter in the stomach.
• right foot on sea... left foot on land
  That which he stands on he claims authority over and will judge (Deu. 11:24; Isa. 63:3-6; Rev. 14:19-20). The sea and land depict the entire physical globe. This may also denote authority over the Gentile nations (sea) and Jews (land).

10:3 - seven thunders

• cried with a loud voice... as when a lion roars
  His cry "as when a lion roars" alludes to God's ferociousness in judgment (Jer. 25:30-38; Joel 3:12-16).
• the seven thunders uttered their voices
  Perhaps the thunders are the voices of the seven angels having the last seven plagues (Rev. 15:1). More likely, they are direct pronouncements from the throne which contain aspects of "the mystery of God" which will soon be finished (Rev. 10:7). The identity of the seven thunders is not clarified, nor are we to know what they said.

10:4 - seal up the utterances

• seal up the things... do not write them
  John is dutifully recording what he is being shown, as he was commanded. The voice which he hears has the full authority of God for it countermands his previous instructions (Rev. 1:11, 19).
• the things which the seven thunders uttered
  The secret things belong to the LORD our God (Deu. 29:29). It is His glory to conceal a matter (Pr. 25:2). The seven-fold aspect of God's voice is described in the Psalms (Ps. 29:3-10), and the utterances probably have similar power and results. Perhaps the actual contents are too lofty (or terrifying) for men (2Cor. 12:4) !

10:5 - raised his hand to heaven

• in preparation for an oath
  Raising the hand toward heaven was a common practice when taking an oath (Gen. 14:22; Deu. 32:40; Eze. 20:5; 36:7; 47:14). Another powerful angel raised both hands before Daniel to swear "by Him who lives forever" (Dan. 12:7).

10:6 - swore by Him who lives forever

• by Him who lives forever and ever
  Both this angel and the angel in Daniel 12:7 take an oath in relation to the timing with which prophesied events will take place. They swear by the eternal Creator. That which God created He owns (Gen. 2:1; 1Cor. 10:26)!
• delay no longer
  Chro'nos ouke'ti e'stai, "time no longer it will be." This does not indicate that time, the fourth dimension--along with length width and height, will come to an end. But that there will be no further delay. The long-awaited day will eventually come when the remaining mysteries of God will be complete.

10:7 - the mystery of God finished

• in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel
  This is a period of time during which the remaining judgments (seventh trumpet consisting of seven bowls) will be poured out (Rev. 11:15; 16). "Mystery" in the New Testament denotes something previously unrevealed.
• mystery would be finished
   "Finished" is aorist proleptic: emphasizing the certainty of the future event as if it has already occurred (Rev. 16:17).
• He declared to His servants the prophets
  Declared is euenge'lisen, He declared good news (the gospel). The mystery, parts of which He declared in the Old Testament to the prophets, involves an extensive number of prophetic passages with many converging themes: dominion, sin, redemption, Israel, God's Kingdom on earth, etc. See Acts 3:21. This fact alone undermines the preterist interpretation which attempts to limit the events of Revelation to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

10:8 - take the little book

• the voice which I heard from heaven
  The same voice which instructed John not to write what the seven thunders uttered (Rev. 10:4).

10:9 - take and eat

• take and eat
  The mighty angel encourages John to go forward with what God has commanded--to take the book--but also to eat it. "Eat" is katesthi'o meaning "consume, devour, swallow." John is to completely consume the book, as Ezekiel consumed the scroll given him (Eze. 3).
• stomach bitter, mouth sweet
  The sweetness of knowing God's plan for the future results in bitterness because the contents of the book contain "lamentations and mourning and woe" (Eze. 2:10) related to the judgment which will come.

10:10 - sweet and bitter

• sweet
  The mature saint will come to understand the bitterness as well as the sweetness of God's Word. The bitterness should be a powerful motivator for us to preach the gospel to others and thereby provide a way of escape. The Day of the Lord is not a day to be desired (Amos 5:18-20).

10:11 - you must prophesy again

• you must prophesy again
  It was necessary for John to prophesy again . John had already been prophesying. The Book of Revelation is prophecy, not a veiled political document in an apocalyptic genre!
• about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings
  A four-fold designation indicating global scope. Ezekiel's scroll vs. John's book:
  1) Both contain prophesy.
  2) Both told to eat.
  3) Both sweet to the taste, but bitter when digested.
  4) Ezekiel prophesies to the house of Israel (Eze. 3:6) but John to peoples, nations, tongues, and kings. The message of the Book of Revelation is global and involves all peoples, nations, and authorities at the time of the end. It is not about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70!
  
  For additional information on this topic, see the commentary.