Revelation Chapter 10
Just as there was a kind of parenthesis between the sixth and seventh trumpet, chapter 10 and chapter 11 form another similar parenthesis between the prophetic series that we’ve seen and those that follow. This is not a chronological event, but rather covers the whole period again.
This section ties the two halves of the books together
In this vision John is recommissioned to prophesy
He is to prophesy about the persevering witness of Christians which brings them suffering
And about the destiny of those who reject their witness
Rev 10:1 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:
Rev 10:2 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,
Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Our attention is drawn to a mighty angel
Some would see this angel as Jesus, others see him as an anointed ministry ..
I tend to lean toward the former
He is clothed in a cloud, a reference usually reserved for God in the Old Testament
This ties back to the first chapter
Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
The mighty angel has a rainbow on His head
We can find this reference in Ezekiel concerning God
Eze 1:27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
This rainbow is a symbol of God’s mercy
The mighty angel has a face like the sun, just like Rev 1:16
Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
His feet are as pillars of fire
Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Rev 10:2 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,
The little scroll is best understood to be like the other scroll in chapter 5, containing God’s plan of salvation, as well His judgments
Possessing this scroll and having His foot on the land and one on the sea indicates Christ dominion over the whole cosmos
We are going to see the dragon arising from the sea
We are going to see the beast coming out of the earth
Christ has dominion over both
Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
(Lion of Judah from Chapter 5:5)
Rev 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.
Seven thunders, probably judgments, parallel to the same events of the seals, trumpets and bowls
Not to be written, not to yet be revealed
Rev 10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6 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:
Rev 10:7 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.
These seven thunders would lead to the end of time and the final judgment
Rev 10:8 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.
Rev 10:9 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.
Rev 10:10 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.
Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
We see the little book again
John is told to take and eat it
Sweet in his mouth, bitter to his stomach
The joy of salvation and redemption
The bitterness of the rejection or the bitterness of the persecution
John must continue to prophesy, in spite of the bitterness