Chapter 10
Chapter 10 carries on with the second woe which is the fifth trumpet. It begins with another angel coming down from heaven. From here to verse 13 of chapter is a pause in the judgments of God. It does not mean that there is a space of time where mankind is at ease, but it just means that while the harsh judgment of the second woe, or the fifth trumpet, is being carried out that John is given some further revelations in this chapter. These include:
1. The mighty angel (verses1-3,5,6)
2. The little book (verses 2,8-10)
3. The seven thunders (verses3-4)
1. The mighty angel
Verses 1-6 “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:
Who is this angel? There seems to be much discussion and disagreement on whether this is the Lord Jesus or some other angel. I have consulted approximately thirty resources. They seem to be equally divided on the identity of this angel. There was a lot of evidence and good arguments on both positions. However, none of them came to the same conclusion that I did with the understanding that I will give you this evening.
My understanding is that this is not Jesus but rather a special angel sent by the Lord for this very purpose. Let me give you my reason why I have come to this conclusion.
Go back to chapter 5:1-5 (read). Who is worthy to open the seven seals? Jesus, the Lamb; the Lion of the tribe of Judah; the Root of David (verses 5-6 read). Who is opening the seven seals? The same Jesus (6:1,3,5,7,9, 12;8:1). All of this is leading up to this moment in time. Jesus is already present, opening the seven seals. This angel comes down from heaven; he was not present when Jesus opens the seven seals and Jesus is already present.
Who is this angel? We are not given his name. Seeing that this angel is clothed the way he is and gives the message that he does shows that he is a powerful angel possibly Michael or some other special angel.
Here are five more reasons why I don’t believe this angel is Jesus:
1. No where in Revelation is Christ identified as an angel. Jesus was and is Lord over all the angels. Hebrews 1:4 tells us this: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” And in verse 6 “And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
2. Christ was never called the “angel of the Lord” after He took on humanity. He was called and named, and known by many titles but not as the angel of the Lord.
3. This angel is described as “another angel” Jesus has no equal.
4. As noted earlier this angel came down from heaven. Jesus was already present.
5. Christ, who is God, would not swear by God. In verse 6 we see this angel swearing by the Creator God. We know from scripture that it was Jesus that was the creator.
Colossians 1:16-17 says “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones, or dominions or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him; And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”
Hebrews 6:13-16 says “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, He swear by Himself Saying, surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them and end of all strife.
Jesus is now in His glorified body, without the limitations of the human body. He is equal with God.
Also, we find in the 19:11-16, that when Jesus returns He will not be in angelic form. He will return as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
2. The little book
Now let’s look at the message that he brought.
Verses 2-6 “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 voice, 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. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And, swear by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are therein are, and the earth, and the things that are therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.
The mighty angel will carry a small open book in his hand. While he is holding it, he will plant his right foot on the sea and his left foot on dry land (verse 2).
First the “little book.” What is this little book? When we get to verse 9 we will look more closely at this little book.
His right foot being placed on the sea, and his left on the earth is probably showing that the message that he was about to bring has international consequences. Remember that in verse 21 of chapter 9 that mankind would not as a whole repent and turn to Jesus for deliverance because they loved their sin more than their very souls,
When we read in verse 6 that portion of scripture we realize that it is for every soul that has rejected the gospel of Christ.
3. The seven Thunders
Verses 3-4 “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.”
It is of no use to speculate on the message of the seven thunders that uttered their voices. We have no clue. God did not want us to know what they contained. I want to repeat what Brother Mike has said on many occasions, “When the bible speaks, speak, and when the bible is silent, remain silent.” This is one of those occasions when it is best to not speculate.
Daniel was told to “seal up those things revealed to him, for they were for the latter times. John was told to open those things and reveal them. However, it is possible, and I repeat, possible that it explained the content of the little book.
In verses 5-6 we see both the message and the method of this mighty angel.” And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and swear by him that liveth forever 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;
The method the angel used is that he stood upon the earth and lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by the Creator God. His stance shows that the One by whom he swore by is the owner and ruler, and that it was He that declares that time had run out for a disobedient creature, man.
The message of this mighty angel is that time shall be no longer. There shall be time no longer,” has been mistakenly interpreted as an abolishment of the present time system with its sequence of events. We know from other scriptures that there remains the rest of the seven- year period of tribulation. We also know from scripture that there yet remains a future1,000 years of time that Christ will reign on earth with His saints and the Jewish nation; both have a system of marking time. So, we must look for another meaning to the term “time shall be no longer.”
It would be better understood to mean that time has run out for the remaining people on earth. The martyred saints had asked “how long?” This angel is now saying that there would be no longer delay. God has been delaying His judgments so that lost sinners will have time to repent (2 Peter 3:1–9); now, however, He will accelerate His judgments and accomplish His purposes.
This present period or day of delay is the sinner’s opportunity for salvation! But when this angel of the Lord makes his announcement, time has run out.
N. W. Hutchings in the book “The Smart Guide to the Bible: Revelation, says this and I quote;
“At Nineveh God changed His mind when Nineveh repented. However, we read in the last two verses of chapter 9 that men on earth were determined not to repent. Therefore, God is justified in completing the judgments for the last half of the Tribulation. There would be no further delay in ending man’s inhumanity to man and lifting nature from the curse of sin.” Unquote
That is and must be the message from pulpits across this country, time is running out for the churches to get the word out of the gospel of salvation. Time is running out for lost people to respond to the gospel. Time is running out for personal evangelism. Time is running out for Christians to use their spiritual gifts, natural talents and learned abilities for the Lord. Time is running out to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the fields.Time is running out because the Lord has given us the message of judgment to come and it is at the door. It is as Jesus said about His coming being likened to the days of Noah. The message was being proclaimed but people did not respond and time ran out.
There have already been many forms of judgment exercised at this point, but all these judgments have no redemptive effect, for the rest of humankind who are not killed by these plagues and refuse to repent of their immoralities (9:20–21). The warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
2. The little book continued (verses 7-11).
“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. 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, nations, and tongues and kings.”
Is the mystery the message of the seven thunders, the contents of the little book? We are not told the specifics. We just know that when the seventh angel speaks he will reveal the answer. The mystery of God shall be finished as He hath told his servants the prophets.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this about this “mystery”. “This mystery had been previously announced to God’s prophets. The reference, therefore, is not to hidden truth but to the fulfillment of many Old Testament passages which refer to the glorious return of the Son of God and the establishment of His kingdom of righteousness and peace on the earth. While God’s purposes are not necessarily revealed in current events where Satan is allowed power and manifestation, the time will come when Satan no longer will be in power and the predictions of the Old Testament prophets will be fulfilled. Then all will know the Lord and the truth about Him.” Unquote.
The Bible Exposition Commentary says this: “In the Bible, a mystery is a “sacred secret,” a truth hidden to those outside but revealed to God’s people by His Word (Matthew 13:10–12). The “mystery of God” has to do with the age-old problem of evil in the world. Why is there both moral and natural evil in the world? Why doesn’t God do something about it? Of course, the Christian knows that God did “do something about it” at Calvary when Jesus Christ was made sin and experienced divine wrath for a sinful world. We also know that God is permitting evil to increase until the world is ripe for judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:7ff; Revelation 14:14–20). Since God has already paid the price for sin, He is free to delay His judgment, and He cannot be accused of injustice or unconcern.” Unquote.
Clarence Larkin adds another line of thought. “The effect upon John of the eating of the little book seems to indicate that it was more than a title deed. For it contained matter that when John ate it was sweet as honey to his mouth, but when he had thoroughly digested its contents was bitter to his belly. In other words, the little book contained matter connected with John’s work as a prophet, for the angel immediately said to him ‘Thou must prophecy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.’ This little book here open, is probably the book that Daniel was told to seal up [Daniel 12:4,9]. That book contained things that were not to be revealed until the time of the end; The times of the end of the Gentiles. If this supposition be true, then the little book was a fore view of the things that are to befall Daniel’s people in the last half of Daniels seventieth week. The effect on John of reading the little book seems to confirm this view, for as he read of the deliverances that were to come to his people, and of the final victory of the Lamb, and the setting up of the kingdom, the book was as sweet as honey to his taste, but when he meditated upon the awful sufferings that would come upon the world, and upon the Jews, under the reign of the beast, and during the pouring out of the vials, it was bitterness to his soul.” Unquote.
It is so true that it is sweet to know that the saved, the redeemed, the church will not have to go through any of these terrible judgments. We all can give a big sigh of relief. However, it should cause us to be sick at our souls to know that many of our loved ones, our neighbors, co-workers, friends that have not accepted Jesus as Savior will indeed have to go through it, provided they live long enough. If they don’t live that long they have a fate that surpasses anything written here and will have to hear the Lord say, “Depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you.” And they will go away into everlasting hell prepared for the Devil and his angels.
The signal for this mystery’s completion is the sounding of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:14–19). The last half of the Tribulation begins when the angels start to pour out the bowls, in which is filled up [completed] the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:1).
Vs.11 “And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
The “many people” include the next three categories but indicate that the scope of John’s prophecy will extend far beyond his geographical sphere to include the masses of mankind. It will be directed specifically to the “nations”- that is, the Gentile world separated by national boundaries, laws, and traditions. It will go to those people who are divided by “tongues” or languages” throughout the world. This was and is accomplished by the written word of God, the Bible.