Rev 10:1-11
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As is the pattern of Rev we are completing a group of seven judgments and enter into a parenthesis. A group of 6 followed by a rest should be a familiar pattern, as in 6 days to work and then a rest or Sabbath. 7 is an all-important number in creation and life as well as the Revelation.
Name as many as you can?
Days in week, notes in the scale, seas in the ocean, orifices in the human skull, days in creation, seven churches in rev, seven churches sent letters by Paul.
Those who are familiar with the Book of Revelation know that the number “seven” appears regularly in this book. John wrote letters to seven churches in Asia (Rev. 1:4, 11). One like the Son of Man stood in the midst of seven golden lampstands with seven stars in His hand (Rev. 1:12-13, 16). There were seven lamps of fire before God’s throne (Rev. 4:5) and seven Spirits of God (Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). A scroll was sealed with seven seals. Seven thunders said things that weren’t written down (Rev. 10:3-4). The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes (Rev. 5:6), and the dragon and the beast both had seven heads (Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7). There are seven mountains and seven kings (Rev. 17:9-10).
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Perhaps most famously, the Book of Revelation features seven seals (Rev. 5:1-5; 6:1-17; 8:1-2), seven trumpets (Rev. 8:2; 8:6-9:21; 11:15-19), and seven bowls (Rev. 15:6-16:21; 17:1, 21:9).
There are many. many more in the bible as well. Can you see a pattern here? I hope you can.
Now as mentioned we are in a parenthetical chapter between the judgments as follows the pattern of the book.
So lets Read Chapter 10;
1 I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;
2 and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;
3 and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.
4 When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”
5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven,
6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer,
7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.
8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
V1- 3, Another mighty angel – who is this?
You might find it interesting that there are 76 references to angels in Revelation.
So who is this talking about, Notice the description.
1 I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;
2 and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;
3 and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.
There is a difference among solid teachers as to who this is. I believe this is Jesus but there are other views. I believe this based on the description given here. Notice;
· From heaven - we last saw Jesus in with the Father in the throne room of heaven.
· Robed in a cloud - Clouds are associated with the shekina glory of God. Think of the dedication of the Tabernacle and later the Temple.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
2 The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord,
11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
12 Then Solomon said,
“The Lord has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
I encourage you to do a search on the word cloud. Very interesting..
· Rainbow above his head - Ch 4
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.
· Face like the sun - Ch 1:16 ..and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
· Legs like pillars of fire - Ch 1:15 ..His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace,
· Holding a little scroll – could be different but probably the 7 sealed (but now opened) scroll from Ch 5.
· Right foot on the sea left foot on the land – symbolic of the fact that God rules all. The sea is representative of the gentles and the land would represent Israel.
· Roars like a lion – Ch1 obviously a reference to Lion of the tribe of Judah.
So why would some disagree. 2 reason;
Jesus is not an angel
The angel in verse 10:6 swears by Him who lives forever.
Both of these objections are answerable. First the word angel angelos in Greek, simply means messenger. There is no issue with Jesus being a messenger. in the OT the preincarnate Christ is referred to as the Angel of the Lord. Remember with Abraham, Gideon, Manoah, wrestling with Issac, and many more.
Second the idea that Jesus would not swear by God is not solid as
13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
If not Jesus possibly the Archangel Michael or Gabriel.
Verse 3 ends with the 7 thunders speaking out. This was a loud demonstration of power, a voice like a lion roaring with thunder following.
We continue;
4 When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”
V4 –Seven thunders message sealed. To think we have been given complete understanding is not true. There are many things we do not know. We have been given all we need to be saved and live godly lives however.
29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
There is an interesting ref in Psalms regard the voice of the Lord like thunders
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Do you wonder why John even wrote this down. This is the only thing that is sealed in the revelation. We do remember that in the OT Daniel was told to seal up his prophecy as it was meant for the end times.
4 “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”
we move on;
5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven,
6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer,
7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.
V5 -7 No more delay – Remember In Chapter 6:10,11 the saints were told to wait a little longer.
10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
Well now the complete wrath of God will be poured out.
He now changes the thought to His instructions for John.
8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
The idea of consuming God’s word and the effect of doing that are told several times in the OT. So what does it mean that it will be sweet in your month and bitter in your stomach?
Look at Jeremiah
16 Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone,
For You filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been perpetual
And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?
What does it mean to eat Gods word. Its like food, we take it in regularly and it becomes part of us. We chew it and then digest it.
The response is always the same joy followed by sadness.
1 Then 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 fed me this scroll.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.
The bible tells us the word is sweet;
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
But what does the bitter stomach mean that follows.
William Barclay- commentary
The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Joy and the Sorrow of the Messenger of God (Revelation 10:8–11)
The sweetness of the scroll is a recurring thought in Scripture. To the psalmist, the judgments of God are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). ‘How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!’ (Psalm 119:103). It may well be that behind these words lies a Jewish educational custom. When a Jewish child was learning the alphabet, it was written on a slate in a mixture of flour and honey. The child was told what the letters were and how they sounded. After the original instruction, the teacher would point at a letter and would ask: ‘What is that, and how does it sound?’ If the child was able to answer correctly, the letter could be licked off the slate as a reward! When the prophet and the psalmist speak about God’s words and judgments being sweeter than honey, it may well be that they were thinking of this custom.
John adds another idea to this. To him, the scroll was sweet and bitter at one and the same time. What he means is this. To a servant of God, a message from God may be both sweet and bitter. It is sweet because it is a great thing to be chosen as the messenger of God; but the message itself may be a foretelling of doom and, therefore, bitter. So, for John, it was an infinite privilege to be admitted to the secrets of heaven; but at the same time it was bitter to have to forecast the time of terror, even if triumph lay at its end.
So every one familiar with God’s word understands the bitter sadness that most people do not receive the message of the Gospel and will be lost. The seriousness of the message towards those who will not believe is tragic. Eternally lost.
My hope is that we will all take this more seriously as we consider those who we love and care for.
The chapter close at verse 11
11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
So like John, our job is not done either. Be praying for the people in your life that God would open their hearts and the look for opportunities to share.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Maybe you don’t care; ask Jesus to give you a heart to care and then to share.
Prayer.