Introduction

The purpose of Revelation Chapter Ten is to re-emphasize that John's prophecies were revealed to him by God. Revelation chapters 1-9 are pretty amazing. Some might begin to think that John simply had a vivid imagination. But there is more to come, and chapter ten tells us that chapters 11-22 are authentically from God Himself.

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.

Angels are God's messengers. There is a lot of information about angels in the Bible. They come in many varieties. Sometimes they look like people, and show up when we least expect...Hebrews 13:2 and Hebrews 1:14...

• "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
• "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"

Billy Graham (and others) have written entire books just about angels. Angels are not the spirits of departed Christians. Angels are not babies who have died. Angels are not people. Angels are not a race. They don't marry, and they don't have children. Each angel, though there are multitudes of them, was individually created by God. They are a separate creation of God apart from humanity, and were created by God before He made the world and Adam and Eve.

The most famous angels are Michael, especially associated in the Old Testament with fighting on behalf of Israel. The Angel of Death, mentioned in the Exodus, but not named. Gabriel, who brought messages to Joseph and Mary. The Seraphim and the Cherubim. The angel of the Lord, the Captain of the Lord's hosts, who may be actually the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. And Satan, the most illustrious fallen angel.

This particular angel in Revelation 10 is not named, but he seems to be extremely magnificent and powerful.

• He is mighty.
• He is robed in a cloud.
• He has a rainbow over his head.
• His face is like the sun.
• His legs are like fiery pillars.

The cloud and fiery pillars remind us of God's guidance of Israel in the wilderness. The rainbow reminds us of God's covenant faithfulness to Noah and mankind. His face like the sun reminds us that God is light, and that God is holy. This angel is said to be very strong.

2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land

He is not only strong, but he is a messenger. He bears a little scroll from God. The scroll is open in the angels hand. It is not closed. The message is not hidden. This is the revelation to John the Apostle about what will happen next in God's timetable.

The angel's feet are planted on both the earth and the sea, indicating that his message, and the power of the message, is for the entire earth, and not just the Holy Land.

3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.
4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down."

The loudness of the angel's shout means several things:

• a. Listen up! Wake up! This message is important!
• b. It is also a fear-inspiring shout, like the roar of a lion. Watch out or you will be destroyed!

The response of the "seven thunders" is hidden.

Note: There is much we don't know about the future. We should always remember that we don't know what will happen in our lives tomorrow. (James 4:13-15)

• 13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."
• 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
• 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that."

We don't know who or what the seven thunders are. We don't know what they said. John heard the words, and was about to write them down, but was forbidden to do so. We are not allowed by God to know and understand everything. Paul the Apostle said something similar in 2 Corinthians 12:3-5:

• 3 And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows
• 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.
• 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.

5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.
6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay!

It is allowed to make a solemn oath in God's name. However Scripture tells us to be very careful to keep such an oath. God's name must not be taken in vain. Consider Ecclesiastes 5:2-7...

• 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
• 3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
• 4 ¶ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow.
• 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfil it.
• 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?
• 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

Note: We are also reminded here that God is our eternal Creator. He made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that exists in them. The evolutionary theory of the origin of life and the origin of the species is just WRONG. And watch out for people who believe that we all just came into existence by a cosmic accident. A person like that has no foundation for morality, and who knows what they may say or do? No God, no Heaven, no Hell, so I may do what I like, as long as I can get away with it. There's a lot of that attitude going around!

The angel says that there will be no more delay. The NIV has a better translation here than the King James Bible, which says that "there shall be time no longer." And so we have in English the phrase "until the end of time." Only God is eternal. The world, the angels and human beings are all creatures of time. As long as God's creation endures, time will endure, for the existence of the world, and angels and mankind is meaningless without time. For us, if there is no time, then we don't exist either.

No more delay: God's judgment, the end of the age is rapidly approaching.

Note: A short time and a long time may be different for God than it is for you and me. 2 Peter 3:8-10 says...

• 8 ¶ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
• 9 ¶ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
• 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

The Seventh Trumpet sounds in Revelation 11:15, and we will discuss it in a week or two. Suffice it for now to say that it is the "Last Trumpet" of I Corinthians 15:50-54...

• 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
• 51 ¶ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
• 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
• 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
• 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

In the Bible the word "mystery" means that which was previously hidden but is now revealed.

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." (Romans 11:25)

"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:25-26).

"How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel" (Ephesians 3:3-6).

The remainder of the Book of Revelation, chapters 11-22, are unveiling the "mystery" of the end of the age. All the details that are not found in other places in the Bible.

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
10 I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

The little scroll is the Word of God, it is the contents of Revelation chapters 11-22. It was sweet in John's mouth, and bitter in his stomach. That's the way the Word of God is when it is about judgment. It is sweet to God's people, because it is the Word of God, and because He is our defender. However it is bitter in the sense that it is bad news for people who refuse to repent and believe. It is a message of judgment against a world in love with sin and self.

11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

John, you are not done writing YET. Start writing down the prophesies of chapters 11-22 of the Book of Revelation.

The Bible tells us that Abel, the first child born in the world, though he is dead, still speaks (Hebrews 11:4)...

• 4 ¶ By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

How does Abel speak? He speaks through his story in the Book of Genesis. Every time a person reads it, Abel speaks to him. Spiritual truth is conveyed.

Conclusion: John the Apostle finished the Book of Revelation, as commanded by the angel, and he is still prophesying today, in the Gospel of John, in the three Epistles that bear his name, and in the Book of Revelation. He is still prophesying to peoples, nations, and kings, and in many languages. What about you and me? Are we speaking up for Christ now? Will we be like Abel and John? Will our testimony still speak in this world after we are dead? I have known people who have passed away, but their words and their deeds are still remembered. They are still speaking out for the Lord. We should be like that, too.