Revelation 10:1-6

Chapter 10

Verse 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"

Now another angel appears. This is a mighty angel who looks suspiciously like the vision of Christ. He is clothed with a cloud, has a rainbow on his head, his face shines with a blinding light, and his feet are like pillars of fire. We know from Ezekiel 1 that God's throne is associated with clouds. We also know that Christ is associated with clouds, Matt. 24. God has His bow around the throne, Rev. 4. A bow is only associated with God and Christ. Christ's eyes flame and his feet are as pillars of fire, Rev. 1. The fact that this is called an angel does not have to be disturbing. First of all the word "angel" is actually the Greek word "aggelos" and literally translates as "messenger", not "fourth dimensional beings, created by God, who live in heaven." The word "angel" is simply derived from the word "aggelos" and was applied to what we call angels, as that is basically what angels are and do. Christ has been the messenger of this book from the beginning. He was also called the Angel of God in the Old Testament. As we continue to see what this angel does, it becomes more and more clear that it must be Christ. Why John calls Him an angel is not clear, unless he is thinking solely in terms of the word messenger. John does describe Christ in a manner that applies to the role He is playing at the moment. When the scroll needed to be opened, the Lamb opened it. Now a new message has to be delivered and the Messenger delivers it. Christ is the messenger of this book.

Verse 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."

Now it is more clear that this must be Christ. This angel is claiming possession of the planet by planting one foot on the land and one foot on the sea. As said at the end of the last chapter, Satan is no longer prince of the earth. His time is over. Christ is now claiming his possession in its entirety. He is taking it back and taking control. In His hand He holds a little book. When the conditions were put on the seals, they were the agreement between Satan and God. They were there for anyone to read from the time of the beginning. But God was holding out on Satan. He had some conditions of His own that He was going to carry out. They are His wrath. Satan had no idea as to what this would entail until God had John come up and write the book of Revelation thousands of years after the original mortgage was written. This is the first time this is being revealed to anyone, unlike the conditions that were written on the seals for anyone to see. This little book contains what will later be seen to be the seven bowl judgments.

Verse 3 "And cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices."

Again, here is another clue that this is Christ. He is compared to a lion that roars. Christ is the Lion of Judah, He is roaring as a lion would who is first, claiming his kingship, and second, about to pronounce judgment. The seven thunders utter their voices also. Here again is the number seven. (We also had the seven seals, and will have the seven trumpets and seven bowls or vials). Since it always seems that it is God or Christ that thunders, this seven thunders is more than likely the sevenfold Holy Spirit thundering, as the Holy Spirit can speak, John 16:13, Acts 10:19.

Verse 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."

Interestingly, it is the seven thunders that is pronouncing judgment, not God or Christ. That seems to verify that the seven thunders is indeed the Holy Spirit, as only God can pronounce judgment on mankind. Now we see that the third member of the Trinity is taking an active part in the ongoing process of the redemption of the earth. John was going to write down what he had heard, but he is instructed not to put what he has heard in this commentary yet. God wants him to seal them up for the moment. God does not want to proceed directly on to the seventh trumpet, which is His wrath or the bowl judgments, as there are some other things that need to be covered first in this commentary John is writing for us. In Genesis God told the creation story as an overview giving the synopsis of each day. Then when he had completed the train of thought or the week, He went back and filled in details (about Adam and Eve). He often gave us more than one commentary on an event. That is why we have four gospels. This allows for the filling in of gaps of information. He will be doing the same thing here. There have been other things occurring while the seals and trumpets have been running their course. So John is told to not write down those things quite yet, as there are some other things that need to be written first. There is information that has to be filled in as to what else was happening during this time.

Verse 5-6 "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 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:"

The angel, Christ, now lifts up his hand to heaven and swears that time will be no longer. We are told in scripture not to swear by heaven, or earth or by any oath but let our yeas be yea and nays be nay. James 5:12. Our word is supposed to stand on its own. We are not supposed to swear by God. This is another confirmation that this must be Christ. He is swearing by heaven and He who lives forever and created the heavens and earth. That is no other than Himself. "All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:3. He is swearing that time will be no longer. This does not mean that everything is going to cease to exist and go into eternity, as some who are a-millennial preach. This means that God has reached the end of His patience with planet Earth and is not going to tolerate its sin any longer. There will be time no longer to repent. Evil has reached its limit. No more waiting around. This is it, there is no time left before God's wrath will be poured out.