Revelation Chapter 10
(Rev 10:1) A Mighty Angel comes down out of the sky
I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
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 (Revelation 10:1). By the description I believe this other mighty angel is none other than Jesus Christ. I believe that we have here a picture of the second coming of Jesus Christ. The word angel literally means "messenger." It does not necessarily signify a class of beings. Jesus is coming now as God's Messenger. The very description would almost preclude anyone other than Jesus Christ. Revelation 1 describes Him: "His countenance [face] was as the sun" and "his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (v. 15-16). In Revelation 10:1 Jesus is described as "clothed with a cloud." "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (Revelation 1:7).
In Matthew 24, Jesus said, "Then they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). He is coming from heaven clothed with a cloud and a rainbow about his head. (The rainbow was also about the throne of God in Revelation 4.) The rainbow speaks of God's covenant with man. Jesus said that He makes a new covenant with us through His blood (Hebrews 9&10). So, He's coming with the sign of the covenant when He comes back to the earth. (Chuck Smith)
(Rev 10:2-3) A little open book was in His hand
He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.
He had in his hand a little open book:
The scroll that had been sealed is now open. Jesus is coming back with the title deed to the earth in His hand. (Chuck Smith)
He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars:
When Jesus comes again to the earth He's going to let out a shout that will be heard 'round the world. It'll sound like a roaring lion. It'll be a shout of triumph and victory.
Isaiah prophesied of the coming of Jesus Christ and spoke of the shout that Jesus utters at this point. "The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies" (Isaiah 42:13).
Jeremiah also speaks of this very same event. Prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth (Jeremiah 25:30).
Hosea speaks also of this same event and tells us: "They shall walk after the LORD, he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west" (Hosea 11:10). Finally, Joel speaks of the same event (Joel 3:16). This coming of Christ by roaring as a lion has been confirmed by God in the mouth of two or three witnesses (and more). (Chuck Smith)
(Rev 10:4) Seven Thunders
When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don't write them."
We are not told why John was forbidden to write what the seven thunders uttered, the only “sealed” thing in an otherwise “unsealed” book (see Dan. 12:9; Rev. 22:10). God’s voice is often compared to thunder (Ps. 29; Job 26:14; 37:5; John 12:28–29). It is useless for us to speculate when God chooses to veil His truth (Deut. 29:29) (Wiersbe)
(Rev 10:5-7) No longer a delay, the mystery of God is finished
The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the sky, and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay, 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 declared to his servants, the prophets.
This mighty Angel began by raising his right hand to heaven. Have you ever had to do that when you took an oath in a court, and swore to tell the truth? This is where that ritual originated. The raising of the hand looks back to this very scene in Revelation. It is a sign that a solemn oath is about to be taken. The Angel swore by God, the One who created the earth, the heaven, and the sea, and everything in them. "But," you say, "I thought this was Christ the Creator himself; would he swear by himself?" Yes, it is Christ. But I remind you that, in the book of Hebrews when God wanted to swear an oath to Abraham that he would keep his promises to him, we are told that because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. That is what Jesus is doing here. He is swearing by the triune God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- that there will be no longer any delay in explaining the mystery of God. God has apparently delayed for centuries in answering the questions of men.
We read in Acts that the early Christians expected Jesus to return in their day. Paul certainly expected it in his lifetime. There are many places where it is clear that they were looking for his coming two thousand years ago. Every generation of Christians in every century since has been expecting the Lord to return in their time, but he has not come yet. Today we are expecting the Lord to return, probably before this century ends, and yet he may not. But when the seventh angel sounds, the Angel says, "there will be no more delay!" Then that strange, mysterious reluctance of God to carry out what he has so long promised will not only end, but will be explained as well. That is what we may look forward to.
And when it happens, God will begin his reign on the earth. It may surprise some of you to know that God has never reigned on earth up to this point of time. He has been King over heaven and earth and the whole universe, but he has never yet reigned on earth. He has ruled on earth, and he has overruled. He governs human events, bringing them into being and changing things, but he does it, in a sense, remotely. He has never taken his great power and openly reigned upon the earth. But when the seventh angel sounds, then he will begin to reign.
If you want to see that, look ahead into Chapter 11, Verse 17. There we find the twenty-four elders praising God and saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign." That is the day when the prayer we have all been praying for so long, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," will be answered. That is what is to be found in the prophets, John was told, "as he has announced to his servants the prophets." Among many other places, in Chapter 36 of Ezekiel there is a vivid description of just how God will begin his kingdom on earth. He will call the nation Israel back into prominence again. He will take out of them the evil heart of flesh and put his Spirit within them and forgive their sins. It is all predicted in the prophets. There are many such passages.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 11 that this truth is important. First he warns Gentile believers not to boast against Israel. There are many Christian teachers today who teach that Israel will not have a future; that all these promises of the Old Testament are to be spiritually applied to the church, and there is no future for Israel as a nation, distinct from any other nation on earth. But, when they say that, they are violating what Paul warns against in Romans 11, "Remember," he says, "you do not support the root, but the root supports you," (Romans 11:18b NIV). These promises belong to Israel; we Gentiles are allowed in on them by the grace of God, but they still belong primarily to Israel. In Verse 25 of that great chapter, Paul says:
"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited:
Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27 NIV)
That is what the prophets have long been predicting. There are at least a score or more of lengthy, clear passages that describe the return of Israel to their land and their status as the people of God, to fulfill the promises of God. Many passages describe in lilting beauty the restoration of the earth under the reign of Christ. (Ray Stedman)
(Rev 10:8-9) Bitter Sweet
The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land."
I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, "Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
John went to the mighty angel and asked for the little book He was holding. The angel said, "Eat it." Talk about absorbing a book! Eating a book is the reading of it, and the book becomes a part of you. As you read it, in your mouth it's sweet because the things that it promises are great; but, when you digest it, those things which must transpire before the fulfillment of its promises are very bitter and difficult to consider. John found that it was sweet in his mouth but, as he digested it, it was very bitter. These are the bitter tragedies and the sufferings the world must experience in the opening of the seven seals of Revelation prior to the establishment of the kingdom of God. (Chuck Smith)
(Rev 10:10-11) John is commanded to prophesy
I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. They told me, "You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings."
The angel commissioned John to prophesy again; his work was not yet completed. He must declare God’s prophetic truth concerning (not “before”) many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings (Rev. 5:9). The word nations usually refers to the Gentile nations. John will have much to say about the nations of the world as he presents the rest of this prophecy. (Wiersbe)