Revelation 10:1–11

10:1 John sees another mighty angel, just as he earlier saw a mighty angel asking who was worthy to open the scroll with seven seals (5:2). The angel here descends from heaven (cf. Dan. 12:5), just as others do later in the book (Rev. 18:1; 20:1). The angel is described in glorious terms: he is “wrapped in a cloud,” which often denotes God’s presence (cf. Ex. 13:21; 14:19; 16:10; 24:15; Lev. 16:2; Num. 9:15; Deut. 31:15; 1 Kings 8:10; Neh. 9:12, 19; Ps. 99:7; Isa. 19:1; Ezek. 1:28), and thus is an emissary of the Lord. The “rainbow over his head” also signifies God’s presence and authority (cf. Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3). The angel’s face shines with the sun, just as Jesus’ face shone with the glory of God (Matt. 17:2; Rev. 1:16). His feet are “pillars of fire,” while Jesus’ were burnished bronze (1:15).

Since the angel is described in such glorious terms, we might think he is Jesus himself, for the word “angel” means messenger, and Jesus could be God’s messenger. Despite the attractiveness of this view, it should be rejected for the following reasons. First, Jesus is never called an angel in Revelation, and, in fact, the worship of God and Jesus is clearly distinguished from worship of an angel (19:10; 22:8–9). Second, an angel may be described in glorious terms, some of which are true also of God, and yet be distinct from him (cf. Dan. 10:5–6 and comments on Rev. 1:13–16). Third, the angel swears by God, suggesting that he himself is not divine (10:6). Fourth, the reference to “another mighty angel” points back to the same expression in 5:2, where an angel is clearly in view (cf. also 18:21).

10:2 The angel holds in his hand a little scroll, which should be distinguished, contrary to some commentators, from the seven-sealed scroll, for several reasons (5:1–6:17). First, the scroll is given to John instead of to the Lion of the tribe of Judah (10:9). Second, John does not open the scroll but eats it (10:9–10). Third, in Ezekiel, which John draws on here, the scroll is open, but the scroll in chapters 5–6 is sealed until opened by the Lamb. Fourth, God holds the scroll in chapter 5, but here the angel holds it.

The angel puts one foot on land and one on the sea, implying he is larger than life (cf. Dan. 12:5), and John communicates that the angel’s message is for the entire world, for those who live on land and those who sail the seas.

10:3 The angel roars like a lion, and when the Lord roars he judges those he roars against (Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2; 3:8). We see again that the angel is God’s agent, roaring on his behalf. The shouting of the angel resounds, and the “seven thunders” also peal forth. The seven thunders remind us of Psalm 29, where a thunderous storm sweeps the land. When the Lord thunders, he judges those opposed to him (cf. Ex. 9:23, 28; 1 Sam. 2:10; 7:10; Isa. 29:6) or shows his awesome holiness (Ex. 19:16, 19; 20:18). In Revelation the final judgment is accompanied by thunder (Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18; 19:6). As the number seven is symbolic, the seven thunders probably depict a full revelation of God’s majesty and wrath.

10:4 The seven thunders resound, and John is about to write the message communicated. Suddenly, John is interrupted by a heavenly voice instructing him not to reveal the content of the seven thunders. He is to “seal up” their message instead of writing it down. This stands in contrast to the remainder of the book, for John is told at the conclusion of the book not to seal up the message, for the end is imminent (22:10). In this respect, the sealing of the seven thunders echoes the command to Daniel to seal up what he had written, since it related to the end of time (Dan. 8:26; 12:9). Revelation, as a whole, must be distinguished from Daniel, since “the time is near” (Rev. 1:3), and thus the message is revealed to John’s generation. Nevertheless, the message of the seven thunders is similar to the message given to Daniel, for the readers are left in the dark as to its contents. In other words, the fullness of what is to come at the end is still concealed and hidden from believers. Not everything is disclosed; surprises still await us as history draws to a close.

10:5–7 John sees the angel lift his hand to heaven and swear by the God who made all things—heaven, earth, and sea. As the creator of all things, God rules and reigns over all (cf. Gen. 14:19, 22; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 146:6). The angel declares that the time of delay is over. The angel in Daniel’s day lifted up his hand to heaven and swore that there was still a significant delay before the end (Dan. 12:6–7; cf. Deut. 32:40), but here the angel declares that the end has arrived. The angel is not saying that temporal existence will cease, that eternity will consist of an eternal now. That question is fascinating, but John is not considering such a philosophical matter here. He means, as verse 7 makes plain, that the time of the old creation has ended and the new creation prophesied in Revelation 21:1–22:5 is at hand. The sounding of the seventh trumpet by the seventh angel will wrap up history as we know it (11:15). God’s “mystery” will be fulfilled. Mystery in the Scriptures typically refers to something previously hidden that is now revealed (e.g., Rom. 16:25–26; Eph. 1:9; 3:3–5; Col. 1:26–27). When the end comes, everything hidden (including the seven thunders just noted in Rev. 10:3–4) will be fulfilled. All that God predicted and prophesied to his prophets will become a reality (cf. Amos 3:7; Zech. 1:6). The plans and purposes of creation, both revealed and hidden to us in part (Deut. 29:29), will be fulfilled. God’s prophecies are both a prophecy fulfilled and a mystery to be revealed. One of the purposes of the interlude is explained here. John underscores that the seventh trumpet is the end of this present evil age, and the conclusion of all things sums up divine mysteries and fulfills God’s prophecies.

10:8–10 The heavenly voice addresses John again (cf. 10:4), instructing him to take the scroll from the angel standing with one foot on the sea and one on land. When John takes the scroll, he is instructed to eat it. John’s eating echoes Ezekiel, whom God commands to eat the scroll given to him (Ezek. 2:8–3:3). Similarly, Jeremiah says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jer. 15:16). John’s taking and eating the scroll signifies his prophetic ministry, and as the church proclaims John’s message it shares in this prophetic ministry. Eating the scroll will make John’s stomach bitter, but it will also be sweet like honey in his mouth. Again the words echo Ezekiel, who is to fill his stomach with the scroll, which was “in my mouth as sweet as honey” (Ezek. 3:3). God’s Word is always a delight, always a joy (cf. Pss. 19:10; 119:103). On the other hand, eating the scroll gives John a stomachache because it is a word of judgment. Such a perspective fits with Ezekiel, for Ezekiel also prophesied judgment, and his scroll contained “words of lamentation and mourning and woe” (Ezek. 2:10). Alternatively, some think this means that John’s stomach is bitter because the church will face persecution, but the word is sweet in his mouth because the church will triumph. This interpretation seems less likely, since it does not match as closely the prophecy in Ezekiel. Furthermore, the next verse indicates the message has to do with the judgment destined for those who oppose God and refuse to worship him.

10:11 The significance of eating the scroll is now communicated to John. The verb here is actually plural, “They said to me” (NRSV), perhaps to represent the words of the prophets that John has ingested. The contents of the scroll, as noted above, made John’s stomach ache, indicating that judgment is coming. Here the meaning of eating the scroll is explained further. Just as Ezekiel eats the scroll before he prophesies (Ezek. 2:8–3:3), so here John’s eating of the scroll means he must prophecy against peoples, nations, languages, and many kings (cf. Jer. 25:30; Ezek. 25:2). “Must” indicates that John’s prophetic ministry and the prophetic ministry of the church is a divine necessity. We gain further insight into the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets; the seventh trumpet signals the end of the old creation, but there is more to be said in subsequent chapters about the course of history. In particular, John will pull back the curtain on the activity of Satan and the beast before the time of the end (Rev. 12:1–14:20) and on the role of Rome, the great Babylon (17:1–19:5). What John emphasizes here, then, is the judgment to be imposed on (epi) nations, tongues, peoples, and kings.