Original Meaning
BETWEEN THE SIXTH and seventh seals (6:12; 8:1), Revelation has provided a picture of the state of the saints during the period of the seals (7:1–17); the book provides a similar interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (9:13; 11:15).1 Revelation 12–14 then functions as the heart of the book, sandwiched between the trumpets and bowls of God’s anger.
In 10:1, John sees a magnificent angel. Pictures of shining angels (10:1) are common in Jewish literature (see especially Dan. 10:6).2 The rainbow on this angel’s head probably functions like a brilliant crown (cf. 12:1; 14:14), which some traditions attribute to high angels (3 En. 22:5; 26:7); the rainbow may represent the divine glory (Rev. 4:3). Being “robed in a cloud” (cf. 11:12; 14:14–16) simply emphasizes his heavenly stature.
Jewish tradition emphasized many giant angels, some as high as the heavens.3 That this angel’s feet are “like fiery pillars” may recall the ancient tradition in which the world was supported by pillars; that his feet straddle sea and land support this image of magnitude (10:2).4 But appearing right after comparisons with the rainbow and the sun, his luminosity is probably emphasized more, alluding to the Jewish tradition of God’s glory manifest to Israel as a pillar of fire in the desert, apparently extending to heaven (Ex. 13:21–22; 14:24; Num. 14:14; Neh. 9:12, 19). The magnitude of such angels helped ancient readers of such accounts, including Revelation, to stand in awe of the God who was infinitely greater than such angels.
Scholars diverge widely in their views of the “little scroll” the angel holds (10:2).5 Some regard it as a prophetic commission (see Ezek. 3:1–4).6 But because it becomes the content of John’s prophecy (Rev. 10:10–11), it seems more likely that this scroll represents the substance of the book of Revelation (1:11; 22:7–10, 18–19). It is possible that this is the book whose seals are broken in 6:1–8:1, but whose contents constitute the entire message of Revelation—the book opened by the Lamb (5:1–9), which may in some sense include the book of life (3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27).
The image of thunder is appropriate. Ancients widely understood that the supreme God ruled thunder (see comment on 4:5), and in some traditions thunder could sound like God’s voice (cf. John 12:29). The content of the seven thunders, however, is deliberately mysterious (Rev. 10:4). Some think John uses these thunders to explain why he has omitted one series of judgments revealed to him. One could also regard them as an ironic parallel to the Ten Commandments that followed the ten plagues of Exodus, except that this revelation remains secret (though why they remain secret makes little sense on such a view). Others argue that the thunders remain mysterious as a literary technique, to build suspense.7
If the content of the seven thunders is related to the little book in the angel’s hand (10:1–3), it may not be written in John’s book (10:4), yet may be revealed in the prophesying of the one who ate the little book (10:8–11). Thus one can argue that the passage implies that God will reveal further details through John and through the two witnesses (11:3), that is, through the testimony of God’s people facing a hostile world. Such an interpretation does not violate the theology of the book. Although one dare not add to the book of Revelation itself (22:18), the book does not imply that God stopped speaking with the close of Revelation or even the close of the canon. Rather, anywhere that people testify about Christ God will continue speaking (19:10). Appealing as this interpretation is, however, it seems more likely that the seven thunders will be revealed only at the time of the end, when God’s “mystery” is finished (10:7).
Most likely the seven thunders remain mysterious in order to teach that the hidden things belong to God (Deut. 29:29; cf. 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:17; 19:12).8 Revelation, unlike Daniel, does not seal up most of its contents (Rev. 22:10; cf. Dan. 12:9), but some things must remain sealed. The concealment of the meaning of the seven thunders reminds us that God knows far more about the future than he tells us.
The angel lifts his hand to swear (10:5), hence emphasizing the certainty of his claim that the end will finally come. Lifting one hand was a standard practice for swearing an oath in ancient Israel (Deut. 32:40) and later Jewish custom (Jub. 13:29), and Greeks could affirm the sincerity of an oath by proposing to touch Zeus in heaven while swearing, were it possible.9 The specific description of the oath here recalls Daniel 12:7, where a revealing angel raises his hands toward heaven and swears by the one who lives forever (cf. Rev. 1:18; 4:9) that only three and a half years remain before the end. Here, however, the Tribulation period is already finished, and at the seventh angel’s voice there remains no further interval before the end. (Note that because the angel who speaks in 10:1–3 appears to announce the seventh angel in the series of trumpeters, it is unlikely that he himself is the seventh angel; Revelation contains many angels.)
That “there will be no more delay” (10:6) can be translated “there will be no more time.” This may suggest a shortening of time periods as the end drew near, as in some apocalyptic traditions (2 Enoch 65:6–7). But the NIV more accurately translates “delay” here. The Greek term chronos can mean “delay” (as in Hab. 2:3; Heb. 10:37; cf. Rev. 2:21; 6:11; 20:3); no further interval of time remains before the end. John’s point is probably that the prayers of the saints for final vindication await no further delay (6:9–11); judgment has come (11:18; 14:7).10
The completion of “the mystery” (10:7) probably indicates that the seven thunders will no longer remain secret (10:4); all will be revealed at the consummation (cf. 1 Cor. 13:8–12).11 Although in Revelation anything symbolic may have been a “mystery” until explained (1:20; 17:5–7), the divine “mystery” here seems to involve God’s kingdom (Dan. 2:44, 47; Mark 4:11). God’s purposes will be “accomplished” (Rev. 10:7; cf. 11:7; 15:1; 16:17; 17:17), as promised to “his servants the prophets” (10:7; 11:18; cf. Acts 3:21–24).
At the command of a heavenly voice John takes the small book from the angel’s hand, similar to what Ezekiel did (Ezek. 2:9; Rev. 10:8–9). The voice from heaven (Rev. 10:4, 8), distinguished from that of the seventh angel (10:7), is probably that of Jesus (1:10; 4:1). The angel instructs John to eat the book (10:9), just as God instructed Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:8; 3:1); and as in Ezekiel, the book proves sweet as honey in his mouth (Ezek. 3:3; Rev. 10:9–10).12 That it proves bitter in John’s stomach (10:9–10; albeit not poisonous, as in 8:11) probably points to the message’s content: sorrow and mourning (Ezek. 2:10); God’s words and wisdom are often compared with honey (Ps. 19:10; 119:103; Prov. 24:13–14).13 Eating the book symbolizes internalizing its contents, because the eater can then prophesy (Ezek. 3:1; Rev. 10:11). But whereas Ezekiel was to deliver the message only to the house of Israel (Ezek. 3:1), John will prophesy to “many peoples, nations, languages and kings” (Rev. 10:11), like Jeremiah (Jer. 1:10)—and the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3).14
Bridging Contexts
MOST CONTEMPORARY GENRES of discourse do not emphasize angels. Most people do, of course, believe in angels, and the interest in angels, even among those who hold distorted and anti-Christian views (for further elaboration on this problem, see comments in Contemporary Significance section of 19:10), has been remarkable.15 But few think in terms of giant beings related not merely to us as individuals but to the ordering of the cosmos, though the Bible may imply the involvement of angels in the latter (cf. Ps. 148:2–10; Gal. 4:8–10).
To achieve the same effect that the original narrative evoked from its first audience, we must understand something about first-century Jewish conceptions of angels. Then we can appreciate more fully the graphic way this narrative emphasizes God’s sovereignty. This angel is portrayed as mightier than most Greeks portrayed their gods; yet this angel is simply an obedient servant of the true God, who is infinitely greater than such a portrait could visualize.
By examining the points and associations that Revelation’s images conveyed to the original audience, we can articulate analogous points for our contemporary contexts. Such points include the angel’s awesomeness (inviting us to contemplate and articulate God’s greater majesty), the paradoxical (to us) silence of the thunders, the certainty that the end will come in its time, and John’s model of obedience and experience as a Spirit-empowered witness.
Contemporary Significance
THIS PASSAGE PROVIDES us several lessons, each of which can be contextualized in turn for a particular audience or particular circumstances in our own lives. (1) The awesomeness of the angel obedient to God implies that God rules all suprahuman and supernatural forces. Whatever crises we as individuals or God’s people as a whole must confront, we can take courage in the Bible’s continual reminders that God has everything under control.
(2) The thunders reveal that some matters are not yet ours to know (10:4). The hidden things belong to God alone (Deut. 29:29); until Jesus returns, we know in part only (1 Cor. 13:9). This does not mean that we should not seek knowledge (Prov. 18:15; 23:12; 25:2); it does mean that God has set boundaries to what is best for us to know, and we should acknowledge those boundaries (Rom. 16:19). In other words, we should avoid undue speculation about matters on which we cannot be certain and should avoid speaking dogmatically about them (1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:23). God rules the future, but we do not need to know the details. He has not guaranteed us such knowledge, especially about the final details before the “delay” is over. The seven thunders may constitute one of the most important words to prophecy teachers in the entire book.
In contrast to this principle, some prophecy teachers fill in too many details on which the text does not comment. Prognosticators may satisfy our curiosity about the future, but the biblical expositor’s job is to help us hear and obey (1:3) the message of Scripture, not to add to it (22:18). We are more than ready to refute cults when they prognosticate. I talked with a Jehovah’s Witness who defended the Watchtower view of a progressive resurrection in Revelation 20 by saying that it was only logical that God would not resurrect everyone from different times and cultures simultaneously. My problem with this line of argument is that such “logic” contradicts the explicit statement of the narrative, and it stems from the same belief system that insists on taking literally the number (but not the ethnicity or gender) of the 144,000.
I used that inconsistency to point out that for all their claims to rely only on Scripture, Jehovah’s Witnesses must buy into the entire Watchtower scheme of thought to come up with many of their views; and any theological or philosophical system looks consistent from inside the system. These Witnesses admitted at that point that their beliefs depended not only on Scripture but also on their group’s special claim to be right—a claim made by many other groups as well.
Many years ago my witness to people in cults forced me to recognize that sometimes orthodox Christians work with the same sort of interpretive fallacies that cults do. For example, although the “oil” of Deuteronomy 33:24 is undoubtedly olive oil, evangelical oilmen more committed to excellence in drilling than to excellence in interpreting Scripture wasted over $13,000,000 that might have better been contributed to missions, based on an interpretation of that verse.16 As a young Christian, I listened with interest as a prophecy teacher in September 1981 promised on the basis of Scripture that Iran would fall into the hands of the Soviet Union in the next twelve months; I wrote the prediction down, set it aside, and checked it for accuracy a few years later. Nearly two decades later this solemn assurance remains unfulfilled, especially since the Soviet Union no longer exists (I understand too that the prophecy teacher has invested in a different line of work). We must investigate some matters of speculation for apologetic reasons (e.g., many non-Christians ask, “Where did Cain get his wife?”), but we must always be humble about our response (e.g., “This approach may or may not be correct, but shows how your question might be answered”).
(3) The promise of “no more delay” (10:6) reminds us that though we must wait now, delay will not last forever. A time is coming when God will fulfill all his promises made throughout history (Acts 3:21). As an earlier A. M. E. Zion minister, Joseph Charles Price, put it, “No matter how dark the night, I believe in the coming of the dawn.”17
(4) We should follow John’s example, obeying even when the message we are called to proclaim proves bitter or does not make sense to us. Some circles, especially those that emphasize prosperity, condition audiences to expect only pleasant things from God; but his message is not always pleasant, though he always provides the obedient grace to endure it (cf. Jer. 39:18; 45:5).
(5) The message of Revelation concerns “many peoples” (10:11). No one is exempt from its warnings, and those most inclined to comfort themselves with the current ease of their society should take special heed. The cup of judgment will come to all people (Jer. 25:15–17), as will the suffering of believers (Matt. 24:9).