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Revelation
By Adam Bartlett
Chapter 10
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:
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,
We are not told who this mighty angel is but we have to assume it is one of the arch angels due to the descriptions and apparent power he exhibits. Many times in the Bible angels are said to appear to men. Sometimes they appear in such a fashion that men are in fear and tremble at their presence. Other times they are said to appear like an ordinary man. Hebrews 13:2 cautions us that we could even entertain an angel and not be aware of it. Then there are times like this one mentioned where it is obvious that they are given power by God to appear in such awe and majesty that they can even cause confusion like with John and want to worship them.
Some scholars claim it is Jesus and others claim it is just another of the arch angels. I must believe it is an angel and not Jesus for the reason that Jesus is not seen or represented as an angel in the whole of the New Testament. Another reason is that in vs. 5-6 this angel raises his hand to heaven and swears by him that liveth for ever. Jesus is He that liveth forever and it is also evident in the fact that Jesus nowhere else in the book of Revelation announces any other judgment or message. That is the reason and purpose of the angels. The fact that this angel is referred to as a “mighty angel” and the other descriptive attributes does lend more support to the fact that it is an arch angel and not just an ordinary angel.
This particular angel has a book in his hand and we know it is not the same book mentioned in chapter 5 because that book was opened by Christ and contained the plagues of this book. This book does not tell us what it contains and some have guessed that it may have contained the information for the remaining seven bowl judgments that will start in chapter 16. Some believe it was the information contained in the next five chapters preceding the bowl judgments. Since this angel is standing with one foot on the sea, which represents all of humanity and the other on the earth representing all the worldly things, it is certain that whatever is in this book pertains to all creation.
3: And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
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.
There are some differing opinions as to what these seven thunders are referring to also. Some believe it was the sound of a chorus of angels shouting something. Some believe that since the “seven spirits” are mentioned in 1:4 belonging to God that these seven thunders are somehow associated as God’s voice. The “seven thunders” are not the voice of this angel but a voice that comes from heaven. What exactly these seven thunders represent we are not told. However we can only believe that these thunders are indeed the voice of God giving instructions to John. Psalm 29 has many ways in which God’s voice is described.
Psalm 29
3: The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
4: The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5: The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6: He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7: The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
8: The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9: The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
There have been many guesses as to what these “seven thunders” said and that is just what they are “guesses.” Daniel was also told to seal up a writing until the end of time in Daniel 12:4. There is a chance that this could be the same thing Daniel was told to conceal. We will really never know until we get to heaven. Thunder is always the warning before the lightening strikes in a storm. Some times thunder can even shake the ground, can you imagine the intensity during the tribulation period?
5: And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6: 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:
7: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
This angel could very well be the same angel that appeared to Daniel in chapter 10 and 12. In Daniel 12:7 the angel there raises his hands to heaven and swears in the same fashion as this angel. In Daniel he is told to seal up the things that were said as is John in this case with the angel. In Daniel, what he is told could very well be speaking about this very time that John is describing with this angel.
Daniel 12
7: And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
This angel in Daniel is saying that when the anti-christ desecrates the Temple that will be the time of the end. Here this angel is saying that “time should be no longer.” It does indeed sound like what the angel was talking to Daniel about and telling him to seal it up until the end is the same thing that John is hearing from this angel. It is still a lot of speculation but it does seem to coincide at least from what the scriptures are saying here. If this is indeed the case then it lends credibility to the fact that when the seventh trumpet is sounded it designates the mid point of the tribulation when the anti-christ will be setting himself up as “god” and forcing the “mark” upon those on earth and demanding worship.
It also lends credibility to the fact that it is at the “seventh trump” or “Last Trump” that the rapture of the church occurs. It is said that “time should be no more” and we know that there is at least another 3 ½ years left so that cannot be true in the world’s eyes. However, as Christians are concerned, the end will be because we will not be here anymore and the rest of the time left is set apart for God’s judgment on the earth and those remaining that serve the anti-christ.
Notice how it is worded here in verse 7 regarding the seventh angel and how it happens. It says, “in the days of the “VOICE” of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God shall be finished….” Verse 7 clearly is speaking of the rapture that many want to place before the tribulation period. The seventh angel is the last trumpet angel and the “last trump” will be sounded and then the mystery of God should be finished as he declared to his servants the prophets. What was this mystery and message that was declared by the prophets? It was the message of redemption and the glorious Gospel of Jesus. That message was salvation through the Messiah and that salvation is culminated in His return for His bride, the Church.
The number seven is used 44 times in the book of Revelation and the number represents “completeness.” It is clearly said regarding the timing of the rapture that it will be at the “last” trump according to:
1 Corinthians 15
51: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4
16: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
There is no argument from pre-trib believers that the annunciation of the rapture is by the sounding of the trumpet. The conflict comes when they try to determine which exactly is this “last” trump. It is clear to me that in vs.7 above which is directly referring to the seventh trumpet is that “last” trump. Not to jump ahead but in the next chapter vs. 15-19 clearly gives the explanation that this is exactly what is transpiring.
Notice it is the “voice” of the angel which is the “trump” of God. It is also extremely clear by the description of the seventh trumpet which we will cover next chapter that it is undoubtedly the rapture being spoken of here.
8: And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
9: And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
10: And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
11: And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
John is instructed to take the little book and eat it and it is sweet to the taste and then bitter in his stomach. The bittersweet message of prophecy being that it is the Word of God and is sweet, but in its content it is bitter to the hearer. On one hand it is a great word of encouragement and on the other hand it is one of terrible judgments. It is hard to imagine what the great prophets of God felt when they were delivering the messages that He sent them out with. They had to announce some of the greatest disasters and outpourings of wrath from God, yet it was the message that they were instructed to bring.
They had to be ecstatic in the one sense to know that God had chosen them out from all others because of their dedication and faithfulness to Him. At the same time they had to have such remorse for what they knew was going to come upon the people. That is much the same once we truly understand the truth of the Word as it pertains to us and all those around us. It is a great comfort to us knowing the promises of God and how He saves us from our sins. It is bitter in the fact that we also understand that those that reject this free gift will face the unimaginable horrors of the tribulation and hell.
They had no choice but to obey God and they had to be extremely frustrated by a people that refused to obey this very same God. It was not as though these people did not have plenty of opportunities to repent and change their direction. They were given plenty of chances and finally after trampling on God’s grace He would send armies to destroy their land and enslave them. In this case He was about to send judgments on the world that have never been witnessed before until this time. John truly did prophesy to many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. This message has reached every corner of this world and every level of mankind.
Every true Christian should be most concerned about those around us and even in our own families that we know are not right with God and will face all the horrors we know about in this book. We can be at ease in our own souls with the peace of our personal relationship and knowing our future with Christ. There is a genuine problem with our Christianity if we are not troubled greatly over those that are not in right standing with the God who will bring these judgments on unbelieving people.
We get concerned that we will hurt someone’s feelings so we fail to tell them the truth of the Gospel. I would rather hurt someone’s feelings and have a chance of them seeing the truth and be saved than never tell them and allow them to go to hell. We must get past the enemy’s tactics to keep us from proclaiming the saving grace of the Gospel to the lost and become the soul winners we are meant to be. Time is running out and I truly believe that this seventh angel is putting the trumpet to his mouth even know, just waiting on the signal from God.
It is hard for me to comprehend how people will be so blind during this time to not see that this very Word which they spurned is coming to pass right before their eyes. Even witnessing it being fulfilled in front of them they will still refuse to acknowledge the goodness of God and chose rather the anti-christ. It is a very sobering thought that Jesus said that if He did not cut these days short even the “Very Elect” would be deceived. What a powerful tool of the enemy!
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