CHAPTER 10

(A.D. 96)

THE MIGHTY ANGEL

¹And I saw another mighty Angel come down from Heaven (this is Christ [Rev. 1:16; Dan. 10:5-6]), clothed with a cloud (refers to the Glory of God upon Him, for He is God [Ex. 40:34-38]): and a rainbow was upon His Head (refers to Peace and Mercy), and His face was as it were the Sun (concerns the degree of Glory), and His feet as pillars of fire (speaks of Judgment; rejecting Mercy and Peace always brings Judgment):

²And He had in His Hand a little Book open (proclaims the same Book of Revelation, Chapter 5, but here it is open; in fact, He is the One Who opened it [5:5; 6:1]): and He set His right foot upon the sea, and His left foot on the earth (proclaims dominion, meaning Righteousness will ultimately prevail on this Earth),

³And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars (signals power and victory): and when He had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. (We arent told what these seven thunders stated, or what they meant.)

⁴And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write (proclaims the fact that John wrote all of this down, which refers to the entirety of this Book of Revelation): and I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. (John knew what they were, but was forbidden to relate it in the Book. Therefore, speculation is useless.)

⁵And the Angel which I saw stand upon the Sea and upon the earth lifted up His Hand to Heaven (presents most likely the right hand, with the Book held in the left hand; it concerns an oath),

⁶And sware by Him Who lives forever 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 (proclaims the fact that the world belongs to God by virtue of Him being its Creator), that there should be time no longer (could be translated, that there should be delay no longer; the prayer of Christ, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, is about to be answered):

⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound (proclaims the beginning of the last half of the Great Tribulation, which will be worse than ever), the Mystery of God should be finished (this Mystery pertains to the reason God has allowed Satan to continue his reign over this Earth for these thousands of years [II Cor. 4:4]), as He has declared to His servants the Prophets (Isa. 14:12-20; Ezek. 28:11-19).

THE LITTLE BOOK

⁸And the voice which I heard from Heaven spoke unto me again (it is the same voice which told him to seal up those things the seven thunders uttered, and write them not), and said, Go and take the little Book which is open in the Hand of the Angel (Christ) which stands upon the Sea and upon the Earth. (This presents the third time Christ is presented in His Dominion Role, which guarantees the certainty of such action.)

⁹And I went unto the Angel (Christ), and said unto Him, Give me the little Book (refers, as stated, to the same Book mentioned in Chapter 5). And He said unto me, Take it, and eat it up (presents idiomatic language meaning to digest its contents); and it shall make your belly bitter, but it shall be in your mouth sweet as honey. (The Word of God is always sweet. But in this case it speaks of Judgment, and will, therefore, be bitter in the belly, as all Judgment is bitter.)

¹⁰And I took the little Book out of the Angels hand, and ate it up (he digested its contents); and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. (Signifying the further Judgment that was about to come. It pertained to the last half of the Great Tribulation, which will be the worst of all.)

¹¹And He (Christ) said unto me, You must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. (Jesus is telling John that the stand He has taken by putting one foot on the Sea and the other on the Earth does not prove His formal possession of the Earth at this time. This will not take place until about three and one half years later. Consequently, John must continue to prophesy, which, in effect, is the second half of the Book of Revelation.)