Revelation 10:1-9

1 And I saw another strong angel coming down out of the heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow upon his head, and his countenance as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire,

2 and having in his hand a little opened book. And he set his right foot on the sea, and the left upon the earth,

3 and cried with a loud voice as a lion roars. And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their own voices.

4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write: and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying, Seal the things which the seven thunders have spoken, and write them not.

5 And the angel whom I saw stand on the sea and on the earth lifted up his right hand to the heaven,

6 and swore by him that lives to the ages of ages, who created the heaven and the things that are in it, and the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be no longer delay;

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God also shall be completed, as he has made known the glad tidings to his own bondmen the prophets.

8 And the voice which I heard out of the heaven [was] again speaking with me, and saying, Go, take the little book which is opened in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.

9 And I went to the angel, saying to him to give me the little book. And he says to me, Take and eat it up: and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

Revelation 10:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 10

This chapter contains a vision of an angel of a wonderful appearance, the voices of the seven thunders, and an order to John to take the book in the hand of the angel, eat it, and prophesy. The angel is described by his strength, a mighty one; by his descent from heaven; by his attire, being clothed with a cloud; by a rainbow on his head; by his face being like the sun; by his feet, which were as pillars of fire, the one foot set on the sea, and the other on the earth; by having a little book open in his hand, and by the loud cry he made, like the roaring of a lion, Re 10:1-3, upon which seven thunders uttered their voices, which John was going to write, but was forbid, Re 10:4; next follows a solemn oath of the angers; the gesture he used, lifting up his hand to heaven; the person by whom he swore, the living God; what he swore to, that time should be no more, and that the mystery of God would be finished at the beginning of the seventh trumpet, Re 10:5-7; then several orders are given to John, as to take the open book in the hand of the angel, which he did, to eat it, as he accordingly did; when he found it to be as it was told him it would be, namely, sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his belly; and then to prophesy again before people, nations, tongues, and kings, Re 10:8-11.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit. 'spoke.'
• [b]. Or 'when he shall sound.' I have translated literally; but the sense I believe to be 'when he shall sound, as he is about to do.'
• [c]. Aorist, 'will have been.' But in the Revelation the aorist is almost everywhere used where other tenses might be put. Such evident Hebraisms are incessant.