REVELATIO 10 COMMETARYEDITED BY GLE PEASE

1

Then I saw another mighty angel coming

down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud,

with a rainbow above his head; his face was

like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.

BARES, “And I saw - I had a vision of. The meaning is, that he saw this subsequently to the vision in the previous chapter. The attention is now arrested by a new vision - as if some new dispensation or economy was about to occur in the world.Another mighty angel - He had before seen the seven angels who were to blow the

seven trumpets Rev_8:2, he had seen six of them successively blow the trumpet, he now sees another angel, different from them, and apparently having no connection with them, coming from heaven to accomplish some important purpose before the seventh angel should give the final blast. The angel is here characterized as a “mighty” angel -

�σχυρ�ν ischuron - one of strength and power; implying that the work to be accomplished

by his mission demanded the interposition of one of the higher orders of the heavenly inhabitants. The coming of an angel at all was indicative of some divine interposition in human affairs; the fact that he was one of exalted rank, or endowed with vast power, indicated the nature of the work to be done - that it was a work to the execution of which great obstacles existed, and where great power would be needed.

Clothed with a cloud - Encompassed with a cloud, or enveloped in a cloud. This was a symbol of majesty and glory, and is often represented as accompanying the divine presence, Exo_16:9-10; Exo_24:16; Exo_34:5; Num_11:25; 1Ki_8:10; Psa_97:2. The Saviour also ascended in a cloud, Act_1:9; and he will again descend in clouds to judge the world, Mat_24:30; Mat_26:64; Mar_13:26; Rev_1:7. Nothing can be argued here as to the purpose for which the angel appeared, from his being encompassed with a cloud; nor can anything be argued from it in respect to the question who this angel was. The fair interpretation is, that this was one of the angels now represented as sent forth on an errand of mercy to man, and coming with appropriate majesty as the messenger of God.

And a rainbow was upon his head - In Rev_4:3 the throne in heaven is represented as encircled by a rainbow. See the notes on that verse. The rainbow is properly an emblem of peace. Here the symbol would mean that the angel came not for wrath, but for purposes of peace; that he looked with a benign aspect upon people, and that the effect of his coming would be like that of sunshine after a storm.

And his face was as it were the sun - Bright like the sun (See the notes at Rev_1:16); that is, he looked upon people with:

(a) An intelligent aspect - as the sun is the source of light; and,

(b) With benignity - not covered with clouds, or darkened by wrath. The brightness is probably the main idea, but the appearance of the angel would, as here represented, naturally suggest the ideas just referred to. As an emblem or symbol we should regard his appearing as what was to be followed by knowledge and by prosperity.

And his feet as pillars of fire - See the notes on Rev_1:15. In this symbol, then, we have the following things:

(a) An angel - as the messenger of God, indicating that some new communication was to be brought to mankind, or that there would be some interposition in human affairs which might be well represented by the coming of an angel;

(b) The fact that he was “mighty” - indicating that the work to be done required power beyond human strength;

(c) The fact that he came in a cloud - on an embassage so grand and magnificent as to make this symbol of majesty proper;

(d) The fact that he was encircled by a rainbow - that the visitation was to be one of peace to mankind; and,

(e) The fact that his coming was like the sun - or would diffuse light and peace.

Now, in regard to the application of this, without adverting to any other theory, no one can fail to see that, on the supposition that it was designed to refer to the Reformation, this would be the most striking and appropriate symbol that could have been chosen. For:

(a) as we have seen already, this is the place which the vision naturally occupies in the series of historical representations.

(b) It was at a period of the world, and the world was in such a state, that an intervention of this kind would be properly represented by the coming of an angel from heaven. God had visited the nations with terrible judgments, but the effect had not been to produce reformation, for the same forms of wickedness continued to prevail which had existed before. See the notes at Rev_9:20-21. In this state of things any new interposition of God for reforming the world would be properly represented by the coming of an angel from heaven as a messenger of light and peace.

(c) The great and leading events of the Reformation were well represented by the power of this angel. It was not, indeed, physical power; but the work to be done in the Reformation was a great work, and was such as would be well symbolized by the intervention of a mighty angel from heaven. The task of reforming the church, and of correcting the abuses which had prevailed, was wholly beyond any ability which man possessed, and was well represented, therefore, by the descent of this messenger from the skies.

(d) The same thing may be said of the rainbow that was upon his head. Nothing would better symbolize the general aspect of the Reformation, as suited to produce peace, tranquility, and joy upon the earth. And,

(e) the same thing was indicated by the splendor - the light and glory - that attended the angel. The symbol would denote that the new order of things would be attended with light; with knowledge; with what would be benign in its influence on human affairs. And it need not be said, to anyone acquainted with the history of those times, that the Reformation was preceded and accompanied with a great increase of light; that at just about that period of the world the study of the Greek-language began to be common in Europe; that the sciences had made remarkable progress; that schools and colleges had

begun to flourish; and that, to a degree which had not existed for ages before, the public mind had become awakened to the importance of truth and knowledge. For a full illustration of this, from the close of the eleventh century and onward, see Hallam’s Middle Ages, vol. ii. pp. 265-293, ch. ix. part 2. To go into any satisfactory detail on this point would be wholly beyond the proper limits of these notes, and the reader must be referred to the histories of those times, and especially to Hallam, who has recorded all that is necessary to be known on the subject. Suffice it to say, that on the supposition that it was the intention to symbolize those times, no more appropriate emblem could have been found than that of an angel whose face shone like the sun, and who was covered with light and splendor. These remarks will show, that if it be supposed it was intended to symbolize the Reformation, no more appropriate emblem could have been selected than that of such an angel coming down from heaven. If, after the events have occurred, we should desire to represent the same things by a striking and expressive symbol, we could find none that would better represent those times.

CLARKE, “Another mighty angel - Either Christ or his representative; clothed with a cloud; a symbol of the Divine majesty.A rainbow was upon his head - The token of God’s merciful covenant with

mankind.

His face was as it were the sun - So intensely glorious that it could not be looked on.

His feet as pillars of fire - To denote the rapidity and energy of his motions, and the stability of his counsels.

GILL, “And I saw another mighty angel,.... Not any mere man, as Justin the emperor, as some have thought, who sent letters abroad in favour of the orthodox doctrine, against the Arians, which they suppose is meant by the little book open in his right hand; and still less the pope of Rome, whether in the sense of Papists or Protestants, which latter represent him as a tyrant, treading upon men both in the islands and in the continent, and holding forth the book of canons and decrees; rather, as Mr. Daubuz thinks, Luther, with the rest of the reformers, is intended, and especially since the prophecy of this chapter respects the Reformation, which began before the end of the sixth trumpet; and the epithets given to this angel may denote his strength and courage, his divine authority, the protection of him, and the clear doctrine of peace and reconciliation he brought: however, a created angel is not intended: not the angel that made proclamation for the opening of the book, and unsealing it, Rev_5:2; between which, and having the book in his right hand open, is a wide difference; nor any other, though the epithet "mighty" belongs to angels in common; and though this angel swears by the living God; and though it was an angel by whom Christ signified the things contained in this book to John; but the uncreated Angel, the Lord Jesus Christ, seems rather designed, as appears both by comparing this with Dan_12:7; and from the power lie gave to the two witnesses, Rev_11:3; which cannot agree with a created angel; and besides, who so proper to hold the book open as he who unloosed the seals, and opened it, and to whom the epithet "mighty" may be applied in the highest sense, as God; and who as man may be said to swear by the living God, and to whom the whole description

well agrees? he is sometimes called an Angel simply, Gen_48:16; sometimes the Angel of the Lord, and who appears to be Jehovah himself, the second Person, Gen_16:7, compared with Gen_19:1; and sometimes the Angel of God's presence, Isa_63:9; and the Angel of the great council in the Septuagint on Isa_9:6; and the Angel, or messenger, of the covenant, Mal_3:1; and may be so called, because he is a messenger from God as man and Mediator, being sent by him to declare his will and redeem his people: and he is a "mighty" one; not only as God, being the mighty God, the Almighty, which appears by his creation of all things, and upholding them in their beings; but as Mediator, having all power in heaven and in earth, and being far above all principality, power, and might; and, as man, made strong by God for himself, and for his people: he appears now as "another" angel, distinct from the seven angels who had trumpets given them to sound, and six of which had already sounded; and particularly from the angel of the sixth trumpet, who had just sounded; though some copies, and the Complutensian edition,

leave out the word αλλον, "another"; and very opportunely does he appear for the

comfort of his church, when the trumpets that had been blown had brought such desolations upon the empire, western and eastern, and when both the western and eastern antichrists had appeared, and before the seventh trumpet sounds, and brings in the last and greatest woe: and he is said to

come down from heaven; which does not design his incarnation, that was long before this time; nor his spiritual presence with his people, which is common to them in all ages; nor his second coming to judgment, which will be by a descent from heaven, and in the clouds of heaven, for that is yet future; but in a visionary way, his appearance to and for his church and people in the dark times of antichrist, when afflicted by the Turk on the one hand, and the pope on the other:

clothed with a cloud (n); which is expressive not of the human nature of Christ, with which his divinity was veiled in his state of humiliation, so that few saw the glory of his divine Person and the greater part esteemed him a mere man; but rather of the obscurity of him, his person, offices, and grace, in those times of antichristian darkness, and even of the dim light and knowledge which his true and faithful followers had of him in those times; it was a dark and cloudy day with them, as well as the whole earth was covered with the gross darkness of Popery and Mahometanism; though it seems best of all to interpret this phrase of the majestic presence of Christ in his appearances to his people, who went before the people of Israel in a cloud by day in the wilderness, descended in one on Mount Sinai, dwelt in one both in the tabernacle and temple, was overshadowed by one on the Mount when transfigured, ascended in one to heaven, and will return in one, or more: moreover, the cloud may denote the power and protection of God attending the Reformation; see Psa_68:34;

and a rainbow was upon his head; which was a token of the covenant; see Rev_4:3; and the note there: this, with its blessings, is upon the head of Christ, the antitypical Joseph, and who is the head of his church and people; and Christ appearing in this form at this time when the world was overflowed with Popery and Mahometanism, shows that God was still mindful of his covenant, even in those worst of times, and would not suffer his church to be overwhelmed, and sunk in the general deluge of antichristianism, or the gates of hell to prevail against it; Christ, at such a tirade as this, very seasonably appeals with the rainbow of the covenant on his head, as a messenger of peace, and bringer of good tidings, to let his people know that ere long it would be halcyon days with them, and there would be times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, who was ever

mindful of his covenant with them; and that the Gospel of peace and reconciliation would be preached unto them:

and his face was as it were the sun; or looked like the sun, as it did at the time of his transfiguration on the and as he is described in Rev_1:16, and may denote clearness and purity of Christ; both as God, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express of his person; and as man, who is holy, harmless, up defiled; and is also expressive of that fight of nature, grace, and glory, which he imparts unto the sons of men; as well as of that beauty, loveliness, and amiableness in his person, which renders him as the sun, delightful to behold; and of the majesty of his person, and the manifestations of himself, to the great comfort, pleasure, and refreshment of his saints:

and his feet as pillars of fire; which may refer to the state of the church of Christ at this time, which was in the fire of afflictions, when many of its members were called to the stake, and burnt there for the sake of the Gospel, and yet were like "pillars", firm and unshaken; the church was like the bush that Moses saw, which was on fire, but not consumed; Christ was with his people as they passed through it, that it could not kindle upon them so as to destroy them; and their faith, which was tried by it, was found to be much more precious than of gold that perisheth: or this may show what Christ then was, both to his people and to his enemies; to his people his feet were as "pillars" of brass and marble, to bear them up, and support them under all their trials and afflictions; his goings forth towards them in a way both of providence and grace, were in such a manner, as to strengthen and confirm them in the faith of him against all the powers of hell and earth; and they were like "fire", to consume his and their enemies; with his feet he trod upon them, and subdued them under him, who were as stubble, briers and thorns, easily consumed by him, when at the same time be was a wall of fire to his people, and the glory in the midst of them.

HERY, “Here we have an account of another vision the apostle was favoured with, between the sounding of the sixth trumpet and that of the seventh. And we observe,I. The person who was principally concerned in communicating this discovery to John

- an angel from heaven, another mighty angel, who is so set forth as would induce one to think it could be no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 1. He was clothed with a cloud: he veils his glory, which is too great for mortality to behold; and he throws a veil upon his dispensations. Clouds and darkness are round about him. 2. A rainbow was upon his head; he is always mindful of his covenant, and, when his conduct is most mysterious, yet it is perfectly just and faithful. 3. His face was as the sun, all bright, and full of lustre and majesty, Rev_1:16. 4. His feet were as pillars of fire; all his ways, both of grace and providence, are pure and steady.

II. His station and posture: He set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth, to show the absolute power and dominion he had over the world. And he held in his hand a little book opened, probably the same that was before sealed, but was now opened, and gradually fulfilled by him.

JAMISO, “Rev_10:1-11. Vision of the little book.As an episode was introduced between the sixth and seventh seals, so there is one here

(Revelation 10:1-11:14) after the sixth and introductory to the seventh trumpet (Rev_11:15, which forms the grand consummation). The Church and her fortunes are the

subject of this episode: as the judgments on the unbelieving inhabiters of the earth (Rev_8:13) were the exclusive subject of the fifth and sixth woe-trumpets. Rev_6:11 is plainly referred to in Rev_10:6 below; in Rev_6:11 the martyrs crying to be avenged were told they must “rest yet for a little season” or time: in Rev_10:6 here they are assured, “There shall be no longer (any interval of) time”; their prayer shall have no longer to wait, but (Rev_10:7) at the trumpet sounding of the seventh angel shall be consummated, and the mystery of God (His mighty plan heretofore hidden, but then to be revealed) shall be finished. The little open book (Rev_10:2, Rev_10:9, Rev_10:10) is given to John by the angel, with a charge (Rev_10:11) that he must prophesy again concerning (so the Greek) peoples, nations, tongues, and kings: which prophecy (as appears from Rev_11:15-19) affects those peoples, nations, tongues, and kings only in relation to ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH, who form the main object of the prophecy.

another mighty angel — as distinguished from the mighty angel who asked as to the former and more comprehensive book (Rev_5:2), “Who is worthy to open the book?”

clothed with a cloud — the emblem of God coming in judgment.

a — A, B, C, and Aleph read “the”; referring to (Rev_4:3) the rainbow already mentioned.

rainbow upon his head — the emblem of covenant mercy to God’s people, amidst judgments on God’s foes. Resumed from Rev_4:3 (see on Rev_4:3).

face as ... the sun — (Rev_1:16; Rev_18:1).

feet as pillars of fire — (Rev_1:15; Eze_1:7). The angel, as representative of Christ, reflects His glory and bears the insignia attributed in Rev_1:15, Rev_1:16; Rev_4:3, to Christ Himself. The pillar of fire by night led Israel through the wilderness, and was the symbol of God’s presence.

PULPIT, “Rev_10:1

And I saw. We have here the commencement of what many writers call an episode, or rather two episodes, which intervene between the sixth and seventh trumpets, just as Rev_7:1-17. occurs between the sixth and seventh seals. But as in the latter place we saw only a greater elaboration in the introduction to the seventh seal, and not a detached relation, so hereRev_10:1-11.

and Rev_11:1-14 form a gradual transition from the sixth to the seventh trumpet, and supplement what is set forth under those trumpets. The passage is so far a digression, as it is occupied chiefly in setting forth the fate of the Church rather than that of the ungodly; but it only does so to demonstrate the wickedness of the world, and the inevitable nature of the last great punishment. Rev_9:1-21. ends (almost in a tone of surprise) with the words, "Neither repented they," etc.; therefore the angel now declares that, as all the warnings vouchsafed have brought men as a whole no nearer to God, the last final punishment must now fall. But, as if the measure of God's mercy were not yet fully filled up, it is shown how he has given to the world two witnesses, by which men might be induced to repent. But this, too, only serves to add to the condemnation of the world, which wrests this gift to its own destruction. We thus have the connection. God has sent punishments as warnings. But he not only has done this, he has also given direct instruction by the witness of his Word; man has despised both; therefore the end must come. Although the main object of the trumpet visions is to set forth the woes inflicted upon the wicked, yet the seer, as it were, hesitates to indicate the last dread punishment until he has alluded to the opportunities which God has afforded mankind of escaping that end. Another mighty angel come down from heaven; coming down out of heaven (Revised Version). So in the vision of the seals, at this point the advent of another angel ushers in the following incidents (Rev_7:2). He is probably another angel as distinguished from the sixth angel (Rev_9:13). There is not sufficient reason for supposing

that Christ is meant. Wherever our Lord is referred to in the Revelation, it is always in a mode which cannot possibly be mistaken (cf. Rev_1:13; Rev_5:6, etc.). St. John's position is now upon the earth. In the vision he is either in heaven or on the earth, as required, he thus sees the angel apparently coming down from heaven. Clothed with a cloud. The symbol of majesty (cf. Exo_16:10; Luk_21:27; Rev_1:7, etc.). And a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was

as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. Omit "was." The description shows the celestial dignity of the messenger. Perhaps there is a reference in the rainbow to the merciful character of this angel's mission, and the faithfulness and patience of God. The two last clauses express the same idea, viz. the bright and glorious appearance of the angel. God's glory is reflected in his messenger, as formerly it was in Moses (Exo_34:29,Exo_34:30).

BURKITT, “This angel is concluded to represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of the covenant: he is called a mighty angel, in opposition to the mighty enemies of his church, mentioned in the foregoing chapter: he is said to come down from heaven, to intimate his signal and seasonable appearing for the relief of his church; clothed with a cloud, representing the manner of his coming in the clouds at the final judgment; with a rainbow on his head, signifying that covenant of peace which he had made with his church, and his continual mindfulness of that covenant; his face was as the sun, to denote that light of comfort and deliverance which he would bring to his church in his own time; his feet as pillars, signifying the steadiness and stability of his purposes and actions, that where he sets his feet, none can remove him; and as pillars of fire, denoting his ability to tread down his enemies under him, and also to consume them: this is according to the description of his person, given, Rev_1:15-16. The emblems and figures by which he is represented here, are the same by which he was the same person.

Observe next, The account of what he did, He had a little book in his hand open, to distinguish it from the former book sealed; a book in which the purpose and decree of God was made known concerning what should happen to the church; a book sealed; and shut to us, but obvious and open to Christ. Christ, that lay in the bosom of the Father, reveals his Father's secrets to us, so far as it is needful and necessary for us to know them. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the earth, to let us know his sovereignty and dominion over the whole world; as well over the turbulent and unquiet, as over the quiet and more peacable part of it; and also to signify his ability to tread down his enemies, wherever they are; a consideration that administers much comfort and consolation to his church; his dominion is over the earth and sea; none can dispossess him of his power, and none can escape his presence.

BARCLAY, “THE UUTTERABLE REVELATIO

Rev. 10:1-4

I saw another angel, a mighty one, coming down out of heaven, clad in a cloud, and

with a rainbow on his head. His face was as the sun and his feet were like pillars of

fire. He had in his hand a little roll which was opened. He put his right foot on the

sea and his left foot on the land, and he cried with a loud voice as a lion roars, and,

when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. When the seven thunders

spoke, I was about to write and I heard a voice from heaven saying: "Set a seal on

what the seven thunders said, and do not write it."

Rev. 10 and Rev. 11:1-14 is a kind of interlude between the sounding of the sixth

and the seventh trumpets. The sixth trumpet has already sounded, but the seventh

does not sound until Rev. 11:15, and in between there are terrible things.

The mighty angel in this passage is described in terms which show that he came

straight from the presence of God and the Risen Christ. He is clad in a cloud and

the clouds are the chariots of God, for "God maketh the clouds his chariot"

(Ps.104:3). He has a rainbow on his head and the rainbow is part of the glory of the

throne of God (Eze.1:28). The rainbow is caused by the light of the angel's face

shining through the cloud. His face is as the sun which is the description of the face

of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt.17:2). His voice was as the roar of a

lion which is often used as a simile of the voice of God, "the Lord roars from Zion

and utters his voice from Jerusalem" (Jl.3:16; Hos.11:10; Am.3:8). Clearly this

angel has come from the very presence of God; some think that he is none other

than the glorified Christ himself.

The angel has one foot on the sea and one on the land. This shows his size and

power, for sea and land stand for the sum total of the universe. It also shows that the

power of God stands as firm on the sea as it does on the land. In his hand the angel

has a little roll, unrolled and opened. That is to say, he is giving John a limited

revelation about a quite small period of time. When the angel speaks, the seven

thunders sound. They are most likely a reference to the seven voices of God in Ps.29.

aturally, when the seer sees the open roll and hears the angel's voice, he prepares

to make a record of it; but he is ordered not to do so. That is to say, he is being

given a revelation which at the moment he is not to pass on. We get exactly the same

idea when Paul tells us that he was caught up to the third heaven and "heard things

that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2Cor.12:4). We need not even begin

to speculate about what the secret revelation was. We simply know that John had

experiences which he could not communicate to others. God sometimes tells a man

more than that man can say or than his generation can understand.

Again, the big debate is whether or not this is Christ. Many say yes, but others

say no.

Eugene Peterson writes, "St. John's apocalyptic angels are not one way. ot the

plump darlings of the Rubens' oils, of the giggling, tinsel-fringed girls in Christmas

plays, but real angels,k apocalyptic angels-vast, fiery, sea-striding creatures with

hell in their nostrils and heaven in their eyes. Angels are a biblical means for

representing the invisible. When the invisible, intricate and complex, rich and

luxuriant, is alive to the minds of men and women, references to angels abound. The

belief in angels represents a recognition that God's world....is far richer than what

can be seen on our planet."

Ray Summers (10:1-7) The angel and the seven thunders comprie the first part of

the interlude. John sees a strong angel radiantly clad coming down out of heaven.

He is a messenger of divine vindication. There seems to be little support for

Richardson's position that this is Christ himself; elsewhere angels have been the

messengers, and the same seems to be true here. He has in his hand a small open

book. He stands with one foot on the land and one on the sea to indicate that his

message is for the whole world. He cries with a loud voice like the roar of a lion.

The cry was no doubt to attract attention to what he was going to say. Before he can

make his announcement, "the seven thunders uttered their voices." Thunder is

symbolical of warning. In all other prefatory passages in which thunders occur

(8:5; 11:19; 16:18) they form a premonition of judgments of divine wrath; that is

probably the isgnificance here. Along with the seven seals, even trumpets, and seven

bowls there was the warning of the seven thunders. John had been told to write

what he saw and heard. In obedience to that injuction he started to write the

warnings of the seven thunders. A voice from heaven stopped him and told him to

seal up the things which the seven thunders had uttered. The reason for this is given

in the next few verses--there was to be no more warning. The angel who had been

thus interrupted now lifted his hand an dgave the last solemn verdict, "There

shall be delay no longer." He continued to reveal the fact that the sounding of the

seventh trumpet would usher int he finish of God's mystery. The warning given by

the six trumpets had been sufficient; men refused to repent; retribution will be

visited without further dealy. For that reason JOhn was not allowed to write down

the warnings issued by the seven thunders. There is to be no more warning, no

more delay.

RIGGS, “At this point we have an interlude between the sixth an seventh trumpets

or the second and third woes as there was between the sixth and seventh seals. John

sees another strong angel coming down out of heaven arrayed with a cloud. otice

the vivid description of this angel. He was clothed with a cloud and a rainbow was

upon his head (clad with radiance and splendor) and his face was as it were the sun

and his feet as pillars of fire (bright and glorious). He had "a little book open" in his

hand (vs. 2), unlike the one in ch. 5. He sat his right foot upon the sea and his left

foot on the earth (of immense size--indicating that his message was for all people of

the world). This glorious vision indicates that it is one of importance. DAVID

RIGGS

KRETZMA, “Just as there had been, after the opening of the sixth seal, a passage full of comfort for the true believers, so we have, in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth chapters, incidents that prepare for the last great woe. There are many details in these scenes which cannot be interpreted with certainty by anyone but a prophet; however, the general trend of the narrative. is clear. In the first scene we find: And I saw another strong angel descending out of heaven, clad in a cloud, and a rainbow on his head and his face like the sun and his feet like columns of fire. One angel had been spoken of in chap. 5:2. Here was another angel, strong and mighty, with all the characteristics which pointed to a creature that either belonged to the angels of the Lord, or resembled them to such an extent as to deceive men. He comes in cloud, just as the Lord descended upon the Tabernacle and upon the Temple in the Old Testament. He has a rainbow, the emblem of peace, on his head. The radiance of his face resembles that of the sun. His feet resemble pillars of fire, just as those of Christ, the great Victor over all enemies.

Of this majestic creature the seer writes: And having in his hand a small book opened; and he placed his right foot upon the sea, but the left upon the earth, and called with a great shout like a lion roaring; and when he had called, the seven thunders spoke their thunders. in chap. 5:1 he had referred to a larger, closed book; here it is only a booklet which he sees in the hand of the angel. The colossal figure of the majestic creature bestrode land and sea, since he was possessed of great power and wanted to have his message heeded in all the wide world. For this reason also he shouted with a lion's roaring to have his voice penetrate to the end of the world, and like a mighty echo the seven thunders rolled forth their voices in an articulate bellow like the sevenfold voices of the Lord in thunder, Psa_29:1-11.

COFFMAN, “The big thing in this chapter is "the little book open," which beyond any reasonable doubt is the New Testament. Of all the books ever heard of in the history of the world, there is only one small book continuing to remain open in spite of the most vigorous efforts of hell and the devil to close it, and deserving to receive the supernatural guardianship of one of God's most mighty and glorious angels. If there is even another candidate for such a unique status, this writer has never heard of it.It is nothing short of phenomenal that most of the commentators on Revelation appear to be blind to the glorious vision of "the little book open." Many refer to this chapter as a consolatory vision for "the church," despite the church's not even being mentioned in the whole chapter; whereas, the little book or its equivalent pronoun occurs eleven times in as many verses!

What is the true significance of this? The Lord, through John, had just revealed the final impenitence and violent rebellion of the human race against God as history moves toward the terminal of the final judgment; and the persecuted and suffering Christians who first received this prophecy would naturally have been concerned with the question of what about the preaching of the word of God? especially of the New Testament, during such events, which, for all that they certainly knew were even then descending upon them. This chapter addresses that question. It is the apocalyptic counterpart of such great promises of the Lord Jesus Christ as these:

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35).

The gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world (Mark 14:9).

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all nations; and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14).

The word that I spake, the same shall judge him (man) in the last day (John 12:48).

Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).

Ye shall be my witnesses ... to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).SIZE>

All history is the record of the fulfillment of these blessed promises of the Lord. These promises are found in the first five books of the New Testament, and the chapter before us is the inspired revelation of the reason why this fulfillment was possible. It shows that the holy providence of the Lord Jesus Christ which was pledged to the church in the promise of his being with them "always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20), also includes the exercise of that same providence in the preservation of the sacred New Testament, which is the unique origin, nourishment, and vitality of the church. Christ's promise to be with his church necessarily includes also his promise of being with the New Testament, without which the church could not possibly exist. This chapter makes that truth plain.

Right here is the reason why vicious and unbelieving scholars, devoting their total lives to the purpose of downgrading or destroying the New Testament, are foreordained to frustration and defeat. Let them look up from their mythology, folklore, Armenian and Mandaean eschatology, Babylonian creation stories, and the poetry and philosophy of pagan literature; let them desist from their silly word-counting games, their bizarre subjective guesses, and all their other devices, and let them behold the Rainbow Angel with the New Testament open in his hand! Open forever more, until day breaks and shadows flee! Will the enemies of the New Testament prevail? Ask the Rainbow Angel. Consult this chapter.

This chapter must not be understood as sequential chronologically to the six trumpets, but rather as a consolatory vision of the way it is with God's word throughout the entire Christian dispensation. Nothing of any greater relevance or significance for our own times, and for all times, appears elsewhere in this prophecy.

Despite this, the reading of the indexes of the whole period of writings by the Ante-Nicene authors reveals only two references to this chapter; and both of them omit any reference to "the little book open." Half a hundred volumes were searched with regard to comment on this chapter; and only the following authors got the point about this little book:

The little book is the word of God, his gospel in which the mystery of salvation is set forth.[1]

It is the word of God which is seen in the hands of this colossal figure (the Rainbow Angel).[2]

The little book contains the gospel of God's mercy.[3]

The little book has reference to the gospel.[4]

The little book open is that gospel which is the sword of the Spirit, the weapon of the church, the word of God open to all, hidden only to those whom the god of this world has blinded.[5] Bede unequivocally identified the little book as the New Testament.[6]

Origen, quoted in Speaker's Commentary, identified it as the book of Scripture.[7]

Davis identified it as the book that is so little that it can be carried in one's vest pocket and so cheap that it can be bought for a few pennies.[8]

Speck saw it as the Bible.[9]

Gaebelein understood it to mean the Old Testament.[10]

The main point of the open booklet is the open Word or Gospel.[11]SIZE>

We are thankful for these but distressed that so many miss this, usually identifying the little book as some portion of this prophecy, failing to see that one part of God's word could not possibly be more important than the rest of it. Thus, no portion of the New Testament could be elevated, as in the hand of this mighty angel, to a status higher than that pertaining to all of it. It is inconceivable that a glorious angel of Almighty God would be

commissioned to look after a few passages in Revelation, as distinguished from the rest of the New Testament. We now turn to the text itself.

And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire; (Revelation 10:1)

I saw another strong angel ... Some take this being to be Christ himself; but, as Earle wrote, "It is generally agreed that another mighty angel would not refer to the Son of God."[12] Still it is true that this angel's description resembles that of the glorified Christ (Revelation 1:16). Some have identified this angel as Gabriel,[13] or Martin Luther;[14] but it is our view that the rank and importance of this celestial being is to be stressed rather than his personal identity, which is not given. "Of all the angels who inhabit the pages of John's book, only three are called mighty.[15]

Coming down out of heaven ... "This event is not to be interpreted as an extension of the sixth trumpet-vision which was introduced in Revelation 9:13."[16] "The very nature of the last two verses of the preceding chapter shows that the account reaches its conclusion there."[17]

This is the beginning of a new vision of God's providential guardianship of the word of God, especially the New Testament, throughout this entire dispensation of the grace of God. It will be noted that John here appears to be on earth, contrasting with other occasions in Revelation when he was in heaven. "This illustrates the fluidity of apocalyptic thought; one can move from heaven to earth in vision without explanation."[18]

Cloud ... rainbow, ... "This is a description of the great angel emphasizing his rank and glory. Lenski called him "The Rainbow Angel."[19]

[1] William Hendriksen, More than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1956), p. 151.

[2] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentaries, Vol. 20, The Revelation of St. John (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969), p. 138.

[3] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 126.

[4] R. H. Banowsky, The Revelation of the Holy City (Fort Worth, Texas: J. E. Snelson Printing Company, 1967), p. 48.

[5] W. Boyd Carpenter, Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 582.

[6] A. Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 273.

[7] Ibid.

[8] W. M. Davis, Studies in Revelation (Austin, Texas: Firm Foundation Publishing House, n.d.), p. 25.

[9] Willie Wallace Speck, The Triumph of Faith (San Marcos, Texas: Mrs. H. E. Speck, 1958), p. 117.

[10] Arno C. Gaebelein, The Revelation (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1961), p. 67.

[11] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943), p. 322.

[12] Ralph Earle, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 559.

[13] Robert H. Mounce, Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977), p. 207.

[14] John T. Hinds, A Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1962), p. 146.

[15] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 125.

[16] Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 573.

[17] Ibid.

[18] George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 141.

[19] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 310.

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “I saw another mighty angel … clothed with a cloud.The word of assurance and consolation

The Book of Revelation is written for the comfort of the Church in presence of her oppressing foes. This word of consolation is of great preciousness and help to the suffering Church; for—

I. It is given by the Lord Himself. The strong angel “coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud,” can be none other than the Lord Himself. The surrounding symbols are His, and His alone. “The rainbow was upon His head”; “His face was as the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire.” It is the reflection of the Divine glory in Christ. When He cries the seven thunders utter their voices, and His great voice was “as a lion roareth.” From the word of such a one the Church may always gather the utmost comfort.

II. It gives the prospect and pledge of release. The suffering Church writhes in its anguish; but a definite limit is put to the days of sorrow. “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound.” This is not indefinite and uncertain: “There shall be time no longer”—there shall be no more delay. Relief is certain and speedy. This

is assured by oath, even by the voice of the Angel who “sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven, and the things that are therein, and the earth, and the things that are therein, and the sea, and the things that are therein.” This oath is for truest confirmation.

III. The word of consolation and promise is given in the most solemn and assuring manner. This is seen in the whole vision—the person, attitude, message, oath, and surrounding testimonies.

IV. It is the truest, the utmost encouragement to hope. Upon this vision the Church should ever reflect in the time of suffering and fear. It is possible patiently to endure and hold out when a definite and assured prospect and pledge of relief is given. The words, “declared to His servants the prophets,” shall have their fulfilment; “the mystery” shall be “finished.” (R. Green.)

Aspects of Christ

1. The gospel and Church of Christ has mighty enemies, such as princes and the great men of the earth. Yet here is her comfort, that she has a mighty Angel, even that great Angel of the Covenant, Christ Jesus, the Almighty God, for her, to deliver her and confound her enemies, in the height of their pride.

2. By this mighty Angel’s coming down from heaven we see whence and whereby shall be the ruin of antichrist, to wit, not from the earth or the arm of flesh, but from heaven and the heavenly power of the Word of God.

3. He comes clothed with a cloud, to show the manner of His manifestation to His Church in His Word and sacraments, and that her knowledge of Him on earth is but obscure and only in part.

4. By the rainbow on His head we see that He comes to His Church with peace, and the assurance of the covenant thereof; and so shall He come in like manner to every humbled soul.

5. His face is said to be as the sun, whereby we see that as antichrist comes with darkness and the smoke of error, so on the contrary Christ comes ever with the light and brightness of truth.

6. His feet as pillars of fire, to tread down and consume His enemies, serve as a just and dreadful terror to His foes, but as a sweet and singular comfort to His elect ones, who are here trod upon and cruelly used. (William Guild, D. D.)

And he had in his hands a little book open.—

The little book; or, characteristics of revelation

“He had in his hand a little book open.”

I. The ambassador who beings it. Much may be learnt concerning any message that is sent by an earthly monarch from the character and rank and insignia which belong to the messenger. He who brings God’s message to mankind is one of no mean order, and the tokens of his authority are of the most impressive kind.

1. He comes from heaven. The Bible is not a merely human production.

2. It is mighty in its power. It was “a strong angel” that St. John saw, suggesting to him and to us the strength of that message which he was commissioned to bring. What trophies of its power has not the Bible won?

3. Its truths fill the soul with awe. The angel was “clothed with a cloud”—symbol this of the majesty and mystery that surround and invest the foundation-teachings of the Word of God.

4. But they are crowned with blessed promise and grace. “The rainbow was upon his head.” Though there be so much that we cannot penetrate or comprehend, nevertheless the predominant characteristic is that of “grace.”

5. They irradiate and illumine all our earthly life. “His face was it were the sun.” “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is to behold the sun” (Ecc_11:7).

6. And they shall never be driven forth or removed. “His feet as pillars of fire,” and verse 2. “He planted his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth.” His invincible power is signified by “the pillars of fire”; and his having set his feet upon the earth and sea tells of “the immovable steadfastness of the heavenly Conqueror against all the resistance of His enemies.” All Church history proves this. In many ages and places it has been death to keep a copy of the sacred writings. Wherever they were found, they were ruthlessly destroyed, and often they also with whom they were found. But every copy of the Bible that we possess to-day proves how partial and ineffective all such endeavours were. Glory be to God that they were so!

II. The description given of is. “A little book open.”

1. A book. The Bible is not the revelation itself, but the record of it. But without the record the revelation would not have availed us. Great scorn has been poured on the idea of “a book revelation,,’ and an immense deal of poor wit has been expended upon the idea that God should have used such mean materials as books are made of as the vehicle of His revelation of Himself. But the Bible is not the revelation, only its record; and it is reason for eternal gratitude that His revelation has been so given that it can be thus recorded. In what other way could the knowledge of God have been so well preserved or spread abroad?

2. Its seeming insignificance. It is “a little book.” In these days of gold and guns, when wealth and armies are thought to be the great means of accomplishing everything, the spiritual force that lies hidden in “a little book” counts but for little. But what hath not God wrought by it? And we may be grateful that it is little, and not a ponderous library which it would need a lifetime even to know part of, but one small volume which can be read and re-read and carried everywhere as we will. No doubt the littleness of the book here spoken of is intended to be in contrast with that vast volume told of in chap. 5., which was written within and without, so complete, so full, was it.

3. It is to be an open book. St. John saw it “open” in the hand of the angel. There have been and there are those who would have the Word of God closed, if not entirely, yet to large extent. God hath caused the vision to be written and made “plain,” so that the unlearned may learn, and the most simple comprehend.

III. The voices for and against it. We read that the angel cried with a loud voice, and that the seven thunders uttered their voices. Now—

1. The angelic voice suggests—

(1) The startling effect of the Word of God upon mankind. The angel’s voice was “as when a lion roareth.” So did the Word of God affect men. See when at the Reformation it was first freely given to Europe. How it roused men’s minds, awoke them from their lethargy, nation after nation heard the sound and broke away from the superstition and sins in which they had so long lived t And it is so still.

(2) The assured persuasion it gives concerning the mystery of this present life. The solemn oath of the angel (verses 5-7) did but represent what the Word of God accomplishes. As He gave, so it gives, solemn assurance that what now is—so much of it so mournful, so full of mystery—is not ever to be, but shall have an end. Life is a mystery now, even in these comparatively calm days of ours; but what must it have appeared to the persecuted, outraged Church of St. John’s day?

2. The thunder voice (verse 4). The question comes—Whence this voice of the seven thunders? It has, we think, been too hastily assumed that St. John is referring to the sevenfold voice of the thunder mentioned in Psa_29:1-11. And, doubtless, in this book thunders are referred to as coming forth from the throne of God (cf. Rev_4:5). But the true interpretation is given, we think, in the strikingly parallel passages in Dan_8:26; Dan_12:4-9, where that which the prophet is commanded to “seal up” is not what God shall do, but what His people’s enemies shall do against Him and them. And so here, we believe, the thunders tell of the wrathful response, the angry mutterings of God’s enemies against His truth. And, thus regarded, they tell of the opposition the Word arouses in the world of the wicked. It has ever been so. Hence the Divine forces on the side of the Church and against her foes are what this book mainly reveals. It tells us, “The Lord is on our side; we will not fear what man can do unto us.”

IV. The directions concerning it. As it was with the “little book” so it must be with the Word of God.

1. It must be received as from God (verse 8).

2. It must be taken into the soul. This is the meaning of the strange command, “Take it, and eat it up.”

3. When so taken, it will produce both sorrow and joy. The first taste will be pleasant. “In thy mouth sweet as honey.” And it is so. Is it not a joy that we have a revelation from God at all; that we are assured God is “our Father which art in heaven”; that our salvation is “without money and without price,” for that Christ died for us? Yes; “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” are these precious truths. But the after-taste will cause distress and pain. Witness the Saviour’s tears over lost souls, and the like tears shed still by those who know “the fellowship of His sufferings.” That men should resist and reject such a Saviour; that we should so long have done so, and do not yet wholly receive Him—yes, this after-taste hath pain.

4. When eaten, it qualifies for witness-bearing for God (verse 11). This is the real qualification, this deep experimental knowledge of the power of God’s Word. All else is a naught compared with this. Only such God ordains to be His prophets. Thus doth this “little book,” though it meant not the Bible, tell of the Bible. (S. Conway, B. A.)

EBC, “FIRST CONSOLATORY VISIONAT the point now reached by us the regular progress of the Trumpet judgments is interrupted, in precisely the same manner as between the sixth and seventh Seals, by two

consolatory visions. The first is contained in Rev. 10, the second in Rev_11:1-13. At Rev_11:14 the series of the Trumpets is resumed, reaching from that point to the end of the chapter.

"And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud: and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book-roll open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth: and he cried with a great voice, as a lion roareth: and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever and ever, who created the heaven, and the things that are therein, and the earth, and the things that are therein, and the sea, and the things that are therein, that there shall be time no longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which He declared to His servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard it again speaking with me, and saying, Go, take the book-roll which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book-roll. And he saith unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey. And I took the little book-roll out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. And they say unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings (Rev_10:1-11)."

Many questions of deep interest, and upon which the most divergent opinions have been entertained, meet us in connection with this passage. To attempt to discuss these various opinions would only confuse the reader. It will be enough to allude to them when it seems necessary to do so. In the meantime, before endeavoring to discover the meaning of the vision, three observations may be made; one of a general kind, the other two bearing upon the interpretation of particular clauses.

1. Like almost all else in the Revelation of St. John, the vision is founded upon a passage of the Old Testament. "And when I looked," says the prophet Ezekiel, "behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein. . . . Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. And He said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And He said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them."* (* Eze_2:9; Eze_3:4)

2. In one expression of Rev_10:6 it is doubtful whether the translation of the Authorized and Revised Versions, or the marginal translation of the latter, ought to be adopted, whether we ought to read, "There shall be time" or "There shall be delay" no longer. But the former is not only the natural meaning of the original; it would almost seem, from the use of the same word in other passages of the Apocalypse,1 that it is employed by St. John to designate the whole Christian age. That age is now at its very close. The last hour is about to strike. The drama of the world s history is about to be wound up. "For the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short."2 (1Comp. Rev_6:11; Rev_20:3; 2 Rom_9:28).

3. The last verse of the chapter deserves our attention for a moment: And they say unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Although prophecy itself is spoken of in several passages of this book,* we read only once again of prophesying: when it is said in Rev_11:3 of the two witnesses that they shall prophesy. A comparison of these passages will show that both words are to be understood in the sense of proclaiming the righteous acts and judgments of the Almighty. The prophet of the Apocalypse is not the messenger of mercy only, but of the just government of God. (*Comp. Rev_1:3; Rev_22:7; Rev_22:10; Rev_22:18-19)

From these subordinate points we hasten to questions more immediately concerning us in our effort to understand the chapter. Several such questions have to be asked.

1. Who is the angel introduced to us in the first verse of the vision? He is described as another strong angel; and, as the epithet "strong" has been so used only once before - in Rev_5:2, in connection with the opening of the book-roll sealed with seven seals - we are entitled to conclude that this angel is said to be "another" in comparison with the angel there spoken of rather than with the many angels that surround the throne of God. But the "strong angel" in chap. 5 is distinguished both from God Himself, and from the Lamb. In some sense, therefore, a similar distinction must be drawn here. On the other hand, the particulars mentioned of this angel lead directly to the conclusion not only that he has Divine attributes, but that he represents no other than that Son of man beheld by St John in the first vision of his book. He is arrayed with a cloud; and in every passage of the Apocalypse where mention is made of such investiture, or in which a cloud or clouds are associated with a person, it is with the Saviour of the world as He comes to judgment.1 Similar language marks also the other books of the New Testament.2 The rainbow was upon his head; and the definite article employed takes us back, not to the rainbow spoken of in the book of Genesis, or to the rainbow which from time to time appears, a well-known object, in the sky, but to that of Rev_4:3, where we have been told, in the description of the Divine throne, that "there was a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon." The words his face was as the sun do not of themselves prove that the reference is to Rev_1:16, where it is said of the One like unto a son of man that "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength;" but the propriety of this reference is made almost indubitable by the mention of his feet as pillars of fire, for this last circumstance can only be an allusion to the trait spoken of in Rev_1:15, "And His feet like unto fine brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace." The combination of these particulars shows how close is the connection between the "strong angel" of this vision and the Divine Redeemer; and the explanation of both the difference and the correspondence between the two is to be found in the remark previously made that in the Apocalypse the "angel" of any person or thing expresses that person or thing in action. Here, therefore, we have the action of Him who is the Head, and King, and Lord of His Church. (1 Rev_1:7; Rev_14:14-16. In Rev_11:12 "the cloud" is the well-known cloud in which Christ ascended, and in which He comes to judgment; 2

Mat_24:30; Mar_13:26; Luk_21:27; 1Th_4:17).

2. In what character does the Lord appear? As to the answer to this question there can be no dubiety. He appears in judgment The rainbow upon His head is indeed the symbol of mercy, but it is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that He is Saviour as well as Judge. So far is the Apocalypse from representing the ideas of judgment and mercy as incompatible with each other that throughout the whole book the most terrible characteristic of the former is its proceeding from One distinguished by the latter. If even in itself the Divine wrath is to be dreaded by the sinner, the dread which it ought to inspire reaches its highest point when we think of it as "the wrath of the Lamb." The

other features of the description speak directly of judgment: the "cloud," the "sun," the "pillars of fire."

3. What notion are we to form of the contents of the little book-roll? They are certainly not the same as those of the book-roll of chap. 5, although the word here used for the roll, a diminutive from the other, may suggest the idea that there is an intimate connection between the two books, and that the second, like the first, is full of judgment Other circumstances mentioned lead to the same conclusion. Thus the great voice, as a lion roareth, cannot fail to remind us of the voice of "the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah" in chap. 5. The thought of the seven thunders which uttered their voices deepens the impression, for in that number we have the general conception of thunder in all the varied terrors that belong to it; and, whatever the particulars uttered by the thunders were - a point into which it is vain to inquire, as the writing of them was forbidden - their general tone must have been that of judgment But these thunders are a response to the strong angel as he was about to take action with the little book, - "when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices," - and the response must have been related to the action. It is clear, therefore, that the contents of the little book cannot have been tidings of mercy to a sinful world; and that that book cannot have been intended to tell the Seer that, notwithstanding the opposition of the powers of darkness, the Church of Christ was to make her way among the nations, growing up from the small seed into the stately tree, and at last covering the earth with the shadow of her branches. Even on the supposition that a conception of this kind could be traced in other parts of the Apocalypse, it would be out of keeping with the particulars accompanying it here. We may without hesitation conclude that the little book-roll has thus the general character of judgment, although, like the larger roll of chap. 5, it may also include in it the preservation of the saints.

We are thus in a position to inquire what the special contents of the little book-roll were. Before doing so one consideration may be kept in view.

Calling to mind the symmetrical structure of the Apocalypse, it seems natural to expect that the relation to one another of the two consolatory visions falling between the Trumpets and the Bowls will correspond to that of the two between the Seals and the Trumpets. The two companies, however, spoken of in these two latter visions, are the same, the hundred and forty and four thousand "out of every tribe of the children of Israel" being identical with the great multitude "out of every nation;" while the contents of the second vision are substantially the same as those of the first, though repeated on a fuller and more perfect scale. Now we shall shortly see that the second of our present consolatory visions - that in chap. 11 - brings out the victory and triumph of a faithful remnant of believers within a degenerate, though professing, Church. How probable does it become that the first consolatory vision - that in chap. 10 - will relate to the same remnant, though on a lower plane alike of battle and of conquest!

Thus looked at, we have good ground for the sup position that the little book-roll contained indications of judgment about to descend on a Church which had fallen from her high position and practically disowned her Divine Master; while at the same time it assured die faithful remnant within her that they would be preserved, and in due season glorified. The little book thus spoke of the hardest of all the struggles through which believers have to pass: that with foes of their own household; but, so speaking, it told also of judgment upon these foes, and of a glorious issue for the true members of Christ’s Body out of toil and suffering.

With this view of the contents of the little book-roll everything that is said of it appears to be in harmony.

1. We thus at once understand why it is named by a diminutive form of the word used for the book-roll in chap. 5. The latter contained the whole counsel of God for the execution of His plans both in the world and in the Church. The former has reference to the Church alone. A smaller roll therefore would naturally be sufficient for its tidings.

2. The action which the Seer is commanded to take with the roll receives adequate explanation. He was to take it out of the hand of the strong angel and to eat it up. The meaning is obvious, and is admitted by all interpreters. The Seer is in his own actual experience to assimilate the contents of the roll in order that he may know their value. The injunction is in beautiful accord with what we otherwise know of the character and feelings of St. John. The power of Christian experience to throw light upon Christian truth and upon the fortunes of Christ’s people is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the fourth Gospel. It penetrates and pervades the whole. We listen to the expression of the Evangelist’s own feelings as he is about to present to the world the image of his beloved Master, and he cries, "We beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father;" "Of His fullness we all received, and grace for grace."l We notice his comment upon words of Jesus dark to his fellow-Apostles and himself at the time when they were spoken, and he says, "When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He spake this; and they believed the word which Jesus had said."2 (1 Joh_1:14, Joh_1:16; 2 Joh_2:22)

Finally, we hear him as he remembers the promise of the Spirit of truth, who was to instruct the disciples, not by new revelations of the Divine will, but by unfolding more largely the fullness that was to be found in Christ: "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you."* Everywhere and always Christian experience is the key that unlocks what would otherwise be closed, and sheds light upon what would otherwise be dark. To such experience, accordingly, the contents of the little roll, if they were such as we have understood them to be, must have appealed with peculiar power. In beholding judgment executed on the world, the believer might need only to stand by and wonder, as Moses and Israel stood upon the shore of the Red Sea when the sea, returning to its bed, overwhelmed their enemies. They were safe. They had neither part nor lot with those who were sinking as lead in the mighty waters. It would be otherwise when judgment came upon the Church. Of that Church believers were a part How could they explain the change that had come over her, the purification that she needed, the separation that must take place within what had hitherto been to all appearance the one Zion which God loved? In the former case all was outward; in the latter all is inward, personal, experimental, leading to inquiry and earnest searchings of heart and prayer. A book containing these things was thus an appeal to Christian experience, and St. John might well be told to "eat it up." (* Joh_16:13-14)

3. The effect produced upon the Seer by eating the little roll is also in accord with what has been said. It shall make thy belly bitter, it was said to him, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey; and the effect followed. It was in my mouth, he says, sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. Such an effect could hardly follow the mere proclamation of judgment on the world. When we look at that judgment in the light in which it ought to be regarded, and in which we have hitherto regarded it - as the vindication of righteousness and of a Divine and righteous order - the thought of it can impart nothing but joy. But to think that the Church of the living God, the bride of Christ, shall be visited with judgment, and to be compelled to acknowledge that the judgment is deserved; to think that those to whom so much has been given should have

given so little in return; to think of the selfishness which has prevailed where love ought to have reigned, of worldliness where there ought to have been heavenliness of mind, and of discord where there ought to have been unity these are the things that make the Christian s reflections "bitter;" they, and they most of all, are his perplexity, his burden, his sorrow, and his cross. The world may disappoint him, but from it he expected little. When the Church disappoints him, the "foundations are overturned," and the honey of life is changed into gall and wormwood.

Combining the particulars which have now been noticed, we seem entitled to conclude that the little book-roll of this chapter is a roll of judgment, but of judgment relating less to the world than to the Church. It tells us that that sad experience of hers which is to meet us in the following chapters ought neither to perplex nor overwhelm us. The experience may be strange, very different from what we might have expected and hoped for; but the thread by which the Church is guided has not passed out of the hands of Him who leads His people by ways that they know not into the hands of an un-sympathizing and hostile power. As His counsels in reference to the world, and to the Church in her general relation to it, contained in the great book-roll of chap. 5, shall stand, so the internal relations of the two parts of His Church to each other, together with the issues depending upon them, are equally under His control. If judgment falls upon the Church, it is not because God has forgotten to be gracious, or has in anger shut up His tender mercies, but because the Church has sinned, because she is in need of chastisement, and because she must be taught that only in direct dependence upon the voice of the Good Shepherd, and not in the closest "fold" that can be built for her, is she safe. Let her "know" Him, and she shall be known of Him even as He is known of the Father.* (*Comp. Joh_10:1-15)

HAWKER, “Revelation 10:1-4

(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, (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.

This is a short but highly interesting Chapter. Between the sounding of the sixth and the seventh trumpet, Christ appears to John in vision, to prepare his mind for the relation of certain events, yet to be accomplished. And we may suppose both from Christ’s coming, and coming as a mighty Angel or Messenger of his own dispensation, it is of the highest signification, I beg the Reader to look at what is here said with the utmost attention, and remark, with me, some few of the striking particularities, distinguished both in Christ’s Person, and the purpose of his coming.

And, first. His Person. John describes him as a mighty Angel. Mighty indeed, for he is, as the Prophet, ages before his incarnation, spoke of him by the Spirit of inspiration; His name (said he) shall be called Wonderful, counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Isa_9:6. And who can question these things, when he hears this mighty Angel, as in the next Chapter, declaring that he will give power to his two witnesses to prophecy, Rev_11:3. Who hath witnesses but God, Isa_43:10-12. What Angel ever talked of his witnesses? Yea, more than all, who giveth the power to prophecy, but God? Must not that man be hoodwinked indeed, that reads this scripture, and yet

questions Christ’s Godhead? The whole world, infidels as well as believers, are compelled to acknowledge that Christ is the speaker, when he saith, I will give power to my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy. And who can give a spirit of prophecy to the prophets, but the Lord God of the prophets; or what shall their prophecies be witnesses of, but of Him, to whom all the prophets give witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him, shall receive remission of sins? Act_10:43. Oh! wretched men, deniers of the Godhead of my Lord! Well will it be for you, if the Lord peradventure should give you repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, that ye may be recovered out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will, 2Ti_2:25-26. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in. him, Psa_2:12.

Secondly. This mighty Angel is said to come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. By which I apprehend, that as he came to publish very awful things, such as, that time should be no longer, and, as the next Chapter declares, the slaughter of his two witnesses; it was intended to show, how dark and cloudy, for a while, would be the dispensation now about to take place in the Church, at the close of the sixth trumpet, and before the opening of the seventh. Clouds and darkness are said to be round about him; while righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne, Psa_92:2. Reader! ponder this well. Remember the sixth trumpet is still here operating, when Christ was thus seen. The witnesses are not slain. Perhaps the most awful times, which ever took place in the Church of God, since the foundation of the world will then be. And if so, what are those men dreaming of, who talk of evangelizing the whole earth, whom God hath not evangelized, and who run unsent, whether the Holy Ghost hath forbidden or not, as in the case of the Apostles, when he himself ordained them they were not suffered; to preach the word in Asia and Bithynia, Act_16:6-7.

Thirdly. Though Christ was clothed with a cloud, perhaps, as I before remarked, it meant to intimate awful dispensations were coming on, yet we find the rainbow was still upon his head. Sweet and precious token to all his dear people. The same bow, which at the destruction of the old world, God said he would set in the cloud, in token of his everlasting Covenant, is still there, and must be there forever. Jesus is the whole of it. And all clouds, and all afflictions, which drown Egypt in destruction, and everlasting darkness are to the Lord’s Israel, messengers of sanctification and safety. Oh! how blessed is it, to behold our Jesus, God’s rainbow, in every cloud. As God cannot look to the Church in any way, or in any direction without looking through the rainbow which encircles the whole throne, so neither to his people, will he look but in and through his dear Son. Reader! keep this all along in view. This mighty Angel, this precious Almighty God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ John saw, had a rainbow upon his head. So is he now. So will he everlastingly be. He comes as the bow of the Covenant; yea, be is the whole Covenant, And as God our Father always beholds the Church in, and through him, so do the Church behold God our Father, always and only in and through Him.

Fourthly. Beside these manifestations of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are told, that his face was as it were the Sun, while his feet were pillars of fire. Perhaps to intimate, that while the Church was about to be brought into fiery afflictions, and in which we know from history, numbers of Christ’s dear members were burnt at the stake for their adherence to him, yet, the Lord’s face would shine upon them, with a continued sunshine of love. He would lift up the light of his countenance upon them, and give them peace. Reader! do you know anything of the history of your own country? Remember, the reign of this sixth trumpet hath been many hundreds of years. Oh! what numbers of the blessed reformers, burnt for Christ’s sake in the time of persecution in this land, went in chariots of fire to glory, who, from the light of Christ’s countenance shining upon them, during the time of

their martyrdom, declared, that the passage at the stake in the deepest suffering, became like a bed of roses to their spirits! And remember the reign of the sixth trumpet is not ended. Yea, the two witnesses which are to be slain before it be passed, have not yet been brought forth in the street of spiritual Sodom and Egypt for slaughter, Rev_11:8. When they are, Jesus will be again seen by faith, by them, though clothed with a cloud, and his feet as pillars of fire; yet, with his glorious rainbow upon his head, and his face shining with ten thousand times greater glory, than the sun in love and grace, and with the sweetest countenance of complacency upon them. Oh! the preciousness of Jesus!

But the subject goes on. John saith that this mighty Angel had in his hand a little book open. In the former vision of the ministry of the book, which the same glorious Person, was then said to have taken out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne, the book was sealed. And he, and he alone, was found worthy to open it. That had been then opened, and the purport of it appears to have been now in a great part fulfilled, under the ministry of seals and trumpets, But now, before the final accomplishment of the trumpets, Jesus comes to his servant again. And now he tells him, and his Church through him, that when the sixth trumpet shall have run fully out, and the seventh trumpet comes to be sounded, there shall be time no longer: Christ’s complete reign on earth shall begin, and the kingdoms of this world, shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever, Rev_11:15.

But though this will be the final consummation, and the mystery of God concerning his Church upon earth shall then be finished, yet, as great events are to take place, in the world, and in the Church, from that period in which Christ thus appeared to his servant John, before the whole is closed, the Lord brings in his hand an open book, and which John is to eat, that is, to receive the contents of it in his mind, and which are to be made known to the Church, by way of comforting the Lord’s people, during the long periods yet to expire, before the accomplishment of the whole. So that here opens a new and distinct prophecy, concerning the great things of God: And though the subject is one and the same, of this whole Book of the Revelation, yet, from the opening of this Chapter, in which Christ appears to prepare his servant’s mind for new prophecies on the subject, we may be on the lookout, for other plans of divine teaching, besides the ministry of seals and trumpets; and to learn from the pouring out of vials, God’s further revelations to his Church. The new series of prophecies opens with the beginning of the twelfth Chapter. This, and the intermediate one, the eleventh, are designed as preparatory to it.

There is somewhat very sublime, in what is said of Christ setting his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth. Probably to intimate his sovereignty over all. For as he came from heaven, where all angels, principalities, and powers are subject unto him, so here; by those acts, he denotes, his Almighty power upon earth, as the Prophet hath described him, his dominion being an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. He doeth, saith the Prophet, according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou? Dan_4:34-35.

And what Majesty is expressed, under the words of crying with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth. He is called indeed, the lion of the tribe of Judah, to intimate the sovereignty in his Israel. And the answer of the seven thunders is very sublime also, as if making responses to their Creator. Some have considered those thunders as figurative of kingdoms, and some have supposed by them is meant, ministers of the Gospel, sometimes called Boanerges, or sons or thunder, I do not presume to determine upon it. One thing, however, is remarkable, that John, when those thunders answered Christ’s voice, thought himself called upon to write, as if, while thunders echoed to the Lord, well

might his servants. But, as all that was now doing, was only preparatory to what John would be taught, he was commanded to wait, until better informed what to write of, when the Lord Jesus came to teach him.

MEYER, “ THE ANGEL WITH THE LITTLE BOOK

Rev_10:1-11

If one of God’s angels is so strong and glorious, what must the Lord of angels be! From the splendor of His retinue, we may estimate the wealth of the Prince. How exactly does this description of the little book suit the word of the Cross, that is, the message of the gospel! Things are spoken to the saints, which, as Paul says, no tongue can utter. They are sealed to the unbelieving but opened to the children of God. Notice that magnificent description of the ever-living God, the Creator, the Unfolder of the mystery of His dealings, Rev_10:6-7. See also 1Co_2:12.

The gospel is full of sweetness and delight in its first conception. The sense of peace with God, the consciousness of pardoned sin and acceptance in the be-loved, are like the music of heaven or the dew of paradise. But the cross cuts deep into the self-life, as we carry the sentence of death in ourselves. We learn the necessity of being crucified with Christ, if we would enter into His resurrection joys; and so the Word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrates lower and lower, dividing soul and spirit, the joints and marrow. Our Lord never concealed this from those who sought to be enrolled as His followers; but there is blessedness in the bitterness, as springs of fresh water arising amid the brine of the sea.

PULPIT, “The mystery of God—finished!

According to some historical interpreters, the close of the ninth chapter sets forth in symbol the

inrush of the Turkish power and the downfall of Constantinople. Apparently necessitated by such a

view, the angel of the first verse of the tenth chapter is the reality of which the dominant papal

power was the mimicry—a messenger of heaven with new light piercing the gloom. His setting one

flint on the sea and another on the earth indicates his taking possession of Continental Christendom

and insular England. The seven thunders are the anathemas of papal Rome. They may not be

uttered, because they are the roarings of man and not the sayings of God. We cannot accept this

interpretation, nor anything like it. On the understanding that this book forecasts in symbolic outline

the fortunes of the Church of God on her way to the final consummation, it would be somewhat

strange if the lines of history and those of prophecy did not present some mutual correspondence.

But it by no means follows that any one apparent correspondence is the fulfilment of the prophecy,

although it may be partially so. Besides, our text tells us that the great proclamation of the angel

who set his feet on sea and land was that in the days of the seventh angel the mystery of God

should be finished. Now, nothing is more certain than that, at the time of the Reformation and by its

agents, there was no such proclamation made as this. Besides, even now the mystery of God is not

finished, nor anything like it; consequently, it is not possible for us to assign the proclamation of this

angel to anything that happened three hundred years ago. Repeated studies of the entire

Apocalypse do but confirm the conviction of twenty years' standing, that we must give up date fixing

entirely; that, while the book forecasts the future, it so does it as to confirm the word that "it is not for

us to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power;" that we may

expect, at divers times and places, and in divers manners, oft recurring fulfilments of the

Apocalyptic word; and that the book contains, for our guidance and help, an indication of Divine

principles and methods rather than incident in detail. We shall have a fresh illustration of this if we

now study this paragraph, letting the seventh verse be the centre around which our thoughts may

turn.

I. HERE IS A STRIKING NAME GIVEN TO THE SCHEME OF PROVIDENCE. "The mystery of

God." A "mystery" is

(1) that which is altogether and necessarily a secret in the mind of God;

(2) that which, though revealed as a fact, is beyond our understanding as to mode;

(3) that which, even when revealed, we know only in part;

(4) that which, disclosed in symbol, will be interpreted by the explanation of the word or the event;

(5) that which, though complete in the Divine mind, is only unrolled, piece by piece, before us;

(6) that which, from its nature, can only be disclosed to those who are in a fit state of mind to

receive it, and which, to others, must remain shrouded in concealment. In one or other of these

senses Scripture speaks of the mystery of the seven stars (Rev_1:20), of the kingdom of heaven

(Mar_4:11), of the resurrection (1Co_15:51), of the gospel (1Co_2:7), of the proclamation of the

gospel to the Gentiles (Eph_3:3), of the union of Christ and his people (Eph_5:32), of the final

completion of the Church (Eph_1:9), of the Person of Christ (1Ti_3:16), of the Christian faith

(1Ti_3:9), of the intricacies of sin (2Th_2:7; Rev_17:5), of the purposes of God (Rev_10:7). This last

is the one referred to in the text. It is something of which there is a complete and perfect plan in the

mind of God, but of which we see only a part before our eyes. The future depends on the will of

God. And who can discern that? "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man

which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." And our finite

minds could not take in the entire plans of an infinite mind. A large part must needs be concealed;

not merely because the book does not disclose all, but because we could not apprehend all.

II. THE PHRASE WHICH AT FIRST SUGGESTS PAINFUL PERPLEXITY HAS A DESCRIPTIVE

TERM ATTACHED TO IT, WHICH AT ONCE RELIEVES AND INSPIRES. Before us is "mystery."

But it is God's mystery! To him it stands, forth distinctly and clearly, without a fringe of haze. From

him the entire providential plan emanates. With his full knowledge of consequences, sin was

permitted to intrude. The entire control of all is ever in his hands. The diadems of royalty never fall

from his brow, nor does the sceptre of dominion ever tremble in his hand. "The government is on his

shoulder." And though the book speaks of it relatively to us, as his mystery, yet to him it is no

mystery at all.

III. THE MAIN FEATURE OF THIS MYSTERY IS THAT IT IS ONE OF GOOD TIDINGS; i.e. it is

the gospel mystery ( ὡς εὐηγγέλισε ). As we remarked before (homily on Rev_5:1-14.), when the

seven-sealed book is opened by the Lamb, it is clear that the unfoldings of providence become the

unveilings of grace. Over and above the scheme of moral government, there is set this plan of

redeeming love; and the wheels of time are rolling on and speeding forward to work out the great

salvation, of which one sentence will sum up the outcome, "Where sin abounded, grace did much

more abound!"

IV. THE MYSTERY WILL UNFOLD ITSELF ON THE LINES LAID DOWN BY THE PROPHETS O

F THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. "According to the good tidings which he declared to his

servants the prophets." It has been thus hitherto. History has thus far developed according to the

sayings of Moses and the prophets. Moses, in his words to the children of Israel, foretold what

would happen to the Jewish people in after ages if they were unfaithful to their God. The twenty-

eighth chapter of Deuteronomy is being fulfilled to this day. So also, in the several prophets, there

is sketched a ground plan of "the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow;" e.g. in the

well known fifty-third of Isaiah there is not one single word which we are at a loss to verify, as we put

side by side what Old Testament seers foretold and what New Testament evangelists and

apostles declare. Further on, we read our Lord's predictions concerning the fall of Jerusalem. They

have been fulfilled. History is thus the repeated fulfilment of prophecy. What has been will be again.

And with no misgiving we declare that what is yet to be witnessed on earth will correspond with the

prophetic words of the apostles and prophets of our Lord and Saviour. We are looking for, "the

blessed hope—the glorious appearing of the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ."

V. THE TIME OF THE END IS FORESEEN. When the seventh angel is about to sound then the

mystery of God would be finished; i.e. as far as the plan of providence is indicated in the book of

prophecy, it will be consummated. The "end" will be this: "The kingdoms of this world are become

the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." But let us not forget

the sense in which this word "finished" is, must be, intended. It cannot mean that from that point

God will reduce all to a blank, or become inactive, or cause the glory of redemption to be no more.

Ah no! We cannot doubt that the advance will be still from glory to glory. But the mystery will be

finished, as far as God hath seen fit to tell us in his Word. "Finished, according to the good tidings,"

etc. These give at once the intent and the limitation of the mystery which is thus to be "finished."

Revelation is bounded both ways, back and front. We know nothing prior to that beginning when

God created the heavens and the earth. We know nothing later than "the end, when" Christ "shall

have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, that God may be all in all."

VI. THIS FORECAST RECEIVES VAST ADDITIONAL WEIGHT FROM THE GLORY OF THE BEI

NG BY WHOM THIS DISCLOSURE IS MADE. He is "a mighty angel." He appears in the name of

Heaven; and is invested with the insignia of majesty, pomp, and might. There is a sevenfold

symbolism here. He is "arrayed with a cloud"—at once the sign of the Divine presence, and a

symbol of the mystery which surrounds the throne. There is "a rainbow upon his head"—the token

of the covenant of peace. His face is "as the sun"—pure and bright with the burning blazing light of

holiness. His feet are "as pillars of fire;" by his tread he puts down sin; with fire, he burns it up. He

has in his hand "a little book open." This is strikingly different from the sealed book which only the

Lamb could open. The open book contains the message which the apostle is to declare. He set his

right foot upon the sea, etc., standing sublimely in possession of both in the name of Heaven. He

cried with a great voice, as a lion roareth. His voice is full of strength. He lifts up his right hand to

heaven, and swears by him that liveth forever and ever that there shall be no more delay. £ Long as

the time may seem to be during which the world rolls round wearily with its burden of sin, when a

certain point of time is reached, "a short work will the Lord make upon the earth." The

consummation will be delayed not a moment too long, and the honour, majesty, and might of

Heaven are pledges of the fulfilment of the word.

VII. WHEN THE MYSTERY OF GOD IS FINISHED, WHERE SHALL WE BE? Finished it will be.

"The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." As surely as at the end of one cycle of events the Saviour

cried, "It is finished!" so surely when another cycle has run its round will there come another, "It is

done!" The Author of our faith is also its Finisher. The Redeemer's cross finished the mystery of the

old covenant; his crown shall finish the mystery of the new covenant. Anti when the end cometh we

shall be—where? We shall stand in "our lot" at the end of the days. But what will our lot be? With

the righteous or with the wicked? For then the distinction will be manifest. No one will then be in

doubt as to his own posit[on before God. Surely it is of infinite moment to us that, when the mystery

of God is finished, we should be on the right side. There is, indeed, a smaller "mystery of God"

which is working out. "Every man's life is a plan of God" (Bushnell). "I girded thee though thou hast

not known me." God is working it out according to his gospel. "He that believeth on the Son hath

everlasting life," etc. And amid the "wreck of matter and the crash of worlds" we shall want a Friend

in whom we can repose amid all the convulsions that shake this globe. There is One—and One

only, of whom it is eternally true, "Thou art the same." That One is Jesus. He says to us, "Him that

cometh I will in no wise cast out." Here, then, let us cling. He will not let us go, nor let us be harmed,

though this earth be burned up. In him is everlasting rest.

"Then let the earth's old pillars shake,

And all the wheels of nature break;

Our steady souls should fear no more

Than solid rocks when billows roar!"

WILLIAM KELLY, “Chapter 10 in the Trumpets answers to Rev. 7 in the Seals. It

forms an important parenthesis, which comes in between the sixth and seventh

Trumpets, just as the securing chapter (7) came in between the sixth and seventh

Seals: so orderly is the Apocalypse. "And I saw another strong angel coming down

out of the heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow [was] on his head, and his

countenance as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire, and having in his hand a little

open book. And he set his right foot on the sea, and the left on the earth, and cried

with a loud voice as a lion roareth. And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered

their own voices. 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

uttered, and write them not."

Thus we have again the Lord in angelic appearance. As before in high-priestly

function, He is the angel here with royal claim. A mighty angel comes down out of

the heaven, the source of His action, clothed with a cloud, the special sign of

Jehovah's majesty (Isa_19:1): none but He has the title to come thus clothed.

Further, the rainbow is on His head. He occupies Himself with divine mercy toward

the creation. It is not now a question of round the throne; here is a step taken in

advance. He approaches the earth, and He asserts His indisputable claim to all

creation as that which is His right. "And his face was as the sun," with supreme

authority; "and his feet as pillars of fire," with firmness of divine judgment. "And

he had in his hand a little book open; and he set his right foot on the sea, and his left

on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as a lion roareth." And the seven thunders

answered on Jehovah's part; the God of glory fully asserts His title. It is no sealed-

up book now, but a little one and open: sea or earth are alike His. John was going to

write what the thunders said, but is forbidden. The disclosures were to be sealed;

but there was to be no more delay.

"And the angel whom I saw stand on the sea and on the earth lifted up his right

hand unto the heaven, and swore by him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, who

created the heaven and the things that therein are, and the earth and the things that

therein are, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there should be no

longer delay; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to

sound trumpet, the mystery of God also is finished, as he announced the glad news

to his own bondmen the prophets." There was no more to be any lapse of time

allowed. God would terminate the mystery of His present seeming inaction in the

public government of the earth. ow He may allow the world, with slight check, to

go on in its own way. Men may sin, and, as far as direct intervention is concerned,

God appears not, whatever be the interferences exceptionally. But the time is

coming when God will surely visit sin, and this immediately and effectually when no

toleration can be for anything contrary to Himself. Such is the blessed age to which

all the prophets look onward; and the angel here swears that the time is

approaching. There is going to be no more delay; but in the days of the voice of the

seventh angel, when he shall sound trumpet as he is about to do, the mystery of God

also should be completed (lit. "and was finished the," etc.). The mystery here is, not

Christ and the church, but God's allowing evil to go on in its present course with

apparent impunity. Its end is now anticipated. His direct reign is at hand

(Rev_11:15).

"And the voice which I heard out of the heaven [was] again speaking with me and

saying, Go, take the little book that is open in the hand of the angel that standeth on

the sea and on the earth. And I went off unto the angel, saying to him to give me the

little book. And he saith to me, Take and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter,

but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the

hand of the angel, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I

had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. And they say [or, he saith] to me, Thou must

prophesy again as to peoples and nations and tongues and kings many." The

meaning of this soon appeals more clearly. There is a kind of appendix of prophecy

where he renews his course for especial reasons. It is what may be called the second

volume of "the things which are about to be after these," and begins with Rev. 12

and onward.

Meanwhile notice the evident contrast between the little book which the prophet

here takes and eats, and the great book we have seen already sealed up with seven

seals. It was sweet as honey to the taste that the true and all-worthy King should

reign; but how bitter to the feelings that judgment unsparing should fall on the mass

of the Jews, and yet more on proud Christendom, both apostate and worse. Why a

little book? and why open? A little book, because it treats of a comparatively

contracted sphere, already familiar in the prophets; and open, because things are no

longer described in the mysterious guise in which the Seals and yet more the

Trumpets arrayed them. All is going to be plain for what comes out here. Is it not

the case accordingly in Rev. 11? The language is ordinary, with figures rather than

symbols.

EXPOSITORS BIBLE, “Many questions of deep interest, and upon which the most divergent opinions have been entertained, meet us in connection with this passage. To attempt to discuss these various opinions would only confuse the reader. It will be enough to allude to them when it seems necessary to do so. In the meantime, before endeavoring to discover the meaning of the vision, three observations may be made; one of a general kind, the other two bearing upon the interpretation of particular clauses.

1. Like almost all else in the Revelation of St. John, the vision is founded upon a passage of the Old Testament. "And when I looked," says the prophet Ezekiel, "behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein. . . . Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. And He said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And He said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto

them."* (* Eze_2:9; Eze_3:4)

2. In one expression of Rev_10:6 it is doubtful whether the translation of the Authorized and Revised Versions, or the marginal translation of the latter, ought to be adopted, whether we ought to read, "There shall be time" or "There shall be delay" no longer. But the former is not only the natural meaning of the original; it would almost seem, from the use of the same word in other passages of

the Apocalypse,1 that it is employed by St. John to designate the whole Christian age. That age is now at its very close. The last hour is about to strike. The drama of the world s history is about to be wound up. "For the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it

short."2 (1Comp. Rev_6:11; Rev_20:3; 2 Rom_9:28).

3. The last verse of the chapter deserves our attention for a moment: And they say unto me, Thou

must prophesy again over many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Although prophecy

itself is spoken of in several passages of this book,* we read only once again of prophesying: when

it is said in Rev_11:3 of the two witnesses that they shall prophesy. A comparison of these passages will show that both words are to be understood in the sense of proclaiming the righteous acts and judgments of the Almighty. The prophet of the Apocalypse is not the messenger of mercy

only, but of the just government of God. (*Comp. Rev_1:3; Rev_22:7; Rev_22:10; Rev_22:18-19)

From these subordinate points we hasten to questions more immediately concerning us in our effort to understand the chapter. Several such questions have to be asked.

1. Who is the angel introduced to us in the first verse of the vision? He is described as another

strong angel; and, as the epithet "strong" has been so used only once before - in Rev_5:2, in connection with the opening of the book-roll sealed with seven seals - we are entitled to conclude that this angel is said to be "another" in comparison with the angel there spoken of rather than with the many angels that surround the throne of God. But the "strong angel" in chap. 5 is distinguished both from God Himself, and from the Lamb. In some sense, therefore, a similar distinction must be drawn here. On the other hand, the particulars mentioned of this angel lead directly to the conclusion not only that he has Divine attributes, but that he represents no other than that Son of

man beheld by St John in the first vision of his book. He is arrayed with a cloud; and in every passage of the Apocalypse where mention is made of such investiture, or in which a cloud or clouds

are associated with a person, it is with the Saviour of the world as He comes to judgment.1 Similar

language marks also the other books of the New Testament.2 The rainbow was upon his head; and the definite article employed takes us back, not to the rainbow spoken of in the book of Genesis, or to the rainbow which from time to time appears, a well-known object, in the sky, but to that of Rev_4:3, where we have been told, in the description of the Divine throne, that "there was a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon." The words his face was as the

sun do not of themselves prove that the reference is to Rev_1:16, where it is said of the One like unto a son of man that "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength;" but the propriety of this reference is made almost indubitable by the mention of his feet as pillars of fire, for this last circumstance can only be an allusion to the trait spoken of in Rev_1:15, "And His feet like unto fine brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace." The combination of these particulars shows how close is the connection between the "strong angel" of this vision and the Divine Redeemer; and the explanation of both the difference and the correspondence between the two is to be found in the remark previously made that in the Apocalypse the "angel" of any person or thing expresses that person or thing in action. Here, therefore, we have the action of Him who is the Head, and King, and

Lord of His Church. (1Rev_1:7; Rev_14:14-16. In Rev_11:12 "the cloud" is the well-known cloud in which Christ ascended, and in which He comes to

judgment; 2 Mat_24:30; Mar_13:26; Luk_21:27; 1Th_4:17).

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He was holding a little scroll, which lay open

in his hand. He planted his right foot on the

sea and his left foot on the land,

BARES, “And he had in his hand a little book open - This is the first thing that indicated the purpose of his appearing, or that would give any distinct indication of the design of his coming from heaven. The general aspect of the angel, indeed, as represented in the former verse, was that of benignity, and his purpose, as there indicated, was light and peace. But still there was nothing which would denote the particular design for which he came, or which would designate the particular means which he would employ. Here we have, however, an emblem which will furnish an indication of what was to occur as the result of his appearing. To be able to apply this, it will be necessary, as in all similar cases, to explain the natural significancy of the emblem:

(1) “The little book.” The word used here - βιβλαρίδιον biblaridion - occurs nowhere else

in the New Testament except in Rev_10:8-10 of this chapter. The word βιβλίον biblion -

“book” - occurs frequently: Mat_19:7; Mar_10:4 - applied to a bill of divorcement; Luk_4:17, Luk_4:20; Joh_20:30; Joh_21:25; Gal_3:10; 2Ti_4:13; Heb_9:19; Heb_10:7. In the Apocalypse this word is of common occurrence: Rev_1:11; Rev_5:1-5, Rev_5:7-9; Rev_6:14, rendered “scroll”; Rev_17:8; Rev_20:12; Rev_21:27; Rev_22:7, Rev_22:9-10, Rev_22:18-19. The word was evidently chosen here to denote something that was special in the size or form of the book, or to distinguish it from what would be designated by the ordinary word employed to denote a book. The word properly denotes “a small roll” or “volume”; a “little scroll” (Robinson’s Lexicon, Pollux. Onomast. vii. 210). It is evident that something was intended by the diminutive size of the book, or that it was designed to make a distinction between this and that which is indicated by the use of the word “book” in the other parts of the Apocalypse. It was, at least, indicated by this that it was something different from what was seen in the hand of him that sat on the throne in Rev_5:1.

That was clearly a large volume; this was so small that it could be taken in the hand, and could be represented as eaten, Rev_10:9-10. But of what is a book an emblem? To this question there can be little difficulty in furnishing an answer. A book seen in a dream, according to Artemidorus, signifies the life, or the acts of him that sees it (Wemyss). According to the Indian interpreters, a book is the symbol of power and dignity. The Jewish kings, when they were crowned, had the book of the law of God put into their hands 2Ki_11:12; 2Ch_23:11; denoting that they were to observe the law, and that their administration was to be one of intelligence and uprightness. The gift of a Bible now to a monarch when he is crowned, or to the officer of a corporation or society, denotes the same thing. A book, as such, thus borne in the hand of an angel coming down to the world, would be an indication that something of importance was to be communicated to people, or that something was to be accomplished by the agency era book.

It was not, as in Rev_6:2, a bow - emblem of conquest; or Rev_10:4, a sword - emblem of battle; or Rev_10:5, a pair of scales - emblem of the exactness with which things were to be determined; but it was a book - a speechless, silent thing, yet mighty; not designed to carry desolation through the earth, but to diffuse light and truth. The natural interpretation, then, would be, that something was to be accomplished by the agency of a book, or that a book was to be the prominent characteristic of the times - as the bow, the sword, and the balances had been of the previous periods. As to the size of the book, perhaps all that can be inferred is, that this was to be brought about, not by extended tomes, but by a comparatively small volume - so that it could be taken in the hand; so that it could, without impropriety, be represented as eaten by an individual.

(2) “the fact that it was open:” “a little book open” - �νε�γµένον aneōgmenon. The word

used here means, properly, “to open or unclose” in respect to what was before fastened or sealed, as what is covered by a door, Mat_2:11; tombs, which were closed by large stones, Mat_27:60, Mat_27:66; a gate, Act_5:23; Act_12:10; the abyss, Rev_9:2 - “since in the east pits or wells are closed with large stones, compare Gen_29:2” (Robinson’s Lexicon). The meaning of this word, as applied to a book, would be, that it was now opened so that its contents could be read. The word would not necessarily imply that it had been sealed or closed, though that would be the most natural impression from the use of the word. Compare for the use of the word rendered “open,” Rev_3:8, Rev_3:20; Rev_4:1; Rev_5:2-5, Rev_5:9; Rev_6:1, Rev_6:3,Rev_6:5, Rev_6:7,Rev_6:9, Rev_6:12; Rev_8:1; Rev_9:2; Rev_10:8; Rev_11:19; Rev_20:12. This would find a fulfillment if some such facts as the following should occur:

(a) If there had been any custom or arrangement by which knowledge was kept from people, or access was forbidden to books or to some one book in particular; and,

(b) If something should occur by which what had before been kept hidden or concealed, or that to which access had been denied, should be made accessible. In other words, this is the proper symbol of a diffusion of knowledge, or of “the influence of a book on mankind.”

(3) The fact that it was in the hand of the angel. All that seems to be implied in this is, that it was now offered, or was ready to be put in possession of John - or of the church - or of mankind. It was open, and was held out, as it were, for perusal.

In regard to the application of this, it is plain that, if it be admitted that it was the design of the author of the vision to refer to the Reformation, no more appropriate emblem could have been chosen. If we were now to endeavor to devise an emblem of the Reformation that would be striking and expressive, we could not well select one which

would better represent the great work than what is here presented. This will appear plain from a few considerations:

(1) The great agent in the Reformation, the moving cause of it, its suggester and supporter, was a book - “the Bible.” Wycliffe had translated the New Testament into the English language, and though this was suppressed, yet it had done much to prepare the people for the Reformation; and all that Luther did can be traced to the discovery of the Bible, and to the use which was made of it. Luther had grown up into manhood; had passed from the schools to the university of Erfurt, and there having, during the usual four years’ course of study, displayed intellectual powers and an extent of learning that excited the admiration of the university, and that seemed to open to his attainment both the honor and emolument of the world, he appeared to have been prepared to play an important part on the great drama of human affairs. Suddenly, however, to the astonishment and dismay of his friends, he betook himself to the solitude and gloom of an Augustinian monastery.

There he found a Bible - a copy of the Vulgate - hid in the shelves of the university library. Until then he had supposed that there existed no other Gospels or Epistles than what were given in the Breviary, or quoted by the preachers. To the study of that book he now gave himself with untiring diligence and steady prayer; and the effect was to show to him the way of salvation by faith, and ultimately to produce the Reformation. No one acquainted with the history of the Reformation can doubt that it is to be traced to the influence of the Bible; that the moving cause, the spring of all that occurred in the Reformation, was the impulse given to the mind of Luther and his fellow-laborers by the study of that one book. It is this well-known fact that gives so much truth to the celebrated declaration of Chillingworth, that “the Bible is the religion of Protestants.” If a symbol of this had been designed before it occurred, or if one should be sought for now that would designate the actual nature and influence of the Reformation, nothing better could he selected than that of an angel descending from heaven, with benignant aspect, with a rainbow around his head, and with light beaming all around him, holding forth to mankind a book.

(2) This book had before been hidden, or closed; that is, it could not until then be regarded as an open volume:

(a) It was in fact known by few even of the clergy, and it was not in the hands of the mass of the people at all. There is every reason to believe that the great body of the Roman Catholic clergy, in the time that preceded the Reformation, were even more ignorant of the Bible than Luther himself was. Many of them were unable to read; few had access to the Bible; and those who had, drew their doctrines rather from the fathers of the church than from the Word of God. Hallam (Middle Ages, ii. 241) says: “Of this prevailing ignorance (in the tenth century and onward) it is easy to produce abundant testimony. In almost every council the ignorance of the clergy forms a subject for reproach. It is asserted by one held in 992, that scarcely a single person could be found in Rome itself who knew the first clements of letters. Not one priest of a thousand in Spain, about the age of Charlemagne, could address a letter of common salutation to another. In England, Alfred declares that he could not recollect a single priest south of the Thames (the best part of England), at the time of his accession, who understood the ordinary prayers, or who could translate the Latin into the mother tongue.”

There were few books of any kind in circulation, and even if there had been an ability to read, the cost of books was so great as to exclude the great mass of the people from all access to the sacred Scriptures. “Many of the clergy,” says Dr. Robertson (Hist. of Charles V. p. 14, Harper’s ed.), “did not understand the Breviary which they were obliged daily to recite; some of them could scarcely read it.” “Persons of the highest rank, and in the most

eminent stations, could neither read nor write.” One of the questions appointed by the canons to be put to persons who were candidates for orders was this, “Whether they could read the Gospels and Epistles, and explain the sense of them at least literally?” For the causes of this ignorance see Robertson’s History of Charles V. p. 515. One of those causes was the cost of books. “Private persons seldom possessed any books whatever. Even monasteries of considerable note had only one Missal. The price of books became so high that persons of a moderate fortune could not afford to purchase them. The Countess of Anjou paid for a copy of the Homilies of Haimon, bishop of Alberstadt, two hundred sheep, five quarters of wheat, and the same quantity of rye and millet,” etc. Such was the cost of books that few persons could afford to own a copy of the sacred Scriptures; and the consequence was, there were almost none in the hands of the people. The few copies that were in existence were mostly in the libraries of monasteries and universities, or in the hands of some of the higher clergy.

(b) But there was another reason that was still more efficacious, perhaps, in keeping the people at large from the knowledge of the Scriptures. It was found in the prevailing views in the Roman Catholic communion respecting the private use and interpretation of the sacred volume. Whatever theory may now be advocated in the Roman Catholic communion on this point, as a matter of fact, the influence of that denomination has been to withhold the Bible from a free circulation among the common people. No one can deny that, in the times just preceding the Reformation, the whole influence of the papal denomination was opposed to a free circulation of the Bible, and that one of the great and characteristic features of the Reformation was the fact, that the doctrine was promulgated that the Bible was to be freely distributed, and that the people everywhere were to have access to it, and were to form their own opinions of the doctrines which it reveals.

(3) The Bible became, at the Reformation, in fact an “open” book. it was made accessible. It became the popular book of the world - the book that did more than all other things to change the aspect of affairs, and to give character to subsequent times. This occurred because:

(a) the art of printing was discovered just before the Reformation, as if, in the providence of God, it was designed then to give this precious volume to the world; and the Bible was, in fact, the first book printed, and has been since printed more frequently than any other book whatever, and will continue to be to the end of the world. It would be difficult to imagine now a more striking symbol of the art of printing, or to suggest a better device for it, than to represent an angel giving an open volume to mankind.

(b) The leading doctrine of the Reformers was, that the Bible is the source of all authority in matters of religion, and, consequently, is to be accessible to all the people. And,

(c) the Bible was the authority appealed to by the Reformers. It became the subject of profound study; was diffused abroad; and gave form to all the doctrines that sprang out of the times of the Reformation. These remarks, which might be greatly expanded, will show with what propriety, on the supposition that the chapter here refers to the Reformation, the symbol of a book was selected. Obviously no other symbol would have been so appropriate; nothing else would have given so just a view of the leading characteristics of that period of the world.

And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth - This is the third characteristic in the symbol. As a mere description this is eminently sublime. I was once (at Cape May, 1849) impressively reminded of this passage. My window was in such a position that it commanded a fine view at the same time of the ocean and the land. A storm arose such as I had never witnessed - the clouds from the different points

of the compass seeming to come together over the place, and producing incessant lightning and thunder. As the storm cleared away the most magnificent rainbow that I ever saw appeared, arching the heavens, one foot of it far off on the sea, and the other on the land - an emblem of peace to both - and most strikingly suggesting to me the angel in the Apocalypse. The natural meaning of such a symbol as that represented here would be, that something was to occur which would pertain to the whole world, as the earth is made up of land and water.

It is hardly necessary to say, that on the supposition that this refers to the Reformation, there is no difficulty in finding an ample fulfillment of the symbol. That great work was designed manifestly by Providence to affect all the world - the sea and the land - the dwellers in the islands and in the continents - those who “go down to the sea in ships, and do business in the great waters,” and those who have a permanent dwelling on shore. It may be admitted, indeed, that, in itself, this one thing - the angel standing on the sea and the land, if it occurred alone, could not suggest the Reformation; and if there were nothing else, such an application might seem fanciful and unnatural; but, taken in connection with the other things in the symbol, and assuming that the whole vision was designed to symbolize the Reformation, it will not be regarded as unnatural that there should be some symbol which would intimate that the blessings of a reformed religion - a pure gospel - would be ultimately spread over land and ocean - over the continents and islands of the globe; in all the fixed habitations of people, and in their floating habitations on the deep. The symbol of a rainbow bending over the sea and land, would have expressed this; the same thing would be expressed by an angel whose head was encircled by a rainbow, and whose face beamed with light, with one foot on the ocean and the other on the land,

CLARKE, “A little book open - Meaning probably some design of God long concealed, but now about to be made manifest. But who knows what it means?His right foot upon the sea, and his left - on the earth - To show that he had

the command of each, and that his power was universal, all things being under his feet.

GILL, “And he had in his hand a little book open,.... By which is meant not the Bible, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; or the book of the Gospel, the substance of which lies in a little room, and is no other than the preaching of Christ, and him crucified, as God's way of salvation; and which is now more open and manifest, and more clearly made known unto the sons of men, under the Gospel dispensation, than it was before, and especially since the time of the Reformation, to which this book, and the prophecies of it, may have respect; but the same book is here designed, which in Rev_5:1 is represented as in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, as shut and sealed; but the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb in the midst of the throne, having taken it out of his hand, unloosed its seals, and opened it; and whereas we never read of his laying this book down, or of his delivering it to any other, he may be well supposed to be this mighty angel, who held it open in his hand: it may be said to be "a little book", because now not only many of the scenes and visions in it were exhibited, upon the opening of the seals; but because, at the time this vision refers to, many of its prophecies were accomplished, so that the bulk of it was greatly reduced; and it may be represented as "open", because the seals of it were unloosed, and the things in it revealed; and it is to be

observed, that as the several seals of this book, and the opening of them, refer to the state of the empire, both as Pagan and as Christian, as has been seen; so the little book itself, clear of these seals, sets forth the state and condition of the church in the empire, under its different revolutions and appearances:

and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth; which signifies that he was Lord and possessor of both, of the whole terraqueous globe, being the Maker and supporter of it; and that his Gospel should be spread all over the world, both on the continent and in the islands of the sea; and that his kingdom should be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; that the abundance of the sea should be converted to him, or the maritime parts of the world should be subject to the sceptre of his grace and government; and that the earth, and the uttermost parts of it, should be his possession, though it was now almost wholly in the hands of the Turk and pope; and it may be observed, that he set his foot upon both earth and sea, out of which the two beasts arise, Rev_13:1, which shall be destroyed by him.

JAMISO, “he had — Greek, “Having.”in his hand — in his left hand: as in Rev_10:5 (see on Rev_10:5), he lifts up his right

hand to heaven.

a little book — a roll little in comparison with the “book” (Rev_5:1) which contained the whole vast scheme of God’s purposes, not to be fully read till the final consummation. This other, a less book, contained only a portion which John was now to make his own (Rev_10:9, Rev_10:11), and then to use in prophesying to others. The New

Testament begins with the word “book” (Greek, “biblus”), of which “the little book”

(Greek, “biblaridion”) is the diminutive, “the little bible,” the Bible in miniature.

upon the sea ... earth — Though the beast with seven heads is about to arise out of the sea (Rev_13:1), and the beast with two horns like a lamb (Rev_13:11) out of the earth, yet it is but for a time, and that time shall no longer be (Rev_10:6, Rev_10:7) when once the seventh trumpet is about to sound; the angel with his right foot on the sea, and his left on the earth, claims both as God’s, and as about soon to be cleared of the usurper and his followers.

RWP. “And he had (kai&echōn). This use of the participle in place of eichen (imperfect)

is like that in Rev_4:7.; Rev_12:2; Rev_19:12; Rev_21:12, Rev_21:14, a Semitic idiom

(Charles), or as if katabainōn (nominative) had preceded in place of katabainonta.

A little book (biblaridion). A diminutive of biblarion (papyri), itself a diminutive of

biblion (Rev_5:1) and perhaps in contrast with it, a rare form in Hermas and Rev_10:2,

Rev_10:9, Rev_10:10. In Rev_10:8 Tischendorf reads biblidarion, diminutive of biblidion&

(Aristophanes) instead of biblion (Westcott and Hort). The contents of this little book are

found in Rev_11:1-13.

Open (ēneōigmenon). See Eze_2:9. Perfect (triple reduplication) passive participle of

anoigō, in contrast to the closed book in Rev_5:1. There also we have epi (upon) tēn &

dexian (the right hand), for it was a large roll, but here the little open roll is held in the

hand (en&tēi&cheiri), apparently the left hand (Rev_10:5).

He set (ethēken). First aorist active indicative of tithēmi. The size of the angel is

colossal, for he bestrides both land and sea. Apparently there is no special point in the

right foot (ton&poda&ton&dexion) being on the sea (epi&tēs&thalassēs) and the left (ton &

euōnumon) upon the land (epi&tēs&gēs). It makes a bold and graphic picture.

As a lion roareth (hōsper&leōn&mukātai). Only instance of hōsper in the Apocalypse,

but hōs in the same sense several times. Present middle indicative of mukaomai, an old

onomatopoetic word from mu or moo (the sound which a cow utters), common for the

lowing and bellowing of cattle, Latin mugire, but in Theocritus for the roaring of a lion as

here, though in 1Pe_5:8 we have ōruomai. Homer uses mukaomai for the clangour of the

shield and Aristophanes for thunder. It occurs here alone in the N.T. It does not mean that what the angel said was unintelligible, only loud. Cf. Rev_1:10; Rev_5:2, Rev_5:12; Rev_6:10; Rev_7:2, Rev_7:10, etc.

EXPOSITORS BIBLE, “2. In what character does the Lord appear? As to the answer to this question there can be no dubiety. He appears in judgment The rainbow upon His head is indeed the symbol of mercy, but it is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that He is Saviour as well as Judge. So far is the Apocalypse from representing the ideas of judgment and mercy as incompatible with each other that throughout the whole book the most terrible characteristic of the former is its proceeding from One distinguished by the latter. If even in itself the Divine wrath is to be dreaded by the sinner, the dread which it ought to inspire reaches its highest point when we think of it as "the wrath of the Lamb." The other features of the description speak directly of judgment: the "cloud," the "sun," the "pillars of fire."

PULPIT, “And he had in his hand a little book open . Ἔχων , "having," is read in à , A, B, C, P; εἴχεν , "he had," in a few cursives, the Vulgate, Andreas, Arethas, Primasius. The meaning is the same. The word βιβλαρίδιον , "little book," is a diminutive of βιβλίον ( Rev_5:1), which is itself a

diminutive of βίβλος . This form of the word is found nowhere else; the corresponding usual form

isβιβλιδαρίον . The book is probably little in comparison with that in Rev_5:1. The latter contained all God's purposes, and the seer was not permitted to read it—only part was indicated to him. This book contains only a small portion of God's methods of dealing with man, and St. John is commanded to receive the whole. The contents are indicated in verse 11 and the following chapter. The book is open, as a sign that what is contained therein is to be revealed. Bede thinks the New Testament is signified by it; Wordsworth sees in it the spiritual power of Rome; Hengstenberg considers that it contains the judgment of the degenerate Church. And he set his right foot upon

the sea, and his left foot on the earth. Thus it is indicated that the revelation which is to follow affects the whole world, and is not partial in its operation, as were the judgments set forth under the earlier trumpets. Wordsworth (following Hengstenberg) sees in the earthan emblem of worldly

power, and in the sea a symbol of the agitation and turbulence of nations.

COFFMAN, “and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;This verse introduces the principal theme in this chapter; namely, "the little book open" in the hand of a mighty angel. Pieters titled this chapter, "The Great Angel and the Little Book,"[20] and we

would like to change that by the addition of a single word: "The Great Angel and the Little Book Open."

And he had in his hand a little book open ... See introduction to this chapter for our arguments positively identifying this little book as the New Testament of God's will. No other book, whether large or small, in the history of the whole world, could deserve the importance indicated in the powerful scenes of this vision. Behold this mighty and glorious angel so tall and glorious, standing with one foot in the ocean and another upon the continent; and what is he doing? He is holding a little book open! What does that say about the importance of that little book? No other function than that of holding open the little book is ascribed to this glorious being. Not even the words of the seven thunders which he uttered, or caused to be uttered, were recorded, perhaps by design that nothing should detract from the all-important thing the angel was doing.

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and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.

When he shouted, the voices of the seven

thunders spoke.

BARES, “And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth - The lion is the monarch of the woods, and his roar is an image of terror. The point of the comparison here seems to be the loudness with which the angel cried, and the power of what he said to awe the world - as the roar of the lion keeps the dwellers of the forest in awe. What he said is not stated; nor did John attempt to record it. Prof. Stuart supposes that it was “a loud note of woe, some interjection uttered which would serve to call attention, and at the same time be indicative of the judgments which were to follow.” But it is not necessary to suppose that this particular thing was intended. Any loud utterance - any solemn command - any prediction of judgment - any declaration of truth that would arrest the attention of mankind, would be in accordance with all that is said here. As there is no application of what is said, and no explanation made by John, it is impossible to determine with any certainty what is referred to.But, supposing that the whole refers to the Reformation, would not the loud and

commanding voice of the angel properly represent the proclamation of the gospel as it began to be preached in such a manner as to command the attention of the world, and the reproof of the prevailing sins in such a manner as to keep the world in awe? The voice that sounded forth at the Reformation among the nations of Europe, breaking the slumbers of the Christian world, awaking the church to the evil of the existing corruptions and abominations, and summoning princes to the defense of the truth, might well be symbolized by the voice of an angel that was heard afar. In regard to the effect of the “theses” of Luther, in which he attacked the main doctrines of the papacy, a contemporary writer says, “In the space of a fortnight they spread over Germany, and within a month they had run through all Christendom, as if angels themselves had been

the bearers of them to all men.” To John it might not be known beforehand - as it probably would not be - what this symbolized; but could we now find a more appropriate symbol to denote the Reformation than the appearance of such an angel; or better describe the impression made by the first announcement of the great doctrines of the Reformation, than by the loud voice of such an angel?

And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices - Prof. Stuart renders this, “the seven thunders uttered their voices,” and insists that the article should be retained, which it has not been in our common version. So Elliott, Dr. Middleton, and others. Dr. Middleton says, “Why the article is inserted here I am unable to discover. It is somewhat remarkable that a few manuscripts and editions omit it in both places Rev_10:3-4. Were the seven thunders anything well known and pre-eminent? If not, the omission must be right in the former instance, but wrong in the latter; if they were pre-eminent, then is it wrong in both. Bengel omits the article in Rev_10:3, but has it in Rev_10:4.” He regards the insertion of the article as the true reading in both places, and supposes that there may have been a reference to some Jewish opinion, but says that he had not been able to find a vestige of it in Lightfoot, Schoettgen, or Meuschen. Storr supposes that we are not to seek here for any Jewish notion, and that nothing is to be inferred from the article (Middleton, on the Greek Article, p. 358).

The best editions of the New Testament retain the article in both places, and indeed there is no authority for omitting it. The use of the article here naturally implies either that these seven thunders were something which had been before referred to, either expressly or impliedly; or that there was something about them which was so well known that it would be at once understood what was referred to; or that there was something in the connection which would determine the meaning. Compare the notes on Rev_8:2. It is plain, however, that there had been no mention of “seven thunders” before, nor had anything been referred to which would at once suggest them. The reason for the insertion of the article here must, therefore, be found in some pre-eminence which these seven thunders had; in some well-known facts about them; in something which would at once suggest them when they were mentioned - as when we mention the sun, the moon, the stars, though they might not have been distinctly referred to before. The number “seven” is used here either:

(a) As a general or perfect number, as it is frequently in this book, where we have it so often repeated - seven spirits; seven angels; seven seals; seven trumpets; or,

(b) With some specific reference to the matter in hand - the case actually in view of the writer.

It cannot be doubted that it might be used in the former sense here, and that no law of language would be violated if it were so understood; as denoting many thunders; but still it is equally true that it way be used in a specific sense as denoting something that would be well understood by applying the number seven to it. Now let it be supposed, in regard to the application of this symbol, that the reference is to Rome, the seven-hilled city, and to the thunders of excommunication, anathema, and wrath that were uttered from that city against the Reformers; and would there not be all that is fairly implied in this language, and is not this such a symbol as would he appropriately used on such a supposition? The following circumstances may be referred to as worthy of notice on this point:

(a) The place which this occupies in the series of symbols - being just after the angel had uttered his voice as symbolical of the proclamation of the great truths of the gospel in the Reformation, if the interpretation above given is correct. The next event, in the order of nature and of fact, was the voice of excommunication uttered at Rome.

(b) The word “thunder” would appropriately denote the bulls of excommunication uttered at Rome, for the name most frequently given to the decrees of the papacy, when condemnatory, was that of papal thunders. So LeBas, in his Life of Wycliffe, p. 198, says: “The thunders which shook the world when they issued from the seven hills sent forth an uncertain sound, comparatively faint and powerless, when launched from a region of less devoted sanctity.”

(c) The number seven would, on such a supposition, be used here with equal propriety. Rome was built on seven hills; was known as the “seven-hilled” city, and the thunders from that city would seem to echo and re-echo from those hills. Compare Rev_17:9.

(d) This supposition, also, will accord with the use of the article here, as if those thunders were something well known - “the seven thunders”; that is, the thunders which the nations were accustomed to hear.

(e) This will also accord with the passage before us, inasmuch as the thunders would seem to have been of the nature of a response to what the angel said, or to have been sent forth because he had uttered his loud cry.

In like manner, the anathemas were hurled from Rome because the nations had been aroused by the loud cry for reformation, as if an angel had uttered that cry. For these reasons there is a propriety in applying this language to the thunders which issued from Rome condemning the doctrines of the Reformation, and in defense of the ancient faith, and excommunicating those who embraced the doctrines of the Reformers. If we were now to attempt to devise a symbol which would be appropriate to express what actually occurred in the Reformation, we could not think of one which would be better suited to that purpose than to speak of seven thunders bellowing forth from the seven-hilled city.

CLARKE, “Seven thunders - Seven being a number of perfection, it may here mean many, great, loud, and strong peals of thunder, accompanied with distinct voices; but what was said, St. John was not permitted to reveal, Rev_10:4.

GILL, “And cried with a loud voice,.... That all might hear, and to show earnestness and affection, and that it was a matter of great importance, as well as to denote the certainty of it; what he said is not expressed, but seems to be the book of prophecy, or what regarded the state of his church and kingdom, in the several periods of time to the blowing of the seventh trumpet, when the kingdoms of this world shall become his: and this voice of his was

as when a lion roareth; loud and terrible; and indeed it was the voice of the lion of the tribe of Judah, which was heard far and near, throughout the whole world, by his people, and is terrible to his enemies:

and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices; which some understand of the ministers of the Gospel in the times of the Reformation, who were "Boanergeses", sons of thunder, and think that they are the same with the angels in Rev_14:6, &c. or rather these may signify the denunciations of God's judgments, and of

his wrath, both upon the eastern and western antichrist, the Turk and pope, signified by the seven vials, hereafter to be poured out, mentioned in Rev_16:1.

JAMISO, “as ... lion — Christ, whom the angel represents, is often so symbolized (Rev_5:5, “the Lion of the tribe of Juda”).seven thunders — Greek, “the seven thunders.” They form part of the Apocalyptic

symbolism; and so are marked by the article as well known. Thus thunderings marked the opening of the seventh seal (Rev_8:1, Rev_8:5); so also at the seventh vial (Rev_16:17, Rev_16:18). Wordsworth calls this the prophetic use of the article; “the thunders, of which more hereafter.” Their full meaning shall be only known at the grand consummation marked by the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet (Rev_11:19), and the seventh vial.

uttered their — Greek, “spake their own voices”; that is, voices peculiarly their own, and not now revealed to men.

VWS, “Cried (,,,,κραξενκραξενκραξενκραξεν)

See on Mar_5:5.

As when

The when of A.V. is unnecessary.

Roareth (µυκ/µυκ/µυκ/µυκ/ταιταιταιται)

Only here in the New Testament. Peter uses 1ρύοµαι&for the voice of the lion. See on

1Pe_5:8. The verb here is originally applied to the lowing of cattle, expressing the sound, moo-ka-omai. Both Aristophanes and Theocritus use it of the roar of the lion, and the former of thunder. Homer, of the ring of the shield and the hissing of meat on the spit.

Seven thunders

The Jews were accustomed to speak of thunder as “the seven voices.” Compare the sevenfold “voice of the Lord,” Psa_29:1-11.

As usual, interpretation has run wild as to the seven thunders. As a few illustrations may be cited: Vitringa, the seven crusades; Daubuz, the seven kingdoms which received the Reformation; Elliott, the bull fulminated against Luther from the seven-hilled city, etc.

EXPOSITORS BIBLE, “. What notion are we to form of the contents of the little book-roll? They are certainly not the same as those of the book-roll of chap. 5, although the word here used for the roll, a diminutive from the other, may suggest the idea that there is an intimate connection between the two books, and that the second, like the first, is full of judgment Other circumstances

mentioned lead to the same conclusion. Thus the great voice, as a lion roareth, cannot fail to remind us of the voice of "the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah" in chap. 5. The thought of the seven

thunders which uttered their voices deepens the impression, for in that number we have the general conception of thunder in all the varied terrors that belong to it; and, whatever the particulars uttered by the thunders were - a point into which it is vain to inquire, as the writing of them was forbidden - their general tone must have been that of judgment But these thunders are a response to the strong angel as he was about to take action with the little book, - "when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices," - and the response must have been related to the action. It is clear, therefore,

that the contents of the little book cannot have been tidings of mercy to a sinful world; and that that book cannot have been intended to tell the Seer that, notwithstanding the opposition of the powers of darkness, the Church of Christ was to make her way among the nations, growing up from the small seed into the stately tree, and at last covering the earth with the shadow of her branches. Even on the supposition that a conception of this kind could be traced in other parts of the Apocalypse, it would be out of keeping with the particulars accompanying it here. We may without hesitation conclude that the little book-roll has thus the general character of judgment, although, like the larger roll of chap. 5, it may also include in it the preservation of the saints.

PULPIT, “And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth; and be cried with a great

voice, as a lion roareth (Revised Version). What the angel cried we are apparently not told. Probably the whole incident is intended merely to set forth the powerful and terrible nature of the messenger who is to deliver God's message. The figure is a very common one with the prophetical writers (cf.Isa_42:13; Jer_25:30; Hos_11:10; Joe_3:16; Amo_1:2; Amo_3:8). And when he had

cried, seven thunders uttered their voices; and when he cried, the seven, etc. (Revised Version). This, again, is a repetition of the idea contained in the preceding clause. The Jews were accustomed to call thunder the seven voices, and to regard it as the voice of the Lord (cf. the repetition inPsa_29:1-11.), in the same way that they regarded lightning as the fire of God (Job_1:16). We have, therefore, most probably, a national idea of the Jews, made use of to express the simple fact of the loud and mighty character of the utterance of the angel (cf. the note on Euphrates in Rev_9:14). If this be so, it is unnecessary to seek for any more subtle interpretation of the seven thunders, as that they represent the seven crusades (Vitringa), etc.

BURKITT, “This angel, who represented Christ the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is said to cry like a roaring lion, whose voice is both loud and terrible; this, some conceive, shadowed forth the efficacious and successful preaching of the gospel, and that the seven thunders signified the same: but others apprehend hereby the thundering judgments of God which were shortly to be inflicted on the wicked world; and particularly on Jerusalem by Titus, say some; upon Antichrist and his adherents, say others. The judgments of God are fitly set forth by thunder, because they do not fly at random, but by divine directions; the loudness, the swiftness, the forcibleness of thunder, is known, and the terribleness of God in his doings towards the children of men has been sufficiently understood.

Observe next, St. John's intention to write what these thunders uttered, for the benefit of the church, as conceiving them to be of great concernment to her: but he receives a command from Christ to the contrary; not to do it at present, God foreseeing that the opposers would not hear but despise; therefore these judgments shall be known by experience, and not by words.

Others say this inhibition was only temporary, not perpetual; write them not, that is, conceal them for the present, till thou hast those things represented to thee in other types, and till they are nearer their accompolishment; hereafter he might write them, for what God revealed to John was to be showed to his servants, Rev_1:1.

COFFMA, “and he cried with a great voice, as a lion roareth: and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.It would be impossible to design a pageant which could any more emphatically and gloriously stress and glorify a little book with the effective impact of such a vision as this.

And he cried with a great voice ... The world-shaking power and importance of this angel, and what he was doing, are further emphasized by this.

When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices ... We shall not find out what these voices said; but the very fact of the reverberating thunders attending the words of this angel emphasizes even more dramatically his eternal authority and power to keep on doing what he is depicted as doing here, keeping that "little book open"! There's hardly anything in this prophecy any

more important. Some have wondered why these were mentioned at all, since John was forbidden to convey the message they spoke; but, as is often true in the Bible, what is concealed is as significant as what is revealed.

For example, the shepherds who heard the announcement of Jesus' birth are not identified by name, number, race, age, or whether they owned or merely tended their flock; and the very absence of specific details endows them perfectly as symbols of all mankind. So it is here. The voice of the seven thunders, by the omission of any specific message, is endowed with a symbolism infinitely beyond any specific message. This mighty angel crying with a loud voice, accompanied by the reverberating thunders, is the impact of God's word upon the world. What happens? The voice of the seven thunders rolls through the centuries. Mighty consequences follow the preaching of the word of God. Thus, the utterances of these thunders being first mentioned, and then their messages hidden, are by no means a meaningless part of the vision.

What did the thunders say? People have no right to ask such a question; but the proof that they do ask it is seen in the volumes of answers people have given. One famous writer has a total of five pages in fine print on the subject. We shall conclude with a single quotation from Pieters:

So far as I have learned the views of expositors, most of them do . not attempt any explanation; and those who do attempt it produce nothing worth repeating. This must therefore remain among the unexplained and unexplainable passages of the book.[21]

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And when the seven thunders spoke, I was

about to write; but I heard a voice from

heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders

have said and do not write it down."

BARES, “And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices - After he had listened to those thunders; or when they had passed by.I was about to write - That is, he was about to record what was uttered, supposing

that that was the design for which he hart been made to hear them. From this it would seem that it was not mere thunder - brutum fulmen - but that the utterance had a distinct and intelligible enunciation, or that words were employed that could be recorded. It may be observed, by the way, as Prof. Stuart has remarked, that this proves that John wrote down what he saw and heard as soon as practicable, and in the place where he was; and that the supposition of many modern critics, that the Apocalyptic visions were written at Ephesus a considerable time after the visions took place, has no good foundation.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me - Evidently the voice of God: at all events it came with the clear force of command,

Seal up those things - On the word “seal,” see the notes on Rev_5:1. The meaning here is, that he was not to record those things, but what he heard he was to keep to himself as if it was placed under a seal which was not to be broken.

And write them not - Make no record of them. No reason is mentioned why this was not to be done, and none can now be given that can be proved to be the true reason. Vitringa, who regards the seven thunders as referring to the Crusades, supposes the reason to have been that a more full statement would have diverted the mind from the course of the prophetic narrative, and from more important events which pertained to the church, and that nothing occurred in the Crusades which was worthy to be recorded at length: Nec dignae erant quae prolixius exponerentur - “for,” he adds, “these expeditions were undertaken with a foolish purpose, and resulted in real detriment to the church,” pp. 431, 432. Prof. Stuart (vol. ii. pp. 204-206) supposes that these “thunders” refer to the destruction of the city and temple of God, and that they were a sublime introduction to the last catastrophe, and that the meaning is not that he should keep “entire silence,” but only that he should state the circumstances in a general manner, without going into detail. Mede supposes that John was commanded to keep silence because it was designed that the meaning should not then be known, but should be disclosed in future times; Forerius, because it was the design that the wise should be able to understand them, but that they were not to be disclosed to the wicked and profane. Without attempting to examine these and other solutions which have been proposed, the question which, from the course of the exposition, is properly before us is, whether, on the supposition that the voice of the seven thunders referred to the papal anathemas, a rational and satisfactory solution of the reasons of this silence can be given. Without pretending to know the reasons which existed, the following may be referred to as not improbable, and as those which would meet the case:

(1) In these papal anathemas there was nothing that was worthy of record; there was nothing that was important as history; there was nothing that communicated truth; there was nothing that really indicated progress in human affairs. In themselves there was nothing more that deserved record than the acts and doings of wicked people at any time; nothing that fell in with the main design of this book.

(2) Such a record would have retarded the progress of the main statements of what was to occur, and would have turned off the attention from these to less important matters.

(3) All that was necessary in the case was simply to state that such threaders were heard: that is, on the supposition that this refers to the Reformation, that that great change in human affairs would not be permitted to occur without opposition and noise - as if the thunders of wrath should follow those who were engaged in it.

(4) John evidently mistook this for a real revelation, or for something that was to be recorded as connected with the divine will in reference to the progress of human affairs. He was naturally about to record this as he did what was uttered by the other voices which he heard; and if he had made the record, it would have been with this mistaken view. There was nothing in the voices, or in what was uttered, that would manifestly mark it as distinct from what had been uttered as coming from God, and he was about to record it under this impression. If this was a mistake, and if the record would do anything, as it clearly would, to perpetuate the error, it is easy to see a sufficient reason why the record should not be made.

(5) It is remarkable that there was an entire correspondence with this in what occurred in the Reformation; in the fact that Luther and his fellow-laborers were, at first, and for a long time - such was the force of education, and of the habits of reverence for the papal authority in which they had been reared - disposed to receive the announcements of the

papacy as the oracles of God, and to show to them the deference which was due to divine communications. The language of Luther himself, if the general view here taken is correct, will be the best commentary on the expressions used here. “When I began the affairs of the Indulgences,” says he, “I was a monk, and a most mad papist. So intoxicated was I, and drenched in papal dogmas, that I would have been most ready to murder, or assist others in murdering, any person who should have uttered a syllable against the duty of obedience to the pope.”

And again: “Certainly at that time I adored him in earnest.” He adds, “How distressed my heart was in that year 1517 - how submissive to the hierarchy, not feignedly but really - those little knew who at this day insult the majesty of the pope with so much pride and arrogance. I was ignorant of many things which now, by the grace of God, I understand. I disputed; I was open to conviction; not finding satisfaction in the works of theologians, I wished to consult the living members of the church itself. There were some godly souls that entirely approved my propositions. But I did not consider their authority of weight with me in spiritual concerns. The popes, bishops, cardinals, monks, priests, were the objects of my confidence. After being enabled to answer every objection that could be brought against me from sacred Scripture, one difficulty alone remained, that the Church ought to be obeyed.

If I had then braved the pope as I now do, I should have expected every hour that the earth would have opened to swallow me up alive, like Korah and Abiram.” It was in this frame of mind that, in the summer of 1518, a few months after the affair with Tetzel, he wrote that memorable letter to the pope, the tenor of which can be judged of by the following sentences: and what could more admirably illustrate the passage before us, on the interpretation suggested, than this language? “Most blessed Father! Prostrate at the feet of thy blessedness I offer myself to thee, with all that I am, and that I have. Kill me, or make me live; call or recall; approve or reprove, as shall please thee. I will acknowledge thy voice as the voice of Christ presiding and speaking in thee.” See the authorities for these quotations in Elliott, vol. ii. pp. 116, 117.

(6) The command not to record what the seven thunders uttered was of the nature of a caution not to regard what was said in this manner; that is, not to be deceived by these utterances as if they were the voice of God. Thus understood, if this is the proper explanation and application of the passage, it should be regarded as an injunction not to regard the decrees and decisions of the papacy as containing any intimation of the divine will, or as of authority in the church. That this is to be so regarded is the opinion of all Protestants; and if this is so, it is not a forced supposition that this might have been intimated by such a symbol as that before us.

GILL, “And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices,.... Or declared all they had to denounce upon the enemies of Christ and his church:

I was about to write; John taking particular notice of what they said, and believing it might be for the advantage, comfort, and support of the church of Christ under its suffering circumstances, to be informed of what God had in reserve among the treasures of his wrath for their adversaries, was going to put it down in writing, that he might retain it, and the better communicate it, and in obedience to the order given him, Rev_1:19;

and I heard a voice from heaven; from God the Father, for the Son of God in a visionary way was come down from heaven, in the form before described; and this voice

answers to the Bath Kol of the Jews, and is the same which ordered John to write, Rev_14:13, though it here forbad him:

saying unto me, seal up those things; treasure them up in thy mind, keep them within thy breast, hide them from men, for the present, and say nothing of them:

which the seven thunders have uttered, and write them not; that they may not be seen and read at present, because the same things were to be exhibited in another form, and at another time, under the seven vials; only it was thought proper that John should have some intimations of them for his own advantage, and to prepare him for the following vision, for the eating of the book, and for his prophesying before people, nations, tongues, and kings. Mr. Daubuz is of opinion, that by these "seven thunders" are meant seven kingdoms which have received the Reformation, and established it by law within their several dominions, whereby the doctrine and worship of the reformers are become the established religion there; and the laws by which it is established are "the voices" uttered by those supreme authorities; and they are these, 1. The German princes, making one republic. 2. The Swiss cantons. 3. Sweden. 4. Denmark, with Norway. 5. England and Ireland. 6. Scotland. 7. The United Provinces of the Netherlands. And whereas John, who represents the first reformers, and other faithful men, was for writing what these thunders uttered, this denotes the zeal and earnest desires of these good men to push the Reformation further, and make a thorough work of it, as well as their expectation that now was the time in which the mystery of God was to be fulfilled, in which they were mistaken; wherefore John is bid to seal up these things, and not write them, which shows that the progress of the Reformation was to be stopped from doing fully what the first reformers were prompted to by the supreme powers which encouraged them, and that by the opposition of other temporal princes; it not being the will of God that the glorious state of the church should arise from these thunders, and be built on their laws and establishments; and suggests, that this is not the time in which, nor these the ways and means by which the mystery of God will be finished, which will not be until the seventh angel has sounded his trumpet, Rev_10:7; whereas this period of time, to which the Reformation belongs, is an event of the sixth trumpet: and this exposition bids very fair to be the right one.

HERY, “The prohibition given to the apostle, that he should not publish, but conceal what he had learned from the seven thunders, Rev_10:4. The apostle was for preserving and publishing every thing he saw and heard in these visions, but the time had not yet come.

JAMISO, “when — Aleph reads, “Whatsoever things.” But most manuscripts support English Version.uttered their voices — A, B, C, and Aleph omit “their voices.” Then translate, “had

spoken.”

unto me — omitted by A, B, C, Aleph, and Syriac.

Seal up — the opposite command to Rev_22:20. Even though at the time of the end the things sealed in Daniel’s time were to be revealed, yet not so the voices of these thunders. Though heard by John, they were not to be imparted by him to others in this book of Revelation; so terrible are they that God in mercy withholds them, since “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” The godly are thus kept from morbid

ponderings over the evil to come; and the ungodly are not driven by despair into utter recklessness of life. Alford adds another aim in concealing them, namely, “godly fear, seeing that the arrows of God’s quiver are not exhausted.” Besides the terrors foretold, there are others unutterable and more horrifying lying in the background.

PULPIT, “And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write; and

when the seven thunders spoke, I was, etc. It seems that St. John, in his vision, thought himself to be writing down the incidents as they were displayed before him. This he supposed himself to be doing in obedience to the command in Rev_1:11, Rev_1:19. He accordingly is proceeding to do so here, when he is stopped by the angel. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Omit

"unto me," with à , A, B, C, P, all the versions, Andreas, Arethas, Primasius, etc. Throughout the Apocalypse we find frequent mention of a voice, without any definite statement as to the possessor. In Rev_1:11, Rev_1:12, Rev_1:13; Rev_4:1; Rev_18:4; Rev_21:5, Rev_21:15, the voiceappears to

be that of Christ or God the Father. In Rev_14:13 it may be that of Christ or an angel; in Rev_19:9 it

seems to be the angel's voice; and in Rev_6:6 it apparently proceeds from the four living beings; while in Rev_9:13, although the command appears to be the command of God, the locality from which the voice issues appears to bear reference to the souls of the saints, and their cry for vengeance. Here it seems best to identify the "voice from heaven" with that of Rev_1:1-20., where it is probably Christ himself (see on Rev_1:10). Seal up those things which the seven thunders

uttered, and write them not (cf. Dan_12:4, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end;" also Act_1:7, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power;" also Rev_22:10, "And he saith unto me. Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand"). As stated in the note on Rev_1:2, not all God's purposes are revealed. Here we have a positive indication that some truths are withheld. It is useless to speculate on the nature of that which is purposely concealed from us. The probable conclusions which we may deduce are well put by Alford: "From the very character of thunder, that the utterances were of fearful import; from the place which they hold, that they relate to the Church; from the command to conceal them, first, encouragement, that God in his tender mercy to his own does not reveal all his terrors; secondly, godly fear, seeing that the arrows of his quiver are not exhausted, but besides things expressly foretold, there are more behind not revealed to us."

KRETZMA, “Here is a strange interlude: And when the seven thunders had spoken, I intended to write, and I heard a voice out of heaven saying, Seal what the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write that. The message which the thunders reechoed must have been articulate, since John had evidently understood the words. And hardly had the sound rolled away, when he was ready to put the message to paper. But a voice from heaven interfered, bidding him seal or shut up the vision, keep it secret from mankind, at least for the time being. It is not necessary for men to know all the mysteries and secrets of the future. Note that John here emphasizes his prophetic authority.

Meanwhile the angel also had gotten ready for another exhibition of power and wisdom: And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him that lives forever and ever, who created the heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it that there should be no further delay, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he would sound his trumpet, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, as He had proclaimed the good news to His servants, the prophets. Here the extraordinary wisdom and power of the angel again appears. With great solemnity he swears by the living God, by the almighty Creator of the universe. He knows that the last woe is about to be revealed, that there will be no further delay. God's activity in creation and providence would culminate in judgment; all is ripe for the end, just as the promise had been given to the prophets of the Lord. This is good news to the servants of God, to the believers; it shows them that their deliverance is near.

COFFMAN, “And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.Eller called this verse, "a puzzler, but a passage not to hang up on!"[22] As for the reason why the incident was given at all, see under preceding verse. Another possible view was given by Morris:

The Revelation conveyed the messages to John himself, for he clearly understood them; and Paul speaks of such experiences (2 Corinthians 12:4).[23]

In harmony with such a view, we might conclude that the messages had the purpose of encouraging the apostle John, which also seems to have been the purpose underlying Paul's similar experience.

Another important deduction which appears to be valid in this connection is, until people know what these thunders said (and they shall never know), there should be an end of dating events foretold in this prophecy. We simply do not have all of it. "God has kept back some things from us; let us beware of proceeding as though all has been revealed."[24]

[22] Vernard Eller, The Most Revealing Book in the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), p. 112.

[23] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 139.

[24] Ibid.

RIGGS, “The angel cried with a great voice (indicating an important message that should

be heard) and seven thunders uttered their voices (this is the first time we are introduced

to these). John was about to write, but was told to seal up the things the seven thunders

uttered and do not write them. The seven thunders, therefore, represent the things in the

far distant future that are sealed and unrevealed. God saw fit not to reveal any details

about how He would be working in the many years that lie ahead. We understand that

God is still working in the affairs of men; He still hears the prayers of the saints.

However, it is not up to us to try to penpoint just how God is working through His

providence today. DAVID RIGGS

ot worth the paper to write it down for what they say is not worth repeating.

5

Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea

and on the land raised his right hand to

heaven.

BARES, “And the angel which I saw stand ... - Rev_10:2. That is, John saw him standing in this posture when he made the oath which he proceeds to record.

Lifted up his hand to heaven - The usual attitude in taking an oath, as if one called heaven to witness. See Gen_14:22; Deu_32:40; Eze_20:5-6. Compare the notes on Dan_12:7.

CLARKE, “Lifted up his hand to heaven - As one making an appeal to the supreme Being.

GILL, “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth,.... His right foot being on the one, and his left foot upon the other, as described in Rev_10:2;

lifted up his hand to heaven; the Oriental versions read, "his right hand"; and so some copies, and the Complutensian edition: the man clothed in linen, Dan_12:6, who is the same with the angel here, held up both his hands; the lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in swearing: see Gen_14:22; so the Jews say (o), "the right hand", or by the

right hand, זו&יבועה,&"this&is&an&oath",&according&to&Dan_12:7;&or&whether&the&right&hand&or&the&

left,&is&an&oath,&according&to&Isa_62:8.&

HERY, “The solemn oath taken by this mighty angel. 1. The manner of his swearing: He lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth for ever, by himself, as God often has done, or by God as God, to whom he, as Lord, Redeemer, and ruler of the world, now appeals. 2. The matter of the oath: that there shall be time no longer; either, (1.) That there shall be now no longer delay in fulfilling the predictions of this book than till the last angel should sound; then every thing should be put into speedy execution: the mystery of God shall be finished, Rev_10:7. Or, (2.) That when this mystery of God is finished time itself shall be no more, as being the measure of things that are in a mutable changing state; but all things shall be at length for ever fixed, and so time itself swallowed up in eternity.

JAMISO, “lifted up his hand — So A and Vulgate read. But B, C, Aleph, Syriac, and Coptic, “... his right hand.” It was customary to lift up the hand towards heaven, appealing to the God of truth, in taking a solemn oath. There is in this part of the vision an allusion to Dan_12:1-13. Compare Rev_10:4, with Dan_12:4, Dan_12:9; and Rev_10:5, Rev_10:6, end, with Dan_12:7. But there the angel clothed in linen, and standing upon the waters, sware “a time, times, and a half” were to interpose before the consummation; here, on the contrary, the angel standing with his left foot on the earth, and his right upon the sea, swears there shall be time no longer. There he lifted up both hands to heaven; here he has the little book now open (whereas in Daniel the book is sealed) in his left hand (Rev_10:2), and he lifts up only his right hand to heaven.

HAWKER 5-7, “(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 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, 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.We cannot read what fellows, of the Lord Jesus lifting up his hand to heaven, in a way of solemnity, and swearing to the truth of what he was about to deliver, without being struck with the sublimity of the whole. Let the Reader figure to himself Christ as God-Man, with one foot upon the earth, and the other on the sea, to imply (as hath been before observed) his supreme authority, and then hear him swearing by him that liveth forever and ever, and created all things, that there should be time no longer. Who less than God could so determine? And who but God could accomplish such a purpose? We read in another scripture, that when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself. And that this was God our Savior who thus swore to Abraham is most evident, as may be seen by looking at the account. It was God, it is said, that called upon Abraham to offer up his son a burnt-offering. And it was the angel of the Lord that called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord. See Gen_22:1-2; Gen_22:15-16. And the Holy Ghost confirms the whole in the scripture before quoted, Heb_6:13. Can anything be more plain than that in the whole transaction it was God our Savior who is all along spoken of? And who, indeed, should it be but Him? He is the only visible Jehovah through all the scripture. No man hath seen God at any time. In the invisibility of his essence, as God, it is impossible to see him. But one only begotten Son, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and from that bosom came forth in our nature, he hath declared him, Joh_1:18. See Heb_6:13. and Commentary. Hence, therefore, in this oath, that there should be time no longer, we behold Christ acting in his high character of Mediator, and in the name of the whole Godhead, confirming by oath, the counsel of his will.

The days of the voice of the seventh angel were to take place before the period Christ swore to should come on, when time should be no longer. The mystery of God was first to be finished, that is, the mystery of those wonderful events concerning the Church of God, in relation to those anti-Christian powers which opposed Christ, the Eastern and the Western heresy. But not the mysteries of God finished, or made known, in relation to that mystery of the Three sacred Persons in the Godhead, the mystery of God and man in one Person, and the mystery of Christ being one with his Church. These things are never to be finished, neither can be in their very nature so explained, as to be no longer mysterious. The meaning evidently is, that the period will come, under the seventh trumpet sounding, when the powers of darkness, whose opposition to Christ is now so mysterious, shall be finished, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.

PULPIT, “And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven ; the right hand (Revised Version) is supported by à , B, C, P, Syriac, Coptic, AE thiopic, Armenian, Andreas, Arethas, Primasius. It is omitted in the Textus Receptus, which follows A, 1, 17, 36, Vulgate; of. Dan_12:7, a chapter also referred to in the preceding note (vide supra). In Daniel both hands are uplifted, here only one; in the other is the book. The action was customary among the Jews in swearing (see Gen_14:22; Deu_32:40). (Upon the signification of "standing upon the sea and upon the earth," see on verse 2.)

BARCLAY, “THE DIVIE AOUCEMET OF THE ED

Rev. 10:5-7

The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to

heaven and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heaven and

the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it,

that there was no time left; but that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,

when he would sound his trumpet, there would be completed the secret purpose of

God, the good news of which he announced to his servants the prophets.

The angel now makes an announcement and affirms it with an oath. Sometimes the

announcement has been taken to mean that "Time shall be no more". That is to say,

time as we know it is about to be ended and eternity to begin. It is more likely that

the meaning is that there is no time left, that there is to be no further delay, that

Antichrist is about to burst upon the scene in all his destructive terror. As the writer

to the Hebrews had it: "Yet a little while and the coming one will come, and shall

not tarry" (Heb.10:37). The hour has struck when the man of sin shall be revealed

(2Th.2:3). Whichever be the meaning of the phrase, certainly the message is that

Antichrist is about to invade the earth; the scene is being set for the final contest.

When this happens, as the Revised Standard Version has it, the mystery of God

would be fulfilled. The meaning is that the whole purpose of God in human history

will stand revealed. Much in life is difficult to understand; wickedness seems to hold

sway. But, as John saw it, there is going to be a final show-down. God and

Antichrist, good and evil, will face each other; final and total victory will be won,

the questions will find their answers and the wrongs will be righted.

Beyond all the strangeness of the picture stands the truth that history is moving

towards the inevitable triumph of God and that, though evil may flourish, it cannot

in the end be triumphant.

BURKITT,”The angel that represented Christ, is here represented to St. John as swearing.

Where observe, 1. The ceremony used in swearing, Lifting up of the hand to heaven, appealing thereby to God as a witness and a judge.

2. The person sworn by, God; described,

(1.) By his eternity. He lives for ever, before and after all time.

(2.) By his omnipotency, and almighty power in the work of creation, making heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein.

An oath is proper to God, and as we are to swear by God, so God is only to be sworn by.

Observe, 3. The thing sworn, namely, That time shall be no more; that is, that there should be no farther delay of time, for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the obdurate Jews, say some; for the ruin of the Roman empire, for the destruction of Antichrist, say others; the performance of God's word, both in his promises of deliverance to his church, and in the execution of judgment on her enemies, is now at hand.

Observe, 4. The promise made, and the assurance here given, namely, That the mystery of God

should be finished, that is, the deliverance of the church should be completed, and the final

confusion of her enemies shall be accomplished; which is called a mystery, because the world understands it not, nor will they believe the same. As mysteries have their own time to be made manifest in, so, to the comfort of the faithful, and the terror of the wicked, a day was then approaching, in which the happy condition of the afflicted should appear, and the calamitous state of the ungodly be discovered.

COFFMA, “And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall be delay no longer:Lifted up his right hand and sware ... Here is another reason for holding this angel to be someone other than Christ. A vision of Christ taking an oath would not fit in here, or anywhere. In this oath, sworn by the eternal God himself (by the angel), it is inherent that some great truth of universal and everlasting significance is about to be announced; and it is exceedingly important to realize this, because of its bearing on the meaning of the last clause in Revelation 10:6, "that there shall be delay no longer."

If there is to be no delay, why then do we seem to get exactly that, a delay?

The delay is only apparent. What we have in Revelation 10 does not intervene chronologically between the sixth and seventh trumpets. It is simply a description of the present dispensation from a different viewpoint.[25]

Barclay thought that the meaning here is as the writer of Hebrews had it, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come, and shall not tarry."[26] However, the great oath was not that the delay would be brief, but that there would be "no delay." We must go back to the last two verses of Revelation 9 to find what this means. When, after all of God's warning judgments have fallen upon people, and when their state of rejection against God is final and complete, the final judgment of the Second Advent will occur then. Therefore, the events of Revelation 10 are not an "interlude" in time, but only in a literary sense. "The sounding of the seventh trumpet would usher in the finish of God's mystery."[27] "Redemption will be finished at the Second Coming of Christ."[28]

We have interpreted this verse as it stands in our version (ASV), but before leaving it, the fact should be noted that the KJV should be followed here, that "there should be time no longer." Roberts pointed out that "the word from which delay comes is [@chronos], which literally means time."[29] It would appear that the reasons behind the change are theological and philosophical, rather than textual. All of the manuscripts and cursives that have come down through the ages to us have time instead of delay except the Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and a few cursives, of which there are hundreds.[30] In this connection, it should also be remembered that both Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are of the same family of manuscripts, thus being practically but one witness instead of two. This shows the superiority of the KJV above subsequent versions in a very important particular, namely, that the KJV scholars believed they were translating God's word and accordingly had a higher regard for the text; whereas, in subsequent versions and translations, the translators took into consideration their own theological and philosophical views in choosing a rendition. This is a prime reason why the KJV must never be abandoned as a checking device against subsequent renditions. In this instance, the interpretation is not affected, because there being "time no longer" would also include the meaning that there would be no delay; but the awesome grandeur of the angel's words in the KJV are lost in our version.

The commentators who keep explaining why this should be rendered "delay" overlook the simple truth that the state of rebellion evident in Revelation 9:20,21 is represented as continuing until the very end; and thus the pronouncement that there should be no delay between that state and the end is meaningless.

None of these commentators attempts to say why this fact should be announced with an oath (and such an oath). What is announced is that time itself shall cease to exist. The clock of time shall stop.[31]

As Eller expressed it:

Sorry, the time has run out. The ball game is over. John is decidedly not one of those modern scholars who believes that human history never will involve an accounting but will simply go on forever.[32]

[25] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 151.

[26] William Barclay, The Revelation of John (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976),p. 55.

[27] Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1961), p. 161.

[28] Ralph Earle, op. cit., p. 560.

[29] J. W. Roberts, The Revelation of John (Austin, Texas: The R. B. Sweet Company, 1974), p. 85.

[30] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 275.

[31] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 318.

[32] Vernard Eller, op. cit., p. 113.

CHARLES SIMEO, “THE NEARNESS OF ETERNITY

Rev_10:5-6. The angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to

heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever .. $ that there should be time no longer.

NEVER was there a more beautiful instance of descriptive imagery than that before us. In ver. 1, a

mighty angel (probably the Angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ) is represented as coming

from heaven to make known to the beloved Disciple the purposes and decrees of God.

His vesture was a cloud, which intimated that “clouds and darkness being round about him,” neither

his person nor his message could be fully known. His face shone as the brightness of the meridian

sun, which denoted his transcendent excellency and glory; while a rainbow, intimating his

faithfulness to all his covenant-engagements, encircled his head as a royal diadem. His feet were

as pillars of fire, marking at once his immoveable firmness, and irresistible power. His posture was

such as became his august appearance, and the solemn embassy on which he was come: he set

his feet, the one on the earth, and the other on the sea, expressing thereby his sovereign dominion

over the whole universe. In this situation he cried with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion: upon

which seven thunders, like a responsive echo, uttered their voices. The attention of the whole

creation being thus deeply fixed, this glorious personage, in the manner of those who appeal to

God, lifted up his hand, and sware by him who liveth for ever and ever, even by the Creator of

heaven and earth; and that which he thus solemnly affirmed with an oath, was, that there should be

time no longer.

Commentators understand this oath in different ways. Some think it relates to the introduction of the

millennium; others to the commencement of the eternal state. The whole period fixed for the reign of

antichrist was twelve hundred and sixty years, or, in the language of prophecy, “a time, and times,

and half a time:” and the oath declares, that the power of antichrist shall continue no longer than to

that precise period; and that then the end of the world (as some think) or the happy state of the

Church (which is the more probable opinion) shall succeed. But without entering into this question,

the words, in whichever way they be understood, will furnish us with this important observation, that,

our times are in god’s hands.

That God has fixed the duration of the world itself, and the limits of every man’s existence in it, is a

truth so evident, that it is needless to dwell long upon the proof of it [Note:

See Job_14:14;Job_7:1; Job_14:5.]. But to get it suitably impressed upon our minds, is a work of

great difficulty, and worthy of our united attention. To promote this end, let the following

considerations be laid to heart:

I. If God has fixed the period for our existence here, it is impossible for us to prolong it—

[No strength of constitution can withstand the stroke of death [Note: Job_21:18; Job_21:23-26.]

— — — No physician’s skill can administer either antidote or cure [Note: They are extremely useful

as God’s instruments to effect his will: but they cannot in any instance counteract it. The monarch

as well as the beggar must obey the summons of his God.] — — — No friends or relatives can

procure one moment’s respite [Note: They may cry till their throats are dry, their eyes are bloated,

and their very hearts break with sorrow; but death, that relentless messenger, will be deaf to their

intreaties, and inflict the stroke on the devoted victim.] — — — Nor shall any want of preparation in

us avail for the lengthening out of our appointed time [Note: We may be living securely and without

thought; or be intending soon to reform our lives; or be professors of religion in a backslidden state,

and hoping for a season of revival; but no regard will be paid to our unfitness for death: yea rather,

that very circumstance may be God’s reason for removing us without a moment’s

warning. Mat_24:48-51. 1Th_5:2-3.] — — — If God has said, “This night shall thy soul be required

of thee,” even though we retired to our bed in perfect health, we should never behold the morning

light [Note: Luk_12:20.].]

II. When the period fixed for our existence here shall arrive, there will be an end of all present

things—

[All our earthly connexions will be dissolved [Note: We shall no more rejoice in the wife of our youth,

or fondle in our arms our infant offspring, or enjoy the friend that is as our own soul: every social tie

will be cut asunder, and every gratification of sense be taken from us.] — — — All our plans and

purposes will be broken [Note: If we were forming vast and comprehensive plans for our own

personal benefit, or the good of the state, and had almost brought them to maturity; if we were just

on the eve of renouncing our earthly and carnal lusts in order to turn more fully unto God; if we were

in the very act of determining to read our Bible, to attend ordinances, and to devote ourselves to

God; all would be frustrated the very instant that our time was come.Psa_146:4.] — — — All our

opportunities of spiritual improvement will for ever cease [Note: All things are ready for us now: the

Holy Spirit is ready to teach us, Christ to cleanse us, and the Father to accept us: ministers are

ready to lead us, angels to welcome us, the oxen and fatlings to feast us, and all the promises to

own us as their lawful heir. But, as soon as the last sand of our glass is fallen, all will be past and

gone. There will be no more ordinances to instruct, or promises to encourage, or pastors to guide,

or drawings of God’s Spirit to incline us: the fountain of Christ’s blood will be for ever closed; the

bowels of divine mercy will yearn over us no more; nor will the angels any more tender us their

friendly services. The day once ended, we can work no more for ever.] — — —]

III. When the appointed moment shall come, our eternal state will be irrevocably fixed—

[There will be no change whatever in the grave [Note: Ecc_9:10. Whatever our real character was in

death, such it will remain, Rev_22:11. just as Babel remained, from the instant that God confounded

the languages of the builders.] — — — They who die without an interest in Christ will be for ever

miserable [Note: There was an impassable gulf fixed between the rich man and Lazarus: nor was

there so much as the smallest mitigation of pain allowed to him that was in

hell. Luk_16:26. Rev_14:10-11. As on Noah’s entrance into the ark the door was shut; so there will

remain no possibility of admission into heaven, if once we die without an interest in Christ.] — — —

They who have improved their time for the great ends and purposes of life, will be for ever happy in

the presence of their God [Note: They shall be as pillars in the temple of their God, and shall go no

more out. Rev_3:12; Rev_4:8; Rev_7:15.] — — —]

Reflections—

1. This very day or night may be our last—

[Yes; if the term of our continuance on earth be now to expire, we cannot resist the Divine will; we

must go: but whither? Can it be to the regions of the damned? O how shall we dwell with everlasting

burnings [Note: Isa_33:14.]? Is there reason to hope that we should go to heaven? then welcome

sickness! welcome death! But let us not rest one moment while this awful matter is in suspense.]

2. Our last day must come soon, at all events—

[What if we live fifty or sixty years! the time will soon be gone, as a weaver’s shuttle passing through

the loom [Note: Job_7:6.]; and then the thread of life will be cut. They who are now advanced in

years look back upon their past life as a dream. So will it appear to us also, when it is spent. Let us

then work while it is day; and before the night comes, in which no man can work [Note: Joh_9:4.].]

3. The present moment is of infinite importance to us all—

[It is all that we can call our own: and on this eternity depends. Let us therefore live as those who

live for eternity [Note: 1Co_7:29-31.]. If ever we should be with Christ in Paradise, shall we regret

that we took so much pains to get thither? If, on the contrary, we should ever lift up our eyes in hell,

shall we not bewail the supineness that brought us thither? Let us then awake from our slumbers;

and labour, that, at whatever time our Lord may come, he may find us watching [Note: Much of the

foregoing matter would serve to illustrate another text, Jer_28:16. This year them shall die. It might

be treated thus: 1. What prospect there is that the text will be fulfilled in us—(Many will die this year

—No one has any security that he himself shall not be among the number—We all feel in ourselves

the seeds of death—Many who in all respects were as likely to live as we, are dead already—There

is a year coming wherein every one of us must die.) 2. What effect that prospect should have upon

us—(It should make us, dead to the world—serious in self-examination—diligent in working out our

salvation.)].]

6

And he swore by him who lives for ever and

ever, who created the heavens and all that is in

them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea

and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no

more delay!

BARES, “And sware by him that liveth forever and ever - By the ever-living God: a form of an oath in extensive use now. The essential idea in such an oath is an appeal to God; a solemn reference to Him as a witness; an utterance in the presence of Him who is acquainted with the truth or falsehood of what is said, and who will punish him who appeals to him falsely. It is usual, in such an oath, in order to give to it greater solemnity, to refer to some attribute of God, or something in the divine character on which the mind would rest at the time, as tending to make it more impressive. Thus, in

the passage before us, the reference is to God as “ever-living”; that is, he is now a witness, and he ever will be; he has now the power to detect and punish, and he ever will have the same power.Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, ... - Who is the Maker of

all things in heaven, on the earth, and in the sea; that is, throughout the universe. The design of referring to these things here is what is just specified to give increased solemnity to the oath by a particular reference to someone of the attributes of God. With this view nothing could be more appropriate than to refer to him as the Creator of the universe - denoting his infinite power, his right to rule and control all things.

That there should be time no longer - This is a very important expression, as it is the substance of what the angel affirmed in so solemn a manner; and as the interpretation of the whole passage depends on it. It seems now to be generally agreed among critics that our translation does not give the true sense, inasmuch:

(a) As that was not the close of human affairs, and

(b) As he proceeds to state what would occur after that.

Accordingly, different versions of the passage have been proposed. Prof. Stuart renders it, “that delay shall be no longer.” Mr. Elliott, “that the time shall not yet be; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, whensoever he may be about to sound, then the mystery of God shall be finished.” Mr. Lord, “that the time shall not be yet, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,” etc. Andrew Fuller (Works, vol. vi. p. 113), “there should be no delay.” So Dr. Gill. Mr. Daubuz, “the time shall not be yet.” Vitringa (p. 432), tempus non fore amplius, “time shall be no more.” He explains it (p. 433) as meaning, “not that this is to be taken absolutely, as if at the sounding of the seventh

trumpet all things were then to terminate, and the glorious epiphany - Hπίφανεια&

epiphaneia (or manifestation of Jesus Christ) - was then to occur, who would put an end

to all the afflictions of his church; but in a limited sense - restricte - as meaning that there would be no delay between the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the fulfillment of the prophecies.” The sense of this passage is to be determined by the meaning of the words and the connection:

(a) The word “time” - χρόνος chronos - is the common Greek word to denote time, and

may be applied to time in general, or to any specified time or period. See Robinson, Lexicon sub voce, (a, b). In the word itself there is nothing to determine its particular signification here. It might refer either to time in general, or to the time under consideration, and which was the subject of the prophecy. Which of these is the true idea is to be ascertained by the other circumstances referred to. It should be added, however, that the word does not of itself denote delay, and is never used to denote that directly. It can only denote that because delay occupies or consumes time, but this sense of the noun

is not found in the New Testament. It is found, however, in the verb χρονίζω chronizō, to

linger, to delay, to be long in coming, Mat_25:5; Luk_1:21.

(b) The absence of the article - “time,” not “the time” - would naturally give it a general signification, unless there was something in the connection to limit it to some well-known period under consideration. See the notes on Rev_8:2; Rev_10:3. In this latter view, if the time referred to would be sufficiently definite without the article, the article need not be inserted. This is such a case, and comes under the rule for the omission of the article as laid down by Dr. Middleton, part i. ch. 3: The principle is, that when the copula, or verb connecting the subject and predicate, is the verb substantive, then the article is omitted. “To affirm the existence,” says he, “of that of which the existence is already assumed, would be superfluous; to deny it, would be contradictory and absurd.”

As applicable to the case before us, the meaning of this rule would be, that the nature of

the time here referred to is implied in the use of the substantive verb (,σται estai), and

that consequently it is not necessary to specify it. All that needs to be said on this point is, that, on the supposition that John referred to a specified time, instead of time in general, it would not be necessary, under this rule, to insert the article. The reference would be understood without it, and the insertion would be unnecessary. This is substantially the reasoning of Mr. Elliott (vol. ii. p. 123), and it is submitted for what it is worth. My own knowledge of the usages of the Greek article is too limited to justify me in pronouncing an opinion on the subject, but the authorities are such as to authorize the assertion that, on the supposition that a particular well-known period were here referred to, the insertion of the article would not be necessary.

(c) The particle rendered “longer” - έτι eti - “time shall be no longer” - means properly,

according to Robinson (Lexicon), “yet, still”; implying:

(1) Duration - as spoken of the present time; of the present in allusion to the past, and, with a negative, no more, no longer;

(2) Implying accession, addition, yet, more, further, besides. According to Buttmann, Grammatical section 149, vol. i. p. 430, it means, when alone, “yet still, yet further; and with a negative, no more, no further.” The particle occurs often in the New Testament, as may be seen in the Concordance. It is more frequently rendered “yet” than by any other word (compare Mat_12:46; Mat_17:5; Mat_19:20; Mat_26:47; Mat_27:63; Mar_5:35; Mar_8:17; Mar_12:6; Mar_14:43 - and so in the other Gospels, the Acts , and the Epistles); in all, 50 times. In the Book of Revelation it is only once rendered “yet,” Rev_6:11, but is rendered “more” in Rev_3:12; Rev_7:16; Rev_9:12; Rev_12:8; Rev_18:21-22 (three times), Rev_18:23 (twice); Rev_20:3; Rev_21:1, Rev_21:4 (twice); “longer” in Rev_10:6; “still” in Rev_22:11 (four times). The usage, therefore, will justify the rendering of the word by “yet,” and in connection with the negative, “not yet” - meaning that the thing referred to would not occur immediately, but would be hereafter. In regard to the general meaning, then, of this passage in its connection, we may remark:

(a) That it cannot mean, literally, that there would be time no longer, or that the world would then come to an end absolutely, for the speaker proceeds to disclose events that would occur after that, extending far into tim future Rev_10:11, and the detail that follows Rev. 11 before the sounding of the seventh trumpet is such as to occupy a considerable period, and the seventh trumpet is also yet to sound. No fair construction of the language, therefore, would require us to understand this as meaning that the affairs of the world were then to terminate.

(b) The connection, then, apart from the question of grammatical usage, will require some such construction as that above suggested - “that the time,” to wit, some certain, known, or designated time, “would not be yet,” but would be in some future period; that is, as specified, Rev_10:7, “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound.” Then “the mystery of God would be finished,” and the affairs of the world would be put on their permanent footing.

(c) This would imply that, at the time when the angel appeared, or in the time to which he refers, there would be some expectation or general belief that the “mystery was then to be finished, and that the affairs of the world were to come to an end. The proper interpretation would lead us to suppose that there would be so general an expectation of this, as to make the solemn affirmation of the angel proper to correct a prevailing opinion, and to show that the right interpretation was not put on what seemed to be the tendency of things.

(d) As a matter of fact, we find that this expectation did actually exist at the time of the Reformation; that such an interpretation was put on the prophecies, and on the events that occurred; and that the impression that the Messiah was about to come, and the reign of saints about to commence, was so strong as to justify some interference, like the solemn oath of the angel, to correct the misapprehension. It is true that this impression had existed in former times, and even in the early ages of the church; but, as a matter of fact, it was true, and eminently true, in the time of the Reformation, and there was, on many accounts, a strong tendency to that form of belief. The Reformers, in interpreting the prophecies, learned to connect the downfall of the papacy with the coming of Christ, and with his universal reign upon the earth; and as they saw the evidences of the approach of the former, they naturally anticipated the latter as about to occur.

Compare Dan_2:34; Dan_12:11; 2Th_2:3, 2Th_2:8. The anticipation that the Lord Jesus was about to come; that the affairs of the world, in the present form, were to be wound up; that the reign of the saints would soon commence; and that the permanent kingdom of righteousness would be established, became almost the current belief, of the Reformers, and was frequently expressed in their writings. Thus, Luther, in the year 1520, in his answer to the pope’s bull of excommunication, expresses his anticipations: “Our Lord Jesus Christ yet liveth and reigneth; who, I firmly trust, will shortly come, and slay with the spirit of his mouth, and (destroy with the brightness of his coming, that Man of Sin” (Merle D’Aubig., vol. ii. p. 166). After being summoned before the Diet at Worms, and after condemnation had been pronounced on him by the emperor, he fell back for comfort on the same joyous expectation. “For this once,” he said, “the Jews, as on the crucifixion day, may sing their paean; but Easter will come for us, and then we shall sing Hallelujah” (D’Aubig., vol. ii. p. 275). The next year, writing to Staupitz, he made a solemn appeal against his abandoning the Reformation, by reference to the sure and advancing fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. “My father,” said he, “the abominations of the pope, with his whole kingdom, must be destroyed; and the Lord does this without hand, by the Word alone. The subject exceeds all human comprehension. I cherish the best hopes” (Milner, p. 692).

In 1523 he thus, in a similar strain, expresses his hopes: “The kingdom of Antichrist, according to the prophet Daniel, must be broken without hands; that is, the Scriptures will be understood by and by; and every one will preach against papal tyranny, from the Word of God, until the Man of Sin is deserted of all, and dies of himself” (Milner, p. 796). The same sentiments respecting the approach of the end of the world were entertained by Melancthon. In commenting on the passage in Daniel relating to the “little horn,” he thus refers to an argument which has been prevalent: “The words of the prophet Elias should be marked by every one, and inscribed upon our walls, and on the entrances of our houses. Six thousand years shall the world stand, and after that be destroyed; two thousand years without the law; two thousand years under the law of Moses; two thousand years under the Messiah; and if any of those years are not fulfilled, they will be shortened (a shortening intimated by Christ also, on account of our sins).”

The following manuscript addition to this argument has been found in Melancthon’s hand, in Luther’s own copy of the German Bible: “Written 1557 a.d., and from the creation of the world, 5519; from which number we may see that this aged world is not far from its end.” So also the British Reformers believed. Thus, Dr. Latimer: “Let us cry to God day and night ... Most merciful Father, let thy kingdom come! Paul saith, The Lord will not come until the swerving from the faith cometh 2Th_2:3; which thing is already done and past. Antichrist is already known throughout all the world. Wherefore the day is not far off.” Then, reverting to the consideration of the age of the world, as Melancthon had done, he says, “The world was ordained to endure, as all learned ones affirm, 6000 years. Now of that number there be past 5552 years, so that there is no

more left but 448 years. Furthermore, those days shall be shortened for the elect’s sake. Therefore, all those excellent and learned men, whom without doubt God hath sent into the world in these last days to give the world warning, do gather out of sacred Scripture that the last day cannot be far off.”

So again, in a sermon on the nearness of the second advent, he says, “So that peradventure it may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children’s days.” Indeed, it is well known that this was a prevalent opinion among the Reformers; and this fact will show with what propriety, if the passage before us was designed to refer to the Reformation, this solemn declaration of the angel was made, that the “time would not be yet” - that those anticipations which would spring up from the nature of the case, and from the interpretations which would be put on what seemed to be the obvious sense of the prophecies, were unfounded, and that a considerable time must yet intervene before the events would be consummated.

(e) The proper sense of this passage, then, according to the above interpretation would be “And the angel lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, That the time should not yet be; but, in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished.” Appearances, indeed, would then indicate that the affairs of the world were to be wound up, and that the prophecies respecting the end of the world were about to be fulfilled: but the angel solemnly swears “by Him who lives forever and ever” - and whose reign therefore extends through all the changes on the earth - “by Him who is the Creator of all things,” and whose purpose alone can determine when the end shall be, that the time would not be yet. Those cherished expectations would not yet be realized, but there was a series of important events to intervene before the end would come. Then - at the time when the seventh angel should sound - would be the consummation of all things.

CLARKE, “By him that liveth for ever and ever - The eternal, self-existent Jehovah, the Maker of all things.That there should be time no longer - That the great counsels relative to the

events already predicted should be immediately fulfilled, and that there should be no longer delay. This has no reference to the day of judgment.

GILL, “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever,.... That is, by the living God, who is the true God: and is so described to distinguish him from idol gods, who have no life nor breath in them; and to assert the excellency and perfection of his nature, who has life in himself originally, and independently, is the fountain of life to all creatures living, and who are supported in their life and being by him; and so he always was, is, and ever will be; this is the same as swearing by Ancuialus (p):

who created heaven, and the things that therein are; the airy, starry, and third heavens, and the inhabitants of them, the fowls of the air, the sun, moon, and stars, and the angels of heaven, as well as the souls of departed saints, and the bodies of as many as are there:

and the earth, and the things that therein are; men, beasts, and creeping things, trees, herbs, minerals, &c.

and the sea, and the things which are therein: the several sorts of fishes in it: this is also said to distinguish the great God from all false gods, who made not the heavens and the earth, who alone is, and ought to be the object of an oath, or by whom an oath is to be made, and not any creature whatsoever; and since the Angel that here swears is the Lord Jesus Christ, this may be understood of him either as man, swearing by God the Father, in which respect the Father is greater than he; or as a divine person, and so swears by himself, Heb_6:13; for to himself do these characters belong of living for ever and ever, and of having made the heaven, earth, and sea, and all in them: the thing he swears to is,

that there should be time no longer which is not to be understood of the cessation of time, and the swallowing of it up in eternity, at the end of all things, when it will be no more measured out by the revolutions of the sun and moon, which will then be no more; for this did not take place upon the angel's oath, or at the time this vision refers to; for after this, there is to be time for the seventh angel to sound his trumpet in, though perhaps that is excepted in the next verse; and after the sounding of that, there will be the space of a thousand years, in which Christ will reign with his people on earth; and after that there will be some space of time for the Gog and Magog army to attack the beloved city; all which will be before the end of all things, or before eternity, properly speaking, takes place; and besides, such an illustrious appearing of Christ as before described, and so solemn an oath as is here made, do not seem necessary to ascertain a truth which nobody doubts of; and everyone knows that after this world, and all things in it are at an end, time will be no more. The true key to this passage is Dan_12:7; where the man clothed in linen swears, that to the end of wonders should be a time, times, and a half, and here the angel swears that time should be no longer; that is, that these time, and times, and half a time, should be no longer; that these dates would be up, and the events affixed to them be accomplished, when the seventh angel should begin to sound his trumpet: the same divisions of time are made in Rev_12:14; and are the same exactly with the 1260 days, or years, and the forty two months of years, so often mentioned in this book: for a time is a prophetic year, that is, 360 years; and times are two prophetic years, or 70 years; and half a time is half a prophetic year, or 180 years, in all 1260 years: now add the several events to be accomplished in this period of time, and it will give the full sense of this passage thus; the angel swears that the thee of antichrist's reign, his tyranny over the saints, his persecution of them, which was to last forty two months, Rev_13:5, should be no longer; nor of the holy city being trodden under foot by the Gentiles, the Papists, which bears the same date, Rev_11:2, and is called the times of the Gentiles, Luk_21:24; nor of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, which has just the same measure of duration, Rev_11:3; nor of the church's retirement, and being hid in the wilderness, Rev_12:14; in short, the time of the four monarchies, and of the last of them, the Roman, and of the last branch of that, the Papal, should be no more than till the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; Rev_11:15; the words will bear to be rendered, as some have observed, "that there should be delay no longer"; that is, of the coming and kingdom of Christ; though the bridegroom has tarried, he will come, and will not tarry beyond the time the angel swears to; every seal of the sealed book is a delay of, and a stop upon, the open appearance of Christ's kingdom; and the opening of every seal is an advance to it; and when the sixth seal was opened, and Paganism destroyed, and Christianity spread throughout the empire, the kingdom of Christ might have been expected to have appeared; but there was a seventh seal to be opened, which was a stop upon it, and which when opened brought ruin and destruction upon the Christian empire, both western and eastern, under the first six trumpets; and till the seventh

sounds there will be a delay of Christ's kingdom, but when that sounds there will be no more a delay.

JAMISO, “liveth for ever and ever — Greek, “liveth unto the ages of the ages” (compare Dan_12:7).created heaven ... earth ... sea, etc. — This detailed designation of God as the

Creator, is appropriate to the subject of the angel’s oath, namely, the consummating of the mystery of God (Rev_10:7), which can surely be brought to pass by the same Almighty power that created all things, and by none else.

that there should be time no longer — Greek, “that time (that is, an interval of time) no longer shall be.” The martyrs shall have no longer a time to wait for the accomplishment of their prayers for the purgation of the earth by the judgments which shall remove their and God’s foes from it (Rev_6:11). The appointed season or time of

delay is at an end (the same Greek is here as in Rev_6:11, chronus). Not as English

Version implies, Time shall end and eternity begin.

PULPIT, “And sware by him that liveth forever and ever. The Triune God (cf. Rev_1:11; Rev_4:10, etc.; also Deu_32:40; Psa_45:6; Heb_1:8, etc.). 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. Though the balance of authority is in favour of the last clause, yet it is omitted by )*, A, and some cursives (cf. Exo_20:4). These two characteristics of God—his eternity and his omnipotence—are referred to in order to demonstrate the certainty of the fulfilment of the

prophecy which follows. That there should be time no longer ( ὅτι χρόνος οὐκέτι ἔσται ); that time

no longer shall be. This may be rendered:

(1) Time (a finite terminable period, as opposed to eternity) shall no longer exist, but eternity shall be entered upon.

(2) There shall be no more time, in the sense of "there shall be no longer any delay" in the infliction of the last judgment, set forth under the seventh trumpet. The solution seems to be that both meanings are implied. There seems to be a reference to the words of Rev_6:11, to the ἔτι

χρόνον µικρόν , during which the saints were to rest and await the infliction of God's wrath upon the ungodly. The visions of the first six trumpets have shown how, in the period of the world's existence, the ungodly do not escape judicial retribution. But that is not all; the force of the six judgments not having served to reduce the worldly to repentance, there can be no more delay, the last final judgment follows. But the last judgment, which follows quickly upon the other six (Rev_11:14), is for eternity (Rev_11:18). The advent of this woe is, therefore, simultaneous with the

end of χρόνος , or "time," by which we signify that definite period, cut out of eternity, as it were, which is coeval with the existence of the world, and ceases with its destruction. The expression, therefore, implies, "The measure of God's punishments, viewed as opportunities for repentance, is exhausted; there is a limit to his endurance; the allotted time having been run, and his mercy to a large extent having been spurned, there is no more delay;" then falls the last final blow, which is at the end of "time," and at the beginning (for many) of eternity. Ebrard renders, "A space of time in which to repent"—a meaning compatible with the explanation given above. Others render, "The time of the fulfilment shall not be yet, but it shall be when the seventh trumpet sounds;" but this

interpretation makes χρόνος equal καιρός . Others, again, have made χρόνος , a chronus, equal a definite number of years, and have endeavoured to compute the exact equivalent of the period (see

Bengel, in loc.).

RIGGS, “The mighty angel swore by the Creator (indicating an everlasting decree) that

there should be time ("delay" ASV; NKJV) no longer. The souls under the altar had

cried, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on

them that dwell on the earth?" (6:10) Delay would be no longer! The angel added, "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." Thus, the seventh

angel will finish or complete the mystery as declared to the prophets. The seventh

trumpet (11:14-19) fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament, the last of which reached

to the destruction of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:36-45; 7:1-28). The things which

occurred in those early years of Christianity (about 100 A.D. to 250 A.D.) as revealed in

the book of Revelation are the important length which fills up the whole of God's

revelation. DAVID RIGGS

PULPIT, “No more time.

"The angel p sware p that there should be time no longer." This word of the angel is capable of

being rendered, and has been rendered, in three different ways. Take it as meaning—

I. THE TIME IS NOT YET COME. It is easy to believe that the persecuted people of St. John's day,

as often since, might have thought that the judgments which they witnessed and the distresses they

endured could not but be the beginning of the end. Our Lord knew that they would think so, and

hence (Mat_24:1-51.) warned them that they should see and suffer much; but "the end" was "not

yet." They had asked what should be the sign of his coming, and of "the end of the age." They were

eagerly expecting it. At his ascension they asked the like question again. The apostolic Epistles are

full of evidence that the second coming of our Lord was expected as near at hand. St. Paul wrote

his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians to dispel this idea, or at any rate to moderate its effects.

And when Jerusalem fell, and when the Roman empire fell, it was confidently believed that the end

of all things was close at hand. And had we lived in those awful days, it is likely that we should have

thought so too. And we know how calculations have been made as to the time of the end. The

illustrious Bengel reckoned that it would be in 1836, and his mistake is on record as a warning to all

who would make similar rash statements, though even yet the warning is neglected by some. But

our Lord has told us that it is not for us "to know the times and the seasons" (Act_1:1-26.), and all

human calculations are therefore foredoomed to error. And it is well for us that we cannot know.

"Ignorance is bliss" in regard to such a subject. Could we fix the date, those far off from it would

harden themselves in their sin; those near at hand would become as the Thessalonians did, unfitted

for their daily duty, and would not, as St. Paul bade them do, "mind their own business." And so in

regard to what is to each one of us as the end of all things, the date of our death, we are kept in

merciful ignorance of it. And to keep us therein God has so ordered our lives that there is no hour of

it in which men may not die, and in which many do not die, and no hour of it in which they certainly

know that they must and shall. Hence little children die, and young men and maidens, boys and

girls, as well as the old and grey headed. Ruthless and cruel are seemingly not a few of the

visitations of death, cutting down youth in the first freshness and bloom of life, often not sparing the

bride and mother in the fulness of their joy, forcing the hot tears from the young husband and wife

as they mourn hopelessly over the cradle that held the little one whose life was to them dearer than

their own. Such things are. And to some they seem horrible and cruel. But it is in order that we all

may be delivered from that paralysis of hope and energy which would come upon us, as it comes

upon the convicted felon in the condemned cell, if we knew the actual moment when we must die,

and could count off every hour that draws us on to the inevitable doom. Therefore is it well that we

do not know the time or the season. And in regard to the end of the world, what mercy is there in the

fact that the time is not yet, that "the master of the house" has not yet "risen up, and shut to the

door"! For now many will enter who then will not be able. We are thankful that Christ has not yet

"accomplished the number of his elect." And they who are his, how much they yet have to do to

learn and to obtain before they are prepared to meet their Lord! "The bride has" not yet "made

herself ready;" but she must and will, and that she may "the Bridegroom" tarries. Therefore, if this

be the meaning of the angel's oath, that "the time is not yet," we rejoice in it both for ourselves and

for myriads more.

II. THERE SHALL BE NO MORE TIME. And this we believe is the meaning here—that there shall

be no longer delay, postponement, no more weary waiting, no longer any lingering of the

accomplishment of God's purposes. So regarded, it was for the. Church of St. John's day a

blessed sursum corda, a cordial and good cheer, helping them to endure patiently and to hope on

more and more. The "mystery of God" shall soon "be finished," so soon that, as we say "we are

come" to any city when we see its towers and spires rising before us, although we may yet be some

considerable distance from its gates; so, because the time is so short, we may say it is over, the

waiting time is past—it exists "no longer." And thus:

1. The Christian may comfort himself. True, the age drags out its weary length, but each individual

life is short, and generally long before even that short life is done the recompenses of God, the

earnest and pledge of the yet larger recompenses of eternity, are given. "The Lord is not slack

concerning his promises"—how often we have gratefully to confess that! Yes; they are so given,

even here and now, that the bel

7

But in the days when the seventh angel is

about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of

God will be accomplished, just as he

announced to his servants the prophets."

BARES, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel - The days in the period of time embraced by the sounding of the seventh trumpet. That is, the affairs of this world would not be consummated in that period embraced in the sounding of the sixth trumpet, but in that embraced in the sounding of the seventh and last of the trumpets. Compare Rev_11:15-19.When he shall begin to sound - That is, the events referred to will commence at

the period when the angel shall begin to sound. It will not be merely during or in that period, but the sounding of the trumpet, and the beginning of those events, will be contemporaneous. In other words, then would commence the reign of righteousness - the kingdom of the Messiah the dominion of the saints on the earth.

The mystery of God should be finished - On the meaning of the word “mystery,” see the notes on Eph_1:9. It means here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, the purpose or truth of God which had been concealed, and which had not before been communicated to man. Here the particular reference is to the divine purpose which had been long concealed respecting the destiny of the world, or respecting the setting up of his kingdom, but which had been progressively unfolded by the prophets. That purpose would be “finished,” or consummated, in the time when the seventh angel should begin to sound. Then all the “mystery” would be revealed; the plan would be unfolded; the divine purpose, so long concealed, would be manifested, and the kingdom of the Messiah and of the saints would be set up on the earth. Under that period, the affairs of the world would be ultimately wound up, and the whole work of redemption completed.

As he hath declared to his servants the prophets - As he has from time to time disclosed his purposes to mankind through the prophets. The reference here is, doubtless, to the prophets of the Old Testament, though the language would include all who at any time had uttered any predictions respecting the final condition of the world. These prophecies had been scattered along through many ages; but the angel says that at that time all that had been said respecting the setting up of the kingdom of God, the reign of the saints, and the dominion of the Redeemer on the earth, would be accomplished. See the notes on Rev_11:15. From the passage thus explained, if the interpretation is correct, it will follow that the sounding of the seventh trumpet Rev_11:15-18 is properly the conclusion of this series of visions, and denotes a “catastrophe” in the action, and that what follows is the commencement of a new series of visions. This is clear, because:

(a) The whole seven seals, comprising the seven trumpets of the seventh seal, must embrace one view of all coming events - since this embraced all that there was in the volume seen all the hand of him that sat on the throne;

(b) This is properly implied in the word rendered here as “should be finished” -

τελέσθη telesthē - the fair meaning of which is, that the “mystery” here referred to -

the hitherto unrevealed purpose or plan of God - would, under that trumpet, be consummated or complete (see the conclusive reasoning of Prof. Stuart on the meaning of the word, vol. ii. p. 210, footnote); and,

(c) It will be found in the course of the exposition that, at Rev_11:19, there commences a new series of visions, embracing a view of the world in its religious aspect, or

ecclesiastical characteristics, reaching down to the same consummation, and stating at the close of that Rev_20:1-15 more fully what is here Rev_11:15-18 designated in a more summary way - the final triumph of religion, and the establishment of the kingdom of the saints.

The present series of visions Rev. 5–11:18 relates rather to the outward or secular changes which would occur on the earth, which were to affect the welfare of the church, to the final consummation; the next series Rev_11:19; Rev_12:20 relates to the church internally, the rise of Antichrist, and the effect of the rise of that formidable power on the internal history of the church, to the time of the overthrow of that power, and the triumphant establishment of the kingdom of God. See the Analysis of the work, Intro. 5. In other words, this series of visions, terminating at Rev_11:18, refers, as the leading thing, to what would occur in relation to the Roman empire considered as a secular power, in which the church would be interested; what follows Rev_11:19; Rev. 12–20 to the Roman power considered as a great apostasy, and setting up a mighty and most oppressive domination over the true church, manifested in deep corruption and bloody persecutions, running on in its disastrous influence on the world, until that power should be destroyed, Babylon fall, and the reign of the saints be introduced.

CLARKE, “The mystery of God should be finished - What this mystery refers to who knows? Nor have we more knowledge concerning the sounding of the seventh angel. On these points there is little agreement among learned men. Whether it mean the destruction of Jerusalem, or the destruction of the papal power, or something else, we know not. And yet with what confidence do men speak of the meaning of these hidden things!Declared to his servants the prophets - It is most likely, therefore, that this

trumpet belongs to the Jewish state.

GILL, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,.... This is an exception to what the angel had said and swore to, that time should be no longer; "but", or "unless", or "except the time of the voice of the seventh angel", as the Ethiopic version renders it; when a new period and sort of time should begin, very different from the former, which then should be no more; for now will be the time of Christ's kingdom on earth, which shall last a thousand years; this time will not be like the former, a time of darkness and ignorance, as was in some periods, partly through the errors and heresies which were propagated in early times, and through that barbarity and ignorance which the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, spread over the empire, when they broke into it, and chiefly through the smoke of the bottomless pit, the false doctrine and worship of the Papists and Mahometans; but in the time of the seventh angel, all this gross darkness will be removed, and it will be a time of unspeakable and everlasting light, so that there will be no need of the sun and moon, of Gospel ministrations and ordinances: nor will it be a time of affliction and persecution; time in that sense will be no more, as it has been under the ten Pagan emperors, and under the Arian emperors, and under the Papal hierarchy; for in this period there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, pain, and tears; though there will be time, it will be another sort of time, quite different from the former, which will be no more when the seventh angel once begins; and as soon as he begins to sound, this will put an end to antichristian time;

and at the end of his sounding will begin the time of Christ, or the thousand years' reign: and then

the mystery of God should be finished; that is, the angel not only swears that time shall be no longer, but that also then shall be finished the mystery of God; by which is meant, not the resurrection of the dead, and the change of the living, which is called a mystery, 1Co_15:51; for though when this angel sounds, and has done sounding, and Christ comes, the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the dead in Christ, will be finished, yet not the whole resurrection; for the rest of the dead will not live again till the end of the thousand years: but rather the Gospel is designed, which is often called the mystery, and the mystery of the Gospel, and contains many mysteries in it, which are styled the mysteries of God; which respect him, his being, persons, operations, and grace; and are revealed and made known by him; and the finishing of this may respect the preaching of the Gospel to all nations, which will be before the end of the world, and whereby the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and multitudes of souls converted; wherefore it may be best of all to understand this of the church of God, the general assembly and church of the firstborn, even all the elect of God, whose number will now be finished and completed in the conversion of the Jews, and in the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles, both which are called "mysteries", Rom_11:25; and now as the antichristian church is called "mystery", "Babylon", Rev_17:5; and "the mystery of iniquity", 2Th_2:7; so the true Christian church, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, may bear the name of the mystery of God; and this may also take in the mystery of all God's providences and promises, and prophecies, respecting the state of his church and people on earth:

as he hath declared to his servants and prophets; as to Isaiah in Isa_60:3, &c. and Isa_66:8; and to Daniel, in Dan_2:44 Dan_7:25; and to Zechariah, in Zec_14:9, and others; and which was a Gospel declaration, as the word signifies; it was good news and glad tidings; glorious things were declared to them, and spoken by them, concerning the city and church of God, its happy state on earth, and Christ's reign in it.

HERY, “That there shall be now no longer delay in fulfilling the predictions of this book than till the last angel should sound; then every thing should be put into speedy execution: the mystery of God shall be finished, Rev_10:7. Or, (2.) That when this mystery of God is finished time itself shall be no more, as being the measure of things that are in a mutable changing state; but all things shall be at length for ever fixed, and so time itself swallowed up in eternity.

JAMISO, “But — connected with Rev_10:6. “There shall be no longer time (that is, delay), but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to (so the Greek) sound his trumpet (so the Greek), then (literally, ‘also’; which conjunction often introduces the consequent member of a sentence) the mystery of God is finished,” literally, “has been finished”; the prophet regarding the future as certain as if it were

past. A, C, Aleph, and Coptic read the past tense (Greek, “etelesthee”). B reads, as

English Version, the future tense (Greek, “telesthee”). “should be finished” (compare

Rev_11:15-18). Sweet consolation to the waiting saints! The seventh trumpet shall be sounded without further delay.

the mystery of God — the theme of the “little book,” and so of the remainder of the Apocalypse. What a grand contrast to the “mystery of iniquity Babylon!” The mystery of God’s scheme of redemption, once hidden in God’s secret counsel and dimly shadowed forth in types and prophecies, but now more and more clearly revealed according as the Gospel kingdom develops itself, up to its fullest consummation at the end. Then finally His servants shall praise Him most fully, for the glorious consummation of the mystery in having taken to Himself and His saints the kingdom so long usurped by Satan and the ungodly. Thus this verse is an anticipation of Rev_11:15-18.

declared to — Greek, “declared the glad tidings to.” “The mystery of God” is the Gospel glad tidings. The office of the prophets is to receive the glad tidings from God, in order to declare them to others. The final consummation is the great theme of the Gospel announced to, and by, the prophets (compare Gal_3:8).

PULPIT, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel. The meaning naturally seems to be, "There shall be no longer time; but, on the contrary, in the days of the seventh trumpet, the last judgment shall tall, the end will come, and all things will be made manifest; the mystery of God will be finished." Wordsworth renders, "No delay, save only in the days," etc., and believes that the passage points to a brief respite, during which men may yet repent. When he shall begin to sound ; when he is about to sound [his trumpet]. Alford points out the propriety of the expression. "When the seventh angel does sound, the completed time of the fulfilment is simultaneous with his blowing (cf. Rev_11:18), so that it is properly said that the fulfilment comes in the days when he is about to blow." The mystery of God should be finished; also (or then, as Revised Version) the mystery of God was fulfilled. "The prophetic past" (Wordsworth). "The mystery of God" is all that man does not now understand in connection with God's dealings with man, but of the existence of which he is cognizant, e.g. the existence of evil in the world, and God's modes of dealing with that and all mankind, which we only know in part. God's plans are being steadily and surely worked out,

though we are not able to comprehend them. As he hath declared to his servants the prophets; literally, as he evangelized his servants the prophets; or, as in the Revised Version, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets. Thus Amo_3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." The promise of the complete fulfilment of the mystery of God is good news indeed for the fainting Christian, for it tells of the end of his trials and the overthrow of his enemies.

ISBET, “THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY’

‘The mystery of God.’

Rev_10:7

A difficult chapter to understand, yet there are one or two practical lessons we may learn from it.

I. The mystery of God.—There is much in the Divine nature and in the Divine character we cannot

understand. So, too, in God’s dealings with mankind. They are often so mysterious that we cannot

fathom them. Nor should we try to do so. There are many things we shall never know till ‘time [shall

be] no longer.’ ‘What I do thou knowest not now,’ said the Lord to His disciples, ‘but thou shalt know

hereafter.’ Never be afraid to say quite frankly, ‘I do not know,’ when you cannot discover the Divine

will. But in heaven all things will be made plain.

II. The faith of the soul.—The Christian life is a life of faith. There is no need to attempt to pierce

the secrets of the Most High. We know the Father loves us, and that all things work together for

good to them that love Him. It is our wisdom and our strength to trust in His love. ‘In all thy ways

acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.’ The path may seem dark and uncertain, but, if He

is leading, we can trust Him to bring us right at the last.

III. The revelation of Jesus Christ.—But while there is much yet to be made known, what an

abundance of knowledge has been revealed to us by Jesus Christ. He has shown us the Father; He

has shown us the Father’s love; He has opened unto us the living way; He will be with us all the

way; He will lead us at last to heaven, where we shall see no more ‘as through a glass darkly,’ but

‘face to face.’

COFFMAN, “but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound,

then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his

servants the prophets.In the days of the voice of the seventh angel ... These words appear to mean merely "when the seventh angel sounds." It is a stylized or idiomatic way of saying it. Certainly we reject the notion of Wordsworth to the effect that "This verse points to a brief respite, during which men may yet repent."[33]

Then is finished the mystery of God ... Lenski correctly described this mystery as:

God's scheme of redemption. The eschatological mystery of the world's history. The glorious completion of the divine kingdom. The glorious consummation of God's kingdom.[34]

The theology of mystery has been extensively discussed by this writer in his book entitled The Mystery of Redemption.

There is that about the gospel which is not accessible to the mind of men. (There is still a mystery, and it is not even finished yet.) Left to ourselves, we would never have worked out that God would save men as he does. It had to be revealed.[35]

According to the good tidings declared ... These words make certain the identification of the mystery here as the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, both the facts of its being called the "good tidings," and its being "declared" unto the prophets are proof of it. "The very word here rendered declared means preached the gospel."[36]

Prophets ... These are those men of both the Old Testament and the New Testament "through whom God spoke to his people."[37]

[33] As quoted by Plummer, op. cit., p. 275.

[34] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 319.

[35] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 141.

[36] Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975), p. 101.

[37] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 145.

Buswell feels this is the rapture, for all is accomplished.

8

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven

spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll

that lies open in the hand of the angel who is

standing on the sea and on the land."

BARES, “And the voice which I heard from heaven - Rev_10:4. This is not the voice of the angel, but a direct divine command,Said, Go and take the little book which is open, ... - That is, take it out of his

hand, and do with it as you shall be commanded. There is a very strong resemblance between this passage and the account contained in Eze_2:9-10; Eze_3:1-3. Ezekiel was directed to go to the house of Israel and deliver a divine message, whether they would hear or forbear; and in order that he might understand what message to deliver, there was shown to him a roll of a book, written within and without. That roll he was commanded to eat, and he found it to be “in his mouth as honey for sweetness.” John has added to this the circumstance that, though “sweet in the mouth,” it made “the belly bitter.” The additional command Rev_10:11, that he must yet “prophecy before many people,” leads us to suppose that he had the narrative in Ezekiel in his eye; for, as the result of his eating the roll, he was commanded to go and prophesy to the people of Israel. The passage here Rev_10:8 introduces a new symbol, that of “eating the book,” and evidently refers to something that was to occur before the “mystery should be finished”; that is, before the seventh trumpet should sound.

“Which is open in the hand ...” On the symbolical meaning of the word “open,” as applied to the book, see the notes on Rev_10:2.

CLARKE, “Take the little book which is open - Learn from this angel what should be published to the world.

GILL, “And the voice which I heard from heaven,.... In Rev_10:4;

spake to 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; as John was to prophesy, Rev_10:11; it was necessary that he should have a mission and a commission from heaven; and that he should have the open book of prophecy to prophesy out of; and that he should receive this from the angel's hands, who had unloosed its seals, and opened it: and just so to ordinary prophesying, or preaching, it is necessary that men should have their commission from heaven, should be called of God, and sent by him; and that they should have the book of the Scriptures before them, and open to them, and speak according to these oracles, agreeably to the law and to the testimony, which are profitable for doctrine; and that they should also receive the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, with gifts, and a commission to preach it, from the Angel of the covenant, Jesus Christ, who has all power both in heaven and in earth; see Rev_10:2.

JAMISO, “spake ... and said — So Syriac and Coptic read. But A, B, C, “(I heard)

again speaking with me, and saying” (Greek, “lalousan ... legousan”).

little book — So Aleph and B read. But A and C, “the book.”

PULPIT, “And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said ; and the

voice which I heard out of heaven, [I heard] again talking with me and saying. The construction is irregular." The voice, viz. that mentioned in Rev_10:4, which is probably that of Christ himself (see on Rev_10:4). Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth; (Go, take the book, etc., according to A, C, which is adopted in

the Revised Version. Little book, βιβλαρίδιον , as in Rev_10:2, is found in à , P, Andreas;

andβιβλιδαρίον in B, Andress, Arethas. (On the signification of the "little book," see on Rev_10:2; and also for the meaning of the last clause, see the same place.)

BURKITT, “Expositors generally make this little book the emblem of the holy scriptures; and the

command given by the angel to St. John to eat this book, imports the great duty of studying diligently the holy scriptures, inwardly digesting them, and making them our own by particular application. What we eat is turned into nourishment, and becomes one substance with ourselves; thus the mysteries of the gospel must be eaten by the interpreters of gospel-mysteries. It is not enough that we know divine things, but we must know them divinely; we must have a savoury knowledge of them, and an experimental acquaintance with them.

Observe, 2. The effect which the eating of this book had upon St. John, it was in his mouth sweet

as honey, in his belly very bitter: that is, the knowledge he had of divine mysteries, was in itself very pleasant, but the knowledge of the persecutions and cruelties which the Christians were to suffer and undergo, was very bitter to his soul.

Learn hence, That though communication of light from God, and the revelation of the mind and will of God, be in itself very delightful to his ministers, yet in respect to the said messages contained in his word, it is very burdensome and bitter to them; however, it being the burden of the Lord, they must bear it, they must carry it.

Every good man, much more every gracious minister, has a very high estimation of the word of God, he esteems it as food, he esteems it as necessary food, he esteems it more than his necessary food; but when God sends us to denounce judgments upon sinners, our belly

trembles, our lips quiver, anguish takes hold upon us; we desire not the woeful day, Lord, thou knowest.

Observe lastly, The assurance God gives St. John of farther revelations of his mind unto him, As thou hast prophesied, so thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and

tongues, and kings: see here in St. John's person the true end and reason why God calls his ministers, and fits them with gifts, and why they furnish themselves the more serviceable in his work, that they may speak of his word before kings and not be ashamed.

BARCLAY, “THE JOY AD THE SORROW OF THE MESSEGER OF GOD

Rev. 10:8-11

And I heard the voice which I had heard from heaven speaking again to me and

saying: "Go, take the little roll which lies open in the hand of the angel who is

standing on the sea and on the land." And I went away to the angel and asked him

to give me the little roll. He said to me: "Take it and eat it. It will be bitter to your

stomach but it will be as sweet as honey to your mouth." And I took the little roll

from the hand of the angel and ate it; and it was as sweet as honey to my mouth and,

when I ate it, it was bitter to my stomach. And they said to me: "You must prophesy

in regard to many peoples and nations and languages and kings."

Before we deal with this passage in any detail, we note how twice the seer is told to

take the roll. It is not handed to him; even when he asks the angel to give it to him,

the answer is that he must take it. The meaning is that God's revelation is never

forced on any man; he must take it.

This picture comes from the experience of Ezekiel who was told to eat the roll and to

fill his belly with it (Eze.3:1,3). In both pictures the idea is the same. The messenger

of God has to take God's message into his very life and being.

The sweetness of the roll is a recurring thought in Scripture. To the psalmist the

judgments of God are sweeter than honey and the honey-comb (Ps.19:10). "How

sweet are thy words to my taste! sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Ps.119:103). It

may well be that behind these words lies a pleasant Jewish educational custom.

When a Jewish boy was learning the alphabet, it was written on a slate in a mixture

of flour and honey. He was told what the letters were and how they sounded. After

the original instruction, the teacher would point at a letter and would ask: "What is

that and how does it sound?" If the boy could answer correctly, he was allowed to

lick the letter off the slate as a reward! When the prophet and the psalmist speak

about God's words and judgments being sweeter than honey, it may well be that

they were thinking of this custom.

John adds another idea to this. To him the roll was sweet and bitter at one and the

same time. What he means is this. A message of God may be to a servant of God at

once a sweet and bitter thing. It is sweet because it is a great thing to be chosen as

the messenger of God; but the message itself may be a foretelling of doom and,

therefore, a bitter thing. So for John it was an infinite privilege to be admitted to the

secrets of heaven but at the same time it was bitter to have to forecast the time of

terror, even if triumph lay at its end.

ATICHRIST

In the passages of the Revelation which we are now about to approach we will on

many occasions meet the figure of Antichrist. This figure has exercised a strange

fascination over the minds of men and many have been the speculations and theories

about him. It will, therefore, be convenient to collect the material about Antichrist

at this stage and to try to piece it into a connected whole.

We may lay it down as a general principle that Antichrist stands for the power in

the universe which is against God. Just as the Christ is the Holy One and the

Anointed King of God, so Antichrist is the Unholy One and the King of all evil. Just

as the Christ is the incarnation of God and goodness, so Antichrist is the incarnation

of the Devil and of evil.

The idea of a force opposed to God was not new. Antichrist had his predecessors

long before the days of the ew Testament; and it will help if we look first at some

of the older pictures, for they left their mark on the ew Testament picture.

(i) The Babylonians had a myth in regard to the creation of the world which they

shared with all the Semitic peoples and with which the Jews must have come into

contact. This myth painted the picture of creation in terms of a struggle between

Marduk the creator and Tiamat the dragon, who stands for primaeval chaos. There

was a further belief that this struggle between God and chaos would be repeated

before the world came to an end.

This old belief in the struggle between the creating God and the dragon of chaos

found its way into the Old Testament and is the explanation of certain obscure

passages there. Isaiah tells of the day when God will slay the leviathan and the

crooked serpent and the dragon that is in the sea (Isa.27:1). In Jewish thought this

ancient dragon of chaos came to be known as Rahab. Isaiah says: "Was it not thou

that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the dragon?" (Isa.51:9). When the

Psalmist is recounting the triumphs of God, he says: "I will mention Rahab"

(Ps.87:4). "Thou didst crush Rahab like a carcass," he says (Ps.89:10). Here is one

of the ancestors of the Antichrist idea and that is one of the reasons why the dragon

idea reappears in the Revelation (Rev. 12:9).

(ii) There is the Belial--or, as it is sometimes called, Beliar--idea. The word Belial

frequently occurs in the Old Testament as a synonym for evil. An evil man or

woman is called a son or daughter of Belial. Eli's wicked sons are sons of Belial

(1Sam.2:12). When Hannah was silently praying for a child in the Temple, Eli

thought that she was drunk but Hannah says that she is not a daughter of Belial

(1Sam.1:16). The wicked abal is called a son of Belial (1Sam.25:17,25). One of

Shimei's insults was to call David a son of Belial (2Sam.16:7). The false witnesses

produced by Jezebel against aboth are sons of Belial (1Kgs.21:10,13), as are

Jeroboam's revolutionary followers (2Chr.13:7). The exact meaning of the word is

in doubt. It has been taken to mean prince of the air, hopeless ruin, worthlessness.

Between the Testaments Belial came to be regarded as the chief of the demons. In

the ew Testament the word occurs only once: "What accord has Christ with

Belial?" (2Cor.6:15). There it is used as the antithesis of Christ. It may well be that

this idea came in part at least from the Persian religion with which the Jews came

into contact. Persian religion, Zoroastrianism, conceived of the whole universe as

the battleground in which the struggle was fought out between Ormuzd, the god of

light, and Ahriman, the god of darkness. Here again we have the conception of a

force in the world opposed to God and fighting against him.

(iii) There is a sense in which the obvious Antichrist is Satan, the Devil. Sometimes

Satan is identified with Lucifer, the son of the morning, the angel who in heaven

rebelled against God and was cast down to hell. "How you are fallen from heaven, O

Day Star, son of Dawn!" (Isa.14:12). It is easy to find instances in which Satan--the

very name means the Adversary--acted in such a way as to overturn the purpose of

God, for it is his very nature to do so. Such an instance was when Satan persuaded

David to number the people in direct contravention of the command of God

(1Chr.21:1). But though Satan is the direct opponent of God, he remains an angel,

whereas Antichrist is a visible figure upon earth in which the very essence of evil has

become incarnate.

(iv) There is a sense in which the development of the idea of the Messiah made the

development of the idea of Antichrist inevitable. The Messiah, God's Anointed One,

is bound to meet with opposition; and that opposition is entirely likely to crystallize

into one supreme figure of evil. We must remember that Messiah and Christ mean

the same thing, being the Hebrew and the Greek respectively for The Anointed One.

Where there is the Christ, there will of necessity be the Antichrist, for so long as

there is sin there will be opposition to God.

(v) In the Old Testament there is more than one picture of the divine battle with the

assembled opposition to God. We find such a picture in the struggle with Gog and

Magog (Eze.38), and in the destruction of the destroyers of Jerusalem (Zech.14).

But, so far as the later Jews were concerned, the peak of the manifestation of evil

was connected with one terrible episode in their history. This is commemorated in

Daniel's picture of the little horn, which waxed great even against heaven, which

stopped the daily sacrifice, which cast down the sanctuary (Dn.8:9-12). The little

horn stands for Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. He determined to introduce Greek

ways, language and Greek worship into Palestine, for he regarded himself as the

missionary of Greek culture. The Jews resisted. Antiochus Epiphanes invaded

Palestine and captured Jerusalem. It was said that eighty thousand Jews were either

slaughtered or sold into slavery. To circumcise a child or to possess a copy of the

Law was a crime punishable by death. History has seldom, or never, seen so

deliberate an attempt to wipe out the religion of a whole people. He desecrated the

Temple. He erected an altar to Olympian Zeus in the Holy Place and on it sacrificed

swine's flesh; and he turned the rooms of the Temple into public brothels. In the end

the gallantry of the Maccabees restored the Temple and conquered Antiochus; but

to the Jews Antiochus was the incarnation of all evil.

It can be seen that the figure of Antichrist was taking shape already in the Old

Testament; the incarnation of evil is an idea that is already there.

We now turn to the idea of Antichrist in the ew Testament:

(i) There is very little mention of the Antichrist idea in the Synoptic Gospels. The

only real occurrence is in the chapters which deal with the end and the signs of the

end. There Jesus is represented as saying: "Then if any one says to you, `Lo, here is

the Christ!' or `There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets

will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even

the elect" (Matt.24:23; Matt.24:44; Mk.13:6; Mk.13:22; Lk.21:8). In the Fourth

Gospel Jesus is represented as saying: "I have come in my Father's name, and you

do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive"

(Jn.5:43). There the idea of Antichrist is rather that of false teaching, leading men

away from true loyalty to Jesus Christ, a line of thought which, as we shall see,

occurs again in the ew Testament.

(ii) One of the main pictures of Antichrist is that of the Man of Sin in 2Th.2. Paul is

reminding the Thessalonians of that which he had already taught them by word of

mouth and of that which was an essential part of his teaching. He says: "Do you not

remember that when I was still with you I told you this?" (2Th.2:5). In this picture

there is first to be a general falling away; then the man of sin will come who will

exalt himself above God and claim the worship which belongs to God by right, and

work lying signs and wonders which will deceive many. At the moment when Paul is

writing there is something which restrains this final manifestation of evil (2Th.2:7).

In all probability Paul means the Roman Empire, seen by him as keeping the world

from disintegrating into the chaos of the last time. Here Antichrist is concentrated

into one person who is the very essence of evil. This rather connects itself with the

Beliar idea of the Old Testament and with the conflict of light and darkness in the

Persian world view.

(iii) The idea of Antichrist occurs in the Letters of John. It is, in fact, only there that

the actual word occurs. In the last time Antichrist is to come; in the times in which

John writes many Antichrists have come; therefore, says John, they know that they

are living in the last time (1Jn.2:18). He who denies the Father and the Son is

Antichrist (1Jn.2:22). In particular he who denies that Jesus Christ is come in the

flesh is Antichrist (1Jn.4:3; 2Jn.7). The supreme characteristic of Antichrist is the

denial of the reality of the Incarnation.

Here again the main connection of Antichrist is with heresy. Antichrist is the spirit

of falsehood which seduces men from the truth and leads them into mistaken ideas

which are the ruin of the Christian faith.

(iv) It is in the Revelation that the fullest picture of Antichrist is painted and it

occurs in more than one form.

(a) In Rev. 11:7 there is the picture of the beast from the abyss, who is to slay the

two witnesses in Jerusalem and who is to reign for forty-two months. This gives us

the picture of Antichrist as coming, as it were, from hell, to have a terrible and

destructive, but limited, time of power. In this picture there is at least some

connection with the Daniel picture of Antiochus Epiphanes as the little horn. That is

certainly where the period of forty-two months comes from, for that was the period

during which the terror of Antiochus and the desecration of the Temple lasted.

(b) In Rev. 12 there is the picture of the great red dragon, who persecutes the

woman clothed with the sun, the woman who begets the man child. This dragon is

ultimately defeated and cast out of heaven. The dragon is definitely identified with

the old serpent the devil (Rev. 12:9). This has clearly some kind of connection with

the old myth of the dragon of chaos who was the enemy of God.

(c) In Rev. 13 there is the picture of the beast with the seven heads and the ten

horns, which comes from the sea, and the other beast with the two horns, which

comes from the land. There is no doubt that what is in John's mind is the terror and

the savagery of Caesar worship; and in this case Antichrist is the great begetter of

persecution of the Christian Church. Here the idea is of cruel, persecuting power,

bent on the utter destruction of Christ and his Church.

(d) In Rev. 17:3 we have the picture of the scarlet coloured beast, with the seven

heads and the ten horns, on which the woman called Babylon is seated. We are told

that the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. In the

Revelation Babylon symbolizes Rome and Rome was built on seven hills. Clearly

this picture stands for Rome and Antichrist is Rome's persecuting power unleashed

upon the Church.

It is of great interest to note the change here. As we have seen, to Paul, when he

wrote Second Thessalonians, Rome was the one power which restrained the coming

of Antichrist. In Rom.13:1-7 Paul writes of the state as divinely appointed and urges

all Christians to be loyal citizens. In 1Pet.2:13-17 the order to Christians is willingly

to submit themselves to the government of the state, to fear God and to honour the

king. In the Revelation there is a world of difference; times had changed; the full

fury of persecution had broken out; and Rome had become to John the Antichrist.

(v) We note one last element in the picture of Antichrist. With the old Jewish idea of

this anti-God power and with the Christian idea of a power who was the incarnation

of evil, there combined an idea from the Graeco-Roman world. The worst of the

Roman Emperors in the early days was ero who was regarded as the supreme

monster of iniquity, not only by the Christians, but also by the Romans themselves.

ero died by suicide in A.D. 68, and there went up a sigh of relief But almost

immediately there arose the belief that he was not dead and that he was waiting in

Parthia to descend on the world with the terrible hordes of the Parthians to let loose

destruction and terror. This idea is called the ero redivivus, the ero resurrected,

myth. In the ancient world it was widespread more than twenty years after ero

was dead. To the Christians, ero was a figure of concentrated evil. It was he who

had put the blame of the great fire of Rome on to the Christians; it was he who had

initiated persecution; it was he who had found the most savage methods of torture.

Many Christians believed in the ero redivivus myth; and frequently--as in certain

parts of the Revelation--ero redivivus and Antichrist were identified and the

Christians thought of the coming of Antichrist in terms of the return of ero.

KRETZMA 8-11, “This is another interlude with a strange cast: And the voice which I had heard out of heaven I (once more heard) speaking to me and saying, Go take the opened booklet out of the hand of the angel that stands on the sea and on the earth. This vision resembles that related Eze_3:1-27, l-3, and it has much the same meaning. The voice from heaven is again distinguished from that of the angel, as it bids John take the open booklet from the angel.

The scene grows in strangeness: And I went to the angel, saying to him, Give me the booklet; and he said to me, Take and swallow it, and it will make thy stomach bitter, but in thy mouth it will be sweet as honey. Surely a most peculiar situation which has the angel voice such a command, that the seer devour the small scroll, which, though it would taste sweet, would be bitter to digest. But John obeyed: And I took the booklet out of the hand of the angel and swallowed it, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was bitter. As he had been told, he eagerly devoured the scroll, and the effects were just as the angel had foretold, a sweet taste in the mouth, but a feeling of great bitterness in the stomach.

John now receives a last command: And he said to me, It is necessary that thou prophesy again of peoples and nations and tongues and many kings. The revelation had been made, and John was commissioned to make known the visions. The message which he should proclaim concerned all men of all nations and of all tongues, rulers and subjects alike. Thus we again have evidence that the seer wrote at the command and by the inspiration of the Lord, that we have, in this book, eternal truth.

It now remains to see what this vision, as a whole, signifies. The force of the entire picture seems to point to a preparation for the last woe, and in this sense it was understood by most Lutheran commentators. The entire appearance of the angel symbolizes the essence and the character of the last woe. He came with great spiritual show, as one that personified Christ Himself, as one that represented Christ's work, Christ's truth, Christ's kingdom, His threatening voice demanded acknowledgement of his person and of his doctrine, of his decrees, as they were contained in the booklet, in the small scroll. As John found, these decrees and doctrines were indeed sweet to the taste and pleasant to the flesh, but he was later convinced that they were dangerous for heart and conscience, that they destroyed faith. Thus this angel, under the guise of the highest sanctity, represents the power of hell, which appeared with great spiritual show and under the name and the mask of Christ, but whose intention was through doctrines of men, which pleased the perverted flesh, to destroy both faith and conscience. This description, as we shall see, fits the Pope of Rome as the true Anti-Christ.

Summary

The seer beholds an angel with a booklet coming down from heaven, bearing a threatening

message; he swallows the little scroll and experiences a sweet taste in the mouth, followed by a bitter feeling in the stomach.

COFFMAN, “And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard it again speaking with me, and saying, Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.The voice from heaven ... is a frequent reference in this prophecy. Although no definite speaker is identified here, the message is to be understood as coming from God.

Go take the book which is open in the hand of the angel ... Hinds pointed out that, "John himself now becomes a part of the scene,"[38] a very important truth to remember when we come to interpretRevelation 10:11.

Which is open ... It is nothing less than amazing that this fact of the book's being open, and continuing so, which is so repeatedly emphasized in this chapter should be so completely ignored by so many writers. For example, Wilbur M. Smith wrote, '"The little book which John is told to take and eat is never opened; and hence its exact nature must be a matter of dispute."[39]

Go take ... This command was repeated in Revelation 10:9, where its repetition has the effect of denying John's request that the angel "give" him the little book, and symbolizing the profound truth that the word of God must, in a sense, be taken by every man for himself. Some other person cannot give to any man the knowledge and understanding of the word of God that he should exercise himself to acquire. "Study to show thyself approved unto God!"

[38] John T. Hinds, op. cit., p. 150.

[39] Wilbur M. Smith, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 1074.

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, “Go and take the little book.The making of a minister

(with Eze_2:8-10; Eze_3:1-3):—The symbolical scene in the case of Ezekiel was enacted over again in the case of John; only with such surroundings of majesty and magnificence as were but befitting after John’s humiliated but glorified Master had sat down on His throne in heaven. Now, in the first place, we see in that fine symbolical scene God’s own immediate way of making a minister—a book. A book plays a great part in the salvation of men. A book is brought down from heaven to earth—a book written in heaven lies open in the hand of the heavenly messenger, and the salvation “of many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” lies wrapped up in that little book. “Go thou,” said the voice from heaven to John, “Go thou and take the book.” Now that is being both said and done every day among ourselves. There is the Book, and there are the people, and there somewhere among the people is the man chosen of God to take the Book, and to make the Book his own, and then to carry it to the people; “Go,” the Spirit of God says to that man, “Go, leave all other occupations and all other pursuits; give thyself, body and soul, day and night, and all the days of thy life, to that Book.” “Take the book and eat it,” said the angel to the seer. You will observe that the angel did not say, “Take the book and read it.” Had it been any other book but the Book it was, to read it himself and to have it written out and sent to all the Churches would have been enough. But that was not enough for this Book. Interpret the Bible like any other book, it is the fashion of our day to say, and in some senses that is an excellent enough rule; but that was not the angel’s rule that day to John, All other books in John’s day were to be read, but this Book was to be eaten. Yes, eaten. Clearly, then, this is not an ordinary Book. Clearly this is like no other book. Job said: “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips. I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Eat, then, this

same meal; eat it both minister and people; and eat it for your first food every morning. It will do for you what no earthly food, the best and the most necessary, can do; see that all its strength and all its sweetness fills your heart before you eat any other meat; read God’s Book, and have it next your heart to defend yourself against the influences of men that attempt to overthrow you. “Enough of that; bring me my Bible,” his widow told me one of my old elders used to say, as they read to him the morning newspaper; “enough of that; bring me my Bible.” The Word of God was more to that saint than all else, and his widow and I rejoice to tell the story after he has gone home to his rest. The Word of God was more to him than that which is to some of you your necessary food. But what does this mean—this extraordinary thing, “It was in my mouth sweet as honey, but as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter”? The best way, the only way indeed to find out all that means is to eat the same roll ourselves, and then to observe what passes within ourselves. Religion is an experimental science. Just you eat the Book now before you as Ezekiel and John ate it, and then tell us what takes place with you. I will tell you what will take place. The Word of God will be bitter in your mouth every morning, bitter with memories of yesterday and yester-night. Yes, the grace of God, and the abiding and abounding mercy of God, they are in His blessed Word always passing sweet to a penitent sinner. Ah, the truth is that the power, and the holiness, and the heavenly beauty of God’s Word is the daily and the sweet experience of all those who make the Word of God their earliest and their most necessary food. But after this, when this sweet Book descends into what David calls our “inward parts”; when the holy, and the just, and the good Word of God enters our guilty conscience and our corrupt heart, then there is bitterness indeed; for a sense of sin, as we so lightly speak, is then awakened in the soul, and with that new sense comes a new bitterness, compared with which the waters of Marah are milk and honey. “Son of man, eat that thou findest,” says Jehovah to Ezekiel in the vision. “Take it, and eat it up,” said the angel in like manner to John. Neither the prophet nor the apostle was asked or allowed to pick and choose, as we say. They were not to eat the sweet, and spit out the bitter. They were not to keep rolling the sweet morsels under their tongue, and to keep their inward parts strangers to their inward share of the Divine Book. I know this Scripture will not be sweet to all who hear it; but if it is at first bitter it must not be cast out. We must allow ourselves to read and preach and hear the whole Word of God. “Son of man, eat that thou findest”; and again, “Take the roll and eat it up.” It is a fine study to take up the Old Testament, and to trace all through it how prophet follows prophet, and psalmist follows psalmist, each several prophet and psalmist taking home to himself all that the prophets and the psalmist had said and sung before him; and then, having made the Book their own by reading it, by praying ever it, by singing it, by eating it, as the figure is, then when their own call came they prophesied prophecies, and sang psalms, new psalms, new prophecies as the people’s need was—never contenting themselves with just countersigning and repeating what any former prophet had said, what any former psalmist had sung, however great and however good in his time that prophet and psalmist had been. (A. Whyte, D. D.)

God’s Word

The “little book” may be taken to illustrate God’s redemptive truth, or the gospel.

I. The gospel is brought to man from heaven. The was in which alienated humanity can be brought into a loving sympathy with God transcends human discovery. Divine messengers brought this “little book” to man, and Christ embodied it.

II. This gospel is to be appropriated by man. “Eat it up.” The spirit of this “little book” must become the inspiring and the regnant spirit of our being.

III. This gospel has a twofold effect on man. “Sweet” in its disclosures of infinite love and promises of future blessedness; “bitter” in its convictions of sin, reproofs, and denunciations. It produces in the soul sorrow and joy, sighs and songs; and its bitterness will remain as long as one particle of depravity continues in the heart.

IV. This gospel, appropriated, qualifies man for his mission (verse 11). (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Take it, and eat it up.

On eating books

There are many different kinds of books in the world.

I. There are some which have nothing in them. They are not directly harmful, but neither are they of much good. When you have read them you can scarcely remember anything that they contained. They are very much like a kind of pastry which we call “trifle.” The moment you put it into your mouth it vanishes into thin air. Beware of books which only please you for the moment, and do nothing that would make you better or wiser.

II. There are other books which are stupefying. They dull the senses. They are like what we call “opiates,” which make men feel heavy and stupid. Be careful never to read books which merely please by soothing and dulling the senses.

III. There are other books which are unduly exciting. I do not object to a reasonable amount of interest. Every book worth the reading must in one sense excite us; but I am not now speaking of books which excite you by the amount of true knowledge which they give, or noble enthusiasm which they impart, but those which excite you by the feverish curiosity with which they fire you. I earnestly warn you against every book which makes it more difficult for you to do your every-day duty.

IV. There are other books which are very hard to digest, I have no doubt some of you think, for instance, that books on arithmetic or English grammar are very indigestible; but if you take a little at a time, and masticate that well before you take more, you will find that even hard books will agree with you wonderfully, and that you will be stronger and better for having taken them. Children suffer from indigestion, in learning difficult tasks, by taking too much at a time. The great secret of success is to take a little often, and to see that you learn well every little lesson, and thus make it your own, before you take more.

V. There are other books which are decidedly poisonous. Take care that you do not eat them. These books speak well of sin, and kindly of evil. Beware of any book that does not agree with the Bible in its estimate of good and of evil.

VI. And now I want to tell you of this one Book—The Bible—Of which you need never grow weary. (D. Davies.)

The proper use of Divine truth

Divine truth is not something for intellectual speculation, it is not something for memory, but diet for the life. It must be transmuted into the moral blood, and sent

through the heart into every fibre of our being. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The Word of God to be pondered

“Read the Word of God much,” said General Gordon, “but chew it more.” That is pondering. Make a practice of it; make a rule of it. (Bp. Talbot.)

Thou must prophesy again.—

Rules for Christian effort

I. Christian effort must be personal. “Thou.” The faculties of the individual man must be excited to activity in the cause of God. The most magnificent achievements of the human mind have been wrought out in lonely musings and lonely labours. If we would hew the rugged forms of our fellow-men into the symmetry and grace of Christian discipleship we must not be content to give subscriptions for evangelistic purposes; but we must feel a responsibility that is all our own, and while acting in brotherly union we must also act as if we had been specially called to a task in which no one has so much to do as ourselves.

II. Christian effort must be proportioned to personal ability. “Thou must prophesy.” John had the prophetic gift, and he was to use it. God has called thousands to His work, and though all cannot do the same thing, all are to do their best in that which they can do. A man with a divided mind, with his mind in part intent on his own ease, and in part only on the work of the Lord, will accomplish nothing worth naming. But let him unite his faculties, let him bring all the strength and all the determination of his soul to bear on the task to which he is called, let him throw the glow and enthusiasm of his nature into his duty with the bold avowal, “This one thing I do,” and though a thousand difficulties withstand him, he will sweep on to the consummation of his plains.

III. Christian effort must be repeated. “Thou must prophesy again.” Nothing great can be done all at once. It was only after many struggles that Wilberforce succeeded in the abolition of the slave trade. Nor are we to think that any strange thing has befallen us, or to deem it a reason for suspending our labours, if months or even years elapse before we see the moral and religious reformation at which we are aiming. We cannot reasonably expect that rude, ignorant, vicious men will all at once be transformed into melodious Davids, magnificent Isaiahs, or saintly Johns. We cannot reasonably expect that Babylon will come crashing to the ground at our first shout, and its ruins start at a touch into the majesty of a holy city. We shall have to “prophesy again”; we shall have to repeat our efforts before we see “the pleasure of the Lord prosper in our hand.”

IV. Christian effort must enlarge the scope of its movements. “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples,” etc. The more we do, the more we see there is to do. Patriotism owns that this is a land which, from white cliff in the south to sternest precipice in the north, is worthy of any labour and any self-sacrifice. If the statesman will contend from early evening until the morning crimsons the windows of the Senate House for measures by which he intends to enlarge the liberties and increase the happiness of the people—if the soldier will stride over the field of deadly fight and rush through the fiery breach that the foeman’s drum may not be beaten in our street, nor the foeman’s flag be lifted among our old ancestral oaks, it surely becomes us to raise ourselves to the level of Christian patriotism, and to stretch out our prayers and our labours so that they shall include the whole nation. (G. Marrat.).

HAWKER 8-11, “(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.This is a very interesting part of this chapter. John is ordered to go to Christ, and to take out of his hand the open book. Now observe. When Christ took the book from the hand of his Father, it was sealed. He, and He alone, can open to us the decrees of God. I am the way, saith Christ, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me, Joh_14:6. Had not Christ come forth from God, to make known God, never should we have known the way to God. But when John, or any man, takes the book from Jesus, it must be opened to us or we shall never understand it. Reader! except Jesus gives the book, opened by himself, to those who minister in his name; and except Jesus by his Spirit ordains them; ministers, as they call themselves, or as they are called of men, had better never have ran to the service. Popes, bishops, or prelates, not sent of Christ, will have a woeful account to give in, the end of the day. I have not sent these prophets, (saith the Lord,) yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied, Jer_23:21.

What a lovely view is here given of John! Immediately, on command, he went to Christ. To whom shall the Lord’s servants go but to their Master? From whom can they receive their authority, or their instruction, but from Him? Sweetly Peter, who knew this, said, Lord! to whom shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life And what John saith of the sweet taste of the book, and the bitter effects afterwards, is fulfilled in all God’s servants, who minister in his name, as well as in the hearts of those who are ministered unto. When first the word is received, in joy of the Holy Ghost, with much affliction, by reason of our conscious sense of sin, everything we hear of Christ, and feel of Christ, is sweet. But when persecutions come on, and the conflicts of flesh and spirit are at the height, bitter are the seasons of trial. And what it is with the faithful followers of the Lord, in their private life and conversation, such, in an eminent degree, is it with the ministers of Christ in their public ministry. Oh! who shall say what soul exercises he goeth through, both for himself and people, while laboring in the word and doctrine; that is, faithful to God and to souls? Lord! do thou give to thy servants grace, that in all things they may approve themselves ministers of God!

PULPIT 8-11, “The little book and its mission.

In one of the most interesting chapters in Mr. Elliott's 'Horae Apocalypticae,' the correspondence

between this vision of "the little book open" and the bringing forth of the open Bible at the time of the

Reformation is indicated at considerable length. According, however, to the plan of exposition which

alone seems to us to accord with the aim of the Apocalypse, the production of an open Bible at the

Reformation was but one illustration at a particular time of that which this chapter teaches for all

time. We shall get far more light from the chapter if we regard it as indicating principles that are

eternally true, than as forecasting what, was a passing incident in the course of history. We have

before seen how largely the imagery of the Apocalypse is based on that of the Old Testament. The

precise analogue of this section will be found in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the second and

third chapters, which should be studied side by side with this. The paragraph now under review is

literally laden with riches of Divine teaching.

I. THERE IS A WIDE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE BOOK "SEALED WITH SEVEN SEALS" AND

"THE LITTLE BOOK OPEN." Obviously, the thought first suggested thereby is that in the one case

we have enclosed that which is wrapped in impenetrable secrecy; in the other, that which is meant

to be opened to all. This of itself sets us on a clear track of thought. The scaled book contains the

secret plans of Providence; the open one the revealed teachings of his will, and the disclosures of

his grace. The former is only and wholly in the hands of him who is seen in the midst of the throne

—"a Lamb as it had been slain." The latter is meant for the guidance of men on earth, and as such

is put into human hands. In the one case "no one in heaven or on earth is found able or worthy to

open and to read the book, or even to look thereon." In the other case the book is already open, and

the apostle is bidden to take the book out of the angel's hand.

II. THE LITTLE BOOK, OPEN, IS COMMITTED TO THE APOSTLE'S CARE. The charm of this

symbolism is that it is so luminous that he who readeth may run. The message of God's revealed

will, and the counsels of his redeeming grace, are entrusted first to the "angel," and then by him to

the exiled apostle. This is the same process of transmission as is given to us inRev_1:1-3. Our Lord

Jesus Christ is the Supreme Revealer. All the angelic hosts are commissioned by him. They are the

immediate instruments by whom the word is handed down to the apostles and prophets of the New

Testament. Under the new dispensation, as under the old, holy men of God spoke as they were

moved by the Holy Ghost.

III. THE APOSTLE, HAVING RECEIVED THE BOOK, HAS TO EAT IT UP. Eating a book? Yes;

where is the difficulty? The phrase is familiar enough—"read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest,"etc.

What is eaten comes to be assimilated, and so to become a portion of one's own flesh and blood.

Before the eating, it lies outside us. Until it is eaten, it is only that which would nourish if it were

eaten, but by no other process than by our eating it, can it serve its purpose or ours. This is one of

God's parables in nature, His words of truth and grace are meant to be the life of human souls, on

which they grow and thrive. If the words of God are not so used, they so far miss their aim, and

souls miss their support. So long as God's Word is something outside us, it will profit us little. It is to

be received by faith as God's own message to us, and on it we may live day by day, esteeming the

words of his mouth more than our necessary food. And specially is this spiritual digestion of God's

words needed when a man's mission is to give out those words to others for their life. We cannot

speak to others of the virtues of heavenly food when we have not fed on it ourselves. Nor can we

tell to others the soul thriving power it conveys when we ourselves are spiritually starving. The

assimilation by reading, thinking, faith, and prayer is necessary if God's Word is to be the support of

our souls. £ None should aim at this more earnestly than those who have a Divine impulse to teach

and preach Jesus Christ.

IV. THE LITTLE BOOK, WHEN EATEN, PRESENTED A STRANGE MIXTURE OF SWEETNESS

AND BITTERNESS. The words of the Bible, says a late eminent divine, £ "nourish him by their

bitter qualities as much as by their pleasant; he needs both and accepts both" "There must be a

sweetness unspeakable in the actual living taste of a Divine communication; in the assurance p

that the love which lies beneath all law... is showing itself forth in our very selves... But then the

sense of this law defied in the world, defied in ourselves?.. Is there no revulsion in that? Does not

the book become the bitterer afterwards, in proportion as it was delicious at first?" Even so. Tonics

are often bitter. The working out of God's grace in the salvation of those that believe are sweet

enough. But the woes which must follow the rejection of grace are bitter indeed, and yet the prophet

must be prepared to accept both, to feed on both, and to speak forth both.

V. WHEN THE BOOK IS EATEN, THE WORK OF PROPHESYING IS TO FOLLOW. "Thou must

prophesy again over many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings" £ (Rev_1:11).

1. The work of God under the New Testament is to be carried forward by the prophet, not by the

priest. There are no official priests now. Those who call themselves such are shams. All believers,

indeed, as such, are priests unto God; but there is no order of a priesthood under the Christian

dispensation. Even under the old economy God set aside the priest, again and again, so that the

prophet might come to the front.

2. Then, too, the prophet can only do his work rightly when God's message has been so digested

that it is a part of himself. No one to whom God's Word is merely a something outside of him can

ever show the people the way of life.

3. See the breadth over which the Divine Word is to be promulgated. "Many nations and tongues."

Every child of man is to hear the Word.

4. See the entire social scale included: "peoples" and "kings." From the lowest to the highest. The

Word is as needed by, and as suited for, the palace as the hut. It is a common message for all.

5. There was to be a reissue of the prophetic Word under the Christian economy. Such we take to

be the meaning of πάλιν . Of old the prophets had borne witness for God. But now the institution of

prophecy is to recommence under Christ, and to be extended over a wider field than ever it had

been before.

6. This open book entrusted to the prophet's care is never to be handed to any who would close it

up again. Rome forbids the use of the Bible by the common people. Why? Because with her the

priest smothers the prophet. Ever let us insist on keeping "the little book open;" and, in letting its

contents, sweet or bitter, as they may be, be known to all the people.

The theme of this homily is a most appropriate one as a basis for opening up either the value of a

Christian ministry or the essential principle of Protestantism, that "the little book" should ever be

kept open, and its contents unfolded to the people. It suggest two queries.

1. What has come out of the principles of this chapter, historically

(1) The demand for a free and open Bible, in the language of the people.

(2) The institution of preaching as an ordinance of God.

(3) The contention for liberty of prophesying according to God's order, apart from the restrictions

imposed by man.

(4) The incessant publication and republication of it as the wilt of God—That none should walk in

darkness, but should know the Word of light and life.

2. What should come out of them, practically?

(1) A perpetual protest against the closing, withholding, or neglect of "the little book."

(2) The constant prayer that prophets may ever be raised up and qualified to go everywhere,

preaching the Word.

(3) Every teacher and preacher should take care to eat the book, and to digest its contents, in order

that he may fulfil his function of prophesying.

(4) That which the prophet must digest in order to prophesy, the people themselves must feed upon

in order that they may live and grow and thrive. God's Word in the heart is the only certain nutriment

of a noble life.

9

So I went to the angel and asked him to give

me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and

eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in

your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."

BARES, “And I went unto the angel - This is symbolic action, and is not to be understood literally. As it is not necessary to suppose that an angel literally descended, and stood upon the sea and the land, so it is not necessary to suppose that there was a literal act of going to him, and taking the book from his hand and eating it.Give me the little book - In accordance with the command in Rev_10:8. We may

suppose, in regard to this:

(a) That the symbol was designed to represent that the book was to be used in the purpose here referred to, or was to be an important agent or instrumentality in accomplishing the purpose. The book is held forth in the hand of the angel as a striking emblem. There is a command to go and take it from his hand for some purpose not yet disclosed. All this seems to imply that the book - or what is represented by it - would be an important instrument in accomplishing the purpose here referred to.

(b) The application for the book might intimate that, on the part of him who made it, there would be some strong desire to possess it. He goes, indeed, in obedience to the command; but, at the same time, there would naturally be a desire to be in possession of the volume, or to know the contents (compare Rev_5:4), and his approach to the angel for the book would be most naturally interpreted as expressive of such a wish.

And he said unto me, Take it - As if he had expected this application; or had come down to furnish him with this little volume, and had anticipated that the request would be made. There was no reluctance in giving it up; there was no attempt to withhold it; there was no prohibition of its use. The angel had no commission, and no desire to retain it for himself, and no hesitation in placing it in the bands of the seer on the first application. Would not the readiness with which God gives his Bible into the hands of human beings, in contradistinction from all human efforts to restrain its use, and to prevent its free circulation, be well symbolized by this act?

And eat it up - There is a similar command in Eze_3:1. Of course, this is to he understood figuratively, for no one would interpret literally a command to eat a manuscript or volume. We have in common use a somewhat similar phrase, when we speak of devouring a book, which may illustrate this, and which is not liable to be misunderstood. In Jer_15:16, we have similar language: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” Thus, in Latin, the words propinare, imbibere, devorare, deglutire, etc., are used to denote the greediness with which knowledge is acquired. Compare in the Apocrypha, 2 Esdras 14:38-40. The meaning here, then, is plain. He was to possess himself of the contents of the book; to receive it into his mind; to apply it, as we do food, for spiritual nourishment - truth having, in this respect, the same relation to the mind which food has to the body. If the little book was a symbol of the Bible, it would refer to the fact that the truths of that book became the nourisher and supporter of the public mind.

And it shall make thy belly bitter - This is a circumstance which does not occur in the corresponding place in Eze_3:1-3. The expression here must refer to something that would occur after the symbolical action of “eating” the little book, or to some consequence of eating it - for the act of eating it is represented as pleasant: “in thy mouth sweet as honey.” The meaning here is, that the effect which followed from eating the book was painful or disagreeable - as food would be that was pleasant to the taste, but that produced bitter pain when eaten. The fulfillment of this would be found in one of two things:

(a) It might mean that the message to be delivered in consequence of devouring the book, or the message which it contained, would be of a painful or distressing character; that with whatever pleasure the book might be received and devoured, it would be found to contain a communication that would be indicative of woe or sorrow. This was the case with the little book that Ezekiel was commanded to eat up. Thus, in speaking of this book, it is said, “And it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe,” Eze_2:10. Compare Rev_3:4-9, where the contents of the book, and the effect of proclaiming the message which it contained, are more fully stated. So here the meaning may be, that, however gladly John may have taken the book, and with whatever pleasure he may have devoured its contents, yet that it would be found to be charged with the threatening of wrath, and with denunciations of a judgment to come, the delivery of which would be well represented by the “bitterness” which is said to have followed from “eating” the volume. Or.

(b) it may mean that the consequence of devouring the book, that is, of embracing its doctrines, would be persecutions and trouble - well represented by the “bitterness” that followed the “eating” of the volume. Either of these ideas would be a fulfillment of the proper meaning of the symbol; for, on the supposition that either of these occurred in fact, it would properly be symbolized by the eating of a volume that was sweet to the taste, but that made the belly bitter.

But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey - So in Eze_3:3. The proper fulfillment of this it is not difficult to understand. It would well represent the pleasure derived from divine truth - the sweetness of the Word of God - the relish with which it is embraced by those that love it. On the supposition that the “little book” here refers to the Bible, and to the use which would be made of it in the times referred to, it would properly denote the relish which would exist for the sacred volume, and the happiness which would be found in its perusal; for this very image is frequently employed to denote this. Thus, in Psa_19:10; “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Psa_119:103; “how sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” We are then to look for the fulfillment of this in some prevailing delight or satisfaction, in the times referred to, in the Word of the Lord, or in the truths of revelation.

CLARKE, “Take it, and eat it up - Fully comprehend its meaning; study it thoroughly.

GILL, “And I went to the angel,.... According to the order given him; he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; and, indeed, whither should any go knowledge but to

him who has the words of eternal life, and is the great prophet of the church? and to whom should John go to qualify him for prophesying, but to him, who, as man and Mediator, had this revelation of future things given him? Rev_1:1;

and said unto him, give me the little book; he did not take it without his leave, but in a modest and humble manner asks him to give it him, that he might deliver out the prophecies in it to others: so ordinary prophets and ministers of the word should go to Christ, to have their eyes opened, their understandings enlightened, that they may understand the Scriptures, and explain them to others:

and he said unto me, take it, and eat it up; which must be understood not literally, but mystically; and the sense is this, take the book, and diligently peruse it, and with as much eagerness as an hungry man would eat a meal; so greedy are some persons of reading, and as it were of devouring books; hence Cicero called (q) Cato "helluo librorum", a glutton at books: and in such manner John is bid to take and eat this book, and look into it, and read it over diligently, and consider what was in it, and meditate upon it, and digest the things contained in it, and lay them up in his mind and memory; and for the present hide and conceal them, in like manner as he was bid to seal, and not write what the seven thunders uttered; and so, though this book is represented to him as open in the angel's hand, yet he must take it and eat it, and hide it in his belly, because the things in it as yet were not to be accomplished: so for ordinary prophesying, or preaching, the ministers of the word should diligently read the Scriptures, constantly meditate on them, digest the truths of the Gospel in their own minds, and lay them up in the treasury of their hearts, and bring them forth from thence in due season:

and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey; as Ezekiel's roll was to him when he ate it, Eze_3:1; the Alexandrian copy, instead of "thy belly", reads "thy heart".

JAMISO, “I went — Greek, “I went away.” John here leaves heaven, his standing-point of observation heretofore, to be near the angel standing on the earth and sea.Give — A, B, C, and Vulgate read the infinitive, “Telling him to give.”

eat it up — appropriate its contents so entirely as to be assimilated with (as food), and become part of thyself, so as to impart them the more vividly to others. His finding the roll sweet to the taste at first, is because it was the Lord’s will he was doing, and because, divesting himself of carnal feeling, he regarded God’s will as always agreeable, however bitter might be the message of judgment to be announced. Compare Psa_40:8, Margin, as to Christ’s inner complete appropriation of God’s word.

thy belly bitter — parallel to Eze_2:10, “There was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.”

as honey — (Psa_19:10; Psa_119:103). Honey, sweet to the mouth, sometimes turns into bile in the stomach. The thought that God would be glorified (Rev_11:3-6, Rev_11:11-18) gave him the sweetest pleasure. Yet, afterwards the belly, or carnal natural feeling, was embittered with grief at the prophecy of the coming bitter persecutions of the Church (Rev_11:7-10); compare Joh_16:1, Joh_16:2. The revelation of the secrets of futurity is sweet to one at first, but bitter and distasteful to our natural man, when we learn the cross which is to be borne before the crown shall be won. John was grieved at the coming apostasy and the sufferings of the Church at the hands of Antichrist.

Rwp, “I went (apēltha). Second aorist active indicative ((Sa form), “I went away” (aT) to

the angel. John left his position by the door of heaven (Rev_4:1).

That he should give (dounai). Second aorist active infinitive of didōmi, indirect

command after legōn (bidding) for dos in the direct discourse (second aorist active

imperative second person singular). This use of legō to bid occurs in Rev_13:14;

Act_21:21.

He saith (legei). Dramatic vivid present active indicative of legō.

Take it and eat it up (labe&kai&kataphage&auto). Second aorist (effective) active

imperatives of lambanō and katesthiō (perfective use of kata, “eat down,” we say “eat up”).

See the same metaphor in Eze_3:1-3; Jer_15:6. The book was already open and was not to be read aloud, but to be digested mentally by John.

It shall make thy belly bitter (pikranei&sou&tēn&koilian). Future active of pikrainō,

for which verb see Rev_8:11; Rev_10:10; Col_3:19. There is no reference in Ezekiel or Jeremiah to the bitterness here mentioned.

Sweet as honey (gluku&hōs&meli). For the sweetness of the roll see Psa_19:10.;

Psa_119:103. “Every revelation of God’s purposes, even though a mere fragment, a

biblaridion, is ‘bitter-sweet,’ disclosing judgment as well as mercy” (Swete). Deep and

bitter sorrows confront John as he comes to understand God’s will and way.

PULPIT, “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book; and I went

away to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. Alford understands that the seer goes from his position in heaven to the angel on earth. But he is probably, in his vision, already on the earth (see on Rev_10:1). And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; he saith. This part of the vision is founded on Eze 2:9-3:3. The act is no doubt intended to convey the idea that the seer is to carefully receive, to digest thoroughly, as it were, his message in order to deliver it faithfully. Thus

inEze_3:10 the prophet is told, "All my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them," etc. And it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as

honey; cf. the vision of Eze 2:9-3:27., where the sweetness only is immediately mentioned; but the bitterness is implied later on in Eze_3:14. The sweetness expresses the pleasure and readiness with which St. John receives his commission; the bitterness symbolizes the grief which possesses him when he thoroughly takes in the nature of his message. The pleasure with which he receives the angel's commands may proceed from joy at the thought that the final overthrow of the wicked is the final deliverance of the saints; or it may be that he feels himself honoured at being chosen as

the medium for conveying God's message. Compare the readiness of Isa_6:8 to fulfil a similar office, and his subsequent fear and hesitation (Isa_7:4). The bitterness of the seer follows when he realizes the terrible nature of the judgment he is to announce (cf. Jer_8:21, "For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt"). Various other explanations, more or less allegorical, have been suggested. Thus Andreas explains that the first sweetness of sin is afterwards converted into bitterness. Origen, quoted in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' "Very sweet is this the book of Scripture when first perceived, but bitter to the conscience within." Maurice supposes that St. John's joy proceeds from the expectation that the book will announce the fall of the great Babel empire of the world, and his disappointment follows when he discovers that it predicts the fall of Jerusalem. Bede explains that the bitterness in the belly indicates the reception by the seer, but the sweetness in the mouth is the declaration to others.

COFFMA, “And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little

book. And he saith unto me: Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.Give me the little book ... See under preceding verse. "Take it, and eat it up ..." It is futile to search for John's "source" either in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 2:9-3:4) or anywhere else except in this vision "which God gave him" (Revelation 1:1). Nothing truly like this vision is found anywhere but here. The meaning inherent in taking a book and eating it up is simply that of mastering its contents; and this, of course, means digesting its contents also. Both Ladd and Morris missed this, causing them to interpret the bitterness that came later as something "internal, and within the believer himself."[40]

It shall make thy belly bitter ... Hendriksen's interpretation of this is correct, referring it to the suffering and cross-bearing which is ever the portion of those who faithfully proclaim the gospel. "That gospel is in itself glorious and sweet; but its proclamation is ever followed by bitter persecutions."[41] We agree with Hendriksen that this meaning is "very clear."

In thy mouth it shall be as sweet as honey ... The interpretation that would make this sweetness due alone to the sweet promise of forgiveness and eternal life, and the following bitterness to be due to the awesome revelations of God's wrath and judgment upon the wicked is incorrect. There is no need whatever for the revelation of God's wrath upon the wicked to be a source of bitterness to persecuted, suffering, dying Christians. Such is a false theological conception. Origen's notion that "The book of Scripture is very sweet when first perceived, but bitter to the conscience within,"[42] is also a false conception. The true meaning of this passage cannot turn upon the subjective response of the believer, but upon the turn of events which follow the proclamation of the truth. "The eating up" of God's word, and obeying it, which is necessarily included, brings nothing but joyful release and tranquillity to the conscience. Hinds grasped this fundamental truth: "The thoughts from eating the book would give him joy; but practicing the teachings would bring persecutions, sufferings and possibly death."[43]

Of course, the metaphor here is based upon the fact that some foods which taste good produce sickness or pain later. The sweet taste of God's word is a frequent Old Testament metaphor (Psalms 19:9,10; 119:103). It should not be forgotten that "eating the book" means, "The complete mastering of the contents, digesting it."[44]

[40] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 143.

[41] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 151.

[42] As quoted by Plummer, op. cit., p. 276.

[43] John T. Hinds, op. cit., p. 151.

[44] W. Boyd Carpenter, op. cit., p. 583.

Ezekiel in 2:8-3:3 had a book also that was sweet as honey in the mouth, but became

bitter when the sweet word of God was rejected by the people. Most all who

proclaim the good news know the experience of the sweetness of knowing the grace

of God, but also the bitterness that comes when it is rejected and because of pride

and the stubborn heart.

RAY SUMMERS, Controversy has raged over the content of the

book. Some believe it to hold the vision of chapter 11.

Others look upon it as containing a second revelation which

begins with chapter12 and goes on to the end of Revelation.

Others think it contains simply the commission to preach

God's judgement upon men who have rejected him. All these

ideas have evidences in their favor and evidences which are

against them.

From a close study of the entire context, it appears that

the content of the book has to do with matters of sorrow

and woe--this is true in Ezeliel 2:8ff. When Ezekiel had

swallowed the book he was required to utter lamentations

and woes upon ancient Israel. So with this book, whatever

it contained it was a message which meant sorrow for John

as he delivered it. It appears, therefore, that the

message was rather general;

woes upon men under God's judgement for having rejected

him, woes upon Christians in the hands of their enemies,

woes upon the church in conflict with the great world-power

Rome, woes upon Rome and her great destruction. Perhaps it

is a combination of all these things since he was to

prophesy to "many peoples and nations and tongues and

kings."

Scholars are rather generally agreed on the meaning of

John's eating the book. His eating it symbolized his

thoroughly mastering its message. He was to assimilate it,

make it a part of himself. In his mouth the little book

would be sweet. This no doubt symbolizes the sweetness,

the joy of receiving a revelation from God and the delight

of being trusted with the responsibility of his message.

Every preacher knows this joy. Every preacher with the

right feeling in his heart knows, too, the bitterness that

comes in the delivery of God's message of condemnation to

men in sin. No matter how much John knew that men under

God's wrath must be punished, the delievering of that

message brougth bitterness and sorrow even as he thought

about it. The thought of the dreadful consequences of the

revealed wrath of God as it falls upon sinful man is a

bitter thought no matter how necessary that judgment may be.

10

I took the little scroll from the angel's hand

and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my

mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach

turned sour.

BARES, “And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter - The effect immediately followed: that is, as soon as he was made acquainted with the contents of the book, either, as above explained, requiring him to deliver some message of woe and wrath which it would be painful to deliver, or that the consequence of receiving it was to bring on bitter persecutions and trials.

CLARKE, “It was in my mouth sweet as honey - There was in it some pleasing, some unpleasing, intelligence. I read of the consolations and protection of the true worshippers of God, and did rejoice; I read of the persecutions of the Church, and was distressed.

GILL, “And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up,.... As he was bid to do:

and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; so is the Gospel in the mouth of a faithful minister of it, who has a spiritual knowledge, and a savoury experience of it; and so it is in the mouth of an understanding hearer, who finds it, and eats it, to the joy and rejoicing of his heart; and so this little book of prophecy being looked into, read, and considered by John, the first taste and knowledge he had of the things contained in it were exceeding grateful and delightful; the view it gave him of the glorious state of the church, and kingdom of Christ on earth, filled with unspeakable pleasure:

and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter; so the ministration of the Gospel occasions bitterness, grief, and sorrow, to the preachers and professors of it, through the persecutions that attend it, the obstinacy and hardness of men's hearts against it, and its being the savour of death unto death to many that hear it; and so the little book of prophecy, upon a perusal of it, giving to John a view of the witnesses prophesying: in sackcloth, and of their bodies being killed, and lying exposed in the street of the great city, and of the church's flying into the wilderness, and continuing there for a time and times, and half a time, and of the barbarities and cruelties exercised on the saints by the whore of Rome, whom he saw made drunk with their blood, made his belly bitter, or filled him with sorrow, grief, and pain.

JAMISO, “the little book — So A and C, but B, Aleph, and Vulgate, “the book.”was bitter — Greek, “was embittered.”

PULPIT, “Rev_10:10

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 (see

above). The angel, foreseeing the nature of the contents, alludes to the bitterness first; the writer narrates his experiences in the historical order.

Rev_10:11

And he said unto me. Λὲγουσιν , "they say," is read in à , A, B, and thirty cursives, and is adopted in the Revised Version. λέγει , "he saith," is found in P and seventeen cursives. Λέγουσινleaves the speakers quite indefinite, amounting, in fact, to no more than" it was said" (Alford); cf. τρέφωσιν in Rev_12:6; also Dan_7:5. 13. Thou must prophesy again. Thou retest, because it is laid upon thee by God's command. It is to be done again, because the seer has already to some extent set forth God's will in the earlier part of the book; and he is now required to proceed with the delivery of his message. "Prophesy" (as in Rev_11:3) has rather its literal than its derived meaning. It is the telling forth of God's purposes, and may refer to past as well as present or future events. The sentence refers to the announcements made in the following part of the Apocalypse (vide infra). Bede and others take it to mean the Gospel of St. John, which was, perhaps, afterwards composed (see Introduction). Victorinus thinks it points to the period of St. John's return from Patmos to Ephesus, where the Apocalypse may have been published. Before

many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings; concerning many peoples, etc. ( ἐπί , with dative). These are the objects of the prophecy, not the audience. This serves to explain the reference in the preceding sentence. The message is not delivered to, but about peoples, etc. The fourfold enumeration seems to point to the breadth of the signification—it embraces the whole of mankind (cf. Rev_5:9). This is the end of what is called by many writers the first episode; the second follows. The incident is often alluded to as the "new commission" of St. John; but it seems less a new commission than a solemn re-enactment of the command delivered in Rev_1:1-20.

COFFMA, “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 when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.This verse merely says that John found the experience of sweetness, followed by bitterness, to be exactly as the angel had promised. Speck mentioned in this context "the bitter price people paid for reading the Scripture and rebelling against the authority of the Medieval Church,"[45] one of many illustrations that could be cited. Tyndale, it will be recalled, paid with his life for the precious sweetness of "eating the book" and making it available to others by his translation of it into our native tongue. There is not an English-speaking person on earth today who does not owe a deep debt of gratitude to God for William Tyndale.

11

Then I was told, "You must prophesy again

about many peoples, nations, languages and

kings."

BARES, “And he said unto me - The angel then said.Thou must prophesy - The word “prophesy” here is evidently used in the large

sense of making known divine truth in general; not in the comparatively narrow and limited sense in which it is commonly used, as referring merely to the foretelling of future events. See the word explained in the Rom_12:6 note; 1Co_14:1 note. The

meaning is, that, as a consequence of becoming possessed of the little volume and its contents, he would be called to proclaim divine truth, or to make the message of God known to mankind. The direct address is to John himself; but it is evidently not to be understood of him personally. He is represented as seeing the angel; as hearkening to his voice; as listening to the solemn oath which he took; as receiving and eating the volume; and then as prophesying to many people; but the reference is undoubtedly to the far-distant future. If the allusion is to the times of the Reformation, the meaning is, that the end of the world was not, as would be expected, about to occur, but that there was to be an interval long enough to permit the gospel to be proclaimed before “nations, and tongues, and kings”; that in consequence of coming into possession of the “little book,” the Word of God, the truth was yet to be proclaimed far and wide on the earth.

Again - πάλιν palin. This had been done before. That is, supposing this to refer to the

time of the Reformation, it could be said:

(a) That this had been done before - that the gospel had been in former times proclaimed in its purity before “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings”; and,

(b) That it would be done “again”; that is, though the Word of God had been hidden, and a mass of corrupt traditions had taken its place, yet the time would come when those pure truths would be made known again to all lands. This will explain the word “again” in this place - not meaning that John would do this personally, but that this would be in fact the result of the restoration of the Bible to the church.

Before many peoples - This word denotes people considered as masses, or as grouped together in masses, without reference to the manner in which it is done. It is used when we look on a mass of people, without taking into account the question whether they are of the same nation, or language, or rank. See the notes on Rev_7:9. The plural is used here - “peoples” - perhaps to denote that those to whom the truth would be made known would be very numerous. They would not only be numerous in regard to the individuals to whom it would be communicated, but numerous considered as communities or nations.

And nations - The word “nations” here denotes people considered as separated by national boundaries, constitutions, laws, customs. See the notes on Rev_7:9.

And tongues - People considered as divided by languages - a division not always or necessarily the same as that denoted by the word “people,” or “nations” as used in this passage.

And kings - Rulers of the people. The meaning is, that the gospel would not only be borne before the masses of mankind, but in a special manner before kings and rulers. The effect of thus possessing the “little volume,” or of the “open book” of revealed truth, would ultimately be that the message of life would be carried with power before princes and rulers, and would influence them as well as the common people.

In inquiring now for the proper application of this symbol as thus explained, we naturally turn to the Reformation, and ask whether there was anything in that of which this would he the proper emblem. The following things, then, are found in fact as occurring at that time, of which the symbol before us may be regarded as the proper representation:

(1) The reception of the Bible as from the hand of an angel - or its recovery from obscurity and forgetfulness, as if it were now restored to the church by a heavenly interposition. The influence of the Bible on the Reformation; the fact that it was now recovered from its obscurity, and that it was made the grand instrument in the Reformation, has already been illustrated. See the notes on Rev_10:2. The symbolical

action of taking it from the hand of an angel was not an improper representation of its reception again by the church, and of its restoration to its true place in the church. It became, as it is proper that it should always be, the grand means of the defense of the faith, and of the propagation of truth in the world.

(2) The statement that the little book when eaten was “in the mouth sweet as honey,” is a striking and proper representation of the relish felt for the sacred Scriptures by those who love the truth (compare notes on Rev_10:9), and is especially appropriate to describe the interest which was felt in the volume of revealed truth in the time of the Reformation. For the Bible was to the Reformers emphatically a new book. It had been driven from common use to make way for the legends of the saints and the traditions of the church. It had, therefore, when translated into the vernacular tongue, and when circulated and read, the freshness of novelty - the interest which a volume of revealed truth would have if just given from heaven. Accordingly, it is well known with what avidity and relish the sacred volume was studied by Luther and his fellow-laborers in the Reformation; how they devoured its doctrines; how they looked to it for comfort in their times of trial; how sweet and sustaining were its promises in the troubles that came upon them, and in the labors which they were called to perform.

(3) The representation that, after it was eaten, it was “bitter,” would not improperly describe the effect, in some respects, of thus receiving the Bible, and making it the groundwork of faith. It brought the Reformers at once into conflict with all the power of the papacy and the priesthood; exposed them to persecution; aroused against them a host of enemies among the princes and rulers of the earth; and was the cause for which many of them were put to death. Such effects followed substantially when Wycliffe translated the Bible; when John Huss and Jerome of Prague published the pure doctrines of the New Testament; and when Luther gave to the people the Word of God in their own language. To a great extent this is always so - that, however sweet and precious the truths of the Bible may be to the preacher himself, one of the effects of his attempting to preach those truths may be such opposition on the part of people, such cold indifference, or such fierce persecution, that it would be well illustrated by what is said here, “it shall make thy belly bitter.”

(4) The representation that, as a consequence of receiving that book, he would prophesy again before many people, is a fit representation of the effect of the reception of the Bible again by the church, and of allowing it its proper place there. For:

(a) it led to preaching, or, in the language of this passage, “prophesying” - a thing comparatively little known before for many ages. The grand business in the papal communion was not, and is not, preaching, but the performance of rites and ceremonies. Genuflexions, crossings, burning of incense, processions, music, constitute the characteristic features of all papal churches; the grand thing that distinguishes the Protestant churches all over the world, just in proportion as they are Protestant, is preaching. The Protestant religion - the pure form of religion as it is revealed in the New Testament - has few ceremonies: its rites are simple: it depends for success on the promulgation and defense of the truth, with the attending influence of the Holy Spirit; and for this view of the nature and degree of religion the world is indebted to the fact that the Bible was again restored to its true place in the church.

(b) The Bible is the basis of all genuine preaching. Preaching will not be kept up in its purity, except in the places where the Bible is freely circulated, and where it is studied; and where it is studied, there will be, in the proper sense of the term, preachers. Just in proportion as the Bible is studied in the world, we may expect that preaching will be better understood, and that the number of preachers will be increased.

(c) The study of the Bible is the foundation of all the efforts to spread the knowledge of the truth to “peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings,” in our own times. All these efforts have been originated by the restoration of the Bible to its proper place in the church, and to its more profound and accurate study in this age; for these efforts are but carrying out the injunction of the Saviour as recorded in this book - to “go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

(d) The same thing will be true to the end of the world; or, in the language of the portion of the Book of Revelation before us, until “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever,” Rev_11:15. The fact of the restoration of the Bible to its proper place in the church will, therefore, ultimately be the means of the conversion of the whole world to God; and this fact, so momentous in its nature and its consequences, was worthy to be symbolized by the appearance of the “angel descending from heaven clothed with a cloud”; was properly represented by the manner in which he appeared - “his face radiant as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire”; was worthy to be expressed by the position which he assumed, as “standing on the sea and the earth” - as if all the world were interested in the purpose of his mission, and was worthy of the loud proclamation which he made - as if a new order of things were to commence. Beautiful and sublime, then, as this chapter is, and always has been esteemed as a composition, it becomes still more beautiful and sublime if it be regarded as a symbol of the Reformation - an event the most glorious, and the most important in its issues, of any that has occurred since the Saviour appeared on the earth.

CLARKE, “Thou must prophesy again - Thou must write, not only for the instruction of the Jews in Palestine, but of those in the different provinces, as well as the heathens and heathen emperors and potentates in general.The reader will find, on comparing this chapter with Daniel 8:1-27; Dan_12:1-13, and

Ezekiel 2:1-3:27, that there are several things similar in both; and the writer of the Apocalypse appears to keep these two prophets continually in view. I must once more say that I do not understand these prophecies, therefore I do not take upon me to explain them. I see with regret how many learned men have mistaken their way here. Commentators, and even some of the most modern, have strangely trifled in these solemn things; all trumpets, vials, woes, etc., are perfectly easy to them; yet from their descriptions, none get wise either to common sense or to the things that make for their peace.

On the same ground I cannot admit the interpretation that is given of the word χρονος,

translated time in Rev_10:6, which some have construed into an artificial period of 1,111 years, which they term chronos; hence we have the chronos, half-chronos, and non-chronos. Bengel has said much on these points, but to very little purpose; the word in the above place seems to signify delay simply, and probably refers to the long-suffering of God being ended in reference to Jerusalem; for I all along take for probable that this book was written previously to the destruction of that city.

GILL, “And he said unto me,.... That is, the angel, from whom John received the little book; the Alexandrian copy reads, "they said unto me": both the voice of God the Father from heaven, that bid him take the book, and the angel that bid him eat it:

thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings; which is to be understood not of John's preaching again to many people, and nations, after his return from his exile at Patmos, as he had done before his banishment thither; and much less of his prophesying along with Enoch and Elias, towards the end of the world, grounded upon two fabulous notions, the one that Enoch and Elias will appear in person before the coming of Christ, and the other, that John died not, but is still alive somewhere, and will continue till Christ's second coming; but rather of his delivering more prophecies out of the open little book; not "before", as we render it, but either "concerning" many people, nations, tongues, and kings, as the Syriac version renders it: or "against" them, that is, those people, multitudes, nations, and tongues, over which the whore of Babylon reigns, or has reigned, and the ten kings, and kings of the earth she rules over, Revelation 17:12. Moreover, this may not so much design John's prophesying in person, as the prophesying: of the witnesses or ministers of the word in the several periods of time, whom John personated and represented; and of whom mention is made in the next chapter, to which this seems to be a transition.

TRAPP, “11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.Ver. 11. Thou must prophesy] For all the sorrow, thou and thy successors must set close to the Lord’s work, for the regaining of those peoples, nations, &c., whom Antichrist hath enslaved. Or thus: Thou must prophesy, that is, before the time of fulfilling of all things, this book of the Revelation shall be made as clear as if John were come to prophesy again before men, and to give us a revelation of his Revelation, according to Isaiah 30:26. (Mr Burr, on Hosea.)

BURKITT, “The death of the witnesses was described in the foregoing verses, their resurrection is declared in these. This is understood politically by some, that they who were civilly dead, that is, laid aside as useless, were now politically alive; that is, restored to their public work and employment in the church again, God causing princes and magistrates to own and favour them; and accordingly, by their ascending up into heaven, they understand their re-entering into the church, their re-enjoying their public liberties and gospel privileges, which, in comparison of the low nd sackcloth condition they were in before, was like heaven and earth unto them.

And they ascended in a cloud, that is, gloriously, and their enemies beheld them with an envious eye, because of the work in their hands, which it was not in their power to hinder. Others understand this resurrection (in the manner forementioned) to be meant not of the same spirit and office, restored to the same work, to the admiration of the good, and consternation of the bad; and that the voice of Christ spake to the slain witnesses, saying, Come up hither, that is, into heaven, to receive the reward of your sufferings and services, and others that succeed you in office shall partake of your spirit, and perfect that work which you began and carried on.

Where note, That ofttimes God's faithful witnesses, namely, such magistrates and ministers as have done great things for the church of God, are taken up to heaven before they behold the desired issue, which is left to their successors to see completed.

EXPOSITORS BIBLE, “Finally, we hear him as he remembers the promise of the Spirit of truth, who was to instruct the disciples, not by new revelations of the Divine will, but by unfolding more largely the fullness that was to be found in Christ: "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you."* Everywhere and always Christian experience is the key that unlocks what would otherwise be closed, and sheds light upon what would otherwise be dark. To such experience, accordingly, the contents of the little roll, if they were such as we have understood them to be, must have appealed with peculiar power. In beholding judgment executed on the world, the believer might need only to stand by and wonder,

as Moses and Israel stood upon the shore of the Red Sea when the sea, returning to its bed, overwhelmed their enemies. They were safe. They had neither part nor lot with those who were sinking as lead in the mighty waters. It would be otherwise when judgment came upon the Church. Of that Church believers were a part How could they explain the change that had come over her, the purification that she needed, the separation that must take place within what had hitherto been to all appearance the one Zion which God loved? In the former case all was outward; in the latter all is inward, personal, experimental, leading to inquiry and earnest searchings of heart and prayer. A book containing these things was thus an appeal to Christian experience, and St. John might well be told to "eat it up." (* Joh_16:13-14)

3. The effect produced upon the Seer by eating the little roll is also in accord with what has been said. It shall make thy belly bitter, it was said to him, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey; and the effect followed. It was in my mouth, he says, sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter. Such an effect could hardly follow the mere proclamation of judgment on the world. When we look at that judgment in the light in which it ought to be regarded, and in which we have hitherto regarded it - as the vindication of righteousness and of a Divine and righteous order - the thought of it can impart nothing but joy. But to think that the Church of the living God, the bride of Christ, shall be visited with judgment, and to be compelled to acknowledge that the judgment is deserved; to think that those to whom so much has been given should have given so little in return; to think of the selfishness which has prevailed where love ought to have reigned, of worldliness where there ought to have been heavenliness of mind, and of discord where there ought to have been unity these are the things that make the Christian s reflections "bitter;" they, and they most of all, are his perplexity, his burden, his sorrow, and his cross. The world may disappoint him, but from it he expected little. When the Church disappoints him, the "foundations are overturned," and the honey of life is changed into gall and wormwood.

Combining the particulars which have now been noticed, we seem entitled to conclude that the little book-roll of this chapter is a roll of judgment, but of judgment relating less to the world than to the Church. It tells us that that sad experience of hers which is to meet us in the following chapters ought neither to perplex nor overwhelm us. The experience may be strange, very different from what we might have expected and hoped for; but the thread by which the Church is guided has not passed out of the hands of Him who leads His people by ways that they know not into the hands of an un-sympathizing and hostile power. As His counsels in reference to the world, and to the Church in her general relation to it, contained in the great book-roll of chap. 5, shall stand, so the internal relations of the two parts of His Church to each other, together with the issues depending upon them, are equally under His control. If judgment falls upon the Church, it is not because God has forgotten to be gracious, or has in anger shut up His tender mercies, but because the Church has sinned, because she is in need of chastisement, and because she must be taught that only in direct dependence upon the voice of the Good Shepherd, and not in the closest "fold" that can be built for her, is she safe. Let her "know" Him, and she shall be known of Him even as He is known of the Father.* (*Comp. Joh_10:1-15)

COFFMA, “And they say unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and

nations and tongues and kings.And they say unto me ... "It is best to take this expression as an indefinite plural, or the equivalent of the passive 'it was said.'"[46]

Thou must prophecy again ... John himself is part of the vision here, not merely in his person, but as an embodiment of the New Testament. It is not merely John who will continue to sound out the Word through the ages, but all of the apostles, and by extension the whole church of God throughout the dispensation, who will continue to prophesy, or proclaim God's truth. The reference here is not to the release of the Book of Revelation, either in part or whole, but to the proclamation

of "the whole counsel of God." We regret Roberts' missing this in the comment that, "This explains the little scroll. It means that Revelation is divided into two grand divisions ... the little scroll is the second part, consisting of Revelation 12-16."[47]

Over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings ... The ASV margin here has "concerning" instead of "over"; and a great many scholars prefer that meaning, a preference apparently due to their thinking of Revelation as primarily a book "concerning" world history; but the true meaning of the place is "before" many peoples, etc., as in the KJV. Lenski unequivocally affirmed that the KJV is correct here,[48]and we believe he is right in this judgment, and that the reason so many have missed it is that they tend to think about the "predictions" that John is about to write; "but this is an idea that results from their misconception of this vision."[49] Of course, Revelation, in a certain sense, is "concerning" many peoples, etc.; but far more is involved here than this single prophecy. All of God's word is to be proclaimed "unto all nations" (Luke 24:47); and we are certain that that mandate is the commission to John which is reiterated in this verse.

This concludes the consolatory vision of God's word being proclaimed throughout history, no matter what evil men do; and the next consolatory vision (Revelation 11:1-13) will detail symbolically the fortunes of the church throughout her history. However, it should be remembered that both these consolatory visions are in a sense parenthetical. As soon as they have been related, the judgment scene will be depicted, an event that connects chronologically with the end of Revelation 9.

[46] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 217.

[47] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 87.

[48] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 302.

[49] Ibid.

RIGGS, “John again hears the voice. It tells him to take the book which is open in the

hand of the strong angel. The little book "open" suggests things revealed or known (not

"sealed" as were the seven thunders). John went and told the angel to give him the little

book. The angel told John to take it and eat it and his belly would be made bitter but it

would be as sweet as honey in his mouth. It happened exactly as the angel instructed. The

angel followed by saying to John, "Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and

nations and tongues and kings." It is easy to understand what took place, but hard to

comprehend what the figure represents. What is the little book? What is the bitter and the

sweet? The angel said that John would again prophesy. We have learned that the Old

Testament prophecies would be fulfilled with the seventh angel. Thus, the little book no

doubt represents the prophecies that John would yet utter (vs. 11) in the remainder of his

book (chs. 11-22) which includes things nowhere else revealed, i.e., the loosing of Satan

for a little season. DAVID RIGGS

The sweet represents the pleasant reaction of John as he received the Word of God. The

bitter represents the reaction of his preaching to his hearers--the sorrow and woe it would

bring upon them. Jeremiah and Ezekiel had similar experiences. Ezekiel was shown a roll

of a book and was told to take and eat it and when he did, it was sweet as honey in his

mouth (Ezek. 2:8-3:3). Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and

thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart..." (Jer. 15:16). Thus, when

they received the Word of God it brought them much joy; however, as they later taught it

among the people, it brought many bitter results (Compare Jer. 20:7-9). DAVID RIGGS