Revelation 10 Commentary

Revelation 10 KJV	Commentary
¹And 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:	10:1 As the vision of the 144,000 and the great multitude in chapter 7 was an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals, so Revelation 10:1-11:14 constitutes a pause between the sixth and seventh trumpets. The timing of this interlude is the 1840s. See notes on Revelation 9:15. During the early 1800s the power of the Ottoman Empire was waning, a spiritual revival known as The Great Awakening took place and Atheism was becoming much more widespread. Revelation 11:7-10. The stage was now set for the final judgment of the seventh trumpet. Revelation 11:15-19. The description of this mighty angel is different and more glorious than the other angel messengers in Revelation. He is “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:” The similarity to the description of Christ in Revelation 1:13-16 leads many to believe that this angel must be Christ. The same rainbow we see around the throne in Revelation 4:3 glows about His head, a token of His covenant of love. The “cloud” is also a token of Deity. Clouds and glory covered Him as Sinai (Exodus 40:34-38); they are “his chariot.” Psalm 104:3.
²And 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, ³And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴And 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.	10:2-4 This mighty angel is standing on both the “sea” and the “earth,” signifying that the message he brings is of worldwide significance. This message is contained in “a little book open.” The face that this little book is “opened” shows that it was once closed. The book of Daniel was by divine direction closed up and sealed till the time of the end, when the wise were to understand. Daniel 12:4-10. Here this book is open, showing that the book of Daniel has been unsealed, bringing us to the experience of 1844. See notes on Daniel 8:14; 9:25 for the meaning of the 2,300 years and 1844; cf. Ezekiel 2:9-3:3.
⁵And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, ⁶And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: ⁷But 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.	10:5-7 When the Seventh Trumpet sounds the “mystery of God,” the plan for man’s redemption (Romans 16:25, 26; Mark 4:11), will be finished.
⁸And 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. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰And 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. ¹¹And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.	10:8-11 This message was to be “in thy mouth sweet as honey” but in “thy belly bitter.” In the early 1800s there were many honest and godly Bible students around the world who, independent of one another, were convicted that Jesus would soon return. Many of them saw in the prophecy of the 2,300 years of Daniel 8:14 a prediction that Christ would come very soon to cleanse the earth by fire. Most believed that it would be soon time in the early to mid-1800s. The most influential of these groups, led by William Miller, determined that 1844 was the correct year. See note on Daniel 8:14; 9:25. However, they misunderstood the event prophesied to take place at the end of the 2,300 years. They had the misconception that the sanctuary to be cleansed represented the earth. This message of Christ’s soon return, to end all sorrow and pain, was “sweet” in their mouths. When he did not return at the appointed time they experienced a “bitter” disappointment, similar to what the disciples went through when Christ’s death shattered their beliefs that He would set up an earthly empire. Luke 24:13-27. The sanctuary to be cleansed in Daniel 8:14 is not the earth, nor is it the earthly sanctuary—which became unnecessary when Christ died once for all (Hebrews 7:27; 8:9) and which no longer exists. It is the heavenly sanctuary that is to be cleansed, referring to the time when Christ enters the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, to begin the Judgment. Right now we are living in that awesome Day of Judgment, but those whose lives are being changed through the love of Jesus have nothing to fear, for Jesus is their Advocate.

Revelation 10 KJV

Commentary

Ahead to Revelation 11