An Angelic Interlude (Revelation 10:1–11) | Coronation (Part 20)

Transcript

JRNT 519
AN ANGELIC INTERLUDE
REVELATION 10:1-11
3/15/2026
JESSE RANDOLPH

Tonight we are going to pick up in Revelation 10. If you’re not there already, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation 10. And as you’re turning there and getting our bearings, I just want to remind you that what we are looking into tonight is John’s vision from the island of Patmos, about what the Lord Jesus revealed to him about this time of Tribulation that is coming upon the earth in the future. It is a period of Tribulation in which God is going to unfurl and reveal His righteous wrath on this planet, this wicked planet on account of the sin of mankind.

And at the end of this period of Tribulation, Jesus will return to this earth in preparation for His 1,000-year reign, His millennial kingdom. But before then, God is going to cause these various terrifying waves of judgment to fall upon this earth in the form of seven seal judgments, which we have already looked at, and then will come seven trumpet judgments, most of which we already covered, and then later will come seven bowl judgments which come near the end of the Tribulation period before Christ returns.

Now this Tribulation period is going to span seven years and it’s going to be terrifying. And that word “terrifying” probably doesn’t even do justice to what’s going to be happening to this world, to this planet during this Tribulation Period. As we’ve already seen up to this point in the account, the Tribulation will be full of death and destruction and carnage upon the earth. It will be full of natural disasters. It will be full of demonic activity. This will be a time of cataclysmic upheaval. And again, as I’ve said before, we have to thank the Lord that we as believers will not be there for any of it. Because 1 Thessalonians 1:10 we’re promised that “Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come.” He delivers us from this very period that we’re studying in this text. But for those who don’t know the Lord, for those who are living during this period of tribulation, this will be a time of immense pain and suffering and horror and terror like nothing that’s ever fallen upon this planet.

And yet, and I would say this is perhaps the most fearful things about the Tribulation, because it really reveals the depths of the depravity of the human heart, for those who survive these various different waves of judgment during the tribulation, the plagues, and the famines, and the earthquakes, and the falling stars, and the damage to water resources, and the demonic locusts, for those who survive to see every next wave of the tribulation, they still won’t repent. And they still won’t, in the hardness of heart, turn to Christ.

In fact, in the last 2 verses that we saw last time, Revelation 9:20,21, which were given in connection with the unleashing of the sixth trumpet judgment, we see this. This is Revelation 9:20. “And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their sexual immorality nor of their thefts.” In other words, they are seeing these awful things happening all around them with even more to come, and yet they refuse to repent in their wickedness and their blindness, they refuse to repent.

There’s something very Romans 1 about what I just read to you. Romans 1:20 says this. (Romans 1:20-24) “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.”

So Romans 1 is describing this giving over that has happened and that will continue to happen during church age in which we live, where those with these already-darkened hearts become even more hardened in their sin. Well, something very similar is going to happen in the future during the Tribulation, as there will be these unrepentant, calloused, hardened individuals, who are going to see the carnage happening all around them and they still will not humble themselves and they still will not repent, and they still will not turn to Christ. Instead, they will choose willfully to continue in their rebellion against the Lord.

On that dark note, we’ll turn to our text, Revelation 10. When we started this study of Revelation about this time early last year, I told this story how in reading this, I read this book in its entirety for the first time as a new convert on a flight from Orange County, California to Portland, Oregon. And I remember sitting with the text on my tray. I had a hard bound version of the MacArthur Study Bible NKJV, and I remember making through it and thinking that’s not as complicated as people make it out to be. I can read it in one sitting. I can read I through. I’m not saying I know every mystery and at that time of what’s going on, but it makes sense as you read it progressively and take it as God’s written Word.

And it’s in that spirit of that flight when I read it in one sitting that I hoped now to continue to take this book for all of us in large chunks. We are going to take big bites every week. We won’t be as detailed or as granular as maybe you’ve heard this expounded before, but we’re going to keep our finger on the pulse on the major movements in the book. We’re going to keep working through the Tribulation, all the way through Revelation 19. And then we’ll work through the return of Christ at the end of Revelation 19. And then we’ll work through the Millennial Reign of Christ in Revelation 20, and then the Eternal State, the New Heaven and New Earth, in Revelation 21 and 22.

With like my third introduction now to Revelation 10, let’s read it together. (Revelation 10:1-11) It says, “Then I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little scroll which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the earth, and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.’ Then the angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He proclaimed good news to His slaves, the prophets. Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, ‘Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.’ So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ‘Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.’ And I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.’”

Now, in our last two sermons from Revelation chapter 9, we were working our way through the fifth and the sixth trumpet judgments. In fact you can look at Revelation 9:1. It says “Then the fifth angel sounded. Then I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth, and the key of the pit of the abyss was given to him.” So that’s the blowing of the fifth trumpet. Then drop down, verse 13 which says, “then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.” So that’s the blowing of the trumpet number six. So we’ve already covered up to this point in our study of Revelation, all seven seal judgments, and we’ve covered the first six of the seven trumpet judgments.

Meaning we would expect that it would be right at this time in Revelation 10, that John would lead us into a discussion of the seventh trumpet judgment. But that’s not what we have here. The seventh trumpet judgment, you can drop down to Revelation 11:15 comes a little bit later. Revelation 11:15 there it says, “Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.’” So the seventh trumpet comes there, midway through revelation 11.

So what do we have going on here then in our text, in Revelation chapter 10? Well, we have another one of these interludes. We have another break in the action. This break in the action is God is unfurling His plans of judgment during the Tribulation period. We’re now well into the second half, the final 3.5 years of the Tribulation. But before that seventh trumpet sounds there’s now this pause in the action, this break, this interlude.

We’ve encountered, by the way, one of these interludes already. It was back in Revelation chapter 7 between the breaking of the sixth and the seventh seals. It was there in chapter 7 that we saw God would seal 144,000 from every tribe of the sons of Israel, (Revelation 7:4) shielding them from the wrath to come. And it was in that chapter in that interlude in Revelation 7, that we were introduced to this group known as the Tribulation martyrs. They’re noted in Revelation 7:14 as having robes which had been made white in the blood of the Lamb.

So here now we have a second interlude. There was one between seal number six and seal number seven. Now we have an interlude between trumpet number six and trumpet number seven. And central to this interlude is John’s introduction to an angel, a strong angel.

Picking it up in verse 1. John is still in the Spirit. He’s on the isle of Patmos. He’s receiving this vision. And he writes this, “Then I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.”

Now, let’s zero in for just a moment on those first few words. “Then I saw another strong angel.” The million-dollar question is this. Who is this strong angel? There are basically two views out there. In one camp you have those who believe that the strong angel is Jesus. And they believe that by pointing to some of these descriptions here which sound like descriptions given to Jesus elsewhere in the book of Revelation, like he has a face like the sun and he has feet like pillars of fire. We’ve seen that imagery already in Revelation to describe Jesus. In the other camp would be those who would say this is not Jesus, but rather another angelic being.

I’m going to land in that second camp. I believe this another angelic being, this is not Jesus. This is an angel dispatched from God’s throne. And I arrive at that conclusion for a few “different reasons. For starters, note the word right in front of the words “strong angel”. I saw another strong angel.” Another, that Greek adjective is alone. And it means not merely another, it means another of the same kind. That’s significant, that this “strong angel” here in Revelation 10:1 is another of the same kind.

In fact, turn back with me over to Revelation 5. Revelation 5 is this picture of the throne room and take a look at verses Revelation 5:1,2. “Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?’” So piecing this together when John here in Revelation 10:1 says, “Then I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven,” he specifically, I believe, has the angel of Revelation 5:2, that strong angel, in mind. One he’s seen one before. One of the same kind. Another strong angel. I believe that grammatical link alone is enough to say that this strong angel in Revelation 10:1 is not Jesus but rather an angelic being. But there are other reasons to hold to this view, that this is an angelic being and not Jesus.

For instance how about this. Throughout the book of Revelation, Jesus is given a number of different titles and descriptions. The faithful witness. The firstborn of the dead. The ruler of the kings of the earth. The Son of man. The first and the last. The living One. The Son of God. The Amen. The faithful and true Witness. The Beginning of the creation of God. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Root of David. The Lamb. The Faithful and True. The Word of God. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. But never once in Revelation is Jesus listed or referred to as an “angel.” He has all sorts of other titles, but He’s never called an angel.

Now in the Old Testament, Christ did in His preincarnate state, appear as the angel of the LORD. For instance, when He appeared to Hagar in Genesis 16. But after His incarnation He is never referred to, Jesus is never referred to as an angel. In Mormonism He is, but not in the Bible. And more to the point here, Jesus is never identified as an angel in the book of Revelation. That is one more reason to conclude that this “strong angel” is not Jesus.

Here’s another reason I don’t believe this strong angel is Jesus. Look down the page still in Revelation 10:5,6, which says, “Then the angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, lifted his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever.” So here you have this angel swearing by God Himself who lives forever and ever. It would be odd to say the least to have Jesus who is God, who is the eternal God, who is the One who lives forever and ever, to essentially swear by Himself.

And then there’s this. This strong angel is described here in verse 1, as coming down out of heaven. You see it there. That “I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.” But we know from later in Revelation, that Jesus doesn’t return from heaven until the end of the Tribulation, as we’re told in Revelation 19. So for Him to come down out of heaven here midway through the Tribulation, only to return to heaven, only to come back again at the Second Coming, would be out of step with the overall flow of what’s revealed in the book of Revelation. There’s no compelling biblical evidence that Christ comes to earth midway through the Tribulation.

So all in all, a stronger interpretation is that this strong angel here in verse 1 is not Christ, it’s not Jesus. Rather it’s an angelic being, another angelic being, another strong angel, as the text indicates. One who’s been divinely commissioned to carry out the next installment of God’s judgment in His Tribulation program.

Alright so we’ve covered the identity of this angel. Now we want to spend a little time unpacking the appearance of this angel. John said here in this summary of this vision, “Then I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.” We’ve already covered that and how this coming down out of heaven language refers to this angel coming down out of heaven, not Christ. And then the description continues. This strong angel was “clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.”

We’ll work through those briefly, one by one. First, this angel is described as being clothed with a cloud. Clouds are described as chariots of God, in Psalm 104:3. And angels we know are emissaries of God. They’re messengers of God. So to say that this angel is clothed with a cloud, speaks to the glory of his appearance, this angel is emanating the glory of God.

Second, this angel has a rainbow, it says, upon his head. Back in the heavenly throne room scene in Revelation 4:3, John described this rainbow that was around the throne, the heavenly throne. And we know the rainbow is also from Genesis 9:16, associated with judgment, namely God’s promise going back to the days of Noah, never to flood the earth again as an act of judgment. Here, this strong angel is wearing this rainbow like a headdress which is symbolizing God’s mercy in the midst of judgment, just as it did in Noah’s day. This angel representing the authority and the throne of God and this message he’s delivering comes from God.

Third, we see here still in verse 1 that his face was like the sun. A similar description was given of Jesus’ face back in Revelation 1:16. But again that doesn’t mean that this strong angel is Jesus. It could mean that the angel’s face was shining like the sun because he’d been in the divine presence, just as Moses’ face shone when he was in the presence of God. This angel was brilliant and bright apparently from being in God’s presence.

And then fourth, the strong angel’s feet it says were like pillars of fire. That language is indicative of judgment. It suggests that this angel’s announcement will have something to do with further judgment to come during the Tribulation.

So we’ve covered the identity of this angel. We’ve covered the appearance of this angel. Now we’re going to see what’s in this angel’s possession. Look at the first few words of verse 2. (Revelation 10:2) It says, “and he had in his hand a little scroll which was open.”

You’ll recall back from Revelation chapter 5 that Christ, the Lamb had that seven-sealed scroll in His right hand, which He unrolled progressively as He broke each seal to bring judgment upon the earth. This “little scroll” here in Revelation 10 is a different scroll. It’s obviously different in size. That’s why it’s called a little scroll. It’s not a biblion. That’s what the seven-sealed scroll in Revelation 5 is. This is a biblaridion. A much smaller scroll. A tiny scroll. A small scroll. Also, we’re told that this little scroll in Revelation 10 it says was open. It’s already open. It’s a perfect passive tense meaning this has already been opened by the time John comes upon this little scroll in his vision. It’s not needing to be opened. It’s already opened and laid bare.

Now of course what everybody wants to know is what’s inside this little scroll. What are the contents of this little scroll? What’s inside once it’s unfurled? What will we see, what would John see?

Well there’s no point in Revelation where those details are identified for us with precision. But in my estimation the strongest view is that the little scroll here contains revelation from God about the remainder of the events to come in Revelation 11-22. In other words, the contents of this little scroll revealed the rest of the prophetic message that John would record in what would become for us the book of Revelation. In fact, I think that view is supported by the final verse of this chapter, verse 11, where John is going to eat this little scroll and then he’s told that he must prophesy again. And that’s what he does when he records the remaining 12 chapters of the book of Revelation. We’ll get into that more later.

Next, the end of verse 2 and into verse 3, we get into the authority of this angel. (Revelation 10:3) “He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth.” Let’s stop there for just a second. The placement of one’s foot signifies possession. And that was true of Moses, in Deuteronomy 11:24. Yahweh said to Moses, “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours.” And then God said essentially the same thing to Joshua, in Joshua 1:3. “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.” Here this strong angel has a foot on both land and sea. He has his right foot on the sea. He has his left foot on the earth. And this signifies his possession in general. Signifies ownership. Again, this angel is an emissary of God. He’s a messenger for God and he’s testifying with his feet, that God owns it all.

And in context of impending judgment and doom in the remaining days of the Tribulation, this angel is communicating something specific with the placement of his right foot and his left with these feet that are like pillars of fire. (Revelation 10:1) Namely this angel is communicating that the judgments which are to come on the earth yet during the Tribulation, both on land and on sea, they’re going to have an effect on the entire world. God’s rulership and His dominion over the earth is total, over every pocket of His creation whether terrestrial or marine. Psalm 95:3-5 says, “For Yahweh is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hands are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.” And the point is He will during the second half of the Tribulation, the portion yet to come, starting with the blowing of that seventh trumpet, he’s going to bring judgment on it all, both on land and on sea.

Well, next we see in verse 3, the cry of this angel. It says “and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.” So this angel has this little scroll in his hand. He has his right foot on the sea. He has his left foot on the earth. And next John reveals that this angel cries out with a loud voice. In Greek, it’s “phone megale.” It’s a formulation that we reverse in English, to get our word megaphone.

But John’s description of this angel’s voice here is not as a megaphone. They didn’t have megaphones back then. That’s not what John had in mind. Instead, John likens the angel’s voice here to being like when a lion roars. The angel’s voice was reverberated like the voice, the roar of a lion. The roar of a lion as it cracks powerfully through the air can frighten just about anyone. A lion’s roar can petrify its prey, and it can cause any other creatures to immediately back down.

Several times in the Old Testament, God refers to Himself as roaring like a lion. For instance, in Hosea 11:10, which describes the ultimate future restoration of Israel, it says that they, meaning Israel, “will walk after Yahweh; He will roar like a lion; Indeed, He will roar, and His sons will come trembling from the west.” Or Amos 3:8 says, “A lion has roared! Who will not fear? Lord Yahweh has spoken!”

So God Himself is described as having a voice like the roar of a lion. And here in our text, in Revelation 10:3 this strong angel, this messenger of God is likewise described as having this lion-like voice. “He cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.” John here is picking up on the ferocity and the volume of this angel’s cry.

Now, if we zoom out for just a moment here we remember that Revelation 10 is this interlude. It’s this break in the action between the blowing of trumpet number six and trumpet number seven. Meaning, as John sees this strong angel holding this little scroll, crying out with this loud voice, the rebellion of mankind is continuing on the earth below. And though they’ve seen horrible things and they’ve heard horrible things and experienced horrible things up to this point, they continue on in their rebellion. And there’s no record of anyone during this interlude turning to Christ as they hear this voice of this angel sounding like a roaring lion.

So this angel’s booming, lion-like voice, as far as we can tell,see doesn’t produce repentance. But it does produce moving on, thunder. Sort of. Look at the end of verse 3. (Revelation 10:3) “And when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.” I said sort of a second ago because the seven peals of thunder mentioned here are not mere natural phenomena. You know you see a lightning bolt in the sky and you wait a certain number of seconds, and then you hear the rumble of thunder and that’s how you evaluate or gage how far the lightning strike hit. That’s how we think of thunder and lightning.

That’s not what’s being described here. John isn’t here describing some sort of loud late spring thunderclap that rattles your windows. Rather these seven peals of thunder are very clearly being personified here. These peals of thunder are being described with human attributes. Look at the end of verse 3. They, it says, the seven peals of thunder, uttered their voices. What’s that all about? How do peals of thunder have voices. What are they saying?

Well, where several good men have landed, and I would land here as well, is that these seven peals of thunder are not mere rumbles and not mere sounds. Instead, they are verbal expressions of God’s judgment which come from His very throne.

And these aren’t just a scattering of some random utterances from God’s heavenly throne room, but instead these voices, as they are described here in chapter 10:3, it appears that they’re tracking with this sevenfold voice of the Lord that we see referred over in Psalm 29. In fact, go with me so I can show you what I mean.

Psalm 29. We’ll pick up in verse 1. The meat of this really comes starting in verse 3. (Psalm 29:1-9) Psalm 29 says a Psalm of David, verse 1. “Ascribe to Yahweh, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name; worship Yahweh in the splendor of holiness. (now pick up on these voices). The voice of Yahweh is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, Yahweh is over many waters. The voice of Yahweh is powerful, the voice of Yahweh is full of splendor. The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars; indeed, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of Yahweh hews out flames of fire. The voice of Yahweh causes the wilderness to tremble; Yahweh causes the wilderness of Kadesh to tremble. The voice of Yahweh makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everything says, ‘Glory!’”

If you were counting as I read that, you saw that there are seven references in this passage in Psalm 29 to the voice of Yahweh, the voice of the Lord. And many do see in Revelation 10:3, as John is describing these seven peals of thunder uttering their voices, they see John as drawing from that Psalm, from Psalm 29 which does have references to destruction. Cedars breaking, flames of fire burning, and the wilderness trembling, etc. I think that’s a sound interpretation, a fine interpretation, a good interpretation. I’m not going to go to blows over it, but I think it’s possible that’s what’s going on here.

As we read on, back to Revelation 10, we see that John was told that, he’s recorded a certain amount of information up to this point, but now he’s told not to record anything further. He’s not to record what these seven peals of thunder actually testify to.

Look at verse 4. It says “And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them’.” So John hears these seven peals of thunder. He hears these voices and having been told by Christ, remember back in Revelation 1:19, that he was to write the things which you have seen, and write the things which are, and write the things which are to come. That’s the three part outline of the entire book of Revelation. John dutifully picks up his stylus, and he’s got his parchment out and he’s ready to take the rest of it down. He’s about to write it says, “ I was about to write.” Ah, but not so fast. Note what he records. (Revelation 10:4) “I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.’”

So while the voices which were uttered may have tracked thematically with those seven voices that I’ve just read to you from Psalm 29, what we don’t know is what those seven voices actually said. John knew what those seven voices actually said. Indeed, he was about to commit what was said to him to writing. But he was prohibited from going any further. He was prohibited from taking that stylus to parchment and actually putting it down. He heard this voice from above, the voice of God saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”

Interestingly the verb tense speaks of urgency. Meaning John was to seal these matters up at once. Immediately. No further writing. Put the stylus down John. Paul wrote something similar in 2 Corinthians 12 where he’s describing that experience of being caught up to the third heaven, and he mentions having heard certain inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. Now Paul heard those words. He was just prohibited from putting down those words and now we don’t have those words. John is describing something similar here. He heard these voices, he heard these seven peals of thunder, but he was told do not write them.

The contents of what he heard are some of those secret things, Deuteronomy 29:29, which belong to the Lord. And I think that’s a good reminder to us today, to remember that God has given us what He has deemed fit to give us in His Word. God has not given us an exhaustive revelation. I’ve never seen baseball box scores in the Bible. But He’s given us a sufficient revelation. He’s given us what we need pertaining to life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3.

Well next, verses 5 and 6, it’s back to this angel, this strong angel, who’s now swearing, not in the way you’re thinking of. He’s swearing. It says “Then the angel, (verse 5) whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer.” Fun fact, it’s from this verse that our tradition of raising our right hand to swear derives. The angel here lifted up his right hand to heaven it says, and so for many years people early on in church history began to accommodate what’s being said here or to adopt what’s being said here thinking it’s a good practice. If the angel did it, we should do it. Now you have people swearing with their right hand in the air.

And not by whom this strong angel swore, with his right hand lifted and presumably now with the little scroll in his left hand. He swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT.” So he swore by the eternal Creator God. But this angel was powerful and strong and though this angel was able to demonstrate his own might, simultaneously, in this very moment, standing with His one foot on the land and one foot on the sea, He ended up swearing to one who is infinitely greater than him. The eternal God, the One who lives forever and ever. The Creator God, the One who has given life and breath and being to everything and everyone on earth.

And look at the nature of this angel’s oath, end of verse 6 (Revelation 10:6) “that there will be delay no longer.” Now some older translations, King James Version is the most famous, they’ve done us a disservice here. Because they’ve translated this that “there shall be time no longer.” Not delay no longer, but time no longer, as though time simply evaporates at this point in the Tribulation. But that would make no sense at all because as we read in Revelation, there are still yet a number of events to come. Let’s just speak of the Millennial Kingdom, that is measured in time. The millennial reign of Christ by definition is related to time. It says multiple places in Revelation 20, that He will reign for a thousand years. That’s a reference to time.

Here in our passage, in Revelation 10:6, the idea is not that there won’t be time any longer. Instead, what’s happening here is this traces all the way back to Revelation 6. In fact, go back with me to Revelation 6 where we are introduced to the Tribulation martyrs. Revelation 6:9,10 says “and when He opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the witness which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Master, holy and true? Will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” So the Tribulation martyrs are asking how long? Will you not judge? And they get their answer here in this interlude, our interlude in Revelation 10:6, where they’re told that there will be delay no longer.

Again, this text is not saying that there will no longer be time. It’s saying as we have it translated here in our LSB, I think in the NASB too, that there will be no more delay. Judgment is coming. There will be a further time of Tribulation, coming with the blast of that seventh trumpet, whereupon as it says in Revelation 11:15, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” That’s what this language in verse 6 is pointing to, that there will be delay no longer. It’s pointing to the reality that the blast of this seventh trumpet is coming and things are going to start to be made right.

Verse 7. (Revelation 10:7) It says, “but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He proclaimed good news to His slaves, the prophets.” Now here what’s happening is we’re looking ahead to the blasting of that seventh trumpet in Revelation 11. And note what John says here, that this seventh trumpet is about to sound. At that point, get this language, the mystery of God is finished, as He proclaimed good news to His slaves, the prophets.

In Scripture, the subject of the mystery of God or the mysteries of God is massive. In the New Testament there’s mention of the mystery of the faith, 1 Timothy 3:9. The mystery of the relationship between Christ and the church, Ephesians 5:25. The mystery of the gospel, Ephesians 6:19. The mystery, Ephesians 3:3, of Jews and Gentiles alike being grafted into one body. The mystery of Israel’s partial hardening, Romans 11:25. The mystery of godliness, 1 Timothy 3:16. The mystery of God’s will, Ephesians 1:9. The mystery of the indwelling Christ, Colossians 1:26-27. The mystery of Christ and His Person Himself, Colossians 2:2. The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 13:11. The mystery of the Rapture, 1 Corinthians 15:51. The mystery of lawlessness, 2 Thessalonians 2:7. That’s not even all of the mystery references.

So, here in Revelation 10:7 when we’re told that when the seventh trumpet blows that the mystery of God is finished, which mystery is being referred to? Is it one of those mysteries I’ve just rattled off or is it some other mystery? Well, there’s a clue built into the text namely, the final words of verse 7. After saying that with the blowing of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God is finished, John continues and this is the key, as “He proclaimed good news to His slaves, the prophets.” The mystery of God that’s going to be finished is connected to this proclamation of good news to His slaves, namely the Old Testament prophets.

See at various points in the Old Testament in the prophets, God spoke to Israel about this coming day on which He would establish His kingdom through His Messiah here on earth. A day is coming, said the prophets, when the once-Dead Sea would come to life, Ezekiel 47. A day is coming, said the prophets, that the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy, Isaiah 35:6. A day is coming, said the prophets, Isaiah 11, that the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the cow and the bear will graze, the lion will eat straw like the ox, the nursing baby will play by the hole of the cobra. A day is coming, said the prophets, where Yahweh will be king over all the earth, Zechariah 14:9. A day is coming, said the prophets when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea, Habakkuk 2:14. A day is coming, said the prophets, when God’s New Covenant promises to Israel will reach their ultimate fulfillment, when, Jeremiah 31:34, they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares Yahweh, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

The mystery of God John alluded to here in Revelation 10:7, which God proclaimed to the prophets, is this. It’s that God’s glorious plan, His kingdom plan, is right on schedule. Yes, from John’s vantage point as he receives this vision there is more judgment to come during this awful period of the Tribulation. But it’s not going to last forever. God’s long-promised kingdom going all the way back to the Old Testament prophets is near. The mystery of the kingdom is close to being unfurled or as it says here in verse 7, finished.

Next, verse 8 John reports this. Then the voice which I heard from heaven, meaning that same voice which had prohibited him from taking down the remainder of those peals of thunder’s voices back in verse 4, it’s that voice, John says here in verse 8, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth. So for the third time in this chapter we’re told that this strong angel stands on the sea and the earth. Again, this is a triple testimony to his power and his might.

And look at the command John received with respect to this strong angel. He says go and take the scroll from this strong angel’s hand. I’m sure that John was thrilled with getting that command right? Not intimidated at all. To walk up to this strong angel with feet like pillars of fire which are straddling the land and sea, whose face is like the sun and then to walk up to him, just casually strut up to him and take that little scroll out of his hand. Well, given that the voice that gave John this command was a divine voice. Either the voice of God the Son or God the Father, regardless an authoritative voice. John, faithful man that he was, complied instantly.

Look at verse 9. “So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll.” Now what we have here is a tremendous lesson in obedience. John’s received this divine order. Go take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel. And undeterred John answers the divine call.

Even then though, godly and respectable man that he was, John uses language here in verse 9 which suggests that he’s being somewhat deferential to this angel. Note here verse 9 again it says, so I went to the angel, telling him, now this is where it gets interesting. And this is where I’m going to nerd out with you with Greek with 10 minutes to go. This is where you would expect an imperative. You’d expect John to give a command to this angel, to say something like give me the scroll.

But John tones it down here ever-so-slightly and he doesn’t use an imperative, but he instead uses this form that’s known as the infinitive. The infinitive is a verbal form which expresses action much more generically. So John here isn’t giving a sharp command to the angel like, give me the scroll. Instead, he uses this infinitive which suggests this is more of a polite nudge to the angel to give him the scroll. It’s subtle, it’s nuanced, but it’s there. And I think it highlights that John here was being very intentional about complying with God’s directive to get the scroll from the angel, but the same time being reverential toward this strong angel.

Well, the angel replied in the second half of verse 9. “And he said to me, ‘Take it and eat it.’” So the angel gave John the scroll. But he didn’t give John the scroll so he would unroll it or so that he would read or so that he would preach it’s contents. He gave John the scroll so that he would say take it and eat it.

As I mentioned, the contents of this little scroll are most likely a record of the remaining 12 chapters of the book of Revelation from chapter 11 through 22. So John here is being instructed by this angel to literally eat the revelation of God’s coming judgment, to eat God’s words about what is yet to come.

Now I know this sounds very bizarre to our twenty-first century ears, but you have to understand that this wouldn’t have been all that crazy an idea during John’s day. John, of course, was a Jew and any first-century Jew like John would have been very familiar with the prophecy of Ezekiel. In fact, if you turn back with me back to Ezekiel chapter 3 we can see something that will sound very familiar here. (Ezekiel 3:1-3) It says, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.’ Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” So like the prophet Ezekiel writing hundreds of years before him, John here in Revelation was to literally eat this little scroll which the strong angel was giving him.

Now for Ezekiel, when he ate the scroll, we saw in verse 3, it says it was sweet as honey in my mouth. But for John, it would be different. Look at the angel’s words again, in verse 9, the second half it says, and he said to me, take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.

Because the words in this little scroll were God’s words, which would ultimately become inscripturated into what we know as God’s Word, the Bible. they would be sweet as honey. Psalm 19:10, it lines up with what’s being said here. Psalm 19:10 tells us that God’s Word is sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Psalm 119:103 says how sweet is Your word to my taste. Sweeter than honey to my mouth.

But because the words in this little scroll that John was being commanded to eat, also pointed to the future judgment that was yet to come during this period of Tribulation. Those words were not only sweet, sweeter than honey, but they also would be tinged with bitterness. They would, as he says, make your stomach bitter. The words in this scroll were sweet because they point to the coming kingdom of Christ. But they’re bitter in that they preview a number of bitter judgments which have to take place before Christ brings in His kingdom reign.

See, sweetness and bitterness are intermingled in the very task of being a messenger of God. That was true of the Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel. It was true of the New Testament apostles like John. It’s true of preachers of God’s Word today. We deliver the sweet. Romans 8:31. “If God is for us, who is against us?” But we also deliver the bitter. Luke 14:26. “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Heralds of God’s truth have always had to deliver both. The sweet and the bitter.

Well, John was told by this strong angel that he’d be getting a little bit of both. Some sweet, some bitter, as he took and ate this scroll. And that’s exactly what happened. Verse 10. It says “And I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”

Now I don’t take this to be a metaphor for John simply reading this scroll or ingesting the scroll from a reading standpoint. The way that we would say I devoured that book, or I digested that article. I don’t think that’s what is going on here. I take this to mean that John actually took this little scroll out of this angel’s left hand and just as it says here in verse 10, that he actually ate it. He took that scroll out of the angel’s hand, he put it somewhere between the upper and lower roofs of his mouth and he got to chewing.

Strange? Sure, absolutely. Is it revealed on the pages of Scripture? It sure is. Now might there be some symbolism associated with what John is doing? Charles Ryrie thinks so. He says, “The point of this interlude during which John was commanded to assimilate these prophecies before he wrote them is simply that it is necessary for the prophet of God to let the Word of God affect him first before he ministers it to others.” I get what Ryrie is saying there, he may be right. But symbolic meaning or not, I take this to be a literal act and a literal event. John popped that scroll in his mouth just like you and I might pop a Runza in ours. That’s what happened.

And again, note the effect of John eating this scroll. Still in verse 10. He says in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. Again, sweet because it testifies to the coming kingdom of Christ but, bitter because of that bumpy and tragic road that it would take to get to the kingdom of Christ.

Finally, we turn to verse 11, which says, “And they said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.’” For starters who is the “they” referred to here? So far in chapter 10 it’s been a singular angel speaking or it’s been a singular divine being speaking. So now we have they doing some talking. So who is this? Who is the “they”? I take this to mean this is both God and the strong angel who are communicating this next thought to John. In other words, they’re doing so in tandem.

And note what “they” said. “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” And what that sentence is, is a preview of all that will come in the remainder of the book of Revelation, as John prophesies in its remaining 12 chapters. Because John does as we’re going to see in the remainder of this time in this book, John does in fact prophesy about peoples. He prophecies about individuals and groups alike. He prophecies about those who received the mark of the beast in Revelation 13, and those who refuse the mark of the beast in Revelation 20. Different people groups.

He prophesies about nations. In fact, in the next chapter, Revelation 11:18, we’ll learn about nations being enraged. Revelation 20:7-8, we learn of Satan being released from his prison, and that he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth.

John’s also going to prophesy, about tongues. Revelation 14:6. “Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who inhabit the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” And last, John will prophesy about kings. The seven mountains mentioned in Revelation 17 represent seven kings. The 10 horns mentioned in that same chapter represent ten kings.

But the point is that what was said to John here at the end of Revelation 10, that “you must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings,” that would, in fact, come to pass. As the scroll which he ate, sweet to the taste but bitter to the stomach, would become what is now known as the second half of the book of Revelation.

Well, we are right on time and we are right out of time. That’s it for tonight. Our study of Revelation 10. We’re going to get to Revelation 11 next Sunday night, Lord willing, where we’ll cover the two witnesses. That ought to be fun. Let’s pray.