Revelation 10

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring; when he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down." 5And the angel whom I saw standing on sea and land lifted up his right hand to heaven 6and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay, 7but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled.

Before the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, we have a mighty angel descend from Heaven. Who is this angel? Though He is called an angel, it is Jesus Himself. We see this based on John's description of Him. He is wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. The cloud alludes to the glory of God (cf. 1 Kings 8:10-11; Matthew 17:1-8, esp. v. 5). By the rainbow, we see that even as God judges the world, He is still mindful of His covenant (cf. Genesis 9:12-17). His face like the sun and legs like pillars of fire recall John's description of Jesus from the first chapter. His feet, one on land and one on the sea, signify His authority over all of creation. His voice like a lion roaring, is an allusion to Amos 1:2 and 3:8, and confirm that this angel is indeed Jesus Himself:

Yahweh roars from Zion,
and makes Himself heard from Jerusalem...(Amos 1:2, NJB).

The Lion roars: who is not afraid?
Lord Yahweh has spoken: who will not prophesy? (Amos 3:8, NJB)

This allusion also sets up the exchange between John and Jesus in the next verses below. John is commanded not to reveal what the seven thunders proclaimed, and then Jesus swears that now is the time of judgement (another allusion, to Deuteronomy 32:40, where God swears to judge those who refuse to obey His Covenant).

8Then the voice which I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, "Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land." 9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, "Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth." 10And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11And I was told, "You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings."

John is instructed to take the open scroll (the same scroll that only the Lamb who was Slain was worthy to open?) and to eat it, alluding to a similar command from God to the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:1-13. To eat the scroll is to know and to own the message. It tastes like honey, but turns the stomach--hearing a word from God is wonderful and exciting: God has spoken, to me! But the burden to proclaim that message is a heavy one--especially when it is a message of judgement that people will not want to hear. And this is just what the scroll signified. John now has to prophesy again, about the fate of the world.

(Return to Introduction | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter)