A Commentary in Simple English on Revelation

CHAPTER 10

Verses 1-11: The Word of God

Chapter 7 was the break, which came after the first six seals. The seventh seal was at the start of Chapter 8. Chapter 7 gave us two pictures of the church. In the same way, Chapter 10 together with Chapter 11: 1-14 is a break. It comes between the first six trumpets and the seventh trumpet. The seventh trumpet is the last trumpet, of course. (See 1 Corinthians 15:51,52; Matthew 24:30,31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Isaiah 27:13; and Zechariah 9:14.) The break this time tells us about the word of God. We saw in 9:20,21 that the bad things that happened in the world did not make men repent. God's word will. So God's word must come to men.

So in verse 1, John sees another angel. He is a very strong angel. He comes down from heaven to the earth. Most people think that this cannot be our Lord Jesus Christ. They say that John would not speak about Jesus as 'another angel'. Other people think that it is Jesus. If you think that this is Jesus, then: -

1. This angel comes from heaven to earth as Jesus did.

2. He has a cloud thrown around him. (See 1:7; 14: 14 and other places.)

3. He has a rainbow round his head, as God Himself did. (4:3). This makes us think of God's peace.

4 His face is like the sun. (See 1:16.)

5. John says that his feet (not his legs) were like 'pillars' or great tubes - 'columns' - of fire. In 1:15 and in 2:18 John speaks about the feet of Jesus. (In Daniel 2:33, the head of the great 'image' or 'statue' is made from pure gold: but the feet are made from iron and clay. That is poor material.)

6. In verse 3 he gives a shout like the roar of a lion. Jesus is 'the Lion who belongs to the tribe of Judah'. (15:5).

So we are not at all sure whether or not this is Jesus. But if the 'angel' is not Jesus Himself, God has given to this angel much of the authority which belongs to Jesus.

In verse 2, we learn that the angel has a little 'scroll' in his hand. This is not rolled up and 'sealed' like the scroll in Chapter 5. This little scroll is the Good News about Jesus. It came from heaven to earth. It is open so that everyone may read it.

The angel is so big that he stands with one foot on the sea and the other on the land. [10.1]. This means that God wants all the world to hear the Good News.

Notice that John does not yet do anything about the little scroll. He does not take it or read it. Then in verse 3, the same angel gives a great shout like a lion's roar. (See Amos 1:2 and 3:8; and Hosea 11:10.) Then John hears seven thunder claps. (See Psalm 29.) Jesus had once called John 'Boanerges', the Son of Thunder. John heard just what the thunder said, and he wanted to write it down at once. That was the sort of preaching which he liked! (verse 4). But a voice from heaven stops him. This is the voice of God, not just the voice of the angel. John is not to write down what the seven thunders said nor is he to make it known. Of course, God has His secrets. (Deuteronomy 29:29). He is so great. Our minds are so small. He wants us to know what matters most to us. [10.2].

Many of us would like to preach in a voice as loud as thunder. But what John has to learn is that it is the Good News about Jesus, which he must preach. He will come back to this in verse 8.

But first, in verses 5-7, the great angel raises his right hand. The Jews did this when they swore an 'oath'. The angel swears by God's greatness (verse 6). God made all things. He swears that there will be no more 'delay'. [10.3]. Long years of time have passed away. But now God is doing something in the world that is fresh.

So we want to know exactly what verse 7 means.

1. There is a 'mystery of God'.

2. This 'mystery of God' was 'Good News'.

3. God 'announced' this 'Good News' to the prophets.

4. This 'mystery of God' will be 'fulfilled' - filled right up or 'accomplished'

5. This will happen in the time just before the seventh angel sounds the last trumpet. [10.4]

So first of all, God has a 'mystery'. This is a secret that He keeps for us. God shares with us what He does. But He does not always tell us His reason. He does not tell us why He does it. We cannot find out God's mystery. God has to show us what it is.

Secondly Paul explains what this 'mystery' which is 'Good News' is. See, for example Ephesians 4:6. There Paul says three things: -

a) Before Jesus came into the world, only Israel, the Jewish people, were 'heirs' of what God promised to give. When a father dies, he may leave his money and whatever else he has to his son. His son is his 'heir'. But now those Jews who believe in Jesus are joined to other people from every nation. All who believe in Jesus are 'heirs'.

b) Also, Jews and people from other nations join together in one body, the church.

c) And we all share in the great promises, which God has given. He has promised to forgive our sins, to give His Holy Spirit to us now and to give us glory. We all share.

There are other places where Paul talks about this. (See Colossians 1:27.) John means very much the same here.

Thirdly, God made this known to 'His servants the prophets'. This may mean the prophets in the Old Testament. Or it may mean the prophets who spoke God's word in the churches in Asia. We know that God made this 'Good News' known to the Old Testament prophets.

Fourth, this 'mystery' which God has made known will be filled right up. This happens as new people hear the Good News for the first time.

Then fifth this spread of the Good News through the world will happen before the angel sounds the last trumpet.

So we see once again that this chapter is all about God's word. John has to forget the seven thunders. In verse 8, God's voice tells him what to do. He has to go to the great angel and to take from him the little scroll. (See Ezekiel 2:8-3:4 and Jeremiah 15:16.)

In verse 9, the angel tells John to take the scroll from him and to eat it. As the angel says to him, (verse 10) it is sweet in his mouth but sour in his stomach. Anyone who really preaches God's word will know what this means. We enjoy it when we preach to the people. But afterwards we have doubts. We wonder whether what we said was right. We wonder whether it was simple enough for people to understand. The devil tempts us. He tells us we were proud. He tells us we did not have the help of the Holy Spirit. We are not sure whether we can ever preach again. The word is bitter in our stomach.

Verse 11 is rather important. It really begins in a strange way: - 'And they say to me'. Probably this just means that God speaks to John again. John now has the 'little scroll' but God tells him that he will prophesy again. The word may be bitter, sour in his stomach but he must still speak in God's name.

We cannot be sure whether God tells John to speak about or to 'many peoples, nations, languages and kings'. 'About' seems more likely. From now on, the rest of Revelation will say more about kings and nations.