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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 4 - THY KINGDOM COME (REVELATION 10:1 - 12:17) -- The two witnesses of the last days and the expulsion of Satan from heaven
PART 4.1 - PREPARATIONS FOR THE SOUNDING OF THE LAST TRUMPET (REVELATION 10:1 - 11:2)

1. A Mighty Angel Appears (Revelation 10:1-4)


REVELATION 10:1-4
1 I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. 3 He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.”

The patriarch John, exiled on the barren island of Patmos, longed for his churches, yearned to be with his brothers and sisters. He knew the heightening Roman emperor worship would mean wrath, hatred, persecution and death for the responsible church leaders.

The living Lord and Savior heard the sighing of his deported apostle and granted him comforting, at times overwhelming glimpses into his churches. He saw into the throne room of the Almighty, even to a view to the enthroning of the Lamb of God. John saw the apocalyptic horsemen riding forth, and he witnessed the sealing of the chosen from the twelve tribes of Israel. He shuddered at the countless number of suffering witnesses for Jesus from all nations. The paralyzing dread arising from the trumpet judgments nearly took his breath away.

Following the stunning revelation the Lord granted a comforting vision to the aged prophet, so that once again he could breath. A mighty angel was charged to descend to the lonely prophet, and commissioned to reveal to him the fulfillment of the mystery of God.

This angel possessed great authority. At first he appeared to look like the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who at the very beginning of His revelation had appeared to John (Revelation 1:12-18). Nevertheless, this angel was not Christ, but instead, His messenger. Being in such closeness to his King had transformed him into having an appearance like Him.

In the Old Testament the “Angel of the Lord” on several occasions had spoken and acted in the place of his Lord. With some revelations it is not clear to know whether the Lord Himself is acting, or His representative angel (Genesis 22:11-18; Exodus 3:2-6; Psalm 34:7; etc.).

The angel appeared to John coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, as if wrapped in a veil, so that his glory might not kill the apostle. As a sign of his message of peace, and in view of the Noachian Covenant (Genesis 9:12-17), his head was encircled with a rainbow. The rainbow reflected in shining radiance the emerald belt of energy encircling the throne of God, which had previously appeared to John (Revelation 4:3). Obviously this angel belonged to those who had been brought near, to those permitted entrance into the inner throne room, whose countenance had been changed as a result of his close proximity to the Father and the Son.

The countenance of the mighty angel shone like the sun. John was unable to look him in the eyes. His purity and truth made his appearance overwhelming. His feet shone like flaming columns of fire, ready to pound to ashes all rebellion and opposition.

This mighty appearance gives us a glimpse of the authority of this messenger of the living Lord. The glory of the descending angel pointed to the exceptional significance of his message.

The messenger of God brought with him an open book, which appeared small in view of the exceptional greatness and majesty of the angel. The message of the Lord did not come floating in the wind like a falling page from heaven. Rather, the Lord confirmed His word through the majesty of the angel. All servants of Christ should, for the sake of their Lord's honor and the importance of His word, be found worthy in appearance in conformity to local customs, thereby adding authority and boldness to their testimony.

The glorious angel stood with his right foot on the waves of the Mediterranean Sea. He himself had no weight, because he was light and energy. He testified that all creations in the vast sea of nations belong to the Lord of the universe. Every created being should be willfully submissive to Him. Even the beast from the sea with the ten horns and the seven heads, which will later arise out of the sea (Revelation 13:1-10), belongs within the Lordship claim of Jesus Christ.

The angel set his left foot on land (Arabic: barr), which linguistically in Arabic is related to righteousness (birr) and fruit (burr). Perhaps the land signified the totality of all believers from both the Old and the New Testament, that have been called to love, worship and testify to the Son of God. The second beast as well, that had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon, and shall later arise from the earth (Revelation 13:11-18), belongs within the Lordship claim of the risen Christ.

The mighty angel stood in straddling position, with his right foot upon the Mediterranean Sea, and his left foot upon land, thereby signifying God's claim of ownership over the godless as well as the God-fearing. His look was fixed toward the south, or the southeast, in the direction of Egypt, or toward Jerusalem. The end-time development would not take place in the Far East, or in the High North, neither in the dark West, but in and around Israel.

The strong angel spoke with a resounding, rolling bass voice, like a roaring lion. His loud call was majestic and shook those who heard it severely. John would never be able to forget this voice.

The seven thunders: The mighty angel had not yet completed his heralding call before the seven thunders uttered their voices from heaven. The echo of their voices confirmed the urgency of the message. The number seven points to the totality of the rolling and crashing thunder from the throne of God. Man cringes and cowers in dreadful fear before the sound of the crashing bolts of thunder and the raging forces of nature.

The seven thunder voices have to do with seven spiritual voices, and resemble the cry of the souls at the altar of burnt offering (Revelation 6:10), or the voices from the four horns of the golden altar (Revelation 9:13). We don’t know whether the voices cried out in Hebrew or Greek, or whether the voices of all mankind were to be heard within them. We do know, however, that the patriarch John quickly took pen to hand to write down the exciting and tremendous message of the thunder voices.

He was about to write when suddenly he was stopped by another voice from heaven commanding him to seal up the things which the seven thunders had uttered, and not to write a single word. In the spiritual realm there are messages that are neither understandable nor bearable for everyone to hear. Witnesses for Christ must not always tell what they have seen and heard. They are only charged with telling the right word at the right time to a certain person. The choice and limitation of the testimony must originate through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Witnesses to Christ must not speak or write as if their words were gushing forth from a waterfall, but rather allow themselves to be lead, limited, or in certain cases even brought to complete silence in the event that the hearers are not yet prepared for the message. But we must not use this command from heaven as an excuse to cover up for our fear or cowardice in giving forth the word of the Lord entrusted to us. We need a greater dependence upon the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in everything we speak or write. In so doing we allow the Lord to reign over us, and we remain His obedient servants.

PRAYER: O Holy One, You revealed through Your angels, and even through peals of thunder, mysteries about the fate of our universe, which should not be heard by everyone since not everyone can bear to hear these bad news. Help us to satisfy ourselves with what You had revealed to us in Your gospel and to expect new prophecies from You in due time.

QUESTION:

  1. Do you read and keep the gospel as God's blessed revelation? Do you tell your friends about its rich content?

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