When John writes that he saw another mighty angel, he is no longer in heaven but back on earth.
John describes this angel as mighty because of the physical appearance of his head, face, and legs; this colossal figure stands on sea and land, and with his powerful voice he reaches everyone in God’s creation. In addition, he possesses the enormous power needed to execute God’s purpose.
Around the angel’s head is a rainbow as a symbol of God’s faithfulness to keep his covenant promises with his people (Gen. 9:12–16). This does not mean that God appears in the form of an angel but that God sent this angel as his messenger to communicate his sovereignty and his trustworthiness.
John again relies on the Old Testament for his descriptive material by turning to the prophecy of Ezekiel.
The contrast between this scrap of paper and the scroll that was sealed (Rev. 5:1) is clear. The message of the sealed scroll revealed God’s plan for the entire world throughout time from beginning to end. But the scrap of papyrus lying open in the hand of the angel is apparently a gospel message relating the testimony of Jesus.
The angel“placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.” Here is a picture of an angel that is huge in appearance and controls God’s creation on both sea and land.
And he cried with a loud voice as a lion roars. Once again John relies on Old Testament prophets. The wording “roar as a lion” comes from Hosea 11:10, where the Lord God roars to tell the Israelites who are scattered in various countries to return from exile.
John here refers to the voice of a mighty angel who calls out with such volume that his voice is heard throughout God’s creation.
As the lion roars on the earth, so thunder rumbles in the sky. To give it special emphasis, he notes that there were seven peals of thunder. The number seven has no literal meaning but only symbolic significance.
Seven stands for completeness, so that the noise of thunder is overwhelming to the people living on earth. Both the roaring of the lion and the peals of thunder induce fear in the hearts of earth’s inhabitants.
When Scripture uses the word thunder, nearly without exception it brings a message of divine power and judgment.
The verb to sealappears again in the last chapter of Revelation, where John is told not to seal the words of the prophecy of this book (Rev. 22:10). This contrasts with the instruction Daniel received to seal up his vision and the writing on a scroll. That restriction would be lifted at the end time (Dan. 8:26; 12:4, 9). Similarly the message that came to John from the seven thunders will have to wait until cosmic time has come to an end.
THE ANGEL’S MESSAGE 10:5-7
John resumes his identification of the angel. He leaves the impression that the angel who descended from heaven must be distinguished from Jesus. By mentioning again the angel’s stance on the sea and on the land, John wishes to stress the power and authority of this particular servant of God.
Raising one’s right hand at the taking of an oath is customary today in courts of law and at inaugurations. It indicates appealing to God as the highest power in heaven and on earth; often the appeal is concluded with the phrase, “So help me God.”
The angel swears by the one who lives forever and ever. When he swears by the living God, he testifies that the spoken words are absolutely sure and reliable.
Next, the angel swore because God is the creator of the world and watches over everything that heaven, earth, and sea contain.
The oath reveals a time limit, for the angel says, “There will no longer be a delay.” A literal translation is, “Time will be no more,” which means that a period of waiting is past, so that without any further delays God’s judgments will begin to take place. When time for repentance is past, delay is ruled out.
The trumpet blast announces the message that the end is at hand and the consummation of this age is near.
When this trumpet sounds, the time has come for God and his Christ to judge the living and the dead. After this the heavens and this world will be destroyed with intense heat and a new heaven and a new earth will take their place where righteousness will dwell.
God proclaimed the good news of his revelation to his servants the prophets. It is the message of God’s redemption to those who love him and judgment for those who hate him. God gives this message to his servants, whom he expects to pass it on to all people.
THE SCROLL AND ITS PURPOSE 10:8-11
The first time the voice from heaven spoke, it told John to seal the things the seven peals of thunder said and not to write them down (v. 4). The voice apparently is the voice of Jesus Christ.
The angel is identified as the one who controls sea and land, that is, God’s creation and all those who live in it. This mighty angel, therefore, comes with a message from God Almighty.
John is told to eat the little scroll that will be sweet as honey in his mouth but bitter in his stomach. John is now personally involved in knowing the booklet. By eating and swallowing it, he realizes its effect in his inward being.
God’s word is both sweet and bitter. It is sweet in that is gives hope of forgiveness and salvation. It is bitter in that it exposes sin and does not tolerate evil. It is a sweet smell of life to those who believe and obey it and a dreadful smell of death to those who are perishing.
When heavenly voices tell him to prophesy, he knows that he must obey God’s will. Prophesying does not merely mean to foretell what is going to happen; it also means to disseminate all the other visions and divine disclosures John had received.
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