“I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.” Revelation 10:1.

“He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land…” Revelation 10:2.

Verse one above is given for context. The angel, as we have seen in the last post, is thought by some to be the Lord Jesus Himself, however it is more likely that this is just who it says it is, a mighty angel.

In the angel’s hand is a little book (scroll); two theories as to the contents of this book are that it is the original seven sealed scroll found in chapters 5 through 8:1.

Or that it is a book containing more prophecies for the remaining three and a half years of the tribulation period.

The latter theory could mean new prophecies that no one has ever seen or all of the prophecies in Scripture that take place during the second half of this period.

By setting his right foot on the sea and the left on the land, the angel, in effect, covers all of the earth, since the world consists of land and sea. By this the entire earth is included in this oath, and it is a reminder to us all that this time of judgment is worldwide.

There are a number of prophecies that confirm that the tribulation is a worldwide catastrophe. For instance, when he referred to the beast, who will soon be introduced here, Daniel wrote this.

“…The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.” Daniel 7:23.

“…and [the angel] cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.’” Revelation 10:3-4.

While this event is taking place on earth, it is probable that men will not see it, but hearing it may be another matter. A lion’s roar can be heard up to a mile away, and thunder is no slouch when it comes to rattling windows.

Scripture gives us a rather interesting insight here, when quoting a statement that Jesus made.

“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.” John 12:28-30.

So it is possible to hear the roaring and thunder without understanding what is said.

Yet we do have two groups of people that heard the voice of God in the verses above, those not spiritually minded who could only hear thunder; while others seeking God heard an angel.

The conclusion is that the godless in the tribulation period may only hear roaring and thunder, while the saved may actually understand what the seven thunders say; and perhaps be warned of some unknown danger.

This could explain why there are seven thunders mentioned here without telling us what they said. All those in heaven will also hear them and we will finally understand this passage.

“And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:5-7.

Notice how the angel points to God as Creator of everything; he is speaking to a generation of people who are immersed in humanism, evolution, idol and demon worship, and he reminds everyone that there is only one Creator.

This would undoubtedly refresh and refocus the minds of the weary and confused. Jesus said the following concerning the tribulation period.

“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24:11-13.

In the parable of the unjust judge the Lord addresses the need to maintain faith even when prayers do not seem to be answered during the tribulation.

“And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Luke 18:7-8.

During this period the love of many will grow cold and faith will fade. Even today, though everyone says, peace, love, and tolerance, we find apathy, callousness and intolerance. Things have not even begun to get worse my friends.

This angel further declares “that there should be delay no longer” at the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

In the next chapter, Revelation 11:14 Scripture speaks of the end of the second woe, which began earlier in Revelation 9:12-21 with the sounding of the sixth trumpet (the 200 million demon horsemen), “The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

Taken in context this means that the invasion of the 200 million demon horsemen stops in the middle of the tribulation with three and one half years more to go.

The very next verse says, “Then the seventh angel sounded…” Revelation 11:15. This trumpet sets the stage for the seven bowls of God’s wrath to be poured out.

However it appears that there may be a number of months before the seven bowl judgments are poured out since they are basically planet killers. These bowls are not spoken of until chapter 16.

This may be when the angels words “there should be delay no longer” (in verse 6 below) really begins to take effect. Some of this will be examined when we get to that section.

“…there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:6e-7.

A mystery in Scripture is something that has not been revealed before.

God’s plan of redemption was a mystery which was long ago hinted at in types and prophecies, but now has been revealed in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for all to see.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him…” Ephesians 1:7-10.

Some other mysteries that have been revealed in the New Testament are: the rapture of the church, the church as the body of Christ composed of both Jew and Gentile, the church as the Bride of Christ; this is not all but you get the idea.

Furthermore, a mystery in Scripture is meant to be told to others, not kept a secret.

Let us take a brief look at this end time prophecy in the book of Daniel in what, I hope, will give you better insight into the mystery of God.

“Seventy weeks [equals 490 years, 483 have elapsed already, there are 7 left] are determined for your people [Israel] and for your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish the transgression [Christ paid for their sins but He was rejected by the Jews], to make an end of sins [the Israelites will no longer reject Christ at His second coming, see Matthew 23:37-39], to make reconciliation for iniquity [the sacrifice of Christ on the cross], to bring in everlasting righteousness [the return of Christ and the millennial kingdom], to seal up vision and prophecy [all visions and prophecies in Scripture will be fulfilled, “the mystery of God would be finished”], and to anoint the Most Holy [refers to the holy of holies in the new millennial temple].” Daniel 9:24.

When people read this passage and others in Daniel over two thousand years ago almost everything in brackets above was unknown to them. We can now read these things and understand nearly the entire verse.

“Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, ‘Go take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.’” Revelation 10:8.

The voice which John heard from heaven refers to the one he heard earlier in verse 4.

“Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven…” Revelation 10:4a.

“And I went to the angel and said to him, ‘Give me the little book.’ And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.’ And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.’” Revelation 10:9-11.

The idea of eating God’s word is not a new one.

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16.

“But you son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe. Moreover 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 caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate it, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. And He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.” Ezekiel 2:8- through 3:4.

This idea of eating the word of God is a good picture of what those who read the Bible should be doing.

Too many folks just read the Bible and immediately forget what they have read, yet they may tell others that they read their Bible daily, this is not correct.

I am afraid dear readers I have often been guilty of this, so before reading pray for understanding and that the Lord will guide us into all truth.

The idea of eating here is one of ingesting every word until it becomes knowledge from the heart and not just head knowledge, like so many football stats.

When the word of God is really read and taken to heart and remains there, then the Christian starts to meditate on the word within them.

The word meditate has the same idea of a cow chewing her cud, that is to say that the cow after eating will regurgitate some of that food and chew on it to further break it down and then swallow it again, the word for this is ruminate, similar to meditate, or to muse.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27.

Eating of the word, especially prophecy is exciting and intriguing so it is like honey, but when it really hits the innermost being, then it becomes a bitter thing when thinking of all the unnecessary suffering that will soon happen, and this should lead us to action in our life and witness to those around us.

The angel then goes on to tell John that his job is not over.

“And he said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.’” Revelation 10:11.

Revelation 10:2-11 taken from godisrevealed.com updated on 12-16-16, reposted on 7-25-22.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.