"Seal the things which the seven thunders spoke, and do not write them."
Revelation 10:10 says that as soon as John has eaten the little scroll, his stomach becomes bitter and his mouth sweet. There is bitterness as well as sweetness. The scroll is opened only when the seventh trumpet is blown. This means that the first section of the little scroll is closed, whereas the second section is open. Consequently, the first section of this book's prophecy is a mystery. It extends from the first seal to the blowing of the seventh trumpet, that is, from 6:1 through 11:19, because 10:7 clearly says that when the seventh trumpet is blown, the mystery of God is finished. Revelation 11:15 also says clearly that as soon as the seventh trumpet is blown, the kingdom will come. Hence, the second section is open; it extends from the seventh trumpet (yet not including the blowing of it) on through the new heaven and new earth, that is, from 12:1 through 22:21. The judgments of the seven seals and of the seven trumpets are the procedure for opening the scroll; this brings in the kingdom and also eternity.
3. Revelation 10:3 "And He cried out with a loud voice just as a lion roars. And when He cried out, the seven thunders uttered their own voices." "The seven thunders." In the original text, this refers to something definite. This voice of thunders is often heard in Revelation. It is the outpouring (the utter release) of God's wrath. "As a lion roars." This speaks of God as the King of the whole world, with a voice of judgment that causes men to tremble when they hear it. 4. Revelation 10:4 "Seal the things which the seven thunders spoke, and do not write them." "Seal the things..., and do not write them." John was writing while he was seeing. What God did not want men to know, He would not have written down. From this we see that what God allows John to write is what man should know and understand. 5. Revelation 10:5-6 "And the Angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up His right hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there shall be delay no longer." "The things in it" include not only the dead, but also the living. (There are angels in the heavens, men on the earth, and spirits in the sea.) "Swore" means that we