10:1-6The purpose of this mighty angel is clear—to announce the final judgments on the earth. His right foot on the sea and left foot on the land (10:2) indicate that his words deal with ail creation, not just 2 limited part as did the seal and trumpet judgments, The seventh trumpet (11:15) will usher in the seven bowl judgments, which will bring an end to the present world. When this universal judgment comes, God's truth will prevail.
Life Application Study BibleRevelationChapter 10
Revelation 10
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 2184, 2185
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
10Revelation 10
The Angel and the Small Scrolf
1Then I sawanother mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. 2And in his hand was a small scroll* that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders answered. 4When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret* what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.” 5Then the angel J saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven. 6He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay. 7When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets.” 8Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again: “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. “ Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” 10So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach. 1Then I was told, 11You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Textual footnotes
- 10:2 Or book; also in 10:8, 9, 10.
- 10:4 Greek Seal up.
Life Application Notes 3 notes
10:2We see two scrolls in Revelation. The first contains a revelation of judgments against evil (5:1ff). The contents of the second small scroll are not indicated, but it also may contain a revelation of judgment.
10:2This powerful angel conveyed his high rank and his authority from God by straddling the land and the sea. His huge size contrasts with the smaliness of God's enemies. When things are going badly in your life, remember that this angel represents the kind of power that is on your side. God's angelic forces are with
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Study feature · page 2185
wails of protection around his people to spare them from spiritual harm, and that there is a place reserved for all believers who remain faithful to God. 11:1, 2. Those worshiping inside the Temple will be protected spiritually, but those outside will face great suffering. This is a way of saying that true believers will be protected through perse- Cution, but those who refuse to believe will be destroyed. 11:3. These two witnesses bear strong resemblance to Moses and Elijah, two of God’s mighty prophets. With God’s power, Moses called plagues down upon the nation of Egypt (see Exodus 7-11). Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). Both of these men appeared with Christ at his transfiguration (see Matthew 17:1-7). 11:3 In the book of Revelation, numbers are likely to have symbolic rather than literal meanings. The 42 months or 1,260 days equal 3% years. As half of the perfect number 7, 3% can indicate incompletion, imperfection, or even evil. Notice the events predicted for this time period: there is trouble (Daniel 12:7), the holy city is trampled (11:2), the woman takes refuge in the wilderness (12:6), and the devil-inspired beast exercises his authority (13:5). Some commentators link the 3% years with the period of famine in the days of Elijah (Luke 4:25; James 5:17). Since Malachi predicted the return of Elijah before the Last Judgment (Malachi 4:5), and since the events in Daniel and Revelation pave the way for the Second Coming, perhaps John was making this connection. It is possible, of course, that the 3% years are literal. If so, we will clearly recognize when the 3% years are over! Whether symbolic or literal, however, they indicate that evil’s reign will have a definite end.
you (Matthew 18:10; Hebrews 1:14). Keep your probiems in their proper perspective by remembering that God's power is available to you to deal with your problems. 10:4 Throughout history people have wanted to know what would happen in the future, and God reveals some of it in this book. But John was stopped from revealing certain parts of his vision. An angel aiso told the prophet Daniel that some visions he saw were not to be revealed yet to everyone (Daniel 12:9), and Jesus told his disciples that the time of the end is known by no one but God (Mark 13:32, 33). God has revealed all we need to know to live for him now. In our desire to be ready for the end, we must not place more emphasis on speculation about the last days than on living for God while we wait. 10:7 By saying that “God's mysterious plan will be fulfilled,” John was pointing to God’s removal of all evil and the final exaltation of Christ as LORD. This pronouncement would bring fear to God’s enemies. For God’s chosen ones, however, it would bring hope and peace. Do you really fong for Christ's return? Do you long for God and his people to be vindicated? Believers ought to pray for God's justice to be carried out and his plan fulfilled. We should want Christ to come because of the triumph of his Kingdom—not because things are bad or because we want out of our struggles. Pray expectantly for the fulfillment of God’s plan. 10:9, 10 The prophet Ezekiel also had a vision in which he was told to eat a scroll filled with judgments against the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 3:1ff). The taste was sweet in his mouth, but the scroll's contents brought destruction—just like the scroll John was told to eat. God’s Word is sweet to us as believers because it brings encouragement, but it sours our stomach because of the coming judgment we must pronounce on unbelievers. 11:1ff This Temple is most likely a symbol of the church (all true believers), because there will be no Temple in the new Jerusalem {21:22}. John measured the Temple to show that God is building