Another Mighty Angel
Verse 1:
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Revelation 9 ended with the sounding of the sixth of seven trumpets. Instead of chapter ten beginning with the seventh trumpet, we have another interlude until Rev. 11:15. There is purpose in these interludes. They show God’s mercy in allowing more time for repentance. Always, even until the very end, our God is merciful.
John sees another mighty angel coming down from heaven. There are many similarities between this angel and Michael, as described in Dan. 12:1 and 12:6-7. Some identify this angel as Jesus because of the similarities in Rev. 1:15-16. Yet angels are never clearly identified with Jesus in the New Testament, though in the Old Testament, He is the Angel of the Lord; one example of this is in the story of Hagar Gen. 16.
Whoever the exact identity of this messenger, he is mighty, has authority, and has come from the very presence of God. He also has a rainbow on his head, a reminder of God’s promise to man, and a natural result when the sun shines through a cloud.
The Little Book
Verses 2-3
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, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
The contents of the little book are nowhere revealed in Revelation, but they seem to represent in this vision the written authority given to the angel to fulfill his mission.
Walvoord
Meaning probably some design of God long concealed, but now about to be made manifest. But who know what it means?
Clarke
Sometimes while reading the Bible, we may wish God would have revealed more to us. He must have His reasons for holding back on some information. Perhaps to keep us reading and searching, perhaps to keep us humble. But, we do know God will reveal everything in His timing, Luke 8:17.
The angel’s stance projects his authority over the entire earthly situation. If the angel is indeed Jesus, His authority is direct, but it’s indirect if an actual angelic being.
The Seven Thunders
Psalm 29:3-9 repeats the phrase, the voice of the Lord, seven times. So here, when the angel cried out, seven thunders uttered their voice. When the angel roared like a lion, the seven thunders spoke. By this wording, we know it was not the angel speaking but God.
Thunder is often a mark of judgment in Scripture as in 1 Samuel 2:10 & 22:14; Revelation 8:5, 11:19; & 16:18, so these seven voices are crying out for God’s judgment upon the earth. Psalm 18:13 says, the Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. The thunder represents the voice of God.
More evidence of the seven thunders being the voice of God is in Rev. 4:5: From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
Verse 4
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.”
This verse is one example of a time we wish God would have revealed more. What did they say?!!! Why can’t we know? It’s a little irritating and sets speculation running wild. If John was not permitted to tell us, why should he even include the incident? If for no other reason, it lets us know there are secrets in the prophetic scenario, mysteries that should keep our ideas and predictions humble.
The same throne that issues forth lightning and peals of thunder issues a command to keep secret what the voices have revealed. We aren’t given the reason for the secrecy, but it could be the judgment is too terrifying to tell. The content of the message is never revealed in Scripture, so we shouldn’t speculate on it. The seven thunders are the only words in Revelation that are sealed.
No More Delay
Verses 5-7
The angel who I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised 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.
The angel gave a solemn oath declaring that the end is set in motion; there will be no turning back.
What is the mystery of God? We know it was declared to His servants the prophets. In Biblical vocabulary, a mystery isn’t something no one knows. It is something no one could know unless it was revealed to them. It isn’t a mystery if it could be known by intuition or personal investigation because God must reveal mysteries. Something can be known and still be a mystery in the Biblical sense.
The ultimate conversion of the Jewish people is called a mystery in Romans 11:25, as is the church in Ephesians 3:3-11. The bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:25), the living presence of Jesus in the believer (Col. 1:27-2:3), and the gospel itself (Col. 4:3) are all called mysteries.
In the context of verse 7, ‘the mystery of God’ seemingly refers to the unfolding of His resolution of all things, the finishing of His plan. God freely acknowledges that life today is full of mysteries, but it will not always be so. A day will come when He will answer all questions.
Strange Instructions
Verses 8-11
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.” So 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.” Then 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.”
John was instructed to eat the book literally. In Ezekiel 2, God hands Ezekiel a scroll, with words written on both sides, “words of lamentation and mourning and woe,” and tells him to eat it. At the time, Ezekiel, like John in Revelation, was in exile. When Ezekiel eats, it tastes as sweet as honey (Ez. 3:3), but later, he experienced bitterness (3:14).
God’s Word contains both a sweet message and a bitter one. The message of reconciliation, love, forgiveness, and mercy is like honey for those who embrace it. For those who reject it, the message of condemnation is bitter.
John’s eating of the scroll carries the same symbolism as it did for Ezekiel. They both took on the message of God to bring it to others. At first, this is a sweet experience, but knowledge of the judgment and destruction to come is gut-wrenching.
Prophesy
John is commanded to carry His message to all people, not only the church. This prophecy is the fate of the entire world.