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Revelation
Chapter Ten
I.
Content of the Chapter
A Little Book in the Hand of the Mighty
Angel
II. The
things which the seven thunders uttered should not be written (v.4)
III. The mighty angel declared that the mystery of God would be
finished when the seventh
angel was about to sound (v.5-7)
IV. John was asked to take and eat the little book and
prophesy to all the people (v.8-11)
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Rev. 10:1 “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.”
YLT: “And I saw another
strong messenger coming down out of the heaven, arrayed with a cloud, and a
rainbow upon the head, and his face as the sun, and his feet as pillars of
fire,”
Meaning of Words: “mighty”: powerful,
strong; “coming down”: descending, falling down; “clothed”: arrayed, put on.
Spiritual Meaning: “I saw still another mighty angel coming down
from heaven,” “I saw still” this
chapter and v.1-13 in the eleventh chapter were the visions inserted between
the sixth trumpet and the seventh trumpet. “Another mighty angel” symbolizes
the Lord Jesus Christ. “Coming down from heaven” symbolizes that the Lord comes
down Himself.
“Clothed
with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head,” “clothed with a cloud” is “arrayed with a cloud”
in the original, i.e. being in the cloud instead of on the clouds (See Matt.
24:30; 26:64). And therefore it does not refer to His public coming but the
Lord’s secret coming. “And a rainbow was on his head” symbolizes that He
remembers the covenant established by God when He carries out judgment (See
Gen. 9:8-17) and He must keep it faithfully.
“His
face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.” “His face was like the sun” symbolizes
that He is the Sun of righteousness (See Mal. 4:2). “And his feet like pillars
of fire” symbolizes that He shall carry out the righteous and holy judgment
unswervingly (See Exod. 19:18; Heb. 12:29; 2Pet. 3:10-11).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The glorious (cloud) Lord still does not forget
to keep the covenant (rainbow) in His judgment of wrath because He is the
faithful Lord (See 2Cor. 1:19-20).
2) When the Lord comes again, not only He is
manifested as the sun of righteousness (like the sun) but also it shows that He
shall judge (pillars of fire) the world according to righteousness and
holiness.
Rev. 10:2 “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,”
YLT: “and he had in his
hand a little scroll opened, and he did place his right foot upon the sea, and
the left upon the land,”
Meaning of Words: “a little book”: a
little scroll; “open”: having been unfolded, uncovered; “set”: place.
Spiritual Meaning: “He had a little book open in his hand.” “Had a little book” This little book had
been eaten by John the apostle and he was asked to prophesy after he had eaten
it (See v.8-11) and therefore it must be the second half of the Book of
Revelation (11-22). “Open” indicates that the contents of the Book of
Revelation were open to men.
“And
he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,” “setting foot on” symbolizes possession.
The sea and the land were of Him, however, they had been usurped by Satan and
now He will come back to regain His original rights (See 11:15).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) There is the Bible (the little book) in the hand
of the Lord and it is open. To us believers, the Bible is unlocked and the word
of God is printed in the papers. And the problem is whether our minds have been
opened to know Christ in the bible (See Luke. 24:16, 31).
2) The whole world is of the Lord (setting the foot on the sea and the
land) and He shall come back to regain His
possession. Believers, are you willing to stand for the Lord and let Him have a
place of footing upon you?
Rev. 10:3 “and cried with a loud
voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their
voices.”
YLT: “and he cried with a
great voice, as a lion doth roar, and when he cried, speak out did the seven
thunders their voices;”
Meaning of Words: “cry”: croak,
scream.
Spiritual Meaning: “and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion
roars.” “As when a lion
roars” symbolizes that His judgment is with the wrath of king (See Prov. 19:12;
20:2).
“When
he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.” “Seven thunders uttered their voices” symbolizes
the complete wrath of God and the Lamb (See 6:16-17).
Enlightenment in the Word: the Lord’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion and
the seven thunders’ uttering of their voices and it is extremely terrible.
Everyone should not be in accordance with their hardness and their impenitent
heart and they are treasuring up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and
revelation of the righteous judgment of God (See
Rev. 10:4 “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.’”
YLT: “and when the seven
thunders spake their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of
the heaven saying to me, `Seal the things that the seven thunders spake,' and,
`Thou mayest not write these things.'”
Meaning of Words: “was about to”:
shall; “seal up”: stamp, set a seal.
Literal Meaning: “Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices,
I was about to write;” it means that John
the apostle had clearly heard and understood the contents of the wrath of God
and the Lamb.
“But
I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Seal
up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.’” It means that others are not allowed to
know the contents.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Those who speak for the Lord do not need to
report the revelation that they have received to believers in full detail
because some revelation is only revealed to them themselves.
2) The things which are not clearly written in the
Bible are the secrets of God. However, many believers like guessing and even
overly deduce what they have surmised and it is the course of development of
heresies. We should merely commit the things that God does not let us know to Him
with ease and we should never replace God.
Rev. 10:5 “The angel whom I saw
standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven”
YLT: “And the messenger
whom I saw standing upon the sea, and upon the land, did lift up his hand to
the heaven,”
Meaning of Words: “raise up”: carry,
lift up.
Literal Meaning: “raised up his hand to
heaven” it is a gesture to
take an oath (See v.6; Deut. 32:40; Dan. 12:7).
Rev. 10:6 “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,”
YLT: “and did swear in
Him who doth live to the ages of the ages, who did create the heaven and the
things in it, and the land and the things in it, and the sea and the things in
it -- that time shall not be yet,”
Meaning of Words: “create”: build,
found; “live”: living, lively.
Literal Meaning: “and 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,” it means that God is the Creator and possessor of
the whole the universe and all the living things that are in it.
“Swore…that there should be delay no longer,” it means that the longsuffering ends here
and there should be delay no longer.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The heaven, the earth, the sea and all the
living things that are in them were created by God and they were created for
Him. We have everything since we have the Lord. Besides Him, what else do we
pursue?
2) Though God longsuffers towards us again and
again (See 2Pet. 3:9), His longsuffering is limited. Once the hour is come, He
shall come quickly to carry out His judgment.
Rev. 10:7 “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.”
YLT: “but in the days of
the voice of the seventh messenger, when he may be about to sound, and the
secret of God may be finished, as He did declare to His own servants, to the
prophets.”
Meaning of Words: “day”: a day;
“finish”: accomplish, end; “declare”: preach, report.
Literal Meaning: “but in the days of the sounding of the seventh
angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished,” it means that when the seventh trumpet was
sounded----the seventh seal was completely opened----the eternal mystery that
God had planed shall be perfectly finished. It also means that the scroll in
which the rights and interests of the universe were recorded (See 5:1-2) has
been carried out completely at this point.
Please note that the seventh
trumpet also included the woes of the seven bowels (See 16), just as the seven
seals included the seven trumpets. And therefore the sound of the seventh
trumpet shall continue until the seven golden bowels had been poured out.
“As
He declared to His servants the prophets.” It means that the mystery of God recorded in the
scroll had already been written in the Bible through all the servants of God,
i.e. the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We have been made to see the mystery which from
the beginning of the world had been hid in God who created all things through
all His servants (See Eph. 3:5, 9). Yet a little while and the mystery shall be
finished.
2) To us God would make known what is the riches of
the glory of this mystery that has been hid from ages and from generations
among men; which is Christ in us, the hope of glory (See Col. 1:26-27).
Rev. 10:8 “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.’”
YLT: “And the voice that
I heard out of the heaven is again speaking with me, and saying, `Go, take the
little scroll that is open in the hand of the messenger who hath been standing
upon the sea, and upon the land:'”
Meaning of Words: “speak”: say, tell;
“take”: accept, receive, take.
Literal Meaning: “Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to
me again and said” “The voice” is the
voice that commanded John not to write what the seven thunders uttered (See
v.4).
“‘Go,
take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the
sea and on the earth.’” “The angel who
stands on the sea and on the earth” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The little book is in the hand of the angel and
the Lord Himself has the key to open the word of God. We search the Bible,
however, we seldom come to the Lord to have life (See John. 5:39-40).
2) The Lord said that, “I am the bread of life: he
that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never
thirst.” (John. 6:35) For this reason, He Himself was born in the manger (See
Luke 2:7). This picture tells us that He became flesh in order to be our food
and provide us with all our needs.
Rev. 10:9 “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.’”
YLT: “and I went away
unto the messenger, saying to him, `Give me the little scroll;' and he saith to
me, `Take, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth
it shall be sweet -- as honey.'”
Meaning of Words: “eat”: eat up, eat
down; “stomach”: belly, womb; “bitter”: make bitter.
Spiritual Meaning: “So I went to the angel and said to him, ‘Give me the little book.’” “Went to the angel” refers to coming to the Lord
(See John. 5:40). “Give men the little book” refers to asking the Lord to make
him know the mystery of God (See Eph. 1:17-19).
“And
he said to me, ‘Take and eat it;” it symbolizes that the best way to
understand the Bible is enjoying it instead of researching it.
“And
it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your
mouth.’” It symbolizes
that believers will have two kinds of different experiences of the
Bible----“sweet” and “bitter”.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God won’t force us to receive His word. He only
hands the word over to us and we have to stretch out our hands to receive it.
Believers have to come to the Lord to receive the word of God every day.
2) Those who receive the word of God willingly
shall feel the different tastes of the word of God----sourness, sweet, bitter
and spiciness which will enrich our life.
Rev. 10:10 “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.”
YLT: “And I took the
little scroll out of the hand of the messenger, and did eat it up, and it was
in my mouth as honey -- sweet, and when I did eat it -- my belly was made
bitter;”
Meaning of Words: “took”: carry,
receive, get.
Spiritual Meaning: “Then I took the little book out of the angel's
hand and ate it,” it symbolizes
finding the words of God and eating them (See Jer. 15:16).
“And
it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.”
It symbolizes that believers feel the words of God sweet and joyful when they
enjoy them initially, especially the part of God’s words that is like “milk”
(See 1Pet. 2:2).
“But
when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.” It symbolizes that we always feel bitter when
experiencing the words of God, especially the part of God’s words that is like
“solid food” (See Heb. 5:12-14).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Those who are merely interested in the words of
consolation in the Bible, that their hearts may have comfort and encouragement
probably stay in the stage of babies because they live on milk.
2) We have to grow up to a certain degree in the
spiritual life that we read the Bible to know the will of God and are willing
to devote ourselves to the will of God. In this way, we will begin to feel that
we suffer with the Lord and as a result we shall also be glorified with Him
(See Rom. 8:17).
Rev. 10:11 “And he said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations,
tongues, and kings.’”
YLT: “and he saith to me,
`It behoveth thee again to prophesy about peoples, and nations, and tongues,
and kings -- many.'”
Meaning of Words: “many”: abundant,
plenteous; “prophesy”: exercise the prophetic office, speak in advance;
“people”: the common people; “nation”: country; “tongue”: tongue, dialect;
“king”: sovereign.
Literal Meaning: “And he said to me,” “he” is “they” in the original and therefore it
refers to the angels.
“‘You
must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.’” “Prophesying again” refers to passing on
the words in the eleventh chapter to the twenty-second chapter in the Book of
revelation to all the people.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God gives us His word that we can let His word
dwell in us richly (See Col. 3:16) with the purpose of bearing witness to Him
in the two aspects of our words and deeds.
2) In order to bear witness of the Lord, in the
first place we do not read the Bible for others but for us to enjoy the Bible
and turn the Bible into our walkings. And naturally we will bear witness of the
Lord before others.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Lord Is the Mighty Angel Who Had A
Little Book
I. The Lord is the mighty angel:
A. mighty (v.1)----the incomparable
power
B. coming down from heaven (v.1)----He
shall come again
C. clothed with a cloud (v.1)----manifesting the glory
D. a rainbow was on his head
(v.1)----keeping the covenant faithfully
E. his face was like the sun
(v.1)----righteousness and brightness
F. his feet like pillars of fire
(v.1)----judging according to righteousness and holiness
G. having a little book open in his hand
(v.2)----the condition of His second coming has been written in the Bible
H. setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot
on the land (v.2)----He shall come back to regain the whole land
II. The little book
in the hand of the Lord:
A. go and take it from the angel who
stands on the sea and on the earth (v.8-9)----we should come to the Lord and
look upon the word of God
B. take and eat it (v.9-10)----we should
eat, drink and enjoy the word of God
C. it was as sweet as honey in my mouth
(v.9-10)----the word of God is our joy
D. my stomach became bitter (v.9-10)----we
should pay the price to experience the word of God
E. prophesy to men (v.11)----we should
share the word of God with men
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren