Overview
God gave Daniel several prophecies of future events but also told him that those prophecies would only be fully understood in the Time of the End (Dan 12:4, 9), which is the period leading up to the End of the Age, when the dead will be raised (Dan 12:13, 2).
Revelation 10 symbolizes that end-time understanding of Daniel’s prophecies as a mighty angel bringing a little open book from God to earth.
The angel’s face shines like the sun, implying goodwill, but he stands with feet like pillars of fire on the people of the world, symbolizing that they experience his message as torment.
Although the angel brings insight into Daniel’s prophecies, an aspect remains secret, symbolized by the sealed words of the seven thunders. This is when the end would come, Christ would return, and the dead be resurrected (Dan 12:13, 2).
The angel announces the end of the “time, times, and a half.” However, this is not yet the End, for the End will only come just before the seventh trumpet blows (Rev 10:6-7).
The Interlude
Jesus breaks the sixth seal at the end of Revelation 6 (6:12-17) and the seventh in 8:1. The entire Revelation 7 is an interlude between these two seals. Revelation 10-11:14 is a similar interlude between the last two trumpets.
Both interludes consist of two parts:
The interlude in the seals describes two groups of God’s people; the 144000 with the seal of God (Rev 7:1-8) and an innumerable multitude standing before God’s throne (Rev 7:9-17).
The interlude in the trumpets describes God’s witness to the world using two symbols. First, John himself symbolizes the church’s prophetic role (10:1-11). In the second part, God’s two witnesses replace him (11:3-14).
The interludes interrupt the sequence of events to explain these events in the series in more straightforward language.
Both interludes begin when something is brought from heaven to earth: the Seal of God in the Seals (Rev 7:1-2) and a Little Open Book in the Trumpets (Rev 10:1-2). [Show More]
Both interludes go back in time but end again where the sixth in the series ended. [Show More]
The interludes reflect the main topics of their respective series:
The seals focus on the saved. The interlude answers the question at the end of the sixth seal: When the wrath of the Lamb comes to the world, who will be able to stand? (Rev 6:17)
The trumpets focus on the lost. The sixth trumpet ends by stating that mankind did not repent of the works of their hands, despite the plagues which the trumpets brought (Rev 9:20, 21). The interlude explains that God did not leave them without adequate information but continually sent His prophets to them.
Although the interlude sounds very different from the trumpets, it is an integrated part of the trumpets. This is indicated by the fact that the last three trumpets are called “woes,” and the end of the interlude is called the end of the second woe (Rev 11:14). [Show More]
Revelation 10:1
| I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. |
Strong Angel
This angel is “strong,” implying that his purpose is very important.
John is on Earth.
In Revelation 4:1, John is called up into heaven to view the scene of Revelation 4-5. He seems to remain in heaven as the seals are broken one by one (Rev 6:1, 3, 5, etc.) and when he sees an angel ministering before the altar of incense in the heavenly sanctuary (Rev 8:2-6). But, in the current verse, John sees the angel coming down from heaven, meaning that he is now on earth again.
Clothed in a Cloud
Jesus ascended to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:9) and will come with the clouds (Rev 14:14; 1:7). This angel is “clothed with a cloud.” This does not mean that He is Jesus. For example, the two witnesses also go up into heaven in the cloud (Rev 11:12). But the cloud indicates that the angel comes from heaven and is sent by God. [Show More]
Rainbow around his Head
There is a rainbow around God’s throne (Rev 4:3; Ezek 1:28). The rainbow on the angel’s head likely recalls the emblem of God’s mercy at the end of the Flood (Gen 9:13-17), a symbol of God’s covenant with humanity, the expression of His settled purpose to benefit humanity in spite of its many failings.
Face like the Sun
Like Jesus, the angel’s face is like the sun (Matt 17:2; Rev 1:16), implying good intentions (Num 6:25).
Feet like pillars of Fire
This verse is part of the series of seven trumpets (cf. Rev 9:12; 11:14), which began when fire from the golden altar was thrown on the earth (Rev 8:5). The trumpets reflect that fire (e.g., Rev 8:7, 8). We see this same fire in the angel’s feet like pillars of fire. Fire has cleaning properties (Rev 3:18) and the purpose of the trumpets is to warn and save the lost, as we can see, for example, in the angel’s shining face, the fact that the trumpets attack only thirds of the world (Rev 8:7, 8, 10, 12, etc.), and in the prophesying and witnessing (Rev 10:11; 11:3). Therefore, the fire of his feet symbolizes God’s purpose of salvation. In the next verse, he will stand with those fiery feet on the people of the world.
Is this Jesus?
Perhaps the strong parallels mean that the mighty angel is Jesus. However, Revelation never refers to Jesus as an angel. At least one can say that this angel functions with Christ’s full authority. Whatever happens in this chapter comes from Jesus. Whether this angel is Jesus will not make any difference to the meaning of this vision. [Show More]
Revelation 10:2
| And he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. |
An Open Book
A book symbolizes knowledge or information. A sealed book implies hidden knowledge. This book is open, meaning that the information is available. It was closed in the past, for in the Greek, it literally says: “the book, the one having been opened.” [Show More]
The book probably was a scroll; long sheets of paper rolled up on a stick. [Show More]
Not the book of Revelation 5
Some propose that the angel is Christ and that the little book is the scroll that is sealed with seven seals, which Christ received from His Father in Revelation 5. However, the two books are not the same. For example, the seven-sealed book will only be opened after the great day of God’s wrath (compare Revelation 6:17 to 8:1). In contrast, the little book in Revelation 10 is open and becomes the basis for the end-time message to the world (Rev 10:10-11), obviously before the great day of God’s wrath. [Show More]
Stands on the Sea and Land
This represents the people of the world. The angel standing on both land and sea implies that the message is worldwide. [Show More]
Fiery Feet
The angel is so large that he can put one foot on the land and the other on the sea. Since the land and sea symbolize the people of the world, his feet are the interface between the angel’s book and the people. The fire may symbolize that people experience the message, as contained in the little open book, as torment. [Show More]
Revelation 10:3-4
| 3 And he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. 4 When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.” |
Seven Thunders
It is not clear from the rest of Revelation who or what the seven thunders are. It could be a voice from God’s throne room. Thunder is mentioned repeatedly in the context of God’s direct presence (Rev 14:2), God’s throne (Rev 4:5), and the temple in heaven (Rev 8:3-5; 11:19; 16:18). [Show More]
Voice from Heaven
This voice is undefined. It is not the voice of the mighty angel. This voice speaks again in Revelation 10:8 and is likely also the passive voice in Revelation 10:11, as well as much of what follows in chapter 11. In Revelation 11:1-3, “someone” spoke about His two Witnesses. So, the voice might belong to God or Jesus.
Seal Up
John understood what the seven thunders said, for he was ready to write it down but was instructed to “seal up” what they said. Notice the contrast; an angel comes from heaven with an open book to give knowledge and understanding, but immediately, something is hidden again. Given the context, it must be something in Daniel’s prophecies that remained hidden. This is discussed further below under the “mystery of God” (Rev 12:7). [Show More]
Revelation 10:5-7
| 5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven 6 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 will be delay no longer 7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. |
Him who lives forever and ever
The One sitting on the throne is described as “Him who lives forever and ever, Who created all things.” In other words, this is God (Rev 4:9, 11). The Book of Revelation maintains a strict distinction between God and Jesus and never describes Jesus as the One sitting on the throne or as living forever and ever. Read Article. All instances of the term “Almighty” in the New Testament are in Revelation, except one, and this book also maintains a clear distinction between Jesus and the Almighty (e.g., Rev 21:22). Read Article.
The book is understanding of Daniel’s prophecies.
This oath in 10:5-7 is the key to the entire Revelation 10 and 11. It explains what this little open book is and when it is brought to Earth. The important issue is to see that Daniel 12:7 describes a similar oath. In both, a supernatural being, standing above the people of the world, lifts up his hand to heaven and swears by Him who lives forever and ever about when the End will come. Both oaths are also made in the context of a book which is first sealed but later opened. In Daniel, the book is Daniel’s prophecies, which were sealed (Dan 12:4, 9). [Show More]
This is one of the strongest verbal parallels in the entire Book of Revelation and means that the two oaths are related, namely, that the oath in Revelation 10 continues and elaborates on the oath in Daniel 12. The important conclusions are:
(1) The little open book in Revelation 10 is the book mentioned in Daniel 12:4, which is Daniel’s prophecies (cf. Dan 12:9). [Show More]
(2) The “man” told Daniel that his prophecies would be sealed and only be unsealed in the period called “the end time,” when God’s people will study and understand it (Dan 12:9-10). (Young’s Literal translation refers to this period as “the time of the end” (Dan 12:4, YLT).) Therefore, “the end time” is a period leading up to Christ’s return. It must be contrasted with what Daniel calls “the end of the age,” a point in time when the dead will be raised (Dan 12:13). In Revelation, since the book is now open, the angel brings it in “the end time.” Therefore, everything in Revelation 10 happens in “the end time.”
The “time, times, and half a time” had passed.
In many translations, the angel said “delay no longer” (Rev 10:6 NASB), but the Greek uses the noun chronos, which has the core meaning of a period of time. In other words, the angel said ‘time no more,’ meaning that a period of time has passed. [Show More]
Since this oath elaborates on the oath in Daniel 12, we must find the meaning of this phrase in Daniel 12:
Someone asked “how long” it would be until the wonderful things mentioned earlier in Daniel 12, including the period called “the time of the end,” during which Daniel’s prophecies would be studied and understood (Dan 12:4-6).
The answer was that “a time, times, and a half” must first pass (Dan 12:7). In other words, the “time, times, and a half” precedes the End Time.
Therefore, when the angel in Revelation 10 says “time no more,” the many allusions to Daniel 12 mean that he announces the end of the “time, times, and a half.” For that reason, as discussed, the events of Revelation 10 occur in the Time of the End, which is after the “time, times, and a half.” [Show More]
“Time no more” does not mean the End of the World.
In the past, some interpreters took the announcement “time no more” to mean the end of the world. But they overlooked two things:
(1) In Daniel, the time prophecies do not lead up to the end of the world but to the “time of the end” (Dan 12:9), the period between Daniel’s time prophecies and the end of history.
(2) The “no more . . . but” construction means that what follows after the but will explain what was said before. After the ‘but,’ verse 7 says the End will only be when the seventh trumpet is about to blow (Rev 10:7; cf. 11:15). In other words, although the “time, times, and a half” has passed, time continues. [Show More]
The mystery of God is when Christ will return.
The angel continued and said that the mystery of God will be finished when the seventh trumpet is about to sound (Rev 10:7).
In the New Testament, the Mystery of God is a message brought to the world through Christ (Rom 16:25-26), equivalent to the gospel (Col 1:25-28, see also Eph 6:19), in which the door of heaven was open to all, including both Jews and Gentiles (Eph 3:3-6; 1 Tim 3:16).
In the Book of Revelation, the term “mystery” occurs four times (Rev 1:20; 10:7; 17: 5, 7) and means something like ‘the hidden meaning.’
However, since the context of Revelation 10 is Daniel’s prophecies, the mystery here relates to the book of Daniel. In Daniel, God reveals mysteries concerning the future (Dan 2:27-29, 44-45). Several verses in Daniel say that Daniel’s prophecies were sealed up until the Time of the End. [Show More]
The core issue in Daniel is the question, “How long?” In other words, what is particularly sealed is WHEN the End will come. That was the question that resulted in the prophecies of the 2300 evenings and mornings and the “time, times, and a half” (Dan 8:13-14; 12:6-7).
Since that is the context for Revelation 10, the mystery relates to when the End will be, namely, when Christ will return. The angel brought understanding of the prophecies, but the sealed words of the seven thunders relate to when the End would be. That remained sealed, and the mystery will only be unsealed when the seventh angel is about to blow. Consistent with this, the seventh trumpet begins by saying that the kingdom of this world has already become the kingdom of our Lord (Rev 11:15).
When will this mystery be finished? Mankind will never know beforehand when Christ will return. Consequently, the mystery of God will only be finished (come to an end) once He has assumed control of this world. This is confirmed by the seventh trumpet angel:
The angel said in 10:7 that God will make this world His kingdom just before the seventh trumpet.
But when the seventh trumpet blows, God had already taken control of this world (11:15).
Other Articles
Revelation 10-11
-
-
- The Little Open Book – (10:1-7)
- The Church’s Final Message (10:8 to 11:2) (Next)
- The Time, Times, and Half a Time (11:2)
- God’s Two Witnesses (11:3-6)
- The Death and Resurrection of the Two Witnesses (11:7-13)
- The Seventh Trumpet is the Final Judgment. (11:15-19)
-
Other Topics
FOOTNOTES
- 1William Shea, “The Mighty Angel and His Message,” in Frank B. Holbrook, Symposium on Revelation, Book 1, 299
The first four seals (6:1-8) describe the timeless realities of the Church Age:
In this chapter, an angel brings something else out of heaven at a specific time, namely a Little Open Book (Rev 10:1-2), meaning that the church receives a special message from heaven. He gives it to John to eat and tells John to “prophesy again” (Rev 10:9-11).