Revelation 10
CHAPTER 10
An Angel with seven thunders
And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, his face was as the sun and his feet as pillars of fire. 2 And he had in his hand a little scroll that was opened, and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left upon the earth. 3 And he cried with a great voice, as a lion roars; and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write. And I heard a voice from heaven, saying: Keep secret the things which the seven thunders uttered and do not write them down. 5 And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, 6 and swore by Him that lives forever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall be no more delay. 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good news which He declared to His servants the prophets.
8 And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard it again speaking with me, and saying: Go, take the book which is opened in the hand of the angel that stands upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went to the angel, saying to him that he should give me the little book. And he said to me: Take it and eat it up; it shall make your belly bitter but in your mouth it shall be as sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey. But when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.
11 And they said to me: You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.
Commentary
10:6 No more delay- In one sense the coming of Christ is delayed, just as the bridegroom delays in Mt. 25:5, because God is so passionate for as many people as possible to come to repentance and salvation (2 Pet. 3:9). In another sense we can hasten the coming of Christ by our spiritual development (2 Pet. 3:11,12) and spreading the Gospel worldwide (Mt. 24:14). But the apparent delay in Christ’s return can lead His people to selfish behaviour (Mt. 24:48); and we must beware of this danger.
10:10 God’s word is indeed sweet, but it can have bitter consequences if we seriously accept His demands of carrying the cross of Christ and upholding His standards in this wicked world.
