Revelation 10:11

Verse 1 Another mighty angel - Either Christ or his representative; clothed with a cloud; a symbol of the Divine majesty. A rainbow was upon his head - The token of God's merciful covenant with mankind. His face was as it were the sun - So intensely glorious that it could not be looked on. His feet as pillars of fire - To denote the rapidity and energy of his motions, and the stability of his counsels. Verse 2 A little book open - Meaning probably some design of God long concealed, but now about to be made manifest. But who knows what it means? His right foot upon the sea, and his left - on the earth - To show that he had the command of each, and that his power was universal, all things being under his feet. Verse 3 Seven thunders - Seven being a number of perfection, it may here mean many, great, loud, and strong peals of thunder, accompanied with distinct voices; but what was said, St. John was not permitted to reveal, Rev 10:4 . Verse 5 Lifted up his hand to heaven - As one making an appeal to the supreme Being. Verse 6 By him that liveth for ever and ever - The eternal, self-existent Jehovah, the Maker of all things. That there should be time no longer - That the great counsels relative to the events already predicted should be immediately fulfilled, and that there should be no longer delay. This has no reference to the day of judgment. Verse 7 The mystery of God should be finished - What this mystery refers to who knows? Nor have we more knowledge concerning the sounding of the seventh angel. On these points there is little agreement among learned men. Whether it mean the destruction of Jerusalem, or the destruction of the papal power, or something else, we know not. And yet with what confidence do men speak of the meaning of these hidden things! Declared to his servants the prophets - It is most likely, therefore, that this trumpet belongs to the Jewish state. Verse 8 Take the little book which is open - Learn from this angel what should be published to the world. Verse 9 Take it, and eat it up - Fully comprehend its meaning; study it thoroughly. Verse 10 It was in my mouth sweet as honey - There was in it some pleasing, some unpleasing, intelligence. I read of the consolations and protection of the true worshippers of God, and did rejoice; I read of the persecutions of the Church, and was distressed. Verse 11 Thou must prophesy again - Thou must write, not only for the instruction of the Jews in Palestine, but of those in the different provinces, as well as the heathens and heathen emperors and potentates in general. The reader will find, on comparing this chapter with Daniel 8:1-27; Dan 12:1-13 , and Ezekiel 2:1-3:27, that there are several things similar in both; and the writer of the Apocalypse appears to keep these two prophets continually in view. I must once more say that I do not understand these prophecies, therefore I do not take upon me to explain them. I see with regret how many learned men have mistaken their way here. Commentators, and even some of the most modern, have strangely trifled in these solemn things; all trumpets, vials, woes, etc., are perfectly easy to them; yet from their descriptions, none get wise either to common sense or to the things that make for their peace. On the same ground I cannot admit the interpretation that is given of the word χρονος, translated time in Rev 10:6 , which some have construed into an artificial period of 1,111 years, which they term chronos; hence we have the chronos, half-chronos, and non-chronos. Bengel has said much on these points, but to very little purpose; the word in the above place seems to signify delay simply, and probably refers to the long-suffering of God being ended in reference to Jerusalem; for I all along take for probable that this book was written previously to the destruction of that city. Introduction The command to measure the temple, Rev 11:1 , Rev 11:2 . The two witnesses which should prophesy twelve hundred and sixty days, Rev 11:3 . The description, power, and influence of these witnesses, Rev 11:4-6 . They shall be slain by the beast which shall arise out of the bottomless pit, and shall arise again after three days and a half, and ascend to heaven,

8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Here we have, I. A strict charge given to the apostle, which was, 1. That he should go and take the little book out of the hands of that mighty angel mentioned before. This charge was given, not by the angel himself who stood upon the earth, but by the same voice from heaven that in the fourth verse had lain an injunction upon him not to write what he had discerned by the seven thunders. 2. To eat the book; this part of the charge was given by the angel himself, hinting to the apostle that before he should publish what he had discovered he must more thoroughly digest the predictions, and be in himself suitably affected with them. II. An account of the taste and relish which this little book would have, when the apostle had taken it in; at first, while in his mouth, sweet. All persons feel a pleasure in looking into future events, and in having them foretold; and all good men love to receive a word from God, of what import soever it be. But, when this book of prophecy was more thoroughly digested by the apostle, the contents would be bitter; these were things so awful and terrible, such grievous persecutions of the people of God, and such desolation made in the earth, that the foresight and foreknowledge of them would not be pleasant, but painful to the mind of the apostle: thus was Ezekiel's prophecy to him, ch. iii. 3 . III. The apostle's discharge of the duty he was called to ( v. 10 ): He took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up, and he found the relish to be as was told him. 1. It becomes the servants of God to digest in their own souls the messages they bring to others in his name, and to be suitably affected therewith themselves. 2. It becomes them to deliver every message with which they are charged, whether pleasing or unpleasing to men. That which is least pleasing may be most profitable; however, God's messengers must not keep back any part of the counsel of God. IV. The apostle is made to know that this book of prophecy, which he had now taken in, was not given him merely to gratify his own curiosity, or to affect him with pleasure or pain, but to be communicated by him to the world. Here his prophetical commission seems to be renewed, and he is ordered to prepare for another embassy, to convey those declarations of the mind and will of God which are of great importance to all the world, and to the highest and greatest men in the world, and such should be read and recorded in many languages. This indeed is the case; we have them in our language, and are all obliged to attend to them, humbly to enquire into the meaning of them, and firmly to believe that every thing shall have its accomplishment in the proper time; and, when the prophecies shall be fulfilled, the sense and truth of them will appear, and the omniscience, power, and faithfulness of the great God will be adored.

Thou must prophesy again - Of the mystery of God; of which the ancient prophets had prophesied before. And he did prophesy, by "measuring the temple," Rev 11:1 ; as a prophecy may be delivered either by words or actions. Concerning people, and nations, and tongues, and many kings - The people, nations, and tongues are contemporary; but the kings, being many, succeed one another. These kings are not mentioned for their own sake, but with a view to the "holy city," Rev 11:2 . Here is a reference to the great kingdoms in Spain, England, Italy, &c., which arose from the eighth century; or at least underwent a considerable change, as France and Germany in particular; to the Christian, afterward Turkish, empire in the east; and especially to the various potentates, who have successively reigned at or over Jerusalem, and do now, at least titularly, reign over it.

ge sense of making known Divine truth in general; not in the comparatively narrow and limited sense in which it is commonly used, as referring merely to the foretelling of future events. See the word explained in Rom 12:6; 1Cor 14:1. The meaning is, that, as a consequence of becoming possessed of the little volume and its contents, he would be called to proclaim Divine truth, or to make the message of God known to mankind. The direct address is to John himself; but it is evidently not to be understood of him personally. He is represented as seeing the angel; as hearkening to his voice; as listening to the solemn oath which he took; as receiving and eating the volume; and then as prophesying to many people: but the reference is undoubtedly to the far-distant future. If the allusion is to the times of the Reformation, the meaning is, that the end of the world was not, as would be expected, about to occur, but that there was to be an interval long enough to permit the gospel to be proclaimed before "nations, and tongues, and kings;" that in consequence of coming into possession of the "little book," the word of God, the truth was yet to be proclaimed far and wide on the earth. Again--παλιν. This had been done before. That is, supposing this to refer to the time of the Reformation, it could be said (a) that this had been done before --that the gospel had been in former times proclaimed in its purity before "many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings," and (b) that it would be done "again:" that is, though the word of God had been hidden, and a mass of corrupt traditions had taken its place, yet the time would come when those pure truths would be made known again to all lands. This will explain the word " again " in this place-- not meaning that John would do this personally, but that this would be in fact the result of the restoration of the Bible to the church. Before many peoples. This word denotes people considered as masses, or as grouped together in masses, without reference to the manner in which it is done. It is used when we look on a mass of men, without taking into account the question whether they are of the same nation, or language, or rank. Rev 8:9. The plural is used here--" peoples "--perhaps to denote that those to whom the truth would be made known would be very numerous. They would not only be numerous in regard to the individuals to whom it would be communicated, but numerous considered as communities or nations. And nations. The word nations here denotes people considered as separated by national boundaries, constitutions, laws, customs. Rev 7:9. And tongues. People considered as divided by languages: a division not always, or necessarily, the same as that denoted by the word "people" or "nations" as used in this passage. And kings. Rulers of the people. The meaning is, that the gospel would not only be borne before the masses of mankind, but in a special manner before kings and rulers. The effect of thus possessing the "little volume"--or of the "open book" of revealed truth would ultimately be that the message of life would be carried with power before princes and rulers, and would influence them as well as the common people. In inquiring now for the proper application of this symbol as thus explained, we naturally turn to the Reformation, and ask whether there was anything in that of which this would be the proper emblem. The following things, then, are found in fact as occurring at that time, of which the symbol before us may be regarded as the proper representation:-- (1.) The reception of the Bible as from the hand of an angel--or its recovery from obscurity and forgetfulness, as if it were now restored to the church by a heavenly interposition. The influence of the Bible on the Reformation; the fact that it was now recovered from its obscurity, and that it was made the grand instrument in the Reformation, has already been illustrated. Rev 10:2. The symbolical action of taking it from the hand of an angel was not an improper representation of its reception again by the church, and of its restoration to its true place in the church. It became, as it is proper that it should always be, the grand means of the defence of the faith, and of the propagation of truth in the world. (2.) The statement that the little book when eaten was "in the mouth sweet as honey," is a striking and proper representation of the relish felt for the sacred Scriptures by those who love the truth, (compare Rev 10:9 ) and is especially appropriate to describe the interest which was felt in the volume of revealed truth in the time of the Reformation. For the Bible was to the reformers emphatically a new book. It had been driven from common use to make way for the legends of the saints and the traditions of the church. It had, therefore, when translated into the vernacular tongue, and when circulated and read, the freshness of novelty--the interest which a volume of revealed truth would have if just given from heaven. Accordingly it is well known with what avidity and relish the sacred volume was studied by Luther and his fellow-labourers in the Reformation; how they devoured its doctrines; how they looked to it for comfort in their times of trial; how sweet and sustaining were its promises in the troubles that came upon them, and in the labours which they were called to perform. (3.) The representation that, after it was eaten, it was "bitter," would not improperly describe the effect, in some respects, of thus receiving the Bible, and making it the groundwork of faith. It brought the Reformers at once into conflict with all the power of the Papacy and the priesthood; exposed them to persecution; aroused against them a host of enemies among the princes and rulers of the earth; and was the cause for which many of them were put to death. Such effects followed substantially when Wycliffe translated the Bible; when John Huss and Jerome of Prague published the pure doctrines of the New Testament; and when Luther gave to the people the word of God in their own language. To a great extent this is always so--that, however sweet and precious the truths of the Bible may be to the preacher himself, one of the effects of his attempting to preach those truths may be such opposition on the part of men, such cold indifference, or such fierce persecution, that it would be well illustrated by what is said here, "it shall make thy belly bitter." (4.) The representation that, as a consequence of receiving that book, he would prophesy again before many people, is a fit representation of the effect of the reception of the Bible again by the church, and of allowing it its proper place there. For (a) it led to preaching, or, in the language of this passage, "prophesying" a thing comparatively little known before for many ages. The grand business in the Papal communion was not, and is not, preaching, but the performance of rites and ceremonies. Genuflexions, crossings, burning of incense, processions, music, constitute the characteristic features of all Papal churches; the grand thing that distinguishes the Protestant churches all over the world, just in proportion as they are Protestant, is preaching. The Protestant religion--the pure form of religion as it is revealed in the New Testament--has few ceremonies; its rites are simple; it depends for success on the promulgation and defence of the truth, with the attending influence of the Holy Ghost; and for this view of the nature and degree of religion the world is indebted to the fact that the Bible was again restored to its true place in the church. (b) The Bible is the basis of all genuine preaching. Preaching will not be kept up in its purity, except in the places where the Bible is freely circulated, and where it is studied; and where it is studied, there will be, in the proper sense of the term, preachers. Just in proportion as the Bible is studied in the world, we may expect that preaching will be better understood, and that the number of preachers will be increased. (c) The study of the Bible is the foundation of all the efforts to spread the knowledge of the truth to "peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings," in our own times. All these efforts have been originated by the restoration of the Bible to its proper place in the church, and to its more profound and accurate study in this age; for these efforts are but carrying out the injunction of the Saviour as recorded in this book--to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (d) The same thing will be true to the end of the world: or, in the language of the portion of the book of Revelation before us, til the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever," Rev 11:15. The fact of the restoration of the Bible to its proper place in the church will, therefore, ultimately be the means of the conversion of the whole world to God; and this fact, so momentous in its nature and its consequences, was worthy to be symbolized by the appearance of the "angel descending from heaven clothed with a cloud;" was properly represented by the manner in which he appeared--"his face radiant as the sun, and his feet pillars of fire;" was worthy to be expressed by the position which he assumed, as "standing on the sea and the earth" --as if all the world were interested in the purpose of his mission; and was worthy of the loud proclamation which he made--as if a new order of things were to commence. Beautiful and sublime, then, as this chapter is and always has been esteemed as a composition, it becomes still more beautiful and sublime if it be regarded as a symbol of the Reformation--an event the most glorious, and the most important in its issues, of any that has occurred since the Saviour appeared on the earth.