Revelation 10:3

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,

The Seven Thunders. ( a. d. 95.) 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: 2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Here we have an account of another vision the apostle was favoured with, between the sounding of the sixth trumpet and that of the seventh. And we observe, I. The person who was principally concerned in communicating this discovery to John—an angel from heaven, another mighty angel, who is so set forth as would induce one to think it could be no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 1. He was clothed with a cloud: he veils his glory, which is too great for mortality to behold; and he throws a veil upon his dispensations. Clouds and darkness are round about him. 2. A rainbow was upon his head; he is always mindful of his covenant, and, when his conduct is most mysterious, yet it is perfectly just and faithful. 3. His face was as the sun, all bright, and full of lustre and majesty, ch. i. 16 . 4. His feet were as pillars of fire; all his ways, both of grace and providence, are pure and steady. II. His station and posture: He set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth, to show the absolute power and dominion he had over the world. And he held in his hand a little book opened, probably the same that was before sealed, but was now opened, and gradually fulfilled by him. III. His awful voice: He cried aloud, as when a lion roareth ( v. 3 ), and his awful voice was echoed by seven thunders, seven solemn and terrible ways of discovering the mind of God. IV. The prohibition given to the apostle, that he should not publish, but conceal what he had learned from the seven thunders, v. 4 . The apostle was for preserving and publishing every thing he saw and heard in these visions, but the time had not yet come. V. The solemn oath taken by this mighty angel. 1. The manner of his swearing: He lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth for ever, by himself, as God often has done, or by God as God, to whom he, as Lord, Redeemer, and ruler of the world, now appeals. 2. The matter of the oath: that there shall be time no longer; either, (1.) That there shall be now no longer delay in fulfilling the predictions of this book than till the last angel should sound; then every thing should be put into speedy execution: the mystery of God shall be finished, v. 7 . Or, (2.) That when this mystery of God is finished time itself shall be no more, as being the measure of things that are in a mutable changing state; but all things shall be at length for ever fixed, and so time itself swallowed up in eternity.

And he cried - Uttering the words set down, verse 6. Rev 10:6 And while he cried, or was crying - At the same instant. Seven thunders uttered their voices - In distinct words, each after the other. Those who spoke these words were glorious, heavenly powers, whose voice was as the loudest thunder.

oice, as when a lion roareth. The lion is the monarch of the woods, and his roar is an image of terror. The point of the comparison here seems to be the loudness with which the angel cried, and the power of what he said to awe the world--as the roar of the lion keeps the dwellers in the forest in awe. What he said is not stated; nor did John attempt to record it. Professor Stuart supposes that it was "a loud note of woe, some interjection uttered which would serve to call attention, and at the same time be indicative of the judgments which were to follow." But it is not necessary to suppose that this particular thing was intended. Any loud utterance--any solemn command--any prediction of judgment--any declaration of truth that would arrest the attention of mankind, would be in accordance with all that is said here. As there is no application of what is said, and no explanation made by John, it is impossible to determine with any certainty what is referred to. But, supposing that the whole refers to the Reformation, would not the loud and commanding voice of the angel properly represent the proclamation of the gospel as it began to be preached in such a manner as to command the attention of the world, and the reproof of the prevailing sins in such a manner as to keep the World in awe? The voice that sounded forth at the Reformation among the nations of Europe, breaking the slumbers of the Christian world, awaking the church to the evil of the existing corruptions and abominations, and summoning princes to the defence of the truth, might well be symbolized by the voice of an angel that was heard afar. In regard to the effect of the "theses" of Luther, in which he attacked the main doctrines of the Papacy, a contemporary writer says, "In the space of a fortnight they spread over Germany, and within a month they had run through all Christendom, as if angels themselves had been the bearers of them to all men." To John it might not be known beforehand--as it probably would not be--what this symbolized; but could we now find a more appropriate symbol to denote the Reformation than the appearance of such an angel; or better describe the impression made by the first announcement of the great doctrines of the Reformation, than by the loud voice of such an angel? And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Professor Stuart renders this, " the seven thunders uttered their voices," and insists that the article should be retained, which it has not been in our common version. So Elliott, Bishop Middleton, and others. Bishop Middleton says, "Why the article is inserted here I am unable to discover. It is somewhat remarkable that a few manuscripts and editions omit it in both places, [ Rev 10:3-4 ] Were the seven thunders anything well known and pre-eminent? If not, the omission must be right in the former instance, but wrong in the latter: if they were pre-eminent, then is it wrong in both. Bengel omits the article in Rev 10:3, but has it in Rev 10:4." He regards the insertion of the article as the true reading in both places, and supposes that there may have been a reference to some Jewish opinion, but says that he had not been able to find a vestige of it in Lightfoot, Schoettgen, or Meusehen. Storr supposes that we are not to seek here for any Jewish notion, and that nothing is to be inferred from the article.--Middleton, on the Gr. Article, p. 358. The best editions of the New Testament retain the article in both places, and indeed there is no authority for omitting it. The use of the article here naturally implies either that these seven thunders were something which had been before referred to, either expressly or impliedly; or that there was something about them which was so well known that it would be at once understood what was referred to; or that there was something in the connexion which would determine the meaning. Compare Barnes on "Re 8:2". It is plain, however, that there had been no mention of "seven thunders" before, nor had anything been referred to which would at once suggest them. The reason for the insertion of the article here must, therefore, be found in some pre-eminence which these seven thunders had; in some well-known facts about them; in something which would at once suggest them when they were mentioned--as when we mention the sun, the moon, the stars, though they might not have been distinctly referred to before. The number "seven" is used here either (a) as a general or perfect number, as it is frequently in this book, where we have it so often repeated--seven spirits; seven angels; seven seals; seven trumpets; or (b) with some specific reference to the matter in hand--the case actually in view of the writer. It cannot be doubted that it might be used in the former sense here, and that no law of language would be violated if it were so understood, as denoting many thunders; but still it is equally true that it may be used in a specific sense as denoting something that would be well understood by applying the number seven to it. Now let it be supposed, in regard to the application of this symbol, that the reference is to Rome, the seven-hilled city, and to the thunders of excommunication, anathema, and wrath that were uttered from that city against the Reformers; and would there not be all that is fairly implied in this language, and is not this such a symbol as would be appropriately used on such a supposition? The following circumstances may be referred to as worthy of notice on this point: (a) the place which this occupies in the series of symbols--being just after the angel had uttered his voice as symbolical of the proclamation of the great truths of the gospel in the Reformation, if the interpretation above given is correct. The next event, in the order of nature and of fact, was the voice of excommunication uttered at Rome. (b) The word thunder would appropriately denote the bulls of excommunication uttered at Rome, for the name most frequently given to the decrees of the Papacy, when condemnatory, was that of Papal thunders. So Le Bas, in his life of Wycliffe, p. 198, says, "The thunders which shook the world when they issued from the seven hills sent forth an uncertain sound, comparatively faint and powerless, when launched from a region of less devoted sanctity." (c) The number seven would, on such a supposition, be used here with equal propriety. Rome was built on seven hills; was known as the "seven-hilled" city, and the thunders from that city would seem to echo and re-echo from those hills. Compare Rev 17:9. (d) This supposition, also, will accord with the use of the article here, as if those thunders were something well known " the seven thunders;" that is, the thunders which the nations were accustomed to hear. (e) This will also accord with the passage before us, inasmuch as the thunders would seem to have been of the nature of a response to what the angel said, or to have been sent forth because he had uttered his loud cry. In like manner, the anathemas were hurled from Rome because the nations had been aroused by the loud cry for Reformation, as if an angel had uttered that cry. For these reasons, there is a propriety in applying this language to the thunders which issued from Rome condemning the doctrines of the Reformation, and in defence of the ancient faith, and excommunicating those who embraced the doctrines of the Reformers. If we were now to attempt to devise a symbol which would be appropriate to express what actually occurred in the Reformation, we could not think of one which would be better fitted to that purpose than to speak of seven thunders bellowing forth from the seven-hilled city. (a) "thunders" Rev 8:5, 14:2 Verse 4. And when the seven thun