Revelation 10:7

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.

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel - Who sounded not only at the beginning of those days, but from the beginning to the end. The mystery of God shall be fulfilled - It is said, Rev 17:17, "The word of God shall be fulfilled." The word of God is fulfilled by the destruction of the beast; the mystery, by the removal of the dragon. But these great events are so near together, that they are here mentioned as one. The beginning of them is in heaven, as soon as the seventh trumpet sounds; the end is on the earth and the sea. So long as the third woe remains on the earth and the sea, the mystery of God is not fulfilled. And the angel's swearing is peculiarly for the comfort of holy men, who are afflicted under that woe. Indeed the wrath of God must be first fulfilled, by the pouring out of the phials: and then comes the joyful fulfilling of the mystery of God. As he hath declared to his servants the prophets - The accomplishment exactly answering the prediction. The ancient prophecies relate partly to that grand period, from the birth of Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem; partly to the time of the seventh angel, wherein they will be fully accomplished. To the seventh trumpet belongs all that occurs from Rev 11:15 - Rev 22:5. And the third woe, which takes place under the same, properly stands, Rev 12:12, 13:1 - 18.

is, the affairs of this world would not be consummated in that period embraced in the sounding of the sixth trumpet, but in that embraced in the sounding of the seventh and last of the trumpets. Compare Rev 11:15-19. When he shall begin to sound. That is, the events referred to will commence at the period when the angel shall begin to sound. It will not be merely during or in that period, but the sounding of the trumpet, and the beginning of those events, will be contemporaneous. In other words, then would commence the reign of righteousness--the kingdom of the Messiah--the dominion of the saints on the earth. The mystery of God should be finished. On the meaning of the word mystery, Eph 1:9. It means here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, the purpose or truth of God which had been concealed, and which had not before been communicated to man. Here the particular reference is to the Divine purpose which had been long concealed respecting the destiny of the world, or respecting the setting up of his kingdom, but which had been progressively unfolded by the prophets. That purpose would be "finished," or consummated, in the time when the seventh angel should begin to sound. Then all the "mystery" would be revealed; the plan would be unfolded; the Divine purpose, so long concealed, would be manifested, and the kingdom of the Messiah and of the saints would be set up on the earth. Under that period, the affairs of the world would be ultimately wound up, and the whole work of redemption completed. As he hath declared to his servants the prophets. As he has from time to time disclosed his purposes to mankind through the prophets. The reference here is, doubtless, to the prophets of the Old Testament, though the language would include all who at any time had uttered any predictions respecting the final condition of the world. These prophecies had been scattered along through many ages; but the angel says that at that time all that had been said respecting the setting up of the kingdom of God, the reign of the saints, and the dominion of the Redeemer on the earth, would be accomplished. Rev 11:15. From the passage thus explained, if the interpretation is correct, it will follow that the sounding of the seventh trumpet ( Rev 11:15-18 ) is properly the conclusion of this series of visions, and denotes a " catastrophe " in the action, and that what follows is the commencement of a new series of visions. This is clear, because (a) the whole seven seals, comprising the seven trumpets of the seventh seal, must embrace one view of all coming events--since this embraced all that there was in the volume seen in the hand of him that sat on the throne; (b) this is properly implied in the word here rendered "should be finished"--τελεσθη--the fair meaning of which is, that the "mystery" here referred to--the hitherto unrevealed purpose or plan of God--would, under that trumpet, be consummated or complete, (see the conclusive reasoning of Professor Stuart on the meaning of the word, vol. ii. p. 210, foot-note;) and (c) it will be found in the course of the exposition that, at Rev 11:19, there commences a new series of visions, embracing a view of the world in its religious aspect, or ecclesiastical characteristics, reaching down to the same consummation, and stating at the close of that (Revelation 20) more fully what is here ( Rev 1:15-18 ) designated in a more summary way--the final triumph of religion, and the establishment of the kingdom of the saints. The present series of visions ( Rev 5:1-11:18 ) relates rather to the outward or secular changes which would occur on the earth, which were to affect the welfare of the church, to the final consummation; the next series ( Rev 11:19 and chapters 12-20) relates to the church internally, the rise of Antichrist, and the effect of the rise of that formidable power on the internal history of the church, to the time of the overthrow of that power, and the triumphant establishment of the kingdom of God. In other words, this series of visions, terminating at Rev 11:18, refers, as the leading thing, to what would occur in relation to the Roman empire considered as a secular power, in which the church would be interested; that which follows Rev 11:19, 12:1-10. to the Roman power considered as a great apostasy, and setting up a mighty and most oppressive domination over the true church, manifested in deep corruption and bloody persecutions, running on in its disastrous influence on the world, until that power should be destroyed--Babylon fall--and the reign of the saints be introduced. (a) "seventh" Rev 11:15 (b) "mystery" Rom 11:25, Eph 3:5-9 Verse 8. And the voice which I heard from heaven. Rev 10:4. This is not the voice of the angel, but a direct Div