Revelation — Chapter 10

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1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.

2He held in his hand a small scroll, which lay open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.

3Then he cried out in a loud voice like the roar of a lion. And when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded their voices.

4When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”

5Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven.

6And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it: “There will be no more delay!

7But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as He proclaimed to His servants the prophets.”

8Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the small scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land.”

9And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

10So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.

11And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

1And 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:

2And 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,

3And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

4And 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.

5And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

6And 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:

7But 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.

8And 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.

9And 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.

10And 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.

11And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

1And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire;

2and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;

3and he cried with a great voice, as a lion roareth: and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.

4And when the seven thunders uttered [their voices], I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

5And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven,

6and sware by him that liveth for ever 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 delay no longer:

7but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished they mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets.

8And the voice which I heard from heaven, [I heard it] again speaking with me, and saying, Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

9And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

10And 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 when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.

11And they say unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.

1Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.

2He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.

3Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices.

4When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.”

5Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven

6and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay!

7But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.”

8Then the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

10So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.

11Then they told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

1I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

2He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land.

3He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.

4When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.”

5The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the sky,

6and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay,

7but 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 declared to his servants, the prophets.

8The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”

9I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

10I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

11They told me, “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

John sees a mighty angel descending from heaven wrapped in a cloud, crowned with a rainbow, face shining like the sun, legs like pillars of fire, holding a small open scroll and standing with one foot on the sea and one on the land (vv. 1-2). The angel shouts like a roaring lion, and seven thunders respond, but when John moves to write down what they said, a voice from heaven tells him to seal up their words and not record them (vv. 3-4). The angel raises his hand and swears by God, the eternal Creator, that there will be no more delay — when the seventh trumpet is about to sound, the mystery of God, announced beforehand to the prophets, will be completed (vv. 5-7). A voice then instructs John to take the little scroll from the angel and eat it; he is warned it will taste sweet as honey in his mouth but turn bitter in his stomach, which is exactly what happens (vv. 8-10). John is then told that he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings (v. 11).

Authorship & Background

Author: The Apostle John (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Historical Context: Chapter 10 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (like chapter 7 was between the sixth and seventh seals). A mighty angel descends with a little scroll, seven thunders speak (but are sealed), and John is told to eat the scroll — sweet in the mouth but bitter in the stomach. This chapter prepares for the final trumpet and the completion of God's mystery.
Classification: Apocalyptic Prophecy — The Little Book
Key Themes: an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets built around a mighty angel who straddles sea and land as a claim on all creation, seven thunders that speak and are then sealed, John explicitly told not to write down what they said, an oath sworn by the eternal Creator that there should be time no longer, a little scroll John is told to eat, sweet as honey in the mouth but turning bitter in the stomach, and a command to prophesy again to many peoples, nations, tongues and kings
The Mighty Angel (vv.1-4): A powerful angel descends — clothed with a cloud, rainbow on his head, face like the sun, feet like fire (v.1). He straddles sea and land (v.2) — claiming authority over all creation. He cries with a lion's voice; seven thunders respond (v.3). John is told not to write what the thunders said — some things remain sealed (v.4).
The Oath (vv.5-7): The angel swears by the eternal Creator: "there should be time no longer" (v.6) — no more delay. When the seventh trumpet sounds, "the mystery of God should be finished" (v.7).
The Little Scroll (vv.8-11): John is told to eat the scroll (v.8). It is sweet as honey in his mouth but bitter in his stomach (vv.9-10). He must "prophesy again" to many peoples and nations (v.11). God's word is sweet (truth, promise) but bitter (judgment, suffering).

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the mighty angel's identity, the sealed thunders, the oath of no more delay, and the sweet/bitter scroll.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Revelation 8:6-11:19 | Seven Trumpets | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

The Mighty Angel and the Little Book - Revelation 10
David Guzik

Sweet and sour...prophetic words?
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Revelation -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Some Things Remain Sealed (v.4) — John is told not to write down what the seven thunders said — God chooses not to reveal everything. Can you trust God with the questions He hasn't answered for you yet?
  • No More Delay (v.6) — The angel swears that God's patience with a rebellious world has a limit and His plan will be completed. Are you living with urgency, or assuming there will always be more time?
  • Sweet in the Mouth, Bitter in the Stomach (vv.9-10) — God's word tastes sweet as promise but turns bitter once John digests the weight of coming judgment. Do you receive Scripture's comfort and its hard truths with equal seriousness?
  • Called to Speak Again (v.11) — After receiving God's word, John is commanded to prophesy it to many peoples and nations. Are you keeping what God has shown you to yourself, or proclaiming it to others?