Revelation · chapter 10 of 22
Updated on
Revelation 10 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. A mighty angel, wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head, plants one foot on the sea and the other on the land, holding a little open scroll. Seven thunders speak, but John is told to seal up what they said. The angel swears that there will be no more delay, and John takes the little scroll, which is sweet in his mouth and bitter in his stomach, and is commissioned to prophesy again.
After the first two woes, the book delays the seventh trumpet with two interludes (chapter 10 and 11:1-13), just as chapter 7 paused before the seventh seal. Here John's commission is renewed: he does not only see, he must eat the message and proclaim it. The chapter recalls the prophet Ezekiel, who also ate a scroll.
John sees another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, his face like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire. In his hand is a little scroll that is open; he sets his right foot on the sea and his left on the land and calls out with a voice like a lion roaring. When he calls out, seven thunders speak (vv. 1-3).
When John is about to write what the seven thunders said, a voice from heaven tells him to seal it up and not write it. Then the angel raises his hand to heaven and swears by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, earth and sea, that there will be no more delay. In the days when the seventh trumpet is sounded, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets (vv. 4-7).
The voice from heaven tells John to take the little open scroll from the angel's hand. He asks for it, and the angel tells him to eat it: it will make his stomach bitter, but in his mouth it will be sweet as honey. John eats it and it is so. Then he is told that he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings (vv. 8-11).
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
John must seal up what the seven thunders said and not write it. The text admits that not everything God reveals is meant to be published, and invites humility before what we have not been told.
The angel swears by the Creator that there will be no more delay and that, when the seventh trumpet sounds, the mystery of God announced to the prophets will be fulfilled. God's plan moves toward a consummation he himself has promised.
The little scroll is sweet as honey in John's mouth and bitter in his stomach. It is the experience of anyone who proclaims God's word: joy in its truth and pain over what it means of judgment and rejection.
John is told that he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings. The message does not stop with him: it is for all, and whoever receives it is commissioned to share it.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, his face like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire. — Revelation 10:1
Answer: The right on the sea and the left on the land. — Revelation 10:2
Answer: To seal it up and not write it. — Revelation 10:4
Answer: By the Creator, that there will be no more delay and that the mystery of God will be fulfilled when the seventh trumpet sounds. — Revelation 10:6-7
Answer: Sweet as honey in his mouth, but bitter in his stomach. — Revelation 10:10
Answer: Prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages and kings. — Revelation 10:11
Revelation 10 describes what those who share the Word feel: it is sweet because it is truth and life, but it can be bitter when it brings warning or rejection. Teachers, pastors and group leaders can recognize themselves in that experience and take courage to keep teaching faithfully.
The chapter also invites humility: some matters remain sealed. We do not need to know everything about the future to trust that God will fulfill what he announced. A group can talk about how to live without excessive curiosity about the hidden and with obedience to what we have been given.
Revelation 10 renews John's commission after he eats the little scroll. In chapter 11 he is told to measure the temple and the two witnesses appear, before the seventh trumpet sounds.
The text calls him a mighty angel. Some interpreters think he is a created angel of high rank; others, that he is a manifestation of Christ because of features like the cloud, the rainbow and the face like the sun. The text does not identify him clearly, though the angel swears by the Creator, which suggests he is distinct from God.
We do not know: John is told to seal it. Some see this as a reminder that God does not reveal everything, and others link the thunders to a series of judgments held back. The wise course is not to speculate about what God chose not to show.
The image recalls Ezekiel, who ate a scroll sweet as honey. The sweetness is the goodness of God's word; the bitterness, what it involves of judgment and the suffering of announcing it. Some add that John feels joy at the final victory and pain at what must come first.