Revelation 10

the revelation of jesus christ

John the Apostle · c. 95 AD

Chapter the Tenth

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:

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,

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

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.

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Chuck Smith on Revelation 10

Verse by verse, the C2000 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.

Verses 1-11

We have been going through the trumpet judgments; the catastrophes that they have brought upon the earth. Now, for a moment we leave the trumpet judgments after the sounding of the sixth, and before we read of the events at the sounding of the seventh, John gives us now a little insight into a yet future event, and that is the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to claim that which He purchased. Jesus paid the price of redemption. He redeemed the world so that it would be God's once again. It was originally God's by creation. God gave it to man. Man gave it to Satan, so that Satan is called by Jesus, "the prince of this world," by Paul, "the God of this world." Satan offered the world to Jesus, if He would only bow down and worship him. But Jesus came to redeem the world, but the price was His life, the shedding of His blood. So, we are redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. But yet, He has not taken possession of His purchased possession. In Roman eight, Paul tells us that "all of creation is groaning and travailing together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God to wit the redemption of our bodies." Redemption is not yet complete. But in the mean time, Paul told the Ephesians that God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. In Hebrews, the writer said that God has put all things in subjection under Him, but we do not yet see all things in subjection. The world is still in rebellion against Him. It hasn't been brought yet into His power under His reign. Now, God has put all things under Him, but we don't yet see them there, but we do see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. So, we and all creation groan together waiting, travailing for that glorious day when the Lord will come and claim that which He purchased, that which belongs to Him. Yes, we rejoice in the Holy Spirit now and the power of the Spirit in our life, which sustains and keeps us until that day that He comes. But we are really waiting anxiously for the full redemption and for the Lord to reign. That has been our prayer. "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in this earth, even as it is in heaven." Now, chapter ten gives us a little insight into that coming of the Lord to establish now the fact that the earth is His and to begin His reign. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and all they that dwell therein. And God said unto Him, "Ask of Me, and I will give you the heathen for thine inheritance and the utter most part of the earth for thy possession," Psalm 2 . So, here He comes to possess that which He purchased.

I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven ( Revelation 10:1 ),

"Behold, He cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him and they also which pierced Him shall mourn"( Revelation 1:7 ). So, He is coming with the clouds.

clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head ( Revelation 10:1 ),

The rainbow was the covenant of God, which is about the throne of God, is now about the head.

As we read in the first chapter of Revelation, John's description of Jesus,

and his feet as pillars of fire [also in chapter one]: And he had in his hand a little book that was now open ( Revelation 10:1-2 ):

Remember this scroll that was in heaven, or book with seven seals. No man was worthy to take the scroll or loose the seals. We found that it was the title deed to the earth. Now, having opened the seven seals, the book is now open. He comes with the open book in His hand, the book of authority, the right and title to the earth, which He has purchased by His blood. The little book that was open:

he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth, and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices ( Revelation 10:2-3 ).