Foreshadowing of the King

REVELATION 10:14

Mighty Angel

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 (Rev. 10:1).

By the description I believe this other mighty angel is none other than Jesus Christ. I believe that we have here a picture of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

The word angel literally means "messenger." It does not necessarily signify a class of beings. Jesus is coming now as God's Messenger. The very description would almost preclude anyone other than Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1 describes Him: "His countenance [face] was as the sun" and "his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (v. 15-16). In Revelation 10:1 Jesus is described as "clothed with a cloud. " "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (Rev. 1:7). In Matthew 24, Jesus said, "Then they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). He is coming from heaven clothed with a cloud and a rainbow about his head. (The rainbow was also about the throne of God in Revelation 4.)The rainbow speaks of God's covenant with man. Jesus said that He makes a new covenant with us through His blood (Hebrews 9&10). So, He's coming with the sign of the covenant when He comes back to the earth.

"He had in his hand a little book [that was] open" (Rev. 10:2). The scroll that had been sealed is now open. Jesus is coming back with the title deed to the earth in His hand.

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 roars: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices (Rev. 10:2-3).

When Jesus comes again to the earth He's going to let out a shout that will be heard 'round the world. It'll sound like a roaring lion. It'll be a shout of triumph and victory.

Isaiah prophesied of the coming of Jesus Christ and spoke of the shout that Jesus utters at this point. "The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies" (Isaiah 42:13). Jeremiah also speaks of this very same event.

Prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth (Jeremiah 25:30).

Hosea speaks also of this same event and tells us: "They shall walk after the LORD, he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west" (Hosea 11:10). Finally, Joel speaks of the same event (Joel 3:16). This coming of Christ by roaring as a lion has been confirmed by God in the mouth of two or three witnesses (and more).

After Jesus Christ roared, seven thunders uttered their voices. "And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices," John said, "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" (Rev. 10:4). We don't know what the seven thunders said. There's no way that you can find out until you get there. When you hear them you'll know what John was told to seal up. There's no way that we can conjecture on this, and it would be sheer folly to do so.

Interestingly, this means that the Word of God is not complete. John started to write what the seven thunders uttered and the Lord said, "No. Don't write that. Seal it up." We really don't have the complete revelation.

REVELATION 10:5-7

No More Delay

And the angel which I saw stand on the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore 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 [literally, "that there should be no longer a delay"] (Rev. 10:5-6).

God has delayed taking over the world for a long time. God is still waiting today. We pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). But God has delayed His coming. When the Lord comes He'll declare, "There shall be no more delay."

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 (Rev. 10:7).

God promises that the kingdom age will be fulfilled when the voice of the seventh trumpet sounds. Christ shall begin His kingdom reign upon the earth. Therefore, it's significant that in the seventh trumpet He declares, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). We see the glorious picture of the coming of Jesus Christ with the title deed of the earth - one foot upon the sea, one foot upon the earth, declaring that there shall be no more delay. In the sounding of the seventh trumpet God's kingdom shall be established.

REVELATION 10:8-11

The voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stands 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 your 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 us honey: and us 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 (Rev. 10: 8-11).

John went to the mighty angel and asked for the little book He was holding. The angel said, "Eat it." Talk about absorbing a book! Eating a book is the reading of it, and the book becomes a part of you. As you read it, in your mouth it's sweet because the things that it promises are great; but, when you digest it, those things which must transpire before the fulfillment of its promises are very bitter and difficult to consider. John found that it was sweet in his mouth but, as he digested it, it was very bitter. These are the bitter tragedies and the sufferings the world must experience in the opening of the seven seals of Revelation prior to the establishment of the kingdom of God.

The angel told John that he must prophesy again before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings. John has prophesied the final chapter of God's history of man by writing the book of Revelation. However, some believe that the angel was referring to the fact that John would be one of the two witnesses to come upon the earth and prophesy again in the Tribulation period (Rev. 11).