RSV ~ Revelation 10 Notes

Rev 10:1-11 | ISB Notes

An interlude separates the sixth (9:13-21) and seventh trumpet (11:15-19), just as an interlude separated the sixth and seventh seal (7:1-17). This one sets in motion the second half of the book by renewing the commission to John, charged at the beginning of the book with writing down the prophetic visions (1:11), to prophesy “again” (10:11).

Rev 10:1-11 | ISB Notes

An enormous angel descends to earth, its legs straddling the shoreline and its right arm raised to swear an oath. Its appearance radiates the glory of the Father (rainbow, 4:3), the Son (wrapped in clouds, 1:7; face like the sun, 1:16), and the Holy Spirit (pillars of fire, Ex 13:21). Perhaps this is the Lord’s angel who conveys to John the revelations of the book (1:1; 22:6).

• Elsewhere in Scripture the “angel of the Lord” swears an oath in the name of God (Gen 22:15-18) and commissions both Prophets and Judges (Ex 3:210; Judg 6:11-14; 1 Chron 21:18). The immediate background is Dan 10-12, where Daniel encounters a heavenly figure who stood over the Tigris River. This messenger, too, had a glorious appearance (Dan 10:5-6) and swore an oath that God’s plan would be fulfilled in the future (Dan 12:7). John stands at the other end of this prophetic pledge: what was far distant in Daniel’s day is fast approaching in his own (10:6).

• The angel takes an oath, not because of any defect in himself, as if one could not trust his word, but in order to show that his utterance proceeds from an infallible ordinance of God (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, 89, 10).

Rev 10:1 | ISB Notes

another mighty angel: Distinct from the first “strong angel” (5:2) who cried out in a “loud voice” (10:3).

Rev 10:2 | ISB Notes

little scroll: Seemingly a different scroll from that in 5:1 (the Greek terms are different).

Rev 10:3 | ISB Notes

a lion roaring: The angel speaks the words of Christ, the Lion of Judah (5:5; cf. Is 31:4; Hos 11:10; Amos 3:8).

seven thunders: The mighty voice of the Lord (Ps 29:3-9). It may be linked with the Spirit, who earlier appears as “seven spirits” (1:4) and “seven torches” (4:5).

Rev 10:6 | ISB Notes

swore by him: The posture of the angel (10:5) is related to the oath: his hand touches heaven, and his feet span land and sea when he swears to the Creator of heaven, earth, and sea. Raising the hand is one of many gestures connected with oath swearing in the biblical world (Deut 32:40).

Rev 10:7 | ISB Notes

the mystery of God: Unveiled as the kingdom of God that comes with the blast of the seventh trumpet (11:15).

• The link between “mystery” and the messianic “kingdom” is forged in Daniel (Dan 2:28, 44-47; 7:13-14).

Rev 10:9 | ISB Notes

Take it and eat: A renewal of John’s prophetic mission to speak the word of God (10:11). The message he receives is sweet because it promises hope but turns sour because it entails suffering for saints and sinners alike.

• The scene is modeled on Ezek 2:8-3:3, where the prophet consumed a scroll inscribed with judgments against Israel. At first, the scroll was sweet (Ezek 3:3), but its words of lamentation and woe made his task a bitter one (Ezek 3:14).

Rev 10:11 | ISB Notes

again prophesy: John is to prophesy what is recorded in the visions of chaps. 11-22.