Chapter 10
10:1 ¶ 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:
This angel descends from heaven in
a cloud and has a rainbow on his head, a face glowing like the sun, and his
feet looking like they are on fire. We have to ask ourselves what is the
meaning of what John is seeing. What does this angel represent or is this angel
a literal, physical being? Below are interesting cross-references.
God appearing in some form in a
cloud;
Exodus16:10 And it came to pass,
as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they
looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in
the cloud.
Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said
unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into
the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark;
that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
Psalm 97:2 Clouds and darkness
are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his
throne.
The promise of the rainbow.
Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in
the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I
bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is
between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall
no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
A rainbow around the throne of
God.
Revelation 4:3 And he that sat
was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow
round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
A face glowing like the sun.
Exodus 34:28 ¶ And he was there
with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink
water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten
commandments. 29 And it came to pass,
when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in
Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the
skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Revelation 1:16 And he had in
his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword:
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Notice how the visions of heavenly
beings are so profound and stark in contrast to the earthly.
Daniel 10:5 Then I lifted up
mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins
were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6
His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of
lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in
colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a
multitude.
10:2 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, 3 And cried with a loud
voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered
their voices. 4 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.
Even if by some remote chance we
would have all agreed on what the Seven Thunders said we aren’t going to get
the chance to find out what they said. This angel has a small book open.
10:5 And the angel which I saw
stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 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: 7
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.
Human-centered history is about to
end. It is all coming to a point of confrontation. God’s wrath has been a rain
of ruin on the world of men and women. The church has been promised that it
will not face that, as those who belong to Christ have been granted eternal
life. In the following the time of God’s wrath is the entire period you and I
have been discussing as all included in God’s final judgment.
Matthew 3:7 ¶
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism,
he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance: 9 And think not to say
within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children
unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is
laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am
not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and
gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire.
But
the church escapes the judgments, the gates of Hell, by God’s mercy and
forgiveness.
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
1Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath
to come.
The
world is facing its inevitable fate.
Revelation 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who
shall be able to stand?
Revelation 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give
reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear
thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And
so, the seventh angel will sound the trumpet but first...
10:8 ¶ 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. 9 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.
10 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. 11
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and
nations, and tongues, and kings.
John is told to eat the little
book and it tastes sweet but is bitter in his stomach. We have other instances
where prophets are told to eat written words but in this case they are bitter
in the prophet’s stomach. See Jeremiah, chapter 15 and Ezekiel, chapter 3.
John’s writings for the last two thousand years have been reviewed and studied
by many nations, languages, and rulers hoping to understand their place in the
end times.
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