Revelation 10:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”

NIV: And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.'

NASB: When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven, saying, 'Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.'

CSB: And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down! "

NLT: When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

The "mighty angel" of this passage spoke, resulting in a response from what John described as "seven thunders." This verse reports that when John was about to write what the seven thunders said, a voice from heaven told him not to write it. John obeyed the command from heaven, therefore the book of Revelation does not include what the seven thunders said.

This omission is a strong argument for verbal inspiration; that is, God breathed out the words of the Bible. Second Timothy 3:16 teaches us, "All Scripture is breathed out by God." The doctrine of verbal inspiration assures us that God included everything in His Word, the Bible, that He wanted included and left everything out that He did not want to include in the Bible. In Revelation 10:4 we have evidence of His leaving out what He did not want to include in the book of Revelation. Apparently, what the seven thunders uttered would not have been "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

This deliberate omission also reminds us of an important fact: mankind does not know everything. Behind the scenes, in ways we cannot imagine or understand, God is acting and working. This verse is a perfect example of this concept in action. God tells us what He wants us to know, and what we need to know. Just because we do not see, or do not understand, does not mean something is not happening.

Revelation 10:1–7 involves a vision John sees between his visions of the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. John observes a mighty angel descending from heaven with a little scroll in his hand. The description of the angel and the reference to a little scroll remind us of what John saw in chapter 5. In that chapter, Jesus took the seven-sealed scroll from the hand of God. In chapter 10, the mighty angel calls upon the seven thunders, but God forbids John to write the thunders' response. However, the angel tells John that what the prophets predicted will be fulfilled when the seventh angel blows his trumpet.

The apostle John reports what he saw after the sixth trumpet judgment. He saw a mighty angel descend from heaven. The angel held a little scroll open in his hand. His right foot rested on the sea and his left foot rested on the land. Next, John heard the mighty angel call out to the seven thunders, but the angel would not allow John to record the thunders' response. The angel promised there would be no further delay: the seventh trumpet judgment would fulfill the words of the prophets. Finally, John is commanded to take the little scroll and eat it. When John obeyed the command, he found the scroll to be sweet to the taste but bitter in his stomach. The angel told John he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.

The tenth chapter of Revelation provides an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. Chapter 9 described the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, which were somehow even worse than the first four, as described in chapter 8. Here the apostle John reports that he saw a mighty angel descend from heaven and place his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land. He predicted that in the days of the seventh trumpet judgment the mystery of God would be fulfilled. God will soon complete His program for Israel and the Gentiles. In the remaining chapters of Revelation, we see how God deals with apostate Israel, Jewish believers, and the unbelieving Gentiles. This chapter is related to Isaiah 42, Jeremiah 33, and Daniel 2:31–45.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''