In this verse John reports that he saw the mighty angel, whose feet rested on the sea and the land, raise his right hand to heaven. Holding the open scroll in one hand, the mighty angel raised his right hand to heaven in preparation for an oath.

This gesture commonly preceded a solemn oath in Scripture. When Abraham refused a reward from the king of Sodom, he said, "I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'" (Genesis 14:22–23). In the Song of Moses, Moses declared, "I lift up my hand to heaven and swear" (Deuteronomy 32:40).

In Daniel 12:7 we read Daniel's declaration: "I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished."

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.''

Accessed 5/4/2024 4:22:21 PM

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