Revelation 10:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay,

NIV: And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, 'There will be no more delay!

NASB: and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will no longer be a delay,

CSB: He swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, "There will no longer be a delay,

NLT: He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, 'There will be no more delay.

KJV: 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:

NKJV: and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,

The mighty angel who John saw descend from heaven swore an oath by God that there would be no delay. The Greek phrase here is chronos ouketi estai. Translations such as the KJV phrase this as "there should be time no longer," which is woodenly literal but extremely misleading when read in plain English. The point of this statement is that God's merciful work of restraining evil, holding back catastrophe, or delaying judgment for sin is now at an end. From this point forward, all things in the end times will occur at their "natural" pace, so to speak. God will no longer intervene to stave off the inevitable.

The angel's announcement that there will be no delay also shows us the book of Revelation does not follow a strict chronological order. No further delay occurs at the end of the tribulation, but Revelation doesn't proceed in a direct, linear fashion between chapters 10 and 22, as God fulfills His plan.

The mighty angel has addressed God as eternal. He has named God the creator of heaven and earth and all that is in both places. As the creator of everything, God has the right to fulfill His purpose for history and man's role in history. No one can thwart that purpose. Although God is patiently offering salvation to human beings today (2 Peter 3:9), someday His offer will expire. Death marks the end of a person's opportunity to accept Christ (Hebrews 9:27). God advises humans, therefore, not to boast of tomorrow for no one knows what tomorrow will bring (Proverbs 27:1). Hebrews 3:15 instructs: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." Further, 2 Corinthians 6:2 states, "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

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.''