(Rev 10 KJV)  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a (i.e., the) rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: {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. {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. {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.  

1. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a (i.e., the) rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:  

a. This Mighty Angel is clearly the Lord Jesus Christ based upon His description and His actions.  Angel is a title of office and not of nature.  The Son of God is continually described as the Jehovah-Angel in the Old Testament.  There were other accounts of Jesus appearing as an Angel in the seventh and eighth chapters.  

b. This Angel is particularly distinguished from other angels such as the four loosed from the Euphrates and the seven angels who sound the trumpets.  

c. The attire of this Angel is indicative of Deity.  Wherever clouds are connected with glorious manifestations, we can look for Divine Presence.  Clouds intimate mystery, and mystery suggests Deity.  When the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation."  The Lord descended on Mount Sinai in a thick cloud.  The Lord occupied the Mercy Seat in a cloud.  Clouds are particularly the attire of Deity in Divine manifestations to fallen man.  Clouds depict the unapproachableness of God, His infinite majesty, and the necessity of shielding his consuming glory from the gaze of mankind.  No mere angel is ever arrayed with the drapery of clouds.  

d. "The rainbow on his head" further marks this angel as an uncreated being.  The fourth chapter gives the rainbow as a grand appurtenance of the throne occupied by Jesus Christ.  It is the sign of God's ancient covenant with the earth.  Only God is ever pictured as being surrounded by the rainbow.  

e. The clouds indicate Divine judgment, storms, rains and floods of the wrath of God, while the rainbow indicates Divine mercy in the midst of judgment.  The rainbow is a covenant of security to the believer in the midst of apparent total destruction.  A garment of cloud and the rainbow as a tiara is a perfect picture of the Savior in the administrations about to commence.  

f. "And his face was as it were the sun" identifies this Angel as the same Person who appeared to John in his first vision in chapter 1.  This luminousness of face is one of the characteristics of Christ.  The face of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration "did shine as the sun."  Jesus also appeared to Saul of Tarsus in the same way on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:13).  The prophets of old were accustomed to describing him as the outbeaming glory of God--the very Sun of Righteousness.  

g. "And his feet as pillars of fire" is the same picture of Christ in the vision of the first chapter.  The picture is that of steadfast and consuming majesty.  No mere created angel is ever depicted in this fashion.  

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,  

a. This book or scroll has already been opened, and it can only be the seven sealed book or scroll that Jesus has already brokened the seals.  It is the title deed to the earth, and Jesus Christ has it in his hand.  The book is the title deed of man's lost inheritance, and Jesus Christ has fulfilled all of the requirements to redeem this lost inheritance.  Part of this inheritance is the sea and the earth.  

b. With the title deed in his hand, Jesus Christ sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth.  This is a distince and deliberate act and it is full of significance.  To set one's foot on a place expresses the purpose to take possession of that place.  Therefore, Jesus Christ is claiming possession of the earth and the sea, and He is further asserting his right and authority to occupy and rule over the earth.  This is an act befitting the character and office of Christ, but it is clearly not an action befitting a created angel.  This is further confirmation that this Angel is Christ.  

c. The setting of his feet on the sea and the earth is done in such a manner to demonstrate how useless it would be for his foes to resist him.  In verse one his feet were as pillars of fire.  A pillar represents an immovable object, and fire represents a consuming force.  Therefore, pillars of fire represent something that is steadfastly irresistible.  

d. In summation, Christ's takeover of the earth is legal, irresistible, and all consuming.  Satan will be powerless to prevent it.  

3. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, [the] seven thunders uttered their voices.  

a. Along with the symbolic act in vs 2, there is a corresponding utterance.  This was not a cry of distress or fear, but it was a shout of power and vengeance upon enemies and usurpers.  Jesus is "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," and the OT states, "The Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake."  It is a cry and herald of the coming of the remaining awesome judgment judgments of God.  

b. It is the seven thunders that utter their voices.  The seven thunders are mentioned with the definite article.  John assumes that the reader already has knowledge of the seven thunders.  In chapter 4, John states, "out of the throne go forth lightnings, and voices, and thunders."  Even though the number seven is not mentioned, the principle of seven as the number of dispensational completeness, and the understanding that these thunders are the complete administration of judgments from the throne, confirms that the seven thunders are the same thunders that emanated from the throne.  These same thunders are mentioned in chapter eight when the Priest-Angel turned the contents of his fire-filled censer upon the earth.  They are the Judgment thunders proceeding from the judgment throne, and everything in connection with that throne takes upon it the characteristic number of seven.  No created angel could evoke the seven thunders of the Almighty's wrath.  

c. The seven thunders depict personality, and they utter intelligible sounds of divine wrath that is to be inflicted upon unregenerate mankind.  

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.  

a. John is about to write what the seven thunders uttered, but God the Father commands him not to reveal what the seven thunders stated.  The command was absolute, and John obeyed it.  Therefore, the message of the seven thunders are unwritten and unknown, and it will remain this way until the time comes when these judgments are fulfilled.  

5. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,  

a. Jesus Christ lifts up his hand to heaven to sware an oath.  

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:  

a. He makes an oath in the name of the creator, since there is no higher being, that there will be no more delays before the mystery of God is accomplished.  

b. Some theologians have stated that this swearing by the creator is indication that this angel is not Christ, but it is actually confirmation that this Angel is Christ, since no Angel would be allowed to sware in the name of God in regard to the certainty of an event.  Only Jesus Christ as God could make this oath.  This is not the first time that God has sworn upon his own name about a particular outcome of an event.  

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  

a. This verse confirms that the mystery of God will be accomplished during the administrations of the seventh trumpet angel.  Since the vial judgments are part of the seventh trumpet judgment, the kingdom of God will be established after the seven vial judgments.  

b. The mystery of God is the final summation of God's revelations and doings in regard to the reinstatement of man into his lost inheritance.  The establishment of this kingdom is the consummation of everything that Scripture points toward.  It is the prime subject of all of God's inspirations of his prophets.  Any gospel that drops or repudiates from its central themes the doctrine of the consummation of all things, as given in the Apocalypse, perverts the true Gospel of God, and the proponents of this perverted gospel will be held accountable.  

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.  

a. John is told to take the book from the hand of Christ who stand upon the sea and the land.  This verse takes John back to the time of his vision, so John is to take the action at that time.  

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.  

a. John goes to the Angel and asks for the book.  He is told to eat it up, but it will be bitter in his belly, even though it will be sweet as honey in his mouth.  

b. The book contains all the requirements and prophesies about the establishment of the kingdom, and eating the book is a picture of taking the book and making it part of himself.  John was to partake of the book, digest it and make it part of himself.  This is what we are to do with the Word of God including the prophecies about the coming kingdom and the judgments that will occur prior to the establishment of this kingdom.  

c. The prophetic Word of God is sweet to the taste at first, but there is a bitterness that will occur after the prophetic Word has been ingested.  It is sweet because it is the word of promise, the word of grace, and a revelation of the love of God.  The bitterness comes from enduring the hardship as a good soldier of Christ.  There are persecutions from fellow believers, separations from friends and family, afflictions of age and discomfort, and a taste of the sufferings of Christ.  It is also bitter in that it not only contains the promises of grace, but it reveals the judgments of God that are to be released upon unregenerate mankind.  It is bitter to realize that some family and friends will be subject to these judgments.  

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.  

a. John discovers that what Jesus said about the book is true.  

b. Any student of Bible prophecy who delves deeply into the consummation of prophecy will enjoy the sweet taste of the prophetic Word of God, but he will also experience the bitterness of knowing beforehand the awful judgments of God that are rapidly approaching.  Even Jesus wept over the rejection that He experienced at the hand of the nation of Israel, and the consequences that Israel was to suffer.  

c. The first joy of deeper knowledge of the prophetic Word is followed by sorrow deeper and more bitter than those of ordinary men.  

11. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.  

a. After John had experienced the sweetness and the bitterness of the prophetic Word of God, he was to proclaim the message "before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings."  

b. John was to proclaim this message even though he knew that the majority would refuse to hear him.  This is true for all Christians today who attempt to preach the deeper truths of the prophetic Word of God.  

c. According to tradition, John was the only disciple of Jesus who was not martyred.  He died a natural death when he was very old.  In his old age John was a venerable and highly respected apostle of Christ, and he preached the prophetic Word of God "before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

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