Revelation 10:1-4 meaning

In Revelation 10:1-4, John hears words from God which he is not allowed to write down. Revelation 10:1 through Revelation 11:14 appear to cover an interlude between the destructive impact from the blowing of the sixth trumpet and the blowing of the seventh trumpet.

The first four trumpets brought destruction on the earth, and an angel came to warn about the woes that would accompany the last three trumpets. The first four trumpets were bad, but the last three are worse; they are called the “three woes.” It seems the devastation escalates as the judgment proceeds.

At the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Christ’s kingdom will be announced. The number seven represents completion in scripture, as with the seven days to complete creation. The seventh trumpet will be the last trumpet and the last woe, and out of the seventh trumpet will proceed seven bowl judgments.

After the seven bowl judgments, there will be an explanation of the impact of the judgments upon the nations and powers of the earth. Thereafter Jesus will return and destroy the forces of evil upon the earth in Revelation 19.

We saw in Revelation 9:1-12 that the fifth trumpet set loose locusts like scorpions whose sting would be without relief to those not preserved from pain by God’s seal. These locusts will inflict pain upon the earth for five months. This event was followed by the sixth trumpet in Revelation 9:12-21, where we saw the coming of the armies of the horsemen who would kill a third of mankind.

But, even after all that destruction, “the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands” (Revelation 9:20). This shows how stubborn and hard-hearted the people of earth have become.

The narrative pauses after the sixth trumpet for an interlude before continuing on to the seventh trumpet, which is also the third and final woe.

I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land (v. 1-2).

This angel…clothed with a cloud…and his feet like pillars of fire is reminiscent of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that led the Israelites around the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:21). The feet like pillars of fire also echo Revelation 1:15, where Jesus’s feet are described as being “like burnished bronze” that had been “made to glow in a furnace.”

The Greek word translated strong, used to describe the angel, can also be translated as “mighty.” That John says another strong angel would indicate that the other angels he had seen were also strong or mighty (v. 1).

The description of these mighty angels with heavenly power helps us understand why, in Psalm 8, the psalmist marvels when he contemplates the fact that God placed humans above these mighty beings to rule over His creation, since humans are “lower” beings (Psalm 8:3-6). It is all the more remarkable that Jesus has restored this opportunity to reign in harmony with Him through “the suffering of death” and desires to lead “many sons to glory” to share this responsibility in service with Him (Hebrews 2:9-10).

Believers who overcome as Jesus overcame will have the great privilege of reigning with Him (Revelation 3:23). This will be a great fulfillment of the promise of blessing in Revelation 1:3 for all those who are faithful witnesses who heed the promises made in this book.

The strong angel in this passage is said to have in his hand a little book which was open (v. 2). Later in verse 8 of this chapter, John will be asked to eat this little book, which will appear to prepare him to make further prophetic statements.

This strong angel also appears to be of gigantic proportion, as he stands with his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. This might be a visible indication of the enormous announcement this angel will make: namely that God is ready to wrap up human history on this earth and fulfill all that has been prophesied in the forthcoming announcement that “there will be delay no longer” (Revelation 10:6).

In contemplating that this strong or mighty angel is holding a little book which was open, we can recall that all the events we have been experiencing since Revelation 5 are coming out of the progressive breaking of seven seals of another book or scroll. These seven seals were broken by Jesus, the Lamb who was worthy to break the seals (Revelation 5:9). Out of the seventh seal have come the six trumpets, each of which poured judgment upon the earth. This angel will introduce the seventh angel who will soon sound the seventh trumpet.

Now this mighty angel speaks:

and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices (v. 3).

It should be no surprise that this immense angel also has a loud voice. John describes it being as when a lion roars, probably referring to its volume and intensity. This could indicate not only the might of the angel but also the authority and certainty of his declaration.

There have been a few persons who have spoken unexpectedly throughout Revelation. Both the altar and the heavenly creatures spoke (Revelation 4:6-9, 9:13). But now the peals of thunder also utter their voices. 

Thunder, in nature, is the noise that results from an incident of lightning. Both lighting and thunder are events without permanence. Hearing thunder is a fairly common experience. It is difficult to conceive of anyone confusing the noise of thunder with discernible speech. But here in heaven it appears there are seven peals of thunder that are beings who speak, and their speech is discernible: 

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” (v. 4).

John hears what is spoken by the seven peals of thunder and understands their speech. He is about to write down what he heard. It seems then that John is taking notes of his experiences as he sees these visions. But, as John was about to write down what he heard in order to include the statement of the seven peals of thunder, he hears a voice command him to seal up what was said by the seven peals of thunder. As we recall from Revelation 5, if a scroll is sealed with a wax seal of authority, that means only the allowed recipient may open it. That is why only Jesus was worthy to open the scroll that would bring culmination to human history in Chapter 5. It is inferred here that to seal up means to prevent disclosure of the things stated by the seven peals of thunder from being known by humans at this time. We can reasonably wonder why God revealed something to John only to make the point that it was not for His servants to know, at least for now.

The inference seems to be that there was information spoken by the thunderous voices which God does not want us to know during this life. At any given time, He is revealing to us what He wants us to know and is keeping hidden what He does not want us to know. In Revelation 1:3, God promised a great blessing to those who hear, understand, and do what is stated in this book. That means that the information included is sufficient.

Perhaps part of the reason God is doing this is to allow us more opportunity to live by faith. This is a book that shows a “map” of how to gain great blessing (Revelation 1:3). And we know that there is more blessing available from living by faith than through living by sight (John 20:29).

Also, perhaps part of the reason God has withheld this information is to teach us that we should not try to figure out what is going to happen in the future. The emphasis of the promised blessing in Revelation 1:3 focuses on current action. The blessing comes from acting upon what is heard and understood from this letter, not from having special understanding of what is to come.

What believers can understand from Revelation is that as God’s servants we can gain immense blessing from being faithful witnesses who live by faith to:

• Speak the truth in love (Revelation 2:1-7),
• Endure persecution for our faith (Revelation 2:8-11),
• Not deny the faith or get caught up in sexual immorality (Revelation 2:12-17),
• Hold fast and be faithful until Jesus returns (Revelation 2:18-29),
• Have an authentic rather than superficial faith (Revelation 3:1-6),
• Persevere in keeping Jesus’s commands (Revelation 3:7-13), and
• Listen to God, live in dependence upon God, and lay up riches in heaven rather than trusting the things of earth (Revelation 3:14-22).

Believers who do these things will gain great blessing overcoming the world as Jesus overcame the world.