1A mighty angel appeareth with a book open in his hand; 5and sweareth by him that liveth for ever, that there shall be no more time. 8John is commanded to take and eat the book, and to prophesy.
1AND I saw 1another mighty angel come down from heaven, 2clothed with a cloud: and 3a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were thea sun, and his feet as pillarsb of fire:
1 Some perceive that this was the angel Gabriel, because his name signifies the might of God; but most other expositors understand by this angel the Lord Christ Himself, Who appears here in a vision as descending from heaven for the comfort of His church, not in His own human nature, which the heaven must retain until the restitution of all things, Acts 3:21, but with respect to His acts, which are suitably expressed in this vision, as is partly shown in Rev. 1:13, 15; and as He speaks of His continual presence in His church, Mat. 18:20 and 28:20. For, previously He appeared unto the apostle in the form of a Lamb and of a Priest of heaven, because He is considered in the previous visions as an Advocate and Intercessor with the Father. But henceforth He is sometimes manifested in His glory as a strong Angel or Ambassador of His Father; sometimes as a King of kings, and a Conqueror of all; sometimes as the Bridegroom of His church, because in the sequel He is introduced as an Executioner of God’s decrees upon His church or upon His enemies.
2 Namely, unto a sign of His majesty, as He went before the host of the Israelites in the cloudy pillar, Exod. 13:21, etc., and appeared in the temple, 2 Chron. 5:13; 7:1, and will also come at the last day with the clouds as the Judge of all, as is testified previously in Rev. 1:7.
3 Of this and the following properties see above in Rev. 1:15, 16; 4:3.
a Mat. 17:2.
b Rev. 1:15.
2And he had in his hand 4a little book open: and he set 5his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
4 Some understand hereby the same book of God’s Providence, which was before sealed with seals, but is now open in the hand of Christ, because none in heaven and earth was able to open it but the Lamb that was slain, as is testified in Rev. 5:3, which is therefore called here a little book, because a great part thereof was revealed previously, and because there remained now yet but a part to be revealed. Others take it to be the book of the Gospel, which in those times when the antichrist was at the highest, was as a closed book unto the church, but from this very time that the Turks did break in against Christendom, as was noted in the previous chapter, it was again more and more revealed and more plainly propounded unto the church by some special men of God.
5 Namely, to signify that from henceforth He took public possession of the earth and the sea, of the continent and islands to propagate again His truth and doctrine on both.
3And 6cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders 7uttered their voices.
6 Namely, whom none was able to hinder from being heard.
7 Namely, certain mysteries or prophesies of things to come. For, these thunderclaps gave not only sound, but were also joined with a speaking voice, as appears by the following verse. See similar in Rev. 1:10, 11.
4And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 8Sealc up those things which the seven thunders uttered, 9and write them not.
8 Suchlike prohibition may be read in Dan. 8:26 and 12:4, whereby the weightiness of the things, which the thunderclaps had uttered, is set forth, which ought rather to be known much more by the result thereof than by the predictions in the church.
c Dan. 8:26; 12:4.
9 Some copies have, and thou shalt write it afterward; and therefore some are of the opinion that, what is sealed here, was first set down in writing in the fourteenth chapter; the more so because in Rev. 1:1 it is said that this revelation was given to Christ Jesus to make the same known to His ministers, and not to conceal it. See also hereafter in Rev. 22:10.
5Andd the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth 10lifted up his hand to heaven,
d Dan. 12:7.
10 Namely, according to the common course used by the ancients in oath swearing. See Gen. 14:22; Dan. 12:7; yea, God Himself speaks thus of Himself, Exod. 6:7.
6And 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, thate there should be 11time no longer:
e Rev. 11:15.
11 Namely, after the sounding of the 7th angel, as the next verse shows; which some understand of the time which is measured out in days, months and years by the course of heaven; which time will end with the end of the world. Others understand it of the time of repentance, which after this time shall no more be granted unto the people; which is therefore confirmed here by the angel with such an oath, that men at present might earnestly heed it. Some understand it likewise suitably of the time of persecution and oppression of the church of God by antichrist and the world; and that the Angel therefore so confirms it with an oath, namely, to assure the church thereof, and to comfort her thereby, as Christ also does, Luke 21:28.
7But 12in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, 13the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
12 This, according to the opinion of many, shall be the voice of the archangel at the last day, after which shall follow the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment, with the full deliverance and glorification of the church of Christ, 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16.
13 Many understand this, as was declared before, of all that would befall the church of Christ in this world, and of all that was foretold by the prophets, which shall end with this trumpet. Others are of the opinion, being it is foretold by the prophets that the house of Jacob shall be converted to the Lord, that the entire church of Christ, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, shall yet triumph over all her enemies, even in this world; and understand these words so, that the same shall yet be at the beginning of this trumpet, and that Christ shall not appear till after that, to pronounce judgment upon all flesh. But this opinion agrees not with that which is said continually in Scripture concerning the state of the church of Christ in this world; because there is nowhere any settled rest promised unto the church of Christ in this world, but a continual warfare against her enemies, yea even then when the Jews shall be converted unto Christ, which conversion some do place under the 6th trumpet. But hereof shall be spoken more at large in Revelation 20.
8And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and 14take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
14 Namely, whereof was spoken in verse 2 of this chapter; and see also there the exposition.
9And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Takefit, and 15eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
f Ezek. 3:1.
15 These words are taken from Ezek. 3:1, where the same command is given to the prophet. Thereby is understood that he was diligently to peruse, ponder, understand and ruminate upon that book.
10And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was 16in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
16 Hereby is signified, that the knowledge of the mysteries of God is indeed pleasant and delightful, but that afterward the operations that follow thereupon, are oftentimes grievous and bitter unto the children of God, as for example the denying of ourselves and the afflictions and persecutions that do befall them. Likewise the punishments themselves, which are threatened to the persecutors, are also bitter and grievous unto the children of God to hear about, as Ezekiel in Ezek. 3:15 is troubled in his mind when he complains of the Jews’ obstinacy against his sermons, and Paul of the obstinacy of the Jews of his time, Rom. 9:2.
11And he said unto me, 17Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
17 Some understand this of John, who would again be released from his banishment to be able to preach the Gospel freely everywhere. But since here is spoken of prophesying under the sixth trumpet, others take it more suitably for a prediction, which under the person of John is made unto teachers of all generations, which in the time of the sixth trumpet would again appear, and would again little by little bring the Gospel to shine out of the persecution and thick darkness of anti-Christianity, as shall be shown in the next chapter, of which this chapter is a preparation.