There is a pause in the sequence of the trumpets, as before the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, John was shown another set of visions. In the first vision, he saw a mighty angel coming down from heaven. The angel was wearing a cloud as a robe, and there was a rainbow above his head. His face shone brightly like the sun, and his legs looked like fiery pillars. The angel held a small open scroll in his hand. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and then he shouted loudly, sounding like a roaring lion.
Though the identity of this angel is a mystery, looking at the description provided by John, this does not seem to be an ordinary angel. John used similar verbiage when describing Jesus, the dictator of the letter to the seven churches and the bearer of the double-edged sword (Revelation 1:15). At the mount of Transfiguration, the disciples witnessed Jesus’s face shine with similar radiance (Matthew 17:2). The prophet Ezekiel in his vision described the appearance of the Lord in similar words.
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
Ezekiel 1:28 (NIV)
The way the angel planted his fiery feet on both the land and the sea established His supreme authority over all creation and creatures of the land and the sea. His voice resounded like that of a lion’s roar when He shouted.
They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion.
Hosea 11:10 (NIV)
When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
The Seven Thunders
When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
Revelation 10:3-4 (NIV)
Just as Daniel was asked to seal up the visions of the mornings and the evenings (Daniel 8), John heard a voice from heaven call out to him saying that he must not write down what he heard when the seven thunders spoke. Perhaps what he heard was to remain a mystery which God would reveal at the right time. Many believe that the mystery could be related to the timings of the second coming but it is futile exercise to try and interpret things that God has not yet revealed to us.
…they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
Mark 4:12 (NIV)
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!
Jesus revealed the secrets of His kingdom through parables to the masses but only to the ones close to Him did he reveal the true meaning of the parables. “…they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven” – Mark 4:12. There is no bypass in our spiritual journey as we must learn to trust God and His timings rather than becoming back-seat drivers.
“There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
Revelation 10:6-7 (NIV)
The angel proclaims in the presence of the Ancient of Days, that swift judgement was around the corner. That at the sounding of the seven trumpets, the mystery of God will be accomplished. This is probably in response to the groans of the martyrs witnessed by John at the opening of the fifth seal. They were told to wait a little longer before they could witness God’s judgement (Revelation 6:11).
The Bittersweet Scroll
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’”
Revelation 10:9 (NIV)
In a spy movie, when the protagonist is given a new mission, they are told to memorise the instructions and destroy the note by eating it. When the angel gave John the little scroll, he was told to not only swallow its contents but prophecy it to the masses. Ezekiel had a similar experience when he was asked to eat the scroll given to him by God (Ezekiel 3:3). By eating the scroll, John accepted his mission and would prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.
Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Revelation 10:11 (NIV)
While the contents of the scroll are pleasant to hear and are described as sweet in taste, as it enters John’s body, it turns sour. Similarly, the word of God is pleasant to hear but applying it in our day-to-day lives would be difficult. The word of God needs to seep into our bloodstream and not remain as something we hear in a superficial manner and forget the very next minute.
When a spy receives confidential intel, it means that he is supposed to change his next steps drastically. In the same way, if we are receiving confidential instructions from God, it means that we need to change the direction of our life drastically as we have been compromised by this world. John did not worry about what the world would think when he recorded all that God wanted to reveal through him. When God gives us instructions, we should not need any precedence or someone else’s opinion to carry out His will.
Discussion Questions
- Who is this Angel robed in a cloud?
- Why was John told not to record the message of the seven thunders?
- What does the angel mean by “There will be no more delay”?
- Why is John told to eat the scroll and why is it bittersweet?
The Jordan Valley 
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