Revelation Prophecy

Revelation Chapter 10

An Interruption in the Prophecy

Time No Longer

The ninth chapter closed with the events that came under the sixth seal. The seventh trumpet has not sounded as yet and is not introduced until the 15th verse of Revelation 11. Thus we have a parenthetical prophecy that is inserted here between the sixth and seventh trumpet. John has other events that need to be introduced before the opening of the seventh trumpet and he takes this occasion to do so. This should not be something new to us as we have seen the same take place between the sixth and seventh seals with Revelation 7.

Revelation 10:1 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:”

Another - This automatically sets this angel apart from the others that have the seven trumpets.

Angel come down from heaven - The significance of the angel/messenger coming down from heaven is that it shows this is a message that has its origin from God. Thus this message is of great importance.

It is also interesting to note that when Satan moves it is not symbolized as coming from above but beneath, the abyss, the sea and the earth.

Clothed with a cloud - We find that this mighty angel is clothed with a cloud, but how does this help us?

When looking through scripture, we find that clouds are associated with Deity, notice the following;

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way...” Exodus 13:21.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud...” Exodus 19:9.

...one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.” Daniel 7:13.

Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Matthew 17:5.

Christ’s ascension and second coming
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” Acts 1:9.

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him...” Revelation 1:7.

In seeing that clouds are associated with Deity, we can thus conclude that this angel must be a member of the Godhead.

Rainbow was upon his head - We looked at this symbol in chapter 4:3 and found it to represent that God is a covenant keeping God and that He is just and merciful. A fitting symbol to be about this angel’s head.

Face was as it were the sun...feet as pillars of fire - This reminds us of the description of Christ in the first chapter. Christ is the Sun of Righteousness. (Malachi 4:2)

So we find that Jesus is this angel that brings a Divine message, the One that is the covenant keeping God.

Revelation 10:2 “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,”

In his hand a little book open - What is this little book? To make special mention that the book is open implies that at some stage the book was closed or sealed. Where do we find a book like this?

There are a number of reasons to prove that this book is none other than the book of Daniel. They are as follows;

- The book is mentioned as being little. Daniel is only comprised of 12 chapters.
- Each time the book is mentioned it is said that it is ‘open’. This indicates that it was closed or sealed at some prior stage. The book of Daniel was to be sealed until the time of the end. (Daniel 12:4, 9) This is the only book spoken of as being sealed.
- With the book of Daniel being mentioned as sealed until the time of the end, it would be reasonable to expect that at the time of the events surrounding the time of the end, the opening of this book would be mentioned.
- There is no account of the book of Daniel being opened unless this verse in Revelation is accepted. Thus the book of Daniel would be a forever closed book.
- The little book in Revelation 10 is concerned with time, “time no longer.” The only other book of the Bible that specializes in time is the book of Daniel.
- Daniel did not understand the oath in Daniel 12:8, but was reassured in verse 9 that the understanding would be given after the time of the end. Revelation 10 is a fulfilment of this promise.
- The person that made the oath in Daniel 12:7 is described in Daniel 10:5-6, but is also the same person that makes the oath in Revelation 10. This person is Jesus Christ according to the description given in Revelation 1:13-17. This shows the closeness of Daniel 12 and Revelation 10.
- With the book being open and the message being proclaimed from it, shows that the message is proclaimed this side of the time of the end in 1798.

Daniel 11:35 gives a brief explanation of the papal persecution during its reign in the dark ages. According to this verse the persecution was to cease at the time of the end, which was the end of the 1260 years of papal supremacy. This ended in 1798 and thus we see that the time of the end began 1798. So from 1798 onwards the book of Daniel has been open. (For more information on the time of the end, see notes on Daniel 11:30-35)

Foot upon the sea...foot upon the earth - This shows the extent of the message that was to be proclaimed from the book of Daniel. The message would cross the seas to distant lands; the islands of the seas would also hear the proclamation of this message. This message is worldwide in its nature.

Revelation 10:3-4 “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.”

Cried with a loud voice - This cry was likened unto a lion that roareth. A lion’s roar is powerful and very loud, but can also be heard for quite a distance.

Seven thunders uttered their voices - The seven thunders utter their voices when the cry goes out. Do we know what they are?

I was about to write...seal up those things - It is obvious that John understood those things that were uttered for he was about to write them down. But before he could, a voice from heaven told him to seal up the things that the thunders uttered and do not write them. God, in His wisdom, has withheld them from our understanding; it has not been revealed to us what they are.

Revelation 10:5-6 “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:”

Lifted up his hand to heaven - As it is in our day so it was in ancient times, that the lifting up of the hand was a gesture characteristic of the utterance of an oath. (Genesis 14:21-23)

Swear by him that liveth forever and ever, who created... - Here the angel, who is Christ swears by the one that lives for ever and ever, but also by the one that created all things. The one that made all things is Christ, (John 1:1-3, 14) and thus also keepeth truth for ever. (Psalms 146:6) Christ swears by Himself for there is no greater that He can swear by. (Hebrews 6:13) This shows the importance of the truth in this chapter.

Time no longer - What is this time no longer? Is it literal time, that is, time as calculated by the world today, should end and eternity start; or is it referring to probationary time of when the day will come when salvation’s door closes forevermore? Is it symbolic time of where a day represents a year?

We find that the answer is none of the above mentioned. The reasons for this are as follows;

Literal time - It cannot be literal time, as in the end of the world, for at the close of the proclamation of this message, the command is given that ‘thou must prophesy again’, verse 11. Thus it cannot be the end of the world.

Probationary time - In verse 7 we find that, during the sounding of the seventh angel the mystery of God should be finished. The mystery of God represents the gospel and its work in a person’s life, and the finishing of this is the close of probationary time. If probationary time is here referred to, why do we need to have the gospel do its work under the seventh angel when all cases have been decided for gain or loss of eternal life?

Symbolic time - Symbolic time, a day for a year, extends until the second coming of Christ, at which stage time changes from symbolic to literal time. This is a very important Biblical principle to remember. It is because of this principle that we understand the 1000 years of Revelation 20 to be literal and not symbolic. The events of chapter 20 occur after the second coming of Christ. The events of chapter 20 are literal events, a literal resurrection of the wicked, a literal beloved city, literal fire and literal death, thus a literal thousand years.

So we can see that it is not symbolic time referred to, as we are still dealing with the time frame before the second coming of Christ.

To understand the issue of ‘time no longer’ we need to go to the book of Daniel, for it is this book that is open in the hand of the angel and which is being proclaimed from. Here we shall find the answer.

In the book of Daniel there are four prophetic time periods, also known as chronological time periods, each of them with a definite starting and finishing date. They are as follows;

- The 3½ prophetic years of Daniel 7:25 and 12:7. The rise and fall of Papal supremacy. 538 A.D. - 1798 A.D.
- The 1290 prophetic days of Daniel 12:11. The taking away of the daily and the abomination set up. 508 A.D. - 1798 A.D.
- The 1335 prophetic days of Daniel 12:12. Daniel and the saints stand in their lot for judgment. 508 A.D. - 1843/44 A.D.
- The 2300 prophetic days of Daniel 8:14. At the close of this date the cleansing of the sanctuary or judgment would commence. 457 B.C. - 1844 A.D.

The longest time prophecy in the book of Daniel is the 2300 days which ended in 1844. This marked the end of all the chronological prophecies and thus the ending of all definite date settings. It is to this that the angel was pointing when exclaiming that there should be ‘time no longer’. No longer are we to look to these prophecies to be fulfilled, they have come to their end. All chronological time prophecies/time periods have ceased. No more dates are to be set after 1844, for any event whatsoever, as far as Bible prophecy is concerned. 1844 is the last date in Bible prophecy.

This does not mean that the day for a year principle ceased in 1844, it means that, all time periods needing an ending date have ceased.

Revelation 10:7 “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 has declared to his servants the prophets.”

Days of the voice of the seventh angel - The seventh angel is doubtless a reference to the angel of the seventh trumpet. And days can be a reference to years, like the other trumpets before it occupied years.

Begin to sound, mystery of God should be finished - During the sounding of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God will be finished. But what is the mystery of God?

“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).” Ephesians 3:3-4. By revelation this mystery of Christ was made known unto him.

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen.” Galatians 1:11-12, 16.

“To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.

This is why it is also known as the mystery of the gospel, for this is the purpose of the gospel.

Revelation 10:8-11 “And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke 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 your belly bitter, but it shall be in your 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, You must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

Revelation Bible Prophecy Chapter 11...