Bible Commentaries
Revelation 10

Verses 1-11

(c) X:1-XI:14 A Double Vision Interposed. An Angel with the ’Little Book’: the Two Witnesses —Ch 10 describes a strong radiant Angel, holding a small book. Seven thunder-claps resound, but John is told not towrite down what the say. He is then ordered to ’eat’ this bitter-sweet book and to prophesy to many races, nations and kings., Ch 11:1-14 describes how he is then bidden to measure the Temple, excluding the Outer Court which like the City itself is abandoned to pagan desecration for 42 months. Two Witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days—they are the two olive-trees, the two lamps burning before the Lord; during their prophetic period they can take vengeance on men and on inanimate nature alike. Then ’the Beast from the Abyss’ shall conquer and slay them: they lie exposed for 3? days and are then assumed into heaven. An earthquake: many perish, but the rest give glory to God.

10:1. The Angel (cf. the announcing Angel of 5:2): he is a’resplendent blaze of light—no need to visualize details as e.g. Dürer did. He holds a ’small’ book, open—the visions will be narrower and will concern the Roman and the Asiatic world as such, displayed to all eyes. Since the unrolling of the first great scroll there are no more secrets (yet see 3 and 4). He strikes from sea to land—I think, from Rome (overseas, for John) to Asia. The vision is an ’intermediate’ ecstasy: John is not now in that heaven to which he was told. to ’come up’ (4:1).

3-4. ’The Seven Thunders’: there is still something that John must not tell: is it some closer definition of the Consummation? 5b. But the Angel swears solemnly that ’there shall be no more delay’ (not ’time’ : 6): not indeed that the Parousia is imminent—it awaits the Seventh Trumpet: but the world-age in which John was living was rapidly reaching its end: ’No more delay!’ cf. 6:11; 2 Peter 3:3 ff. 7 ff. The 7th Trumpet will denote the ’consummation of the Mystery of God’, ’the joyous news that he has given to his servants the Prophets to proclaim’, that is, the accomplishments of the whole of the divine plan. 11. But before that, John ’must’ prophesy what more exactly concerns Imperial Rome as such.—The ’eating’ of the book (assimilation of its contents)— from Ez 3:1-3. It contains God’s words—therefore, sweetness: but, his terrible judgements—therefore, John adds bitterness.