10:1 mighty angel. The description of this “mighty angel” makes it obvious that He is none other than Christ Himself (compare with Revelation 1:7,16,15). John has seen Him first as the glorified Son of man (Revelation 1:13), then as God upon the throne (Revelation 4:10), the Lamb with the title scroll (Revelation 5:8), and the conquering Rider on the white horse (Revelation 6:2). Now He appears as the mighty Angel of the Lord, claiming possession of land and sea.

10:1 rainbow. The beautiful rainbow, an eloquent representation of both divine judgment and mercy in judgment, was first seen above the emerald throne and the One who sat upon the throne (Revelation 4:3), in heaven. Now, near the very middle of the tribulation, He descends to the earth, and the rainbow is still above His head as a glorious crown.

10:2 little book. “Little book” is from the Greek bibliaridion, which is the diminutive of biblion, as used for “book” in Revelation 5:1-9. The latter represented the title deed to the whole earth. All its seals will have been broken by this time, so that the book is fully “open,” with the writing signifying ownership fully displayed. Accordingly, the “mighty angel” or “mighty messenger” will descend from heaven and stand astride both land and sea, proclaiming His right thereto. As “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17; Revelation 2:26-27; 3:21), God will graciously allot each of His saints a portion of that inheritance, and this seems to be represented by the “little book”—that is, a title deed to an appropriate portion of that inheritance. Each believer, as represented by John, will receive such a portion as John receives.

10:3 seven thunders. The “seven thunders” seem to correspond to the seven-times-manifested “voice of the Lord” in Psalm 29:3-9 (see notes thereon). This psalm is clearly describing retroactively the events of the great Flood in the days of Noah (“flood” in Psalm 29:10 is the Hebrew mabbul, a word used only for the Noahic cataclysm). At the first “voice of the Lord” (Psalm 29:3), the psalmist saw in his vision that “the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.” This great cataclysm marked the first time in history that the rebels on earth had ever heard thunder, for before that, “the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth” (Genesis 2:5). The seven thunderous voices at the Flood had been voices of judgment, and the inference here in Revelation is the same. Yet the Lord told John not to record what they said, implying that there would still be time for human repentance before the final destruction would come. Just as the earth’s rainbow had signified God’s mercy in Noah’s day, so His rainbow crown will indicate that God’s mercy and long-suffering have not yet been fully exhausted. Note also Daniel 12:4,7,9.

10:6 him that liveth. Daniel apparently saw the same glorified man in vision that John was seeing in reality (note Daniel 12:7 and Daniel 10:5-8). It may even be that both were describing the same scene, the same proclamation and the same prophecy—the prophecy that there was yet a little time remaining for human repentance. In fact, Daniel records that there would still be “a time, times, and an half” (Daniel 12:7), which corresponds to three and one-half years and agrees fully with the chronology of the remaining time indicated to John (Revelation 11:2; 13:5). Note also that the one who “liveth for ever and ever” is, of course, the Creator (Revelation 4:10-11), and yet also is the Lamb (Revelation 5:13), for they are one. “Because He could sware by none greater, He sware by Himself” (Hebrews 6:13).

10:6 created heaven. The sworn assurance that there will be a supernatural consummation of all things must appeal to the fact that there was a supernatural creation of all things. Those who deny a real creation by God tend also to deny a purposeful consummation by God (note II Peter 3:3-6).

10:6 time no longer. This does not mean that time itself will cease, for then the universe (which is a space-mass-time continuum) must also cease, and God has said it will last forever (e.g., Psalm 104:5; 148:6). Rather, God’s purging of the earth will not be further delayed after the “days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound” (Revelation 10:7).

10:10 ate it up. By “eating” his title deed, John in effect was appropriating his portion of Christ’s inheritance, as all the saints will be doing in this age to come, along with John.

10:10 belly was bitter. Along with all the “riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18), there will also be weeping and bitterness, for it will involve participating with Christ in His condemnatory judgment of the world (I Corinthians 6:2; Psalm 149:6-9) and also ruling “with a rod of iron” the growing population of unregenerate human beings in the millennial age (Revelation 2:27). We must acquiesce with Christ in the perfect justice of consigning to hell the multitudes who have rejected or ignored His saving love, including perhaps the friends and loved ones we might have won to Christ if we had tried and prayed more diligently (note Ezekiel 3:18).

10:11 prophesy again. Lest John think that his job of writing would be completed now that Christ had proclaimed His ownership of the world and had said there would be no delay, he is instructed that he still must observe and record events of the judgments yet to come.