Firstfruits to Pentecost: The Mighty Angel and the Seven Thunders
“From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.”
– Leviticus 23: 15
Revelation 10 – Interval between Firstfruits and Pentecost
Theme: Continuation and Expectation
The next feast in the Jewish worship calendar is Pentecost, celebrated seven weeks after Firstfruits at the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Seven is God’s number of completion. The period between these two feasts is not considered a ‘timeout’ in the worship calendar, but a continuation of the theme of first fruits consecration. It is a time of seeking God in fasting and prayer, of looking forward to completion of the personal consecration begun on the feast of Firstfruits. The seven thunders of the mighty angel symbolize this seven-week period of consecration. This chapter acts as the interval between these two feasts, conveying an expectancy of the coming fulfillment of Pentecost in Revelation 11.
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Revelation 10
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. 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.”
Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raise his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth, and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “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.”
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 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.” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” (NIV)
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Revelation 10 Commentary
v. 1-4 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. 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.”
The mighty angel’s stance on both land and sea indicates that events have moved from heavenly realms to the earth. It is also representative of the Creator’s authority over his creation: the land, symbolic of Israel, as well as the sea, representing Gentile nations. It is an affirmation of God’s right to judge the nations of the earth.
Two additional observations can be made here. First, this is the only time in Scripture when seven voices are heard speaking as one. Second, the purpose of Revelation is to reveal; there is no other time in Revelation that a message is sealed. Because of this, our attention is drawn to the specific number of the seven thunders rather than their message. The symbolism of the seven thunders is a fairly good confirmation of the seven-week passage of time between Firstfruits and Pentecost in the pattern of the feasts.
v. 5-7 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raise his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth, and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “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.”
God’s salvation plan contains many facets, both hidden and revealed. Parts of God’s plan were mysteries, or secrets, kept hidden from the powers of darkness that sought to prevent his plan from being accomplished. The essence of the Mystery of God is that through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, salvation would be made available to all people, Gentiles as well as Jews. Salvation would no longer be based on birthright through the line of the patriarchs, but on faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. The ‘days of the seventh angel’ is when the mystery of God, i.e., the redemption of the Gentiles, will be completed. Since the seventh angel initiates the Day of Trumpets in the themes of the feasts, this is a reference to the coming rule of the beast that concludes the times of the Gentiles.
“This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 3:6 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 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.” Col. 1:26, 27
v. 8-11 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 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.” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
When God commissioned Ezekiel as a prophet, he directed him to eat a scroll containing the words of his prophecy against Jerusalem. In this way Ezekiel not only had knowledge of the message, he could also experience the Lord’s burden of the injustice and sin that justified the coming judgment. This ensured that the message would be delivered in the spirit in which it was given. John is being given a similar commission here by the mighty angel. He is no longer just a spectator, but will become involved as a prophetic voice, understanding the anger of God’s Spirit at the crimes of mankind.
“Then I looked and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe... So I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth... The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit…” Ezek. 2:9-10; 3:3, 14
Revelation 10
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