Revelation 10 It's a secret.....

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Revelation 10:1 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. 2 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 the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 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.”
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 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!
7 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.”
8 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.”
9 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.’[a]” 10 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. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”


a. Revelation 10:9 Ezek. 3:3

I've been using the easy English site. No need to stop now.

John saw a great angel come down from heaven. It seemed that a cloud covered him like a coat. There was a rainbow above his head. But his face shone with a bright light like the sun. The impression of his legs was like fire.​
There was a little book in the left hand of the angel. This book was open so that people could read it.
The angel came down to earth. He was a very large angel. He put one foot on the land and the other foot on the sea. By this, he showed that he had great authority.
When the angel spoke, his voice was like the loud roar of a lion. At his call, the 7 thunders answered. The 7 thunders seemed to speak words. John heard the thunders. And he understood what they said.
John kept a record of all that he saw. He wrote what he heard. He listened to the thunders. Then he started to write down their words. But a voice from heaven stopped him. What the thunders said must remain a secret. The message that they gave was for John alone.​
The angel raised his right hand to heaven. By this, he shows that his promise is sure. God in heaven is witness to it. The angel makes the promise in front of God.
Here is the angel’s promise. There will be no further delay. The final phase of history has come.
The seventh (7th) trumpet will sound. In those days, God will finish his hidden plan. This will be the last struggle of evil things against goodness. It will be the last efforts of Satan to defeat the purposes of God. But Satan will not succeed. And this time will also be the last chance for people to turn from their sins.
God has shown some of his plan to the prophets. His plan for the end times is in the scroll. This book of the Revelation tells what is in that scroll. Some of it remains secret, for example what the thunders said. And we do not yet understand many things that God has said.
The voice that John heard in verse 4 spoke to him again. He told John to go to the angel and to take the little book from him. The angel was still standing with one foot on the sea and the other one on the land.​
John went to the angel and asked for the book. The angel told him to take it and to eat it. John took the little book and ate it. As the angel had said, the book tasted as sweet as honey. But in his stomach, it tasted bitter.
It was as if John was feeling the effect of the word of God. Afterwards, he would be able to prophesy. So, he ate the little book. The book contained the message that John had to tell.
We do not know what was in the little book. It was most likely a message to God’s people on the earth. It was like something sweet because the words came from God. But it was like something bitter because it told about troubles to come. God’s people would overcome in the end. But before that, people would suffer and there would be much pain.
The message that there would be no more delay was a pleasant (or sweet) message. The end for God’s people will be pleasant. But the time before that end would be unpleasant (bitter) for God’s people.
Once more, John must prophesy. He must show what is yet to happen. The end was not yet but it would come soon. The days of the seventh (7th) *trumpet were ready to begin. This was a message to all the people in the world
This is from enduringword.com.

I was about to write… do not write them: Of course, this irritates many commentators and sets speculation running wild. What did they say that John must not tell us?
Do not write them: If John was not permitted to tell us what they said, why should he even record the incident? One result of it should be to let us know there are secrets in the prophetic scenario, mysteries that should keep our exposition and prediction humble.​
“This illustrates the principle that while God has revealed much, there are secrets which God has not seen fit to reveal to man at this time.” (Walvoord)​
The mystery of God would be finished: What mystery? One important aspect of this mystery is that it has been declared to His servants the prophets.​
In Biblical vocabulary, a mystery isn’t something no one knows. A mystery is something no one could know unless it was revealed to him. If you could know it by intuition or personal investigation, it isn’t a mystery, because mysteries must be revealed. Therefore, something can be known and still be a mystery in the Biblical sense.​
This is from biblegateway.ocm.

He implies, however, that the seven thunders were somehow canceled simply because John did not write them down. On the contrary, John's point is that he has heard and therefore knows far more than he is telling. If anything, the seven thunders are more mysterious and more frightening for not being described in detail. Like the best modern writers of horror and fantasy, John knows that sometimes "less is more," and that understatement can be an effective vehicle for wonder and suspense.​

We must know Ezekiel's story in order to understand what is going on. Ezekiel too was told to eat a scroll and "then go and speak to the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 3:1). Unlike John, Ezekiel had seen the scroll actually being unrolled. "On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe" (Ezek 2:9). When he ate it, "it tasted as sweet as honey" (Ezek 3:3), suggesting that Ezekiel's message would be sweet to him, though bitter to his hearers. John's experience is more complex. Nothing is said of what is written on the scroll, but the message is sweet as honey in John's mouth and sour in his stomach . Even though John (and his fellow prophets) have the sweet privilege of hearing and delivering God's "good news", their prophecies will inevitably bring them sorrow and suffering. John knows this, for he is already a "brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus." He is on Patmos "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus".

This is from the blueletterbible.com

before, &c.--rather as Greek (epilaois), "concerning many peoples," &c., namely, in their relation to the Church. The eating of the book, as in Ezekiel's case, marks John's inauguration to his prophetical office--here to a fresh stage in it, namely, the revealing of the things which befall the holy city and the Church of God--the subject of the rest of the book.​
Well, this seems to be an interlude.... instruction for John only. I am convinced that God could whisper into a person's ear... in plain language... and some of what He whispers would be too big to comprehend at the moment.... but later... it will all make perfect sense.

Let me set the scene again..... John, the closest personal human friend of Jesus the Messiah..... has been existing on a deserted rocky island. He is having a vision. The vision started when Jesus showed up.... glowing as He had when He met with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. Then John saw an open door in Heaven.... so John peeked inside. John had been assigned an Angel to interpret for him. Some things in Heaven can't be described in human language.... so the Angel was an necessary tool. A strong Angel was ranting in Heaven about having to wait. Apparently that Angel was upset about what the humans did to the Messiah. Anyway.... the strong Angel can't get the scroll open that contains the instruction for the destruction of all the creepy humans who still refuse to believe. Jesus took the scroll from the strong Angel and started to open it. Every seal He popped caused something to happen.

At this point six seals have been opened. Before the seventh seal can be broken... the instructions apparently call for seven trumpets to be sounded. Every time an angel blows a trumpet.... something happens on earth. The Sixth trumpet has sounded. There has been an earthquake.... a third of the humans have been murdered..... and a third again. There have been critters released on humans that bite and leave their victims wishing they could die. There is an army so big it fills the whole horizon... and this army is riding some kind of upgraded horse... that can kill humans with their tail. An eagle [no not the US... just an eagle] just told us the last three trumpets will bring worse consequences.... and so far... the critters and the horses are pretty horrific.

So... we are at the seventh trumpet and the seventh seal... but first a mystery..... who are the "7 thunders" and what in the world are they all about?

John says it's a secret.

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