Revelation 10:1

Revelation 10:1. A strong angel is seen coming down out of heaven who is said to be ‘another.' Already, at chap. Revelation 5:2, we have met with a ‘strong angel' who is also introduced in connection with the book-roll spoken of in that chapter. It is reasonable to think, therefore, that this mention of ‘another' has reference to that one, and not to the ‘many' angels of whom we have elsewhere read. What we are to think of this angel will be best considered after we have noticed the things said concerning him. (1) He comes ‘out of heaven,' where is the throne of God. (2) He is clothed with a cloud. The expression ‘a cloud,' or ‘the cloud,' or ‘clouds,' is met with seven times in the Apocalypse, and in five of these it is distinctly connected with the Son of man as He comes to judgment. In the sixth, chap. Revelation 11:12, we shall see that it must also be the investiture of the Son of man. The cloud here must have a similar meaning. (3) And the rainbow was upon his head. The article does not lead us to the well-known ordinary rainbow, or to the rainbow of Genesis 9:13, but to that already mentioned at chap. Revelation 4:3. (4) And his face was as the sun. These words take us back to chap. Revelation 1:16, and again bring the sun before us in a light similar to that in which it is presented there, as the source of burning, scorching heat. (5) And his feet as pillars of fire. These words carry us to chap. Revelation 1:15, and the fire is that of judgment (comp. chap. Revelation 20:9). (6) And he had in his hand a little book-roll open. It appears from Revelation 10:5 that the book must be in the left hand of the angel, and an important distinction is thus drawn between it and the roll of chap. 5. The latter was ‘on' the hand, and that hand the ‘right;' the former is ‘in' the hand, and that hand the ‘left.' The contents of the two rolls, therefore, cannot be exactly the same, although the fact that the word employed in the original for the ‘roll' now mentioned is a diminutive of that which meets us at chap. Revelation 5:1, combined with the whole contents of the present passage, is sufficient to show us that the two rolls are of the same general character. The roll now before us is ‘little' in comparison with the larger one previously spoken of, and it is ‘open' while the latter was ‘sealed.' The interpretation of the passage is affected by all these circumstances.