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Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [ was] upon his head, and his face [ was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [ his] left [ foot] on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as [ when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Introduction

There are seven questions, about seven symbols which we need to consider in this study of the first four verses of Rev 10. They are:

1) Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?
2) What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?
3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?
4) What is “the sea and the earth”?
5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?
6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? What is this all about?
7) Then we will also need to ask ourselves, What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? “Keeping” ignorance, and remaining uninformed, really is not that great of a challenge, as I am sure we will all agree. But exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know? Again we will see what the scriptures reveal as being unrevealed and sealed up.
We will, as always, supply the verses of God’s word which shed the light on what these symbols mean.
Since we are told to “seal up those things the seven thunders uttered, and write them not,” we need to remind ourselves once again, that we are admonished to “read… hear… and keep the thing written therein, for the time is at hand”.

Rev 1:3  Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [ is] at hand.

1) Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [ was] upon his head, and his face [ was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

Where else in scripture has this “angel” been described in these same terms? 

Eze 1:26  And above the firmament that [ was] over their heads [ was] the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne [ was] the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [ was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [ was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [ it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

“The appearance of a man” in Ezekiel and the “mighty angel” of Rev 10 both have “a rainbow and the appearance of fire” in common. Now look at what Dan 10 and Rev 1 have in common when describing Christ.

Dan 10:5  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins [ were] girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
Dan 10:6  His body also [ was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [ one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14  His head and [ his] hairs [ were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [ were] as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 
Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [ are] like fine brass;

The appearance of a rainbow, girded with gold, face as the sun, eyes as lamps of fire, feet as brass in a furnace, are all parts of the description of “the Son of Man”. They are all describing Christ, and Christ is a messenger sent from God. Christ is “God’s angel… the Cloud” who led Israel out of Egypt.

2) What is this “little book”?

What does the Word of God reveal about this little book? Would it not be of utmost instruction if we could know what was written in this “little book”?  We dare not “think above what is written” (1Co 4:6), so we will let the Word of God tell us what this little book is all about:

Eze 2:1  And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Eze 2:2  And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
Eze 2:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, [ even] unto this very day.
Eze 2:4  For [ they are] impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 2:5  And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they [ are] a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [ be] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [ be] a rebellious house.
Eze 2:7  And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they [ are] most rebellious.
Eze 2:8  But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand [ was] sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book [ was] therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it [ was] written within and without: and [ there was] written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Here in Ezekiel this book is called “a roll of a book”, and we are told “it was written within and without with lamentations, and mourning, and woe”. So we have a general idea of what is written in this little book in the hand of this mighty angel. It would be nice if it were written within and without with “smooth things”, but that simply is not the Truth. Instead it is full of “lamentations, mourning, and woe”. But how can we know that this is the same book as the one mentioned in Rev 10:2? Can we really know that this book in the hand of the angel of Rev 10:2 is the same as this book here in Ezekiel 2? Yes, indeed, we can know this because of all the things these two descriptions of this one book have in common, as demonstrated by the instructions given to Ezekiel concerning this same book in Ezekiel 3, the very next chapter:

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [ and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [ it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Why are both Ezekiel and John, told to “eat this roll… eat it up”? What does that mean? Did not Christ also tell us to “eat my body and drink my blood”?

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [ his] flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

These verses here in Joh 6 make clear that eating the bread from heaven is the same as eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood. Both are required to given us life. But Christ, in this same chapter, also informs us that it is His words which are the light and the life.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. (ASV)
Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Let’s review what we are being told. Christ tells us we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have life (Joh 6:54). He tells us that He is the true bread which came down from heaven. He tells us that He is the light of the world. Christ tells us that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood “dwell in Christ, and Christ in them.” Finally, Christ tells us that we will be “witnesses of these things”:

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Now let’s compare all of this to what Ezekiel is told in Eze 2 and 3, and what John is told in Rev 10. When we do this, we find that it is the very same message. It is the message that God’s Word must be within us before we can witness for Him and before we can have life. Both men are told to “eat this book… it will be sweet in your mouth… I send you to the house of Israel… you must prophesy before many…” In the “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little”, way of revealing His word, we see that “It will be bitter in your belly is added here in Revelation,” but even that is explained in Ezekiel’s experience with Israel, as described in Ezekiel 3.

Eze 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went [ to witness] in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

It should be obvious that eating this book, eating the true bread from heaven and eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ is all one and the same nourishing diet which equips us to “be witnesses unto Christ”. This “little book” is obviously the words of Christ, and when we eat this book, His words are living in and nourishing us. This little book is Christ’s testimony in our lives that we have “eaten His flesh and we have drunk of His blood in the New Testament”. Whoever eats this book is eating Christ and drinking Christ’s blood, and Christ says that He “will raise him up at the last day.” This is a “little book” because we are ‘little’ christs.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Today is that “day of judgment”. (1Pe 4:17). Let’s demonstrate this truth with scripture.

To whom is this little book addressed?

Who are those who will be raised up in the last day? We have already established in our study of the first chapter of Revelation that this little book, along with all the book of Revelation and all of scripture, is addressed only to those who can “read, hear, and keep the things written therein” and who can understand that “the time is at hand” to do so. Both Ezekiel and Christ tell us that God’s Words, including His words in this little book, are addressed only to “lost sheep of the house of Israel”.

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [ any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But who is Israel? Here is who the scriptures teach is an Israelite, and here is who the scriptures teach is a Jew:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [ is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he [ is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [ is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [ and] not in the letter; whose praise [ is] not of men, but of God.

And here are two different versions of Gal 6:15-16.

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GW)
Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

So this little book is addressed to those to whom all scripture is addressed. It is addressed to “the Israel of God” to whom it is given to understand that God “has made of both [ Israelites and Gentiles] one new man” who can eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus, and eat this book, and “read, hear, and keep the things written therein, [ understanding that] the time is at hand” to do so.
Now let’s go back to see what else Ezekiel 3 reveals to us concerning the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which utter their voices at the time this book is introduced to us.

Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat [ it]; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Eze 3:4  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
 For thou [ art] not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, [ but] to the house of Israel;
  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Eze 3:6  Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
Eze 3:7  But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel [ are] impudent and hardhearted.
Eze 3:8  Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

Here is this same message in the book of Revelation:

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. [ What is that mystery? We are not left to speculate.]
Col 1:27  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:
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [ and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [ it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Rev 16:9  And men [ men who knew God, men of Israel, you and me] were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

This is our flesh. Were it not for God’s mercy, we would be there with the majority. Remember Job, and remember King David. We are “that man”.

Eze 3:9  As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they [ be] a rebellious house.
 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
Eze 3:11  And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Eze 3:12  Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, [ saying], Blessed [ be] the glory of the LORD from his place.
Eze 3:13  [ I heard] also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
Eze 3:14  So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
Eze 3:15  Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Eze 3:16  And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Eze 3:18  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [ man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:19  Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Eze 3:20  Again, When a righteous [ man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:21  Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous [ man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
Mar 6:11  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Eze 3:22  And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
Eze 3:23  Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
Eze 3:24  Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
Eze 3:25  But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
Eze 3:26  And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they [ are] a rebellious house.
Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies [ shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Eze 3:27  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they [ are] a rebellious house.

“Get thee to them of the captivity” is those who are in Babylon the great. It is each of us who have crucified Christ and His elect, and who have refused their testimony. Who has been “hard hearted” but God’s very own elect?

Isa 42:19  Who [ is] blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger [ that] I sent? who [ is] blind as [ he that is] perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?
Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

None of us accept “their testimony” when we first hear it. We are all first blind. Which is exactly what Christ taught:

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And [ some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

So “their faces [ and] their foreheads” in Ezekiel 3 are the faces and foreheads of the symbolic two hundred million false doctrines within us, which proceed out of the smoke of the bottomless pit to “darken the sun and the air” which are within us. These words are directed to us. They are not addressed to those who cannot “read, hear, or keep the things which are written therein” and who do not even believe that “the time is at hand” to do so.

3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [ his] left [ foot] on the earth,

Both the sea and the earth are pictured as being under the feet of Christ. What is the meaning of being under His feet? The scriptures demonstrate that the concept, and the message of having anything under one’s feet, is the concept of having been given the dominion over that which is placed under the feet.

Jdg 4:10  And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
1Ki 5:3  Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
Est 8:3  And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [ things] under his feet:
Dan 7:19  Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth [ were of] iron, and his nails [ of] brass; [ which] devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
Nah 1:3  The LORD [ is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [ the wicked]: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [ are] the dust of his feet.
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under [ him, it is] manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
Eph 1:22  And hath put all [ things] under his feet, and gave him [ to be] the head over all [ things] to the church,
Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing [ that is] not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

So the meaning of the sea and the earth being under Christ’s feet is this:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

When we are given to understand the truth of Mat 28:18, then we will begin to know that it also applies to us.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Is Christ given all power in heaven and in earth? Is He given power over all the powers and principalities and false doctrine in the heavens? We are, too.

Eph 6:12 Because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but, against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world- holders, of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.(REV)

When we see that Christ’s feet are on the sea and on the earth, then we will know that we really can, through Christ, “do all things”, and we can conquer everything in both the sea of our flesh and the Babylon of our earth, because Christ’s feet are our feet, and we really are Jesus of Nazareth who is persecuted and despised of all men.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?
The dry land is pushed up out of the sea.

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [ land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [ land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [ it was] good.

The gathering together of “the waters” is revealed as that which covers the earth and out of which the beast and the dry land appear:

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

The sea, “the waters under the heavens”, is revealed to be the masses of mankind upon whom the great harlot of Babylon, as the mother of all religions who have rejected their Creator, rides and directs.

Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

“The  dry land” which is pushed up when “the waters under the heavens are gathered together” is called earth and is revealed to be the people of God who have turned their backs on their own Creator, and who refuse to hear the word of their Creator.

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [ land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [ land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [ it was] good.
Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

God’s dominion over the sea and the earth comes through His wrath upon all unrighteousness. His feet being upon the sea and the earth is in accord with His “crying with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”.

Pro 19:12  The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour [ is] as dew upon the grass.

A lion roars when he has taken his prey:

Amo 3:4  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [ is] for him? shall [ one] take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid; shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

The Lord has both the sea and the earth “under His feet”, and He wants the world to know it. The sea and the earth both are the enemies of God, and are both “the body of this death”. We are by nature that world of “the sea and the earth”, and if He is in us, He will rejoice and “roar” because of His dominion over the sea and the earth, which is “the body of this death” which we call our flesh and which flesh, by nature, “serves the law of sin”.

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say [ so], whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Christ, as “the lion of the tribe of Judah…, devours his enemy” even as “He redeems us from the hand of the enemy… the body of this death.”

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Hos 13:4  Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for [ there is] no saviour beside me.
Hos 13:7  Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe [ them]:
Hos 13:8  I will meet them as a bear [ that is] bereaved [ of her whelps], and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, [ he] will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: s o shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? What is this all about?

Why are the seven thunders “sealed up and not written”? God has taken His “very elect” into His confidence to a very great extent and has seen fit to reveal to them all of “the mysteries of the kingdom of God”. Yet he plainly tells us that there are some things which He has not taken us into His confidence to reveal to us. God shows us what He is doing in us only after He has prepared us to receive it. It is a process which involves every word that proceeds out of His mouth, and it is a process which is common to all men.

Deu 29:2  And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
Deu 29:3  The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:
Deu 29:4  Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Witnessing great miracles obviously is not what is required to change one’s heart and turn it toward God. Those things which do change our hearts are His thunders and His wrath upon our sins, and they are revealed only as we can receive them. So Moses concludes this prophecy in Deu 29 with these words:

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

These “secrets things” are not revealed and are “sealed up and not uttered”. But the things which are revealed are written and uttered to only very few.

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

So the multitudes who come to Christ to hear his parables are still, to this very day, thinking they have eyes that see when in reality “they see not”. They think they have ears that hear, and they believe they can read, but the Truth remains “neither do they understand”. But to His elect He says “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to them it is not given.” Yet we are told that John himself was to “seal up what the seven thunders had uttered and write them not.”
What is the significance of telling us that there is something that is not revealed? Was not John told to write down all he had seen?

Rev 1:19  Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;

So it was in obedience to this commandment that John begins to write what the seven thunders had uttered. John no doubt thought that this too, would edify and exhort and comfort those who were given to “read, hear and keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3). After all, we have already been told “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the three trumpets which are yet to sound.” Our next trumpet is the seventh trumpet, and the seventh trumpet is “the seven last plagues of God’s wrath” which are poured out upon the inhabitors of the earth. What could be in these seven thunders, which is not to be revealed nor written down? The answer to this question can be understood only when we know what is meant by “thunders” and when we notice that John himself heard the voices of the seven thunders, and was about to write them down when he was told not to do so. So if we are given to understand who John typifies, and if we know what are the thunders, then we will understand why John was told to “seal up what the seven thunders had uttered and write it not.” We must understand the spiritual significance of the word thunder, and we must understand the spiritual significance and symbolism of John himself, and we must know what is not revealed, before we can understand why John himself could hear the thunders but was not permitted to write down what he had heard.
What is the spiritual significance of the word ‘thunder’?
The first time this word appears in scripture tells us of its spiritual significance.

Exo 9:23  And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:27  And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD [ is] righteous, and I and my people [ are] wicked.
Exo 9:28  Intreat the LORD (for [ it is] enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
Exo 9:29  And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.

That is the fruit of God’s thunder in our lives. That is the fruit of God’s wrath upon our sins:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Vengeance belongs only to the Lord, and His vengeance and His wrath produce righteousness, while ours fails in that regard:

Rom 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [ rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [ is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

This very apostle, John, and his brother, James, were called “sons of thunder” by our Lord.

Mar 3:17  And James the [ son] of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

The reason for this name is revealed in this incident, which is recorded for our edification:

Luk 9:53  And they [ the Samaritans] did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw [ this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

So thunder signifies God’s wrath, and these seven thunders signify the complete wrath of God, and John was given to hear what those seven thunders uttered, but he was told to seal it up and write it not. So now we need to remember who John signifies and symbolizes.

Who, spiritually, is John?

John makes clear who he is, and who he symbolizes in the first two verses of this book:

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

There it is. John is the symbol of all who “bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all thing that he saw.” Now let’s see who else has this testimony, and bares record of these words.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [ The angel who is showing these things to John]. And he said unto me, See [ thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

And this revelation is repeated in chapter 20:

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Who is it who does all these things?

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, ( whoso readeth, let him understand🙂
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Reading and understanding is the same as reading and hearing. It is given to only a few to “read, hear, and keep the things which are written in the words of this prophecy.”

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

This book is a “two edged sword”, and if we “keep the things written therein,” then we must acknowledge that this means “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, the good with the evil.

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Lam 3:38  Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
Lam 3:39  Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

How does the Lord humble us?

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.
Job 2:10  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

So John is the symbol of those who know and understand and live the truth of this verse of scripture:

Ecc 9:2  All [ things come] alike to all: [ there is] one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as [ is] the good, so [ is] the sinner; [ and] he that sweareth, as [ he] that feareth an oath.

John is the symbol of God’s elect, who know their experience is the same as all men, but in God’s grace that have that experience first.

7) What is it that is not revealed and is “sealed up”?

There are a few scriptures which tell us that which God has not revealed. Here is the most explicit verse on that subject:

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

It is in love and mercy, that we are not given to know the secrets that God knows concerning the details of our future struggles. God does not withhold from us anything that is for our good.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

But he does not take us into His confidence to the extent of revealing to us more or the details then we are prepared to accept or receive.

Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [ their] mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

It is only given to a few to receive a gospel which, right up front, asks you to be willing to be “hated of all men… crucified with Christ… and children of wrath.” But even those few to whom it is given to receive this calling have to have their hearts prepared before they can receive and keep the things which are written in the book of this prophecy.

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
Jer 12:3  But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

Before our hearts are tried toward God, we are first prepared as sheep for the slaughter.

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

It is in God’s great mercy that the details of our suffering on “the morrow” are not known in advance, and it is in His mercy that we are not told what the seven thunders of God’s wrath utter. John, as the symbol of our election, hears the thunders when his heart is prepared to receive their judgments.
Here are the words that immediately precede that verse in Deu 29, which informs us that the secret, “sealed up” things belong to God.

Deu 29:24  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what [ meaneth] the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and [ whom] he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28  And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [ it is] this day.
Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

“He that can receive it let him receive it.” God, in His great mercy does not force us to see things we are not prepared to receive and keep. That is why the seven thunders utter their voices, just as we are commanded to eat and digest the bitterness of the words of the little book in the hand of the mighty angle whose “feet are upon the sea, and the earth.”

1) Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?
We have seen that is angel with His feet on our sea and our earth, is Christ as the Lord of our lives, who has subdued our every thought to Himself.
2) What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

We have seen that this “little book” is the revelation of Christ in His Christ. Christ is “the book of the life of the Lamb,” and our lives are the books out of which we are “judged according to our works.”

Rev 13:8 And will worship him all those dwelling on the earth, of which not has been written the name in the scroll of the life of the lamb of that having been killed, from a casting down of a world. (EDT) Emphatic Diaglott
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [ the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

All of Christ’s words are good for us, and we will live by them all. But our lives are not sinless, and we will be judged out of those things which were written in the lesser books, according to how Christ has lived His life in us as “little books”, as the Christ of Christ.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

We saw that whatever is under one’s feet is subjected to that person. Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth. As such He is our King over our lives and over all we do.

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

We have seen that “the sea and the earth” are that realm which is below the heavens. As such they are the realm of the temporal, and the realm of death. Both of these are the enemies of Christ.

5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?
A lion roars only when he has taken his prey. The “roar of the lion” and having “the sea and the earth under His feet” are both compatible with Christ’s destruction of His enemy “the body of this death.”

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? 

We have seen that this little book is introduced to us just before the seven thunders utter their voices. We also saw that John, the type and symbol of God’s elect, heard the voices of the seven thunders and “was about to write” what he had heard. If this little book is Christ and His Words in us, if John is the symbol of Christ in us, and if thunder typifies the wrath of God upon the unrighteousness of those who are to become His elect, then the connection between the revelation of this little book and the seven thunders, is the revelation of the work of Christ’s Words upon all that is within us which is contrary to those Words of Christ.

7) What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? Exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know?

We saw that the Lord withholds nothing good from His elect. We also saw that it is just after telling us that God’s wrath will destroy all that is contrary to His Words within us that we are told that “the secret things belong to God.” Since we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear, it is obvious that what the seven thunders utter is whatever lies ahead of us which we are not, at this moment, able to bear. We also saw the verses of God’s Word which promise to prepare our hearts before we are faced with any trial. It is only after we have been prepared, that with John we are given to hear the voices of the seven thunders and we are prepared for our what lies before us.
Next week, Lord willing, we will finish chapter 10, which deals with “the days of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound… and the finishing of the mystery of God.”

Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [ and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [ it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.