Matthew Henry's
Commentary On The Whole Bible (1706-1721)
Revelation 10
Here we have an account of
another vision the apostle was favoured with, between the sounding of the
sixth trumpet and that of the seventh. And we observe,
I. The person who was
principally concerned in communicating this discovery to John—an angel from
heaven, another mighty
angel, who is so set forth as would induce one
to think it could be no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 1. He
was clothed with a cloud:
he veils his glory, which is too great for mortality to behold; and he throws
a veil upon his dispensations. Clouds and
darkness are round about him. 2. A rainbow was upon his head;
he is always mindful of his covenant, and, when his conduct is most
mysterious, yet it is perfectly just and faithful. 3. His face was as the sun, all
bright, and full of lustre and majesty, ch. 1:16. 4. His feet were as pillars of fire;
all his ways, both of grace and providence, are pure and steady.
II. His station and
posture: He set his right
foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth,
to show the absolute power and dominion he had over the world. And he held in his hand a little book opened,
probably the same that was before sealed, but was now opened, and gradually
fulfilled by him.
III. His awful voice:
He cried aloud, as when a
lion roareth (v. 3), and his awful voice was
echoed by seven thunders,
seven solemn and terrible ways of discovering the mind of God.
IV. The prohibition given to
the apostle, that he should not publish, but conceal what he had learned from
the seven thunders, v. 4. The apostle was for preserving and publishing every
thing he saw and heard in these visions, but the time had not yet come.
V. The solemn oath taken
by this mighty angel. 1. The manner of his swearing: He lifted up his hand to heaven, and
swore by him that liveth for ever, by himself,
as God often has done, or by God as God, to whom he, as Lord, Redeemer, and
ruler of the world, now appeals. 2. The matter of the oath: that there shall be time no longer;
either, (1.) That there shall be now no longer delay in fulfilling the
predictions of this book than till the last angel should sound; then every
thing should be put into speedy execution: the
mystery of God shall be finished,
v. 7. Or, (2.) That when this mystery of God is finished time itself shall be
no more, as being the measure of things that are in a mutable changing state;
but all things shall be at length for ever fixed, and so time itself swallowed
up in eternity.
Henry, M. 1996, c1991. Matthew Henry's
commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume
. Hendrickson: Peabody
The Glory & Voice of the Seventh Angel
At the very end of time
when the Great Tribulation is to begin, Revelation 15:6
reveals concerning the work of these seven messengers: "Out of the Temple
came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean,
shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests."
Revelation 10, the focus of
our study lesson, reveals in detail the activity of one of the seven
angels. This Mighty Angel--the Redeemer--will make His way quickly from
Heaven to earth on one truly eventful day--the
Day of Visitation. Setting foot on land and sea, He will raise His
right hand in magnificent power and with loud voice will utter seven
thunderous messages. All nature will respond--lightnings, voices,
thunderings and a massive earthquake. Prophecy predicts, in the days when
the Seventh Angel is about to sound His trumpet, the mystery of God will be
accomplished," Revelation 10:7.
The Angel's face will glow
"like the sun," Revelation 10:1.
The sun, moon and stars will not give their light, and then His face will
lighten this dark world with its bright radiance--His glorious appearing.
This will be a glorious day for the saints. "Although the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea... God will help her at
break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His
voice, the earth melts. God almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our
fortress," Psalms 46:2-7. "The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars
no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from
Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge
for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel," Joel 3:15-16. "The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from
Jerusalem," Amos 1:2. Messiah will not enter the New Jerusalem until He has
entered the earthly Jerusalem
to punish her for her sins. Shekinah will shine forth with a blinding
brilliance, and his final cleansing of the Most Holy Place,
and then the whole of the universe, will begin in earnest. The enemies of
faithful Israel (and the Gentiles who cleave to Messiah) must, once and for
all, be vanquished. The bride has made herself ready.
For the wicked, the Day of
the Lord will be too late for repentance: "The Lion hath roared, who will
not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy? ... In the day
that I shall visit the transgression of Israel upon him I will also visit
the altars . . . and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to
the ground,"
Amos 3:8, 14 (K.J.V.). "Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the Day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not
light . . . Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness, not light, pitch-dark,
without a ray of brightness? I hate, I despise your religious feasts [as on
the Day of Atonement]. . . you have lifted up the shrine of your king
[Antichrist], the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god--which you
made for yourselves,"
Amos 5:18, 20-21, 26.
1. Revelation 10:1
speaks of the Angel's descent to earth. Who is said to descend from Heaven
to call forth the righteous from their graves (1
Thessalonians 4:16)?
The "Lord Himself" will "come down" with a "loud command, with the voice
of the Archangel
[Michael] and with the [seventh] trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ
will rise first." It is Christ's coming down, Christ's loud command,
Christ's voice as the Archangel, and Christ's trumpet call that raises the
dead. In other words, the Archangel's voice is not in addition to Christ's
voice, but rather is one and the same voice. Christ--the Archangel. We see
in Paul's description the same event as Revelation 10--the Angel, voice and
seventh trumpet; the same event as Daniel 12:1-3, 7
when Michael [Christ] stands (and descends) to raise the dead and is found
above the waters of the Tigris (Daniel
10:4-6).
The time when the Great Tribulation is about to commence (Daniel
12:1).
2. How do
we know it is Christ's voice that calls forth the dead in resurrection (John
5:25-29)?
The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they will be raised
to live eternally.
3. Jesus
has in His hand a "little scroll" opened in Revelation 10:2
as though ready to reveal its contents. What book is to be sealed until the
end of time (Daniel
12:4)?
4. The fact
that the scroll was "opened" in His hand says what?
Daniel's prophesied events would finally be completely understood, for
the mysterious events themselves are about to be fulfilled. While the
scroll was sealed by Michael in Daniel 12:4,
it was promised to be unsealed and revealed, and all its mysteries
completed, at the time of the end.
5. What is
symbolized by the Mighty Angel planting securely His feet--the right on the
sea and the left foot on the land?
The planting of both feet indicates complete control over all creations,
seen and unseen, angelic and physical. Revelation 20:13
describes a future resurrection where the "sea gave up the dead that were in
it, and death and Hades [the grave] gave up the dead that were in them."
All are gathered, whether in the earth or in the sea, there is no hiding
place where God cannot find the dead when He calls for them.
6. The
Mighty Seventh Angel will shout "like the roar of a lion," upon His arrival
to earth (Revelation
10:3).
How does this compare with the event of the Archangel?
1 Thessalonians 4:16
says the "voice of the Archangel" will call forth the "dead" to be raise to
life.
7. Consider
the following verses; how do they help identify the Angel and the time of
His powerful voice?
Amos prophesies of the Sovereign Lord's voice, like "the lion has
roared." Job wrote, "listen to the roar of His voice ... He unleashes
lightning... and sends it to the ends of the earth... the sound of His roar;
He thunders with His majestic voice... God's voice thunders in marvelous
ways." The song of Psalms speak of a great earthquake, mountains falling
into the sea causing it to "roar and foam... nations are in uproar, kingdoms
fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts." The voice of God will bring
Planet Earth and those in it to their knees, but it will be too late for the
wicked.
Other prophets speak of the time when God will (through His Son) arise
for battle and descend to earth to visit the sins of the people. Revelation 10:3
says when the Seventh Angel shouts "the voices of seven thunders spoke,"
(N.I.V.), or "seven thunders uttered their voices," (K.J.V.).
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