END OF TIME PROPHECIES 124

The strong angel

"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.10v1
, Three times in the book of Revelation we have mention of the strong angel, or, in this case, the mighty angel.   The references are chapter 5v2, 10v1, and 18v21.   This implies that there are varying degrees of angels with different abilities.   In each reference the occasion is one of great moment.   In chapter 5v2 a strong angel proclaimed the coronation of the Lamb upon the throne.   In chapter 18v21 a strong angel brought about the downfall of Babylon.   Here in chapter 10 the strong angel judicially claims back the earth for God.   Some interpret him as Jesus Christ Himself, (understandably) but in the book of Revelation He is seen as the Lamb of God and the angels are his emissaries.   This is an angel of very high rank indeed.   He comes with a fourfold description:

• Clothed with a cloud.   In the Old Testament the cloud always speaks of the glory of God.   The glory of God is all that God is and this angel represents Him in the business of reclaiming the earth.   He does so clothed in the symbol that speaks of God's glory.   References are Exodus 40v34  "then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." - Leviticus 16v2  ".....I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat."  -  Numbers 9v15  "on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle." - 1st Kings 8v10-11  "and it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord.....for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord."   Other examples of this are found in Ezekiel 3v23: 8v4: 10v4: 10v18: 11v23.   This mighty angel carries with him all the authority of God.  
• A rainbow was upon his head.   The bible itself explains the meaning of all these symbols.   The rainbow represents the covenant keeping God (Genesis 9v12-13). In Revelation 4v3 the throne of God is encircled with an emerald rainbow.  Unlike every other man, God never breaks a covenant.   The covenant was that He would not anymore flood the earth despite man's sin and the symbol of this covenant appears in the skies every time it rains hard.   God keeps His promises, He does not lie.  But another promise He made in the garden of Eden when sin entered was that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head.   (Genesis 3v16).   Therefore the integrity of God works both ways, as we are about to find out.  
• And his face was as it were the sun.    We remember back in Revelation 1v16 in the vision that John saw of Jesus Christ that  "His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength."   Thus the angel reflected the glory of Jesus Christ who is the very source of all light both physical and spiritual. The light here is "as it were " the sun, so spiritual light is in view, such as in 2 Corinthians 4v4.  The face like the sun appears at the conversion of Saul in Acts9,22,26 and speaks of Divine mercy. Also in Matthew 5v45 "he maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good"  
• His feet as pillars of fire.   Fire is the symbol of divine judgment; feet are the instruments of movement.   this represents the moving on of divine judgments on earth.   Much has been done but the task is not complete.   There is another side to this;  pillars of fire remind us of God's guidance and protection of His people in the wilderness especially during the night (Exodus 13v21-22 & Exodus 14v24).   In the midst of earth's conflagration, the message here is that God has the welfare of His people at heart.  

Thus the angel represents four things; divine glory as in the cloud; divine integrity as in the rainbow; divine mercy as in the shining face, and divine security as in the pillars of fire. All these are symbols of the majesty of Divine beings.