The seven thunders
"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, and cried with a loud voice as when a lion roars: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 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 the those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. Revelation 10v2-4
This chapter then is about the mighty angel and the little book. This is perhaps the same scroll as was in the hands of Christ, and it is described as "little" because most of it has been fulfilled. The contents of the scroll are obviously very important because of the nature of the one who is holding it and the mission he is about to give to John the apostle. The angel set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. This posture is very significant. By this God is claiming the earth and the sea as His possession, which it is anyway, but it has not been recognized as such. The entire contents of the earth are to be taken exclusively by God and all opposed to Him will perish. The time of man's day has run its course and God will now remove the rebels from his earth.
The angel cried with a loud voice, and the roar of it was that of a lion. Everyone in the vicinity hears the roar of a lion. Everything in the vicinity flees for cover when the lion roars. God will now take possession of the earth in His majesty, He will rid it of evil, He will establish His visible kingdom, His anger is as the roar of a lion such as is referred to in Job 4v9-10 ; Hosea 5v14; Isaiah 31v4; Amos 3v8. All this emphasizes the importance of the contents of the little book and the power and majesty of God over all His creation. At that point seven thunders uttered their voices. This takes us back to Psalm 29v3-9 where there is a sevenfold description of the voice of the Lord as thunder. No one fails to hear the roar of the lion and no one misses the noise of thunder. No one will fail to hear the voice of this angel. These thunders which came directly from God contained details which could not be published. John was about to write them but he was told to seal them. In a book described as the revelation, the sealing of these is significant. Heaven does not reveal the details uttered in these seven peals of thunder. There are things God will reveal, there are others He will not. The things which are revealed are bad enough, but the details of these thunders are so awesome that they cannot be explained.
A similar thing is found in 2nd Corinthians 12v4 when the apostle Paul was caught up into paradise and "heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Thunders are symbolic of impending storms. In the natural world they are a warning of physical storms; in the spiritual world these thunders are a warning of impending judgment. They cannot be the same as the seven vials of wrath described in chapters 15&16 because the thunders were not to be revealed. Can anything be worse than the vials of wrath described there? Obviously so! Repeatedly, throughout the book of Revelation (chapter 4v5, 8v5, 11v19, 16v18) we read of thunders proceeding from the throne. All these are general warnings, but the seven thunders are specific warnings the details of which were only to be given to John. The picture overall is clear, God is angry and He is about to act and with such ferocity He cannot publish the judgments. Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, all revealed, seven thunders(warnings of judgments about to fall), so solemn they are hidden from us.
This chapter then is about the mighty angel and the little book. This is perhaps the same scroll as was in the hands of Christ, and it is described as "little" because most of it has been fulfilled. The contents of the scroll are obviously very important because of the nature of the one who is holding it and the mission he is about to give to John the apostle. The angel set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. This posture is very significant. By this God is claiming the earth and the sea as His possession, which it is anyway, but it has not been recognized as such. The entire contents of the earth are to be taken exclusively by God and all opposed to Him will perish. The time of man's day has run its course and God will now remove the rebels from his earth.
The angel cried with a loud voice, and the roar of it was that of a lion. Everyone in the vicinity hears the roar of a lion. Everything in the vicinity flees for cover when the lion roars. God will now take possession of the earth in His majesty, He will rid it of evil, He will establish His visible kingdom, His anger is as the roar of a lion such as is referred to in Job 4v9-10 ; Hosea 5v14; Isaiah 31v4; Amos 3v8. All this emphasizes the importance of the contents of the little book and the power and majesty of God over all His creation. At that point seven thunders uttered their voices. This takes us back to Psalm 29v3-9 where there is a sevenfold description of the voice of the Lord as thunder. No one fails to hear the roar of the lion and no one misses the noise of thunder. No one will fail to hear the voice of this angel. These thunders which came directly from God contained details which could not be published. John was about to write them but he was told to seal them. In a book described as the revelation, the sealing of these is significant. Heaven does not reveal the details uttered in these seven peals of thunder. There are things God will reveal, there are others He will not. The things which are revealed are bad enough, but the details of these thunders are so awesome that they cannot be explained.
A similar thing is found in 2nd Corinthians 12v4 when the apostle Paul was caught up into paradise and "heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Thunders are symbolic of impending storms. In the natural world they are a warning of physical storms; in the spiritual world these thunders are a warning of impending judgment. They cannot be the same as the seven vials of wrath described in chapters 15&16 because the thunders were not to be revealed. Can anything be worse than the vials of wrath described there? Obviously so! Repeatedly, throughout the book of Revelation (chapter 4v5, 8v5, 11v19, 16v18) we read of thunders proceeding from the throne. All these are general warnings, but the seven thunders are specific warnings the details of which were only to be given to John. The picture overall is clear, God is angry and He is about to act and with such ferocity He cannot publish the judgments. Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, all revealed, seven thunders(warnings of judgments about to fall), so solemn they are hidden from us.
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