Sunday School Notes: Revelation 10:1-2

¹ And I saw another strong [or mighty] angel coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow [or multi-hued halo] upon his head, and his face as the sun, and his feet as fiery pillars, ² and having in his hand a little scroll opened. And he placed his right foot upon the sea, and the left upon the land.

We talked a little bit about this “mighty angel” last time, wondering who it could be. John says it is “another” mighty angel because he saw one before, back in 5:1. That angel lamented the fact that there was no-one able to open the seven-sealed scroll, but John didn’t give us any more information about him. John tells us a lot more about this new “mighty angel”:

• This angel is coming down to John. We’ve noticed before there are good and bad angels in Revelation. The bad angels fall down, but the good angels descend. This is clearly a good angel. Also, this angel is coming down to John, as opposed to chapter 4 where John was led up to the heavenlies, and there he saw the angel in 5:1. The significance of the angel’s location will become apparent in verse 2.
• He is adorned with a cloud. I can’t think of anywhere else in Scripture that speaks of an angel coming down from heaven in a cloud. On the other hand, we see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13), Jesus was taken up in a cloud (Acts 1:9), Jesus prophesied the coming of the Son of Man in a cloud with glory at the End Times (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27), Jesus and his disciples were overshadowed by a cloud at Jesus’s transfiguration and heard the voice of God (Matthew 17:5), and clouds are often associated with the presence and glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 10:3-4; Isaiah 19:1; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14; Numbers 16:42; 12:5; Leviticus 16:2). So there is at least something of the presence of God with this angel.
• There is a rainbow on or over the angel’s head. In Genesis 9:13-16, after the flood, God sets his bow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant between Himself and all living creatures. While the word for “bow” in the Greek Old Testament is not the same as the word John uses here (toxon in Genesis, iris here in Revelation), I think there is a conceptual link between them. The only other place iris is used in the New Testament is in Revelation 4:3, with reference to the “bow” around the heavenly throne. In both instances, I think the symbolism is with reference to that covenant, and the fact that this is the covenant God who not only protects His people, but is Lord of all the Earth.
• The angel’s face is like the sun. There are two kinds of facial radiance in Scripture: reflected radiance (like Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai in Exodus 34:29-36), and innate glory–glory that comes from within. We see this second kind with Jesus at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2), where his face shone “as the sun.” Also, if we recall Revelation 1:16, John described Jesus there as having a face “like the sun shining in full strength.” Is this angel reflecting God’s glory, or is the description of his face being “as the sun” telling us that he’s shining like Jesus did?
• The angel’s legs (technically his feet, but in this context I think he means the whole leg) are like pillars of fire. In Exodus 13:21-22, a pillar of fire led Israel through the wilderness by night. Fire is also symbolic of judgment. So this seems to depict guidance for God’s people, and judgment upon the world–but we’ll dig more into that in a moment.

So who is this angel? Jesus? Or some kind of divine representative? The evidence that this is Jesus seems quite compelling. However, I’m not sure. Jesus has appeared to John twice in Revelation, once in his glory in Revelation 1, and then as the slain Lamb in Revelation 5. Surely if Jesus appeared to him, he would say it’s the Lord (or the Lamb), not an angel? Also, the mighty angel in chapter 5 is clearly not Jesus, and we’re told this is another (Greek allos, another of the same kind) mighty angel. There are a number of examples in the Old Testament of God (or even Christ) appearing as an “Angel of the Lord.” For example:

• Exodus 3:2-4, which tells us that, at the burning bush, an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses as a flame of fire, and then God calls Moses from the bush.
• Judges 2:1, where an angel of the Lord speaks to Israel saying, “I brought you up from Egypt…”
• Genesis 16:10, where an angel of the Lord tells Hagar, “I will multiply your offspring…” Verse 13 says it is God speaking.

In these instances (and many others), an angel speaks as though God is speaking. Either the angel is a manifestation of God (or Christ), or the angel is representing God.

I think we can safely say that, at the very least, this mighty angel is God’s spokesman, and the clouds, the rainbow, the shining face, and the fiery legs are all intended to tell us that this angel is legitimately speaking for God. We can’t rule out the possibility that this is a theophany (or a Christophany)–i.e., a manifestation of God (or Christ). But what’s more important is the fact that the message John receives from this angelic being is one that comes to him as if from God Himself. And in this manifestation, we are reminded of God’s power, authority, and covenant love for His people.

In verse 2, John says the angel has a “little scroll” (Greek biblaridion) that is open. If we recall, there was a scroll in chapter 5, but that was held by God, it was sealed, and the angel lamented that no-one was able to open the seals. Where the two scrolls are similar, though, are the contents. The chapter 5 scroll clearly contained judgments that Christ, as the only one worthy to open the seals, executed (see chapter 6). As we will see from verse 11, and the following chapters, this little scroll also contains judgments. But this is a little scroll, and it is already unsealed, so there must be a difference. I think the difference lies in the purpose of the little scroll. While the chapter 5 scroll was the means by which Christ executed judgment, the chapter 10 scroll is given to John that he might consume the contents and make the prophetic words of judgment his own. We’ll unpack that more when we get to those verses. But in short, the purpose of this scroll is to commission John as a prophet to proclaim God’s words of judgment to the hard-hearted and unrepentant. The size of the scroll, therefore, is not (I don’t think) simply so it will fit in his mouth, but is symbolic of the smaller scale of its purpose. That’s not to diminish the importance of the scroll and what John is being called to do; but it’s not the same as the work of Christ in bringing judgment.

The last thing we noted in verse two was the fact that John describes the angel as having his right foot on the land, and his left foot (literally, the “other” or “opposite” foot) on the sea. [Side bar: There is a Greek word for “left”: aristeros. It is used in Matthew 6:3, where Jesus says that when doing works of mercy, our left hand shouldn’t know what our right hand is doing. That’s not the word John uses here, however.] There are a couple of symbols here. The main one is that of dominion and authority. Putting one’s foot on something is, in the Old Testament, symbolic of conquest (e.g., Joshua 10:24 where, after defeating the five Ammonite kings, Joshua has them brought out, and he tells his chiefs to put their feet on the kings’ necks). The land and the sea combined represent the totality of creation (see, for example, Psalm 146:5-6; Isaiah 42:10; Jonah 1:9). However, we shouldn’t forget that fire is also symbolic of judgment (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah). So this angel represents Christ’s dominion and authority over the world, and his right to bring judgment.

Next time, we’ll pick up with verse 3, Lord willing!