And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
5. lifted up his hand to heaven ] Read, “his right hand.” Cf. Dan 12:7, where the angel lifts up both hands: here, his left is occupied with the book. For the gesture symbolic of an oath see Gen 14:22, &c.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the angel which I saw stand … – Rev 10:2. That is, John saw him standing in this posture when he made the oath which he proceeds to record.
Lifted up his hand to heaven – The usual attitude in taking an oath, as if one called heaven to witness. See Gen 14:22; Deu 32:40; Eze 20:5-6. Compare the notes on Dan 12:7.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 10:5-7
That there should be time no longer.
The end of time
That there should be time no longer. A tremendous asseveration, whether we regard the thing affirmed or the person who affirms it. Of the person making this asseveration we may say that there are traces about him, which, although he is called an angel, seem to identify him with our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first verse he is represented as clothed with a cloud; and the cloud vesture is stated in the Psalms to be the vesture of God Himself–clouds and darkness are round about Him. A rainbow encircles his head; and a rainbow is the well-known token of the covenant of grace made with us in and through Christ. His face, we are told, was as the sun. In the first chapter of this Book, John describes the countenance of the Son of Man to be as the sun shining in its strength; not to mention that one of the features of the glorified Christ, as He appeared at the Transfiguration, was this, His face did shine as the sun.
I. What may be meant by this cessation of time? Time, considered in itself, can never cease to exist. It must flow on and on to endless ages. Everything which happens must, of course, have a certain period of time, longer or shorter, in which to happen. The redeemed in glory will sing the praises of God and the Lamb. Time must elapse while they are singing those praises. If in the glorified body there should be a heart, it must go on, pulsation after pulsation, in never-ending succession. If in the new heavens and the new earth there should be anything analogous to that movement of the heavenly bodies which gives us day and night and the vicissitudes of the seasons, such a movement must necessarily ask time to proceed in–nay, as it proceeds, it must measure time. What, then, is meant by the announcement of a period when there shall be time no longer? Time, as I have said, must always flow on; but it may be annihilated to us, or in great measure annihilated. How this may be is not really an intricate or a subtle question, although it may at first sight appear so. It is generally and truly said that to Almighty God there is no such thing as time. If you understand this assertion, you will then find no difficulty in perceiving how time to us may be no longer. To say that to Almighty God there is no such thing as time, is only another method of expressing the truth (and be it said with the utmost reverence), that God has a perfect memory and a perfect foresight. There are many points of analogy between the mind and the eye. Imagine, then, an eye as free from the laws of the eye as you have been imagining a mind free from the laws of the mind. Imagine an eye not subjected to the laws of perspective, an eye to which things do not, as they recede from it, either diminish in size or fade in colour. It must be clear that to such an eye distance does not exist, just as to a mind endowed with perfect memory and perfect foresight time does not exist. One object may be placed a yard distant from the eye; another object may be placed a thousand miles distant; but if the latter of these objects appear of the same size, shape, and colour, and with all the same circumstantials, as it would if brought within the range of thirty-six inches to that eye distance is annihilated, and has no existence. And if God were to announce to any one that distance would be no more to him, this would be only another form of saying that his eyesight should be free from those limitations which are at present the conditions under which eyesight exists. Thus we have arrived at the last stage of our explanation. You have only to remember that the human mind, in another stage of existence, will be made competent for a far higher state of things than it can ever now attain, that its reach will be increased both as regards the past and the future, in order to comprehend the announcement that time shall be no longer. Our memory of all that has befallen us will then be perfect. Many events and sensations of our past career are buried away in the sod of the mind, trodden down into the soil, and overlaid by our more recent experiences. Of many very critical events, on our minds there is just a headstone, as it were, with a monumental inscription, giving in the coldest manner their name and date; but freshness, reality, and vitality they have none. Yet, even now, passages of our past history are, ever and anon, recalled to us with a wonderful vividness, by music, by odours, by long forgotten scenes, or by some other association of the senses. Sudden and transient flashings these, of a light which is destined one day to flush the whole mind, and to penetrate into its darkest recesses. The memory has really no more lost its deposits than the graveyard has lost the corpses entrusted to its keeping. Those deposits will one day start from the sod in all the freshness of new life, and stand up upon their feet an exceeding great army. Nor need we shrink from supposing that in that higher condition of existence the powers of memory and foresight possessed by the mind will be greatly enlarged, whether or not they be made, as regards our future experience, perfect.
II. Why the asseveration of the text is made upon oath. The reasons are obvious. First, its being made on oath argues its importance. We take an oath in matters of moment, not in trifles. Petty interests are felt to be beneath the solemnity and dignity of an appeal to Heaven. Secondly, an oath is an indication that the thing assevered appears till then in more or less uncertainty. It is the province of an oath to give assurance of something which was previously open to question.
III. To each one among us the abolition of time will be the hour of our own death. This I say, brethren, the time is short. Yes, that is the main point which the oath may be taken to imply–the infinite importance in Gods estimation of the time that remains to you upon earth. (Dean Goulburn.)
The end of time
I. What is meant by the end of time. Time, as far as man has any concern with it, is that portion of duration which is commensurate with the existence of our world, and which is measured by its diurnal and annual revolutions. It began when this world began to exist. The end of time, and the end of the world, are, then, expressions of the same import.
II. When will the event denoted by these expressions arrive? We learn from our text that it will arrive when the mystery of God shall be finished. Gods great object in creating this world and its inhabitants was to gratify and glorify Himself. Now, God at once glorifies and gratifies Himself when He displays His perfections in His works. Some of His perfections, as, for instance, His power, wisdom, and goodness, He displayed in the creation of the world; and they, as well as some other perfections of His nature, are still displayed in its providential government. But the principal display of His perfections is made in the work of redemption by Jesus Christ, the great object to which all His works of creation and providence ultimately refer. Agreeably, inspiration informs us, that for Jesus Christ all things were created; and that to Him there is given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him. When the purposes for which this kingdom was given to Christ, and set up in the world, are accomplished, the mystery of God, mentioned in our text, will be finished. Now the purposes for which this kingdom was given to Christ include two things. The first is, the complete salvation of all who are given to Him by the Father. The second is, the complete and final subjugation of His enemies.
III. What will be the attending circumstances and consequences of this event?
1. With respect to ourselves, considered as individuals, the end of time, or, which is the same thing to us, the end of our lives will be attended by circumstances, and followed by consequences, most important and interesting.
(1) We shall then be separated at once from all temporal and earthly objects.
(2) With the end of time our state of probation and our day of grace will end. We shall be removed from our present religious privileges and means of spiritual improvement.
(3) When time ends, eternity will begin. The moment in which we leave this temporary and mutable state, we shall enter a state which is eternal, and, of course, unchangeable.
2. The circumstances and consequences which will attend and follow the end of time with respect to the human race.
(1) When the end of time shall arrive, the general resurrection will take place.
(2) At the end of time, the day of judgment, the great day for which all other days were made, will arrive.
3. It remains only to consider what will then be the fate of the globe which we inhabit. Then the gold, the silver, the jewels, and all the glittering but delusive objects, for which so many thousands have bartered their souls, shall be destroyed. Lessons:
1. In view of this subject, however insignificant, how unworthy of an immortal being, do all merely temporal and earthly pursuits appear I
2. In full view of the end of time let me ask, are you all, my hearers, prepared for it? (E. Payson, D. D.)
The end of time
I. There is a period set at which time shall be no more.
1. Time had a beginning. There was a day, a year, that was the first, before which there was not another. But eternity was before, and will be after time; which therefore appears at present like a small island lifting up its head in the midst of the ocean.
2. Time has run from the beginning, and is running on in an uninterrupted course of addition of moments, hours, days, months, and years.
3. Time will come to an end. It has run long, but it will run out at length. The last sand in the glass of this world will pass. The period is set in the Divine decree, the last day and hour, though no man knows them.
(1) This present world shall be no more; these heavens and earth shall pass away by the general conflagration (2Pe 3:10).
(2) New years shall be no more. The year will come, the month, the day, hour and minute, after which there shall never be another. Let us improve our years then for eternity, and count our days so as to apply our hearts to wisdom.
(3) The different seasons will be no more. There will be no more summer and winter, seed-time and harvest. There will be an eternal spring in heaven; but an eternal winter, as it were, in hell, where is gnashing of teeth.
(4) The business of this life shall be no more. There shall be no more tilling of the ground, tending of flocks, merchandising, nor trades. How unhappy must they be who have no pleasure nor satisfaction in anything else, since these are not to last!
(5) The means of sustaining this life shall be no more. There shall be no more eating, drinking, nor sleeping.
(6) Relations shall be no more. Time going dissolves them all, as fellow-travellers part when come to their journeys end. There shall be no more magistrates and subjects, ministers and people, husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants (Job 3:19). Only the relation betwixt Christ and His people as head and members, which is not of this world, shall remain; and so the relation to God as His children (Luk 20:35-36); who are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
(7) Space for repentance shall be no more.
(8) Tribulation and adversity of the godly shall be no more.
(9) The prosperity and comfort of the wicked (Luk 16:25) shall be no more.
II. The weight of this truth, and its concern to mankind.
1. That it is of weight and concern to them appears in its being sworn to them; which implies–
(1) That men are very heedless about it, and slow to believe it, and be impressed with it.
(2) A legal intimation made to them of its ending.
(3) That the period of time is unalterably fixed, the bounds of it set, beyond which it cannot go; for it is set by an oath.
2. The weight of the thing lies in these three.
(1) That then that which concerns mankinds happiness or misery is completed; the state of probation is over, and the state of recompense takes place in perfection, both as to their bodies and souls.
(2) That then eternity succeeds the state of all for ever unalterable, no end to be expected more.
(3) That now or never must be done what is done for eternity.
Use. Then be exhorted suitably to improve this intimation of times ending.
1. Look beyond time, this world, and the state of things in it; carry your views into the other world, to eternity (2Co 4:18).
2. Lift your hearts from off the things of time, and set them on those that are eternal (Col 3:2).
3. Use this world passingly, as pilgrims and strangers in it (1Co 7:29-31).
4. Let not the frowns of this world, the troubles and trials of the present life, make deep impression on us: they will not last.
5. Be not lifted up with the worlds smiles, nor value yourselves on worldly prosperity; for time will put an end to this also.
6. Improve time while it lasts, for the ends it is given you for.
(1) Laying a good foundation for eternity, getting out of your natural state into the state of grace, believing on Christ, and repenting of sin.
(2) Living to the honour of God, endeavouring to act in your sphere for propagating the name and kingdom of Christ.
(3) Serving your generation in usefulness to mankind, seeking to forward the spiritual and temporal good of others; as David did (Act 13:36). (T. Boston.)
The mystery of God finished with time
I. We shall consider the mystery of God in His Kingdom among men.
1. We shall consider what that mystery of God is. A mystery is a secret or hidden thing.
2. I will show in what respects it is a mystery, the mystery of God; or that the kingdom of Christ, and His management, is a mystery, the mystery of God.
II. We shall consider the mystery of God as begun and carried on in time.
1. We shall consider the first opening of the mystery.
(1) In the promulgation of the promise of the gospel (Gen 3:15).
(2) In the offering of the first sacrifices, with the skins whereof our naked first parents were clothed (Gen 3:21).
2. We shall consider the gradual opening of the mystery. Of this we have an account in Heb 1:1.
3. We shall consider the progress of the mystery.
(1) It has never been interrupted since it began in paradise; the salvation of the Church has all along been carried on, and matters managed for that end.
(2) It has made such progress, that by this time it is drawing towards the period of finishing it.
(3) It is going on in our day, in the same powerful hand that has managed it all along.
But for a more full view of the mystery, as executed in time, we shall consider the eight following particulars of this mysterious kingdom, in every part of which there is a mystery.
1. The head of it, Jesus Christ, is a mystery. And He is a mystery, a mysterious Head:
(1) In the constitution of His person, being God and man in one person.
(2) In His offices.
(3) In all circumstances about Him.
2. The subjects of it, believers, are a mystery too. They are in the world indeed, but unknown to the world (1Jn 3:1).
3. The erection and conservation of it is a mystery (Luk 17:20).
(1) The beginnings of it were very small; how vastly soever it has spread.
(2) The means of erecting and setting it up were very unlikely and unusual, viz., the despised preaching of the gospel (Psa 110:2).
(3) The opposition to it from the beginning has been very great; yet it has made its way in face of all opposition.
(4) The means of keeping it up, even such as it was set up by. Not the power of the sword, but the preaching and teaching of the word of the gospel, and setting that home on mens consciences; prayers, and tears, patient suffering even unto death (Rev 12:11).
4. The seat of it is a mystery too.
5. The extent of it is a mystery, whether it is considered–
(1) In respect of the kind of jurisdiction He has in it.
(a) The kingdom of grace is in His hand.
(b) The kingdom of glory is in His hand too (Luk 22:29-30).
(c) The kingdom of providence is in His hand likewise.
(2) In respect of the bounds of it. It extends itself over both worlds (Mat 28:18; Rev 1:18).
6. The privileges of it are a mystery.
(1) Their union with Christ is a mystery (Eph 5:32).
(2) Their justification is a mystery.
(3) Their sanctification is a mystery.
(4) Their perseverance in grace is a mystery.
7. The life and practice of it is a mystery.
8. The manner of the conduct and management of it is a mystery. It is the manner of this kingdom–
(1) To prefer the most unlikely, baulking them that stand fairest for the preference in all human appearance (Mat 20:16).
(2) To let things go to an extremity, to the utmost point of hopelessness, before a hand be put to help them, and set them right again (Deu 32:36).
(3) To give the sharpest treatment to the greatest favourites. This is not the manner of men, but it is the manner of God (Psa 73:5; Psa 73:14).
(4) To meet men with astonishing strokes going in the way that God bade them, while they have a fair sunshine that are going in the way of their own hearts (Ecc 8:14).
(5) To lay by accepted petitions, and let them long lie by, time after time, while yet unacceptable requests are quickly granted.
(6) To answer accepted prayers quickly with some one terrible thing or other, which yet are to be graciously and bountifully answered in due time (Psa 65:5).
III. We are to consider the mystery of God as finished with time.
1. Let us consider when this mystery of God shall be finished.
2. Wherein does the finishing of this mystery lie? It lies in these three things following.
(1) The accomplishment of the remaining prophecies.
(2) The gathering in of all the elect.
(3) The completing of the salvation of the Church of the elect. This is the delivering up of the kingdom to the Father mentioned in 1Co 15:24.
3. It remains to show the import and consequence of this finishing the mystery of God. It is of greatest importance to the honour of God, and to the children of men. For then–
(1) The eternal purpose of God concerning mankind is fulfilled; the contrivance laid from eternity in the depth of wisdom about them, is executed.
(2) The covenant between the Father and Christ, the second Adam, is then fulfilled on both hands.
(3) Then the whole frame of the ordinances, now or since Adams fall, in use in the world for bringing in of sinners, and edifying of saints, is laid by.
(4) Then the matter of the Divine conduct towards mankind is altered so that it is quite new (Rev 21:5).
(5) Then Christs conquest is complete, His enemies made His footstool, which He is this day in expectation of (Heb 10:12-13).
4. Then the mystery is opened, and appears in a full light; though before veiled, the veil is then taken off.
5. There will be no more mystery of God; then it is finished.
IV. We shall consider the relation betwixt the mystery of God and time.
1. Time is the space appointed for the mystery of God its being executed.
2. The subsistence or continuation of time depends on the mystery. Had there been no mystery of God to have been carried on, time once polluted with sin, had ended soon after it began.
Hence we may learn:
1. Whence it comes to pass that there is so much stumbling of wicked men at the Divine conduct by Christ in the world. The matter is: it is a mystery, and their natural blindness hinders them to see it, so that they know it not (1Co 2:14).
2. How the godly come to have other thoughts of it; and true Christians admire the beauty and glory of it, which carnal men despise. It is the mystery of God, which He reveals to His friends and rearers of His name (Psa 25:14).
3. No reason to despise religion because the world generally do so.
4. Time is not continued as a sleep without a design. Oh, that men would consider that it is lengthened out on a particular design; which, being compassed, it shall end for good and all!
5. It is not this worlds business, but Heavens business, that is the great design of the continuing of time.
6. The mystery of God must be a matter of singular excellency, and of the last importance, that for it time is continued.
7. The mystery of God has, in the execution of it, been of long continuance; but it is drawing to a close.
8. When there is no more time requisite for the mystery of God, there will be no more time for other things neither; time will end with it; for it is for the sake of it that it is continued. (T. Boston.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Lifted up his hand to heaven] As one making an appeal to the supreme Being.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth: see Rev 10:2; which Angel was Christ.
Lifted up his hand to heaven; as Dan 12:7, with which prophecy this agreeth. It is an ordinary gesture used in swearing.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. lifted up his handSo A andVulgate read. But B, C, Aleph, Syriac, andCoptic, “. . . his right hand.” It wascustomary to lift up the hand towards heaven, appealing to the God oftruth, in taking a solemn oath. There is in this part of the visionan allusion to Da 12:1-13.Compare Rev 10:4; Dan 12:4;Dan 12:9; and Rev 10:5;Rev 10:6; Dan 12:7.But there the angel clothed in linen, and standing upon the waters,sware “a time, times, and a half” were to interpose beforethe consummation; here, on the contrary, the angel standing with hisleft foot on the earth, and his right upon the sea, swears thereshall be time no longer. There he lifted up both hands to heaven;here he has the little book now open (whereas in Danielthe book is sealed) in his left hand (Re10:2), and he lifts up only his right hand to heaven.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth,…. His right foot being on the one, and his left foot upon the other, as described in Re 10:2;
lifted up his hand to heaven; the Oriental versions read, “his right hand”; and so some copies, and the Complutensian edition: the man clothed in linen, Da 12:6, who is the same with the angel here, held up both his hands; the lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in swearing: see Ge 14:22; so the Jews say o, “the right hand”, or by the right hand, , “this is an oath”, according to Da 12:7; or whether the right hand or the left, is an oath, according to Isa 62:8.
o T. Bab. Nazir, fol. 3. 2. Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 58. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Standing (). Second perfect active participle of (intransitive). John resumes the picture in verse 2.
Lifted up (). First aorist active indicative of , to lift up.
To heaven ( ). Toward heaven, the customary gesture in taking a solemn oath (Gen 14:22; Deut 32:40; Dan 12:7).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
His hand. Add thn dexian the right, and see on ver. 2. On lifting the hand in swearing, see Gen 14:22; Exo 6:8 (margin); Deu 32:40.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And the angel which I saw,” (kai ho angelos hon eidon) “And the angel whom I saw,” the mighty, strong angel, Rev 10:1. He is mighty to inform and to serve as a judgment administering, ministering angel to and for the Lord Jesus Christ, Heb 1:14.
2) “Stand upon the sea and upon the earth,” (hastota epi tes thalasses kai epi tes ges) “was standing upon sea and upon the land,” the earth; As in Daniel’s vision, the angel testified to him of the same era of pending judgment, Dan 12:6-13. The coming judge is thus affirmed to be the central executor of end time judgments upon Israel and the nations, Joh 3:35; Joh 5:27; 2Ti 4:1-2; 2Th 1:6-9.
3) “Lifted up his hand,” (eren ten cheira autou ten deksian) “He lifted (up) his right hand,” as was the custom in swearing to the most High God, possessor of heaven and earth, as Abraham did, Gen 14:22. The Hebrew term “to swear” means to “lift up my hand,” Gen 15:18; Gen 22:16; Gen 26:3; Gen 28:13; Gen 35:12; Exo 6:8.
4) “To heaven,” (eis ton ouranon) “to, toward, or (in direction of) heaven,” in the presence of, and in reverence of, honesty toward the Creator, the eternal God, the righteous judge, Deu 32:40; Dan 12:7.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(5-7) And the angel . . .Translate, And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted his right hand to the heaven, and sware in (or, by) Him who liveth unto the ages of the ages, who created the heaven, and the things in it, and the earth, and the things in it, and the sea, and the things in it, that time (i.e., delay, or postponement) should no longer be: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, whenever he is about to sound (his trumpet) was finished the mystery of God, as he evangelised his servants the prophets. There is a change of tense which sounds strange: he says, then (not will be, but) was finished. In thought he hurries on to the end, and sees the close no longer in the dim future, but as, with the eye of God, an accomplished fact. The certainty is guaranteed with an oath. The gesture of the uplifted hand to give emphasis to the oath is of ancient date. Thus Abraham expressed his resolution to take none of the spoils of the conquered kings: I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord . . . that I will not take from a thread to a shoelatchet (Gen. 14:22; comp. Exo. 6:8, margin). So, too, does the man clothed in linen (Dan. 12:6-9, a passage which, in much, is the foundation of the one before us) lift up both hands and sware that there shall be a fixed period for the accomplishment of the scattering of the power of the holy people. The oath in the passage under consideration is to the effect (not that time should cease and eternity begin, but) that there shall be no longer any delay. The suffering saints had cried, How long? (Rev. 6:9-11), and they had been bidden to wait a little time. Now the close of all such waiting time is announced: when the seventh trumpet shall have blown the mystery of God will be finished. The mystery of God does not mean something which cannot be understood or explained. It is never applied to such matters, for example, as the origin of evil, or the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity. It does mean a secret; but then a secret may be told, and when told is no mystery. The mystery, or secret, of God means, therefore, the whole of His plan and of His counsel concerning this earth in its present state of discipline and of imperfection; all that God means to do upon it and towards it, even till that which we read of as the time of the end (Dan. 12:4-9), the close of this last dispensation, and the introduction of that new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (Dr. Vaughan). No wonder, as he announced this fast approaching close of the ages of suffering and trial, he should add, According as He (not declaredan utterly inadequate wordbut) evangelisedi.e., according to the glad tidings which He had ever proclaimed to and by His servants the prophets. A somewhat remarkable parallelism between this passage and 1Co. 15:51-52, has been pointed out. In both passages there is reference to the mystery, the glad tidings, and the last (the seventh trumpet is also the last) trumpet. This harmony of referencetaken in connection with St. Pauls statement, We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changedis full of interest, if it were for nothing more than to notice the union of thought between the two Apostles; but it may also throw light upon the teaching respecting the first resurrection (Rev. 20:5-6; but see Note there).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5, 6. Hand to heaven The angel in Dan 12:7 swore with both hands uplifted: in Gen 14:22, Deu 32:40, and Eze 20:5-6, and here, with but one hand upraised.
Who created therein The oath of God’s representative World-Angel fittingly ranges over the wide creation.
Time no longer Our English translators seem to have understood the Angel as announcing the close of sublunary time. And that would make good sense, for he really does announce the judgment day. But the antithesis which that supposes between the terms time and eternity, seems not to exist in New Testament language. The real meaning is, that no delay or protracted time should intervene between the terminus of the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the judgment day. The consummation should, without delay, take place in the days of its sounding.
Dusterdieck, indeed, remarks that the trumpet is not supposed to be sounding during the whole period that its events are transpiring. Like the opened seal, the trumpet momentarily announces a new series of events. That, if true, affects no interpretation. The days of the voice would then be the period the announcing voice indicates. Yet it may be said, that as the seal remained open through its whole period, so the trumpet remained sounding. The trumpets, too, in the ancient temple service were not mere announcers, but a continuous music; and the trumpets at Jericho continued their regular blowing until the city “fell down flat.” So in the days of the voice of the seventh angel shall the mystery be complete; and forthwith, the judgment day shall reveal it.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth lifted up his right hand to Heaven and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are in it, and the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there shall no longer be delay. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets.’
Compare the man clothed in linen in Dan 12:7 who raises both right hand and left hand and swears by Him Who lives for ever. He too forecasts the end. So the hardness of men’s hearts means that God will no longer delay. God’s longsuffering is now at an end (2Pe 3:9). He Who lives for ever and ever and created all things, to whom vast ages are but a trifle, will wait no longer. The angel’s stance is itself a declaration of the final takeover. All of heaven, earth and sea belongs to the God Who created it, and now He will take possession of His own.
The mention of the mystery of God revealed to the prophets brings to mind the words of Amos, ‘surely the Lord will do nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets’ (Amo 3:7). God had revealed to the Old Testament prophets what he would do, but it was in veiled form for they could not have understood the whole, it was a ‘mystery’ to be more fully revealed. They knew it would be glorious. They knew it would bring in the triumph of God. They were aware of it as ‘good tidings’ but they were not fully aware of the implications.
It was a mystery which Jesus Christ, the greatest Prophet of all, and the great New Testament prophets, Paul and the other Apostles and prophets, were able to more fully reveal in their proclamation of ‘the good tidings of the Gospel’. (The early church saw prophecy as continued in their midst). As Paul puts it ‘Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence through times eternal but is now made clear and open, even by means of the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the Eternal God’ (Rom 16:25-26). What they revealed of what the earlier prophets originally declared will now be brought to completion.
‘There will be time (or delay) no longer.’ No longer time is to be allowed. God has reached the end of His longsuffering. Thus there will no longer be delay.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 10:5-7 . The angel swears that immediately, viz., in the time of the seventh trumpet, which is at once to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished.
. . . . . The angel can raise [2734] only his right hand, because his left holds the little book, Rev 10:2 . The significance of the gesture is derived from the form of the oath. He raises his hand to heaven as to the high and holy place where the Eternal, and Almighty dwells, [2735] who even himself, in swearing by himself, raises his own hand to heaven. [2736]
Concerning the in connection with , cf. Mat 5:34 sqq.; Winer, p. 364.
. .
. , . . . The pragmatic reference of this appeal to God, as the Eternal and Creator of all things, lies in the fact that the subject of the oath is the , therefore something concealed in God’s eternal decree, but which, in his time, he has not only in prophecy announced, through the ancient prophets (Rev 10:7 ), and now through John (Rev 10:11 ; Rev 1:1 sqq.), but also the Almighty Lord will infallibly bring about, [2737] and that, too, (Rev 1:1 ). For the angel swears, , “that there should be time no longer.” The authentic norm for the correct explanation of this expression is given by what follows, which defines the same thing from the contrasted side, . ., . . . ). It is accordingly not an “entrance of a modern thought,” [2738] but a complete misunderstanding of the text, when many interpreters, following Beda, [2739] have understood the words , of the absolute cessation of time, i.e., of the beginning of eternity. The opposite parallel, . , . . . , by virtue of its chronological nature, excludes every explanation which presents the formula in any other way than chronologically. Ebrard, accordingly, is also incorrect when he understands by the , a season of grace . On the other hand, however, the contrast, Rev 10:7 , as well as also the tenor of the formula . . ., forbids us to recognize in this a definite, technical expression of Apocalyptic chronology, as Bengel wished, who found here a “ non-chronus ,” i.e., a period of more than a thousand and less than eleven hundred years, and accordingly reckoned the closing epoch of this “ non-chronus ” (i.e., the beginning of the thousand years’ reign) as the year 1836, since the starting-point occurred, at all events, before the year 842, the concluding year of the second woe, [2740] and apparently in the year 800, in which the reign was established. Grot., Calov., Vitr., C. a Lap., Eichh., Ew., De Wette., Hengstenb., etc., have correctly recognized the fact that the words . . express the immediate , and the indeed very positively defined (Rev 10:7 ), beginning of that which is called in Rev 10:7 the fulfilment of the mystery of God. But naturally, from this formal unanimity of the most expositors, there proceeds directly the greatest diversity of views, when the question is concerning the more precise reference of the formula, . . . according to the standard of what is said in Rev 10:7 . But Vitr. is inaccurate, even in a formal respect, when he says, “No delay of time is to intervene between the sound of the seventh trumpet, and the fulfilment of the prophetic oracles;” [2741] for the affirmative determination, Rev 10:7 , says in apposition to the words . . , which deny a further delay, that the (immediate, Rev 10:6 ) fulfilment of the mystery of God is to occur just at the time of the seventh trumpet. The question, therefore, is not concerning a delay, perhaps still occurring between the seventh sound of the trumpet and the fulfilment of the mystery of God; but the angel swears that between the present point of time (which falls after the close of the sixth trumpet, and before the second part of the second woe, that is finished only at Rev 11:14 ), and the fulfilment of the mystery of God, which is to be expected within the time of the seventh trumpet, there will be no more interval. [See Note LXV., p. 309.] What, therefore, might have been expected already after the close of the sixth seal-vision, but yet did not occur, because ch. 7 brought a special preparation, and, besides, from the seventh seal itself the new series of trumpet-visions proceeded, ch. 8 sq., is not to come immediately, and that, too, in the seventh trumpet. Yet it does not actually occur in Rev 11:16-19 . [2742]
. . . These words in combination with the immediately succeeding , which contain an epexegetical description of the . . . , appear to require an explanation like that of Bengel: “Thus the angel makes himself heard, not only at the beginning of these days, but continually throughout them.” The additional remark, “at the end of the days this trumpet acquires the name of the last trump” (1Co 15:52 ), is, of course, entirely without foundation in the context. But even the first statement of Bengel conflicts with the analogy of all the trumpet-voices hitherto in their proper nature (which, nevertheless, the words . themselves recall); since, by the heavenly trumpet-sounds, not future things themselves, but only such manifestations as signify what is to occur on earth, are introduced. The seeming difficulty which lies, therefore, in the fact that what is said in Rev 10:7 is of the “days” of the seventh trumpet, but which cannot be explained by regarding a continuance of the trumpet-voice during the whole of the still future period of that (actual) day, is very simply explained if it be acknowledged [2743] that in the expression . . . . . . the standpoint of the vision is not purely maintained, but the reference to the events of the sixth trumpet-vision is intermingled; only from this last standpoint can we properly speak of the “days” of the last trumpet, viz., of the period in which that which is represented to the prophet by the final sound of the trumpet actually occurs.
. The annexing of the conclusion is Hebraistic, since the with the aor. corresponds to the Vav with the perf. [2744]
. The contextual determination of this idea whose character is indicated, in general, already by the correlate ideas of divine revelation ( ), and of prophecy ( . .) as the human announcement of the mystery revealed on God’s part [2745] lies partly in the fact that its actual fulfilment [2746] is placed in the time of the seventh, and consequently the last, trumpet; partly in that its revelation is conceived of by the prophets as a , i.e., a communication of a joyful message. Besides, it needs no special proof, that the expression . ., [2747] can refer only to O. T. prophets, [2748] but neither to N. T. prophets, [2749] nor to Christ and the apostles, [2750] as the mystery of God revealed to these prophets, and proclaimed by them, is infinitely more than the “divine counsel concerning freeing Christians from the oppression of the Jews.” [2751] According to the contextual indication just given, the , whose contents are here declared only by the general allusion to the O. T. predictions, refers to nothing but the glorious completion of the divine kingdom, the final goal whereto the deepest current of O. T. prophecy, which is on that account essentially an Apocalyptic element, tends. The next authentic explanation of the proper contents of the . . . is contained in the heavenly song of praise sounding forth after the seventh sound of the trumpet, Rev 11:17 sqq.
[2734] Cf. Dan 12:7 ; Gen 14:22 .
[2735] Cf. Isa 57:15 .
[2736] Deu 32:40 .
[2737] Cf. the entirely similar reference of God’s self-designation, Rev 1:8 .
[2738] Hengstenb.
[2739] “At the last trumpet, the mutable variety of secular ages will cease.”
[2740] Cf. on Rev 9:13 sqq.
[2741] Likewise Hengstenb.
[2742] Against Hengstenb., etc. See on that passage.
[2743] Cf. De Wette.
[2744] Exo 16:6 ; Exo 17:4 , where the LXX. translate by with the fut. Cf. Ewald, Ebrard, Winer, p. 260.
[2745] Cf. Introduction, p. 32.
[2746] Cf. Luk 18:31 .
[2747] Concerning the acc., besides , cf. Winer, p. 209.
[2748] N. de Lyra, Beng., De Wette, etc.
[2749] Grot., who seeks them altogether among the elders, Rev 5:5 , Rev 7:13 .
[2750] Eichh.
[2751] Eichh. Cf. Grot.: “That indeed is, that Christians were allowed by Hadrian a residence at Jerusalem, and the free worship of God and Christ there.”
NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR
LXV. Rev 10:6 .
Stier: “The Greek word applies equally to a long interval, a respite, a delay, a postponement; and we have already had several instances in which it has been so used, as, for instance, in ch. Rev 2:21 , where we find it rendered ‘ space to repent;’ and ch. Rev 6:11 , where it stands for a further period of rest and expectation. Therefore the meaning is simply this: that, whereas the angel with the seal demands an interval of time before the opening of the seventh seal, which interval is to be employed in sealing the servants of God, so this angel, on the contrary, denies any further space for repentance, any respite for the ungodly, before the sounding of the seventh trumpet. He affirms that stroke is to succeed stroke, and that, in a certain limited period, all will be finished.” So, also, Beck, who, in illustration of this meaning of , refers to its derivative : Mat 24:48 , “My lord delayeth his coming;” Mat 25:5 , “while the bridegroom tarried; ” Heb 10:37 , “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry .” “Space of time” is the uniform meaning of both in the Apocalypse (Rev 2:21 , Rev 6:11 , Rev 10:6 , Rev 20:3 ) and the Gospel of St. John (Joh 5:6 , Joh 7:33 , Joh 12:35 , Rev 14:9 ).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2511
THE NEARNESS OF ETERNITY
Rev 10:5-6. The angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever ..that there should be time no longer.
NEVER was there a more beautiful instance of descriptive imagery than that before us. In ver. 1, a mighty angel (probably the Angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ) is represented as coming from heaven to make known to the beloved Disciple the purposes and decrees of God. His vesture was a cloud, which intimated that clouds and darkness being round about him, neither his person nor his message could be fully known. His face shone as the brightness of the meridian sun, which denoted his transcendent excellency and glory; while a rainbow, intimating his faithfulness to all his covenant-engagements, encircled his head as a royal diadem. His feet were as pillars of fire, marking at once his immoveable firmness, and irresistible power. His posture was such as became his august appearance, and the solemn embassy on which he was come: he set his feet, the one on the earth, and the other on the sea, expressing thereby his sovereign dominion over the whole universe. In this situation he cried with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion: upon which seven thunders, like a responsive echo, uttered their voices. The attention of the whole creation being thus deeply fixed, this glorious personage, in the manner of those who appeal to God, lifted up his hand, and sware by him who liveth for ever and ever, even by the Creator of heaven and earth; and that which he thus solemnly affirmed with an oath, was, that there should be time no longer.
Commentators understand this oath in different ways. Some think it relates to the introduction of the millennium; others to the commencement of the eternal state. The whole period fixed for the reign of antichrist was twelve hundred and sixty years, or, in the language of prophecy, a time, and times, and half a time: and the oath declares, that the power of antichrist shall continue no longer than to that precise period; and that then the end of the world (as some think) or the happy state of the Church (which is the more probable opinion) shall succeed. But without entering into this question, the words, in whichever way they be understood, will furnish us with this important observation, that,
our times are in gods hands.
That God has fixed the duration of the world itself, and the limits of every mans existence in it, is a truth so evident, that it is needless to dwell long upon the proof of it [Note: See Job 14:14; Job 7:1; Job 14:5.]. But to get it suitably impressed upon our minds, is a work of great difficulty, and worthy of our united attention. To promote this end, let the following considerations be laid to heart:
I.
If God has fixed the period for our existence here, it is impossible for us to prolong it
[No strength of constitution can withstand the stroke of death [Note: Job 21:18; Job 21:23-26.] No physicians skill can administer either antidote or cure [Note: They are extremely useful as Gods instruments to effect his will: but they cannot in any instance counteract it. The monarch as well as the beggar must obey the summons of his God.] No friends or relatives can procure one moments respite [Note: They may cry till their throats are dry, their eyes are bloated, and their very hearts break with sorrow; but death, that relentless messenger, will be deaf to their intreaties, and inflict the stroke on the devoted victim.] Nor shall any want of preparation in us avail for the lengthening out of our appointed time [Note: We may be living securely and without thought; or be intending soon to reform our lives; or be professors of religion in a backslidden state, and hoping for a season of revival; but no regard will be paid to our unfitness for death: yea rather, that very circumstance may be Gods reason for removing us without a moments warning. Mat 24:48-51. 1Th 5:2-3.] If God has said, This night shall thy soul be required of thee, even though we retired to our bed in perfect health, we should never behold the morning light [Note: Luk 12:20.].]
II.
When the period fixed for our existence here shall arrive, there will be an end of all present things
[All our earthly connexions will be dissolved [Note: We shall no more rejoice in the wife of our youth, or fondle in our arms our infant offspring, or enjoy the friend that is as our own soul: every social tie will be cut asunder, and every gratification of sense be taken from us.] All our plans and purposes will be broken [Note: If we were forming vast and comprehensive plans for our own personal benefit, or the good of the state, and had almost brought them to maturity; if we were just on the eve of renouncing our earthly and carnal lusts in order to turn more fully unto God; if we were in the very act of determining to read our Bible, to attend ordinances, and to devote ourselves to God; all would be frustrated the very instant that our time was come. Psa 146:4.] All our opportunities of spiritual improvement will for ever cease [Note: All things are ready for us now: the Holy Spirit is ready to teach us, Christ to cleanse us, and the Father to accept us: ministers are ready to lead us, angels to welcome us, the oxen and fatlings to feast us, and all the promises to own us as their lawful heir. But, as soon as the last sand of our glass is fallen, all will be past and gone. There will be no more ordinances to instruct, or promises to encourage, or pastors to guide, or drawings of Gods Spirit to incline us: the fountain of Christs blood will be for ever closed; the bowels of divine mercy will yearn over us no more; nor will the angels any more tender us their friendly services. The day once ended, we can work no more for ever.] ]
III.
When the appointed moment shall come, our eternal state will be irrevocably fixed
[There will be no change whatever in the grave [Note: Ecc 9:10. Whatever our real character was in death, such it will remain, Rev 22:11. just as Babel remained, from the instant that God confounded the languages of the builders.] They who die without an interest in Christ will be for ever miserable [Note: There was an impassable gulf fixed between the rich man and Lazarus: nor was there so much as the smallest mitigation of pain allowed to him that was in hell. Luk 16:26. Rev 14:10-11. As on Noahs entrance into the ark the door was shut; so there will remain no possibility of admission into heaven, if once we die without an interest in Christ.] They who have improved their time for the great ends and purposes of life, will be for ever happy in the presence of their God [Note: They shall be as pillars in the temple of their God, and shall go no more out. Rev 3:12; Rev 4:8; Rev 7:15.] ]
Reflections
1.
This very day or night may be our last
[Yes; if the term of our continuance on earth be now to expire, we cannot resist the Divine will; we must go: but whither? Can it be to the regions of the damned? O how shall we dwell with everlasting burnings [Note: Isa 33:14.]? Is there reason to hope that we should go to heaven? then welcome sickness! welcome death! But let us not rest one moment while this awful matter is in suspense.]
2.
Our last day must come soon, at all events
[What if we live fifty or sixty years! the time will soon be gone, as a weavers shuttle passing through the loom [Note: Job 7:6.]; and then the thread of life will be cut. They who are now advanced in years look back upon their past life as a dream. So will it appear to us also, when it is spent. Let us then work while it is day; and before the night comes, in which no man can work [Note: Joh 9:4.].]
3.
The present moment is of infinite importance to us all
[It is all that we can call our own: and on this eternity depends. Let us therefore live as those who live for eternity [Note: 1Co 7:29-31.]. If ever we should be with Christ in Paradise, shall we regret that we took so much pains to get thither? If, on the contrary, we should ever lift up our eyes in hell, shall we not bewail the supineness that brought us thither? Let us then awake from our slumbers; and labour, that, at whatever time our Lord may come, he may find us watching [Note: Much of the foregoing matter would serve to illustrate another text, Jer 28:16. This year them shall die. It might be treated thus: 1. What prospect there is that the text will be fulfilled in us(Many will die this yearNo one has any security that he himself shall not be among the numberWe all feel in ourselves the seeds of deathMany who in all respects were as likely to live as we, are dead alreadyThere is a year coming wherein every one of us must die.) 2. What effect that prospect should have upon us(It should make us, dead to the worldserious in self-examinationdiligent in working out our salvation.)].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
(5) And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, (6) And sware by him that liveth forever 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: (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.
We cannot read what fellows, of the Lord Jesus lifting up his hand to heaven, in a way of solemnity, and swearing to the truth of what he was about to deliver, without being struck with the sublimity of the whole. Let the Reader figure to himself Christ as God-Man, with one foot upon the earth, and the other on the sea, to imply (as hath been before observed) his supreme authority, and then hear him swearing by him that liveth forever and ever, and created all things, that there should be time no longer. Who less than God could so determine? And who but God could accomplish such a purpose? We read in another scripture, that when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself. And that this was God our Savior who thus swore to Abraham is most evident, as may be seen by looking at the account. It was God, it is said, that called upon Abraham to offer up his son a burnt-offering. And it was the angel of the Lord that called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord. See Gen_22:1-2; Gen_22:15-16 . And the Holy Ghost confirms the whole in the scripture before quoted, Heb 6:13 . Can anything be more plain than that in the whole transaction it was God our Savior who is all along spoken of? And who, indeed, should it be but Him? He is the only visible Jehovah through all the scripture. No man hath seen God at any time. In the invisibility of his essence, as God, it is impossible to see him. But one only begotten Son, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and from that bosom came forth in our nature, he hath declared him, Joh 1:18 . See Heb 6:13 . and Commentary. Hence, therefore, in this oath, that there should be time no longer, we behold Christ acting in his high character of Mediator, and in the name of the whole Godhead, confirming by oath, the counsel of his will.
The days of the voice of the seventh angel were to take place before the period Christ swore to should come on, when time should be no longer. The mystery of God was first to be finished, that is, the mystery of those wonderful events concerning the Church of God, in relation to those anti-Christian powers which opposed Christ, the Eastern and the Western heresy. But not the mysteries of God finished, or made known, in relation to that mystery of the Three sacred Persons in the Godhead, the mystery of God and man in one Person, and the mystery of Christ being one with his Church. These things are never to be finished, neither can be in their very nature so explained, as to be no longer mysterious. The meaning evidently is, that the period will come, under the seventh trumpet sounding, when the powers of darkness, whose opposition to Christ is now so mysterious, shall be finished, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Ver. 5. Lifted up his hand ] And so swore solemnly,Gen 14:22Gen 14:22 ; Num 14:30 ; Eze 20:5 . Because it seemed improbable (if not impossible) that ever Babylon should down, Rome be ruined. But all the judgments in the Revelation (those of the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials) are still upon Rome pagan, Christian, and Antichristian. We may therefore conclude with that emperor of Germany, Frederic II,
” Roma diu titubans, variis erroribus acta
Gorruet, et mundi desinet esse caput.
“Rome tottering long, shall once be shattered,
And of the world shall cease to be the head.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5 7 .] The oath of the strong angel, that the time of fulfilment of all prophecy was close at hand . In this portion of the vision, the reminiscences of Dan 12:7 are very frequent: , , , , , . And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted his right hand (not both hands, as in Daniel above, seeing that the little book lay open on his left. On the practice of lifting the hand in swearing, cf. ref. and Gen 14:22 ( Exo 6:8 and Num 14:30 , marg. and LXX)) towards heaven (as God’s dwelling-place, Isa 57:15 ) and sware by (construction, see reff.) Him that liveth to the ages of the ages (cf. Dan. above), who created the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it (this full and formal designation of God as Creator of all is given, because the subject of the angel’s oath is, the mystery of God, which necessarily rests in His power alone who made all things.
We may observe, that the fact as well as the form of this oath is against the supposition, that this strong angel is the Lord Himself. Considering St. John’s own declarations respecting the Son of God, it is utterly inconceivable that he should have related as spoken by Him an oath couched in these terms), that time (see below) should no longer be (i. e. should no more intervene: in allusion to the answer given to the cry of the souls of the martyrs, ch. Rev 6:11 , . This whole series of trumpet-judgments has been an answer to the prayers of the saints, and now the vengeance is about to receive its entire fulfilment: : the appointed delay is at an end. That this is the meaning is shewn by the . . which follows. Several erroneous views have been taken of this saying: e. g., 1) that of Bed [106] “mutabilis scularium temporum varietas in novissima tuba cessabit,” al., and apparently the E. V. (“that there should be time no longer”) that it imports the ending of the state of time, and the beginning of eternity: 2) the chronological one of Bengel, who allots a definite length, viz. 1111 1 / 9 years (?) to a chronus, and then interprets, “there shall not elapse a chronus:” bringing the end, on his successive-historical system, to the year 1836, which is self-refuted: 3) the view of Vitringa and Hengstenb., which grounds an error on the right understanding of these words themselves, “moram nullam temporis esse intercessuram inter clangorem septim tub et oraculorum propheticorum implementum:” for the assertion of Rev 10:7 , which is the carrying out of this denial, expressly identifies the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, with the immediate fulfilment of all prophecy): but ( is not = , but bears its proper meaning of strong contrast) in the days of the voice of the seventh angel (i. e. the days indicated, in the fulfilment of the vision, by the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet. De W. well observes, that there is in the diction of this clause a mingling of the fulfilment with the prophecy), when he is about to blow his trumpet (these words are used, as in reff., in their strictest propriety. For when the seventh angel does sound, the completed time of the fulfilment is simultaneous with his blowing: cf. ch. Rev 11:18 ; so that it is properly said that the fulfilment comes in the days when he is about to blow. Elliott’s version, “at what time soever he may have to sound,” can hardly be the rendering of . For 1) will not in the LXX and N. T. bear this emphatic uncertainty, but is simply “when,” in contingent clauses: and 2) , in a sentence spoken strictly of time, must be kept to its temporal signification. Of course, the E. V., “when he shall begin to sound,” is inadmissible), then (this in apodosi is in fact the token of a mixed construction: which resolved would be . . ., . . . So also in reff. See Winer, edn. 6, 53. 3, f) the mystery of God (this expression will be best understood by ref. Rom., connected as it is here with the verb (see below). It is the mystery of the kingdom , as unfolded in the course of the Gospel dispensation, as is clearly shewn by the thanksgiving after the blowing of the seventh trumpet in ch. Rev 11:15 ff.) is fulfilled (lit., was fulfilled , the speaker looking back, in prophetic anticipation, on the days spoken of, from a point when they should have become a thing past), as He evangelized (it is impossible to give the force of with the accus. by a periphrasis, without losing its force. It expresses that God informed them of the glad tidings : it being left to be understood by their office of , that they published the . See Gal 3:8 , where the sense, though not the construction, is much the same) His servants the prophets .
[106] Bede, the Venerable , 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. “E,” mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 10:5-6 . Modelling from Dan 12:7 , the writer describes the angel’s oath (by the living God, as usual in O.T.; cf. Mat 26:63 ), with its native gesture ( cf. Trumbull’s Threshold-Covenant , 78 f.) and contents. In the ancient world oaths were usually taken in the open-air (Usener, Gtternamen , 181), before the all-seeing deities of the upper light. But here, as at Rev 14:7 , the eschatological and the creative acts of God (the latter an outcome of His living might, as Sir 18:1 , En. Rev 10:1 , Act 16:15 , etc.) are deliberately conjoined; God’s activity in creation and providence would culminate in judgment. “There shall be no further delay,” or time lost. The interval of Rev 6:11 (Dan 12:7 ) is over: all is ripe now for the end, . The parallels in Slav. En. xxxiii. 2, 65:7, upon the abolition of seasons and periods of time are merely verbal. What engages the writer here is the usual point of importance in apocalyptic literature, viz. , “Is it long to the end? Is the future longer than the past” (4 Esd. 4:44 50)?
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
hand. The texts read “right hand”. See Rev 1:16; Rev 5:1, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5-7.] The oath of the strong angel, that the time of fulfilment of all prophecy was close at hand. In this portion of the vision, the reminiscences of Dan 12:7 are very frequent:- , , , , , . And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted his right hand (not both hands, as in Daniel above, seeing that the little book lay open on his left. On the practice of lifting the hand in swearing, cf. ref. and Gen 14:22 (Exo 6:8 and Num 14:30, marg. and LXX)) towards heaven (as Gods dwelling-place, Isa 57:15) and sware by (construction, see reff.) Him that liveth to the ages of the ages (cf. Dan. above), who created the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it (this full and formal designation of God as Creator of all is given, because the subject of the angels oath is, the mystery of God, which necessarily rests in His power alone who made all things.
We may observe, that the fact as well as the form of this oath is against the supposition, that this strong angel is the Lord Himself. Considering St. Johns own declarations respecting the Son of God, it is utterly inconceivable that he should have related as spoken by Him an oath couched in these terms), that time (see below) should no longer be (i. e. should no more intervene: in allusion to the answer given to the cry of the souls of the martyrs, ch. Rev 6:11, . This whole series of trumpet-judgments has been an answer to the prayers of the saints, and now the vengeance is about to receive its entire fulfilment: : the appointed delay is at an end. That this is the meaning is shewn by the . . which follows. Several erroneous views have been taken of this saying: e. g., 1) that of Bed[106] mutabilis scularium temporum varietas in novissima tuba cessabit, al., and apparently the E. V. (that there should be time no longer)-that it imports the ending of the state of time, and the beginning of eternity: 2) the chronological one of Bengel, who allots a definite length, viz. 11111/9 years (?) to a chronus, and then interprets, there shall not elapse a chronus: bringing the end, on his successive-historical system, to the year 1836, which is self-refuted: 3) the view of Vitringa and Hengstenb., which grounds an error on the right understanding of these words themselves,-moram nullam temporis esse intercessuram inter clangorem septim tub et oraculorum propheticorum implementum: for the assertion of Rev 10:7, which is the carrying out of this denial, expressly identifies the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, with the immediate fulfilment of all prophecy): but ( is not = , but bears its proper meaning of strong contrast) in the days of the voice of the seventh angel (i. e. the days indicated, in the fulfilment of the vision, by the sounding of the seventh angels trumpet. De W. well observes, that there is in the diction of this clause a mingling of the fulfilment with the prophecy), when he is about to blow his trumpet (these words are used, as in reff., in their strictest propriety. For when the seventh angel does sound, the completed time of the fulfilment is simultaneous with his blowing: cf. ch. Rev 11:18; so that it is properly said that the fulfilment comes in the days when he is about to blow. Elliotts version, at what time soever he may have to sound, can hardly be the rendering of . For 1) will not in the LXX and N. T. bear this emphatic uncertainty, but is simply when, in contingent clauses: and 2) , in a sentence spoken strictly of time, must be kept to its temporal signification. Of course, the E. V., when he shall begin to sound, is inadmissible), then (this in apodosi is in fact the token of a mixed construction: which resolved would be …, … So also in reff. See Winer, edn. 6, 53. 3, f) the mystery of God (this expression will be best understood by ref. Rom., connected as it is here with the verb (see below). It is the mystery of the kingdom, as unfolded in the course of the Gospel dispensation, as is clearly shewn by the thanksgiving after the blowing of the seventh trumpet in ch. Rev 11:15 ff.) is fulfilled (lit., was fulfilled,-the speaker looking back, in prophetic anticipation, on the days spoken of, from a point when they should have become a thing past), as He evangelized (it is impossible to give the force of with the accus. by a periphrasis, without losing its force. It expresses that God informed them of the glad tidings: it being left to be understood by their office of , that they published the . See Gal 3:8, where the sense, though not the construction, is much the same) His servants the prophets.
[106] Bede, the Venerable, 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. E, mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
stand: Rev 10:2
lifted: Gen 14:22, Gen 22:15, Gen 22:16, Exo 6:8, Deu 32:40, Eze 20:5, Eze 20:15, Eze 20:23, Eze 20:28, Eze 20:42, Eze 36:7, Eze 47:14, Dan 12:7, Heb 6:13, by him, Rev 1:18, Rev 4:9, Jer 10:10, who, Rev 4:11, Rev 14:7, Gen 1:1 – Gen 2:25, Exo 20:11, Neh 9:6, Psa 95:3-6, Psa 146:5, Psa 148:1-7, Jer 10:11-13, Act 14:15, Act 17:23, Rom 1:20, that there, Rather, “the time should not be yet,” [Strong’s G5550], [Strong’s G3756], [Strong’s G2076], [Strong’s G2089], that is, the time of those glorious things with which “the mystery of God should be finished.” Rev 16:17, Dan 12:7
Reciprocal: Psa 106:26 – lifted Isa 3:7 – swear Eze 44:12 – therefore Mat 14:25 – walking Rev 10:1 – another Rev 10:8 – the voice
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 10:5. In lifting up his hand the angel mentioned before (in verse 2) was preparing to make an oath. (There is no inconsistency in this, for he was an angel of God and man only is forbidden to make oaths.)
Rev 10:6. Should be time no longer. Much misuse has been of this passage. It is not uncommon to hear a preacher making an earnest plea to his audience to obey the Gospel while the time is here. That soon the angel of God would place one foot on land and the other on the sea and declare that “time shall be no longer.” They thus make the phrase mean that the last day of the earth has come and hence it will be “the end of time.” In the first place the events concerning which the angel uttered the phrase were several centuries prior to the second coming of Christ. In the second place the Bible does not teach there will ever be an end of time, for the word means the same as the word “eternity,” and both words simply mean “duration” which is something that had no beginning and will never have an end. The word in our passage does not mean “time” as being the opposite of “eternity,” but it has the same meaning the word would have if a moderator announced to the speaker that his time was up. The Englishman’s Greek New Testament renders the word “delay.” The passage means that the events being predicted–the events getting ready for the Reformation–were about due to start and that there would be no longer delay in the matter.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verses 5-6.
9. That there should be time no longer: The words of finality spoken by the angel required that they be sealed with the binding force of an oath. In the Old Testament God is said to have sworn by himself. (Gen 22:16; Isa 45:23; Psa 110:4; Psa 89:35; Psa 132:11) In the New Testament Peter refers to God having “sworn with an oath” to David. (Act 2:30), and Paul declares in Heb 6:18 that God “confirmed by an oath” his immutable counsel, in which it was “impossible for God to lie.” So if the voice from heaven was Christ himself, or “another mighty angel” there was nothing inconceivable or incompatible that he should sware by the eternal Creator of heaven itself, and the earth and the sea, “and the things that therein are.”
Standing on the sea and the earth, as if to survey the full sweep of all human powers, Roman and Jewish, the angel proclaimed that there should be time no longer. The time for the seventh angel to sound the seventh trumpet was near, and the culminating events would be no longer delayed. This angelic proclamation did not refer to the end of all time, but rather to the end of the events signified in the vision. The word time here means delay, the time, or delay, of these events was about to end. In Rev 6:9-10 the souls under the altar cried “how long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” In the response to this prayer, in verse 11, “it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season”–that is, wait for a time, until the vision “should be fulfilled.” That “little season” was about to end with the approaching proclamation of the seventh angel, the time should be no longer. The prayer of the martyrs for avenging judgment was about to be answered and would speedily come with no more delay. In Rev 8:3 the prayers of all the saints are seen superadded to the cry of martyrs. The visions of the seven seals and the seven trumpets, with their intermissions, have been unfolded, and the vision having reached “the days of the seventh angel” there should be no more delay.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 10:5-7. Intimation is now made that though the thunders are sealed the judgments which they threatened will not be long delayed, and the solemn manner of making it corresponds to the great issues that are to come. The angel whom the Seer saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven, and sware by the great Creator of the universe that there should be delay no longer. The delay here spoken of is the space of time referred to in Mat 24:22, where it is said that the days shall be shortened for the elects sake. The coming of the end in view is next defined alike as to its time and its results. Its time shall be in the sounding of the seventh trumpet: its results shall be seen in the completing of the mystery of God, that is, in the completing of all His purposes with regard to His Church on earth.
According to the good tidings which he declared. The word good tidings is remarkable. Most interpreters will admit that it does not imply that the tidings were only of mercy. In reality the whole context shows that they were tidings of judgment upon the enemies of God. Yet even these were good tidings, for they told that the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and that for the welfare of His creatures He would yet take to Him His great power and reign. It will be well to remember this in the interpretation of a more difficult passage to follow.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The angel that represented Christ, is here represented to St. John as swearing.
Where observe, 1. The ceremony used in swearing, Lifting up of the hand to heaven, appealing thereby to God as a witness and a judge.
2. The person sworn by, God; described,
(1.) By his eternity. He lives for ever, before and after all time.
(2.) By his omnipotency, and almighty power in the work of creation, making heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein.
An oath is proper to God, and as we are to swear by God, so God is only to be sworn by.
Observe, 3. The thing sworn, namely, That time shall be no more; that is, that there should be no farther delay of time, for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the obdurate Jews, say some; for the ruin of the Roman empire, for the destruction of Antichrist, say others; the performance of God’s word, both in his promises of deliverance to his church, and in the execution of judgment on her enemies, is now at hand.
Observe, 4. The promise made, and the assurance here given, namely, That the mystery of God should be finished, that is, the deliverance of the church should be completed, and the final confusion of her enemies shall be accomplished; which is called a mystery, because the world understands it not, nor will they believe the same. As mysteries have their own time to be made manifest in, so, to the comfort of the faithful, and the terror of the wicked, a day was then approaching, in which the happy condition of the afflicted should appear, and the calamitous state of the ungodly be discovered.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The raising of a hand toward heaven indicates an oath taken with God as witness. At the end of chapter 9, mankind had refused to repent despite the terrible judgments God had brought upon him, so time will now be no more. It may appear that Rev 10:8-11 ; Rev 11:1-13 is a delay in the ending of time. However, it is actually an interlude, or parenthetical statement, to reassure us of certain matters and in no way delays, in terms of time transpiring, the coming of the seventh trumpet. The New Testament reveals the mystery of God’s plan to save man. ( Rom 16:25 ; Eph 1:9-11 ) When time ends, that mystery will be finished.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 10:5-7. And the angel, &c. But though I was not allowed to reveal what the seven thunders had uttered, yet the angel proceeded to give a further revelation of the dispensations of Divine Providence toward the world and the church in general; and, to confirm the truth and certainty of his revelation, he took his oath in the most solemn manner: he lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever By the eternal God, before whom a thousand years are but as a day is with us; who created the heaven, the earth, the sea, &c. And consequently has the sovereign power over all; therefore all his enemies, though they rage a while on the earth and on the sea, yet must give place to him: That there should be time no longer Greek, , that the time shall not be yet; (so Lowman and Bishop Newton understand it;) that is, that the lime of the glorious state of the church, though sure to take place in its due time, should not be yet; but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel Who was yet to sound; the mystery of God In his providence toward his church; should be finished Or completed. The mystery of God is his counsel or design, which begins in the present conversion and happiness of man on earth, will terminate in diffusing that felicity over all the world, and will complete it in a state of immortality; as he hath declared , according to the good news which he hath published; to his servants the prophets And then the glorious state of the church should be no longer delayed. So long as the third wo remains on the earth and the sea, the mystery of God is not fulfilled. And the angels declaration that it shall be fulfilled, confirmed by a solemn oath, is made peculiarly for the consolation of holy men, who are afflicted under that wo. Indeed the wrath of God must be first fulfilled by the pouring out of the vials, and then comes the joyful fulfilling of the mystery of God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth {b} lifted up his hand to heaven,
(b) This was a gesture used of one that swears, which men do now use.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The announcement of the mighty angel 10:5-7
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The fact that the angel took an oath and swore by God seems to confirm that he is not God. Lifting the right hand toward God was and is a customary gesture when making a solemn oath (cf. Gen 14:22; Deu 32:40; Dan 12:7). The little book must have been in the angel’s left hand.