And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
11. And he said ] Read, And they say.
Thou must prophesy again ] Some try to make out that there is here a new commission given to the Apostle, and that in the remainder of the book there are higher mysteries than in the foregoing part. But it is surely simpler to take it as a personal warning to the Apostle himself; he was to see the end of all things in vision, but his own earthly work and duties were not at an end. He had already “prophesied before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings” (whether Nero or Domitian was the last of these): and he would have to do the same “again.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he said unto me – The angel then said.
Thou must prophesy – The word prophesy here is evidently used in the large sense of making known divine truth in general; not in the comparatively narrow and limited sense in which it is commonly used, as referring merely to the foretelling of future events. See the word explained in the Rom 12:6 note; 1Co 14:1 note. The meaning is, that, as a consequence of becoming possessed of the little volume and its contents, he would be called to proclaim divine truth, or to make the message of God known to mankind. The direct address is to John himself; but it is evidently not to be understood of him personally. He is represented as seeing the angel; as hearkening to his voice; as listening to the solemn oath which he took; as receiving and eating the volume; and then as prophesying to many people; but the reference is undoubtedly to the far-distant future. If the allusion is to the times of the Reformation, the meaning is, that the end of the world was not, as would be expected, about to occur, but that there was to be an interval long enough to permit the gospel to be proclaimed before nations, and tongues, and kings; that in consequence of coming into possession of the little book, the Word of God, the truth was yet to be proclaimed far and wide on the earth.
Again – palin. This had been done before. That is, supposing this to refer to the time of the Reformation, it could be said:
(a)That this had been done before – that the gospel had been in former times proclaimed in its purity before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings; and,
(b)That it would be done again; that is, though the Word of God had been hidden, and a mass of corrupt traditions had taken its place, yet the time would come when those pure truths would be made known again to all lands. This will explain the word again in this place – not meaning that John would do this personally, but that this would be in fact the result of the restoration of the Bible to the church.
Before many peoples – This word denotes people considered as masses, or as grouped together in masses, without reference to the manner in which it is done. It is used when we look on a mass of people, without taking into account the question whether they are of the same nation, or language, or rank. See the notes on Rev 7:9. The plural is used here – peoples – perhaps to denote that those to whom the truth would be made known would be very numerous. They would not only be numerous in regard to the individuals to whom it would be communicated, but numerous considered as communities or nations.
And nations – The word nations here denotes people considered as separated by national boundaries, constitutions, laws, customs. See the notes on Rev 7:9.
And tongues – People considered as divided by languages – a division not always or necessarily the same as that denoted by the word people, or nations as used in this passage.
And kings – Rulers of the people. The meaning is, that the gospel would not only be borne before the masses of mankind, but in a special manner before kings and rulers. The effect of thus possessing the little volume, or of the open book of revealed truth, would ultimately be that the message of life would be carried with power before princes and rulers, and would influence them as well as the common people.
In inquiring now for the proper application of this symbol as thus explained, we naturally turn to the Reformation, and ask whether there was anything in that of which this would he the proper emblem. The following things, then, are found in fact as occurring at that time, of which the symbol before us may be regarded as the proper representation:
(1) The reception of the Bible as from the hand of an angel – or its recovery from obscurity and forgetfulness, as if it were now restored to the church by a heavenly interposition. The influence of the Bible on the Reformation; the fact that it was now recovered from its obscurity, and that it was made the grand instrument in the Reformation, has already been illustrated. See the notes on Rev 10:2. The symbolical action of taking it from the hand of an angel was not an improper representation of its reception again by the church, and of its restoration to its true place in the church. It became, as it is proper that it should always be, the grand means of the defense of the faith, and of the propagation of truth in the world.
(2) The statement that the little book when eaten was in the mouth sweet as honey, is a striking and proper representation of the relish felt for the sacred Scriptures by those who love the truth (compare notes on Rev 10:9), and is especially appropriate to describe the interest which was felt in the volume of revealed truth in the time of the Reformation. For the Bible was to the Reformers emphatically a new book. It had been driven from common use to make way for the legends of the saints and the traditions of the church. It had, therefore, when translated into the vernacular tongue, and when circulated and read, the freshness of novelty – the interest which a volume of revealed truth would have if just given from heaven. Accordingly, it is well known with what avidity and relish the sacred volume was studied by Luther and his fellow-laborers in the Reformation; how they devoured its doctrines; how they looked to it for comfort in their times of trial; how sweet and sustaining were its promises in the troubles that came upon them, and in the labors which they were called to perform.
(3) The representation that, after it was eaten, it was bitter, would not improperly describe the effect, in some respects, of thus receiving the Bible, and making it the groundwork of faith. It brought the Reformers at once into conflict with all the power of the papacy and the priesthood; exposed them to persecution; aroused against them a host of enemies among the princes and rulers of the earth; and was the cause for which many of them were put to death. Such effects followed substantially when Wycliffe translated the Bible; when John Huss and Jerome of Prague published the pure doctrines of the New Testament; and when Luther gave to the people the Word of God in their own language. To a great extent this is always so – that, however sweet and precious the truths of the Bible may be to the preacher himself, one of the effects of his attempting to preach those truths may be such opposition on the part of people, such cold indifference, or such fierce persecution, that it would be well illustrated by what is said here, it shall make thy belly bitter.
(4) The representation that, as a consequence of receiving that book, he would prophesy again before many people, is a fit representation of the effect of the reception of the Bible again by the church, and of allowing it its proper place there. For:
(a) it led to preaching, or, in the language of this passage, prophesying – a thing comparatively little known before for many ages. The grand business in the papal communion was not, and is not, preaching, but the performance of rites and ceremonies. Genuflexions, crossings, burning of incense, processions, music, constitute the characteristic features of all papal churches; the grand thing that distinguishes the Protestant churches all over the world, just in proportion as they are Protestant, is preaching. The Protestant religion – the pure form of religion as it is revealed in the New Testament – has few ceremonies: its rites are simple: it depends for success on the promulgation and defense of the truth, with the attending influence of the Holy Spirit; and for this view of the nature and degree of religion the world is indebted to the fact that the Bible was again restored to its true place in the church.
(b) The Bible is the basis of all genuine preaching. Preaching will not be kept up in its purity, except in the places where the Bible is freely circulated, and where it is studied; and where it is studied, there will be, in the proper sense of the term, preachers. Just in proportion as the Bible is studied in the world, we may expect that preaching will be better understood, and that the number of preachers will be increased.
(c) The study of the Bible is the foundation of all the efforts to spread the knowledge of the truth to peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings, in our own times. All these efforts have been originated by the restoration of the Bible to its proper place in the church, and to its more profound and accurate study in this age; for these efforts are but carrying out the injunction of the Saviour as recorded in this book – to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
(d) The same thing will be true to the end of the world; or, in the language of the portion of the Book of Revelation before us, until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever, Rev 11:15. The fact of the restoration of the Bible to its proper place in the church will, therefore, ultimately be the means of the conversion of the whole world to God; and this fact, so momentous in its nature and its consequences, was worthy to be symbolized by the appearance of the angel descending from heaven clothed with a cloud; was properly represented by the manner in which he appeared – his face radiant as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire; was worthy to be expressed by the position which he assumed, as standing on the sea and the earth – as if all the world were interested in the purpose of his mission, and was worthy of the loud proclamation which he made – as if a new order of things were to commence. Beautiful and sublime, then, as this chapter is, and always has been esteemed as a composition, it becomes still more beautiful and sublime if it be regarded as a symbol of the Reformation – an event the most glorious, and the most important in its issues, of any that has occurred since the Saviour appeared on the earth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. Thou must prophesy again] Thou must write, not only for the instruction of the Jews in Palestine, but of those in the different provinces, as well as the heathens and heathen emperors and potentates in general.
THE reader will find, on comparing this chapter with Dan 8:1-27; Dan 12:1-13, and Eze 2:1-3:27, that there are several things similar in both; and the writer of the Apocalypse appears to keep these two prophets continually in view. I must once more say that I do not understand these prophecies, therefore I do not take upon me to explain them. I see with regret how many learned men have mistaken their way here. Commentators, and even some of the most modern, have strangely trifled in these solemn things; all trumpets, vials, woes, c., are perfectly easy to them yet from their descriptions, none get wise either to common sense or to the things that make for their peace.
On the same ground I cannot admit the interpretation that is given of the word , translated time in Re 10:6, which some have construed into an artificial period of 1,111 years, which they term chronos; hence we have the chronos, half-chronos, and non-chronos. Bengel has said much on these points, but to very little purpose; the word in the above place seems to signify delay simply, and probably refers to the long-suffering of God being ended in reference to Jerusalem; for I all along take for probable that this book was written previously to the destruction of that city.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou must prophesy again: these words (as many think) evince this a prophecy distinct from the former; he must prophesy again.
Before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings; who shall be concerned to hear what shall now be revealed to thee concerning the rise of antichrist, his rule and tyranny, and his fall and ruin, which are things began long before, during the periods of time, when the six before mentioned trumpets sounded, but were not there clearly revealed; which things I will reveal unto thee, that thou, and after thee the ministers of the gospel, may in their several periods reveal them in the hearing of many people, and nations, &c.; so that hereby John (as some think) was constituted a prophet to reveal the state of the church under antichrist, and his tyranny, and finally his ruin, which began at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, Rev 11:15; but when it shall be finished, God alone must inform the world by the issues of his providence.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. he saidA, B, and Vulgateread, “they say unto me”; an indefinite expressionfor “it was said unto me.”
Thou mustTheobligation lies upon thee, as the servant of God, to prophesy at Hiscommand.
againas thou didstalready in the previous part of this book of Revelation.
before, &c.ratheras Greek (epilaois), “concerning manypeoples,” &c., namely, in their relation to the Church. Theeating of the book, as in Ezekiel’s case, marks John’s inaugurationto his prophetical officehere to a fresh stage in it, namely, therevealing of the things which befall the holy city and the Church ofGodthe subject of the rest of the book.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said unto me,…. That is, the angel, from whom John received the little book; the Alexandrian copy reads, “they said unto me”: both the voice of God the Father from heaven, that bid him take the book, and the angel that bid him eat it:
thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings; which is to be understood not of John’s preaching again to many people, and nations, after his return from his exile at Patmos, as he had done before his banishment thither; and much less of his prophesying along with Enoch and Elias, towards the end of the world, grounded upon two fabulous notions, the one that Enoch and Elias will appear in person before the coming of Christ, and the other, that John died not, but is still alive somewhere, and will continue till Christ’s second coming; but rather of his delivering more prophecies out of the open little book; not “before”, as we render it, but either “concerning” many people, nations, tongues, and kings, as the Syriac version renders it: or “against” them, that is, those people, multitudes, nations, and tongues, over which the whore of Babylon reigns, or has reigned, and the ten kings, and kings of the earth she rules over, Re 17:12. Moreover, this may not so much design John’s prophesying in person, as the prophesying: of the witnesses or ministers of the word in the several periods of time, whom John personated and represented; and of whom mention is made in the next chapter, to which this seems to be a transition.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They say (). Present active of vivid dramatic action and the indefinite statement in the plural as in Rev 13:16; Rev 16:15. It is possible that the allusion is to the heavenly voice (Rev 10:4; Rev 10:8) and to the angel (10:9).
Thou must prophesy again ( ). Not a new commission (1:19), though now renewed. C.f. Ezek 4:7; Ezek 6:2; Jer 1:10. The (again) points to what has preceded and also to what is to come in 11:15. Here it is predictive prophecy (, first aorist active infinitive of ).
Over (). In the case, in regard to as in Joh 12:16 (with ), not in the presence of ( with genitive, Mr 13:9) nor against ( with the accusative, Lu 22:53). For this list of peoples see 5:9, occurring seven times in the Apocalypse.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And he said unto me,” (kai legousin moi) “And they say (or he says to me),” Jesus Christ and the mighty (strong) angel both communicated to John.
2) “Thou must prophesy again,” (dei se palin propeteusai) “it is necessary that you prophesy again,” or you must again prophesy, or your people Israel must rise and prophesy again, after the many days, with morning and evening oblations during the first half of Daniel’s 70th week, Dan 9:26-27; Dan 12:1-3; 2Th 2:4-12; Rev 11:1-4.
3) “Before many peoples,” (epi laois-pollois) “Before many peoples,” as Jesus did, as Paul did, 2Ti 4:16-18.
a) “and nations,” (kai ethnesin) “and before many nations,” Rev 5:9-10; Rev 9:6; Rev 9:20-21.
b) “and tongues,” (kai glossais) “and before many languages,” Rev 7:9-15.
c) “and kings,” (kai basileusin) “and before many kings,” you must prophesy, Rev 11:1-7; Zec 12:10; Zec 14:16-17; Dan 9:26-27; Isa 2:1-5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(11) And he . . .Better, And they (not he, as in the English version, but they say: an equivalent for It was said,) say to me, Thou must again prophesy concerning (or, with regard to) peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings many. He is told that the bitterness will arise in connection with his prophecies with regard to peoples and kings. This carries us on to the vision in the next chapter, where the two witnesses stand so solitary, and prophesy so mightily, yet so vainly, among men. He will have to tell the story of churches and peoples, priests and princes, unmindful of their high calling and their allegiance to their true king, and of their hatred of Gods mightiest and purest witnesses. The end, indeed, will come. The Church will be victorious. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of Christ: but it will be through persecutions, apostasies, judgments. This is the sad vision he must describe. The interposed visions will answer the question, What has the Church been doing? but it will show how she has done that work, distressed by heresies, crippled by worldliness, trodden down by enemies, and, worse than enemies, foes veiled as friends. But this very vision will lead to the unfolding of the more truly spiritual aspects of the Churchs work, and of that conflict in which she contends with the multiform spirit and power of evil. Thus will he prophesy of peoples and kings many.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. He said Alford prefers the reading they say: the meaning is the same. The direction, as in Rev 10:8, was divine. And the plural divine Unanimity from which John receives the commission seems to confirm the thought that it comes from the Trinitarian Unity.
Again As over against the entire previous apocalypse. He had, instrumentally, prophesied through the seven-church cycle, the seven-seal cycle, and six of the trumpet-cycle. But so all-comprehending is this SEVENTH TRUMPET that a fresh order is given to commence again.
Before See note on Rev 22:16. The grandeur of the audience before which he was to prophesy is now unfolded. Not in person, but in the record, he is to be a world-wide and world-long prophet.
Many peoples That prophecy should be heard among many unorganized peoples; be accepted by many organized and powerful nations; be translated into many tongues; and rule in power over many kings. And the number four expresses the earth-wide extent of his prophetic office. How wonderfully have the terms of this commission been fulfilled! For it is plain that the prophecy refers not to oral utterance, but to the written record which the seer was now in the process of preparing. And wonderful is the fulfilment of this four-fold extension, in the spreading of this prophecy in our own day to the four great quarters of the globe.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS
Oh! thou Almighty Angel, whom John saw coming down from heaven! Give me, by faith, to behold thee with the delightful rainbow upon thine head, in token of the everlasting Covenant! Lord Jesus! whatever clouds or darkness thy divine dispensations are clothed with, still never will my faith despond, as long as Jesus appears to my view with his rainbow. Though the Church be in the fiery furnace, and clouds and darkness all around, yet while God my Father is beholding his Church through Christ, and in Christ, the bow in the cloud; and while Jesus’s face towards his people is as the sun in divine grace, and love, and favor, and the Church looking to Christ, and in Christ, and through Christ to God, all is well.
Blessed Lord! thou hast sworn, while taking possession of heaven, earth, and sea as thine, that the hour is hastening when time shall be no longer. Oh! then prepare thy Church, prepare thy people for this great day of our God! Lord, in thine own time, which is the best time, finish the mystery of God, in breaking down all the powers of antichrist, and thereby finish the mystery of iniquity, which now so much opposed thy pure Gospel.
Lord! give me the same spirit of obedience as thy servant John. Make me to eat and digest thy saving truths. Let all be sweet in thee, however bitter in the world, from flesh and blood. Kings, and nations, and tongues, shall hear thy prophecies, and all thy people shall praise thee.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Ver. 11. Thou must prophesy ] For all the sorrow, thou and thy successors must set close to the Lord’s work, for the regaining of those peoples, nations, &c., whom Antichrist hath enslaved. Or thus: Thou must prophesy, that is, before the time of fulfilling of all things, this book of the Revelation shall be made as clear as if John were come to prophesy again before men, and to give us a revelation of his Revelation, according to Isa 30:26 . (Mr Burr, on Hosea.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 10:11 . . , an oblique, reverential way of describing the divine impulse, due to Aramaic idiom and common in later Biblical Hebrew ( cf. Dalman, i., viii. 11). The series of oracles, thus elaborately inaugurated, is concerned increasingly (“again,” in view of Rev 4:4 , 15, Rev 7:4 ; Rev 7:9 , Rev 8:13 , Rev 9:6 ; Rev 9:16 f.) with those international movements (“kings” = , or those in Rev 17:10 ; Rev 17:12 ) which a prophet related to the course of the divine kingdom. Strictly speaking, the revelation assimilated in Rev 10:10-11 opens in 12., but the intervening passage is linked to both (see below). The first part of this passage (Rev 11:1-13 ) evidently forms part of the ( cf. Introd. 2). Its enigmatic contents, interrupting the trumpet-visions with edges which do not fit into the context or the rest of the Apocalypse, point to the incorporation of a special and disparate source. Any analysis is more or less hypothetical, but the writer is evidently not moving with absolute freedom. He has his own end in view, but he reaches it, here as elsewhere ( cf. Rev 7:1 f.) by means of stepping-stones which originally lay in different surroundings. This is widely recognised by critics and editors, who commonly take 1 2 and 3 13 as separate oracles. Each indeed might be the torso of a larger source. But, in spite of the different descriptions of Jerusalem, the hypothesis of their original unity has much in its favour. How could so tiny a scrap of papyrus as that required for 1, 2 be preserved? Besides Rev 10:3 goes with Rev 10:2 (the prophetic mission as a counterpart to the punishment), the two periods are alike, the strange -construction occurs in both (here only in Apoc.), and the inversion of object and verb is common to both (Rev 10:2 ; Rev 10:5-6 ; Rev 10:9-10 ). To discover an oracle of the Zealots in 1, 2 (Wellhausen, Bousset, Baljon, J. Weiss) is precarious, for even if we could suppose that these passionate citizens took time to write oracles, they had not a monopoly of belief in the temple’s inviolability. The latter belief conflicts with Mar 13:1-2 (Act 6:14 ); but, while this makes it extremely unlikely that the passage was adopted, or at least composed, by one of the Twelve, it does not necessarily disprove a Jewish Christian origin for the fly-leaf. Patriotism must have often swayed hope, even in face of authoritative logia. Still, a Jewish origin is more probable (so from Vischer and Sabatier to Baljon, Forbes, von Soden, Wellhausen and J. Weiss), in which case 8 c ( ), with possibly 9 a and 12 b , must be Christianising touches by the editor. As 8 c is the only place in the Apocalypse where Jesus is thus designated (contrast 4), and as the unexampled occurs in 4, the editor may be using a previous translation of the fly-leat. Otherwise, the repeated traces of Hebraistic idiom suggest that he translated it from an Aramaic or Hebrew original (so especially Weyland, Briggs, and Bruston) which was a Jewish (or Jewish Christian) oracle, composed towards the end of the siege in 70 A.D. between May and August ( cf. Joseph. Bell , ver 12, 3) by a prophet who anticipated ( cf. S. C. , 219, 220) that the temple and a nucleus of the God-fearing would be kept inviolate during the last times of the Gentiles , at the end of which anti-Christ or the pseudo-messiah would blasphemously re-assert himself in the temple (hence its preservation, 1, 2), according to one cycle of tradition (2Th 2:3 , etc., cf. A. C. 160 f.), after murdering the two heralds of messiah. The motives and further career of the beast are omitted, if not in the source, at least by the editor. He resumes the subject afterwards ( cf. Rev 13:6 ), when the eschatological monster is specially identified with the imperial power. Here his main concern is with the fate of the two witnesses. Probably it was this feature of the oracle which primarily led him to adopt and adapt it, as showing how the beast or anti-christ was foiled in his attack on messiah’s forerunners, just as (in 12) the dragon is foiled in his attack on messiah himself. The other details are left standing; in their present setting they have much the same pictorial and dramatic interest as the minuti of the parables, and it is perhaps doubtful whether the editor linked any symbolic or allegorical meaning to them, although such can easily be attached in a variety of ways, e.g. , to the language of 1, 2 in the light of Barn. iv. 11, Ign. ad Magn. 7, etc. (so Weiss, Simcox, Swete, and others). Even the two witnesses are not to be identified with any historical figures of contemporary life, much less taken as allegorical or as typifying aspects of the church’s testimony. “The vision is of the nature of a superimposed photograph showing traces of many pasts” (Abbott). The original Jewish tradition which lay behind the source expected only Elijah, who should preach repentance to the pagan world, but he was occasionally furnished with a companion in Moses (on the basis of Deu 18:15 ; cf. Mal 4:4-5 , the transfiguration-story, and possibly the two radiant saints of Apoc. Pet. 6 f.). The only other serious rival is Enoch, a grand figure in Jewish and early Christian eschatological tradition (for the curious Sir 44:16 , cf. E. Bi. 1295). Later tradition, indeed, thinking mainly of Elijah and Enoch (Gfrrer ii. 261 f.; A. C. 203, 211), whom antichrist in wrath slays for their witness against him, and whom God (or Michael and Gabriel) resuscitates, suggests a fairly apposite cycle of belief which may reproduce the earlier Jewish expectation out of which the materials of this fragmentary oracle have been drawn. The unique character of this expectation is illustrated, not so much by Anu and Nudimmut, Marduk’s predecessors in the fight against Tiamt, as by the Zoroastrian belief that the temporary triumph of the evil spirit would be followed by the appearance of two reformers or prophets, Hushdar and Hushdaarmh ( S. B. E. xxiii. 195; cf. Hbschmann, 227), who would act each for a millenium on earth as the precursors and heralds of their Lord, the Persian messiah. This belief is much older than the sources in which it occurs, and like several other Zoroastrian traits, it may have fused with the Jewish expectation in question, though the Zoroastrian heralds do not appear simultaneously ( cf. Encycl. Relig. and Ethics , i. 207). Here at any rate the appearance of the two anonymous and mysterious witnesses precedes the final outburst of evil (Rev 11:7 ; Rev 11:12 f.) and the manifestation of messiah (Rev 11:15 f., Rev 14:14 f.) an idea for which no exact basis can be found in the strictly Jewish eschatology of the period. It may have grown up under the influence of this kindred trait in the adjoining province of Zoroastrian belief, unless the doubling of the witnesses was simply due to the side-influence of the Zechariah-trait (in Rev 10:4 ). Wellhausen argues from the singular (Rev 10:8-9 ) that the two witnesses were a duplication of the original single witness, i.e. , Elijah; but the singular is collective, and there is no trace of any conflation with Jonah.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
he said. The texts read “they say”.
unto = to.
prophesy. In Rev. only here and Rev 11:3. Compare App-189. before = over, or concerning. Greek. epi. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 10:11. [106] , to prophesy) John acts in the vision throughout the whole course of the book.[107]
[106] , again) as others have done, preceding thee, ver. 7.-V. g. , many kings) living contemporaneously with that period of time, which is mentioned ver. 6.-V. g.
[107] Bengel, J. A. (1866). Vol. 5: Gnomon of the New Testament (M. E. Bengel & J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (W. Fletcher, Trans.) (172-248). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Thou: Rev 11:9, Rev 14:6, Rev 17:15, Jer 1:9, Jer 1:10, Jer 25:15-30
Reciprocal: Jer 25:13 – hath Eze 31:2 – speak Mar 3:17 – he surnamed Rev 13:7 – and power
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 10:11. We are sure that the effects of eating the book included the reactions of the world, for this verse refers to the subject in direct connection with his eating it. The instruction explains why he was to eat the book, and why it had the mentioned effects, namely, that he was to prophesy again before many peoples, etc. Incidentally, this last statement shows that the one in verse 6 that there should be time no longer, does not mean that the end of the world had come.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 11.
The commission to evangelize–Rev 10:11.
1. Thou must prophesy again: Here is the clear indication that John survived the Patmos revelation. He survived the castastrophe of Jerusalem, to go among the nations, peoples, tongues, kings, proclaiming the passing away of the old things of Judaism and the end of the old system, preaching again the word that concerns the people of all nations. He would himself fulfill Mat 24:31.
2. Before peoples, nations, tongues and kings: To apply the expression prophesy again to the further things in the Revelation does not fit the language used by the angel, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. The statement is comparable to the words of Jesus to Saul on the Damascus road in that commission to be executed by Paul, the apostle, recorded in Act 9:15 : “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.”
Furthermore, to make prophesy again mean to continue what he was then doing, and in the same way, would be a disregard for proper use and meaning of words. The passage indicates that John left the scene of these visions and became an active evangelist in many countries, among many peoples and tongues.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 10:11. The little book-roll has been eaten; and, in the midst of the judgments which it foretold, it has brought consolation to the Seer, for the only true consolation of the righteous is that all evil, whether in the world or in the Church, shall be put down, and that nothing but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost shall reign. Animated by this prospect he is ready to hear that he has still a work to do. He must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. The intimation, and they say unto me, with which these words are introduced, may help us to understand the nature of the prophesying referred to, for these words are hardly equivalent to the formula It is said. They may be much more naturally referred to the seven thunders which had already spoken at Rev 10:3. A voice of thunder, however, is a voice of judgment, and the prophesying now spoken must be also judgment. One further remark may be made. The verb to prophesy is used only twice in the Apocalypse, here and of the two witnesses at chap. Rev 11:3. In the latter case it cannot be confined to the proclamation of the visions of this book, and neither in like manner can it now be so. When, therefore, the Seer is told that he must prophesy, the meaning does not appear to be that he must declare the contents of the little book to an audience the various parts of which are immediately enumerated. The meaning rather is that he must go on uttering to the world his general testimony to the truth of God, and so preparing the world for its self-chosen fate. In other words, the Seer in this verse is less the apocalyptic revealer than the minister of Divine truth in general, the type and pattern of all the preaching of the New Testament Dispensation.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Rev 10:11. And he said Thou hast not yet finished the whole of thy work, in what thou hast already recorded of the visions of the Lord: but thou must again prophesy before, or to, many peoples and nations, &c. Mede infers from hence, that the apostle is about to go over the same period of time that he had before been discoursing of, giving an account of the state of the church as he had just done of the state of the empire. But the new descriptions and new events to which the subsequent prophecies refer, that are introduced here, and which constitute the following chapters, are sufficient, without any peculiarity of interpretation, to justify the expression, Thou must prophesy again. Besides, as Bishop Newton observes, if the prophecy begin here again anew, the subject be resumed from the beginning, and all that follows be contained in the little book, then the little book contains more matter than the larger book; and part of the sealed book is made part of the open book, which is contrary to the regularity and order of the Apocalypse, and in a great measure destroys the beauty and symmetry of the different parts: for it is evident and undeniable that the seventh trumpet is the seventh part of the seventh seal, as the seventh seal is the seventh part of the sealed book, and consequently can be no part of the little open book, which ends, as we shall see, with the sixth trumpet, and immediately before the sounding of the seventh.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:11 {8} And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
(8) A simple and plain declaration of the sign before, witnessing the divine calling of John, and laying on him the necessity of it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
"They" may refer to God or Jesus Christ (Rev 10:4; Rev 10:8) and the strong angel (Rev 10:9). Many interpreters, however, believe this is a third person plural of indefinite reference that expresses reverentially the divine prompting that John experienced (cf. Rev 12:6; Rev 13:16; Rev 16:15). [Note: Friedrich Düsterdieck, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Revelation of John, p. 305; Alford, 4:654; Lee, 4:638; Beckwith, p. 584; Robertson, 6:374; Ford, p. 160; Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 74.] "They" told John that he must (Gr. dei) prophesy again, as he had been doing (cf. Jer 1:10; Eze 4:7). They wanted him to communicate the new revelation contained in the little scroll that he had consumed. The new prophecies concerned many different peoples, nations, language groups, and kings (cf. Rev 5:9). The specific mention of kings reflects God’s sovereignty and anticipates the judgments in Rev 16:14; Rev 17:10; and Rev 17:12.
This renewed commission stresses that what follows would be more burdensome than what John had prophesied so far.