CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Mighty Angel and The Two Witnesses
“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.” (Revelation 10:1-4).
Some hold that this mighty angel is not the Lord Jesus Christ, but some other angel sent to serve and represent Him. They argue He comes down from heaven, and that Christ does not return until the end of the Tribulation. Furthermore, thunders spoke for him and they say Christ would speak for Himself. He also swore by heaven and Him who sat on the throne, whereas, Christ would have sworn by Himself.
We believe these arguments to be weak and unconvincing. Dake gives the following for his proof that the angel is Jesus Christ.
1. The description of Him in Rev. 10:1 proves He is Christ (cp. Rev. 1:12-16; Daniel 10:5-6).
2. The book open in His hand proves it. In Rev. 5:5-7 Christ takes the sealed book out of the right hand of God. In Rev. 6:1-8:1 He breaks the seals that bind it. Here the same little book is open so that the contents of the things written within might be revealed
(Rev. 10:2,8-11).
3. Christ is the one giving John the Revelation
(Rev. 1:1; Rev. 10:4,8-11).
4. His voice as a lion roaring (Rev. 10:3) identifies Him with the lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5; cp. Isaiah 31:4-5; Jeremiah 25:29-36; Hosea 11:10-11; Joel 3:16; Amos 3:8). In these passages the Lord is spoken of as a lion roaring in the Day of the Lord.
5. The swearing of the angel (Rev. 10:6) proves Him to be a divine person, for not one time in Scripture does an ordinary angel make an oath to God or man. In 50 scriptures it is stated that God swore or made oaths. In 31 other passages man swears to God and man (cp. Daniel 12:7).
6. Christ directs John concerning what to write and what not to write (cp. Rev. 1:11,19; Rev. 2:1,8,12,18; Rev. 3:1,7,12,14; Rev. 10:4; Rev. 14:13-14; Rev. 19:9; Rev. 21:5).
7. In Rev. 11:3 we have definite proof that the angel is Christ, for He says, “I will give power unto my two witnesses.” This proves Him to be a divine person.
No doubt this angel is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is called the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament. His clothing, the rainbow, and the face that shown as the sun certainly imply this is deity. Feet, as pillars of fire, are similar to those of the Son of Man walking amid the candlesticks. He stands with one foot on the sea and the other on earth, showing ownership and dominion.
Jesus also took the book in His right hand from Him who sat on the throne, in chapter 5, and that book concerns God’s judgment on Satan’s kingdom in order for Christ to reclaim His created and purchased position. There is no reason to doubt that this book is not the same one. Here, a small portion of it remains to be fulfilled. It is logical that Christ, the Creator and Redeemer, would be the One standing with one foot on land and one on the sea with the remaining judgments and the title deed in His hand.
The fact that He set his right foot upon the sea, and His left foot on the earth, shows determination and dominion. “The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land” (Psalm 95:5). It is His by creation and redemption, and now He is reclaiming it by proclamation.
The loud voice, as that of a lions roar, also speaks of conquest and dominion. That is exactly what the Lion of the tribe of Judah is doing here. It is a roar of triumph over the prey!
Seven thunders uttered their voices when the lion roared. To some it sounded like thunder, perhaps to those on earth, but in heaven their voices were clear. This is illustrated in John 12:29, “The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.”John heard clearly what the thunders said and was about to write it when he was told not to, but to seal up the book. What John heard, we are not told.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.