In Revelation 10 through 11:1-14, we have a parenthetical scripture, in which there are two subjects dealt with: first, the action of the “mighty angel” in Revelation 10, and second, the state of the temple and of Jerusalem, together with the testimony of the two witnesses, as given in Revelation 11:1-14.
John says as to the former: “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” (vs. 1). Such is the personal description of this mighty angel, a description which surely points us to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is clothed with a cloud, and a cloud is often connected with the divine presence, and hence with our Lord. This may be seen in the New Testament as well as constantly in the Old. On the mount of transfiguration, a cloud overshadowed both Him and His disciples (Matt. 17; Luke 9). When He ascended up into heaven, a cloud received Him out of the sight of His own (Acts 1). When He returns to the earth, He will come in the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7). In Revelation 4 the rainbow is round about the divine throne; here it is upon the angel’s head, and the rainbow is the symbol of God’s everlasting covenant with the earth (Gen. 9:12-13). None, therefore, but a divine Person could wear the rainbow on His head. The last two characteristics — “His face as it were the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire”—are almost identical to those given in Revelation 1:15-16. There cannot be a doubt, therefore, as to the identification of this mighty angel with Christ.
The Little Book Open
In His hand there was a little book open. It is not a sealed book as in chapter 5, the contents of which could not be known until the seals were broken, but an open book, the contents of which were already known. This doubtless refers to the fact that the action of Christ in taking possession of the earth and the sea had already been made known through prophetic writings. (See, for example, Psa. 72; Isa. 11; 25; 60; Zech. 14, and other scriptures).
Having set one foot on the sea and the other upon the earth, He “cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when He had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices” (vs. 3). The subject of this cry is concealed, for when John was about to write what the seven thunders had uttered, he was commanded to seal up the things he had heard and not to write them (vss. 3-4). But from the imagery employed, it is not difficult to discern that the cry of Christ and the voices of the seven thunders were expressive of His wrath, indignation and righteous judgment.
The next three verses explain the significance of the action described in verse 2: “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 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: 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” (vss. 5-7).
The Sovereign Right of Christ
In the action of the mighty angel (the Lord Himself) in setting one foot on the sea and the other upon the earth, whether the actual sea and earth are meant, or whether they are figures of “the flowing masses of the people” and of the ordered governments of the earth, the significance is the same. It is Christ come down, after His long season of patience at the right hand of God, to take possession of His rightful inheritance. (See Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Heb. 2). It is to be observed also that He takes possession, not only through His acquired title through His redemption work, but also in virtue of the sovereign rights of the Creator. Hence it is that, lifting up His hand to heaven, He swears by the eternal God, the universal Creator. It is creation’s Lord who has bestowed the title, and now He comes to make it good. He accordingly declares that there shall be no longer delay, but that all the judgments, “the mystery of God,” which concerns His dealing with the world between the first resurrection and the appearing of Christ in glory, should now be completed, in the days of the voice of the seventh angel. This is preparatory to His coming in the clouds of heaven, when every eye shall see Him, to establish His sovereignty over the whole earth.
Christian Friend, Vol. 17 (adapted)