Section 23 of 5710:1-11Revelation

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King James VersionRevelation 10:1-11

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.

And 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, 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.

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Revelation 10:1-11

The Open Scroll Is Sweet, Bitter, and Recommissioning

A mighty angel spans sea and land, and seven thunders stay sealed

Another mighty angel comes down wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, a face like the sun, and legs like pillars of fire. He holds a little scroll open in his hand, sets his right foot on the sea and his left on the land, and cries with a loud voice like a lion. When he cries, the seven thunders sound, and John is about to write until a voice from heaven says, Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it.

The angel raises his right hand to heaven and swears by the one who lives forever, who created heaven, earth, sea, and all in them, that there will be no more delay, but that in the days of the seventh angel's trumpet the mystery of God would be fulfilled, as announced to the prophets.

John must eat the scroll before he speaks again

The voice tells him to take the open scroll. The angel says to eat it; it will make the stomach bitter, but in the mouth it will be sweet as honey. John eats. It is sweet, then bitter. He is then told, You must again prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.

The sealed thunders are a real limit: some revelation remains undisclosed. They do not authorize invented revelations, conspiracy claims, or filling the silence with charts. Eating the scroll follows Ezekiel; it is not a command to swallow paper. No-more-delay language does not reveal a modern date.

How this should shape us

Take a word that tastes true and still costs you, then speak about peoples rather than about secrets God refused to write. Do not advertise thunder you were not given.

Teach it back

Explain Revelation 10:1-11 in your own words. Include its place in Revelation's visionary movement, one major interpretive uncertainty, one Old Testament or first-century control, and one use the passage does not authorize.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters differ?

Best judgment: The angel may evoke Christ without being Christ; Ezekiel 2–3 controls the scroll action. The sealed thunders establish genuine undisclosed content and block totalizing prophetic systems.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete coverage.

Revelation 10:1-11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations checked independently of the KJV.

Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Revelation.txt, 10:1-11

STEP Bible Data

Supports: Greek form, morphology, and lexical-range cross-check; lexical data does not decide context by itself.

STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Acts–Revelation data, rows for 10:1-11

NET Bible — Revelation with translators' and textual notes

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual variants, imagery, cross-references, and stated alternatives.

NET Bible Revelation PDF, printed pp. 2408–2447, 10:1-11 and attached translator/textual notes

The Greek Text of Revelation

Supports: Revelation's textual transmission, KJV/TR history, local uncertainty, and limits of reconstructing an earliest text.

Hernández, 'The Greek Text of Revelation,' author preprint, sections on textual plurality, Textus Receptus, Erasmus, manuscript recovery, Hoskier, Schmid, and Text und Textwert; local implications for 10:1-11

Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?

Supports: Methodological control for verbal, thematic, structural, authorial, reader, and later intertextual claims.

Moyise, 'Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?' pp. 391–401; allusion-method discussion applied to 10:1-11

The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation — publisher preview

Supports: Authorship, date, audience, genre, cycles, Roman setting, Lamb-shaped conquest, and limits on persecution reconstructions.

Oxford Handbook authorized preview: Koester, 'Revelation in Its Historical and Theological Context,' printed pp. 1–20; Reddish, 'The Genre of the Book of Revelation,' printed pp. 21–32; applied to 10:1-11

Revelation course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Supports: Reader-first whole-book context, Roman Asia, symbolism, worship, judgment, endurance, and responsible reception.

Enter the Bible Revelation course, sections Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to 10:1-11

Revelation

Supports: Full confessional commentary, Greek observations, Old Testament links, four major interpretive approaches, millennial options, and application.

Tabb, 'Revelation,' commentary heading covering Revelation 10:1-11 plus Introduction and Theology

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete coverage.

Exact location: Revelation 10:1-11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

Greek textual evidence

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos

Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010

Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations checked independently of the KJV.

Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Revelation.txt, 10:1-11

Open the Revelation Greek text file ↗

Lexical and grammatical evidence

STEP Bible Data

Tyndale House Cambridge

Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026

Supports: Greek form, morphology, and lexical-range cross-check; lexical data does not decide context by itself.

Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Acts–Revelation data, rows for 10:1-11

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Revelation with translators' and textual notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual variants, imagery, cross-references, and stated alternatives.

Exact location: NET Bible Revelation PDF, printed pp. 2408–2447, 10:1-11 and attached translator/textual notes

Open the official NET Revelation PDF ↗

peer reviewed handbook chapter author preprint

The Greek Text of Revelation

Juan Hernández Jr.

The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation, 2020

Supports: Revelation's textual transmission, KJV/TR history, local uncertainty, and limits of reconstructing an earliest text.

Exact location: Hernández, 'The Greek Text of Revelation,' author preprint, sections on textual plurality, Textus Receptus, Erasmus, manuscript recovery, Hoskier, Schmid, and Text und Textwert; local implications for 10:1-11

Open Hernández's author-uploaded preprint ↗

peer reviewed open access article

Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?

Steve Moyise

Scriptura 84, 2003; online record 2013

Supports: Methodological control for verbal, thematic, structural, authorial, reader, and later intertextual claims.

Exact location: Moyise, 'Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?' pp. 391–401; allusion-method discussion applied to 10:1-11

Open Moyise's Scripture-use article ↗

modern scholarly handbook preview

The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation — publisher preview

Craig R. Koester, editor; chapters by Craig R. Koester and Mitchell G. Reddish

Oxford University Press, 2020

Supports: Authorship, date, audience, genre, cycles, Roman setting, Lamb-shaped conquest, and limits on persecution reconstructions.

Exact location: Oxford Handbook authorized preview: Koester, 'Revelation in Its Historical and Theological Context,' printed pp. 1–20; Reddish, 'The Genre of the Book of Revelation,' printed pp. 21–32; applied to 10:1-11

Open the Oxford Handbook preview ↗

modern scholarly book introduction

Revelation course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Craig R. Koester and Kristofer Phan Coffman

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current online course inspected 2026

Supports: Reader-first whole-book context, Roman Asia, symbolism, worship, judgment, endurance, and responsible reception.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Revelation course, sections Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to 10:1-11

Open the Enter the Bible Revelation course ↗

modern open commentary

Revelation

Brian J. Tabb

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition

Supports: Full confessional commentary, Greek observations, Old Testament links, four major interpretive approaches, millennial options, and application.

Exact location: Tabb, 'Revelation,' commentary heading covering Revelation 10:1-11 plus Introduction and Theology

Open Tabb's Revelation commentary ↗