Revelation 10:1
And I saw another mighty angel…
Not any mere man, as
Justin the emperor, as some have thought, who sent letters abroad in
favour of the orthodox doctrine, against the Arians, which they
suppose is meant by the little book open in his right hand; and
still less the pope of Rome, whether in the sense of Papists or
Protestants, which latter represent him as a tyrant, treading upon
men both in the islands and in the continent, and holding forth the
book of canons and decrees; rather, as Mr. Daubuz thinks, Luther,
with the rest of the reformers, is intended, and especially since
the prophecy of this chapter respects the Reformation, which began
before the end of the sixth trumpet; and the epithets given to this
angel may denote his strength and courage, his divine authority, the
protection of him, and the clear doctrine of peace and
reconciliation he brought: however, a created angel is not intended:
not the angel that made proclamation for the opening of the book,
and unsealing it, (Revelation 5:2) ; between which, and having the book in his
right hand open, is a wide difference; nor any other, though the
epithet "mighty" belongs to angels in common; and though this angel
swears by the living God; and though it was an angel by whom Christ
signified the things contained in this book to John; but the
uncreated Angel, the Lord Jesus Christ, seems rather designed, as
appears both by comparing this with (Daniel 12:7) (10:5,6) ; and from the
power lie gave to the two witnesses, (Revelation 11:3) ; which cannot agree
with a created angel; and besides, who so proper to hold the book
open as he who unloosed the seals, and opened it, and to whom the
epithet "mighty" may be applied in the highest sense, as God; and
who as man may be said to swear by the living God, and to whom the
whole description well agrees? he is sometimes called an Angel
simply, (Genesis 48:16) (Exodus 23:20) (Acts 7:35,38) ; sometimes the Angel of the
Lord, and who appears to be Jehovah himself, the second Person,
(Genesis 16:7,10) (18:1,2) , compared with (Genesis 19:1) (22:11,12) ; and
sometimes the Angel of God's presence, (Isaiah 63:9) ; and the Angel of
the great council in the Septuagint on (Isaiah 9:6) ; and the Angel, or
messenger, of the covenant, (Malachi 3:1) ; and may be so called,
because he is a messenger from God as man and Mediator, being sent by
him to declare his will and redeem his people: and he is a "mighty"
one; not only as God, being the mighty God, the Almighty, which
appears by his creation of all things, and upholding them in their
beings; but as Mediator, having all power in heaven and in earth, and
being far above all principality, power, and might; and, as man, made
strong by God for himself, and for his people: he appears now as
"another" angel, distinct from the seven angels who had trumpets given
them to sound, and six of which had already sounded; and particularly
from the angel of the sixth trumpet, who had just sounded; though some
copies, and the Complutensian edition, leave out the word (allon) ,
"another"; and very opportunely does he appear for the comfort of his
church, when the trumpets that had been blown had brought such
desolations upon the empire, western and eastern, and when both the
western and eastern antichrists had appeared, and before the seventh
trumpet sounds, and brings in the last and greatest woe: and he is
said to
come down from heaven;
which does not design his incarnation, that
was long before this time; nor his spiritual presence with his
people, which is common to them in all ages; nor his second coming
to judgment, which will be by a descent from heaven, and in the
clouds of heaven, for that is yet future; but in a visionary way,
his appearance to and for his church and people in the dark times of
antichrist, when afflicted by the Turk on the one hand, and the pope
on the other:
clothed with a cloud
F14; which is expressive not of the human
nature of Christ, with which his divinity was veiled in his state of
humiliation, so that few saw the glory of his divine Person and the
greater part esteemed him a mere man; but rather of the obscurity of
him, his person, offices, and grace, in those times of antichristian
darkness, and even of the dim light and knowledge which his true and
faithful followers had of him in those times; it was a dark and
cloudy day with them, as well as the whole earth was covered with
the gross darkness of Popery and Mahometanism; though it seems best
of all to interpret this phrase of the majestic presence of Christ
in his appearances to his people, who went before the people of
Israel in a cloud by day in the wilderness, descended in one on
Mount Sinai, dwelt in one both in the tabernacle and temple, was
overshadowed by one on the Mount when transfigured, ascended in one
to heaven, and will return in one, or more: moreover, the cloud may
denote the power and protection of God attending the Reformation;
see (Psalms 68:34) (Isaiah 4:5) ;
and a rainbow [was] upon his head;
which was a token of the
covenant; see (Revelation 4:3) ; and the note there: this, with its blessings,
is upon the head of Christ, the antitypical Joseph, and who is the
head of his church and people; and Christ appearing in this form at
this time when the world was overflowed with Popery and
Mahometanism, shows that God was still mindful of his covenant, even
in those worst of times, and would not suffer his church to be
overwhelmed, and sunk in the general deluge of antichristianism, or
the gates of hell to prevail against it; Christ, at such a tirade as
this, very seasonably appeals with the rainbow of the covenant on
his head, as a messenger of peace, and bringer of good tidings, to
let his people know that ere long it would be halcyon days with
them, and there would be times of refreshing from the presence of
the Lord, who was ever mindful of his covenant with them; and that
the Gospel of peace and reconciliation would be preached unto them:
and his face [was] as it were the sun;
or looked like the sun, as it
did at the time of his transfiguration on the and as he is described
in (Revelation 1:16) , and may denote clearness and purity of Christ; both as
God, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express of
his person; and as man, who is holy, harmless, up defiled; and is
also expressive of that fight of nature, grace, and glory, which he
imparts unto the sons of men; as well as of that beauty, loveliness,
and amiableness in his person, which renders him as the sun,
delightful to behold; and of the majesty of his person, and the
manifestations of himself, to the great comfort, pleasure, and
refreshment of his saints:
and his feet as pillars of fire;
which may refer to the state of the
church of Christ at this time, which was in the fire of afflictions,
when many of its members were called to the stake, and burnt there
for the sake of the Gospel, and yet were like "pillars", firm and
unshaken; the church was like the bush that Moses saw, which was on
fire, but not consumed; Christ was with his people as they passed
through it, that it could not kindle upon them so as to destroy
them; and their faith, which was tried by it, was found to be much
more precious than of gold that perisheth: or this may show what
Christ then was, both to his people and to his enemies; to his
people his feet were as "pillars" of brass and marble, to bear them
up, and support them under all their trials and afflictions; his
goings forth towards them in a way both of providence and grace,
were in such a manner, as to strengthen and confirm them in the
faith of him against all the powers of hell and earth; and they were
like "fire", to consume his and their enemies; with his feet he trod
upon them, and subdued them under him, who were as stubble, briers
and thorns, easily consumed by him, when at the same time be was a
wall of fire to his people, and the glory in the midst of them.
FOOTNOTES:
F14 (egkateilhmmenov th nefelh) , Philo de Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 608.
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