Revelation 10

1 I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

2 He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land.

3 He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.

4 When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.”

5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the sky

6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay,

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants the prophets.

8 The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”

9 I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

11 They told me, “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

Around Revelation 10

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Revelation 10 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

A mighty angel comes down out of the sky, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow on his head and a face like the sun. One foot is on the sea and one on the land, and in his hand is a little open book. He cries out like a lion, and seven thunders answer. John is about to write down what they said, but a voice tells him, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.”

The angel swears that there will be no more delay: when the seventh angel is about to sound, the mystery of God will be finished. Then John is told to take the little book and eat it. In his mouth it is “as sweet as honey”, but it turns his stomach bitter. The chapter closes with a charge: “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

Background

The chapter is an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. John’s eating of a scroll echoes the prophet Ezekiel’s (see Ezekiel 2 and 3). Readers have often seen in the sweet and bitter taste the double experience of receiving God’s word: it is good to take in, and it brings a hard message to others. That some of what John heard was to stay sealed is a reminder that the book itself does not claim to say everything.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 20 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes