What did the Seven Thunders say

What Did the Seven Thunders Say?
And when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them." (Revelation 10:3b-4) <

Introduction:

A host of interpreters have offered opinions as to what the seven thunders said. Of course, those opinions are necessarily speculation, since scripture does not tell us what they said. And speculation beyond scripture is problematic. After all, John is told that anyone who adds to the words of the Revelation will receive the plagues recorded in the book ( Rev 22:18 ).

These interpretive flights of fancy generally commit the most fundamental of errors: They ignore context. And context gives us a very powerful tool for understanding the thunders. Two major elements need to be considered.

The first element of context is found in the very first verse of the Apocalypse. There John records that the angel “signified” the revelation to him. The Greek word semaino used here indicates that the prophecy will be given using symbols. That is, we should not expect the descriptions to be literal. Rather, we should anticipate that they would be composed of elements from the collective experience that made up John’s heritage. They will be echoes of the symbolic language from the Old Testament.

Next, Hebrews were very visual people, and John is receiving a vision. And this should cue us to back away from our analytical thought patterns and allow ourselves to see what John saw. Of course, because we do not have the same background he had, we will have to explore the sources of various parts of the vision. But at the same time, we should not let this research pull us away from seeing what John saw.

Local Context:

The seven thunders are located within a vision that begins in Revelation 10:1. There John sees a “strong angel” descending from heaven to earth. The first question to be answered is “who is this angel?” Several key elements help us out.

First, he is clothed with a cloud. This is a key Old Testament image. God went ahead of the Israelites in a pillar of cloud as he led them out of Egypt (Exod13:21, etc.). Then his glory appeared in the cloud (Exod16:10 ). God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai as a cloud covered the mountain (Exod19:11 , 16). And when the sanctuary was constructed, God appeared in the cloud over the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies (Lev 16:2).

The next visual item is a rainbow on his head. The rainbow only appears twice in the Old Testament. The first time is after the flood, when God promises never to destroy the earth again with a flood. Ezekiel’s vision of God then places the bow around his head (Ezek1:27 -28).

The angel’s face was like the sun. This is the glory of God. Moses had to shield the Israelites from his face after conferring with God, because some of his glory was present for a while in Moses’ face (Exod 34:29-35). And on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-2), Jesus’ face “shown like the sun.” Since John was present at this event, he almost certainly knew that the strong angel was Christ.

The angel’s feet were like pillars of fire. This again is part of the Exodus experience, where the Lord led the Israelites by night with a pillar of fire (Exod13:21 ).

Every one of the descriptive elements suggests that the strong angel is Christ. But why should these specific items be present? After all, in Revelation 1, Jesus is clearly identified as a priest by his dress. The identification is confirmed by his placement in the tabernacle, walking among the candlesticks. In Revelation 5, Jesus is called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” but is seen as “a lamb standing as if slain.”

The pieces that make up this picture are all drawn from times of deliverance. The rainbow speaks of deliverance from the flood. The other images evoke the exodus and deliverance from Egypt. This brings to view a basic pattern in Revelation. The interlude in the trumpets (of which this is a part) is a recapitulation of the entire series, just as the interlude in the seals is a recapitulation of the seals.

The first four trumpets are drawn from the plagues of Egypt. Revelation 11:8 specifically identifies Egyptas the location from which God’s witnesses are resurrected. And the dramatic imagery of the strong angel is similarly focused on deliverance, using primarily symbols from the exodus. But we must not let this image divert us from examining the action in the picture.

The angel is “coming down out of heaven” to the earth. This image is drawn from Zechariah.

Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! (Zech 14:3–5)

Notice the picture. God is coming to fight his enemies. In doing this, he must come down from his home in heaven and plant his feet on the earth. And that is the rest of the image in Revelation 10:1-2. The angel is pictured as placing one foot on the earth and one on the sea. These two elements constitute the entire earth, and suggest that the angel is expressing dominion over the entire earth. This image of divine authority is specifically directed toward the wicked.

The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet." (Psalm 110:1)

This is a poetic version of a general expression of dominion used several other places in the Old Testament.

"I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed. "And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; And they fell under my feet. (2 Samuel 22:38-39, cf. 1 Kgs 5:3, Psa 8:6; 18:38; 47:3, Lam 3:34, Mal 4:3)

Paul uses this language in 1 Corinthians 15.

then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. (1 Corinthians 15:24-25)

We may now complete the key parts of the image presented by the angel.

And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it (Revelation 10:5-6)

The strong angel is Jesus. His physical description presents the deliverer of his oppressed people. His actions, on the other hand, are those of the enemy of the wicked, coming as the conquering king about to carry out his vengeance on his enemies. And this is a loud echo of the theme of the trumpets.

Significance of the Angel:

Once the angel has placed his feet on the earth and sea, he cries out with a loud voice as a lion roars (Rev 10:3). This image comes again from the Old Testament (Hos 11:10 ), and is the voice of God. Thus, we have the symbolic image of God speaking with the voice of God. And whatever God says, we know that it will be true. Nothing more needs to be said. But the vision doesn’t stop here. The thunders chime in.

The angel attests that what is about to be said is true. As I mentioned before, the simple fact that God is speaking should be enough to indicate that the thing to be said is true. But we saw the voice of God portrayed twice, and now further emphasis is brought by using an oath. This sort of statement is given to be “strong encouragement” (Heb 6:18 ). And because an oath is sworn by the highest authority possible (Heb6:16 -17), God swears by himself here. But the identity of God as the authority behind the oath is further emphasized.

First, the oath is given by “Him who lives forever and ever.” This echoes Old Testament descriptions of God (Deut 33:27, 1 Chron16:34 , Psa 21:4, etc.), with overtones of covenant. This oath stands indeed as reassurance to those who abide by the covenant and will be rescued in the end. But it also reminds us of the curses of the covenant reserved for those who reject it.

The second description of God in the oath is a quotation from Nehemiah 9:6. And that is in itself an emphatic quotation from Exodus 20:11, the authority clause of the Sabbath commandment. A comparison of the two passages is instructive.
Exodus 20:11

Nehemiah 9:6
heaven heaven - - - - - and the things in it
the earth the earth - - - - and the things in it
the sea - - - - and all that is in them the sea - - - - - and the things in it

Both passages say the same thing. The passage in Nehemiah is part of a song of praise to God. There the Levites praise God by acknowledging him as the Creator, not just of all things that exist, but specifically as the Creator of the Sabbath. They take the language of the Sabbath commandment and embellish it by repetition to make it more worshipful. This repetition emphasizes God’s sovereignty as Creator.

As we look at the oath, we can see that it constitutes two more steps of progressive emphasis added to whatever is about to be said. Summarizing what we have seen so far, we note:

* The angel portrays Christ symbolically as both the rescuer of the saints and the destroyer of the wicked.
* The angel’s voice like the roar of a lion presents the voice of God.
* The seven thunders, which are again the voice of God, emphasize the identity of the speaker.
* The oath again secures the identity of the speaker, as well as providing strong reassurance of the truth of the pronouncement to come.
* The inclusion of the Creation/Sabbath language emphasizes the right of the speaker to command obedience

The Book:

In the angel’s hand is a “little book, open.” Much speculation has been directed to the identity of this book. But, if we remember that scripture interprets itself, and that we should look to the book of Revelation itself for the closest context, are attention is drawn to the scroll in chapter 5. But that book is a biblion, while the book in chapter 10 is a biblaridion. But in 10:8, the biblaridion becomes a biblion, so this difference may not be real. Further, this book is “open,” and the sealed book in chapter 5 is opened in chapters 6 to 8. This provides us with enough reason to examine the book of chapter 5 further.

No one is worthy to take the book, which is at the right hand of the throne (Rev 5:1-4). But the Lamb is worthy to take the book and to receive power. This (and a number of other details) shows us that this is a royal inauguration service. The book in a royal inauguration is the book of the Law (the Torah, Deut 17:18-20, 2 Kgs 11:12). The king is to keep it with him through all of his life as a guide. Thus, the sealed book in Revelation 5 is the Torah.

Christ opened the seals in chapters 6-8, so that the book is now open. But we may wonder, “To what passage is it open?” Once again, Revelation provides the necessary context. In verse 9, Christ tells John to eat the book, echoing the command to Ezekiel (Ezek 3:1). It will be sweet in his mouth, and bitter in his belly. When we look at the parallel passage in Ezekiel, the reason for the bitterness is clear. The scroll contains “lamentations, mourning, and woe” (Ezek2:10 ) directed at the “rebellious house” of Israel(Ezek 3:9).

In both Ezekiel and Revelation, the scroll is “sweet as honey” in the mouth (Ezek 3:3, Rev 10:9). This is the final clue to the Torah passage of interest. Deuteronomy 28 presents the blessings and cursings of the covenant. Verses 1-14 tell the good things that God will do for those who honor his covenant. Verses 15ff. tell the “lamentations, mourning, and woe” that will come to those who rebel. The blessings that come from God’s judgments in favor of his saints are truly sweet (Psa 19:9-10). For his people, God’s words are “sweeter than honey” (Psa 119:103).

On the other hand, the evil person may regard his ways as sweet, but they become as the “venom of cobras” when digested (Job20:12 -14, cf. Prov20:17 ). When John internalizes the message of the scroll, it becomes bitter because he “tastes” the fate of the wicked. And this confirms that the scroll is Torah, open to Deuteronomy 28. The blessings of the saints are truly sweet, but the fate of the wicked is as bitter as wormwood (Deut 29:17-18, Jer9:13 -15;23:15 ).

The covenant blessings and cursings perfectly match the theme we have already seen. The angel appears as the deliverer of Israeland the avenger of Israel’s enemies. The identity of these two groups is established by their obedience to or rebellion against the covenant. So, it is only proper that the book should be open to the section that describes the actions that will be taken by God in answer to our response to the covenant.

The Message:

there shall be delay no longer, 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 preached to His servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:6-7)

This passage leads to another disagreement among interpreters. The word translated “delay” is chronos, which is the normal Greek word for time. This leads some to suggest that the sounding of the seventh trumpet brings time to its close. But the context of the passage suggests otherwise.

The event at the sounding of the seventh trumpet is the completion of the “mystery of God.” The word “finished” is etelesthe, and suggests the arrival at a destination or goal. This means that the mystery, that is, the gospel (Rom16:25 -27, Eph 1:9-11;6:19 , Col 1:25-27, etc.), will reach its objective then.

God’s desire is for all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:8-9). He appears to have delayed in returning for the saints, but that is a human perspective. Rather, he wants to give all who will a chance to repent. Unfortunately, most will not, and a time will come when all will have irrevocably chosen either for or against God.

But God cannot just claim his saints at that moment. He must cleanse them first, as symbolized by the white robes the saints will wear (Zech 3:4, Rev 3:5). This cleansing comes through the heavenly atonement. If God did not cleanse the saints, the accusations of Satan would be true (Zech 3:1, cf. Rev 12:10 ), and they would have to be destroyed. But once the atonement is complete, the saints will be clean (Lev16:30 ), and may enter the eternal kingdom.

The goal of the gospel is to bring the saints to the heavenly atonement. And this is reached when the seventh angel sounds. There we see “the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple” (Revelation 11:19 ). This is the view of the high priest as he enters the Holy of Holies for his ministry before God during the Day of Atonement. If we are to take this description at face value, then the Holy of Holies ministry of the heavenly Day of Atonement begins after the seventh trumpet sounds and the gospel ministry on earth closes.

This view is consistent with the description of the Holy of Holies ministry in Leviticus and Hebrews. Daily we bring our sins to Christ who ministers continually in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb4:16 , 1 Tim 2:5). This parallels the Old Testament practice of bringing sacrifices for sin throughout the year in the earthly sanctuary. But when the high priest began the Holy of Holies part of the Day of Atonement services, no one could bring sacrifices for sin (Lev 16:17). The language of this prohibition is instructive.

"When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. (Leviticus 16:17)

The purpose of vacating the sanctuary was to allow the high priest to “make atonement for himself and his household and for all the assembly of Israel.” But he had previously made atonement for himself and his family by the sacrifice of an ox for sin! (Lev 16:6) This rendered him ceremonially clean so that he could now minister before the Lord on behalf of the entire camp, but it did not complete his cleansing from sin. This final cleansing took place during the Holy of Holies ministry. Anyone who did not humble himself in complete submission to God at this time would be “cut off” (Lev23:29 ). This was an annual close of probation.

In the same way, the heavenly Day of Atonement service will begin when probation has closed for all time. No more sins may be brought to the heavenly sanctuary as they are today (Heb4:16 ). Only those who have brought their sins to the Savior for forgiveness will have the opportunity to be cleansed. Those who have not humbled themselves will be cut off from the camp of the saints.

The message of the angel is simple. If you do not repent and bring your sins to Christ, when the seventh trumpet sounds, your opportunity will be gone. Christ will not delay in the heavenly Day of Atonement any longer. He will cleanse his people in preparation for their entry into the kingdom.

The Big Picture:

The Hebrews were visual people, and this is a visual prophecy. We may summarize it as follows.

* Christ, the Redeemer of the saints descends as a conquering king.
* In his hand is Torah, open to the blessings and cursings of the covenant.
* He shouts in a voice that cannot be ignored:
When the seventh angel sounds…
¨ definitely (voice like a lion)
¨ certainly (seven thunders)
¨ absolutely (swearing by him who lives for ever and ever)
¨ without any possible question (swearing by the God of the Sabbath)

...the gospel mission will end, and the heavenly Day of Atonement will begin.

In other words, “This is your last chance.” The message is delivered visually by the way Jesus is described. It is given by the identity of the book. It is reiterated by an escalating emphasis in the voice of God. No further emphasis is possible. When it’s over, it’s over. There will be no second chances.

So What Did the Thunders Say?

I don’t know what the thunders said. I don’t believe that it is important. Rather, I think that the thunders were sealed to keep us from being distracted from the message Jesus brings. They are there to emphasize the warning that there is no second chance. We must accept Christ fully and completely today. A time will come when that choice will no longer be available. It would be tragic if we were to be lost because we delayed.