What does Revelation 10:3 mean?
Prior verses revealed a "mighty angel" straddling the border between the land and the sea. This verse reports that the mighty angel calls out with a loud voice. His voice sounds like a lion roaring. This comparison is another reason some commentators think this being is Christ. Revelation 5:5 identifies Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Isaiah 42:13 says that "the LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes."This verse also describes "seven thunders" sounding when the mighty angel called out. We cannot positively identify the seven thunders, although they may be the same thunders that sounded at the end of the seal judgments (Revelation 8:5). Speculation here is unnecessary—the following verse indicates that the meaning of this event has been explicitly kept un-revealed. All we need to know about the seven thunders is the fact that they affirm the mighty angel's actions.
The number seven appears frequently in Revelation. There are seven lampstands, seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders, and seven bowls. Seven is often portrayed as the number of perfection, and of God. This contrasts with six, the number of man and of imperfection.
Revelation 10:1–7 involves a vision John sees between his visions of the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. John observes a mighty angel descending from heaven with a little scroll in his hand. The description of the angel and the reference to a little scroll remind us of what John saw in chapter 5. In that chapter, Jesus took the seven-sealed scroll from the hand of God. In chapter 10, the mighty angel calls upon the seven thunders, but God forbids John to write the thunders' response. However, the angel tells John that what the prophets predicted will be fulfilled when the seventh angel blows his trumpet.
The apostle John reports what he saw after the sixth trumpet judgment. He saw a mighty angel descend from heaven. The angel held a little scroll open in his hand. His right foot rested on the sea and his left foot rested on the land. Next, John heard the mighty angel call out to the seven thunders, but the angel would not allow John to record the thunders' response. The angel promised there would be no further delay: the seventh trumpet judgment would fulfill the words of the prophets. Finally, John is commanded to take the little scroll and eat it. When John obeyed the command, he found the scroll to be sweet to the taste but bitter in his stomach. The angel told John he must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.
