Revelation 10:2

10:2-3 Although the scroll is small, it is not unimportant. It reveals a small yet critical part of God’s purposes in events still to come before eternity begins. • he gave a great shout: Cp. Job 37:2-5; Ps 18:13; 29:3-4.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rev 10:2. Βιβλαρίδιον) But in Rev 10:8-10, βιβλίον. By this reading, the book first appeared to John very small, compared with the vast stature in which the angel appeared, who in some measure grasped the heaven, the sea and earth. Afterwards the voice from heaven called it a book, on account of the greatness of the subject: and John with teachable mouth and hand imitated this title. In Andreas of Cæsarea in the Augustan Codex, it is styled βιβλιδάριον σφόδρα ὑποκοριστικῶς λεχθέν.[103]—θαλάσσης—γῆς, on the sea—on the land) Le Buy, Marck, and Newton, correctly interpret the sea as Europe, the land as Asia: by which means the rivers denote Africa, and the sun belongs to the whole world: ch. Rev 8:7-8; Rev 8:10; Rev 8:12, Rev 16:2-4; Rev 16:8. The sea is Europe: the earth, Asia. So Huth Diss. ii. on Ap. xiv. p. 12.

[103] A Vulg. and C, doubly corrected, read βιβλιδάριον: B and h, βιβλιον: C corrected, βιβλιδάριον.—E.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 10:2 . “And in his (left? cf. Rev 10:5 ) hand a small booklet open” (in contrast to the larger closed book of Rev 10:1 ), after Eze 2:9 . This colossal figure, like an Arabian jin, bestrides earth and sea. His message is for the broad world.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Namely, a special book of the affairs of God’s Church. For the book that containeth things belonging [unto] the whole world, is said to be kept with the Creator, the fifth Chapter and the first verse, but the book of the Church, with the Redeemer: and out of this book is taken the rest of the history of this Apocalypse.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

he had--Greek, "Having."

in his hand--in his left hand: as in Rev 10:5 (see on Rev 10:5), he lifts up his right hand to heaven.

a little book--a roll little in comparison with the "book" (Rev 5:1) which contained the whole vast scheme of God's purposes, not to be fully read till the final consummation. This other, a less book, contained only a portion which John was now to make his own (Rev 10:9, Rev 10:11), and then to use in prophesying to others. The New Testament begins with the word "book" (Greek, "biblus"), of which "the little book" (Greek, "biblaridion") is the diminutive, "the little bible," the Bible in miniature.

upon the sea . . . earth--Though the beast with seven heads is about to arise out of the sea (Rev 13:1), and the beast with two horns like a lamb (Rev 13:11) out of the earth, yet it is but for a time, and that time shall no longer be (Rev 10:6-7) when once the seventh trumpet is about to sound; the angel with his right foot on the sea, and his left on the earth, claims both as God's, and as about soon to be cleared of the usurper and his followers.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. A little book open] Meaning probably some design of God long concealed, but now about to be made manifest. But who knows what it means?

His right foot upon the sea, and his left-on the earth] To show that he had the command of each, and that his power was universal, all things being under his feet.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. a little book] The diminutive perhaps suggests comparison (but hardly contrast) with the book of Rev_5:1 seqq.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he had in his hand a little book open,.... By which is meant not the Bible, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; or the book of the Gospel, the substance of which lies in a little room, and is no other than the preaching of Christ, and him crucified, as God's way of salvation; and which is now more open and manifest, and more clearly made known unto the sons of men, under the Gospel dispensation, than it was before, and especially since the time of the Reformation, to which this book, and the prophecies of it, may have respect; but the same book is here designed, which in Rev 5:1 is represented as in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, as shut and sealed; but the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb in the midst of the throne, having taken it out of his hand, unloosed its seals, and opened it; and whereas we never read of his laying this book down, or of his delivering it to any other, he may be well supposed to be this mighty angel, who held it open in his hand: it may be said to be "a little book", because now not only many of the scenes and visions in it were exhibited, upon the opening of the seals; but because, at the time this vision refers to, many of its prophecies were accomplished, so that the bulk of it was greatly reduced; and it may be represented as "open", because the seals of it were unloosed, and the things in it revealed; and it is to be observed, that as the several seals of this book, and the opening of them, refer to the state of the empire, both as Pagan and as Christian, as has been seen; so the little book itself, clear of these seals, sets forth the state and condition of the church in the empire, under its different revolutions and appearances:

and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth; which signifies that he was Lord and possessor of both, of the whole terraqueous globe, being the Maker and supporter of it; and that his Gospel should be spread all over the world, both on the continent and in the islands of the sea; and that his kingdom should be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; that the abundance of the sea should be converted to him, or the maritime parts of the world should be subject to the sceptre of his grace and government; and that the earth, and the uttermost parts of it, should be his possession, though it was now almost wholly in the hands of the Turk and pope; and it may be observed, that he set his foot upon both earth and sea, out of which the two beasts arise, Rev 13:1, which shall be destroyed by him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 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,

Ver. 2. A little book open] The Bible translated and explained. It is called a great roll, written with the pen of a man, that is, clearly, that the simplest of men may conceive it, Isa 8:1; Deu 30:11. But it is little in comparison to the volumes of school doctors and popish decretals, {a} wherewith the world was pestered, when the Bible lay locked up and obscured. We may well say of it as St Bartholomew (quoted by Dionysius) said of divinity, και πολλην και ελαχιστην, that in sundry respects it is both a little and a great book. This book Christ held open to his; though Antichrist hid it and shut it up in an unknown tongue for a long while. He was to them as a little sanctuary, Eze 11:16.

He set his right foot upon the sea] As Lord of sea and land, defy all heretics and Antichrists that sought to throw him out of possession. Neither the beast that ariseth out of the sea nor the other that ariseth out of the earth shall be able to do it.

{a} A papal decree or decretal epistle; a document issued by a Pope, containing a decree or authoritative decision on some point of doctrine or ecclesiastical law. ŒD

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he had in his hand a little book open - This is the first thing that indicated the purpose of his appearing, or that would give any distinct indication of the design of his coming from heaven. The general aspect of the angel, indeed, as represented in the former verse, was that of benignity, and his purpose, as there indicated, was light and peace. But still there was nothing which would denote the particular design for which he came, or which would designate the particular means which he would employ. Here we have, however, an emblem which will furnish an indication of what was to occur as the result of his appearing. To be able to apply this, it will be necessary, as in all similar cases, to explain the natural significancy of the emblem:

(1) “The little book.” The word used here - βιβλαρίδιον biblaridion - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament except in Rev 10:8-10 of this chapter. The word βιβλίον biblion - “book” - occurs frequently: Mat 19:7; Mar 10:4 - applied to a bill of divorcement; Luk 4:17, Luk 4:20; Joh 20:30; Joh 21:25; Gal 3:10; 2Ti 4:13; Heb 9:19; Heb 10:7. In the Apocalypse this word is of common occurrence: Rev 1:11; Rev 5:1-5, Rev 5:7-9; Rev 6:14, rendered “scroll”; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:12; Rev 21:27; Rev 22:7, Rev 22:9-10, Rev 22:18-19. The word was evidently chosen here to denote something that was special in the size or form of the book, or to distinguish it from what would be designated by the ordinary word employed to denote a book. The word properly denotes “a small roll” or “volume”; a “little scroll” (Robinson’s Lexicon, Pollux. Onomast. vii. 210). It is evident that something was intended by the diminutive size of the book, or that it was designed to make a distinction between this and that which is indicated by the use of the word “book” in the other parts of the Apocalypse. It was, at least, indicated by this that it was something different from what was seen in the hand of him that sat on the throne in Rev 5:1.

That was clearly a large volume; this was so small that it could be taken in the hand, and could be represented as eaten, Rev 10:9-10. But of what is a book an emblem? To this question there can be little difficulty in furnishing an answer. A book seen in a dream, according to Artemidorus, signifies the life, or the acts of him that sees it (Wemyss). According to the Indian interpreters, a book is the symbol of power and dignity. The Jewish kings, when they were crowned, had the book of the law of God put into their hands 2Ki 11:12; 2Ch 23:11; denoting that they were to observe the law, and that their administration was to be one of intelligence and uprightness. The gift of a Bible now to a monarch when he is crowned, or to the officer of a corporation or society, denotes the same thing. A book, as such, thus borne in the hand of an angel coming down to the world, would be an indication that something of importance was to be communicated to people, or that something was to be accomplished by the agency era book.

It was not, as in Rev 6:2, a bow - emblem of conquest; or Rev 10:4, a sword - emblem of battle; or Rev 10:5, a pair of scales - emblem of the exactness with which things were to be determined; but it was a book - a speechless, silent thing, yet mighty; not designed to carry desolation through the earth, but to diffuse light and truth. The natural interpretation, then, would be, that something was to be accomplished by the agency of a book, or that a book was to be the prominent characteristic of the times - as the bow, the sword, and the balances had been of the previous periods. As to the size of the book, perhaps all that can be inferred is, that this was to be brought about, not by extended tomes, but by a comparatively small volume - so that it could be taken in the hand; so that it could, without impropriety, be represented as eaten by an individual.

(2) “the fact that it was open:” “a little book open” - ἀνεῳγμένον aneōgmenon. The word used here means, properly, “to open or unclose” in respect to what was before fastened or sealed, as what is covered by a door, Mat 2:11; tombs, which were closed by large stones, Mat 27:60, Mat 27:66; a gate, Act 5:23; Act 12:10; the abyss, Rev 9:2 - “since in the east pits or wells are closed with large stones, compare Gen 29:2” (Robinson’s Lexicon). The meaning of this word, as applied to a book, would be, that it was now opened so that its contents could be read. The word would not necessarily imply that it had been sealed or closed, though that would be the most natural impression from the use of the word. Compare for the use of the word rendered “open,” Rev 3:8, Rev 3:20; Rev 4:1; Rev 5:2-5, Rev 5:9; Rev 6:1, Rev 6:3,Rev 6:5, Rev 6:7,Rev 6:9, Rev 6:12; Rev 8:1; Rev 9:2; Rev 10:8; Rev 11:19; Rev 20:12. This would find a fulfillment if some such facts as the following should occur:

(a)If there had been any custom or arrangement by which knowledge was kept from people, or access was forbidden to books or to some one book in particular; and,

(b)If something should occur by which what had before been kept hidden or concealed, or that to which access had been denied, should be made accessible. In other words, this is the proper symbol of a diffusion of knowledge, or of “the influence of a book on mankind.”

(3) The fact that it was in the hand of the angel. All that seems to be implied in this is, that it was now offered, or was ready to be put in possession of John - or of the church - or of mankind. It was open, and was held out, as it were, for perusal.

In regard to the application of this, it is plain that, if it be admitted that it was the design of the author of the vision to refer to the Reformation, no more appropriate emblem could have been chosen. If we were now to endeavor to devise an emblem of the Reformation that would be striking and expressive, we could not well select one which would better represent the great work than what is here presented. This will appear plain from a few considerations:

(1) The great agent in the Reformation, the moving cause of it, its suggester and supporter, was a book - “the Bible.” Wycliffe had translated the New Testament into the English language, and though this was suppressed, yet it had done much to prepare the people for the Reformation; and all that Luther did can be traced to the discovery of the Bible, and to the use which was made of it. Luther had grown up into manhood; had passed from the schools to the university of Erfurt, and there having, during the usual four years’ course of study, displayed intellectual powers and an extent of learning that excited the admiration of the university, and that seemed to open to his attainment both the honor and emolument of the world, he appeared to have been prepared to play an important part on the great drama of human affairs. Suddenly, however, to the astonishment and dismay of his friends, he betook himself to the solitude and gloom of an Augustinian monastery.

There he found a Bible - a copy of the Vulgate - hid in the shelves of the university library. Until then he had supposed that there existed no other Gospels or Epistles than what were given in the Breviary, or quoted by the preachers. To the study of that book he now gave himself with untiring diligence and steady prayer; and the effect was to show to him the way of salvation by faith, and ultimately to produce the Reformation. No one acquainted with the history of the Reformation can doubt that it is to be traced to the influence of the Bible; that the moving cause, the spring of all that occurred in the Reformation, was the impulse given to the mind of Luther and his fellow-laborers by the study of that one book. It is this well-known fact that gives so much truth to the celebrated declaration of Chillingworth, that “the Bible is the religion of Protestants.” If a symbol of this had been designed before it occurred, or if one should be sought for now that would designate the actual nature and influence of the Reformation, nothing better could he selected than that of an angel descending from heaven, with benignant aspect, with a rainbow around his head, and with light beaming all around him, holding forth to mankind a book.

(2) This book had before been hidden, or closed; that is, it could not until then be regarded as an open volume:

(a) It was in fact known by few even of the clergy, and it was not in the hands of the mass of the people at all. There is every reason to believe that the great body of the Roman Catholic clergy, in the time that preceded the Reformation, were even more ignorant of the Bible than Luther himself was. Many of them were unable to read; few had access to the Bible; and those who had, drew their doctrines rather from the fathers of the church than from the Word of God. Hallam (Middle Ages, ii. 241) says: “Of this prevailing ignorance (in the tenth century and onward) it is easy to produce abundant testimony. In almost every council the ignorance of the clergy forms a subject for reproach. It is asserted by one held in 992, that scarcely a single person could be found in Rome itself who knew the first clements of letters. Not one priest of a thousand in Spain, about the age of Charlemagne, could address a letter of common salutation to another. In England, Alfred declares that he could not recollect a single priest south of the Thames (the best part of England), at the time of his accession, who understood the ordinary prayers, or who could translate the Latin into the mother tongue.”

There were few books of any kind in circulation, and even if there had been an ability to read, the cost of books was so great as to exclude the great mass of the people from all access to the sacred Scriptures. “Many of the clergy,” says Dr. Robertson (Hist. of Charles V. p. 14, Harper’s ed.), “did not understand the Breviary which they were obliged daily to recite; some of them could scarcely read it.” “Persons of the highest rank, and in the most eminent stations, could neither read nor write.” One of the questions appointed by the canons to be put to persons who were candidates for orders was this, “Whether they could read the Gospels and Epistles, and explain the sense of them at least literally?” For the causes of this ignorance see Robertson’s History of Charles V. p. 515. One of those causes was the cost of books. “Private persons seldom possessed any books whatever. Even monasteries of considerable note had only one Missal. The price of books became so high that persons of a moderate fortune could not afford to purchase them. The Countess of Anjou paid for a copy of the Homilies of Haimon, bishop of Alberstadt, two hundred sheep, five quarters of wheat, and the same quantity of rye and millet,” etc. Such was the cost of books that few persons could afford to own a copy of the sacred Scriptures; and the consequence was, there were almost none in the hands of the people. The few copies that were in existence were mostly in the libraries of monasteries and universities, or in the hands of some of the higher clergy.

(b) But there was another reason that was still more efficacious, perhaps, in keeping the people at large from the knowledge of the Scriptures. It was found in the prevailing views in the Roman Catholic communion respecting the private use and interpretation of the sacred volume. Whatever theory may now be advocated in the Roman Catholic communion on this point, as a matter of fact, the influence of that denomination has been to withhold the Bible from a free circulation among the common people. No one can deny that, in the times just preceding the Reformation, the whole influence of the papal denomination was opposed to a free circulation of the Bible, and that one of the great and characteristic features of the Reformation was the fact, that the doctrine was promulgated that the Bible was to be freely distributed, and that the people everywhere were to have access to it, and were to form their own opinions of the doctrines which it reveals.

(3) The Bible became, at the Reformation, in fact an “open” book. it was made accessible. It became the popular book of the world - the book that did more than all other things to change the aspect of affairs, and to give character to subsequent times. This occurred because:

(a) the art of printing was discovered just before the Reformation, as if, in the providence of God, it was designed then to give this precious volume to the world; and the Bible was, in fact, the first book printed, and has been since printed more frequently than any other book whatever, and will continue to be to the end of the world. It would be difficult to imagine now a more striking symbol of the art of printing, or to suggest a better device for it, than to represent an angel giving an open volume to mankind.

(b) The leading doctrine of the Reformers was, that the Bible is the source of all authority in matters of religion, and, consequently, is to be accessible to all the people. And,

(c) the Bible was the authority appealed to by the Reformers. It became the subject of profound study; was diffused abroad; and gave form to all the doctrines that sprang out of the times of the Reformation. These remarks, which might be greatly expanded, will show with what propriety, on the supposition that the chapter here refers to the Reformation, the symbol of a book was selected. Obviously no other symbol would have been so appropriate; nothing else would have given so just a view of the leading characteristics of that period of the world.

And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth - This is the third characteristic in the symbol. As a mere description this is eminently sublime. I was once (at Cape May, 1849) impressively reminded of this passage. My window was in such a position that it commanded a fine view at the same time of the ocean and the land. A storm arose such as I had never witnessed - the clouds from the different points of the compass seeming to come together over the place, and producing incessant lightning and thunder. As the storm cleared away the most magnificent rainbow that I ever saw appeared, arching the heavens, one foot of it far off on the sea, and the other on the land - an emblem of peace to both - and most strikingly suggesting to me the angel in the Apocalypse. The natural meaning of such a symbol as that represented here would be, that something was to occur which would pertain to the whole world, as the earth is made up of land and water.

It is hardly necessary to say, that on the supposition that this refers to the Reformation, there is no difficulty in finding an ample fulfillment of the symbol. That great work was designed manifestly by Providence to affect all the world - the sea and the land - the dwellers in the islands and in the continents - those who “go down to the sea in ships, and do business in the great waters,” and those who have a permanent dwelling on shore. It may be admitted, indeed, that, in itself, this one thing - the angel standing on the sea and the land, if it occurred alone, could not suggest the Reformation; and if there were nothing else, such an application might seem fanciful and unnatural; but, taken in connection with the other things in the symbol, and assuming that the whole vision was designed to symbolize the Reformation, it will not be regarded as unnatural that there should be some symbol which would intimate that the blessings of a reformed religion - a pure gospel - would be ultimately spread over land and ocean - over the continents and islands of the globe; in all the fixed habitations of people, and in their floating habitations on the deep. The symbol of a rainbow bending over the sea and land, would have expressed this; the same thing would be expressed by an angel whose head was encircled by a rainbow, and whose face beamed with light, with one foot on the ocean and the other on the land,

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he had in his hand a little book open; the same book with that mentioned Rev 5:1; though some by it understand the Scriptures. There it was represented to John as sealed with seven seals; here open, to let us know that all the counsels of God, however sealed as to us, are open to Christ, and that he would open to John what should come to pass in his church to the end of the world.

And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth; to let us know the dominion he had over the whole world, as well the more unquiet as quieter parts of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. A little book—In contradistinction to the book of Rev_5:2, which was the full volumen or roll, which contained the entire prophecies of the apocalypse. From this little book no part of the predictions issue. It is simply a symbol of the seer’s renewed commission, which he swallows to indicate that the prophecy is within, and part of him, body, soul, and spirit.

Foot… sea… earth—Each foot stands not upon the “margin” of sea and earth, but the centre of each. Nor are we to narrow the terms, with Dusterdieck and others, to the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Earth and sea, to the seer, are a vast plain, and the form of the angel is so immense that his feet claim domain of both. He is the World-Angel, proclaiming the world’s destinies.

Open—Symbolizing revelation.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he had in his hand a little book open. Ecwn , "having," is read in a, A, B, C, P; eicen , "he had," in a few cursives, the Vulgate, Andreas, Arethas, Primasius. The meaning is the same. The word biblaridion , "little book," is a diminutive of biblion , (Rev_5:1) which is itself a diminutive of biblov . This form of the word is found nowhere else; the corresponding usual form is biblidarion . The book is probably little in comparison with that in Rev_5:1. The latter contained all God"s purposes, and the seer was not permitted to read it only part was indicated to him. This book contains only a small portion of God"s methods of dealing with man, and St. John is commanded to receive the whole. The contents are indicated in ver. 11 and the following chapter. The book is open, as a sign that what is contained therein is to be revealed. Bede thinks the New Testament is signified by it; Wordsworth sees in it the spiritual power of Rome; Hengstenberg considers that it contains the judgment of the degenerate Church. And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. Thus it is indicated that the revelation which is to follow affects the whole world, and is not partial in its operation, as were the judgments set forth under the earlier trumpets. Wordsworth (following Hengstenberg) sees in the earth an emblem of worldly power, and in the sea a symbol of the agitation and turbulence of nations.

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY. Ver. 2. The little book; or, characteristics of revelation.

"He had in his hand a little book open." Like as there was an interval between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals, so is there between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets. The record of this latter interval, and of the events which took place in it, stretches through this tenth chapter down to ver. 13 of Revelation 11. This chapter is occupied with the account of the little book which St. John saw in the hand of "another strong angel coming down out of heaven." The other "strong angel" is spoken of in Rev_5:2, in connection with the seven-sealed book held in the right hand of "him that sat on the throne, and which only the Lion of the tribe of Judah" was found worthy to take and open. This book told of here is described as "little" as compared with that, and, probably, in contrast with it. Now, although the historical interpreters affirm that this little book means the Bible, as we have it, yet the difficulties that beset this interpretation are so many and so great, that it has been abandoned by all the more reliable expositors of the Apocalypse as inconsistent with its avowed purpose to declare the "things that must shortly come to pass," and the time of which was "at hand;" still, what is here said of this "little book" does suggest to us not a few of the most interesting and important characteristics of the Word of God. For note

I THE AMBASSADOR WHO BRINGS IT. Much may be learnt concerning any message that is sent by an earthly monarch from the character and rank and insignia which belong to the messenger. If the business which he has to transact be of great importance, and it be desired to impress its significance upon the minds of those to whom he is sent, he himself will be of such dignity, and accompanied with such tokens of authority and power, as will prepare those to whom he comes rightly to receive the message he brings. So here, he who brings God"s message to mankind is one of no mean order, and the tokens of his authority are of the most impressive kind.

1. He comes from heaven. The Bible is not a merely human production. It is inspired by God; it is a message from heaven. It contains what no human mind could have known or invented; it speaks with an authority that they who receive the message realize to be from God. Inspiration cannot be argued and so demonstrated to the intellect, but it speaks to the soul, and is felt to be present in the Scriptures, which therefore are declared to be the Word of God. It wakes up a response in the soul, quickening, informing, strengthening, consoling, uplifting, sanctifying it, as no mere human words have ever done or can do, save as they draw their inspiration from this source.

2. It is mighty in its potter. It was "a strong angel" that St. John saw, suggesting to him and to us the strength of that message which he was commissioned to bring. What trophies of its power has not the Bible won? Where is the age, the country, the rank, the character, the intellectual condition, the circumstances of any kind, amid and over which it has not proved strong to subdue and bless and save?

3. Its truths fill the soul with awe. The angel was "clothed with a cloud symbol this of the majesty and mystery that surround and invest the foundation teachings of the Word of God. The soul can only bow in reverence and awe before them, and confess its feebleness in their presence.

4. But they are crowned with blessed promise and grace. "The rainbow was upon his head." Though there be so much that we cannot penetrate or comprehend, nevertheless the predominant characteristic is that of "grace," that of which the rainbow was at the first and is ever the beautiful and blessed symbol. Even those awful judgments of God spoken in ver. 7 are there declared to be part of "the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets" (see Revised Version). And when we preach out of the Bible we are said to preach the gospel. This is its main character and intent.

5. They irradiate and illumine all our earthly life. "His face was as it were the sun. "Truly the light is sweet, and pleasant thing it is to behold the sun so says Ecc_11:7. And the confession of this radiant grace, this blessed light which streams forth from the Word of God, is commonplace of all the sacred writers and of all who have rejoiced in that light.

6. And they shall never be driven forth or removed. "His feet as pillars of fire," and ver. 2, "He planted his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth." His invincible power is signified by "the pillars of fire;" and his having set his feet upon the earth and sea tells of "the immovable steadfastness of the heavenly Conqueror against all the resistance of his enemies." He is come to stay, and he cannot be driven forth. When and where has not the attempt to dislodge the Word. been made? But it has never succeeded. All Church history proves this. In many ages and places it has been death to keep a copy of the sacred writings. Wherever they were found, they were ruthlessly destroyed, and often they also with whom they were found. But every copy of the Bible that we possess today proves how partial and ineffective all such endeavours were. Glory be to God that they were so!

II THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN OF IT. "A little book open.

1. A book. The Bible is not the revelation itself, but the record of it. But without the record the revelation would not have availed us. Great scorn has been poured on the idea of "a book revelation," and an immense deal of poor wit has been expended upon the idea that God should have used such mean materials as books are made of as the vehicle of his revelation of himself. But the Bible is not the revelation, only its record; and it is reason for eternal gratitude that his revelation has been so given that it can be thus recorded. In what other way could the knowledge of God have been so well preserved or spread abroad? (Cf. on this " The Eclipse of Faith," by H. Rogers.)

2. Its seeming insignificance. It is "a little book." In these days of gold and guns, when wealth and armies are thought to be the great means of accomplishing everything, the spiritual force that lies hidden in "a little book" counts but for little. But what hath not God wrought by it? And we may be grateful that it is little, and not a ponderous library which it would need a lifetime even to know part of, but one small volume which can be read and reread and carried everywhere as we will. No doubt the littleness of the book here spoken of is intended to be in contrast with that vast volume told of in Revelation 5., which was written within and without, so complete, so full, was it. This tells of but "part of his ways;" that seems to have been the declaration of all his will. But it suggests the seeming insignificance, both in form and force, of that which we call the book of God, but whose insignificance is, indeed, only seeming, not real.

3. It is to be an open book. St. John saw it "open" in the hand of the angel. There have been and there are those who would have the Word of God closed, if not entirely, yet to large extent. They affirm it is not a book for the common people, but for the priests of the Church; and for centuries it was kept closed, and is even now looked upon with more or less of dislike. But, blessed be God, it is open, not to the eyes alone, but to the mind. For though it contains the profoundest truths that the intellect of man has ever studied, still it contains also those truths and they are the most numerous and important which the humblest and least instructed are able to receive and rejoice in. God hath caused the vision to be written and made "plain," so that the unlearned may learn, and the most simple comprehend.

III THE VOICES FOR AND AGAINST IT. We read that the angel cried with a loud voice, and that the seven thunders uttered their voices. Now:

1. The angelic voice suggests:

(1) The startling effect of the Word of God upon mankind. The angel"s voice was "as when a lion roareth." So did the Word of God affect men. See when at the Reformation it was first freely given to Europe. How it roused men"s minds, awoke them from their lethargy, nation after nation heard the sound and broke away from the superstition and sins in which they had so long lived! And it is so still. "What must I do to be saved?" is the intense, the sometimes agonized cry, of men whom the lion-like, awful voice of the Word has aroused from their sin. The conviction of sin which the Holy Spirit produces through the Word is, often, to men "as when a lion roareth," arousing them indeed.

(2) The assured persuasion it gives concerning the mystery of this present life. The solemn oath of the angel (vers. 5-7) did but represent what the Word of God accomplishes. As he gave, so it gives, solemn assurance that what now is so much of it so mournful, so full of mystery is not ever to be, but shall have an end. Life is a mystery now, even in these comparatively calm days of ours; but what must it have appeared to the persecuted outraged Church of St. John"s day? And were not we assured that what we now see is but part of God"s ways, one link in the chain of his purposes, only a portion of his one great, wise, holy. and loving plan, how could we believe in him as either wise, holy, just, or loving? The mind. would rush to atheism, and the man to suicide; for what better could be done? But the Word of God, like the solemn oath of this strong angel, assures us of God that "His purposes are ripening fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower.

2. The thunder voice. (Ver. 4) The brutum fulmen, the full-voiced anger of him who uttered it. The question comes Whence this voice of the seven thunders? It has, we think, been too hastily assumed that St. John is referring to the sevenfold voice of the thunder mentioned in Psalm 29. And, doubtless, in this book thunders are referred, to as coming forth from the throne of God. (cf. Rev_4:5) But the true interpretation is given, we think, in the strikingly parallel passages in Dan_8:26 and Dan_12:4-9, where that which the prophet is commanded to "seal up" is not what God shall do, but what his people"s enemies shall do against him and them. And so here, we believe, the thunders tell of the wrathful response, the angry mutterings, of God"s enemies against his truth. And thus regarded, they tell of the opposition the Word arouses in the world of the wicked. It has ever been so. In St. John"s day; at the era of the Reformation, witness the cursed cruelties which the Roman Catholic Church in those days perpetrated in the Netherlands, in our own land, and wherever also she had power. And still those "dark places of the earth, which are full of the habitations of cruelty," are filled with rage when any real invasion of them is made by the messengers of the Word. Still Christ"s Name is as a "sign to be spoken against." And it was fitting that these voices should not be written. The purpose of this book was to console and strengthen the Church, not to distress and alarm. Hence the Divine forces on the side of the Church and against her foes are what this book mainly reveals. It tells us, "The Lord is on our side; we will not fear what man can do unto us.

IV THE DIRECTIONS CONCERNING IT. As it was with the "little book" so must it be with the Word of God:

1. It must be received as from God. If we look upon the Bible as on "any other book," as on ordinary literature, we shall lack that reverential docile spirit which is necessary in order to receive its truths. The book was to be taken from the hand of the angel (ver. 8).

2. It must be taken into the soul This is the meaning of the strange command, "Take it, and eat it up." It is as when Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them;" as when our Lord said, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man," etc. (John 6). We are to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" its truths; make them part of our very self. So must it be with those who would know the power of God"s Word.

3. When so taken, it will produce both sorrow and joy. The first taste will be pleasant. "In thy mouth sweet as honey." And it is so. It is not a joy that we have a revelation from God at all; that we are not left in the dark as to our whence and whither; that we are assured God is "our Father which art in heaven;" that our salvation is "without money and without price," for that Christ died for us? Yes; "sweeter also than honey and the honey comb" are these precious truths. But the after taste will cause distress and pain. Witness the Saviour"s tears wept over lost souls, and the like tears shed still by those who know "the fellowship of his sufferings." That men should resist and reject such a Saviour; that we should so long have done so, and do not yet wholly receive him; yes, this after taste hath pain.

4. When eaten, it qualifies for witness bearing for God. (Ver. 11) This is the real qualification, this deep experimental knowledge of the power of God"s Word. All else is as naught compared with this. Only such God ordains to be his prophets. Thus doth this "little book," though it meant not the Bible, tell of the Bible. S. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he had in his hand - His left hand: he swore with his right. He stood with his right foot on the sea, toward the west; his left, on the land, toward the east: so that he looked southward. And so St. John (as Patmos lies near Asia) could conveniently take the book out of his left hand. This sealed book was first in the right hand of him that sat on the throne: thence the Lamb took it, and opened the seals. And now this little book, containing the remainder of the other, is given opened, as it was, to St. John. From this place the Revelation speaks more clearly and less figuratively than before. And he set his right foot upon the sea - Out of which the first beast was to come. And his left foot upon the earth - Out of which was to come the second. The sea may betoken Europe; the earth, Asia; the chief theatres of these great things.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

a little book

Contra, Rev 5:1; Psa 40:7; 2Pe 1:19-21.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. ἔχων. Text. Rec[346] reads εἶχεν with 1 Latins cop[347] arm[348]

[346] Rec. Textus Receptus as printed by Scrivener.

[347] Coptic.

[348] Armenian.

2. ἔχων. Rightly paraphrased by versions as a predicate rather than an epithet.

βιβλαρίδιον ἠνεῳγμένον. The diminutive perhaps suggests comparison (but hardly contrast, which is sufficiently marked by the epithet) with the book of Rev 5:1 sqq.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In his hand [εν] . The roll of Ch. 5 was on the hand (ejpi, see ch. Rev 5:1), being too large to be grasped within it. The roll was on the right hand; the little book is in the left. See on ver. 5.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.