Sevenfold Description And Explanation Of The Mighty Angel In Revelation 10

Sevenfold Description Of The Mighty Angel In Revelation 10:

Revelation 10:1-3

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, 

1. clothed with a cloud: 

2. and a rainbow was upon his head, 

3. and his face was as it were the sun, 

4. and his feet as pillars of fire: 

5. And he had in his hand a little book open: 

6. and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 

7. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: 

and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

I believe this Mighty Angel is a symbolic reference to Jesus - one of seven presentations of Him in this book. See Jesus Christ Is Portrayed Seven Different Ways In The Book Of Revelation.

There are seven specific things mentioned about this Mighty Angel that show it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

1) Jesus is often associated with clouds in regard to His second coming. 

See Daniel 7:13
Matthew 24:30; 26:64
Acts 1:9-11
1 Thessalonians 4:17
Revelation 1:7

2) A rainbow was upon His head:

Habakkuk 3:2
Revelation 4:3
Genesis 9:15-16

3) His face as the sun:

4) His feet as pillars of fire:

For both numbers 3 and 4, see Revelation 1:12-16.

5) This book is the title deed to the earth:

This book was shown in Revelation 5:1-10, the book with the seven seals. Now all the seals have been removed and the property the document referred to can be legally claimed by the owner who fulfilled the requirements to reclaim it.

6) He set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth:

This is Jesus coming back to earth, reclaiming the whole earth for Himself before He begins His reign.

See Deuteronomy 11:24-25
Joshua 10:24-25
Genesis 3:15
Psalm 8:6-8; 24:1
Romans 16:20
1 Corinthians 15:24-28

This may also be a symbolic reference to Jesus setting His feet on the Mount of Olives at His return.

See Acts 1:9-11
Zechariah 14:4

7) As when a lion roareth - God is often pictured as a lion roaring when it is time to judge or chastise His people:

Hosea 5:14; 11:10-11
Joel 3:16
Amos 3:8
Revelation 5:5

There is also an 8th identifying marker found in Revelation 11:3, where the Mighty Angel declares that the two witnesses are His (ie. equating Himself with God).

The book of Revelation is a book of signs and symbols. Even in Revelation 1:1, the verse states:

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

According to Webster's 1828 Dictionary, signify means "To make known something, either by signs or words; to express or communicate to another any idea, thought, wish, a nod, wink, gesture, signal or other sign." In light of that definition, and in light of the literally 400+ references to the Old Testament found in this book, it is not unreasonable to believe that this Mighty Angel portrayed in Revelation 10 is in fact a symbolic reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel of the Covenant that was throughout the whole Old Testament, and is in fact the main character of the whole Bible. This book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ after all. See also Revelation 19:10.

Christ as the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament:

Genesis 48:15-16
Exodus 23:20
Isaiah 63:9

Some solid commentators who believe this Mighty Angel is the Lord Jesus Christ:

M. R. DeHaan, Oliver B. Greene, Matthew Henry, H.A. Ironside, Clarence Larkin, Herbert Lockyer, John Phillips, Charles Spurgeon, Warren Wiersbe.

Jerry Bouey