The Scroll

Of all the books in the world, the Bible is one of the most difficult. Even a passing knowledge of church history reveals that even professing Christians have often disagreed about the proper interpretation of the scriptures.

Of all the books of the Bible, most would agree that the book of Revelation is the greatest challenge. Revelation is an example of Apocalyptic literature – a genre frequently used by Jewish & Christian writers between 200 BC and 200 AD. Apocalyptic works often use signs & symbols to convey their message. Although these symbols might have been obvious to the original audience, they’re quite opaque to those of us attempting to decipher the message thousands of years later.

Of all the parts of Revelation, chapter 11 is perhaps the most puzzling. Those who read it are often completely bewildered. It speaks of God’s temple, two strange witnesses, a beast from the abyss and an earthquake. What’s it all about?

Context is the key to unlocking any difficult passage of scripture. So let’s begin by returning to the heavenly throne room vision described in Revelation 5. There the one true God is seated on his throne with a scroll in his right hand. This scroll contains God’s plan to establish his kingdom over all creation.

The only one found worthy to open the scroll is the slaughtered lamb, Jesus himself. By virtue of his suffering & death, Jesus has purchased for God people from “every tribe and language and people and nation.” By raising him from the dead, God marked out Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed king who will usher in God’s final kingdom of justice, peace and eternal life.

In chapter 6, the lamb sequentially breaks the seals which enclose the scroll. The seal openings begin to reveal God’s judgment against all the wickedness that has infected the world. Importantly, these judgments are not total but only partial – they affect only 1/4 of creation. The goal is not the complete destruction of evil. Rather, the intent is to warn rebellious humans that if they do not repent, they are on the road to disaster.

The seventh seal actually contains within itself another series – seven trumpets. The sounding of the seven trumpets heralds further judgments, this time more intense than the seals, affecting 1/3 of the cosmos.

Despite the terrible nature of God’s judgment and its increasing severity, we learn at the end of chapter 9 that humanity utterly fails to respond to these warnings: “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their sorcery, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

At the beginning of chapter 10, the all-important scroll we originally encountered in chapter 5 reappears. John sees “another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand.”

The Greek word denoting the scroll in chapter 10 (biblaridion) is slightly different from the word in chapter 5 (biblion). (It’s the diminutive form which is why it’s often translated as “little scroll.”) This fact has led some interpreters to conclude that this is a different scroll.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that this is the same scroll. It started in the right hand of God Almighty seated upon his throne in heaven. It was then taken from God’s hand by Jesus the lamb. The lamb was the only one worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. Six of the seals were opened in chapter 6 and the seventh at the beginning of chapter 8.

Now at last the scroll is open and its contents can be revealed. Remember, the scroll contains God’s plan to establish his kingdom over all the earth. This is the central theme which dominates the book of Revelation.

We should pause for a moment to reflect upon this “mighty angel.” (NIV) The Greek phrase angelon ischyron can be translated as “mighty” or “strong angel.” John almost always refers to angels simply as angels; it’s rare for him to add a modifier. Yet this description in also used in chapter 5: “And I saw a mighty angel (angelon ischyron) proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?'”

By re-using this adjective, John is making it clear to his readers that the angel in chapter 5 is the same angel as the one in chapter 10. This also confirms that the scroll introduced so dramatically in chapter 5 is indeed the same scroll described in chapter 10.

The mighty angel has a dazzling appearance. He’s “robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head.” The cloud reminds us of the pillar of cloud (known to later Jewish rabbis as the shekinah) which signified God’s glorious presence as he led Israel through the wilderness. This same cloud filled the temple of Solomon on the day of its dedication, confirming that God had come to dwell among the people of Israel.

The rainbow is, of course, well known from the story of Noah, recalling the time when God cleansed his creation from the ubiquitous evil of humankind, while delivering righteous Noah and his family.

The angel’s “face was like the sun and his legs were like fiery pillars.” This portrait parallels the description of Jesus himself in chapter one: “his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace.”

The entire scene indicates that the mighty angel holding the scroll bears the authority of Almighty God and his Messiah Jesus.

Descending from heaven, the angel plants his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. He then gives “a loud shout like the roar of a lion.” In John’s cosmic geography, the creation is composed of three parts: heaven, earth and sea. (Sometimes a fourth category is added: rivers & springs of water.) The angel’s actions signify that the one true God intends to reestablish his authority over the entire creation. Evil will no longer be allowed to deface God’s good world. And this divine reclamation will be accomplished through the agency of Jesus the Messiah, “the lion of the tribe of Judah.”

What happens next strikes many readers as one of those moments in Revelation which are bizarre & inexplicable. After the angel shouts, “the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.'”

This scene raises a host of questions. Who or what are the seven thunders? What did they say? And why is John not allowed to record their message?

In order to comprehend this strange scene, we must remind ourselves that we’ve already witnessed two series of sevens. Each series involved God’s righteous judgment against iniquity. But remember that the judgments were only partial in nature. The seal openings affected 1/4 of the cosmos while the trumpet blasts affected 1/3.

The implication is that these judgments are not intended to bring about the final destruction of evil. Rather, they are a manifestation of God’s patience and mercy -warnings intended to bring about human repentance.

In Revelation 16, we will witness a final series of seven – the golden bowls which represent the completion of God’s anger. Whereas the seals & trumpets involved only a fraction of creation, the bowls affect the entire cosmos. They’re not meant to elicit repentance, for the time of God’s patience has now expired. Rather, purpose of the bowls is simply to eradicate evil completely.

With this larger scheme in mind, we can now see the role played by the seven thunders. The thunders announced another series of God’s judgments. Whereas the seals involved 1/4 of creation & the trumpets 1/3, the thunders would no doubt have followed this sequence and affected 1/2 of the cosmos.

Yet the judgments announced by the thunders are suspended. Why?

The answer is two-fold. First, we’ve already learned that judgments alone have been ineffective in bringing about the repentance of rebellious humanity. Second, in lieu of further judgments, God has another strategy for bringing the nations into his kingdom. And this strategy will be revealed by the open scroll.

We’ve reached a crucial point in the book of Revelation. We should be on the edge of our seats, finally ready to learn the contents of the scroll.