Revelation 10 Study Notes
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abussos
| Greek pronunciation | [AH boos sahss] |
| CSB translation | abyss |
| Uses in Revelation | 7 |
| Uses in the NT | 9 |
| Focus passage | Revelation 9:11 |
Abussos (abyss) was originally an adjective describing something unfathomable with no apparent depth or bottom. In the Greek OT, abussos envisions the fathomless ocean depths (watery depths, Gn 1:2; 7:11; 8:2; Is 51:10) and possibly the realm of the dead (depths of the earth; Ps 63:9; 71:20). In the few centuries preceding Christ, abussos evolved to refer to the place of imprisonment for disobedient angelic spirits. This highly developed meaning carries into the NT, where abussos typically refers to the place of punishment in which demonic spirits (including the devil) are held (Lk 8:31; Rv 9:1-2,11; 20:3), and the place from which the beast originates (Rv 11:7-8). Abussos may also refer to the present realm of the dead (Rm 10:7), a concept similar to that of the Greek term Hadēs and the Hebrew term Sheol (cp. Ps 16:10; Ac 2:27).
10:1-11:14 This is a second interlude in the book of Revelation (the first is 7:1-17), falling between the sixth and seventh trumpets. Some interpreters think of chaps. 12-14 as a third interlude, though these are actually a prelude to the bowl judgments (15:1-19:5).
10:1 The mighty angel could be: (1) the angel introduced in 5:2, (2) the angel seen in 18:1, or (3) another angel altogether. In spite of his impressive appearance and the similarity to the vision of the Son of Man in 1:13-16, it is unlikely this is Christ. Christ is never called an angel elsewhere in the NT.
10:2 The little scroll may be: (1) a second scroll in the Apocalypse; or (2) since it is opened, the scroll which was finally opened for viewing in 8:1. Perhaps the scroll in this verse appears small because the angel holding it is so huge (his right foot being on the sea and his left foot being on the land).
10:3-4 In 1Pt 5:8, the devil is said to be like a roaring lion. In this case, the angel’s lion-like voice may be because he is speaking for the Lion of Judah (5:5), the glorified Christ. The seven thunders may be an allusion to Ps 29. The number seven stands for completeness in Revelation. So these thunders may look forward to the completion of God’s judgment in the rest of the book. The proper perspective on the sealed writing is: “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God” (Dt 29:29).
10:5-7 On the angel . . . standing on the sea, see note at v. 1. The pace of divine judgment is about to quicken and be completed, with the sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:15-19), which telescopes all the way to the second coming of Christ (see note at 11:15-19). The mystery of God is truth that has not been previously revealed or fulfilled, but is being revealed now (Eph 3:9). The phrase his servants the prophets echoes the same wording in Am 3:7, but it probably refers to both OT and NT (Eph 2:20; 4:11) prophets in this passage.
10:8-11 John taking the open scroll from the hand of the angel represents delegated authority, even as it did when the Lamb (Christ) took the unopened scroll from God the Father in 5:7. For John to eat the scroll recalls Ezekiel being commanded to do the same thing (Ezk 3:1-3). This turned out to be a bitter ministry for Ezekiel (3:14). In John’s case, while the eating was as sweet as honey, the digesting was bitter. The implication here is that the ministry of the Word of God is bittersweet because, while the intake and preaching of Scripture (i.e., John’s command to prophesy) is sweet, the calloused rejection of the hearers is bitter indeed.