Revelation 10:3 Commentary and Bible Study

The apostle John in the vision thought he was going to be given the meaning, but he wasn’t. ‘And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. What is happening? We are just been warned, there is an awful lot which cannot be described even in the language of the vision. There is so much to the end of the world and the things that will happen, and why they will happen, and what God will do, we can only be given in the language of the vision a representation of some of them, not everything. We are dealing with things beyond our understanding. So that’s just a little digression to warn us. The angel now cries out and it is a voice of immense power like a lion roaring that John hears. The voice commands the seven thunders to utter their voices. What the seven thunders says is shrouded in mystery, for this is the only part of the whole revelation which John sees that he is not allowed to write down. He was about to write, so it seems that he heard what they said. Like the apostle Paul, he ‘heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter’ (2 Corinthians 12:4). But we are told this much: that they spoke. From the start, thunder was a sign of judgment. Thunder accompanied the plague of hail sent upon Pharaoh. Thunder was heard on mount Sinai when the law was given and filled the people with dread. God thunders against his adversaries and scatters them. God rebuked the people with thunder when they asked for a king, to show their sin in making this request. So although we are not allowed to know precisely what the seven thunders uttered, we may in general know that this is a token of God’s strong displeasure. The uttering of their voices brings some final terrible destruction on the world.