Go and Take the Little Book Revelation 10:8

As John the apostle continued to share about the “tribulation” that was to come upon the earth, he shared concerning the first six seals Jesus removed from the “scroll” in God's right hand. He began to write about what happened when Jesus, “had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets … And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth angels” blew their trumpets, and great judgment fell upon the earth. John continued, “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 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, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And swore by him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets. ” In chapter ten and verse eight of Revelation John shared how he heard “the voice” tell him, “go and take the little book” where we read:

And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon the earth.

The verse reads, “And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke unto me again, and said, ...” John began with the words, “and the voice” which means “and the sound or tone of uttered words, language and tongue” “which I heard” or “that John was endowed with the faculty of hearing, attending to, understanding and perceiving” “from heaven” which means “out of the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings” “spoke” or “uttered a voice or emitted a sound, tongue, speech or declaration” “unto me” which means “to John” “again” or “anew, further, moreover and on the other hand”, “and said” which means “and affirmed, maintained, exhorted, directed and advised”. John “heard” the same “voice” from “heaven” speaking directly to him once again.

The verse goes on to say, “... Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon the earth.” John added the words, “go and take” which means “depart and lay hold of, claim and procure” “the little book” or “the small booklet” “which is open” which means “that is opened up” “in the hand” or “within the open hand” “of the angel” which means “of the messenger, envoy and one sent” “which stands” or “who is set in place, put, made firm, fixed and established” “upon the sea” which refers to “the large body of water” “and upon the earth” or “on the arable land, country, territory or region”. John was instructed to “retrieve” the “small booklet” from the “angel's hand” who was “set in place” upon the “land and sea”.

When we think through John's words in this verse, we might be prone to wonder about this “scene” in heaven. First John saw this “angel” with the “little book in his hand”, then he is told to “go and take” the “little booklet” from Him. This “angel” must be huge to have his foot upon the “sea and the land”, and we might imagine what it looked like for John to walk up to him and take the “book” from his hand. These are all things God governs over in the spiritual world, and John was given insight into things that we cannot see. God desires to have a relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ that shall allow for us to see and hear such things some day, and those who are wise shall receive Jesus into their hearts and lives and know that God is in control not only of huge “angels”, but also “little booklets” as well.

Next time John shares how the angel instructed John to “take” the book, “and eat it up”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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