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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 10

1 Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head;⁠ his face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.⁠ 2 He held in his hand a little scroll that was open,⁠ and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 3 Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices.⁠ 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.”⁠ 5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.”⁠ 8 Then the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”⁠ 10 So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 Then they told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 1:27 and Revelation 10:1

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s description of a radiant figure surrounded by a rainbow is based on Ezekiel’s vision of God enthroned with a rainbow. In Ezekiel, this represents divine glory revealed after a storm, based on ancient Near Eastern storm deity traditions.

Passages

Ezekiel 1:27

Hebrew Bible
25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 27 I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Revelation 10:1

New Testament
1 Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. 2 He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 3 Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.” 5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The ”rainbow” also has Old Testament precedent: “The rainbow is based on an allusion to the throne vision in Ezekiel 1:27–28.” In light of the gemstone vocabulary, it is certain that John has the enthroned divine man vision of Ezekiel 1 in view here. It is true that, in LXX Ezekiel 1:28, the “brightness . . . like the appearance of a bow” around the throne of God and its occupant, utilizes the word tokson, which is not the vocabulary of Revelation 4:3. The latter term is found in the same vision, though, in Ezekiel 10:1, securing the identification of John’s point of reference ..."
Michael S. Heiser, The Old Testament in Revelation: Notes from the Naked Bible Podcast (Naked Bible, 2021), 89.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 1:27 and Revelation 10:1

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