Revelation 10 and the Adventist Message
Revelation 10 is situated between the sixth trumpet and the seventh trumpet.
It points to time when the sixth trumpet is ending and the seventh is about to begin.
A glorious heavenly Messenger is depicted;
10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open:People may argue over what this little book represents, but back about 200 years ago there was quite a firm understanding that it was the book of "Daniel".
The French Revolution had happened, the papacy's political power had been hugely curtailed. People were studying the prophecies like they never remembered them being studied before.
Before the French Revolution took place, Protestant Bible students (most Protestants based their prophetic studies on the historicist method) suggested a range of possibilities as to about when the 1260 year period started and ended. But with the rise of Napoleon and his new code of laws, and the exile of the pope by French general Berthier, there was, for a brief moment, agreement among Protestant scholars, that the 1260 years had ended. In 1798.
All over we have reports of people opening their Bibles and studying the prophecies following 1798. The book of Daniel began to open up!
What was actually sealed up in the book of Daniel"
Interestingly, the Book of Daniel includes three texts where the sealing of at least a part of the book is mentioned, and each case the context refers to the end of time.
1. Daniel 12:4: ??Shut up the words, and seal the book, until the time of the end.??
2. Daniel 12:9: ??Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.??
3. Daniel 8:26: ??Seal up the vision, for it pertains to many days hence.?? The time lines had been sealed -- until the time of the end.
William Miller believed the little book in the Heavenly Messengers hands was the book of Daniel. He eagerly studied it's messages.
Ellen White gave a clear --
The book that was sealed was not the book of Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel which related to the last days. The Scripture says, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Daniel 12:4). When the book was opened, the proclamation was made, "Time shall be no longer." (See Revelation 10:6.) The book of Daniel is now unsealed, {2 Selected Messages, page105}
James White fully agreed writing in his "Life Sketches" pp 210-211:
1. The angel, in a most solemn manner, swore that there should be time no longer. This does not mean.. the angel declared that, time as measured by days, months and years, would cease; for the next verse speaks of the "days" of the voice of the seventh angel.
2. The angel holds in his hand, as he swears upon the subject of time, a little book open. It may be inferred from this language, that this book was at some time closed up. This was true of the book of Daniel. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12,4 It was to be sealed only to the time of the end, when it was to be opened, knowledge of the subject of which it treats should be increased, and many run to and fro in the Scriptures and obtain knowledge upon the subject. If this open book in the hand of the angel represents the unsealed book of Daniel, how forcible the application of his solemn oath to the manner in which the close of prophetic time was proclaimed in 1844.
"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he had declared to his servants, the prophets." Verse 7.
Why introduce the sounding of the seventh angel thus, unless his sounding commenced with the termination of the prophetic time?
Revelation 10, verses 8 to 10, deals with the eating of the little book and its sweetness in the mouth and bitterness in the belly. Eating, in biblical symbolism, often represents internalizing as we see in John 6 in Jesus sermon on eating "Him"! Internalizing the gospel message, fully taking in God?s Word?making it a part of oneself.
Those Millerites did make it part of themselves -- they believed! Jesus was coming very soon. The message was sweet, soon all the problems of this world would cease and heaven would be their home, heaven with Jesus!
But bitterness followed. Not because Jesus isn't come soon -- He is coming soon! But there was still work to be done, both in heaven and on earth, just prior to that coming.
The third angel's message (Rev. 14) needed to go forth.
