‘Another angel’1 is mentioned once again, a mighty and strong angel.2 He appears before the seventh trumpet is blown.3 Before the rightful Redeemer takes possession of the earth, His rightful inheritance – which is currently still occupied by the powers of darkness – there is first an intermezzo, in which a little scroll is mentioned, and seven peals of thunder. Followed by a personal command to John, the measuring of the Temple, the work of two witnesses, and a great earthquake: the second ‘woe’. Both Jerusalem and the beast enter into the picture. The Temple forecourt will be trampled on by Gentiles.
But first there is this ‘other angel’, who will be spoken about again, later on.4 Who is he/ He? Many expositors believe him to be Christ Himself. He comes from Heaven, to where He had ascended,5 was clothed with a cloud at the Ascension.6 This cloud envelops God’s Shekinah Glory,7 the cloud of the Angel of God,8 will also cloth Christ when He returns;9 with the rainbow which is around the throne of God10 above His head; His face like the sun11 and His feet like fiery pillars.12 All this certainly points to Heavenly and divine glory, but is he Christ Himself? Would He Himself also have been the one who asked the question: Who is worthy to open the scroll, and modestly leave the answer to others, who then say: “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb that is slain”?13 Does it have to be Christ Himself placing the prayers on the altar of incense?14 Possibly, but not very likely. The Book of Revelation is about the unveiling of His Glory. He also exercises His might by holding judgments back.15 Whether it is He Himself or another special angel operating on His behalf that the expression ‘another angel’ refers to, the significant matter is what this ‘other angel’ causes to happen, before the seventh trumpet sounds. This is moreover how things always happen in the Book of Revelation.
John described the people from Israel who are sealed and the ‘multitude no one can count’ between the sixth and the seventh seal.16 Between the seven ‘trumpets’ and the seven ‘bowls’ he will talk about the ‘dragon’ and the ‘woman’, the two ‘beasts’, the Lamb and His redeemed people on Mount Zion, the announcement of the judgment, the harvest and the ‘victors’ hymn.17
Whatever the identity of the ‘other angel’ may be, this ‘Angel’ bears the Glory of God, for His appearance resembles that of a human being who is sitting on the throne, as Ezekiel was allowed to see: “Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around Him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord.”18 This is the Lord Himself, or the ‘Angel of the Lord’ as He appears in the Old Testament. What will His message be, before the seventh angel blows his trumpet and the mystery of God, as He proclaimed it to His servants, the prophets, is fulfilled?19
• In Revelation 4:1 John was invited to come up to Heaven so that he could see the things there, and from there he sees what is happening on earth. The perspective seems now to be once again from earth, for the angel comes from Heaven and stands on the earth and the sea, and John will go to him to take the little scroll from his hand.20 These changing perspectives are continually taking place.
• Shouldn’t we learn to see things not only from the earth—our viewpoint— but also as God sees them, from His perspective?
Bible References:
1.Revelation 7:2, 8:3 2.Revelation 5:2 3.Revelation 11:15 4.Revelation 14:6, 8, 15, 17 and 18, 18:1 5.Acts 1:11; Luke 25:51; John 16:28 6.Acts 1:9 7.Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34 8.Exodus 14:19 9.Revelation 1:7, 14:14; Matthew 24:30 10.Revelation 4:3 11.Luke 9:29; Matthew 17:2; Revelation 1:16 12.Revelation 1:15 13.Revelation 5:2 14.Revelation 8:3 15.Revelation 7:2–3 16.Revelation 7 17.Revelation 12–15:4 18.Ezekiel 1:26–28 19.Revelation 10:7 20.Revelation 10:9
