The Point of Revelation 10.
Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand toward heaven. He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay. When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God’s mysterious plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets.” – Revelation 10:5-7.NLT
When Revelation 10 was written, John had Daniel 12 in mind. Daniel 12 talks about sealing up the words of the prophecy until the “time of the end” (Dan 12:4). Then in Daniel 12:7 someone lifts up his hands and swears by the One who lives forever and ever (see Rev 10:5-6) that there will be “time, times, and half a time.” This sounds almost exactly like Revelation 10, except that in Revelation the cryptic time period is replaced by the phrase “time will be no more.”
The point of Revelation 10 seems to be that the time prophecies of Daniel have run their course. Revelation 10 brings us to the time when the book of Daniel would be unsealed, and God’s final message (the “mystery of God”) would go to the world. In both texts, there is a strong sense of an appointed time. So, the sixth trumpet brings us to a period in earth’s history where the final events are about to take place.
In the 19th century, students of the Bible ransacked the books of Daniel and Revelation, trying to understand where they stood in the course of human history. Spearheaded by the Baptist preacher William Miller and after careful study, they drew the conclusion that the time prophecies of Daniel would end around the year 1844. They naturally assumed that “time would be no more” was the end of the world, the second coming of Jesus. They missed one tiny word in Rev 10:7, however, “but.”
In the Greek language this particular word for “but” portrays a strong contrast, even stronger than the English “but.” It tells us that the time prophecies of Daniel did not bring the world to the very end, but only to the “time of the end.” Since the close of Daniel’s time prophecies, we have been living in the final period of earth’s history. We do not know when the end will come, but we do know that we are living in the “time of the end.”
As previously noted, one of the clearest allusions to the Old Testament in all of Revelation is found here. Vs 5-6 and Dan 12:7 have 8 major words in common. Both passages have heavenly figures standing above bodies of water. In both cases, the heavenly figure raises his hand to heaven and swears by the One who lives forever. The connection between the “time, times, and half a time” of Daniel 12:7 and the “time no longer” of Rev 10:6 indicates that the angel of Revelation 10 is announcing the close of Daniel’s time prophecies in the context of the 6th trumpet. This would signal that the world has entered the final “timeless” period that the Bible refers to as “the time of the end” (Dan 12:4). Daniel’s time prophecies, which are numerous, were all completed by 1844. The reference in Dan 8:14 to the “cleansing of the sanctuary” is a reference to the judgment. This fits the symbolism here of the 7 trumpets heralding judgment.
Rememeber how the Trumpets (and the plagues) are running trhe days of creation backwards. Creation is being attacked and undone . It is therefore important to note that the other significant Old Testament reference in this passage is v6 which uses the language of Exodus 20:11 as it quotes from the fourth commandment (the Sabbath). The Mighty Messenger(V:1) is swearing by the creator God (v6) – as if that might be an issue in the “time of the end.” The mystery of God is to be revealed in this end-time proclamation. See Eph 3:9-12 – “The Mystery of God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavens…”
The books of Daniel and Revelation work together like a hand in a glove. One compliments the other. The prophecies in one are repeated in the other. The little book that is open in the angel’s hand in V2 is the one that was sealed in Daniel 12:4. The “time of the end” began with opening of the book at the end of the 1260 years. The scripture refers to the time period from 1798 until Jesus’ Second Coming as “the time of the end.” We will further establish this point when we look and Revelation 11. This mighty angel is announcing that after the end of the 1260 years in 1798, there will be no more time prophecies!
Mankind has reached the point where last day events will wrap up the cosmic controversy, and Christ will return. John emphasises this time frame by referring to the 7th angel and blowing the 7th trumpet in Revelation 11:15-19. Without question, this is talking about the coming of the Lord. It is then that the mystery of God, which is the plan of salvation, will be complete.