Revelation 10:1-4; Seven Thunders
Revelation 10:1-4 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: 2 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, 3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 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.
When Scripture uses the word thunder, nearly without exception it brings a message of divine power and judgment. In the Apocalypse thunder repeatedly accompanies divine activity and messages (e.g., 4:5; 6:1; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18). The noise of thunder is a symbol of judgment.
Sevenfold thunderous noise comes to John in the form of spoken words, but we are not told what was said. I assert that John emphasizes the act of speaking and not the message it conveyed.
John says that he was about to write. While pen in hand ready to record, he hears a divine voice saying: “Seal the things which the seven peals of thunder said.” Words can be sealed when they are written down, but before the author begins to pen the words he is told to seal them. What precisely is the meaning of the command? This verse communicates that the words of the seven-thunder voice must not be revealed. And the reason that this action is even mentioned is to differentiate between the things that are sealed and those that are revealed (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
We are not allowed to speculate and surmise what the message of the sevenfold thunder may have been. This remains a mystery that we must leave unexplained.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Vol. 20, p. 311). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.