Revelation 10:8-9 Voice from Heaven

Revelation 10:8-9 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 

It is interesting to see the record of the voice from heaven recorded in Holy Scripture.

2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

The song of David exalting the Lord’s Name for timely deliverances.

Daniel 4:31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

God’s judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar.

Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mark 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

The Father in heaven authenticated His Son, Jesus Christ.

John 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

The Father in heaven speaking to the Son on earth.

Acts 11:9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

The voice of Jesus to the Apostle Peter that the gospel is to be given to the Gentiles.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

The angel of God announcing the rapture of the church.

2 Peter 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

The Father in heaven authenticated His Son, Jesus Christ recounted by the Apostle Peter in the holy mount.

Revelation 10:4 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.

The Apostle John reverently leaves the personal of the heavenly voice unidentified (Moffatt). This may be either the voice of God or of Christ (Rev. 14:13; 18:4) who gave the original commission for him to write (Rev. 1:11, 19) (Beckwith, Mounce). [Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody Press, 1995, 66]

Revelation 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

This is the voice of God or Christ, an authoritative voice. Otherwise, John might have reluctant to approach the strong angel as commanded (Beckwith, Scott, Mounce, Walvoord) [Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody Press, 1995, 72]

Revelation 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

The ministry of the two witnesses called home to heaven by God or Christ after their resurrection from the dead.

Revelation 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

The scene in verse 2 changes to heaven, from which comes forth a remarkable voice which sounds like many waters, loud thunder, and harp music. [Feinberg]

 Ezekiel 43:2 likens the voice of God to the sound of many waters, while Revelation 1:15 describes the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way. But since Revelation 19:6 uses both of those phrases to describe the voice of a heavenly multitude, it is best to understand them in that sense here.

Ezekiel 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.

 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2000). Revelation 12–22 (p. 75). Chicago: Moody Press.

Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

In Revelation 14:1-13, the Apostle John gave a preview of the coming events: the gathering of the remnant of Israel on Mount Zion at the coming of Christ (Revelation 14:1-5). [Swindoll]

Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

As the angel dumped his bowl, a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. The voice is that of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. His solemn declaration “It is done” announces the climax of the final Day of the Lord that will spread doom over the entire globe. The perfect tense verb gegonen (it is done) describes a completed action with ongoing results. It is similar to Jesus’ final words from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). God’s judgment of Christ on Calvary provided salvation for repentant sinners; the judgment of the seventh bowl brings doom to unrepentant sinners.

 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2000). Revelation 12–22 (p. 151). Chicago: Moody Press.

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

God’s judgment on this commercially prosperous but morally bankrupt society can be avoided, as another voice from heaven makes clear. The use of allos (another of the same kind) suggests that the speaker is an angel like the one in verse 1. The message he proclaims, “Come out of her, my people,” is a call for God’s people to disentangle themselves from the world system. It may also be an evangelistic call to God’s elect to come to faith in Christ and come out of Satan’s kingdom (cf. Col. 1:13). In both cases, the message is to abandon the system.

 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2000). Revelation 12–22 (p. 180). Chicago: Moody Press.

Let us take heed to the voice of God for our eternal safety. Amen.