A Little Study of the 7 Thunders

One of these breaks (Chapter 10) tells us about John having a discussion with a "Mighty Angel." This Mighty Angel roars like a lion and when he roared 7 Thunders "uttered their voices." But a voice from Heaven told John to not write what the thunders say but to "Seal" them up.

Then Angel gives him a little book (or scroll) and he is told to "eat" it. But it's clear that it means he has to read and study it. It makes him happy to read it, but afterwards it upsets his stomach. John doesn't give much explanation as to why. But then the Angel says to him, "You must prophecy again to (or about) many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.

I don't know, but I've always thought that he was happy because the scroll showed him the happy ending and how Jesus returns. But then it becomes clear to him that it's not going to happen until after thousands of years!! The early Christians all expected Christ to return "any day now." I believe the Lord allowed that so they wouldn't give up hope. So for John to learn how long it will take must have truly upset his stomach. But, I must make it clear, this is just a belief of mine. I don't really know if it's true or not.

But back to our study. This is it. The 7 Thunders. This is the part that we want to take a close look at.

I must warn you that we will most likely not know what the 7 Thunders said, at least not until the Angel actually roars. John didn't write them down!

But there's something very interesting about these 7 Thunders. There are some things we can learn from them and I believe they can help with the study of the Book of Revelation.

SEALED, NOT WRITTEN

So John doesn't write them down. But the Lord told him to "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down." It's the part about "sealing" them up that's interesting. That can be interpreted in several ways.

The word is a literal seal, like a wax seal on an important letter. The seal was a security stamp, to keep the contents of the letter secret. So "seal" can also be interpreted as "to keep secret" But is can also mean "to attest", to affirm to be true or genuine. It proves that the letter actually came from the sender, it has their "seal" on it.

Of course, when the Lord says to not write it down, then it makes the meaning more likely to be to keep it a secret. So, yeah, they are secret, and we will need to wait for the Angel to actually roar before we know what the 7 Thunders uttered.

But here's what's interesting. Besides this chapter with the description of the 7 Thunders, there are 7 thunders spread throughout the Book of Revelation! And they are all at important points in the prophecy!

To be honest, I don't know if these seven thunders throughout the Book of Revelation actually have anything to do with the 7 Thunders in chapter 10. But they do seem important.  And if it wasn't for chapter 10, I don't think anyone would have noticed that there are 7 Thunders organizing the whole prophecy in Revelation! If nothing else, that seems like they are related.

I will list here the references, but please consider that the "Thunders" would include the whole paragraph or at least the whole sentence and not just the numbered verse.  The thunders themselves are always part of a big fanfare - Heaven displaying it's mightly powers.  They almost get lost in the commotion.

The 7 Verses with Thunders:

• Revelation 4:5
• Revelation 6:1
• Revelation 8:3
• Revelation 11:19
• Revelation 14:2
• Revelation 16:18
• Revelation 19:6