“And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are , and the earth, and the things that therein are , and the sea, and the things which are therein , that there should be time no longer:”
My Notes
What Does Revelation 10:6 Mean?
"And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer." The angel swears by the CREATOR of EVERYTHING — the One who lives forever, who made heaven and earth and sea AND everything IN them — that TIME IS UP. The delay is OVER. The patience has reached its end. The interim between promise and fulfillment is CLOSED. The swearing by the Creator establishes the AUTHORITY. The 'time no longer' announces the CONCLUSION.
The phrase "sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven... earth... sea" (ōmosen en tō zōnti eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, hos ektisen ton ouranon... tēn gēn... tēn thalassan) is the MOST COMPREHENSIVE oath possible: the angel swears by the ETERNAL LIVING ONE who CREATED EVERYTHING in every domain — heaven, earth, sea, and all their inhabitants. The oath covers every dimension of reality. The Oath-guarantor is the Creator of every category of existence. Nothing is outside the oath's jurisdiction.
The "there should be time no longer" (hoti chronos ouketi estai — that time/delay will no longer be) announces the END OF WAITING: the chronos (time, particularly delay-time, waiting-time) is OVER. The phrase can mean 'no more delay' rather than 'no more time' — the patience that extended the interim is EXHAUSTED. The mystery of God will be FINISHED (verse 7). The waiting is done. The completion arrives.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What delay has God declared over — and do you believe the waiting has ended?
- 2.What does the oath being sworn by the Creator of EVERYTHING teach about the authority behind the announcement?
- 3.How does 'time no longer' (no more delay) differ from 'no more time' (end of existence)?
- 4.What mystery of God are you waiting to see completed — and could the delay be nearing its end?
Devotional
The angel swears by the Creator of EVERYTHING — and declares: TIME IS UP. No more delay. No more waiting. No more patience-extended interim. The oath is guaranteed by the One who made heaven, earth, sea, and everything in them. The Creator's authority backs the announcement. The delay is OVER.
The oath is sworn by the MOST COMPREHENSIVE authority: the LIVING ONE (who lives forever — eternal, unending, undying) who CREATED (every domain — heaven and its contents, earth and its contents, sea and its contents). The oath-guarantor is simultaneously ETERNAL (lives forever) and CREATIVE (made everything). The oath is backed by the only Being who has both infinite duration and infinite creation-authority.
The 'there should be time no longer' is the END-OF-DELAY announcement: the word chronos can mean 'time' generally or 'delay' specifically. In context, the meaning is: the DELAY is over. The waiting-time between God's promise of completion and the ACTUAL completion is FINISHED. The mystery of God (verse 7) will be completed. The interim that felt endless has ENDED. The patience that seemed infinite has reached its TERM.
The COMPREHENSIVE creation-listing (heaven AND its contents, earth AND its contents, sea AND its contents) serves the AUTHORITY of the oath: the angel doesn't swear by one domain. He swears by ALL domains — every category of created reality. The oath covers EVERYTHING because the completion affects EVERYTHING. The end of delay touches every domain: heaven, earth, and sea. The conclusion is as comprehensive as the creation.
What 'delay' in your life has God's authority declared OVER — and do you believe the waiting has ended?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever,.... That is, by the living God, who is the true God: and is so described…
And sware by him that liveth forever and ever - By the ever-living God: a form of an oath in extensive use now. The…
By him that liveth for ever and ever - The eternal, self-existent Jehovah, the Maker of all things.
That there should be…
Here we have an account of another vision the apostle was favoured with, between the sounding of the sixth trumpet and…
that there shall be time no longer: but i.e. as we say, "there shall be no more time lost, but" …: "there shall be delay…