1. Revelation 10:1 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does this mighty angel come down from heaven?

Revelation 10:1 (ESV)

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.

From his vantage point in heaven (Revelation 4:1) John saw this angel descending from heaven till he set his feet on earth’s sea and land (Revelation 10:2). This angel’s mandate pertains to what happens on earth. Yet his authority comes from heaven, as does his power to achieve what he is told to do. Notice too that plagues following the trumpets of chapter Revelation 8:1–13 came down, see Revelation 8:7 (“thrown upon the earth”), Revelation 8:8 (“thrown in the sea”). This mighty angel ends up in the same places—but as completely sovereign over those places!