The Controverted Little Book of Revelation 10 and the Shape of Apocalyptic Mission

Authors

George R. Knight, Andrews UniversityFollow

Abstract

"If the contents of the little book of Revelation 10 are controverted, someone forgot to tell the founders of Seventh-day Adventism. William Miller, for example, in 1841 interpreted the little book that would be sweet in the mouth as being opened in 1798 as evidenced by the increased study of Daniel’s prophecies stimulated by events related to the French Revolution and the taking of the Pope captive by General Berthier. And Ellen White couldn’t have been more certain. “The book that was sealed,” she wrote in 1896, “was not the book of Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel which related to the last days.” After quoting Daniel 12:4 and the sealing of his book until the time of the end, she noted that “when the book was opened, the proclamation was made, ‘Time shall be no longer.’ (See Revelation 10:6). The book of Daniel is now unsealed, and the revelation made by Christ to John is to come to all the inhabitants of the earth. By the increase of knowledge a people is to be prepared to stand in the latter days.” James White agreed wholeheartedly with his wife. He had no qualms in directly tying the opened (implying it had been shut) little book to the prophecy of Daniel 12:4 that would be sealed until the time of the end, at which time students would run to and fro in the Bible and knowledge of Daniel’s end-time prophecies would be increased. He went on to tie the sweetness of the little book to the joy of the discovery of the soon-coming Jesus and its bitterness to their disappointment. But James didn’t stop there. He went on to cite Revelation 10:11 that there was a further message of prophecy that must be taught to “many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” He found that further message in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14. The interpretive package was neat and clean. Furthermore, it matched the ongoing history of the Seventh-day Adventist movement. Unfortunately, almost no one outside of Adventist circles agreed or agrees with their tying the opened little book of Revelation 10 to the sealed book of Daniel. The interpretations of the little book would be many and diverse but the Adventists would be left standing nearly by themselves among a broad array of preterist, futurist, historicist, and idealist interpreters. We will look at the options presented."

Recommended Citation

Knight, George R. (2017) "The Controverted Little Book of Revelation 10 and the Shape of Apocalyptic Mission," Journal of the Adventist Theological Society: Vol. 28: Iss. 1, Article 8.

Available at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jats/vol28/iss1/8