1. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a
cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face as it were the sun,
and his feet as pillars of fire:

2. And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot
upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

3. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had
cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

Vs. 1-3.--The majestic description of this Angel agrees to no creature.
It is proper to God-man only. It is partly the same display of the
Mediator's glory which we had in ch, i. 15. Especially is this the case
as to his _face_, his _feet_ and his _voice_. The "rainbow" is still the
sign of the everlasting covenant. "In wrath he remembers mercy."

This "book" differs from the _sealed_ book as a part from the whole, or
a codicil from the will to which it is appended. Also, it is
distinguished from the former as being _little_ and _open_. They do
therefore greatly err here, who would make this little book comprehend
all the remaining part of the Apocalypse, which would make it larger
than the sealed book. The little book is _open_, because it is part of
the large one, from which the last seal had been removed by the
Mediator. But another reason why the little book is represented as being
open, is the fact that the most of the events to which it refers, had
transpired prior to the sounding of the seventh trumpet. That trumpet
had been without its appropriate object, as presented in any preceding
part of the prophecy. To present that object is the special design of
the little book. All the events predicted in this book of Revelation are