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Revelation 10:4 (KJV)
4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
The seven thunders utter their voices between the 6th & 7th trumpet,the messages of both trumpets is revealed. Could the voice of the seven thunders have come from another source other than God?
Does the voice of the seven thunders in Revelation 10:4 come from the throne of God?
Earlier at Revelation 4:5, John heard thunders coming from the throne of God.
Revelation 4:3,5 (NASB)
3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a [a]rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
King David stated that the literal thunder was at times spoken of as the voice of God.
Psalm 29:3 (NET Bible)
3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; the majestic God thunders, the Lord appears over the surging water.
Sometime during his ministry, Jesus becomes trouble and "Foretells His Death" God audibly glorifies his name, to many it sounded like thunder. (Vs 29)
John 12:27-29 (NASB
27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Conclusion
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the ‘voices of the seven thunders’ are God's own expression of his purposes. The fact that there were "seven”"thunders suggests the completeness of what John heard.
All of the New Testament can be traced back to the Old Testament. The OT is our source code. Trumpets are the the call to hear an announcement, or a warning call to battle. (Isa. 18:3; 58:1; Heb. 12:19) The best clue of the "thunders" is from the OT at the base of Mt Sinai in the Exodus wilderness. YHWH had told Moses that He would come down upon Mt Sinai and speak with Moses so that all the people could hear and witness what He said. (Ex. 19:9-11.)
"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled." Ex. 19:16 (KJV)
Young's has verse 16 as:
" And it cometh to pass, on the third day, while it is morning, that there are voices, and lightnings, and a heavy cloud, on the mount, and the sound of a trumpet very strong; and all the people who [are] in the camp do tremble."
Where the KJV has "thunders and lightnings" Young's has "voices, and lightnings".
"And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice." Ex. 19:18-19 (KJV)
Which verses Young's has as:
"and mount Sinai [is] wholly a smoke from the presence of Jehovah, who hath come down on it in fire, and its smoke goeth up as smoke of the furnace, and the whole mount trembleth exceedingly; 19 and the sound of the trumpet is going on, and very strong; Moses speaketh, and God doth answer him with a voice."
The thunder in Exodus were the utterances and voices from within the presence of YHWH, announcing His coming into the presence of the people. Much as a bailiff announces the entrance of a judge into the courtroom, the thundering voices announced the appearance of YWHW upon Mt. Sinai.
In Rev. 10:3 the strong messenger of verse 1 (Christ) sounded with a loud roar...
" and he cried with a great voice, as a lion doth roar, and when he cried, speak out did the seven thunders their voices;" (YLT)
In Rev 10:1 Christ came down from heaven, from the throne scene arrayed in a cloud (see Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26), and then in verse 3 the seven thunders speak out. The courtroom "bailiffs" of the throne scene were announcing the judge (Christ) and His coming. Christ had been given the keys to the gates of Hades and of death (Rev. 1:18), and the gates of Hades would not prevail against His church (Matt. 16:18). Christ was the judge coming in the clouds in glory.
So, the seven thunders were announcing His entry into, His pronouncements regarding the judgment battle in Rev. 10:3.
We are not told what those voices said, as John was told to seal them up. So, they were not for our knowledge as any prophesy that is sealed is not to be revealed.
It is most probable that the seven thunders are seven voices of YHWH's "bailiffs," His most prominent courtroom angels who keep order in the presence of His court.
It cannot be Christ because the opening verse is "another" angel....and the greek is clear as in another of the same kind, and there is none like Jesus and He is no angel. Also, seven is the designation of perfection and Gods number throughout Revelation and the Bible....Seven horns, eyes, etc....thunder is commonly used to describe the voice of God from Psalms and even during Christs baptism.
