And the angel which I saw stand on the sea and on the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
stand.
Revelation 10:2 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,
lifted.
Genesis 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Genesis 22:15,16 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, …
Exodus 6:8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
by him.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
who.
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Genesis 1:1-2:25 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…
that there.
Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
lifted up his right hand to heaven
Lifting the right hand to heaven is a gesture of oath-taking, signifying the solemnity and truthfulness of the message being delivered. This act is reminiscent of the practice in ancient cultures, including Hebrew tradition, where raising the hand was part of making a vow or swearing an oath (Genesis 14:22, Deuteronomy 32:40). The right hand is often associated with power and authority in biblical literature (Psalm 110:1, Matthew 26:64). By lifting his right hand, the angel underscores the divine authority and certainty of the proclamation he is about to make, aligning with the prophetic tradition of delivering God's unalterable decrees.
The adverb signals a real moment in John’s ongoing vision, placing this scene in a concrete sequence of prophetic events. Revelation 10 follows the sounding of the sixth trumpet (Revelation 9:13–21) and the brief pause before the seventh (Revelation 11:15). Just as God orderly unfolded the seals (Revelation 6) and the trumpets (Revelation 8-9), He now inserts another intentional step. This reinforces that every detail of end-time judgment happens neither randomly nor symbolically, but in literal, divinely timed succession (cf. Exodus 12:41; Galatians 4:4).
John identifies this angel as the same mighty figure introduced earlier in Revelation 10:1-2. That continuity roots the vision in eyewitness testimony: John is carefully reporting what he truly “saw” (Revelation 1:2). By repeating the identification, Scripture underscores that God often employs a single messenger to carry out multiple stages of His plan, much like the “angel of the LORD” guided Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 14:19) and reappeared at decisive moments (Judges 6:12; 13:3).
The angel’s stance dramatizes universal authority. One foot on the sea, one on the land, he claims all creation for God, echoing Psalm 95:5: “The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.”
• This posture previews the proclamation of Revelation 11:15: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.”
• It recalls Jonah 1:9, where the prophet identifies the LORD as the One “who made the sea and the dry land,” anchoring the angel’s authority in God’s creative ownership (cf. Revelation 14:7).
• By depicting land and sea together, the vision assures believers that no realm—political, natural, or spiritual—lies outside God’s jurisdiction (Isaiah 45:5-6).
Raising the right hand was—and remains—a customary gesture in making a solemn oath (Genesis 14:22-23; Deuteronomy 32:40). In Scripture, the right hand represents power and fidelity (Psalm 98:1). When the angel lifts his right hand:
• He signals an unbreakable pledge about what he is about to declare (Revelation 10:6).
• He mirrors the “man dressed in linen” who raised his hand in Daniel 12:7 to swear that end-time events would conclude “in a time, times, and half a time,” linking Daniel’s prophecy with Revelation’s timeline.
• He models godly integrity, reminding believers of Jesus’ instruction to let their “Yes” be yes (Matthew 5:37).
Pointing upward identifies the ultimate witness and guarantor of the oath: the eternal Creator. Revelation 10:6 will state explicitly that the angel swears “by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it.” This act:
• Anchors the oath in God’s unchanging nature (Hebrews 6:17-18).
• Highlights the direct line of authority from the throne (Revelation 4:2-11) to the angel’s mission.
• Encourages believers to look heavenward for assurance, echoing Colossians 3:1-2.
Revelation 10:5 depicts a literal angel, already introduced to John, dramatically claiming all creation for God and swearing an unbreakable oath. Each phrase—“Then… the angel… standing on the sea and on the land… lifted up his right hand… to heaven”—builds a picture of divine authority, precise timing, and absolute reliability. The scene assures believers that God’s end-time program unfolds exactly as promised, under His sovereign control, and in full view of heaven’s throne.
(5-7) And the angel . . .--Translate, And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted his right hand to the heaven, and sware in (or, by) Him who liveth unto the ages of the ages, who created the heaven, and the things in it, and the earth, and the things in it, and the sea, and the things in it, that time (i.e., delay, or postponement) should no longer be: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, whenever he is about to sound (his trumpet) was finished the mystery of God, as he evangelised his servants the prophets. There is a change of tense which sounds strange: he says, then (not "will be," but) was finished. In thought he hurries on to the end, and sees the close no longer in the dim future, but as, with the eye of God, an accomplished fact. The certainty is guaranteed with an oath. The gesture of the uplifted hand to give emphasis to the oath is of ancient date. Thus Abraham expressed his resolution to take none of the spoils of the conquered kings: "I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord . . . that I will not take from a thread to a shoelatchet" (Genesis 14:22; comp. Exodus 6:8, margin). So, too, does the man clothed in linen (Daniel 12:6-9, a passage which, in much, is the foundation of the one before us) lift up both hands and sware that there shall be a fixed period for the accomplishment of the scattering of the power of the holy people. The oath in the passage under consideration is to the effect (not that time should cease and eternity begin, but) that there shall be no longer any delay. The suffering saints had cried, "How long?" (Revelation 6:9-11), and they had been bidden to wait a little time. Now the close of all such waiting time is announced: when the seventh trumpet shall have blown the mystery of God will be finished. "' The mystery of God' does not mean something which cannot be understood or explained. It is never applied to such matters, for example, as the origin of evil, or the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity. It does mean a secret; but then a secret may be told, and when told is no mystery. The mystery, or secret, of God means, therefore, the whole of His plan and of His counsel concerning this earth in its present state of discipline and of imperfection; all that God means to do upon it and towards it, even till that which we read of as the time of the end (Daniel 12:4-9), the close of this last dispensation, and the introduction of that new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" (Dr. Vaughan). No wonder, as he announced this fast approaching close of the ages of suffering and trial, he should add, "According as He (not "declared"--an utterly inadequate word--but) evangelised--i.e., according to the glad tidings which He had ever proclaimed to and by His servants the prophets." A somewhat remarkable parallelism between this passage and 1Corinthians 15:51-52, has been pointed out. In both passages there is reference to the mystery, the glad tidings, and the last (the seventh trumpet is also the last) trumpet. This harmony of reference--taken in connection with St. Paul's statement, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed"--is full of interest, if it were for nothing more than to notice the union of thought between the two Apostles; but it may also throw light upon the teaching respecting the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6; but see Note there). . . . Verse 5. - And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven; the right hand (Revised Version) is supported by א, B, C, P, Syriac, Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Andreas, Arethas, Primasius. It is omitted in the Textus Receptus, which follows A, 1, 17, 36, Vulgate; cf. Daniel 12:7, a chapter also referred to in the preceding note (vide supra). In Daniel both hands are uplifted, here only one; in the other is the book. The action was customary among the Jews in swearing (see Genesis 14:22; Deuteronomy 32:40). (Upon the signification of "standing upon the sea and upon the earth," see on ver. 2.)