In Revelation 10:1 and 2 Christ comes as another Angel to take possession of the sea and the land. Revelation 10:1 says, “I saw another strong Angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon His head, and His face was as the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire.” The rainbow indicates that Christ, in His judgment upon the earth, will keep the covenant God made with Noah (Gen. 9:8-17). The pillars indicate steadfastness (Jer. 1:18; Gal. 2:9), and fire signifies the holiness of God (Exo. 19:18; Heb. 12:29), according to which Christ will execute His judgment upon the earth.
Revelation 10:2 continues, “And having in His hand a little opened scroll. And He placed His right foot on the sea and the left on the land.” The little opened scroll is the scroll in 5:1, the scroll of God’s economy, which only Christ is worthy to open. In 5:1 it was sealed; here it is opened.
For Christ as another Angel to place His feet on the sea and upon the land is to tread upon them, and to tread upon them is to take possession of them (Deut. 11:24; Josh. 1:3; Psa. 8:6). This indicates that Christ is coming to take possession of the earth. Only He is worthy to open the scroll of God’s economy, and only He is qualified to possess the earth.
Finally, Christ in His work as another Angel will come to declare the judgment over Babylon the Great. Revelation 18:1 and 2 say, “After these things I saw another Angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illumined with His glory. And He cried with a strong voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” In 10:1 Christ is still clothed with a cloud, whereas here His glory shines over the earth, indicating that His coming back to earth is closer than the coming mentioned in chapter ten. In His coming Christ will eventually shine over the whole earth to destroy Babylon the Great with great authority. The fall of Babylon pronounced in verse 2 is the fall of material Babylon, which will take place at the end of the great tribulation.
Finally, in His work in the divine administration Christ, as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16), will defeat and judge Antichrist with his false prophet and all his followers from the nations-the kings, their armies, and their peoples. Revelation 19:11 says, “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” Here we see Christ as the One leading His army to fight Antichrist and the kings under him and their armies at Armageddon. Antichrist and the false prophet will be “cast alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” (v. 20). The rest will be killed “with the sword which proceeds out of the mouth of Him who sits on the horse” (v. 21). After Christ takes away the overcomers and the majority of saints by means of rapture, He will come back to defeat Antichrist with his false prophet and all his followers. Then He will judge the living nations and set up the millennial kingdom.
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