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Author Vitringa asks: "Does the hope of God's people rest on the oath of a created angel?
Is it the part of a created angel to swear that the words of prophecy and promise shall be fulfilled?
Surely if their hope is to stand unmoved, it can be sustained only by the faithfulness and oath of that
very person [Yeshua] to whose nature failure is not an incident."

The appearance of this Angel, the stand that he takes -- and particularly the words of the
oath that he swears -- testify greatly to the surpassing importance of what is to happen in the days
of the voice of the seventh angel.

In his hand was a "little scroll lying open." These words suggest a comparison with the
relatively great scroll of Revelation 5:1 --which was completely sealed. This leads to the conclu-
sion that the "little scroll" contains some special part of the counsel of YEHOVAH, which Yeshua,
the one who is invested with supreme authority, is responsible to carry into effect. This agrees
with two facts in the immediate context:

1) John, having eaten the little scroll, is told that he must prophesy again.

2) There now comes into view another sphere or scenario, different from that of the preceding vi-
sions, namely the scenario that is symbolized by "the temple of God."

The other scenes had to do with the world and the nations at large; and in viewing them we
might wonder how things fare with the people of YEHOVAH in those times? This question is an-
swered in Revelation 11:1-13, which clearly shows, upon comparison of the concluding verses of
Chapter 9 ("and the rest of the men repented not") with verse 13 of Chapter 11, ("and the rest were
affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven"), that the two scenes are parallel in time -- differ-
ing only regarding the theaters in which they take place.

The first item of description of this mighty Angel is that he is "dressed in a cloud." "He is,"
records the book Then is Finished the Mystery of God, "here described as being 'arrayed with a
cloud,' wrapped in a cloud. Cloud is a feature associated with the glorified Jesus Christ, as in
Revelation 1:7, where John writes of him, saying: 'Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every
eye will see him, and those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in
grief because of him. Yes, Amen.' (Compare Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30, 31; 1 Thessalonians
4:17)" (1969: P. 249).

The very next descriptive item in the vision is such as to remove all fear from those who
are truly his. For we read he had "a rainbow over his head." Notes Then is Finished the Mystery
of God -- "The rainbow that was 'upon his head' suggests that he is a special representative of Je-
hovah, 'the God of peace,' for the apostle John had seen in his earlier vision of the enthroned Jeho-
vah God that 'round about the throne there is a rainbow like an emerald in appearance.'
(Revelation 4:3; compare Ezekiel 1:28). After the...flood of the prophet Noah's day the rainbow
that Jehovah God caused to appear in the cloud betokened peace after storm and that His covenant
toward mankind is peaceful, barring another inundation of the...earth with water. (Genesis 9:8-17;
Isaiah 54:9) How appropriate, then, for a rainbow to be upon the head of the 'strong angel' who
pictures Jesus Christ, inasmuch as he was foretold to become 'Prince of Peace.' -- Isaiah 9:6, 7"
(1969: Pps. 249-250).

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