Revelation 10:11

And they say unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.

And they say unto me ... "It is best to take this expression as an indefinite plural, or the equivalent of the passive 'it was said.'"[46]

Thou must prophecy again ... John himself is part of the vision here, not merely in his person, but as an embodiment of the New Testament. It is not merely John who will continue to sound out the Word through the ages, but all of the apostles, and by extension the whole church of God throughout the dispensation, who will continue to prophesy, or proclaim God's truth. The reference here is not to the release of the Book of Revelation, either in part or whole, but to the proclamation of "the whole counsel of God." We regret Roberts' missing this in the comment that, "This explains the little scroll. It means that Revelation is divided into two grand divisions ... the little scroll is the second part, consisting of Revelation 12-16."[47]

Over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings ... The ASV margin here has "concerning" instead of "over"; and a great many scholars prefer that meaning, a preference apparently due to their thinking of Revelation as primarily a book "concerning" world history; but the true meaning of the place is "before" many peoples, etc., as in the KJV. Lenski unequivocally affirmed that the KJV is correct here,[48] and we believe he is right in this judgment, and that the reason so many have missed it is that they tend to think about the "predictions" that John is about to write; "but this is an idea that results from their misconception of this vision."[49] Of course, Revelation, in a certain sense, is "concerning" many peoples, etc.; but far more is involved here than this single prophecy. All of God's word is to be proclaimed "unto all nations" (Luke 24:47); and we are certain that that mandate is the commission to John which is reiterated in this verse.

This concludes the consolatory vision of God's word being proclaimed throughout history, no matter what evil men do; and the next consolatory vision (Revelation 11:1-13) will detail symbolically the fortunes of the church throughout her history. However, it should be remembered that both these consolatory visions are in a sense parenthetical. As soon as they have been related, the judgment scene will be depicted, an event that connects chronologically with the end of Revelation 9.

[46] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 217.

[47] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 87.

[48] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 302.

[49] Ibid.