I Swear

Again, we see a complement to Daniel: “The man clothed in linen … held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever” (Daniel 12:7). This was a traditional enactment of the most serious of oaths.

In Daniel chapter 12, Christ swears on the validity of “a time, times, and half a time,” which Bible students know to be the 1,260-day prophecy. In Revelation 10, Christ similarly swears on the validity of another time prophecy, the one He has been referring to this entire chapter, the 2,300-day prophecy.

The word “delay” is translated as “time” by the King James translators. The “time” that is referred to here is prophetic time. There is “no longer” any more prophetic time after 1844; the 2,300-day prophecy is the last time prophecy.

Notice also the reference to the Creator and His creation in the oath. It’s an implicit reference to the Sabbath, which in Exodus 20:11 is described as the rest following the six days in which “the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,” as well as to the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:7, which likewise declares to “worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

This is significant. God swore His life on these prophecies (Deuteronomy 32:40). Thus, we can trust with absolute certainty that they came to pass. The fact that Christ did not return in 1844 could mean only one thing—there was an error in the interpretation, not in God’s prophetic time. Today’s verse gives the answer; it points to the first angel’s message: “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come.” What began in 1844 was not Christ’s advent but God’s judgment hour.

Oh, God, You who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all these contain, help us understand and focus on the message of Revelation as we see that day—that glorious day!—approaching.

For Further Study: Nehemiah 9:6; Mark 1:15; Hebrews 6:13

Key Bible Texts

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, (Revelation 10:5 KJV)