World English Bible · Under Rome
Revelation 10
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I saw a mighty coming down out of , clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of . He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from saying, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don't write them." whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his to and by him who lives and ever, who created and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay, but in the days of the voice of the seventh , when he is about to sound, then of is finished, as he declared to his servants . The voice which I heard from , again speaking with me, said, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of who stands on the sea and on the land." I went to , telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little book out of hand, and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my . When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. They told me, "You must again over many peoples, nations, , and kings."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.