Theme of Thunders
1001 words long.
Published on 2024-05-23
Thunders
In “Aftertaste: Donner & Blitzen”, many connections between thunder passages in Psalms, Job, Exodus and Revelation were enumerated. Now that we have identified Exodus as part of the floor of Lady Wisdom’s house, we see that this connection via the thunders helps secure the pillars to that floor. (Bits and pieces of that chapter are covered with the theme of songs and in riddles. The whole of this very long chapter with much more about the seven thunders may be found in Seven Thunders)
An extra connection is to Jeremiah.
“‘The LORD will roar from on high;
he will thunder from his holy dwelling
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.
The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the LORD will bring charges against the nations;
he will bring judgment on all mankind
and put the wicked to the sword,’ ”
declares the LORD.
This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”
- Jeremiah 25:30-32
Jeremiah gives seven analogies for God speaking: roar, thunder, roar mightily, shout, shout and bring charges. The inclusion of thunder and the seven analogies suggests the seven thunders. The mention of a sword connects to the seven swords. (The rest of the chapter has two more mentions of swords.)
The interested reader might also compare these passages which connect the seven pillars extensively:
- Psalm 18:4-10 to Revelation 1:7,17-18; 10:1
- Psalm 18:28 to Job 17:11-12
- Psalm 29:1-2 to Revelation 4:8
- Psalm 68:5-6,19-20,29-30,32-33 to Revelation 6:15; 7:10; 13:11-12 to Job 40:15-24
- Psalm 77:6-7,16-20 to Job 35:9-11; 9:5-11
- Psalm 77:11-12 to Revelation 11:5-6
- Psalm 81:7 to Exodus 17;6-7 and Numbers 20:11-13
- Psalm 81:8-9 to Revelation 13:4,8,12
- Psalm 104:4-5 to Revelation 16:18-20
- Psalm 104:6-18 to Revelation 21:6 to Job 38:39-39:30
- Psalm 104:24-26 to Revelation 13:1-3; 18:17-18; 19:20 to Job 41
- Revelation 10:5-7 to Exodus 19:16-19
- Revelation 15:3 to Exodus 15:1-18; 31:30; 32:1-34
- Revelation 9:1,7-11 to Job 39:24-25
- Many plagues of Revelation to Exodus 7-12
At last, we return to the rainbow which in Ezekiel was also associated with a vision of the Lord. Revelation 10 not only includes a reference to pillars but ties together pillars from the rest of the Bible, the seven thunders, the seven spirits and the theme of Books.
| Spirit of God | Revelation 10 Phrase | Matching Pillar References |
|---|---|---|
| The LORD | Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven | In Genesis 28, Jacob saw angels descending a ladder, coming down from heaven. In both Genesis 28 & 31, he erects a pillar as a token of his worship of God. To signify the spirit of Lordship, God says to Jacob, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.” (Genesis 28:13) |
| Wisdom | wrapped in a cloud | In Exodus 13,14 &19, God sent a pillar of cloud to guide Israel. |
| Understanding | with a rainbow over his head, and | Revelation 4:3 said, “around the throne was a rainbow”. That scene describes worship, which flows from the spirit of understanding, and also declares the existence of the seven spirits of God. Ezekiel 1:26-28 uses similar imagery, also including the rainbow. |
| Counsel | his face was like the sun, and | At Jesus’ Transfiguration in Matthew 17:2, as he took counsel with Moses & Elijah, he shone like the sun. Then in Rev 1:15-16, his face shining like the sun is paired with "his feet were like burnished bronze". |
| Might | his legs like pillars of fire. |
The spirit of might was manifest by the pillar of fire
in Exodus and the two bronze pillars in 1 Kings
7:21 from Solomon’s temple that stand for “in him
is strength” & “he is established”.
Revelation mentions pillars in another significant passage, a fantastic promise: "The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God." (3:12) |
| Knowledge | He had a little scroll open in his hand. | Revelation is dominated by the appearance and unsealing of a scroll, representing detailed knowledge of the future. According to Revelation 3:12 quoted above, we become God's scroll and pillar when on us he writes “the name of [his] God”. |
| The Fear of the LORD |
And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land. and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” |
The roars of lion and thunder inspire the fear of the
Lord, the last of the seven spirits of God. In this
final verse, the legs of the angel are the pillars,
subduing the peoples of the earth.
The Old Testament pillar reference this evokes is mysterious. It is Song of Songs 4, where the Lover (Christ) likens his Bride to a tower. The voice from heaven in Revelation 10 says to seal up what the seven thunders have said. In Song of Songs, it is the Bride’s garden that is sealed, “a garden locked is my sister, my bride, a spring locked, a fountain sealed.” (SS 4:12) What is the greatest mystery that the seven thunders conceal? A lover’s secret! |
The pillar reference of Revelation 10 adds to our knowledge of what the seven thunders said. They explained the deepest truth of God’s wisdom and their seven pillars.
Here are links to the sections on all seven themes common between the books that constitute the Seven Pillars of Wisdom:
