10:3 seven thunders. The “seven thunders” seem to correspond to the seven-times-manifested “voice of the Lord” in Psalm 29:3-9 (see notes thereon). This psalm is clearly describing retroactively the events of the great Flood in the days of Noah (“flood” in Psalm 29:10 is the Hebrew mabbul, a word used only for the Noahic cataclysm). At the first “voice of the Lord” (Psalm 29:3), the psalmist saw in his vision that “the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.” This great cataclysm marked the first time in history that the rebels on earth had ever heard thunder, for before that, “the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth” (Genesis 2:5). The seven thunderous voices at the Flood had been voices of judgment, and the inference here in Revelation is the same. Yet the Lord told John not to record what they said, implying that there would still be time for human repentance before the final destruction would come. Just as the earth’s rainbow had signified God’s mercy in Noah’s day, so His rainbow crown will indicate that God’s mercy and long-suffering have not yet been fully exhausted. Note also Daniel 12:4,7,9.