Revelation 10 : 08 - 11
8 Then the voice which I
heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, "Go, take the little book
which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the
earth."
9 So I went to the angel and
said to him, "Give me the little book." And he said to me, "Take
and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as
honey in your mouth."
10 Then I took the little book
out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
11 And he said to me,
"You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and
kings."
Digest and declare God’s Word
(10:8-11
“Then the voice which
I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, ‘Go,
take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and
on the land.’”
In
Revelation 5, it was the Lamb who took the scroll from the Father. Here,
John takes the open book from the strong angel. What exactly does this little
book say? The Bible doesn’t say directly. Yet there are a couple of clues. In
10:7, John is told that the sounding of the seventh trumpet will complete the
mystery of God. This is a clue that the contents of the book are all the
information regarding the rest of the tribulation. In 10:11, when John is
informed that his commission to prophesy continues, there is indication that
the contents of the little book are that prophecy.
In
10:9, John approached the angel and requested the little book.28 The angel
told John, “Take it and eat it.” This is quite strange, to say the
least. Imagine sitting around munching on the Bible! Usually, eating a book is
not very nourishing! Books normally do not contain vitamins! Yet, this is the
third time in the Scriptures that a person is told to eat a book (cf. Jer 15:13-17;
Jer.
15:16 O LORD, You know; Remember me and
visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring
patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
Ezekiel
3:8 But you, son of man,
hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open
your mouth and eat what I give you."
9 Now when I looked, there was a hand
stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
10 Then He spread it before me; and there was
writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were
lamentations and mourning and woe.
Ezekiel
3:
1 Moreover He said to me, "Son of
man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of
Israel."
2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me
to eat that scroll.
3 And He said to me, "Son of man,
feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you."
So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
Why?
Eating is a universal idiom for
receiving knowledge. John is being challenged to know and understand God’s
prophetic Word. But biblical knowledge is not merely knowledge for the sake of
knowledge. It refers to assimilating knowledge into one’s life. God wanted
John to digest the contents of the book so that it would change him personally.
He needed personal transformation. This is also true for each of us. It is not
enough to read the Bible; we must apply the Bible to our lives. Reading the
Bible without applying is like eating without chewing. No one would consider
such a thing!
In
10:9, this angel tells John that this book “will make your stomach bitter,
but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” This is a sweet and sour
scroll.God’s Word can be bittersweet and hard to digest. Let’s face it;
sometimes “relief” is not spelled b-o-o-k. Sometimes God’s Word can give us
heartburn. Other times it is sweet to the taste.
We
must understand that prophecy and Scripture, as a whole, is bittersweet. There
are sweet
promises
in the Bible, but there are also bitter warnings. God’s Word can bring joy to
our heart, but at times it brings sorrow. It both blesses us and burdens us.
People get excited about studying prophecy. Preaching from Revelation thrills
people. Unquestionably, there are some exciting things about this book. It has
a sweet taste. But it also burdens the believer about his unsaved family and
friends, and is a stern warning of judgment to come to the unbeliever.
In
10:10, John writes, “I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it,
and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was
made bitter.”
Please
note that John tastes God’s revealed Word. It is not enough to see the book in
someone’s hand or even to know what it contains. We must appropriate it into
our lives. We must assimilate it and digest it. Too many Christians do not make
the Word part of their inner being. Yet, our privilege as believers is not only
to read the Bible but also to assimilate it into our lives. God won’t force-feed
us with His Word; rather, He exhorts us to take it from His hand, eat it and
assimilate it into our lives. The Word of God is the food of the Christian. It
is compared to bread (Matt
4:4),
milk (1 Pet 2:2), and honey (Ps
119:103).
Still,
as John meditated on it and comprehended the fearful judgments that it
predicted, he became distressed. Have you ever experienced the sweet and bitter
dimensions of God’s Word? We read of God’s love and mercy toward us, His
eternal plan of salvation, His promise to give us a future and a hope, and the
assurance of eternal life. That’s sweet! But then the Word also speaks directly
to areas in our lives that may require change. Maybe your behavior or lifestyle
dishonors God and is in direct violation of His Word. Maybe you have excused a
bad attitude or a critical spirit in your life. At times, God’s Word can be a
painful tool of correction. But it is always redemptive! It is always for our
good.
Amos
5:18-20
18 Woe to you who desire
the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be
darkness, and not light.
19 It will be as though a
man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him!
20 Is not the day of the
LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
In
10:11, John writes, “And he said to me, ‘You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and
tongues and kings.”
John
is recommissioned to faithfully proclaim God’s Word and judgment on the wicked
(cf. Jer 1:9-10). John must speak! In a similar manner, as a pastor, I am
commissioned to faithfully proclaim the entire Word of God. Each of you, as
fellow believers, is also commissioned to the same task of applying and
proclaiming His Word. Being a true prophet of God is no easy task. It requires
a man or woman to tell people what they don’t want to hear.
Humanly
speaking, we would rather speak “sweet” words for God, rather than “bitter”
words which cause men to react against us. When God sent forth His prophets, He
warned them of the danger of compromising their message, making it easier for
the people to hear, but thus diluting God’s warning about the dire consequences
of sin (see Isa 5:20).
I
hear many different “messages” being proclaimed by the evangelical community,
but nearly all of them have a “sweet” taste to them (cf. Isa 30:10). There are messages about being successful and effective.
There are messages about a positive outlook and a positive self-image, but
frankly there is not much said negatively about sin and God’s holy wrath. If
judgment was near enough that the apostle John needed to be hardened by the
eating of that scroll, should we not be more direct and more pointed in
speaking to men and women about the realities of sin, righteousness, and
judgment?