A Sweet-and-Bitter Message -The Opened Scroll

The Opened Scroll

While John is waiting for the blowing of the seventh trumpet and the bringing to a finish of the sacred secret of God, he is given a further assignment: "And the voice that I heard out of heaven is speaking again with me and saying: 'Go, take the opened scroll that is in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.'   And I went away tot he angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me:  'Take it and eat it up, and it will make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.' and I took the little scroll out of the hand of the angel and ate it up, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; but when I had eaten it up, my belly was made bitter.  And they say to me:  'You must prophesy again with regard to peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.' " -Revelation 10:8-11.

John's experience is rather similar to that of the prophet Ezekiel during his exile in the land of Babylonia.  He too was commanded to eat a scroll that tasted sweet in his mouth.  But when  it filled his stomach, it made him responsible to foretell bitter things for the rebellious house  of Israel.  (Ezekiel 2:8-3:15)  the opened scroll that the glorified Jesus Christ gives to John is to preach regarding "peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.'  To feed upon this scroll is sweet for him because it is from a divine source.  (Compare Psalm 119:103; Jeremiah 15:15, 16) But he finds it bitter to digest because-as previously with Ezekiel-it foretells unsavory things for rebellious humans. -Psalms 145:20.

The ones who tell John to prophesy again are doubtless Jehovah God and Jesus Christ.  John, although exiled on the island of Patmos, has already prophesied regarding peoples, nations, tongues and many kings through the information recorded so far in the book of Revelation.  The word "again" means  that he must write and publish the rest of the information recorded in the book of Revelation.  But remember, John is here actually participating  in the prophetic vision. What he records is, in fact, a prophecy to be fulfilled after 1914, when the strong angel takes up his position astride the earth and the sea.  What, then,  does this dramatic portrayal mean to the John class today? 

Next time: A Sweet-and-Bitter Message - The Little Scroll Today

From the Book of Revelation