Daily Bread 2011 - Revelation 10
Daily Bread 2011 – Revelation 10
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
What Does This Mean?
In chapters 10 and 11, there is a brief interlude to the trumpets and judgments we have heard about in the last couple of chapters. Another mighty angel comes down from heaven and has almost divine characteristics, though it is clear the angel is not Jesus. At this point the angel announces that there will be no more delay in the judgment, but then a mysterious thing happens. John is commanded by the voice from heaven to take the scroll and eat it. As he eats it, it tastes sweet in his mouth but then turns sour in his stomach.
This is likely to mean that the message had gone from these visions from angels, to a command for John to preach the message himself. Though the message and its divine origin was sweet to John, John knew that it would not necessarily be a sweet message to those his hearers. John had suffered under the persecution of the end of the first century, and was probably discouraged. This new revelation and his experience of it, was a new sense of call in his life and a time of renewal.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Sometimes it is a sweet experience for us to read the bible and sense God’s presence and calling in our lives as we listen to His voice speaking to us. Since the bible is inspired as God’s Word, when we read it we come in contact with God’s revelation and His purposes in Jesus Christ. But though it may be sweet as we read it, as we live it out and possibly suffer persecution for our faith, sometimes the sweetness in our personal relationship can be soured as we try to share our faith with the world.
Oftentimes Christians can be misunderstood and even though one may have good intentions to either share God’s word or live it out, following God’s Word and His Son, Jesus can lead to suffering. The bible says in James, “Do not be surprised when you face trials of many kinds. The testing of your faith will produce a mature and complete faith.” James 1 Or the book of Romans tells us the suffering of this world is not to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us when Jesus returns. Romans 8:18
As you read God’s Word, expect God to speak to You. As you hear God’s voice it is sweet, and yet applying and living out God’s word can be challenging, and it might not always be a sweet experience at first, but in the end God’s Word will set us and others free by His power.
Jesus, as we read Your word may we digest everything you have said and be careful to do all you have called us to do. May we be your living letters in the world looking for those who practice what they read. Amen.
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
What Does This Mean?
In chapters 10 and 11, there is a brief interlude to the trumpets and judgments we have heard about in the last couple of chapters. Another mighty angel comes down from heaven and has almost divine characteristics, though it is clear the angel is not Jesus. At this point the angel announces that there will be no more delay in the judgment, but then a mysterious thing happens. John is commanded by the voice from heaven to take the scroll and eat it. As he eats it, it tastes sweet in his mouth but then turns sour in his stomach.
This is likely to mean that the message had gone from these visions from angels, to a command for John to preach the message himself. Though the message and its divine origin was sweet to John, John knew that it would not necessarily be a sweet message to those his hearers. John had suffered under the persecution of the end of the first century, and was probably discouraged. This new revelation and his experience of it, was a new sense of call in his life and a time of renewal.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Sometimes it is a sweet experience for us to read the bible and sense God’s presence and calling in our lives as we listen to His voice speaking to us. Since the bible is inspired as God’s Word, when we read it we come in contact with God’s revelation and His purposes in Jesus Christ. But though it may be sweet as we read it, as we live it out and possibly suffer persecution for our faith, sometimes the sweetness in our personal relationship can be soured as we try to share our faith with the world.
Oftentimes Christians can be misunderstood and even though one may have good intentions to either share God’s word or live it out, following God’s Word and His Son, Jesus can lead to suffering. The bible says in James, “Do not be surprised when you face trials of many kinds. The testing of your faith will produce a mature and complete faith.” James 1 Or the book of Romans tells us the suffering of this world is not to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us when Jesus returns. Romans 8:18
As you read God’s Word, expect God to speak to You. As you hear God’s voice it is sweet, and yet applying and living out God’s word can be challenging, and it might not always be a sweet experience at first, but in the end God’s Word will set us and others free by His power.
Jesus, as we read Your word may we digest everything you have said and be careful to do all you have called us to do. May we be your living letters in the world looking for those who practice what they read. Amen.
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