Revelation 10
The Angel with the Little Scroll
Rev 10:1 Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire.
Chapters 10-14 will deal with the events of the middle of the Great Tribulation. John will see another powerful angel descend from heaven. This angel will be wrapped in a cloud. A rainbow will be above his head. His face will shine like the brightness of the sun. His legs will be like pillars of fire. This will be one big angel!
10:2 He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.
This angel will hold a small scroll in his hand that will be open. This angel will be a giant. He will be so large, that he will place his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
10:3 Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices.
This powerful angel will shout in a loud voice. The voice will sound like a lion. Seven thunders will also sound their voices. These "voices" mean that this was not just noise, but a language of communication.
10:4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.”
John will hear the voices of the seven thunders. He will understand these seven voices. He will begin to write down exactly what they said to him, but he will be forbidden to do so. Many commentators speculate as to what these voices might one day say. However, no one knows, so it is best to exegete other passages that are meant to be understood.
10:5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.
The large, powerful angel will raise his right hand to heaven and make an announcement.
10:6 and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay!
This angel will make an oath by the Creator of the heaven, earth, and sea. His oath will be that "there will be no more delay."
10:7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.”
The announcement will be that there will be a seventh angel. This seventh angel will blow the seventh trumpet. When this seventh trumpet is blown, "the mystery of God" will be revealed to all of the created intelligences in the universe. The "mystery of God" will be the combined prophetic messages of all of God's prophets throughout history. The seventh trumpet will introduce seven new bowl judgments. These seven bowl judgments will conclude God's prophetic plan of the ages.
10:8 Then the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
John will be ordered to take the open scroll. He will be commanded to give it to the powerful angel. John hears this communication and he indicates that it comes from heaven. The phrase “speak to me again” is a reference back to verse 4. The same voice is commanding John to “Go and take the open scroll…”
10:9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
Verse 9 is John’s response to the voice in verse 8. John boldly goes to the angel and says, “Give me the little book.” John was bold because he was acting on the Word from God. Believers can be bold in the way we deliver the Word of God. John is told to eat the little book. Essentially he is told to eat the Word of God (see Jeremiah 15:16 and 1 Peter 2:2). God’s Word is both bitter and sweet at the same time. Bitterness and sweetness are contrasting experiences. Knowledge of Bible doctrine and the truth of God’s Word is sweet. God’s Word is bitter when it exposes the sin nature of man. The same gospel that is sweet to believers is bitter to unbelievers. God’s Word can be bitter to believers when it exposes our loved ones who are not believers.
Scripture is spiritual food for believers. John will be commanded to eat this little scroll. This little scroll will make his stomach bitter, but it will possess a taste of sweetness in his mouth, much like honey. Prophecy is sweet to believers, but the consequences on unbelievers are bitter.
10:10 So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
John will follow the command of the angel and find out that the scroll does taste sweet in his mouth, but it also leaves a bitter feeling in his stomach.
10:11 Then they told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
The angels will tell John that he will prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings. This little scroll will contain more prophecies about the middle of the Great Tribulation. The meaning of the sweet but bitter little scroll is that eschatological teachings should be sweet to the mouth, because the good guys will win in the end. However, the study of prophecy should also be bitter to the stomach, because so many people will be lost for eternity.
The main point of this bitterness is that prophecy should lead believers to be concerned about the lost. Prophecy should motivate the believer to take the gospel to the lost so that they do not experience the events of the Great Tribulation. It is very possible that the 144,000 Jewish evangelists might possibly hear the gospel from believers before the Rapture, but they reject it. Sometime after the Rapture, they may possibly remember this testimony and believe unto salvation. Therefore, it is very important for Gentile believers to witness to the Jews, because this Jewish individual may be one of the future 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will lead multitudes to Christ.