Journey Through The Bible
 Old Testament Reading: Joshua 4-6
 New Testament Reading: Revelation 10

Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter (Revelation 10:8-10).

Before the seventh trumpet is blown, a mighty angel comes down from heaven, placing one foot on the land and the other on the sea. The Seal Judgments affected one fourth of the population and the Trumpet Judgments affected one third. The angel placing his feet on the land and sea signifies that when the seventh trumpet is blown announcing the coming Bowl Judgments, they will affect the entire world.

The declaration of the angel fills us with awe, not only because of what he declares but also because of the way he declares it. It is a solemn scene, with his feet firmly planted on earth and his hand lifted to heaven. He declares, “there will no longer be a delay, but in the days when the seventh angel will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God will be completed” (v 6-7). God has been delaying His Judgments so that lost sinners will have time to repent (2 Peter 3:1-9), but now He will speed up His judgments and accomplish His purpose.

The directions John was then given from heaven seem strange to us. We cannot imagine anybody taking a book and eating the pages. Why would God make such a request for John?

John obeyed, and he physically ate the scroll. Though no interpretation is given, it seems evident that the message is to be understood symbolically. The scroll symbolizes the Word of God, and John was then told to proclaim God’s Word faithfully. It was not enough for John to see the scroll or even know its content and purpose. He had to receive it into his very being.

Throughout Scripture, God’s Word is compared to food; Bread (Matt 4:4), Milk (1 Peter 2:2), Meat (1 Cor. 3:1-2), and Honey (Psalms 119:103). Both Prophets Jeremiah (Jer. 15:16) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:9-3:4) knew what it was to eat the Word before they could share it with others.

God will not force us to receive His Word. He hands it to us, and we must take it. Nor can God change the effect it will have on our lives. There will be both joy and sorrow, sweetness and bitterness.

We eat God’s Word by spending time reading Scripture and listening to it taught, the sweet promises and assurances will become as honey in your mouth (v 9). But as we digest His Word by digging deeper through study and meditation, it becomes bitter in your stomach (v 9) as the Holy Spirit reveals our sins and shows us areas we need to change in our life.

This incident between the Apostle John and the Mighty Angel should stand as a vivid reminder of our responsibility to spend time with God every day reading His Word and meditating on it during our day. Then digest what we read, applying to our lives, making it a part of our very being.