1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” 5 And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, 7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is 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 told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
There are myriads of angels mentioned in the Bible, only four were mentioned specifically: Angel Gabriel (Luke 1), Archangel Michael (Jude 1), Angel Lucifer, fallen angel (Isaiah 14) and Angel Abaddon or Apollyon (Revelation 9). Chapter 10 tells us that John saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. This angel was not Abaddon. He was not named, so we do not know. But he was quite a mighty angel as John described in verses 1-4.
He was wrapped in a cloud, having a rainbow over his head, his head shining like the sun and his legs burning like pillars of fire. This angel had an opened scroll in his hand, with his right foot stepped on the sea and left foot on the earth. He spoke with a loud voice like a roaring lion, and the seven thunders. When John was about to write down what the angel said in the seven thunders, he was commanded not to do so, but to keep those words sealed. The reason is perhaps not to delay the sounding of the trumpet by the seventh angel and the fulfilment of the mystery of God (vv. 6-7).
The attention was turned to the little scroll that was held in angel’s hand. A voice from heaven commanded John to take the scroll and eat it, and it was sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach (vv. 8-10) In the Old Testament, Ezekiel also ate a scroll and found it sweet as honey (Ezek. 3:1-3, 10) and he was commanded to go to the rebellious people of Israel who refused to listen. So symbolically, the words of the scroll became bitter in the stomach.
This same experience also applied to John who ate the scroll, and it was sweet to his mouth and then turned bitter in his stomach. And John was told to prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings because they had all rebelled against the Lord.
But we know that there will also be those from the nation of Israel, and the nations of the world who belong to the Lord and will repent and be redeemed as we have read in Revelation 7:9-17.
Another Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
Ezekiel, Jeremiah and John all lived in difficult times. Ezekiel had the sad and unpleasant experience of seeing the glory of the Lord left the temple because of the rebellion and iniquity of the people (Ezek. 10:18). Jeremiah was persecuted and cried to the Lord to remember him and exact vengeance upon his persecutors (Jer. 15:15). John was exiled to the island of Patmos where he saw visions from the Lord that resulted in the Book of Revelation.
Very few of us are like the prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah or the Apostle John who had the privilege of seeing visions and eating a scroll of God’s book. However, every one of us has the word of God in our hands, the physical Bible that we read, or even electronic ones in our handphones. What are we doing with God’s word? Are we reading and eating our spiritual food and that they become our delight as Jeremiah said? Do we heed the warnings in the Book, like what happened to Ezekiel and John, that they became bitter in the stomach as to cause a stomach-ache, that we need to do something about it? Since we know the judgment to come, maybe we need to warn those around us so that they might repent and be redeemed from the coming judgment.
Dear Merciful and Just God, I thank you that you are not willing that any should perish but you desire everyone to come to repentance and be saved. Thank you that in my ignorance, you gently prod and draw me near to you to see your grace and salvation in Jesus Christ. Help me also be a conduit of your love and share the good news in the scroll of your Book that has written about Christ my Saviour and humbly warn those who have yet to know you to repent and be saved too. In Christ’s name I ask. Amen!
