Revelation 10:10:8-11 And I heard the voice which I had heard from heaven speaking again to me and saying: “Go, take the little roll which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” And I went away to the angel and asked him to give me the little roll. He said to me: “Take it and eat it. It will be bitter to your stomach but it will be as sweet as honey to your mouth.” And I took the little roll from the hand of the angel and ate it; and it was as sweet as honey to my mouth and, when I ate it, it was bitter to my stomach. And they said to me: “You must prophesy in regard to many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
Although John has been forbidden from writing down the message spoken by the seven thunder, he is now being given the opportunity to prophesy about the things that are about to happen all over the earth. Twice John is ordered to take the small roll (scroll) and he has to ask the angel before the angel gives it to him. God does not force Himself on anyone, neither is revelation forced on anyone. The whole universe tilts on the axis of free will; God has given men freedom to choose good from evil and to move toward Him or away from Him. Witchcraft and sorcery, on the other hand, have at their root the desire to control – to control people, demons, circumstances, the weather, nations, etc.
John is told to take the scroll and to eat it. The idea is that this prophesy will become an integral part of John’s body, something that he cannot possibly deny. In a sense, John will become a walking prophecy. The prophet Ezekiel had a similar experience that he described in Ezekiel 3 when he was fed a scroll. In both cases, the scroll is described as being as sweet as honey. Traditionally, when Jewish boys were learning to read, they were given sweet things as a reward for learning. The idea was to impress the boy that knowledge was sweet. Since John came from an observant Jewish background and was obviously literate, he might have had a similar experience when he was a child.
But the angel warns John that once John eats the scroll, it will give him indigestion! The words of the scroll are sweet because they are coming from God, but the prophecies John will be making are fearful ones. Remember that John lived in a time of great uncertainty. Armies such as the Parthians could suddenly appear on the horizon, bringing bloodshed and havoc. The Romans might decide that someone posed a threat to the Pax Romanus, the Roman Peace, and crucify them. Jesus was by no means the first person or the only person to be crucified by the Romans; crucifixion was a common form of capital punishment. About the time of Jesus, there was a rebellion and 400 of the rebels were crucified. And John has already glimpsed some of the horrors that will come upon the earth during the end times. No wonder that the scroll gave John abdominal pains!
What are we to learn from these few verses? Today there are many men and women who claim to be prophets but who are fakes and charlatans. Prophecy is not a mantle to be lightly assumed but a high and holy calling that demands everything the prophet can give. If you study the lives of the prophets in the Bible, you find that most of them suffered a great deal and many also died gruesome deaths. Haggai married an unfaithful prostitute upon God’s orders. Isaiah might have been sawed in two. Jeremiah was thrown into prison and at one point was dumped into a well full of muck, into which he was sinking when one of the king’s servants saved him. No! Prophecy is not merely a career; it is a calling, and one that you had better be sure of.
At the same time, remember that John was the disciple closest to Jesus. It was John of all the disciples who lived to an old age and who was granted the incredible privilege of receiving the vision that we know as the Book of Revelation. What a gift! But also remember that John was sitting on a bare rocky island as a prisoner when he had that vision. None of us can escape suffering; it is a part of life. But if we are faithful to follow God, He will give us visions of glory that will make the suffering worthwhile.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us so much that you sent Jesus to die for our sins. Thank you that you have made a way for us to be with you forever, if we will only believe in you and in what Jesus has done for us. Thank you for loving us even though we are sinners and thank you that if we confess our sins, you rare faithful and just to forgive our sins. Help us to learn the lessons you have for us in Revelation. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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