Tuesday, January 17

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Tuesday 

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.  He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion…Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.  And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay…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.”  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.”  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.  Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”  - Revelation 10:1-10 (selected)

John's role in the realization of the mystery of God is made known to him by an experience similar to one that the prophet Ezekiel had (Ezekiel 2).  The voice from heaven tells John to take the scroll from the angel's hand.  When he does so, the angel gives him further instructions: Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey (v. 9). The thought of eating the scroll instead of reading it is a little bit strange to our way of thinking.  It is a thought that would probably not have occurred to any of us had we been writing the story.  It appears that the common metaphor of a person "devouring" an good book has been taken literally!  

(As a side note; Eugene Peterson has written a wonderful book called “Eat This Book; A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading”, that deals with what it really means to meditate on the Word of God.)

We need to know Ezekiel's story from the Old Testament in order to understand what is going on here.  Ezekiel too was told to eat a scroll and "then go and speak to the house of Israel" (Ezek 3:1).  Unlike John, Ezekiel had seen the scroll actually being unrolled. "On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe".  When he ate it, "it tasted as sweet as honey" (Ezek 3:3), suggesting that Ezekiel's message would be sweet to him, though bitter to his hearers.  John's experience is more complex.  Nothing is said of what is written on the scroll, but the message is sweet as honey in John's mouth and sour in his stomach.  Even though John (and his fellow prophets) have the sweet privilege of hearing and delivering God's "good news", their prophecies will inevitably bring them sorrow and suffering.

These are questions that we would do well to reflect on…

Is the Word of God sweet to you?  Have you tasted the grace and mercy of God in His Word? 

Psalm 119:103 - How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

For those who know and trust in Jesus Christ, the Word of God is sweeter than the sweetest honey.

On the other hand, has the Word of God ever turned your stomach sour?  Have you ever felt the bitterness and sorrow of seeing people reject God and His Word?  The Word of God is indeed sweet, but it is not always easy for people to swallow.  


Jeff Frazier