God sends an angelic warrior with a message to John and commissions him to proclaim it to the whole world. The open scroll represents God’s authoritative word.
Wes
This is Episode 12 in our Revelation Bible Study Podcast entitled The Angel and the Little Scroll, where we’ll discuss Revelation 10:1-11. I’m Wes Treadway, and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, Revelation is a stunning and dramatic book. And we’ve just been through I think two of the most dramatic chapters in Revelation, Revelation 8 and 9 with the sounding of the seven trumpets. And it results in staggering ecological disaster on planet earth. And then an unleashing of a billowing smoke coming up from the pit representing demons that come out and bring such suffering to earth that people long to die. It’s just so horrible. It’s like nothing we can hardly imagine, the level of death and sorrow and pain. And then along comes chapter 10, and it’s kind of a quiet interlude.
It’s dramatic for John as he sees a mighty angel with his head up in the clouds and his foot on the land and another foot on the sea. And he’s got a scroll, and he commands John to take the scroll and to eat it and then to proclaim to many nations. It’s an interlude. But I think also, it speaks of the incredible importance of the written word of God, of the prophetic word on redemptive history. And so, John has a role to play as an apostle and revelator of these future things. He has a job to do just like the angel himself. The word angel, angelos means messenger. And so, just as the angel is a messenger, John is a messenger and we, the human race, we need that message. So, it’s an interlude and very dramatic, but it’s all about the importance of the written word of God.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read Revelation 10:1-11.
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. 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, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 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.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 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, 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.
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 angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 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.” 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. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
How does this description compare with the popular depiction of angels that we often see? And what’s the overall impression you get of the angel in verses 1-3? What words might we use to describe him?
Andy
Well, let me answer your second question first. The word is overpowering. This is an angelic warrior, it seems. He’s terrifying. He’s awesome in his appearance and in his glory and his strength. He’s a mighty warrior angel. That directly contrasts the way that angels are often depicted. I think older artwork maybe in the Victorian age, frequently portrayed angels as chubby babies with wings, I guess, firing bows and arrows like Cupid or something. But more recently in my lifetime, if there’s an angel, especially around Christmastime and all that, usually women with long, flowing hair and beautiful dresses, things like that, which has no biblical support at all. Angels are usually depicted as young men. We know they don’t have human bodies, but that’s their depiction. But here as a mighty warrior, so it’s a tremendous thing. If you were in the presence of such an angel, you would be overwhelmed with terror. That’s a sense, he’s a warrior, is what he is.
Wes
Now, what’s the significance of him being clothed with a cloud, with a rainbow upon his head and his face shining like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire?
Andy
Well, also we have this in Ezekiel, the angelic beings there, the cherubim, they’re called. There are fiery beings, they’re characterized by brightness and fire. Angels are like winds and flames of fire, the author of Hebrews tells us. So, there’s that sense of brightness and glory. And we know that the glory of the Lord shown all around the angelic messenger that went to the shepherds outside Bethlehem. So, there’s a sense of brightness so often that we’ve got that sense of fire and of purity and holiness. So, I think it’s a combination of purity, like God is a consuming fire, and the angels are like him. They are holy angels.
And so, this angel has an appearance like this, his face like the sun and his legs like fiery pillars. So, there’s brightness and there’s a sense also, he’s immense. His head reaches up into the clouds. And so, you get the sense of the cosmos here. Because in a moment we’ll talk about him putting his foot in the land and his other foot in the sea. He’s got all areas of the created order consumed here or united to some degree in this being. He’s come down from heaven, his head is still up in the clouds, he’s got a rainbow around his head and he’s down there on earth as well. So, it’s an overpowering image.
Wes
What does the angel have in his hand and how does John describe it here in verse 2?
Andy
He’s holding a little scroll. The scroll represents writing; it’s a form of communication. I believe this whole chapter is about the angelic messenger bringing a message to John and commissioning John to proclaim that message to the entire world. The scroll that lay open in his hand represents a message from Almighty God to the human race.
Wes
Now, you mentioned this a moment ago, but now we can unpack it in a little more detail. What is the significance of the angel’s stance with one foot on the land, the other foot in the sea? And how does the sound of this angel’s voice as described by John contribute to the sense of this angel’s power?
everything that God created is under the word of God. It is by his word that he rules everything
Andy
Yeah, he is definitely giving a vision of dominant power like he’s a warrior. And John is meant to just be overwhelmed by that. Very much similar to Daniel 10, when the angel came to bring him the content of the vision and the prophetic message of Daniel 11 on to Daniel 12. So, angels are messengers, the image here of his head up in the clouds, the rainbow and all that. Then down below his legs like pillars of fire and one foot on the land. And the other foot on the sea kind of subsumes all of creation. His stance means everything that God created is under the word of God. It is by his word that he rules everything because the scroll which lay open. And that represents the willingness God has to reveal his mind through the prophetic writings to the world. That’s what it represents here, but it’s overpowering, it’s terrifying. And so, John is, I think meant to be drawn in by this and overpowered by it.
Wes
What then are the seven thunders of verse 4, and what did John hear along with those seven peals of thunder?
Andy
All right, so the seven thunders… Really, I don’t know what they are. You asked what they are, and I’ve never heard of them before. I mean, it just kind of comes up in this revelation, but I think the idea is he has a voice like the roar of a lion, so it’s very loud. And then the seven thunders speak, it’s like an electrical storm in the background. But again, I think we’re used to mechanical sounds like a jet engine or an explosion or something like that. But I think before gunpowder, before explosions, before machines that made loud noises, the loudest noises were natural. And I can’t imagine a louder noise, natural noise than thunder, like a clap of thunder. It’s very loud, it’s terrifying. Obviously, a volcanic eruption would be louder, but that’s so rare that you could go your whole life, never hear it. So, these are seven thunders, the number seven being the number of perfection or completion.
So, these are perhaps seven angelic beings whose each of them, their voices, is like thunder. And so, when he shouted… This mighty warrior messenger angel shouts like the roar of a lion, the seven thunders spoke. And so, there’s this cumulative sense of power coming into the ears and the mind of John. Concerning what John heard along with the peals of the seven thunders, he was told, a voice came from heaven telling him, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” So, you have an open scroll, a scroll that lay open in the angel’s hand representing things God does want us to know. And then we’ve got other forms of communication that are intelligible to John such that he has to be commanded not to write it down. He would’ve understood it and wrote it down, but those are things that it’s not time for earth to know. And so, it’s the idea of a limited revelation. There are some things that are secret that God’s holding onto himself and then there are other things that he wants to be revealed.
Wes
What stance does the angel take next and for what purpose?
Andy
The text says that his right foot was in the sea and his left foot in the land. I have no idea why that specificity is given to us. We don’t know, but it is. And so, we have that information. Anyway, in verses 5 and 6, he takes an oath stance basically. Like somebody that raises their right hand up to heaven and swears. And that’s what this angel does. And the oath is meant according to the author to Hebrews to confirm what is said and give people a sense of absolute certitude about it. It’s not needed. Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.” Angels don’t lie. We remember that story about Gabriel that was sent to Zechariah to tell him that his wife was going to be pregnant with a boy. And he didn’t believe him, and he was struck dumb for a number of months.
It’s like, you got to believe an angel. But the angel wants to give a sense of certitude to John and through John to the entire human race. So, he’s taking an oath, he swears by “him who lives forever and ever, by him who created the heavens and all that is in them, by the one who created the earth and all that is in it, and the one who created the sea and all that is in them.” That’s Almighty God, the Creator and ruler of all things. He swears by God there will be no more delay.
Wes
What will happen when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet and what is the mystery of God that’s mentioned then in verse 7?
Andy
We’re told in verse 7, “In the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished just as he announced to his servants, the prophets.” So, there is a plan or purpose for the history of the sinful human race. And it’s consummated in the Book of Revelation. The final events of God’s plan are going to be finished. And so, when the seventh trumpet is about to sound, then the mystery of God is going to be accomplished in all of that. And also, as the angel had sworn, there’ll be no more delay. We needed to step back and look at what’s already happened in the Book of Revelation. We’ve got the seven seals that have been broken open, then you’ve got the seven trumpets, and earth is basically like a smoldering ruin. And it’s not going to be much longer.
The end of the world is coming, the second coming of Christ is coming, the new heaven, new earth is coming, all of that is coming. There’s not going to be a long delay. And so, in the days right before the seventh angel is going to sound his trumpet, God is going to see to it that the mystery that he has held back will be accomplished. And he’s going to describe it in the rest of the chapters of the Book of Revelation, but even more clearly in the unfolding events that will occur right before the Second Coming of Christ.
Wes
What did the voice command John to do? And what’s the significance of this action?
Andy
All right, so the voice that spoke from heaven commanded John to go take the scroll that lay open in the hand of the angel that was standing in the sea and the land. So, he went to take this scroll. And so, the idea is like the angel himself, John is a messenger, a mediator between God and the human race. And so, the angel brings the revelation to the human writer, and then he is commanded to take this scroll. And he went to the angel in verse 9 and asked him to give him the scroll. And then the angel talks about the scroll, and we’ll get into that in a moment.
John is a messenger, a mediator between God and the human race.
This by the way, reminds me of the chain of command that we get at the very beginning of the Book of Revelation where it says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, Jesus, to show his servants what must soon take place. He, Jesus, made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who wrote these things down” (Revelation 1:1). It’s the same thing here in chapter 10. So Almighty God sends to earth this angel with a scroll. John then is the human recipient of the scroll. And he’s going to write it down and that’s where the rest of the book of Revelation is coming from.
Wes
All right, so what does the angel say and what does he say will be the effect of that? And then what is the effect of John’s response?
Andy
All right, so he goes and asks for the scroll, and the angel wants to give it to him. At first, he wants to tell him about the effect of the scroll. He says, “Go ahead and take it and eat it. And when you eat it will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth, it will be sweet as honey.” So, John does the things he’s been told to do. He went and took the scroll from the angel, and he ate it as the angel told him to do. And in fact, that’s exactly what happened. It tasted his sweet as honey in his mouth, but when he had eaten it, it turned his stomach sour. Now this must remind us, of course, of Ezekiel 3:1-4. And there, in Ezekiel, the same thing happens.
It says there,
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So, I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat the scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.”
So, this is the prophetic office is what it is. But what we have here is some symbolic language of the effect of the prophetic message on the prophet, in this case the apostle John. It has a very strong effect. And so, we need to talk about what that effect is.
Wes
Yeah. What’s the final command given to John and how does it describe the role of the church until the end?
Andy
Okay, so he takes the scroll, and he eats it, and it has this effect, sweet as honey in his mouth and it turns his stomach sour. And then he’s told in verse 11, “You must prophesy again,” either to or about or again.” So, the language is not clear, “Many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” So, this is a prophetic commissioning. It’s like a commissioning service right in the middle of the Book of Revelation. But let’s talk about the sweet and sour aspect. The word of God is often depicted as sweet as honey. So, for example, in Psalm 19, it says that God’s word is sweeter than honey from a honeycomb. And so, it’s a wonderful, delightful thing that God speaks to us. And why is that? It’s because the overall final outcome of God’s plan of redemption is glorious, beautiful and satisfying.
the overall final outcome of God’s plan of redemption is glorious, beautiful and satisfying.
Revelation 21:22, A new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, radiant with the glory of God, death, mourning, crying, and pain, gone, all sin gone, all of the decay and corruption over. A perfect world in which at last we will love God with all of our hearts, soul, mind and strength and love one another as we love ourselves. And we will be done with death, and we’ll be in resurrection bodies. That can’t be anything but sweet. But the journey from where John was at to that end is very sour or bitter. And why is that?
Because the overwhelming majority of human beings will die and go to hell. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). So, it’s just huge numbers of people that are going to be slaughtered and then judged at the great white throne judgment-sent to hell, the lake of fire. And that’s terrifying. And the foretaste of it will be the ravaging of planet earth, the terrible judgments that are coming. And so, ultimately, it’s sweet for the people of God, but the journey is pretty sour, like it would make you want to vomit. So, his stomach has turned sour. But he is told that he must go preach. And so, this prophetic word is going to go out to every tribe and language and people and nation or the four words given here are peoples, nations, languages and kings.
Wes
Andy, what final thoughts do you have for this? The 10th chapter in the book of Revelation that we’ve been looking at today?
Andy
Well, just as we sit here in week by week, we do these podcasts, and it’s very exciting. I can’t think of a more profitable work that we could be doing than to study carefully the written word of God. And to take to heart what’s written in it and to live accordingly. And so, the word of God is powerful, and it’s living and active. But it covers some of the most awesome themes. And some of it includes death and carnage and destruction, and it’s very grievous. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Paul had unceasing sorrow and anguish over Jews that were on their way to hell. And so, it’s a very sobering thing, but it’s also a very sweet thing as well.
And so, this whole chapter is about the commissioning of John to take a message that has come from heaven to earth through angelic mediators and a human mediator, John. And has been delivered to us now providentially over 20 centuries. Been preserved and copied by copyists and sovereignly overruled by God. So here we have it. And we have the privilege of reading it. And our hearers as we are going through this podcast, have the privilege of going through it themselves. And so, what it does is it gives me a sense of the seriousness of the word of God and the importance of taking it to heart and living accordingly.
Wes
Well, this has been Episode 12 in our Revelation Bible Study Podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode 13 entitled The Two Witnesses, where we’ll discuss Revelation 11:1-14. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys Podcast. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Wes
This is Episode 12 in our Revelation Bible Study Podcast entitled The Angel and the Little Scroll, where we’ll discuss Revelation 10:1-11. I’m Wes Treadway, and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, Revelation is a stunning and dramatic book. And we’ve just been through I think two of the most dramatic chapters in Revelation, Revelation 8 and 9 with the sounding of the seven trumpets. And it results in staggering ecological disaster on planet earth. And then an unleashing of a billowing smoke coming up from the pit representing demons that come out and bring such suffering to earth that people long to die. It’s just so horrible. It’s like nothing we can hardly imagine, the level of death and sorrow and pain. And then along comes chapter 10, and it’s kind of a quiet interlude.
It’s dramatic for John as he sees a mighty angel with his head up in the clouds and his foot on the land and another foot on the sea. And he’s got a scroll, and he commands John to take the scroll and to eat it and then to proclaim to many nations. It’s an interlude. But I think also, it speaks of the incredible importance of the written word of God, of the prophetic word on redemptive history. And so, John has a role to play as an apostle and revelator of these future things. He has a job to do just like the angel himself. The word angel, angelos means messenger. And so, just as the angel is a messenger, John is a messenger and we, the human race, we need that message. So, it’s an interlude and very dramatic, but it’s all about the importance of the written word of God.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read Revelation 10:1-11.
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. 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, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 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.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 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, 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.
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 angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 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.” 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. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
How does this description compare with the popular depiction of angels that we often see? And what’s the overall impression you get of the angel in verses 1-3? What words might we use to describe him?
Andy
Well, let me answer your second question first. The word is overpowering. This is an angelic warrior, it seems. He’s terrifying. He’s awesome in his appearance and in his glory and his strength. He’s a mighty warrior angel. That directly contrasts the way that angels are often depicted. I think older artwork maybe in the Victorian age, frequently portrayed angels as chubby babies with wings, I guess, firing bows and arrows like Cupid or something. But more recently in my lifetime, if there’s an angel, especially around Christmastime and all that, usually women with long, flowing hair and beautiful dresses, things like that, which has no biblical support at all. Angels are usually depicted as young men. We know they don’t have human bodies, but that’s their depiction. But here as a mighty warrior, so it’s a tremendous thing. If you were in the presence of such an angel, you would be overwhelmed with terror. That’s a sense, he’s a warrior, is what he is.
Wes
Now, what’s the significance of him being clothed with a cloud, with a rainbow upon his head and his face shining like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire?
Andy
Well, also we have this in Ezekiel, the angelic beings there, the cherubim, they’re called. There are fiery beings, they’re characterized by brightness and fire. Angels are like winds and flames of fire, the author of Hebrews tells us. So, there’s that sense of brightness and glory. And we know that the glory of the Lord shown all around the angelic messenger that went to the shepherds outside Bethlehem. So, there’s a sense of brightness so often that we’ve got that sense of fire and of purity and holiness. So, I think it’s a combination of purity, like God is a consuming fire, and the angels are like him. They are holy angels.
And so, this angel has an appearance like this, his face like the sun and his legs like fiery pillars. So, there’s brightness and there’s a sense also, he’s immense. His head reaches up into the clouds. And so, you get the sense of the cosmos here. Because in a moment we’ll talk about him putting his foot in the land and his other foot in the sea. He’s got all areas of the created order consumed here or united to some degree in this being. He’s come down from heaven, his head is still up in the clouds, he’s got a rainbow around his head and he’s down there on earth as well. So, it’s an overpowering image.
Wes
What does the angel have in his hand and how does John describe it here in verse 2?
Andy
He’s holding a little scroll. The scroll represents writing; it’s a form of communication. I believe this whole chapter is about the angelic messenger bringing a message to John and commissioning John to proclaim that message to the entire world. The scroll that lay open in his hand represents a message from Almighty God to the human race.
Wes
Now, you mentioned this a moment ago, but now we can unpack it in a little more detail. What is the significance of the angel’s stance with one foot on the land, the other foot in the sea? And how does the sound of this angel’s voice as described by John contribute to the sense of this angel’s power?
everything that God created is under the word of God. It is by his word that he rules everything
Andy
Yeah, he is definitely giving a vision of dominant power like he’s a warrior. And John is meant to just be overwhelmed by that. Very much similar to Daniel 10, when the angel came to bring him the content of the vision and the prophetic message of Daniel 11 on to Daniel 12. So, angels are messengers, the image here of his head up in the clouds, the rainbow and all that. Then down below his legs like pillars of fire and one foot on the land. And the other foot on the sea kind of subsumes all of creation. His stance means everything that God created is under the word of God. It is by his word that he rules everything because the scroll which lay open. And that represents the willingness God has to reveal his mind through the prophetic writings to the world. That’s what it represents here, but it’s overpowering, it’s terrifying. And so, John is, I think meant to be drawn in by this and overpowered by it.
Wes
What then are the seven thunders of verse 4, and what did John hear along with those seven peals of thunder?
Andy
All right, so the seven thunders… Really, I don’t know what they are. You asked what they are, and I’ve never heard of them before. I mean, it just kind of comes up in this revelation, but I think the idea is he has a voice like the roar of a lion, so it’s very loud. And then the seven thunders speak, it’s like an electrical storm in the background. But again, I think we’re used to mechanical sounds like a jet engine or an explosion or something like that. But I think before gunpowder, before explosions, before machines that made loud noises, the loudest noises were natural. And I can’t imagine a louder noise, natural noise than thunder, like a clap of thunder. It’s very loud, it’s terrifying. Obviously, a volcanic eruption would be louder, but that’s so rare that you could go your whole life, never hear it. So, these are seven thunders, the number seven being the number of perfection or completion.
So, these are perhaps seven angelic beings whose each of them, their voices, is like thunder. And so, when he shouted… This mighty warrior messenger angel shouts like the roar of a lion, the seven thunders spoke. And so, there’s this cumulative sense of power coming into the ears and the mind of John. Concerning what John heard along with the peals of the seven thunders, he was told, a voice came from heaven telling him, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” So, you have an open scroll, a scroll that lay open in the angel’s hand representing things God does want us to know. And then we’ve got other forms of communication that are intelligible to John such that he has to be commanded not to write it down. He would’ve understood it and wrote it down, but those are things that it’s not time for earth to know. And so, it’s the idea of a limited revelation. There are some things that are secret that God’s holding onto himself and then there are other things that he wants to be revealed.
Wes
What stance does the angel take next and for what purpose?
Andy
The text says that his right foot was in the sea and his left foot in the land. I have no idea why that specificity is given to us. We don’t know, but it is. And so, we have that information. Anyway, in verses 5 and 6, he takes an oath stance basically. Like somebody that raises their right hand up to heaven and swears. And that’s what this angel does. And the oath is meant according to the author to Hebrews to confirm what is said and give people a sense of absolute certitude about it. It’s not needed. Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.” Angels don’t lie. We remember that story about Gabriel that was sent to Zechariah to tell him that his wife was going to be pregnant with a boy. And he didn’t believe him, and he was struck dumb for a number of months.
It’s like, you got to believe an angel. But the angel wants to give a sense of certitude to John and through John to the entire human race. So, he’s taking an oath, he swears by “him who lives forever and ever, by him who created the heavens and all that is in them, by the one who created the earth and all that is in it, and the one who created the sea and all that is in them.” That’s Almighty God, the Creator and ruler of all things. He swears by God there will be no more delay.
Wes
What will happen when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet and what is the mystery of God that’s mentioned then in verse 7?
Andy
We’re told in verse 7, “In the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished just as he announced to his servants, the prophets.” So, there is a plan or purpose for the history of the sinful human race. And it’s consummated in the Book of Revelation. The final events of God’s plan are going to be finished. And so, when the seventh trumpet is about to sound, then the mystery of God is going to be accomplished in all of that. And also, as the angel had sworn, there’ll be no more delay. We needed to step back and look at what’s already happened in the Book of Revelation. We’ve got the seven seals that have been broken open, then you’ve got the seven trumpets, and earth is basically like a smoldering ruin. And it’s not going to be much longer.
The end of the world is coming, the second coming of Christ is coming, the new heaven, new earth is coming, all of that is coming. There’s not going to be a long delay. And so, in the days right before the seventh angel is going to sound his trumpet, God is going to see to it that the mystery that he has held back will be accomplished. And he’s going to describe it in the rest of the chapters of the Book of Revelation, but even more clearly in the unfolding events that will occur right before the Second Coming of Christ.
Wes
What did the voice command John to do? And what’s the significance of this action?
Andy
All right, so the voice that spoke from heaven commanded John to go take the scroll that lay open in the hand of the angel that was standing in the sea and the land. So, he went to take this scroll. And so, the idea is like the angel himself, John is a messenger, a mediator between God and the human race. And so, the angel brings the revelation to the human writer, and then he is commanded to take this scroll. And he went to the angel in verse 9 and asked him to give him the scroll. And then the angel talks about the scroll, and we’ll get into that in a moment.
John is a messenger, a mediator between God and the human race.
This by the way, reminds me of the chain of command that we get at the very beginning of the Book of Revelation where it says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, Jesus, to show his servants what must soon take place. He, Jesus, made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who wrote these things down” (Revelation 1:1). It’s the same thing here in chapter 10. So Almighty God sends to earth this angel with a scroll. John then is the human recipient of the scroll. And he’s going to write it down and that’s where the rest of the book of Revelation is coming from.
Wes
All right, so what does the angel say and what does he say will be the effect of that? And then what is the effect of John’s response?
Andy
All right, so he goes and asks for the scroll, and the angel wants to give it to him. At first, he wants to tell him about the effect of the scroll. He says, “Go ahead and take it and eat it. And when you eat it will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth, it will be sweet as honey.” So, John does the things he’s been told to do. He went and took the scroll from the angel, and he ate it as the angel told him to do. And in fact, that’s exactly what happened. It tasted his sweet as honey in his mouth, but when he had eaten it, it turned his stomach sour. Now this must remind us, of course, of Ezekiel 3:1-4. And there, in Ezekiel, the same thing happens.
It says there,
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So, I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat the scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.”
So, this is the prophetic office is what it is. But what we have here is some symbolic language of the effect of the prophetic message on the prophet, in this case the apostle John. It has a very strong effect. And so, we need to talk about what that effect is.
Wes
Yeah. What’s the final command given to John and how does it describe the role of the church until the end?
Andy
Okay, so he takes the scroll, and he eats it, and it has this effect, sweet as honey in his mouth and it turns his stomach sour. And then he’s told in verse 11, “You must prophesy again,” either to or about or again.” So, the language is not clear, “Many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” So, this is a prophetic commissioning. It’s like a commissioning service right in the middle of the Book of Revelation. But let’s talk about the sweet and sour aspect. The word of God is often depicted as sweet as honey. So, for example, in Psalm 19, it says that God’s word is sweeter than honey from a honeycomb. And so, it’s a wonderful, delightful thing that God speaks to us. And why is that? It’s because the overall final outcome of God’s plan of redemption is glorious, beautiful and satisfying.
the overall final outcome of God’s plan of redemption is glorious, beautiful and satisfying.
Revelation 21:22, A new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, radiant with the glory of God, death, mourning, crying, and pain, gone, all sin gone, all of the decay and corruption over. A perfect world in which at last we will love God with all of our hearts, soul, mind and strength and love one another as we love ourselves. And we will be done with death, and we’ll be in resurrection bodies. That can’t be anything but sweet. But the journey from where John was at to that end is very sour or bitter. And why is that?
Because the overwhelming majority of human beings will die and go to hell. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). So, it’s just huge numbers of people that are going to be slaughtered and then judged at the great white throne judgment-sent to hell, the lake of fire. And that’s terrifying. And the foretaste of it will be the ravaging of planet earth, the terrible judgments that are coming. And so, ultimately, it’s sweet for the people of God, but the journey is pretty sour, like it would make you want to vomit. So, his stomach has turned sour. But he is told that he must go preach. And so, this prophetic word is going to go out to every tribe and language and people and nation or the four words given here are peoples, nations, languages and kings.
Wes
Andy, what final thoughts do you have for this? The 10th chapter in the book of Revelation that we’ve been looking at today?
Andy
Well, just as we sit here in week by week, we do these podcasts, and it’s very exciting. I can’t think of a more profitable work that we could be doing than to study carefully the written word of God. And to take to heart what’s written in it and to live accordingly. And so, the word of God is powerful, and it’s living and active. But it covers some of the most awesome themes. And some of it includes death and carnage and destruction, and it’s very grievous. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Paul had unceasing sorrow and anguish over Jews that were on their way to hell. And so, it’s a very sobering thing, but it’s also a very sweet thing as well.
And so, this whole chapter is about the commissioning of John to take a message that has come from heaven to earth through angelic mediators and a human mediator, John. And has been delivered to us now providentially over 20 centuries. Been preserved and copied by copyists and sovereignly overruled by God. So here we have it. And we have the privilege of reading it. And our hearers as we are going through this podcast, have the privilege of going through it themselves. And so, what it does is it gives me a sense of the seriousness of the word of God and the importance of taking it to heart and living accordingly.
Wes
Well, this has been Episode 12 in our Revelation Bible Study Podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode 13 entitled The Two Witnesses, where we’ll discuss Revelation 11:1-14. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys Podcast. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
