Revelation 10:8-11….Not everything is good to eat!

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.” 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.”

Comment: Having re-read yesterday’s comments I am persuaded that this angel was not Jesus or I think that John would have fallen onto his knees with his head touching the ground. I remember watching an interview between David Frost and Billy Graham. When asked by Frost what Billy Graham would do if Jesus now walked into the room, Billy Graham replied ‘Fall to my knees in worship’. John didn’t do that but Abraham did in the OT and I think John would have. We are told not to worship angels. So John, as commanded, took the scroll and also as commanded ate it. The scroll I am pretty certain had to be concerning the future, I don’t know what it was made of, but it tasted sweet as honey, but digested was nauseating and extremely bitter. We are not given a translation but I think that in the end the message in the scroll would have been good even very good for the future, but in the meantime the message would be very difficult! We’ll return to this enthralling book after Christmas.

Prayer: We don’t know the future well – we walk by faith not sight. But thank You that You do give us the overall picture in Your Word.