In Revelation 10 John has a vision of a "mighty angel" with a little book in his hands. This is my interpretation of the little book.
"Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, 'Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.' So I went to the angel and said to him, 'Give me the little book.' And he said to me, 'Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.' Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.' " Revelation 10:8-11
I think it's probably a treaty of some kind between the nations of the world. It's a "little" book; it appears as a book but is much shorter than a book. In Daniel 9:27 we read: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
This "covenant" is the little book. At first it will seem sweet as honey; it will appear to be a grand solution to the plagues that have come upon the world. But in the middle of the week he will break the covenant and it will become bitter to the stomach.
In Revelation 10, the angel stands with one foot on land and one on the sea. This represents the whole world. Notice in v. 11: "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings." This is the first time this phrase appears in Revelation and it's immediately following the introduction of the little book.
"Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, 'Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.' So I went to the angel and said to him, 'Give me the little book.' And he said to me, 'Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.' Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. And he said to me, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.' " Revelation 10:8-11
I think it's probably a treaty of some kind between the nations of the world. It's a "little" book; it appears as a book but is much shorter than a book. In Daniel 9:27 we read: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
This "covenant" is the little book. At first it will seem sweet as honey; it will appear to be a grand solution to the plagues that have come upon the world. But in the middle of the week he will break the covenant and it will become bitter to the stomach.
In Revelation 10, the angel stands with one foot on land and one on the sea. This represents the whole world. Notice in v. 11: "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings." This is the first time this phrase appears in Revelation and it's immediately following the introduction of the little book.
you should put this passage about a little scroll being eaten by a prophet that is sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly, together with the other places in scripture where a little scroll is eaten by a prophet and is sweet in the mouth but bitter in the belly.
Like Ezekiel 3 and Jeremiah 15
John is a fantastic student of scripture. Everything in Revelation has precursors in the OT, and that's probably the best place to start looking.
The Word of God is spoken of many times there as being sweet in the tongue, better than food. The phrasing here in Revelation 10 is no accident and I think it far more likely John is being told to put the Word of God in his mouth than the word of Antichrist.
- 1
- Show all