END OF TIME PROPHECIES 128

The little book

"And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again and said, go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.   And I went unto the angel and said unto him, give me the little book.   And he said unto me, take it and eat it up and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.   And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.  And he said unto me thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings."
                                                                                                                   Revelation 10v8-11

The voice from heaven was the voice of Jesus Christ, the same voice as in verse 4, which prevented him from writing the details of the seven thunders.   The instructions in this little book (scroll) are unknown to us, but they are very important.   It is possible it was all about the seven vials of wrath that remained to be poured out upon the earth (as detailed in chapter 15 & 16).   In any case the book was open and so the seal had been broken and contains a very important divine communication.   There is much we can learn from these verses, because we also have been given a revelation from God in the form of the bible (Genesis through Revelation) and the principles applied here are the same as we should apply today.  

• Verse 8 he is asked to take the book from the hand of the angel.   Thus the angel who received it from the Lord is passing the responsibility to John the apostle.   It is remarkable that God places divine revelations in the hands of man, instead of angels.   Those who have received the blessing of salvation, with all its responsibilities are entrusted with the divine treasures.   The apostle Paul understood the weight of this when he wrote to Timothy in chapter 1v11 "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God which is committed to my trust;"  1st Timothy 6v20  "keep that which is committed to thy trust;" 2nd Timothy 2v2  "the things that thou hast learned of me, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."   Just as John here was entrusted with the little book of Revelation, whatever its contents, so we today have a priceless treasure in our hands, that brings with it a great responsibility.
• Next he was told to eat it up.   This is of course spiritual because God's revelation is to become the spiritual food of God's people.   In Matthew 4v4 God's words are described as bread, in 1st Peter 2v2, as milk, in 1st Corinthians 3v1-2 they are described as meat (also in Hebrews chapter5) and in Psalm 119v103 they are described as honey.   Back in the Old Testament prophets in Jeremiah 15v13-17 and Ezekiel 2v8-10 the two prophets are asked to eat the book, same story as here. Those who receive God's word are receiving spiritual food and the same as with natural food if we don't eat it, it will do us no good.  
• Also we have to digest it; the language is clear, in your mouth it will be sweet as honey, in your belly it will be bitter.   God's word is not only to be taken and eaten but to be digested.   Food that we take into our bodies eventually becomes part of our whole bodily system.   Spiritual food that we digest becomes part of our entire souls.   The point however being made here is very real.   It is sweet to the taste it is bitter when digested.   There are many things in God's word which are sweet; sweet promises, sweet blessings, sweet feelings, sweet hopes; but there are also things in God's word which are very bitter and very difficult to digest.   Some of those bitter things may be the divine chastisement on believers, it may be the truth of eternal punishment, it may be the awesome revelations of God's wrath here in the book of the revelation.   The book gives things which are beautiful but it predicts fearful judgment on the unbeliever.   There are many things in this book which are bitter but which are the truth.
• John is asked to prophesy it.   It is often easy to preach about things which are lovely and sweet, but we are also asked to preach those things which are bitter.   Notice the moral necessity placed upon John, and on all of us;  "Thou must prophesy again."   Revelation placed in our hand must be told to our fellow man.   Paul said something similar in 1st Corinthians 9v16  "Necessity is laid upon me; ye woe is me if I preach not the gospel."   The same man speaking to the elders at Ephesus said  in Acts 20v27 "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."  Things sweet, things bitter, he preached them all and so must we.   The prophet Isaiah in chapter 6 was asked by God to take an unpalatable message to the people of Israel in chapter 6v9  "Go and tell this people, hear ye indeed but understand not ......"

At 90 years of age John could not have continued preaching before nations and peoples and tongues and many kings as is commanded him in verse 11.   What it means is that his words transmitted universally by the church through the generations would be as if he was still preaching.   What a blessing that we need not be hindered by age or infirmity or even death.