“Eating an Angel’s Book?”
(Revelation 10:1-11)
Series: Understanding The Book Of Revelation
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church, Henderson KY
9-17-06 (AM)
- Please open your Bible to Revelation, chapter 10.
We are continuing our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Revelation. The Apostle John is giving us visions of the future that he saw while in the throne room of heaven. The previous chapter gives us the fifth and sixth of seven total trumpet judgments, these are judgments to take place on the earth during a period known as the Great Tribulation. Before the seventh trumpet is sounded we have again one of these divine interludes, or parentheses, a pause in the action. And that’s what we encounter in chapter 10, a pause in the action as we read about a mighty angel descending down from heaven, holding a little book in his hand.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of the word of God.
1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”
5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven
6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,
7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
8 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.”
9 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.”
10 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.
11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
- Pray.
Introduction:
According to their web-site, BOOKS2EAT.com, “The International Edible Book Festival is a yearly event that takes place on April 1 throughout the world. This event unites [lovers of books], book artists and food lovers to celebrate the ingestion of culture and its fulfilling nourishment.” Every year in April, people all over the world celebrate annual “Edible Book Festivals” where “participants create edible books that are exhibited, documented then consumed.”
If you think a festival celebrating the creating and consuming of edible books is a bit off-center, then you must have been even more surprised the first time you read Revelation chapter 10 and read about John’s eating this book that an angel gave him. I mean, it is admittedly an odd thing, isn’t it—literally eating a book?
Well, we must remember that Revelation is a book of truth conveyed to us in signs and symbols. Chapter 10 is a vision that John has had in heaven. And there is truth about God and the future in this vision that God wants us to know. In these 11 verses, there are some actions we’re to take if we’re going to know God and His ways more fully. First:
I. We Must Look at the Majesty of God’s Power (1-4)
1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
Remember John has been watching angels from heaven blowing trumpets which are signs of God’s judgment upon the earth during the future tribulation period. There are seven of these angels. But John says, “I saw still another mighty angel.” The word “another” in the original Greek refers to “another of the same kind.” So John says, “I saw still another one of these angels, a might angel, coming down from heaven.”
When you read the description of this angel it reminds you of the description of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ back in chapter one. This angel is a “mighty” angel, a strong angel that shares in and reflects the majesty and glory of God’s power.
In contrast to the fallen angels of the previous chapter, the demons that ascended upward from the depths of hell, we have now in this chapter a mighty angel descending downward from the glories of heaven. He is “clothed with a cloud,” a symbol of the majesty of God’s power. Clouds are often associated with the power of God. We read of God’s leading Israel by a cloud, His appearing in a cloud at Mount Sinai, His appearing in a cloud in the tabernacle, Christ’s being overshadowed by a cloud at the mount of transfiguration, Christ’s ascending up to heaven in a cloud, and we read that when Christ comes again, He will return in like manner, literally, “coming with clouds.” This angel reflects the glory and majesty of God’s power. He is clothed with a cloud.
Then the Bible says “a rainbow was on his head.” We think here of the sign of God’s promise to Noah, that he would never again destroy the earth by flood. We think also of the vision of the rainbow at God’s throne that John saw back in the throne room in chapter 4.
“His face was like the sun.” This mighty angel shares in and reflects the brilliant, shining glory and majesty of God’s power. “And his feet like pillars of fire,” again symbolic of the strength and might and majesty of God’s power.
2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
The “little book” most likely refers to the seven-sealed scroll we have been reading about. The scroll was originally in God the Father’s hand. Then the Lord Jesus Christ took the scroll and its seven seals are opened up. And now the scroll, which has been progressively opened up, is in a smaller form as it lies open in the mighty angel’s hand.
Then we read that as this angel descends downward from heaven that, “he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.” This action refers to God’s sovereign power over creation. When a king conquered a land he would ritualistically place his foot upon that land as a symbol and sign that the land belonged to him. That the angel has one foot on the “sea” and one foot on the “land” reminds us that God owns both “land” and “sea.” He is in control of the whole world. We read a little later of the angel making an oath by God who “lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea, and the things that are in it (v.6).”
The truth of God’s control over His creation is especially important to remember when it seems that everything is coming to pieces. The old children’s song teaches the truth. “He’s got the whole world in His hands; He’s got the whole wide world in His hands; He’s got you and me, brother, in His hands; He’s got you and me, sister, in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands.” Remember that truth this week. The God who controls everything always has time to lovingly cradle you and your cares in His precious hands.
3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”
The seven thunders are literally words that come from heaven. We know that because we are told that the seven thunders “uttered their voices” and that when John hears the words he is about to write them down. But then John hears a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” Do not write down what you have heard.
This is the only place in the book of Revelation where something remains sealed up, and undisclosed. There are all kinds of commentators out there who will speculate as to what the seven thunders uttered, but I think they miss the larger point. God, in the majesty of His power, is under no obligation to tell us anything. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever—.” There are things God conceals and there are things God reveals.
I like that! There are some things we just don’t need to know. God knows and that’s enough. There are things that have happened to you that you don’t understand, but God knows and that’s enough. He knows everything and He’s in control of everything so, listen: Don’t worry yourself with the details. It’s like that prayer prompt in our Revival Prayer Guide last week that quoted Martin Luther as saying: “Pray, and let God worry.” Don’t worry yourself with the details. You don’t need to know everything. There are some things that God has concealed and there are some things that God has revealed. This takes us very naturally into our second point where we read about the revealing of His plan, a plan He calls a “mystery.” Number two:
II. We Must Learn the Mystery of God’s Plan (5-7)
5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven
6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,
7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
So this mighty angel raises his hand and swears an oath in the name of the Living God. The promise he makes is given in the latter part of verse 6: “that there should be delay no longer.” This phrase is a direct answer to the cry of the Christians during the Tribulation period. You may recall John’s vision of the altar back in Revelation 6:10 where he saw the “souls of those who had been slain” during the tribulation period. They were crying out for justice and their cry is, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood?” So here’s the answer: “No more delay.” The end is very near and will soon be consummated in the events unfolding when the seventh trumpet sounds as verse 7 indicates.
Verse 7, “But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.” The word “mystery” there is a word that simply refers to God’s plan, His ultimate plan for all creation. We’ll be reading about the seventh trumpet in a future message, but for now just know that it refers to the final events of the end of time. The background is found in Daniel 12. John is saying that the events of the end predicted by Daniel is about to unfold very quickly.
So the “mystery of God” simply refers to the ultimate plan of God that is eventually revealed by the coming future events. It is God’s purpose for His creation, namely redemption through the work of Jesus Christ and the ultimate consummation of God’s kingdom on earth. Remember the prayer from Matthew 6, “The kingdom come.” The mystery of God is the unveiling of His plan, the ultimate coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s kingdom when all of the injustice is removed and Christ reigns supreme on the earth. Thy kingdom come. It is the coming of God’s kingdom for which we must live and it is the coming of God’s kingdom for which we must long.
There are times we especially long for the coming of God’s kingdom, the ultimate fulfillment of His plan, His “mystery” fully consummated. There are times we cry out with the saints of Revelation 6, “How Long, How long? How long until you avenge the injustice to Christians?”
Just this week in the news we’ve seen things happen that cause us to cry out, “How long until there is no more delay until the fulfillment of Your ‘mystery,’ God, your perfect plan?” On Monday (September 11th), for example, Princeton University’s Peter Singer argued for the killing of newborn babies just because they are disabled. This is a professor at the prestigious Princeton University. Hard to believe this popular Ivy-League school began as an institution once bathed in Scripture, a school whose third president was the great preacher-theologian Jonathan Edwards. And we cry out, “How long?”
On Tuesday (September 12th), Pope Benedict quoted an early Byzantine Christian emperor, factually quoted the man accurately, a man from the 14th century who factually referred to the more violent teachings of Islam and now Islamic extremists are burning churches and threatening the Pope’s life, demanding that he apologize—apparently that he should apologize for telling the truth. And Christians cry out, “How long?”
Then on Wednesday (September 13th) we had to put up with Rosie O’Donnell on ABC’s “The View” asserting bizarre things like when she said, quote, “Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state.” I’m not sure what all she means by that but surely she’s not equating our religious freedom in America with the radical act of suicidal terrorists flying airplanes into buildings in order to kill innocent people. And Christians cry out, “How long?”
How much longer, Lord, do we have to put up with this stuff? Well, the good news is that Jesus Christ is coming again and when He does everything that’s messed up will be forever fixed. Justice will be served. Learn the mystery of God’s plan: God’s kingdom will come. God’s will—will be done—on earth as it is in heaven.
Here’s the third action we must take in order to know God and His ways more fully:
III. We Must Listen to the Message of God’s Prophecy (8-11)
8 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.”
9 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.”
10 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.
John literally eats the word of God! He eats this little book, this little scroll, the angel gave him. This vision has its background in Ezekiel chapters 2-3, where we read of Ezekiel’s eating a scroll that God gave him. Now of course, John’s eating of God’s prophetic words is symbolic of our reading the word of God, and listening to and living out His message.
We speak often of “digesting” a news article, or “devouring” a book. We mean that we read it and we learn from it. In the Bible, God refers to His word as bread (Matthew 4:4), milk (1 Peter 2:2), meat (1 Corinthians 3:1-2), and honey (Psalm 119:103). In 1 Peter 5:2, God instructs the pastor to “feed the flock.” That is my number one priority as pastor, as under-shepherd of this church: to preach the word, feeding the flock of God through the exposition of Scripture.
And note the effect of the word of God upon us. It is both sweet and bitter. God’s message is sweet because it is the very word of God, providing salvation and blessing, such pleasant things! But God’s word can also be bitter to us because it tells us of things we may experience that are not pleasant, things like judgment and persecution.
The context would seem to suggest that persecution is primarily in view here. Christians will endure martyrdom during the future tribulation period. And Christians go through difficult times. There are times we cry out, “How long, O Lord, how long?” The Bible teaches very plainly that we will suffer bad things. Remember the words of Jesus in John 16:33: “In the world you shall have tribulation.” We need to remember that the Christian life is not always sweet. It is sometimes bitter.
This is no happy, health and wealth prosperity preaching. Bad things happen. But remember the rest of John 16:33. Jesus says, “In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!”
We must listen to the message of God’s prophecy. That’s how the chapter ends:
11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
We all, each and every one of us, must listen to the message of God’s prophecy. We must read the word, consume the word of God, digest it, and live it. We must read the Bible.
Someone sent me this illustration about what would happen if we treated our Bibles like we treat our cell phones.
What if we carried our Bible around in our purses or pockets like we do our cell phones?
What if we turned back to go get our Bible if we forgot it like we do our cell phones?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used the Bible to receive messages from the text like we do in receiving text messages on our cell phones?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts, or upgraded it to the latest version?
What if we used the Bible as we traveled as we use our cell phones when we travel?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
What if we treated our Bible like we couldn’t live without it?
We must listen to the message of God’s prophecy. God has a word for every one of us, every people, nation, tongue, and king. We must hear Him and do what He says.
- Stand for prayer.
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