← Back to Revelation

ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಲಭ್ಯವಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಅನುವಾದ ಪ್ರಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ.

Prophecy · Revelation

Revelation 10 — It Was in My Mouth Sweet as Honey, and Bitter in My Belly

Summary

A mighty angel from heaven, clothed with a cloud, a rainbow on his head, his face as the sun, feet as pillars of fire, a little book open in his hand. Seven thunders utter — seal up those things, and write them not. The angel swears by Him that liveth — there should be time no longer. John is told to take the little book and eat it — sweet in the mouth, bitter in the belly. Thou must prophesy again before many peoples.

Key verse

“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.”

— Revelation 10:9-10

Outline
  1. v.1-7 The mighty angel and the seven thunders
  2. v.8-11 Eat the little book
Verse-by-verse
4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

A passage of Scripture that points to Scripture's reticence. John was about to record; he was told to seal. Not everything God reveals is for the church to know now.

A check on speculation. Where Scripture is silent, the Christian is not licensed to fill in. Some things remain in heaven's keeping until His timing.

Cross-references Deuteronomy 29:29 · Daniel 8:26 · Daniel 12:4 · Revelation 22:10
6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

Time no longer. Not the abolition of time, but the end of delay. The waiting is over; the mystery of God is about to be finished.

For the saints who have prayed how long? (6:10), the verse is good news. Heaven's clock is about to strike.

9 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.

God's word is sweet to receive and bitter to bear. The same revelation that thrills the soul will weigh the digestion. To know what God knows is to share His grief over the world.

A pattern for every faithful witness. The proclamation is sweet; the consequences in a hostile world are bitter. Ezekiel ate the scroll first (Ezekiel 3:3); John follows.

Cross-references Ezekiel 3:3 · Jeremiah 15:16 · Psalm 119:103 · Jeremiah 20:9
Key doctrines
Limits to Revelation
Revelation 10:4 · Deuteronomy 29:29 · Daniel 12:4
The End of Delay
Revelation 10:6 · Habakkuk 2:3 · 2 Peter 3:9-10
The Sweetness and Bitterness of God's Word
Revelation 10:9-10 · Ezekiel 3:3 · Jeremiah 15:16
Application

Verse 4 is a corrective for the speculative. Where the Bible draws a curtain, do not push past it. Eat what is given; trust the seal on what is not. Faithful readers stay within the line of what is revealed.

Christ in this chapter

The chapter is an interlude in the trumpets — a pause to remind John (and us) that prophecy is to be received, eaten, lived. The mighty angel's oath is a Christ-shadow; the same Lord who described Himself in chapter 1 is the One whose mystery is now to be finished. The Christian receives the word, sweet and bitter, and prophesies again before many.