Bittersweet Book

Revelation 10 ESV

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. 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.”

Intro

— Despite the opposition of God’s enemies, He has given His people His authoritative and trustworthy Word and commissioned them to proclaim it to the nations.

— The ministry of the Word is a ministry of life and death, or as the apostle John records in , it is bitter and sweet. It is a bittersweet message we are commanded to proclaim again among the nations

— an interlude, or parenthesis, between the sixth and seventh trumpets

Verse 1

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

The author sees a mighty angel (possibly Michael, “the great prince” [Da 12:1]), whom he describes in such dazzling terms (cloud, rainbow, sun, fiery pillars

— “Then I saw,” an important and recurring phrase in Revelation

- Angels are mentioned more than 60 times in Revelation, mighty or strong angels three times

- “Surrounded [ESV, “wrapped”] by a cloud” symbolizes glory, majesty, and power.

- Nine of the twenty occurrences of clouds in the New Testament are connected with judgment

- “A rainbow over his head” is a sign of God’s covenant faithfulness. It echoes the story of Noah and the flood.

- The angel’s “face was like the sun,” brilliant and radiant, for he had been in the presence of God.

- “His legs were like fiery pillars,” a picture of stability and uncompromising holiness.

Verse 2

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

should be connected with the symbolic scroll of Ezekiel (Eze 2:9–3:3; cf. Jer 15:15–17). This prophet was told to “eat” the scroll, just as John was told to eat the scroll given to him (vv. 9–10). Such an action symbolized the reception of the Word of God into the innermost being as a necessary prerequisite to proclaim it with confidence

— In verse 2 we are told the angel “had a little scroll” (mentioned four times in ch. 10). This, I believe, is a different book from the sealed book of chapter 5 (Mounce,

- his message is to warn all and be heard by all.

- In the little scroll is the Word of God.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

The angel standing on both land and sea symbolizes that the prophetic message is for the whole world

Verse 3-4

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

Either the seven thunders were intended for John’s own illumination and were not essential to the main vision of the seven trumpets or the reference is designed to strike a note of mystery with reference to God’s revelatory activities

— John is ready to write. Then something amazing occurs: John hears a voice from heaven, which I believe is the voice of our God.

- We must remember, as bad as the seal, trumpets, and bowls are, it could have been worse.

- Osborne wisely notes, John is being told to affirm God’s sovereign control over the judgments proclaimed in the thunders and then is prohibited from revealing the contents to his readers. The major message is one of sovereignty. God is in control, and the saints do not need to know all the details.

Verse 5-7

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

The angel’s action of raising his right hand to heaven undoubtedly alludes to the Jewish oath-swearing procedure

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

When the seventh trumpet is finally sounded, there is an announcement that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” and that the time has come to judge the dead, reward the saints, and destroy the destroyers of the earth

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

Hence the seventh trumpet will reveal the final judgments of the bowls and the final establishment of God’s rule on the earth

— godly men and women such as Abraham (), Isaac (), David (), and Paul (), along with Jesus () and God Himself (), took oaths as a witness of confirmation to speak the truth

- He alone is the uncaused Cause, Aristotle’s “Unmoved Mover,” the Source and ultimate Cause of all that is. This angel could not have sworn by any greater. God will confirm His Word.

- Trust God to Complete His Work (10:6-7)

- In the New Testament a mystery is a truth previously concealed but now revealed

- God’s Word Must Be Assimilated

Verse 8-11

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

Receiving the Word of God is a great joy; but since the Word is an oracle of judgment, it results in the unpleasant experience of proclaiming a message of wrath and woe

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

the sweetness should not be taken to refer to the joy of proclaiming a message of wrath, for to all God’s prophets this was a sorrowful, bitter task

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Overview

Notice the use of the word “kings” instead of “tribes” (as in 5:9; 7:9; 13:7; 14:6). This may anticipate the emphasis on the kings of the earth found in 17:9–12 and elsewhere.

The “little scroll” of verse 2 reappears and takes center stage. It is mentioned three times in verses 8-10. God’s Word comes with authority.

- it is of little or no value to us personally if we do not take it, read it, feed on it, and then proclaim it. It is a bittersweet book to be sure. It is a book that will change us. It is a book that leaves no one the same. Life and death are in its words. How then do we respond to this word?

— The Old Testament background is plainly and . What a powerful image for how we should approach the Word of God! This book is honey (; ; ), better than bread (), meat (), and milk ().

- It will be sweet in our mouths, but it can be bitter to our stomachs (10:9-10).

- It is bitter to our stomachs because it is a word of judgment to unbelievers and a word of persecution and suffering for believers

— “You must” sounds a moral imperative, a moral and spiritual obligation. You must prophesy, preach, and proclaim again

- Like the book itself, proclaiming God’s Word to the nations is bittersweet. It is a positive word of redemption to those who believe, and it is a bitter word of judgment to those who refuse to repent

- Our assignment is to go. Our calling is to proclaim the good news of the gospel.