When John Ate the Scroll
Revelation contains several strange images. Swords come out of people’s mouths, dragons prey on people, and giant locust demons terrorize the earth. One of the weirdest images, though, has to be when John ate the little scroll in Revelation 10. What explains this?
Interlude from Trumpet Judgments
Revelation 8 and 9 contain the first six trumpet judgments. But before the seventh angel can blast his trumpet, chapters 10 and 11 provide a lengthy interlude.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the seven seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments all represent the same perfect judgment on the world. Furthermore, each set of judgments culminates in the final end-times judgment on the world. Therefore, this interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet comes right before the final judgment on the earth.
The Mighty Angel
John notes that the vision starts with “another mighty angel” coming down from heaven. While Revelation contains lots of angels, mighty angels only appear three times. Revelation 5:2 speaks to a mighty angel asking with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” Then Revelation 18:21 reports, “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea.” We don’t know the identity of these mighty angels, but perhaps they belong to a special class of angelic beings.
This particular mighty angel seems especially impressive. His appearance of being “wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire” sounds a lot like the Son of Man figure in Revelation 1. His impressive appearance means to suggest that he’s the Lord’s emissary.
This mighty angel holds a little scroll in his hand. We should not confuse this scroll with the scroll that had seven seals. He also straddles both the land and the sea, suggesting that his scroll contains a universal message. That is to say, it will affect the entire world.
After describing his appearance, John reports that the angel called out with a loud voice, like the roar of a lion. And when he cried out, seven thunders also sounded. The existence of thunder in Scripture almost always means judgment is coming (Exod 9:23; 1 Sam 2:10; Isa 29:6). Furthermore, the existence of the number seven suggests that the thunders depict the complete and perfect judgment of God.
While John wished to write what he heard, a voice from heaven told him to seal up the seven thunders and not to write them down. Similarly, Daniel twice received instructions to seal up a vision that spoke of the end times (Dan 8:26; 12:9). As a result, the contents remain a mystery to the reader.
The Secret Things Belong to the LORD
Afterwards, the mighty angel raised his hand up to heaven and swore an oath “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 for final judgment. This vision clearly alludes back to the angel who raised his hand towards heaven and “swore by him who lives forever” in Daniel 12:7.
The mighty angel declared that when the seventh angel blew his trumpet (the end time judgment), the mystery of God would be fulfilled. In other words, God has not revealed all that is to transpire at the end of time. We will have to wait till the end to discover some of what God has planned. With this understanding, one wonders whether prophecy charts are all that helpful.
While this may frustrate us, the reader is encouraged to trust the sovereign Lord of the universe who is working out everything according to the counsel of his will (Eph 1:11). We must also remember Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of his law.”
The words of Moses ring true for us today. God hasn’t told us everything, and he doesn’t have to. He’s God, and we’re not. But what he has given to us is sufficient for us to live a God-honoring life (2 Pet 1:3-4) In short, it does no good to speculate where God has been silent.
John Eats the Scroll
Next, a voice from heaven told John to take the little scroll in the angel’s hand and eat it. And when John ate the scroll, he reported that it tasted sweet like honey in his mouth, but it made his stomach bitter.
The eating of the scroll is a clear echo of Ezekiel 2-3 where God instructed Ezekiel to eat the scroll given to him. When Ezekiel ate the scroll, he reported that “it was in my mouth as sweet as honey” (Ezek 3:3). Similarly, Jeremiah notes, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jer 15:16). It seems, then, that eating the scroll signifies John’s prophetic ministry.
Furthermore, the sweetness of the word implies that God’s word is a delight. This harkens back to what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 19:7-11:
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
God’s word is sweet. It’s a true delight to every Christian. At the same time, John reported that the scroll gave him a stomach ache. And the reason for this ache is that the scroll contained judgment. It was the judgment about to come upon “many people and nations and languages and kings.” One thinks of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem who was about to endure judgment. The judgments are right and true, but they are also devastating.
Conclusion
This vision reveals the prophetic nature of John’s message. The mighty angel tasks John with eating the scroll before he can write about its contents. The scroll was sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach. This vision reminds us that God has chosen not to reveal everything to his people. Instead, we are encouraged to trust in his sovereign goodness.
Second, the vision reminds us that God’s Word is both sweet and bitter at the same time. It’s sweet for the believer who delights in God’s very Word. At the same time, God’s Word brings bitter judgment on the wicked.
