A Revelation Invitation

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.” (Revelation 10:8-11 ESV)

The command to eat the little scroll may seem odd to us. However, John would have recalled that Jeremiah and Ezekiel had both been directed to do the same. He didn’t hesitate to carry out the angel’s command. And the effect was as advertised: sweet to eat, bitter in the belly. What was heaven driving at?

The message of Revelation would affect John and his readers in two ways. Initially, the message is sweet: the throne of glory; the redemption of the saints; the vindication of God’s oppressed people; God’s attentiveness to our prayers; the lamb’s ultimate victory over evil; and the new Jerusalem descending from heaven like a bride. These sweet themes are repeated throughout the book. However, the words of Revelation also warn of natural disasters; divine retribution; demonic torment; the continued suffering of God’s people; judgment upon the unrepentant; and the end of the world order. Both aspects of the scroll’s message are keys to a full appreciation of Revelation. When we consume the scroll of Revelation, we, like John, will be comforted by its sweetness and challenged by its bitterness.

Isn’t that the nature of all Scripture and its effect on us and those we share it with? The Spirit presents his word to us to be devoured, to be ingested, and made a part of our being. Sweetly, his word fills us with hope, with comfort and with encouragement. Bitterly, the Spirit awakens us to judgments, sufferings and challenges affecting us and the people we know and love. Revelation can seem like such a puzzle that we tend to treat it largely as an academic exercise of interpretation. Or we focus on our favorite bits for inspiration and ignore the unpleasant details. With either approach we avoid the demands that God’s word places on us. Instead, we must assimilate it until it transforms how we live and how we interact with God and his world.

After eating the scroll and experiencing its bitter-sweet content, John was commissioned to prophesy again. He lived in turbulent times as do we. In our meditation on God’s word, we cannot be satisfied if our aim is simply for personal enrichment. God’s word places on us a burden, although one that Jesus promises to bear with us. Eating the scroll of God’s word inspires hope within as it impresses upon us our responsibility to a world in desperate need of a Savior.

My God, ruler of heaven and earth, oh how I love your word; I meditate on it every day. Through it, you comfort me. By it, you refine me. As I meditate on your word, open my eyes to what you see within me. Hold me securely in your arms. Challenge me to change the areas of my life in which I fall short. Open my eyes to the conditions and needs of this world. May you bear that burden with me as I minister to a world that is so often blind to its need for a Savior. Amen.