THE WORD BECAME FLESH
Opening Prayer
Lord, I will swallow what You feed me.
Read REVELATION 10
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Footnotes
a Revelation 10:9 Ezek. 3:3
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Lord, help us to read, mark, and inwardly digest Your Word into our lives. Then let us live it and share its story.
There is an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. A striking contrast is drawn between a mighty angel and a little scroll. The New Testament says we can “entertain angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2, AV)—but not this angel! The sight is extraordinary and overwhelming. He bestrides land and sea; his voice combines the lion’s roar and a thunderstorm—but what he says is not to be made public. We do not have to blurt out everything God says to us. What is clear is that the time for delay is past; events are on the move.
There is, however, work to be done first. John is given a little scroll whose contents he is to reveal. He takes the open unsealed scroll from the outstretched hand. Like Ezekiel and Jeremiah (Ezek. 3:3; Jer. 15:16), he is told to eat it and digest its contents. Those called to preach must always incarnate the Word they study, if it is to be a living Word for others. The size of the scroll may reflect John’s capacity to receive.
John is promised two reactions: namely a sweet taste in his mouth and a bitter reaction in his stomach. The work of ministry is a most satisfying and fulfilling privilege, but it also tears one apart. To share words of life and then encounter deaf ears; to have the most wonderful message but stumble for words to convey it; to have good news but also serious truths—all these can turn the most honeyed words into a sickening feeling. How we need to pray for preachers, pastors, prophets, and evangelists as they minister the comfortable and disturbing words of the gospel, salvation, and judgment. Yet the work needs to go on faithfully through ministry and from generation to generation.
Apply
Pray for those you know who are called to share God’s Word with others, that they may not be discouraged.
Closing prayer
Lord, when You roar there is no ear on earth that is immune from its sound.
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