Commentary - Revelation 10:8-11

Bird's-eye view

In this short but potent passage, the apostle John is commanded to participate directly in the prophetic message he is receiving. This is not a passive reception of information; it is an active, visceral internalization of the divine word. The act of eating the little scroll, given by the mighty angel who has just claimed the world for Christ, is a profound symbol for the prophetic task. The Word of God, particularly a word of impending judgment, has a dual nature. It is sweet to the taste because it is God's truth, a revelation of His glorious purposes, and a vindication of His people. But it is bitter in the stomach because it pronounces woe, destruction, and judgment upon the unrepentant, particularly upon the covenant-breaking nation of Israel. This experience prepares John for his renewed commission: he must take this bittersweet message and declare it to the world, prophesying again before peoples, nations, tongues, and kings. This is the task of every true minister of the gospel: to so internalize the Word that its sweetness and its bitterness become part of him, and then to proclaim it all without flinching.

This scene serves as a crucial hinge in the structure of Revelation. It comes after the seven trumpets have begun to sound and just before the measuring of the temple and the ministry of the two witnesses in chapter 11. John's eating of the scroll is his personal commissioning for the second half of his prophetic task. He is being filled with the content of what is to come, which is the detailed judgment on Jerusalem, the great city. The experience mirrors that of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:8-3:3), who was also commanded to eat a scroll containing lamentations and woe, yet found it sweet to his taste. The message for the Church is clear: to speak for God, we must first consume His Word, digesting both the comfort of His promises and the severity of His warnings.

Outline

Context In Revelation

This passage follows directly upon the appearance of the "mighty angel" of Revelation 10:1, who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He has planted His feet on the land and the sea, claiming all creation as His own, and has sworn an oath that there will be no more delay (Rev 10:6). The final judgment on the apostate Jewish system is imminent. The seven thunders uttered their voices, but John was told to seal up what they said, indicating that some aspects of God's plan remain hidden. Now, the focus shifts from the cosmic declaration of Christ's authority to the personal preparation of His prophet. John, as the representative of the Church, must be equipped to deliver the specific message of this judgment. This act of eating the scroll, therefore, provides the content for the prophecy that follows, particularly the events of chapter 11 concerning the trampling of the holy city. It is the formal investiture of the prophet with the word of judgment he is now required to speak.

Key Issues

The Prophet's Indigestion

The Christian life involves a regular diet of the Word of God. We are to desire it like newborn babes desire milk. But the Word of God is not always simple nourishment. Sometimes it is a word of judgment, a hard word. When God hands His prophet a message, He doesn't just want him to read it or memorize it. He wants him to eat it. He wants it to become part of his very being. This is what we see with John, and what we saw centuries before with Ezekiel. The prophet must be completely identified with the message he carries.

And this message is always two-sided. To the prophet, who loves God and His righteousness, the revelation of God's holy judgments is sweet. It is honey in the mouth. Why? Because it means God is true. It means He will vindicate His people. It means sin will not have the last word. It means justice is coming. But when that same word is digested, when its implications are fully felt, it turns the stomach. It is bitter. This is because the judgment is falling on fellow men, on kinsmen according to the flesh, on the beloved city. There is no joy in the destruction of the wicked, considered in itself. The faithful prophet feels the weight of the woe he proclaims. This is not a task for the flippant or the hard-hearted. The man who preaches the law and the gospel must be a man who has first eaten the scroll, and who knows both the sweetness of God's promises and the bitterness of His wrath.

Verse by Verse Commentary

8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

The voice from heaven, likely that of the Father, now gives John a direct command. His role is to shift from that of a mere spectator to an active participant. He is told to approach the mighty angel, the Lord Jesus, who has just made a sovereign claim over the whole world. The scroll is described as open, signifying that its contents are now to be revealed and proclaimed. This is not a sealed mystery any longer. The time has come. John is to go and take this revealed will of God. This is a picture of how we are to approach God's Word. We do not wait for it to be dropped in our laps; we are to go, to actively take hold of what God has revealed.

9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”

John's obedience is immediate. He goes to the angel and asks for the scroll. The angel's response is startling: "Take it and eat it." This is a command to fully internalize the message, to make it as much a part of him as the food he digests. It must be assimilated into his very being before he can proclaim it with integrity. The angel also tells him what the effect will be. It will be a paradoxical experience. In his mouth, the initial taste will be wonderfully sweet, like honey. This is the joy of receiving a direct revelation from God, of understanding His righteous plans. But the after-effect, the digestion, will be bitterness in the stomach. This is the sorrow and pain of the judgment contained within that message. The prophet must experience both aspects of the word he is to deliver.

10 And I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

John again obeys, and the experience is exactly as the angel predicted. The initial reception of God's Word is a delight. What could be sweeter than to know God's mind and to see His sovereign plan unfolding? For the believer, the vindication of God's name and the establishment of His justice is the sweetest news there is. But as the message was digested, its full import settled in, and the result was bitterness. John was about to prophesy the final, catastrophic judgment on Jerusalem, the city of his people. This was the covenant lawsuit reaching its terrible climax. Like Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, John felt the deep grief of this necessary judgment. He loved the righteousness of the verdict, which was sweet, but he grieved over the destruction it required, which was bitter.

11 And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

The verse begins with an indefinite "they said." This could be the angel, or the voice from heaven, or a heavenly chorus. The point is that the commission comes with divine authority. Having internalized the message, John is now sent out with it. He must prophesy again. His prophetic work is not over. This new phase of his ministry will have a wide scope. While the immediate focus of the judgment is Jerusalem, the implications of that event are world-altering. The fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was the definitive end of the old covenant order and the full unleashing of the new covenant gospel to all the nations. Therefore, this prophecy, while centered on one city, is a message for many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. It is the announcement that the kingdom has been transferred, and that all the kingdoms of the earth must now reckon with the enthroned Christ.

Application

This passage is a powerful exhortation for every Christian, and particularly for every minister of the Word. We are called to do more than just read the Bible. We are called to eat the book. We must so consume the Scriptures that they become part of us. We must let the Word of God shape our thinking, our affections, and our deepest convictions. And we must be prepared for the dual effect it will have on us.

The gospel is the sweetest news in all the world. The message of God's grace, of forgiveness in Christ, of the promise of eternal life, is honey to the soul. We should delight in it, savor it, and let its sweetness fill our mouths when we sing and pray and witness. But that same Word contains a bitter message of judgment for a world in rebellion against its maker. The law of God, which reveals our sin, is bitter. The warnings of hell are bitter. The pronouncements of woe upon the unrepentant are bitter. We cannot be faithful ministers if we only preach the sweet parts. A steady diet of sugar will make a man sick. We must digest the whole counsel of God. We must allow the bitterness of God's wrath against sin to churn in our own stomachs. It is this experience that produces in us a genuine compassion for the lost and an urgency in our evangelism. We must love the truth enough to speak it all, the sweet and the bitter, and then send us out to prophesy again to a world that desperately needs to hear both.