Why is the scroll sweet in the mouth but bitter in the stomach? Canonical Setting Revelation 10:10 : “Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but after I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.” The scene occurs in an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (Revelation 8–11), immediately before final judgment is unleashed. John is recommissioned to prophesy “about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings” (Revelation 10:11). Old Testament Background: Ezekiel’s Commission Ezekiel 3:1–3 records an almost identical act: “Son of man, eat what you find here; eat this scroll… So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll… it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.” Ezekiel’s scroll contained “lamentations, mourning, and woe” (Ezekiel 2:10). Thus sweetness signified the prophet’s delight in receiving God’s word; bitterness reflected the grievous judgments he must announce. John, consciously echoing Ezekiel, stands in the same prophetic stream. Symbolism of Eating the Scroll 1. Internalization. God’s message must be ingested—assimilated into the prophet’s very being (Jeremiah 15:16). 2. Ownership. By eating, John accepts the divine mandate; he can speak only what he has swallowed (Matthew 12:34). 3. Transformation. The word works from the inside out (Hebrews 4:12), both comforting and convicting. Sweetness: Delight in Divine Revelation • God’s self-disclosure is inherently good. “Your words were found, and I ate them… they became to me a joy” (Jeremiah 15:16). • The gospel promises redemption, the vindication of the martyrs (Revelation 6:10), the consummation of all things in Christ (Revelation 11:15). • For the believer, prophetic insight confirms God’s sovereignty: history has a purposeful telos, not evolutionary accident (Isaiah 46:9–10). Bitterness: The Burden of Prophetic Judgment • The same revelation contains plagues, trumpet blasts, and bowls of wrath. John must announce devastation on impenitent humanity (Revelation 9:20–21). • Prophetic ministry often entails personal anguish (Ezekiel 3:14; Luke 19:41). Truth is costly; messengers experience rejection (John 15:18). • Pastoral tension: delight in salvation’s plan yet sorrow for those who refuse it (Romans 9:2–3). Experiential Theology: The Christian Life in Microcosm Conversion is sweet—sins forgiven, new birth (1 Peter 2:3). Discipleship brings cross-bearing hardships (Luke 9:23), persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), and spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12). The scroll mirrors that paradox: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Christological Focus The little scroll lies open (Revelation 10:2); the Lamb has already broken the seals (Revelation 5–6). Because Jesus rose bodily (1 Corinthians 15:3–8) and possesses “all authority” (Matthew 28:18), the outcome is certain. Sweetness resides in the risen Christ; bitterness stems from rejecting Him (John 3:36). Eschatological Function The interlude delays the seventh trumpet to stress evangelistic urgency. John’s recommission parallels the church’s mission: proclaim before the final woe (Revelation 11:3 ff). The mixed taste underscores the two-edged nature of end-time proclamation—grace offered, wrath promised. Pastoral and Missional Application 1. Receive the whole counsel of God—both comforting promises and sobering warnings (Acts 20:27). 2. Expect emotional ambivalence: joy in truth, grief over sin’s consequences. 3. Let the sweetness motivate worship; let the bitterness drive intercession and witness. 4. Anchor hope in the resurrected Christ; His victory guarantees ultimate sweetness when “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). Summary The scroll’s dual taste illustrates the prophet’s—and every believer’s—experience with God’s word: delectable because it reveals gracious redemption, yet distressing because it discloses impending judgment. Embracing both aspects equips the church to glorify God faithfully until the trumpet sounds and “the mystery of God is fulfilled” (Revelation 10:7). |
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