Now we approach the mystery of God Himself (vv. 5-7). Here is a glimpse of what lies in store for us in coming chapters of Revelation. The end of the Ultimate Mystery is at hand. The mystery of God is about to be revealed. In this scene the mighty angel begins by raising his right hand to heaven, which signifies that a solemn oath is being given, and important truth is about to be disclosed. The angel swears in this scene by God, the Maker of the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. The angel is swearing by the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – that the long delay is at last over and the mystery of God is about to be revealed. The question which has preoccupied the thoughts and hopes of believers for centuries is about to be answered.

Every generation of Christians has expected the imminent return of the Lord Jesus. We read in Acts that the Christians of the first century expected His return in their own lifetime. Read the letters of Paul, and you can see that he expected the Lord’s return in his own lifetime. Nearly 2000 years later, the Lord has not returned. Our generation of believers like every other before it continues to expect the Lord’s return. His return could easily take place before the end of this century – yet it may not. The Lord alone knows, and at this particular moment the mystery of God remains unresolved.

In verses 8 to 11, we encounter the mystery of the scroll. In this passage, the angel gives the apostle John a book to eat and it gives him a sour stomach. The symbolism of eating the Word is a way of indicating that the truth written on the scroll becomes personal. It is not merely read but it is actually assimilated. That is what happens when we eat food, is it not? There is a lot of truth to the old saying, “You are what you eat.” The food you eat becomes you! The food we eat becomes, in a very short time, the body we wear. And John experiences in his vision the symbolic act of metabolizing and assimilating the Word of the Lord. He is taking the Word of the Lord internally, becoming personally involved in it, becoming changed by it, and ultimately allowing it to become a part of his own makeup.

We find this same imagery in the prophecy of Ezekiel 2:9 to 3:3. Then Ezekiel was sent to deliver a message to Israel in Ezekiel 3:14. Note the striking similarity between what Ezekiel experienced when he ate the scroll and what John experienced in Revelation 10. In both cases the prophecy that is received and consumed tastes sweet at first, but leaves an unpleasant sensation in the stomach.

The little scroll John receives from the angel contains the methods of God in working out His purposes on the earth. There is an element of sweetness in the plan of God, when John first bites into it. But as he assimilates the truth of God, as he becomes more and more deeply and personally involved with it, a sour sensation arises within him. This symbolizes the fact that God’s truth has a painful and unpleasant dimension to it when we really apply it to our own lives. The truth of God tastes sweet as long as it is “out there,” in the realm of promise and hope and future glory. But once the truth of God trespasses “in here,” in the realm of conviction and judgment and the exposure of our sinfulness and nakedness before God, it becomes a sour and unpleasant experience.

God’s truth has that effect on us. It had that effect on John. When he ate the scroll, it was sweet in his mouth, but turned his stomach sour. But afterwards John was given a new assignment. “Then I was told,” he relates in verse 11, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.’” There is an instructive principle here: After you have personally entered into the painful yet cleansing experience of God’s judgment in your life, you are then prepared to speak to someone else about the program of God. John has been given the privilege of ministering again to nations, peoples, languages, and kings. This is a new ministry, and it is described for us in Revelation 11 through 14.

John is qualified to reveal to us the judgments of God because he himself has allowed God to enter into his own soul and search it with the light of truth. Have you and I made the same commitment before God? Have we exposed our inner secrets to the light of God’s Word, His truth, and His judgment? The beauty of God that rests upon us as we seek to win the lost for Him is the beauty of a life that has been opened, searched, cleansed, and made new by the transforming truth of God. When He has tried us, then we are prepared to go out into the world, armed with the convicting Word of His gospel, ready to impact other lives for God.

Revelation 10:5-11 Study Questions:

What is “God’s mystery” that will be fulfilled in the days when the seventh trumpet is sounded?

The Lamb has removed the seals; now the scroll can be read. And John is to be the one to do it. This, it seems, is the reason why he was invited into the heavenly throne room. How is John invited to participate in this (vv. 8-9)?

Why is it important for us to “eat” God’s Word before we speak it to others?

How does God’s Word sometimes seem sweet to us and sometimes sour?

What happens to the sweet-tasting scroll once it reaches John’s stomach and what might this symbolize (v. 10)?

What in particular is John told that he must prophesy about (v. 11)?

How might John have felt after receiving this commission? How, specifically, is God calling you to “eat” and speak His message today?