The book of Revelation has been warning us of judgment that is already being poured out on the world and worse to come. We’re now about half way through the book. And there’s a bit of a pause, chapters 10 and 11 consider what the church should be doing at this time. The answer is that the church should be getting on with sharing the life giving message of Jesus.
In order to help John and his readers, John is given a vision of an angel. This angel is nothing like the ones you may hang on your Christmas tree or that you may see little ones dresses up as in school nativities. This angel is terrifyingly mighty. The imagery reminds us not only of judgment, but of God’s rescue and presence. The rainbow over his head (10:1) recalls God judging the earth in the days of Noah, but also of His rescue of those who took God at His Word and trusted the means of rescue. The cloud and the pillars of fire remind us of how God was with His people as they journeyed to the promised land. What an encouragement to us today, judgment is coming, but rescue is available to all who will take God at His Word and trust in the rescue He’s provided in Jesus, and God is with us as we journey to the promised land of the new heaven and earth.
But the angel also encourages John not to fear man. God knows how we can be put off sharing His message about the rescue available in Jesus because we fear what people will think of us. John sees an angel so mighty that he has one foot on the land and one foot on the sea. Here is someone with authority over the whole world with a message for all people. And this is just the messenger, how much greater is the one who sent the messenger! Jesus is the one we should fear, not man.
The angel calls out with a loud voice (v3), like a lion roaring, more judgment is to come, seven thunders. Will this be more devastating? We don’t know! John is not to write about it. Part of what is to come is hidden. This has always been the way with God—(see a really helpful verse – Deut 29:29). God tells us what we need to know. And if we know what God has said, our job is to make that known to others. In his vision, John is given a scroll to eat that is bittersweet, it tastes like honey, but it makes his stomach bitter. What does this mean?
Like much of Revelation, the image comes from the Old Testament. Ezekiel is given a scroll to eat that is sweet as honey, but it contained a hard message of judgment that he was to take to Israel (Ezekiel 2). So John is given a scroll that tastes like honey, but it’s bitter in his stomach. Why? Because the gospel is a beautiful message, it tells us of God’s love, that we can be forgiven! That when you trust Jesus there is nothing to fear! But if you’ve ever tried sharing that with others, you’ll know it can also be bitter as people reject Jesus. It’s a sweet message, but it’s also a hard message, as we saw in Revelation 9, there are many who do not want Jesus to rule over them, and its hard not to weep as we think of the terrible destruction that awaits them. It’s a bittersweet message. But it’s a message that must be shared. John is told in v11 “You must prophesy…” And it’s not just John that is to speak this word. The church in every generation needs to pass the message on.
What should we expect as we do that? We will see more in the next chapter. For today, remember the message that the vision of the angel gives us, judgment is coming, rescue is available and God is with us while we wait, so don’t fear anyone, but in love share God’s bittersweet message.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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