Chapter 10: the little book; the value of the Word of God
Chapter eleven focuses on the two witnesses, the two prophets that come son the scene, and their ministry to the remnant of Israel who is then depicted as the woman who comes up in the next chapter. Chapter eleven will begin at the opening days of the Tribulation period and bring us up to a point just after the mid-point of the Tribulation which is when the Antichrist will desecrate the temple. Chapter twelve focuses on Israel as well.
Last time we looked at the opening of the little book in chapter ten and we saw that as the angel brings this, this is indeed part of the answer to a prayer from martyred believers recorded in Revelation 6:10, 11 NASB " and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until {the number of} their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also." That is the prayer of the martyrs who are martyred in the fifth seal judgment and they are calling upon God to execute judgment on the earth. The answer was, not yet. God had a plan to be completed. What we see in chapters 10-14 is God finally coming to that point, the answering of that particular prayer. In the structure of chapter ten the first seven verses deal with the announcement from the mighty angel of the completion of God's plan to establish His kingdom… "the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets."
The second part of chapter ten deals with a second commission to the apostle John. The first commission came at the end of chapter one, v. 19 NASB "Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things." There is a reiteration of the commission in chapter 10, beginning in v. 8 NASB "Then the voice which I heard from heaven, {I heard} again speaking with me, and saying, 'Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.' [9] So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. 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'." This little book is a book that contains information, reference to other judgments that had not yet been revealed, and the angel is going to give this to John. What happens next shows the process of revelation depicted in a somewhat symbolic way. This kind of command to take and eat the book or scroll is not unique to this process with John. A similar thing occurred in Jeremiah 15:16 NASB "Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart…" Also in Ezekiel there is similar imagery. What is being pictured here is the internalisation of the Word of God by the prophet. He is internalising the message; he is taking in the Word of God. It is imagery that is similar to that used by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 6 where He talks about the bread of life. John 6:51 NASB "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." He is picturing the internalisation and reception/acceptance of truth.
The eating and the drinking also depict faith. As we eat and drink anything that enters into our body and becomes one with us. So it pictures the acceptance and the reception of something into our being, and that is another way of looking at belief in Jesus, trusting Him as our saviour.
In the passages related to the message given the prophet, the prophet is accepting the judgment of God. It shows his submission to God in his role as a prophet and that the judgments that he is announcing are not coming out of his own opinion, his own mentality; they are not his desires and he is not on his own mission to somehow execute justice or righteousness or on his own mission of vengeance. It is simply a demonstration that the message has its origin in God, the prophet has internalised it, and the message of the prophet is that which was given to him by means of God the Holy Spirit; it is divine in its origin and it is therefore without error. It is also a validation of the prophet as being a genuine spokesman for God. The same thing we have here in Revelation chapter ten. Revelation 10:10 NASB "I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it…" That is, his acceptance of this message as God's message and not his. "… and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter." This is the same as Ezekiel had said: that when he ate of the scroll it was sweet in his mouth—God's Word is always sweet to us.
Psalm 19 pictures the value of God's Word. The first part of the psalm, vv. 1-6, talks about the general [non-verbal; His creation] revelation of God. Beginning in verse 7 and down through verse 14 there is a praise to the written Word of God, God's revealed truth that has been written down by the prophets and apostles later on. As we read this we see through the imagery that is here the value that God places on His Word.
Psalm 19:7 NASB "The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul…" The word "perfect" is the idea that it is complete and sufficient; it is able to do that which is necessary considering the problem that man has. "… The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." It is not a matter of IQ, of education; it is simply a matter of studying God's Word.
Psalm 19:8 NASB "The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." The heart rejoices because the Word is right. The mandates of the Mosaic Law are pure, there is no error there, and thus it can enlighten the eyes, it is the source if enlightenment for us for truth. [9] The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether."
What is his conclusion? Psalm 19:10 NASB "They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb." There is nothing in this life more valuable than your personal knowledge of the Word of God. We never know what is coming our way, we never know what kind of adversity there might be in our life, and the only thing that can prepare us for that future adversity is the Word of God. Once the adversity comes it is too late to get it. That is what is depicted in Proverbs 2. Wisdom is knocking at the door, and if you don't let wisdom in when you have the opportunity then when the house starts to burn down it is too later to go get the wisdom. If you haven't prepared yourself ahead of time through a consistent study of the Word, then when that time comes and you need it, it is not there. Gold was the most valuable substance that was known in the ancient world and so this speaks of the high value to be placed upon the knowledge of God's Word. No amount of material possessions or wealth can match the value of the Word in your soul. Then there is a comparison to sweetness. Whatever your sweet tooth desires the Word of God is sweeter than that, it is such pleasure to us when we come to hear it and to understand it.
As John assimilates and understands the judgments that is going to be brought against the earth dwellers, that God is going to bring to completion the judgments against Satan and evil, this is something that is sweet to him because finally there will be justice. But then as he contemplates the severity of that judgment, the vast amount of human life that will be lost and the horror that comes, it turns bitter in his stomach. That is the significance of that metaphor. It is not that it is not right, but he realises that the judgment of God is not something that believers or God will rejoice over. God rejoices over the salvation of each individual, it is His desire that all be saved though not all will be saved.
Then the last part of the commission. Revelation 10:11 NASB "And they said to me, 'You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings'." The "peoples" relates to different people groups. The nations are the Gentiles.
Then immediately the angel gives him something—forgetting the chapter division between 10 and 11. Revelation 11:1 NASB "Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, 'Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it'." This gets into a new and important subject.
Illustrations