Bittersweet

“And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth, And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book.  And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.”  Revelation 10:8-9

This particular scene in John’s vision of the end times took place during an interlude between the blowing of the sixth and seventh trumpets.  An angel, one of high rank, perhaps Michael, descended from heaven surrounded by a cloud, representing the presence of God, and a rainbow upon his head.  In his hand was a little book or scroll different from the scroll that Jesus was given to open.  Whatever was written therein was going to be revealed or take place soon.  The angel shouted out a cry like the roar of a lion which ushered in seven claps of thunder which sounded out in words that could be understood by John.  He began to write them down but was stopped by a voice which told him to seal up what he had just heard and not to write these words.  John then saw the angel as he stood with one foot on the sea and the other on land as the angel declared time to be no more.  God promised that judgment would come upon the ungodly, and that His servants who had been martyred would be avenged.  The beginning of the end will commence at the blowing of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 10:1-7).

We are not told the contents of the little book held by the angel.  It might have been at least some of God’s word or a foretelling of judgments yet to fall on an ungodly world.  John did as the angel commanded.  He stepped toward the angel and asked for the little book.  And then the angel told John to take the book and eat it up.  The prophets Jeremiah (15:16) and Ezekiel (3:1-3) had both been directed to take God’s word and eat it up, taking it into their innermost being, meditating and studying until they knew it backwards and forwards enabling them to prophesy and make known God’s revelation to the entire world.

John received a warning from the angel: the book would make his belly bitter, but before he swallowed it, it would taste as sweet as honey.  A cursory reading of God’s word gives us a beautiful and sweet picture of God’s love for us and how that He has made a way for us to have a glorious relationship with Him.  However, as we delve deeper into His word, we see ourselves as so far from the mark of what God intended for us to be, and we also see the intense and gruesome way in which God provided for us, as unworthy as we are, to be reconciled to Him.  Therefore, while it is sweet to know how much God loves us, it is also bitter to our souls to know how much grief and pain we caused Him.  Paul wrote in II Corinthians 2:15-16 that our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ provides a sweet, wholesome fragrance in our lives, but to those who are lost, the aroma that we give off causes them fear and anguish, but to others who are saved, our aroma is like a wonderful perfume.

In John’s experience as he consumed the little book, he found the words to be very sweet, but as he ingested the warnings and the foretelling of the doom that was still to come upon sinners, he was overcome with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.  There is joy in knowing that one’s sins are forgiven and that one’s eternal home is awaiting at some point in the future, but there is also a tremendous sadness in the heart of a believer for all those who have rejected Christ and His gospel.  Salvation is sweet, but the thought of so many people, some of whom are our relatives and friends, being lost forever and spending time in hell apart from God is bitter.  Why won’t people listen?

A few days ago, it was reported in the news that a group of students at a university in the northern part of the nation protested a conservative who was presenting a movie that he made in support of the fact that God made two genders, male and female.  These students tore pages from the Bible, God’s holy word, and ate them in an effort to show their hatred for God and for anyone who believes and identifies with God’s word.  I immediately thought of the above verses when I saw that report.  Their bold disrespect and hatred for God and His word shocked me in that I know that there are millions of lost people in the world, but I have never heard of anyone doing such a wicked and horrible act against God.  One would tend to think that God’s judgment about which John wrote can’t be that far away.  I feel sorry for anyone who is so blinded to the truth.  I would also think that those words which they consumed were probably not sweet to them, but I imagine they were very bitter going down.  Who knows?  Maybe this could be a turning point for at least one of them.  It is sad to think that the word which brought salvation to me and many others and guides our lives mean nothing to people who are so lost that I can only wonder if they will ever be able to find their way to the peace and joy that Jesus brings.