Revelation 10:10; The Prophet’s Bitter and Sweet Ministry

Revelation 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 

All who love Jesus Christ can relate to John’s ambivalence. Believers long for Christ to return in glory, for Satan to be destroyed, and the glorious kingdom of our Lord to be set up on earth, in which He will rule in universal sovereignty and glory while establishing in the world righteousness, truth, and peace. But they, like Paul (Rom. 9:1–3), mourn bitterly over the judgment of the ungodly.

 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1999). Revelation 1–11 (p. 288). Chicago: Moody Press.

He took the little scroll and ate it. This is not merely a mental digesting of the contents of the scroll, but the context gives the impression that this is the literal eating, as the natural sequence of the mouth to stomach suggest. (Dusterdieck, Revelation, p. 305; Bullinger, Apocalypse, p. 342; Robertson, Word Pictures, 6:374)

The results are the same as predicted by the angel, except in reverse order – sweetness in the mouth and bitterness in the stomach. This reversal brings the bitterness into closer proximity to the prophet’s explicit recommissioning in Revelation 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. 

The reminder of his prophetic career will entail the prediction of grievous woes (Beckwith).

 [Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody Press, 1995, 74]

In contrast, the prophet Jeremiah’s ministry when he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem to the king and princes of Judah by the Babylonians and was cast into prison where he nearly died. It was all bitterness.

Jeremiah 38:1-13 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he isin your hand: for the king isnot he thatcan do anything against you. Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that wasin the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there wasno water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebed-melech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there isno more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. 

God’s comfort was upon His prophet Jeremiah at the beginning of his ministry promising God’s presence with him to deliver him.

Jeremiah 1:7-10 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. 

Indeed, the Lord grant His grace for His servants to fulfil their time for His glory. Amen.