Sweet and bitter

HIGHLIGHT

Revelation 10:10 (ESV): 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.

EXPLAIN

In John’s revelation of the end times, the angel with the sixth trumpet revealed three plagues which killed 1/3rd of mankind. Yet the rest of mankind did not repent of their great wickedness.

Then another mighty angel came down from heaven, setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land. He called out and seven thunders sounded, but a voice from heaven told John to seal up those words and not write it down. While John’s revelation tells us a good deal about the end of time, there are details that we do not know and must wait to see.

The voice from heaven spoke again, commanding John to take the scroll from the angel and eat it. It was sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach.

APPLY

Reading and meditating on God’s Word for the devoted follower of Jesus is like eating a tasty supper meal. But even though we may rejoice at the wonderful words of life, we know that for those who refuse to submit to Christ, heartache and judgment await. So those same sweet words can be bitter to our stomach.

Faithfulness in proclaiming God’s Word to others is sweet, yet can be disappointing. Yet we must remain faithful in sharing the good news.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful privilege you have given me in being a preacher of the Gospel. May I be faithful to proclaim you Word to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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