Revelation 10:8-11 Series

Revelation 10:8-11

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 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. 11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

Why do you think these words from God on this little scroll tasted sweet but was also bitter to the stomach? I think it was sweet because it was from God and it was bitter because the harsh reality of God's judgment was written on it.

Who is this Bible written to? Us the church, right?

“You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” This is instruction for everyone.

There is something similar that we see in the book of Ezekiel and I want us to look at.

Ezekiel 2:1-10 ~ And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’

5And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions.

Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

Listen-up

8“But you, sons (and daughters) of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

We also have been given words from God in the Bible to be spoken out to the world. Do we want to be rebellious or do we want to fulfill the command to go out into the world and share Christ?

Ezekiel 3:1-3 ~ And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

I believe God Himself is reaching out to us Christians today saying, I have given you this book and you have far more than Ezekiel or Daniel ever did. But I think God is extremely disappointed in us with all honestly.

I want to speak to you clearly today so that I don't in any way lead you in a direction other than the direction God wants you to go. If you believe we are in the end times this message is as much for YOU as it was for Ezekiel, Daniel or John.

This term “son of man” was only used a few times. It was used for Jesus, Ezekiel and Daniel. For Jesus a reminder that He came as a human in order to fulfill what mankind couldn't. To Daniel and Ezekiel a reminder that they are human just like us.

The Bible is a book of factual stories given to us from God himself to tell us that we are as Ezekiel and Daniel are in that we are called just as they where to take what has been given to us and use it for His glory. We may not have been given a scroll but I would say we have been given much, much more.