The Bitter and The Sweet

Revelation 10

“If you conscientiously undertake to walk in the truth revealed, you too will know something of its bitterness. . . . We need the bitter as well as the sweet; and every soul who has walked in the truth, as God has revealed it to him, has found, at last, the blessedness of obedience.” H. A. Ironside

“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” Revelation 10:1–4 (ESV)

Warren Wiersbe writes, “We do not know what the angel shouted or what the seven thunders uttered. God has given sufficient truth in His Word for salvation and godly living, so we must not crave to know the hidden things (Deut. 29:29). The purpose of Scripture is to save sinners and sanctify character, not satisfy curiosity.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29 (ESV)

“And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, 7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:5–7 (ESV)

The angel said, “There will be delay no longer!” What joy this statement will bring to the martyrs (and others) who ask, “How long?” God has His times and will accomplish His purposes on schedule. Our responsibility is to be faithful and not just curious.

“So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:6–8 (ESV)

“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.” Revelation 10:8–11 (ESV)

In this passage, God still needed John to declare His message to the people. No angel could take his place. But to share God’s message, we must take the Word, receive it inwardly like food, and let it become part of us.

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV)

How is the Word of God impacting your life today? Are you consistently seeking God through His Word? Are you living out God’s Word before others and sharing it with those in your circle of influence? If not, why not?

The Word is sweet when you read it, but bitter when it goes deeper and you digest it.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

---