The Mighty Angel
This week we are in Revelation chapter 10. In this passage, John sees a vision of a massive angel holding a tiny scroll.
Revelation 10:1–3
"Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion."
An important thing to notice about John's imagery is that it draws upon Israel’s past to communicate things that they are familiar with but perhaps have forgotten.
The fiery pillars of the angel’s legs remind us of God’s presence during the Israelites' desert wanderings. This mighty figure stands across the sea and the land, symbolizing dominion over heaven, earth, and the abyss—where demonic forces reside. This imagery assures John's readers of God's absolute presence and dominance throughout history and worldwide.
John also inserts images from earlier in his letter to communicate who the Angel is supposed to represent. The angel's cloud robe recalls the apostles' description of Jesus' ascension and references Christ in Revelation 1:7. The rainbow symbolizes God's promise to Noah never to abandon humanity to destruction.
As in chapter 9, when John linked their current tribulation under Rome to their past tribulation under Pharoah and the exodus out of it, John now reminds them that he was with them in the fiery pillar in the desert and is with them now. God will lead them out of this and guide them through the wilderness to come. Revelation is a book about hope and redemption, not tribulation and destruction. It reveals a God who has always been present with them, even in their darkest times; a God who will not abandon them, and therefore, they should not abandon him in the face of persecution.
“Eat the Scroll!”
John continues:
"I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, 'Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.' I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.'" (Revelation 10:9–11)
Eating a scroll may sound strange, but it was familiar to John’s Jewish readers. This metaphor signifies internalizing God's word—more than just reading or understanding it, but embodying it.
The idea is repeated several times in scripture:
Psalm 19:9-10 - “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb."
Psalm 119:103 - “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Perhaps the obvious candidate John’s imagery references is the Prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 3:3 - “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."
Eating the scroll is very different from reading it. Eating it is like bringing it inside yourself, being nourished by it, and experiencing it from the inside out by doing what it is meant to accomplish rather than simply knowing it. It is the difference between knowing how to build a how and actually building one.
“Eating the scroll is a vivid metaphor for the way in which the prophet, then or indeed today, can only speak Gods word insofar as it has become part of the prophets own life.” ~ N.T. Wright, Revelation for Everyone.
To "eat the scroll" is to let it penetrate our very being, transforming us from the inside out. It’s about experiencing the sweetness of God's words deeply and allowing them to shape our lives.
One of my favorite quotes by Dallas Willard echoes this sentiment:
"Some things can be pulled that cannot be pushed… discipleship is a matter of pulling." ~ Dallas Willard, ‘Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God.‘
Discipleship is about formation and presence. As we embody the Lamb, as we take his life inside of our own and live as his presence in the world, we are making the kingdom of God visible and tangible. This, in turn, draws people in.
From Knowledge to Embodiment
Putting these two movements together, the visions of the Angel and the Scroll, we can see a progression of thought that John wants his audience to receive:
You have learned all about God’s work in the past; you have received and understand the doctrines of the Church — but now you must learn to embody it.
This journey from "knowing about Jesus" to "embodying Christ" is both sweet and bitter, beautiful and difficult. It is, as John said, sweet in our mouths and sour in our stomachs (V10). It involves both cross and resurrection, love and pain, abundance and sacrifice. It fills us up so that we might be poured out again.
John doesn't sugarcoat the path of Jesus. It’s a life of both sharing meals and sharing suffering. It's a journey that cannot be pushed; it must be pulled.
As we embrace this path, let us internalize God's word (which is Jesus), let it transform us, and, in turn, draw others toward the sweetness of God's presence.