Synopsis: This sermon on Revelation 10 presents a mighty angel as a vivid reminder of God’s sovereign control over history and the certainty of His purposes. Though much remains hidden, believers are called to trust God’s plan and submit to His wisdom. John’s command to eat the scroll illustrates that true faith is not merely intellectual but experiential, internalizing God’s Word so it transforms life. The sweetness and bitterness of the scroll reflect both the joy of God’s truth and the pain of conviction and a broken world. Ultimately, Christians must actively “feast” on Scripture, allowing it to shape their hearts, lives, and obedience.

Text: Revelation 10
Date: May 3, 2026

Introduction

[The introduction is not included in this manuscript]

The Big Angel

Revelation 10:1–7 “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. 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, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 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.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 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, 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.”

The Description of the Angel: At the beginning of the interlude between the sixth and the seventh trumpet, John is introduced to another “mighty angel” that comes down out of heaven. Quite a lot of space is given to describing this angel. And if you’re a careful reader, there is some overlap with the description of this angel and the description of Christ in chapter 1. Scholars debate whether this is a vision of Christ or simply of a different kind of angel. There are strong argument either way. But for our purposes, let us assume it is simply an angel, and yet an angel that obviously is pointing us towards the strength and the glory of Christ.

Storm Clouds (1): Some have seen in the description of this angel a message relevant to this point in the book. Verse 1 seems to say that there were storm clouds wrapped around this angel, but his face was shining so brightly upon the clouds that it was producing a rainbow around his head. The idea is that the storm clouds represent the horrifying trials God’s saints were enduring, but when they look up they see who is over them all. In the midst of the trials, God’s bright light continues to shine reminding us that the storm will not last forever.

Little Scroll (2): In his hand he held a little scroll. We have already seen one scroll in Revelation. If you recall, Christ was found worthy to open the seals of the scroll in chapter 5. That scroll was written on both sides without any space for more writing. And we discussed how the scroll held the contents of God’s decree. All of history had been written. Everything would happen according to God’s plan. Here we have a “little scroll.” It seems to be perhaps a portion of that larger scroll. Perhaps it is the remaining work of history that is still to be done. Either way, this little scroll, like the larger scroll of chapter 5, indicates God’s decree. What will happen in this world. What will happen to His Church.

Two Legs: We also notice in the desription that the angel is huge, with one leg on land and one the sea, and with feet like pillars of fire. This indicates total control. No force on earth can resist this angel.

Seven Thunders: As he roars, heaven reverbarates with the sound of “seven thunders.” What these “seven thunders” are, we aren’t quite sure. Are they some race of angelic beings? Is this a reference to the “seven-fold spirit of God?” What we do know that they didn’t just sound like thunder, but they spoke and John heard them. It seems that John received more information about his future that he wanted to write and convey to the Church, but he was commanded to seal it up and not to reveal it. I am reminded of that very important verse in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 29:29 “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.”

God in his kindness, has granted us the book of Revelation, that we might have some clarity of what He is doing. But there is much that we cannot know and never will know until glory. There are secrets that God in his grace keeps from us. It is not our job to pry into the God’s secret counsel. It is our responsibility to obey the commands he has given us.

Seventh Trumpet: And the angel swears an oath by the God of Heaven, that as the seventh trumpet sounds, the story of history would be fulfilled. In other words, the longing of the martyrs who gave their lives for Christ who cried out “How long O Lord until there is justice in the Earth?” The angel says, “It’s coming very soon.”

Takeaway: What is the point of this opening section of chapter 10? Well remember where this comes in Revelation. Six of the seven trumpets have just been blown. John has seen incredible difficultie and dangers on Earth. And the worst is still yet to come. And here before the seventh trumpet is blown, John remembers who is in control.

Illustration – Why?: A number of years ago I remember one day where some members of our church just had a horrible trial show up in their life somewhat out of the blue. They texted me on a Saturday morning, and me and my wife drove over to just go see them, and process a bit, pray a bit. When we got to their place, they were both a mess. But I’ll never forget him looking at me at one point, and through teary eyes saying “Why would God allow this to happen?”

The Same: The truth is, when our moments of tribulation come, many of us in one way or another say the same thing. This suffering doesn’t seem to fit with the God we know and our previous experience with him.

Passage: And the point of this little passage is to say to the Church. This side of heaven we will not have answers to all of our “whys.” There are some things that are not revealed. But in the midst of the trial, and the midst of the unknown, our merciful God is fully on the throne, and ultimately in control of all things.

The Little Scroll

The rest of our text today answers a very important question. If that is true, how can bring ourselves to believe it?

Revelation 10:8–11 “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.” 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.” 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. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.””

John is commanded to take the scroll, the scroll that held the remaining decrees of God, and to eat it. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, two OT prophets, were commanded at a different time to do likewise. He wasn’t told just to read it, but to eat it. And as he eats the scroll, it is sweet at first and desirable, but it becomes bitter as he swallows it.

How Connected: Now you might be saying, what does this have to do with the big angel, and the mystery of the seven thunders, God’s decrees? Everything! When John is commanded to “take and eat” the little scroll, he is commanded to let the Word of God enter his body, enter his bloodstream, become a part of him, enter his imagination, his reflexes, his nerve endings, so that he becomes the book. In fact that is precisely what he is commanded in the last verse where he is told to go “prophesy to kings and nations.” What is to prophesy but to speak the Word of God that he had just eaten?

Experiential Theology: The Christian life is not simply an intellectual life, believing certain claims to truth about Christ, about his death and resurrection. If our Christian faith goes no further than our intellect, than we are not Christian at all. Simply having intellectual knowledge of the truth of God places us no higher than the demons.

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

Faith is not simply intellectual ascent, it is experiential transformation. I love how one old rabbi once said it. He used to say that the “primary body part for taking in the word of God is not the ears, but the feet. You learn God, he said, not through your ears but through your feet: follow the rabbi.”

Illustration – Rope Swing: When I was a boy a friend from school had a massive rope swing in his back yard. His Dad had built a tree house way up, and hung a rope in such a way that you could drag the rope up to the tree house, and jump out of the tree house holding the rope and swing back and forth across the entire yard. As a third grade boy, this was terrifying. I saw other boys my age jump out of the tree house over and over. I saw the rope hold. I remember I used to climb up the tree house, get the rope in my hand, look down over the drop, and tell myself “I know the rope will hold. I’ve seen it.” But time and time again, I’d walk away. I couldn’t bring myself to actually trust the rope. Until one day, all the friends had gone inside, and I was alone, and I had a good ten minutes by myself to hold that rope in my hand and prepare. The moment exhibited actual faith, was the moment I leapt from the treehouse, and swung on the rope. And let me just state clearly for the record, that faith was terrifying. But eventually, after I tried it a few times, that faith became exhilirating and joyful.

Experiential: Many, I’m afraid, have very great factual and historical knowledge of Christ, but practically have almost no experiential knowledge. They have taken the title Christian, but have never felt the winds of grace in their face as they swing from the platform.

Intellectual Faith says “I trust Jesus.” Experiential faith orders one’s life in accordance with his words.

Intellectual faith knows the promises of God. Experiential faith depends on the promises of God and can point to particular circumstances and moments where those promises ministered to them deeply.

Intellectual faith will grow rote and mechanical and detached over time from your real life. Experiential faith proves relevant to every aspect of your life: Being a good husband. Being a wise father. Accruing wisdom to grant to others. Walking deeply with God.

In short, faith takes the Word of God, it eats it, it digests it, and allows the very Word of God to change our experience of life.

Conversion: Life is too short, and none of us have time for a faith that keeps me busy with religious sounding kindness, but has not teeth to it. I don’t need another book to read, I need God’s Words to eat, to gnaw on, to become me.

Christ: And I find this entirely fitting, for at the center of Christianity is the crucified Jesus, who did not just give us words from a distance, but he experienced humanity through the incarnation. He experienced suffering through his trials. He experienced death on the cross. Indeed it is even proper to say that he experienced Hell as he hung on the cross, physically tortured through the pain of crucifixion, but much more spiritually tortured as became the very sin that had placed him there. Christ experienced your true death, so that you can experience his true life.

Born Again: This is why to come to Christ a person must die to themselves. Jesus called this “being born again.” Paul called this “being crucified with Christ.” The prophets of old likened to “heart surgery” where a person a granted a new heart. The very door whereby we enter Christianity is an all of life transformation.

I want to be careful that I do not speak in msytical language here, and present to you a version of Christianity no one can ever know if they have achieved. Far from it. In fact the entire point of this is that it is very practical. We must feast on God’s Word!

PRACTICAL

So how do we “eat this book?” That’s a metaphor of course, but a very important metaphor still. How do we handles these Scriptures in such a way not just to read them or hear them preached, but to receive them in such a way that our life is continually molded to our Savior Jesus Christ. I think the text before us gives us some running track to answer that question.

Revelation 10:10 “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.”

1 Take the Scroll: First, john takes the scroll and eats it. There can be no eating without taking. The Word of God is presented to us, it is placed before us, and we must take it, we must hold it, and we must devour it. This is a kind way of saying it is not enough to have a Bible in your house, or a Bible on your phone. If that Bible is collecting dust, it does you no good. We must be takers and eaters.

Illustration – Ribs: My favorite food in the world is BBQ Ribs. I love going to rib restaurant, especially the ones where they put those wet-naps on the table. You know why they do that!? It’s because the proper way to eat ribs is not with a fork and knife. You get the BBQ sauce all over your face and hands! It’s dripping down your chin. You take the bone when everyone else says there’s nothing left, and you find that last morsel of meat. That’s eating! That’s how you read the Word of God. We need to be Christians with scripture’s sauce all over our face and hands and shirt because we’ve been devouring it.

Practical: How do we do that? How do we take and eat?

Get a Bible: First of all. Get a Bible, and place it in a prominent place in your home. If you don’t have one, let me know, and I’ll give you one before you leave here today.

Prioritize God’s Word: Second, prioritize eating God’s Word every day ahead of every other priorities. I have heard many excuses over the years of why people are having a hard time “eating God’s Word.”

“I’m not a big reader.” That’s okay, we’re not talking about reading a book, we’re talking about feasting on God’s Word and being transformed by it.

“I’m not a morning person.” That’s okay. But, if your plan is to read God’s Word with the last sap of energy you have before you fall asleep, you’re probably not going to get much out of it. Can you imagine if the only time I talked to my wife, was as my eyes were half closed and I was falling asleep. Would my marriage grow? No! Give God your firstfruits. Priorize eating God’s Word when you the best of your energy and time to give him.

“I never get much out of it.” That’s okay. But that’s what I’m here for. Literally, God has me as your shepherd, to guide you and show you how to eat the Word! Let your pastors guide you.

“I don’t have enough time.” I hear that. My life is very busy too. But it’s not a time issue. It’s a priority issue. Honestly, that would be like someone who is dying being shown the the medicine to take in order to save them, and looking at the doctor and saying “I don’t have time to take it.” Make the time.

Have a Plan: Third, have a reading plan that gets you through significant portions of the Bible. In 20 minutes a day, you can get through the whole Bible in a year. In 10 minutes a day, you can get through the whole New Testament in three months.

First, we must take and eat the scroll.

2 Sweet in My Mouth: Second, we are told that the scroll was sweet as honey in his mouth. We may use this as a metaphor to describe how the Word of God flavors our life unlike any other book.

Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Notice, the Psalmist does not just explain that God’s Word is sweet as if reading from a textbook. He says “How sweet are your words to my taste.” This is experiential!

Sad Reality: Oh what a sad reality, that for so many they have never encountered as honey to their mouth. Just think for a moment. David said these words while still under the Old Covenant. He was bound under the tyranny of the law. He only could look forward to the promise of a Messiah, but he knew not experientially teh grace of Jesus, the forgiveness of the cross. And yet he could say, “your word is sweeter than honey to my mouth.” What shame that we should live on the other side of Calvary and know so little of scriptures tastiness.

Reflect: I have been told that professional food critics build their pallate over time. The more they study food, and practice differentiating between good food and bad food, the greater they can understand the even subtle differences in flavor and texture and cooking style. Yes! We must develop our pallate. Steadily and slowly. We must learn to reflect on God’s Word. Don’t just read the text as if it is a checkbox to complete for the day, your religious duty. After you’ve read, pause. Reflect on what you’ve read. Internalize it. Ask God right then and there to reveal truth about Him and about you.

Memorize: As you walk away commit a verse to memory. The more you meditate on the text, you chew on it, and you digest it, and becomes a part of you. Talk about it. Dicsuss it. Write a verse down on a notecard and place it somewhere where you can see it often. Make it your phone’s background.

It is a clear sign that you have grown in Christ when God’s Word is sweet to you.

3 Bitter in my Stomach: Lastly, after it is sweet like honey, we read that it made his stomach bitter. Those who have spent significant time in God’s Word can tell you that God’s Word is always sweet, and yet at times it is bitter. There are at least three reasons it is bitter.

Irksome Passages: Some folks begin to read the Word of God with high expectation. Initially they take delight in learning so many new things. I have seen them take classes on doctrine and embrace new ways of thinking. There is an initial excitement about God’s Word. But a pattern emerges for some. The pattern is that at some point they come across a truth or a doctrine in scripture that irks them. And the bitterness outweighs the sweetness. I have too many times seen folks either walk away from the faith, or more typically begin to walk a more progressive path away from the authority of the word, which ultimately leads to the same place. These folks were not yet believers to begin, otherwise the bitterness would not have outweighed the sweetness.

Conviction: For others, the bitterness comes when God uses the text to convict you of sin. This has been my case many times. You read the text and hear the text preached and one day, you realize how far off you are. How sinful you are. How unrightoues are your deeds. How weak your love is for those who are entrusted to your care. The bitterness is conviction, that you are not the man or the woman you ought to be. This is the effect of God’s Word on us when we study it rightly. That bitterness in the heart of a believer, will prove to be the sweetest honey of all, because it will transform you.

Holiness: Still, there is another kind of bitterness. That is the bitterness that I believe John is experiencing here. It is the bitterness of seeing this sin-sick world through God’s eyes. The Word of God has a clarifying effect on a person. It allows you to see what others cannot see, to feel what others cannot feel. One of my favorite quotes by one of my all time heroes is from John Knox, the Reformer of Scottland. As the Word of God changed that man’s life he one day cried out to God in fervent prayer, “Give me Scotland, or I die.” His heart was broken for the godlessness in his home country. This was the bitterness of truth. And in his mercy and grace, God indeed gave Scotland to John Knox and thereby to the Gospel.

We must take and eat the word. We will experience its sweetness, and its bitterness.

Conclusion

Let me close us out by reminding us of the bigger picture of this passage. There are storm clouds in this life. But Christ, whose face shines like the brilliance of the sun, has called you to endure. He’s called you to persevere. How? Not by your own courage or strength, but by feasting on his word, and letting His very word shape, and form you, into something new.