John's Commission to Preach

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies 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 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." 10 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.
11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again for many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

The same thing happened to Ezekiel and Jeremiah. The scroll, which of course is a form of communication, is given to the prophet. He consumes and digests it. In John's vision, as in the earlier prophets, this involved physically eating the scroll. The scroll is the Word of God -- and it tastes sweet in the mouth, like honey. God's word is sweet to us, precious, and true.

But God's word, which is truly sweet, can also be bitter when we share it, because it does not proclaim a simple life, or an easy life, or a successful life. It proclaims a Savior from our sin, and that message is so bitterly rejected by some that it brings hatred and death as well.

But God wants us to be faithful. He wants us to keep on proclaiming the message. Some translations make verse 11 out to be "You must prophesy about many nations..." That "about" is not the way the Greek of the verse is most likely intended. "To" many nations..." would be the simplest way of understanding it. John's role was to bring the word of God to the world. Prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah brought God's word to one nation. John was to bring it to everyone.

That's your task, too -- beginning with the people around you right now. Today. Who will you bring the sweet gospel to? Who will you share it with?

Note: You may wish to compare the scroll-eating accounts in
Ezekiel 2:1-3:14 and Jeremiah 15:16