"And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, give me the little scroll. And he said unto me, take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey....."
2007-05-14 12:14:28 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
This is a visual cue to go back and read God's warning to Israel in Ezekiel 3
So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.
And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
Then God explained this to Ezekiel as...
"Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears."
So the eating of the scroll by John was a visual metaphor for "taking what is written therein to heart". At first the news may sound sweet with the measuring of the temple and the prophecy of the two witnesses, but the end of it will be bitter with the desecration of the temple and the killing of the two witnesses.
2007-05-14 12:23:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This was a spiritual vision and it signified John receiving the Word of God to declare prophetically. This is explained in the last verse:
9So 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." 10I 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. 11Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."
Actually the Prophet Ezekiel had the same experience (see Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:4 and see also Jeremiah 15:16)
2007-05-14 19:27:17 · answer #2 · answered by wefmeister 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I read a New Testament study guide which said that the book represented a mission & ordinance for him. This was to gather the tribes of Israel and prophesy before peoples, nations, tongues and kings. While this would be a difficult mission (bitter), the results and blessings would be (sweet).
I hope that this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
2007-05-14 19:30:24 · answer #3 · answered by whapingmon 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was a vision. Eating the scroll was a way to consume the knowledge while conceiling it.
2007-05-14 19:22:04 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So it would be part of him; even though it had some 'bad' after effects.
2007-05-14 20:10:12 · answer #5 · answered by jefferyspringer57@sbcglobal.net 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
do you mean vs 11?
2007-05-14 21:49:52 · answer #6 · answered by robert p 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋