In my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

Revelation 10 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; ² and he had in his hand a little scroll, which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; ³ and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. ⁴ When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.” ⁵ Then 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 the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will no longer be a delay, ⁷ but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

Today’s text says: I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little scroll, which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. Nearly everything that God has created and initiated as truth has been copied and counterfeited by the devil. Make no mistake, the rainbow on the head of the strong angel is not a sign of inclusion or tolerance of immorality. It is as God initiated, a sign of His promise and covenant.  In Genesis 9:8-17 it says: Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, every animal of the earth. I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations; I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The text says:Then 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 the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will no longer be a delay, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.  That the angel came with a cloud and a rainbow is an assurance that God’s word is true. In Isaiah 55:10-11 God says: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it. The word which is true, the word and the mystery revealed to the prophets, is that there will no longer be a delay. The time has come for God’s word and His promise to be fulfilled.

The text says: Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”   As I watch the events that are unfolding around the world, the wars and rumors of wars, the racial and ethnic violence and division, the nations against nations, as I watch lawlessness increase and the love of many growing cold, as I see all the things Jesus warned us would happen at the end of the age, in Matthew 24, the word of God which tells us these things must take place, the words seem bitter because many are not ready. It causes my stomach to turn. Yet as I speak the truth of God’s word, as I speak of His promise and His desire that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance, as I repeat Jesus words that: God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. His word is sweet in my mouth.

As it says in Romans 8:35-39 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …  in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.