Happy New Year 2026!
As the first day of January approaches, I often think about ways to grow spiritually in the upcoming year. For me, this usually involves some level of Scripture reading and/or memorization. I have read through the entire Bible in a year many times (and there are numerous good reading plans online to help you do this), and other years I have tried a “deep dive” into certain portions or aspects of the Bible – such as the Major Prophets, or the Gospels, for example. Again, a simple internet search or using a Bible app can help you with these goals.
For many Christians, adding “read my Bible daily” to the New Year Resolution list is as natural as wanting to exercise more, or lose weight, or save money, or get out of debt, etc. If your desire this year is to read your Bible more, then here’s your first assignment… read Revelation 10.
Why start in the middle of the last book of the Bible, you ask? I want you to begin here because the apostle John is given a strange command in Rev. 10:9 that still applies to you and me today. He is told to “eat” God’s Word.
Before we look at the details of Revelation 10, let’s go back to Revelation 1:1-2 and remember how this book started: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw…” (italics mine)
God gave the message to Jesus, who gave it to an angel, who gave it to John, who gave it to us. When contrasting biblical angels with the plump, naked babies with wings we see in paintings and figurines, Eugene Peterson says the angels we see in John’s vision are real! He describes them as, “…apocalyptic angels—vast, fiery, sea-striding creatures with hell in their nostrils and heaven in their eyes.” He goes on to say they are, “immense figures filling the skies, with constellations in their hair and wielding swords the size of comets.”[i]
Keep that description in mind as John sees another “mighty” angel, whose size is colossal. Based on Rev. 10:1, some believe this angel is Jesus Himself, although most disagree, noting that Jesus is never called an “angel” anywhere in Revelation—and John specifically says this is another angel. Had this been Jesus, it’s a good bet that John would have said so.
Ponder what occurs in verses 5-7 and then think hard about what this angel says at the end of verses 6-7. This massive angel makes a statement of God’s sovereignty and power and that God is eternal and omnipotent and the creator of the universe. By standing on both the land and sea and pointing to heaven, this angel makes a declaration of God’s ownership over everything! Regardless of what’s happening on the earth, nothing can stop God.
Then, this angel then says, “There is no more delay!” (10:6). This could literally mean, “time’s up.” Do not miss the significance of this, as many believe the end times are drawing near and this declaration could apply to us soon. Are you prepared for that?
Also, what is this mystery mentioned in Rev. 10:7? We are not told at this point, but we are given a hint as to when it will be revealed (when the seventh angel blasts his trumpet). Some argue the mystery of God refers to the timing of when Jesus will return to earth (i.e., the 2nd Coming). Others argue it has more to do with why God tolerated evil for so long and/or the timing of when He will avenge His martyred saints.
However, the Apostle Paul already gave us a good idea about the mystery of God’s will in his letter to the Ephesians:
“And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 1:9-10, NIV)
Did you catch that? The mystery of God is that He plans to put Jesus in charge of everything. Paul wrote that this would happen “when the times will have reached their fulfillment.” In Rev. 10:5-6, the massive angel indicates that time has arrived (or at least as soon as we hear the seventh trumpet blast). No more delay! We can take heart in knowing that whatever God has planned, it will happen. And it will happen exactly when and how He determined it would happen.
Unfortunately for the world, when the 7th trumpet sounds, the window of opportunity to repent will close (see Rev. 11:18). God’s patience will end.
We now move on to the “little” scroll in this passage. For our purposes here, I am more concerned with what John is told to do with the scroll than discussing the scroll itself. However, if you want to dig deeper into that aspect, you can find more information in either my book or my workbook listed on this website.
Take the Scroll and Eat
John is told to take the scroll out of this angel’s hand and eat it. You may recognize that Ezekiel was told to do the exact same thing. God also gave Ezekiel a scroll to eat, symbolizing a warning for Israel that the prophet was to digest, internalize, and proclaim (Ezekiel 3:1-3). In John’s case, God’s Word was initially sweet in his mouth but turned his stomach sour because of its tone of judgment.
Why both sweet and sour? Perhaps this scroll is designed to tell us what will happen in the end times, in which case the sweetness is knowing Jesus will return and reign on earth, but the sour is knowing all the darkness and judgment yet to come. Another possibility is the scroll represents the gospel message, and the sweetness comes from God’s love, salvation, and the beauty of His Word (see Psalm 34:8, for example). The bitterness occurs when individuals and the culture reject Jesus and His love.
Either way, this is a recurring theme in Scripture. Notice several other biblical references where God’s Word was eaten or connected to food in some way:
- Jeremiah 15:16 – “Your words were found, and I ate them…”
- Psalm 119:103 – “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” (Similar to Ezekiel 3:1-3).
- Matt. 4:4 – Jesus likened the Scriptures to bread.
- 1 Peter 2:2 – Peter compared them to spiritual milk.
- Hebrews 5:11-14 – the author of Hebrews uses a food reference to tell his readers to grow up spiritually.
Finally, as this chapter ends, John is told to prophecy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings (10:11). The use of four descriptive terms in that sentence is symbolic of everyone, everywhere, and it seems likely this command is to continue preaching the gospel message for all the world to hear.
So, in this sense, John is told to ingest God’s words on the scroll, internalize them, make them part of him, and then share the message with everybody! That sounds like something we all should do! And this is my challenge to you in 2026.
Concluding Thoughts:
Revelation 10 is an encouragement to read, study, and share God’s Word. Others have wisely concluded that Christians need to do more than just read the Bible, however. We need to feed on it, consume it, memorize it, meditate on it, study it, and let it become a part of us… so that we can share it! Make this a daily habit and God will bless you for it!
Questions
- Read Matthew 4:4; 1 Peter 2:2; and Hebrews 5:11-14. What does the Bible teach about God’s Word and developing spiritual maturity?
- For personal reflection: Are you feasting on God’s Word? If not, why not?
[i] Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder, p.105.
