The Angel and the Small Scroll
1And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 3And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 5And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
8And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. 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. 10And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 11And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Angel and the Small Scroll
(Ezekiel 3:1–15)
1 I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. 3 He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.” 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the sky, 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be 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 declared to his servants, the prophets.
8 The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” 9 I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” 10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 11 They told me, “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
The Angel and the Small Scroll
(Ezekiel 3:1–15)
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. 2 He held in his hand a small scroll, which lay open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3 Then he cried out in a loud voice like the roar of a lion. And when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded their voices.
4 When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it: “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as He proclaimed to His servants the prophets.”
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the small scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.”
“Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” a
10 So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.
11 And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
Footnotes:
9 a See Numbers 5:24 and Ezekiel 3:3.
The Angel and the Small Scroll
1And I saw another strong messenger coming down out of the heaven, arrayed with a cloud, and a rainbow upon the head, and his face as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire, 2and he had in his hand a little scroll opened, and he did place his right foot upon the sea, and the left upon the land, 3and he cried with a great voice, as a lion doth roar, and when he cried, speak out did the seven thunders their voices; 4and when the seven thunders spake their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, 'Seal the things that the seven thunders spake,' and, 'Thou mayest not write these things.' 5And the messenger whom I saw standing upon the sea, and upon the land, did lift up his hand to the heaven, 6and did swear in Him who doth live to the ages of the ages, who did create the heaven and the things in it, and the land and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it -- that time shall not be yet, 7but in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he may be about to sound, and the secret of God may be finished, as He did declare to His own servants, to the prophets.
8And the voice that I heard out of the heaven is again speaking with me, and saying, 'Go, take the little scroll that is open in the hand of the messenger who hath been standing upon the sea, and upon the land:' 9and I went away unto the messenger, saying to him, 'Give me the little scroll;' and he saith to me, 'Take, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet -- as honey.' 10And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the messenger, and did eat it up, and it was in my mouth as honey -- sweet, and when I did eat it -- my belly was made bitter; 11and he saith to me, 'It behoveth thee again to prophesy about peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings -- many.'
The Favor of God paraphrase
The Angel and the Little Scroll
¹ Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. ² He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. ⁴ And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
⁵ Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets.”
John Eats the Scroll
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 about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Footnotes:
1.The “mighty angel” (verse 1) is described with imagery reminiscent of God’s presence—clouds, a rainbow, and a face shining like the sun. This suggests he carries divine authority and brings an important revelation.
2.The “little scroll” (verse 2) lying open in the angel’s hand signifies God’s message, ready to be delivered. It contrasts with the sealed scroll from earlier chapters, indicating this revelation is meant to be taken in immediately.
3.The “seven thunders” (verse 3) refer to a mysterious, divine utterance. Though John hears it, he is commanded not to write it down, reminding us that some aspects of God’s plans remain hidden.
4.The angel’s oath (verse 6) invokes the Creator, emphasizing the authority of God’s eternal power. The declaration that “there will be no more delay” signals the imminence of the final stages of God’s plan.
5.The “mystery of God” (verse 7) refers to the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan, revealed progressively throughout history but culminating in the events that John witnesses. The prophets had spoken of this day, but its full realization is now at hand.
6.Eating the scroll (verse 9) is a symbolic act, reflecting the internalization of God’s word. The sweetness signifies the joy of receiving divine revelation, while the sourness represents the bitterness of its judgment or the difficult truths it contains.
7.John’s task to “prophesy again” (verse 11) suggests his mission isn’t over. He must continue to declare God’s message, not just to the church but to the whole world—nations, peoples, and rulers—signifying the global scope of God’s unfolding plan.
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