Resilient – A Revelation Daily Devotional – Day 27
Cedar Creek Church August 23, 2025

Day 27 – August 23

Read or listen to the audio version of the Bible Reading and Daily Devotional.

Read Revelation 10:1-11

The Mighty Angel and the Small Scroll
1Then I saw another mighty angel   coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow   over his head.   His face was like the sun, his legs   were like pillars of fire,   2and he held a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, 3and he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders raised their voices. 4And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said,   and do not write it down! ”
5Then the angel that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6He swore by the one who lives forever and ever,   who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will no longer be a delay, 7but in the days when the seventh angel   will blow his trumpet, then the mystery of God   will be completed, as he announced to his servants the prophets.”  
8Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”  
10Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter.   11And they said to me, “You must prophesy again about   many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”  

In Revelation 10, the action pauses for a pivotal interlude, focusing on a powerful angel and a mysterious “little scroll.” This chapter serves as a critical symbol of the mission of God given  to his prophets and, by extension, us.

John sees this incredibly majestic angel, glowing like the sun, huge, with one foot on land and one on sea, showing God’s authority over everything. And in his hand? A “little open scroll.” This scroll is God’s message, revealed and ready.

This angel roars like a lion, and then seven thunders speak. But here’s the cool part: John’s told not to write down what the thunders say. It’s a reminder that God is sovereign even over what He chooses not to reveal to us. Some mysteries remain mysteries, and that’s okay.

Then, the angel swears by God, declaring that “there would be no more delay.” This is big! After all the warnings and partial judgments, the time for God’s ultimate plan to unfold is truly at hand. The clock is ticking down.

Here’s where it gets really personal for John, and for us. A voice from heaven tells John to “Take and eat” the little scroll from the angel’s hand. So, he does. And it’s exactly as the angel said: “in my mouth it was sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”

What’s this “sweet and bitter” meal all about? The sweetness is that initial joy, that incredible delight when God’s truth clicks for you. It’s the beauty of His plan, the good news of His love and victory. It’s nourishing and wonderful.

But then comes the bitterness. That’s the hard part of God’s message. It’s the weight of understanding a world in rebellion, the reality of sin, the pain of judgment that must come, and the suffering that often comes with speaking God’s truth to a broken world. It’s the heavy burden that comes with knowing what’s coming and what needs to be said.

Finally, John is told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

This eating of the scroll is John’s commissioning, and it’s ours too. It means we have to truly ingest God’s Word—embrace both the comforting sweetness of His love and the challenging bitterness of His justice. And once it’s inside us, once it’s truly shaped us, we are called to share that message with the world, no matter how hard or sweet it might be. It’s a powerful call to be fully immersed in God’s truth and then to be His voice.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your Word, which is both sweet and sometimes challenging. Help me to truly take it into my heart, and apply it to my life and relationships. Amen