3. The instruction of the mighty angel 10:8-11

10:8 God or Christ (v. 4) then commanded John to take the little book from the strong angel with authority over the whole planet.

10:9 Evidently the little scroll symbolizes God's revelation that John was about to set forth. It is the revelation that the remainder of the Book of Revelation, or at least part of it, contains. Eating is a universal idiom for receiving knowledge (cf. Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 3:1-3). The angel told John that this revelation would taste bitter at first but then he would find it sweet. This order probably suggests that what would come next was more judgment but John would find satisfaction in knowing these things.

10:10 John may have actually eaten the little book³⁴⁸or he may have only devoured it metaphorically. This revelation was pleasant at first because it was a revelation from God (cf. Ps. 119:103). Still as John meditated on it and comprehended the fearful judgments that it predicted he became distressed. The reason for reversing the order of these effects, compared with verse 9, may be to place the bitterness in closer proximity to the judgments that follow.³⁴⁹The little book may have contained the revelation in 11:1-13, ³⁵⁰or it may have contained more (perhaps chs. 11-19) or all of what follows in Revelation.³⁵¹

10:11 "They"may refer to God or Jesus Christ (vv. 4, 8) and the strong angel (v. 9). Many interpreters, however, believe this is a third person plural of indefinite reference that expresses reverentially the divine prompting that John experienced (cf. 12:6; 13:16; 16:15).³⁵²"They"told John that he must (Gr. dei) prophesy again, as he had been doing (cf. Jer. 1:10; Ezek. 4:7). They wanted him to communicate the new revelation contained in the little scroll that he had consumed. The new prophecies concerned many different peoples, nations, language groups, and kings (cf. 5:9). The specific mention of kings reflects God's sovereignty and anticipates the judgments in 16:14; 17:10; and 17:12.

This renewed commission stresses that what follows would be more burdensome than what John had prophesied so far.