Author: Charlie Garrett

Friday, 5 February 2021

But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. Revelation 11:2

John was instructed to “measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.” Now, in this verse, he is told, “But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it.” The word translated as “leave out” signifies to cast out. This means that the temple is considered acceptable and in accord with the allowances of Daniel 9:24-27, but the area outside of the temple is considered defiled and unholy. The measuring is what signifies the difference between the two. As it next says, “for it has been given to the Gentiles.”

As incredible and impossible as it seems to many in today’s world, there really will be another temple in Jerusalem. It will be built on the Temple Mount where the first and second temples stood. There is no need to argue this, God has already determined that it will come to pass, and He has prepared the people of Israel for this coming day. He has readied their hearts and they have readied the implements.

What seems like a likely scenario is that the battle described in Chapter 9, and quite possibly being the same battle as described in Ezekiel 38/39, will be the impetus for the building of this temple. After such an incredible victory, the nations will sue for peace with Israel, and a part of that peace deal will be the allowance for them to build this temple.

It may be that this temple will stand on a large empty spot directly in the middle of the mount. On the north end stands the Dome of the Rock, which is adorned with a gold dome. On the south end is the Al Aqsa Mosque. Or it may be where the Dome of the Rock is today, although that may continue to stand. Being dogmatic about that is unnecessary at this point.

The areas outside of the temple are obviously defiled areas that belong to the Gentiles. The measuring of this future temple leaves out the court where two defiled edifices stand, thus indicating that they are excluded from any blessing and will be removed at some point in the future. With this considered, the verse ends with, “And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.”

Of this time span, Vincent’s Word Studies notes –

“A period which appears in three forms in Revelation: forty-two months (Revelation 13:5); twelve hundred and sixty days (Revelation 11:3, Revelation 12:6); a time, times and half a time, or three years and a half (Revelation 12:14, compare Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7).”

The Gentiles who have a foothold on the Temple Mount will also “tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.” The term “underfoot” signifies that their very presence is a defiling act. They are unclean and what they tread on is defiled by them. Of the number forty-two, EW Bullinger says –

It “is a number connected with Antichrist. An important part of his career is to last for 42 months (Rev 11:2, 13:5), and thus this number is fixed upon him. Another number of Antichrist is 1260, and this is 30 x 42.

Its factors are six and seven (6×7=42), and this shows a connection between man and the Spirit of God, and between Christ and Antichrist:

Forty-two stages of Israel’s wanderings mark their conflict with the will of God.
Forty-two young men* mocked the ascension of Elijah to Elisha, 2 Kings 2:23, 24.

Being a multiple of seven, it might be supposed that it would be connected with spiritual perfection. But it is the product of six times seven. Six, therefore, being the number of Man, and man’s opposition to God, forty-two becomes significant of the working out of man’s opposition to God.”

The time period of forty-two months corresponds with Daniel 9:27 which says–

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”

A covenant of peace with the antichrist is coming, and it will be for a period of “one week” or seven years. However, this covenant will be broken in the middle of the week, which is three- and one-half years or forty-two months. Understanding and properly interpreting Daniel 9:24-27 is the key to understanding what is coming and when – and it all pertains to the Jewish people and to the city of Jerusalem. The book of Revelation is filling in details of what lies ahead that Daniel only saw in a broader outline.

But Paul also filled in some of the details. As he says in 2 Thessalonians 2 (and which was cited in the previous verse as well) –

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4

Life application: The end times events being described in Revelation have been a constant source of worry and even fear for believers since they were written. But understanding Paul’s words from 2 Thessalonians shows that this should not be so. When Paul refers to the falling away coming first and the man of sin being revealed, he is basing that on his words of 2 Thessalonians 2:2. There he refers to the “day of Christ.”

But that is first based on what he says in verse 1, “concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.”  

The tribulation period is also known as the Day of the Lord. Paul says that this day of the Lord (day of Christ – the terms are synonymous) will not come until AFTER the man of sin is revealed, and that will only come AFTER our gathering to Him. Each step is logical and orderly. If the antichrist (the man of sin) signs a seven-year covenant with Israel, which is Daniel’s seventieth-seven, and that initiates the Day of the Lord (day of Christ), then why would we be looking for the antichrist? Rather, our eyes are to be set in anticipation of the coming of the Lord for us.

These time frames are important, and they are not to be dismissed. The Bible is carefully laying out the sequence of future events in order to give us hope, a great and blessed hope. It is the anticipation of our being gathered to JESUS!

O Lord, it is so exciting to see that we may be very close to the time that was prophesied so long ago in the book of Revelation, prophecies which reach back even to the time of the Old Testament prophets. As the world turns away from You, our hearts are longing for You all the more. We have a sure and blessed hope in the coming deliverance of Your people because of Jesus. Great is the promise and the hope that we possess. Thank You for this word of hope. Amen.

Thursday, 4 February 2021

Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. Revelation 11:1

As Revelation is 22 chapters long, we are approaching the halfway point of the book. Chapter 11 begins another interlude between the sixth and seventh sounding of the trumpets, and the words of this opening verse trace a thought back to what is said in Daniel 9:27 –

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”

Without going through all the details, determining who the pronoun “he” is will define what one believes about the entire eschatological scenario of the Bible. If one incorrectly assumes it is Jesus, then what is being looked at now in Revelation will mean something entirely different to that person than to someone who rightly deduces that the “he” is referring to the antichrist.

The study is too long to include in a single line of Revelation commentary, but the details conveyed to Daniel refer to a seven-year period that is still future to us now. The details speak of Israel’s time under the law, granted to them by the Lord in order for them to finally come into a right relationship with Him through the New Covenant.

In this coming time, a temple will be built. Israel will conduct temple rituals as prescribed by the law. In the middle of that “week,” or seven-year period, the antichrist will end those sacrifices and offerings. Paul refers to how this will come about in 2 Thessalonians 2 –

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4

The temple rites will be ended when the antichrist (called by Paul “the man of sin”) proclaims himself God in the temple of God. It is an event future to us now, and the identity of this antichrist will be unknown to believers who will be taken at the rapture. Paul’s words concerning the rapture, and the timing of these end times events, reveal this to be the case.

Understanding these things, John begins Chapter 11 with the words, “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod.” In Chapter 9, the war was waged by a real air force and army that John described using terms he understood. It was something future to our time.

What John is seeing is something also future to us now. He is being given a reed that is intended to be used as a measuring rod. The measuring of something in the Bible is normally used to indicate either destruction of something, preservation of something, or a mixture of both. In the time of King David, in 2 Samuel 8, we read this –

“After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
² Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.” 2 Samuel 8:1, 2

The measuring rod was used in a prophecy in Ezekiel concerning the layout of a temple different than the temple Ezekiel knew during his time as a priest. That is seen in Ezekiel 40 –

“In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city. ³ He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.” Ezekiel 40:2, 3

The line of flax was used for longer measurements; the rod is for shorter ones. John is being given a rod for shorter measurements. After that, John says, “And the angel stood.” These words are not found in many manuscripts and are considered spurious by some scholars. Assuming they are meant to be here, it is probably then an allusion to Zechariah 3:5 –

“So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.”

If this is so, then the angel now being referred to by John is the Lord Jesus, just as it was in Chapter 10. Either way, John next says that this angel stood, “saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God.’” Scholars of the past assumed that this must be a symbolic measuring. This is because the dimensions of the actual temple were surely known, even if it had been destroyed by the time of John’s writing out the book of Revelation.

In other words, they could not conceive of a future temple being built. Christ had come and fulfilled all of the symbolism of the temple and annulled the law in the giving of the New Covenant. But the thinking is in error. The Jews rejected Jesus and did not come under the New Covenant. Further, Daniel’s timeline clearly indicates that the temple of the seventieth week must be a future temple, as confirmed by Paul’s words of 2 Thessalonians. It is a literal temple that John is measuring, along with “the altar.”

This would not be referring to the altar of incense which is within the walls of the temple. This is the altar of sacrifice located in the outer courtyard. It is the altar that Daniel implicitly refers to in Daniel 9:27 above when he said, “He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

In order to have “sacrifice and offering,” there must be an altar for those things. John is directed to measure those things “and those who worship there.” One does not measure “spiritual representations of worshippers.” Rather, these are literal worshippers that are given an area of the courtyard to worship in, as was the case in past times, such as –

“So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.” Luke 1:8-10

This is what John is being asked to measure. It is a real temple. It is future to us today. It will have an altar of sacrifice and an area for worshippers to come to. It will be on the temple mount, and it will be built based on a peace agreement that will be made between parties as brokered by the antichrist. As it says in Daniel 9 (above), “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week.”

Life application: What is certain is that the temple John is asked to measure is not the temple that was destroyed in AD70. It is a temple that is yet future to our time. Amazingly, the implements for this temple are already made and are on display in Jerusalem. Its cornerstone has been anointed, and it is safely kept in Jerusalem, too. The time for God’s plan to be completed is coming, and we are participants and spectators in the great unfolding drama.

As the antichrist is the one who will broker the deal that will allow for this temple to be built, and as Paul says that we will not know who the antichrist will be, it is an implicit note to us that we are not to bother speculating on who he is. Rather, believers in the church today are to fix our eyes elsewhere. We are to fix our eyes on JESUS!

Lord, looking at the world today we can see that the end of the ages is not far off. Israel, the people, have been returned to their ancient homeland. The implements for temple worship have been made and are awaiting the temple’s construction. And all of the associated tragedy with that happening is not far off. All because they missed their Messiah when He came. May many turn their hearts and minds to Him now before the terrible days of woe come. Amen.

Wednesday, 3 February 2021

And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” Revelation 10:11

John has taken the little open book and eaten it. It was, as anticipated, sweet as honey in his mouth, and it also made his stomach bitter. With that noted, John next says, “And he said to me.”

Some Greek manuscripts say, “And they said to me.” To justify “they” instead of “he,” Greek scholars say it provides a sense of indefiniteness, such as “It was said to me.” However, this doesn’t follow naturally with the use of the word. If “he” is correct, it would be the Angel speaking to him. If “they” is correct, it would be both the Angel and the voice from heaven. This would be possible, even if both voices are that of Jesus. He is the One who was and who is and who is to come, and so it would be no different than the Lord speaking to Himself as is recorded in the 110^th Psalm. This psalm is then cited in the New Testament by Jesus in the gospels (Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, and Luke 20:42) and in Acts 2:34. It is also cited in Hebrews 1:13.

Either way, the voice then says, “You must prophesy.” Here, the word “prophesy” should be considered in the broader sense of the word. Rather than speaking forth a future prophecy as in “Thus says the Lord, this will come about,” it is referring to speaking forth the word of God such as is described in Romans 12:6. In other words, John is being told he must communicate the contents of the little book, and he must do so, as it next says, “again.”

Albert Barnes is certainly correct in his analysis of this prophesying –

“The direct address is to John himself; but it is evidently not to be understood of him personally. He is represented as seeing the angel; as hearkening to his voice; as listening to the solemn oath which he took; as receiving and eating the volume; and then as prophesying to many people; but the reference is undoubtedly to the far-distant future.”

What Albert Barnes is saying, and which rightly conveys the intent, is that the word of Revelation that John is writing down (see Revelation 1:11) is what is being referred to. John, and the visions he is writing down, will be the basis for the “prophesying again.” As this is so, it means that prophesying has already been accomplished towards an intended audience and it went unheeded by that audience. As the prophecy of the Old Testament was directed toward Israel, it is Israel that must be “prophesied again” to with the words of John.

The contents of Revelation, from verse 4:1 until verse 19:10, are dealing with the tribulation period which is focused on the nation of Israel. As this is based on the seventieth week of Daniel’s “seventy sevens” of Daniel 9, it makes this a logical deduction. It would also explain the bitterness in John’s stomach as the recorded words are directed to his own nation who had rejected their Messiah. The prophesying that John is to do is not literally in person. Rather, it is speaking about the warnings and judgments which are revealed in Revelation. What he will receive and pen is what brings bitterness.

With that understood, the verse and the chapter end with, “about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” Here the idea that this is directed toward Israel specifically comes clearly into focus. The word translated as “about” is epi. It is used in the dative case and it signifies “concerning.” Saying “about” is a good way of conveying the intent. As the Pulpit Commentary says –

“These are the objects of the prophecy, not the audience. This serves to explain the reference in the preceding sentence. The message is not delivered to, but about peoples, etc. The fourfold enumeration seems to point to the breadth of the signification – it embraces the whole of mankind.”

The question is, “Why would the message to be prophesied be ‘about’ all these categories instead of ‘to’ them?” The answer is because it is the Gentile nations who received and accepted the message of Christ for so long. At the same time, Israel had rejected it. This is found, for example, just before the close of the book of Acts –

So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. ²⁴ And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. ²⁵ So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, ²⁶ saying,
‘Go to this people and say:
“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
²⁷ For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”’
²⁸ “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” Acts 28:23-28

The Gentiles did hear (meaning respond to) the gospel. On the other hand, Israel rejected it and went into two thousand years of punishment. The message that must be “prophesied again” is to the people brought back from exile, and in the far-distant future from the time John received it. It will be especially proclaimed “in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel” as noted in verse 10:7.

Life application: The words of this verse appear to be correctly translated and evaluated above, but there are translations and evaluations that convey a different intent. Instead of prophesying about the people, nations, languages, and kings, it could very well mean “before” them. If this is the case, then these would be prophecies “against” them. In other words, they would stand as a witness against them. If so, what he will receive and pen for the world to see then is what brings bitterness to the whole world.

This idea, then, would be parallel to what Ezekiel was told in his vision and prophecy. Ezekiel 3:11 records –

“And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

Ezekiel was prophesying against the rebellious house of Israel. John is either to prophesy a warning against the continued rebellious house of Israel, or against all of the people of the world. This secondary explanation is given as a reference, but – as noted above – this prophecy is more likely referring to the time of Daniel’s seventieth seven and concerning Israel specifically, but without neglecting the Gentiles in the process.

The love and covenant faithfulness of God for His people has ensured that He has kept them and will keep them as a people. Someday they will acknowledge this and turn to Him in faith. And this great grace and mercy extends to any who will simply accept His offer of pardon and receive the gift of eternal life through the shed blood of His own precious Son, our Lord JESUS.

Lord, we as a species cannot seem to learn from the past, and we are thus destined to make the same mistakes again in the future. How sad it is that the people of the world cannot simply bow their knees and acknowledge You and Your great workings in human history. But such is not the case. We stubbornly turn our necks and turn from You. In this, You are surely justified when You judge. Before that day, give us the desire to continue to share the message of hope found in Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Tuesday, 2 February 2021

Then I took the little book out of 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 became bitter. Revelation 10:10

The order is the opposite of what the previous verse provided –

 – it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.

– it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.

The Angel knew the outcome of what John would experience and focused on the result. John, however, wrote the events as they occurred. Having noted this, John’s words begin with, “Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it.” It is the same thought, expressed in the previous verse, that was also earlier expressed by both Ezekiel and Jeremiah –

“So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.” Ezekiel 3:2

“Your words were found, and I ate them.” Jeremiah 15:16

For John, it turned out just as the Angel said it would, “and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.” The Bible is a book of hope. It details the redemption of mankind, and it provides the gospel narrative. It tells us what God did in order to save us, and it tells us how to appropriate that salvation.

Further, Jesus really is coming back for His people. Because of these things, the Bible – the word of God – is a book of hope, wonderment, and joy. It is all revealed in what God has done, is doing, and will bring to completion for the people of the world. The messianic age will be marvelous to behold. And after that time, we have all of eternity to look forward to as well.

There will be no more pain or suffering. All things will be made new and we will walk in the light of the Lord. These things really will come to pass, and reading about them and conveying them to others is “as sweet as honey” to our souls. However, something else happened to John after eating the book. As he says, “But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.”

When we know something bad is coming in our lives, our stomachs churn and we have all kinds of physical problems associated with that. The bitterness we feel inside can only be resolved by passing through those times of trial and getting to the other side. This is the case with the message John has been tasked to convey, and it should be the case for each of us as we continue reading on in Revelation.

The world really will come to a time of decision, rejection of God, judgment, and destruction. How can the love of God be complete in our hearts when we know that each person who dies apart from Christ will be eternally separated from God and sent to a place of eternal torment? This should be a great and bitter thought of all for each of us. However, one thing we cannot do in the process is to waffle on our convictions.

Life application: Like Ezekiel of the past, we need to stand firm and proclaim God’s word in its entirety –

“But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ⁹ Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.” Ezekiel 3:7-9

John finished Chapter 9 with mournful words after the great battle that killed “a third of mankind” –

“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. ²¹ And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelation 9:20, 21

The bitterness of conveying what the rejection of God means is something that John faced, and it is something we must face as well. Many will be lost because they have rejected the fount of true life. But some will be saved. Let us be sure to continue to tell what God has done. Let us continue to tell the precious gospel message concerning JESUS.

It is true Lord, the thought of your coming judgment is a difficult concept to stomach, especially when we understand Your mercy provided in the cross of Jesus. But it is this very cross that demands Your justice on all who reject the offer, the glorious offer, of grace and peace that was given there. Truly You are just when You judge, O God. Amen.

Monday, 1 February 2021

So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”
And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Revelation 10:9

John was just told to take the little book that was open in the hand of the angel. In compliance with that directive, he says, “So I went.” It is a compound word in the Greek beginning with the preposition apo, signifying away, or from. The imagery here is in the form of a vision, and so he “went away” to the angel, as if he is moving from one place to another. In this movement, he says to the angel, “Give me the book.”

He complied with what he was told to do. The symbolism here seems to reflect what occurred in Isaiah 6. Isaiah had a vision of the Lord. During that vision, someone was needed to go forth and proclaim the Lord’s words to Israel. With that in mind, it says –

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
‘Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?’
Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” Isaiah 6:8

In Revelation, the Angel is standing there with this little open book in His hand, anticipating that someone will take it and proclaim its contents. John is instructed to take it and he complies with the instruction. In doing so, John says, “And he said to me, ‘take and eat it.’” This is what happened to Ezekiel as well. Ezekiel saw a hand with a scroll in it. On the scroll were writings of lamentations, mourning, and woe. When he saw it, the account then says –

“Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ ² So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.
³ And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.’ So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.” Ezekiel 3:1-3

Like Ezekiel, John is instructed to take the book and eat it. For Ezekiel, there was the effect of it filling his stomach, but first was the effect of it being like honey in sweetness. The taste of honey represents the sweetness of the word of God –

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:7-11

&

“How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103

For John, there are two effects to be realized. Quoting the words of the Angel, he says, “and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

Nothing is said of the bitter stomach in Ezekiel, but it is surely implied because the words on the scroll are of “lamentations, mourning, and woe.” In other words, the taste of the word of God is sweet, but there is also the responsibility of conveying the word to others. It is a sobering and difficult responsibility. For Jeremiah, both effects can be seen. First, from Jeremiah 16 –

“Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

However, Jeremiah also says –

“O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded;
You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.
I am in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
⁸ For when I spoke, I cried out;
I shouted, ‘Violence and plunder!’
Because the word of the Lord was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
⁹ Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.’
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.” Jeremiah 20:7-9

Jeremiah ate the words and they blessed him, but in conveying them to others, he found that the mission was painful and a burden. But he bore the commission and found himself unable to withhold the words he had eaten. John is being given a commission in his taking of the book. He too must proclaim the word, even if it makes his stomach bitter.

Life application: When we meditate on God’s word, we can compare ourselves to what it says. In this, we find that God is infinitely greater than we are, and we can never compare to what His word proclaims – absolute holiness and complete purity. Because of this, it makes our stomach bitter, knowing our fallen state. And even more – when we share it with others, knowing that we are sharing God’s truth, we can expect those who hear it will often shun us and revile us.

Many people want nothing to do with holiness and purity. They will accuse those who proclaim the word of being “holier than thou.” And when we proclaim God’s judgment for rejecting His word, the accusations and hatred only grow more intense.

The world is at war with God and His word, and this brings about bitterness and strife. But let us never compromise God’s word for the sake of tolerance or non-confrontation. We are in a spiritual war and all wars contain bitterness, lamentation, and woe. But there is also great reward for those who proclaim the word, and for those who hear it and respond. That reward is JESUS!

Lord, fill us with Your word. Surely it is sweeter than honey to the mouth. In tasting its sweetness, may we never withhold its truth or diminish the lessons it teaches us, even though they can be hard to stomach, even causing bitterness of soul. And, Lord, give us the desire, stamina, and fortitude to stand fast on Your word and to proclaim it to the people of the world. It is a message the world simply cannot do without. Amen.