Ok, I’ve been reading a bit further, as the narrative in Revelation continues with the opening of the seals, and the seven trumpets sounding, and I got to this part that I had forgotten about in chapter 10, after the seventh seal is opened, and the first six trumpets blow:
“1 And 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:
2 And 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,
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7 But 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.
8 And 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.
9 And 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.
10 And 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.”
I think this “mighty angel” may be a vision of Christ returning triumphant, in his glorified form, as when he speaks, “the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets”. The most important message of God’s prophets and servants was to declare the coming triumph of the Messiah, so I can’t think of what else this could be referring to.
If this is Christ, then the “little book” in his hand may be the same as the “sealed book”, just now opened as the seven seals have been broken. It is interesting that John is told to “eat” the book, and that it tastes sweet but makes his belly feel bitter. I can’t imagine John gnawing on a scroll, so there must be some symbolic meaning there that is still a mystery to me.
You know what is funny? I just got home from a church service, with a special speaker(Jacob Prasch) and a member took me to that scripture and told me he wanted to ask Jacob about it.