Sweet in Thy Mouth — Bitter in Thy Belly
from Mystery of God
Uranda April 11, 1953 Class
Tonight I would like to meditate with you for a
little time on certain portions of that blueprint with the specifications which
we speak of as the Book of Revelation. The introduction to this
particular subject of meditation is contained in the Tenth Chapter. I would
like to read the entire chapter to you so that you may feel the vibrational
pattern of the context:
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:
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,
And cried with a
loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried,
seven
thunders uttered their voices.
And 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.
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth
lifted up his hand to heaven,
And 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
And he said unto me,
Thou must prophesy again
before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and
kings.
This concluding verse makes the statement that the author of the Book of Revelation was to prophesy again
before many peoples, and nations, and tongues and kings. Obviously, since this
outworking was near the end of the life manifestation of the one who penned the
words, the promise was for another time, another incarnation in his service on
earth. But our particular point tonight is contained in the seventh Verse.
“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.”
Here we have a definite assurance that the time would come on earth
when God would no longer be a mystery to the children of men, when the things
of Heaven would no longer be a mystery on earth. The unification of Heaven and
earth within the range of the consciousness of man is necessary to the
fulfilment of this promise. We are here to share in that outworking by which this
promise may be fulfilled. It is only as you let the mystery of God be finished
in you that you can be a means by which the mystery of God may be finished in
the world. In relationship to this pattern of outworking, we have here a remarkable
picture of the process of incarnation, for each and every one here came into
the world to fulfill a certain task, came into the world to share this divine
fulfilment.
“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.”
This is the book of the individual life, the individual purpose,
according to the Divine Design.
“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,
“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.”
The willingness to come
into the world, the willingness to follow out the pattern of the Divine Design,
is signified here. And the action necessary to that was pictured as being sweet
as honey in the mouth. The actual outworking of the experience in life on earth
could not be anticipated as being altogether pleasant, and so in the belly—that
is in the process of digestion, outworking or fulfilment—the book is bitter in
the belly. God does not give any assurance that when we come into the world to serve
all things will be pleasing, that there will be no difficulties, no obstacles. We
have all experienced in one way or another something of what it means to have this
book of individual life expression prove to be bitter in one's belly. But knowing
that it will be so, or would be so, did not stop us from eating the book,
receiving it into ourselves, accepting the Divine Commission, coming into the
world to accomplish something according to the Divine Design.
Once we begin to
see this portrayal in relationship to ourselves, our purpose on earth, we can
profitably take a moment to consider the passage which outlines the world
condition at the time that is here designated. Remember that the statement is:
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,
the mystery of God should be finished.” Here is a description of the world situation,
the nature of the world condition at the time specified.
“And the seventh angel
sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this
world are became the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign
for ever and ever.”
Now there is the
essence of the message or revelation of the Seventh Angel. You are here sharing
in a Ministry which recognizes the Master’s meaning when He said, “The Kingdom
of Heaven is at hand,” and that we should seek that Kingdom first and let it
manifest. And here is the statement that the time is come, the time of the
sounding of the Voice of the Seventh Angel, when the kingdoms of this world are
to become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for
ever and ever—the process of outworking in the lives of human beings when the Kingdom
of our Lord in Heaven shall be extended into the earth to include the world and
all the kingdoms of this world, that it may be known that they are the Kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ.
© Emissaries of Divine Light
