Revelation 10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 10
A Small Scroll: Sweet and Bitter.[a] 1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire, 2 and his hand held a small scroll that had been opened.
Placing his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 the angel gave forth a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders spoke. 4 After the seven thunders had spoken, I was preparing to write when I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, but do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever and who created heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them: “There will be no further delay. 7 When the time comes for the seventh angel to sound his trumpet, the mysterious purpose of God[b] will be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the Prophets.”
8 Then I again heard the voice that had spoken to me from heaven, and it said, “Go and take that open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 Therefore, I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He replied, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
10 I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it did taste as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy once again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 10:1 The large scroll, whose seven seals are being broken one after another, is said to contain the entire History of Salvation, which unfolds from Christ’s Death and Resurrection to the day of the final judgment. This history is brought to mind from the viewpoint of the destiny of the Jewish people, but the last episode in this history includes the judgment and salvation of the nations, which are here set forth.
An angel brings forth and unrolls another text; the messenger dominates heaven and the sea, i.e., his announcement concerns the whole universe. The scroll that the angel is holding here contains the story of clashes between the Church and the forces that control the pagan world. It is a small scroll, because the events told in it are connected with the history of Israel, in which the end of Jerusalem introduces the era of the nations.
There will be no more delay. Everything remains secret, yet everything will be played out between the sixth and the seventh trumpet. The scene of the scroll that is eaten was inspired by an account of Ezekiel (2:8—3:3). The revelation is sweet and bitter: sweet because it is a word of salvation and makes known the final triumph of Christ and his faithful; bitter because it announces the trials and tribulations that in so many texts of the Bible precede the judgment of God. The Gospel speaks of the joy of the woman giving birth in sorrow (Jn 16:21). - Revelation 10:7 The mysterious purpose of God: literally, “the mystery of God,” i.e., the end of the present age when the power of evil will be overcome (see Rev 17:1—19:4, 11-21; 20:7-10; Rom 16:25f; 2 Thes 2:6-12) and the Kingdom of God is established and all creation is renewed (see Rev 21:1—22:5).
Revelation 10
King James Version
10 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,
3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4 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.
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6 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:
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.
11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Apocalipsis 10
Reina Valera Contemporánea
El ángel con el librito
10 Entonces vi descender del cielo a otro ángel poderoso. Venía envuelto en una nube y con el arco iris sobre su cabeza. Su rostro era semejante al sol, y sus piernas parecían dos columnas de fuego. 2 En su mano tenía un librito abierto, y se quedó con el pie derecho sobre el mar y con el izquierdo sobre la tierra; 3 en ese momento lanzó un grito tan fuerte como el rugido de un león, y se oyó la estruendosa voz de siete truenos. 4 Después de que hablaron los siete truenos, me dispuse a escribir, pero desde el cielo oí una voz que me decía: «No reveles lo que han dicho los siete truenos. No lo escribas.» 5 Entonces el ángel que vi que estaba sobre el mar y sobre la tierra levantó su mano derecha al cielo 6 y jurando por el que vive por los siglos de los siglos, por el mismo que creó el cielo, la tierra y el mar, y todo lo que hay en ellos, dijo: «¡Se acabó el tiempo! 7 Cuando llegue el momento de que el séptimo ángel comience a tocar la trompeta, se cumplirá el misterio de Dios, que él ya había anunciado a sus siervos los profetas.»(A)
8 La voz que oí del cielo volvió a hablarme, y me dijo: «Ve y toma el librito abierto que tiene en la mano el ángel que está de pie sobre el mar y la tierra.» 9 Yo me dirigí al ángel y le pedí que me diera el librito. Y él me dijo: «Aquí lo tienes. Cómetelo. Te amargará el estómago, pero en tus labios será dulce como la miel.» 10 Yo tomé el librito de la mano del ángel, y me lo comí. En mis labios era dulce como la miel, pero una vez que lo comí, me amargó el estómago.(B) 11 Y se me dijo: «Debes profetizar otra vez acerca de muchos pueblos, naciones, lenguas y reyes.»
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