[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.
And - what follows from this verse to chap. xi. 13, Revelation
11:13 , , , , , , , , and with "the fulfilling of the mystery of God,"
as it follows under the trumpet of the seventh angel; what is said, verse
11, Revelation 11:11 , , . John's "prophesying again," isunfolded immediately
after; what is said, verse 7, Rev 11:7 concerning "the fulfilling the mystery
of God," is unfolded, Rev. xi. 15 - 19, Revelation 11:15- 19 and in the
following chapters.
[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.
Eat it up - The like was commanded to Ezekiel. This was
an emblem of thoroughly considering and digesting it. And it will make
thy belly bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in thy mouth - The sweetness
betokens the many good things which follow, Revelation 11:1,15, &c.;
the bitterness, the evils which succeedunder the third woe.
[11] And he said unto me, Thou
must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and
kings.
Thou must prophesy again - Of the mystery of God; of
which the ancient prophets had prophesied before. And he did prophesy,
by "measuring the temple," Revelation 11:1; as a prophecy may be delivered
either by words or actions. Concerning people, and nations, and tongues,
and many kings - The people, nations, and tongues are contemporary; but
the kings, being many, succeed one another. These kings are not mentioned
for their own sake, but with a view to the "holy city," Revelation 11:2.
Here is a reference to the great kingdoms in Spain, England, Italy, &c.,
which arose from the eighth century; or at least underwent a considerable
change, as France and Germany in particular; to the Christian, afterward
Turkish, empire in the east; and especially to the various potentates,
who have successively reigned at or over Jerusalem, and do now, at least
titularly, reign over it.
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