Eating scrolls

Tonight Marie and I were reading Revelation 10:9 which, like most of the other verses in Revelation, can be a bit hard to understand.

In the verse, a massive angel says to John, the narrator, "Take [this scroll] and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."

Here's my take on this verse, and yes, it does have something to do with leadership. (I don't just exegete for self-expression, y'know!)

Being a leader is similar to being a prophet. Both types of people see what others don't see. That experience of gaining insight is a wonderful, beautiful thing ("sweet as honey"). It's indescribable.

But when a leader, or a prophet, tries to communicate that message in its intensity and purity to someone else, they often meet blank stares or outright resistance. Turns your stomach sour.

For some similar thoughts from a few years ago, see this issue of Communicate from June 2002.