Sweet and Bitter

I would not wish to become one of those bores who loves to regale some unsuspecting victim with lurid and lengthy details of his many and varied medical conditions. Nevertheless, I have worked out by trial and error that if I eat something sweet in the later evening, my right foot and legs become restless and agitated during the night, which hinders sleep. Much as I love honey on cornflakes and a nice Cherry Bakewell after supper, they are now off the menu. Levels of sleep have been resumed but at the expense of puddings and treats. What tastes pleasant in the mouth demands an uncomfortable payment until 3-4am, a price I deem too dear.

In Revelation 10:9-11, the apostle John reports:

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”.

What was sweet in the mouth was sharp in the belly. There are several interpretations of this passage, but Matthew Henry of Chester I here quote at length:

An account of the taste and relish which this little book would have, when the apostle had taken it in; at first, while in his mouth, sweet. All persons feel a pleasure in looking into future events, and in having them foretold; and all good men love to receive a word from God, of what import soever it be. But, when this book of prophecy was more thoroughly digested by the apostle, the contents would be bitter; these were things so awful and terrible, such grievous persecutions of the people of God, and such desolation made in the earth, that the foresight and foreknowledge of them would not be pleasant, but painful to the mind of the apostle...

We enjoy looking forward to the glories of Christ’s return and the joys of that final Kingdom, but much that is wicked and odious must occur in the meantime. Thankfully, the sweetness of the end will more than compensate for the bitterness of the middle; the initial sweetness of anticipation is nothing to the endless pleasure of the fulfilment.