John saw a mighty angel coming down out of heaven and holding a small open scroll. When the angel shouted, it thundered several times, but a voice from heaven prohibited John from recording what the thunder said. The angel affirmed that the living Creator of the universe would no longer delay in completing what he planned for his creation.

1In the vision I saw another mighty angel that was coming down out of heaven. A cloud surrounded him. There was a rainbow over his head. His face shone [SIM] like the sun. His legs looked like pillars of fire.

2He had in his hand a small scroll that was open. He set his right foot on the ocean and his left foot on the land.

3He shouted something with a loud voice, a voice like the roar of a lion. When he shouted this, it thundered seven times, speaking words that I could understand.

4When it thundered like that, I was about to write the words that I heard, but a voice from heaven said to me, “Keep secret what the thunder said! Do not write it down!”

5Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the ocean and the land raised his right hand toward heaven,

6and he asked the one who lives forever, the one who created heaven and everything that is in it, who created the earth and everything that is in it, and who created the ocean and everything that is in it, to affirm that what he said was true. He said that he would surely no longer delay what he had planned to do.

7He said that when the time came for the seventh angel to blow his trumpet, he would complete what God had secretly planned, just like he announced long ago to his servants, the prophets.

The heavenly voice told John to take the open scroll from the angel and eat it. When he had eaten it, he was commanded by God to prophesy again about all people.

8The one whose voice I had heard from heaven spoke to me again. He said, “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the ocean and on the land.”

9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. In your mouth it will taste sweet like honey, but it will make your stomach bitter.”

10I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it tasted sweet like honey, but when I had eaten it, it made my stomach turn sour.

11The one whose voice spoke from heaven said to me, “You must ◄prophesy again/proclaim again what I will reveal to you► about many people-groups, many nations, speakers of many languages [MTY], and many kings.”