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.

In the preceding chapter we had a history of the two great woes that befell apostate Christendom.  In this chapter we have in contrast a portion of the history of God’s true church, to show us that all was not lost even though the Eastern church was greviously tormented by the serpent-tails of the horses and the Western church still continued as before in her sorceries, fornications, and abominable idolatries.

The symbol is that of an angel from heaven.  This is not the seventh, or the third woe angel, who ushers in the general judgment (chap. 11:15-18), but it is a special messenger appearing on earth with the awful message that the end of time is near and that when the seventh angel soon begins to sound the mystery of God shall be finished and there shall be time no longer.  This mighty angel is symbolical of some human agencies of distinguished character; for it stands in striking contrast with the destructive powers described under the preceding trumpets.  When angels appear on the panoramic scene only in the temple above, they themselves are not symbolic characters, but only the conductors of the Revelation; but whenever they appear on earth, they represent distinguished agencies among men.  In the present vision the symbol is drawn, not from the natural world, but from the heavenly, and the scene is laid upon earth; therefore we must look to the history of the church to find its fulfilment in some distinguished agencies appearing for the defence of Christ and his truth.  The cloud, rainbow, face as the sun, and feet as pillars of fire, are doubtless intended to set forth their beautiful, benignant character, and to show that the angel is not such an one as those that were bound in the river Euphrates.  This one has the bow of covenant promise upon his head, and his face shines as the sun.

Where, then, in the history of God’s true church do we find the agencies corresponding to the symbol?  We find them in the holy ministry that he has raised up and is now sending forth to preach the pure gospel and to declare the speedy sounding of the seventh trumpet and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth again.

  “Lo, the angel now is standing on the sea and on the land;
  How his voice the air is rending as to God he lifts his hand! 
  What an awful, awful message!  Help us, Lord, this truth to see: 
  When the seventh trumpet thunders, then shall time no longer be.