Moreover, Revelation 10:2 depicts Jesus as standing in a position of great authority, with “his right foot upon the sea, but his left one upon the earth.” So the angel represents Jesus during the Lord’s day.​—See Psalm 8:4-8; Hebrews 2:5-9.

18. (a) What was John commanded to eat? (b) In a similar vision, what was Ezekiel commanded to eat, and with what effect?

¹⁸ Jesus, in this magnificent visionary form, has a little scroll in his hand, and John is instructed to take the scroll and eat it. (Revelation 10:8, 9) In this way, John has an experience very similar to that of Ezekiel, who was also commanded to eat a visionary scroll.

20. What happened when John ate the little scroll, and what resulted from his doing so?

²⁰ In John’s case, the results of his eating the scroll were similar. He reports: “I took the little scroll out of the hand of the angel and ate it up, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; but when I had eaten it up, my belly was made bitter.” (Revelation 10:10) Eating the scroll was sweet for John too. It was thrilling to have Jehovah’s word become a part of him. Yet the message had a bitter ring to it. Bitter for whom? John was told: “You must prophesy again with regard to peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.”​—Revelation 10:11.