^10:10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

I took the little SCROLL from the angel’s hand and ATE it.

This act is one of "digesting" the Word of God. The fact that it is a "little SCROLL" may mean it was all that John could handle of the great knowledge of God. When Jesus was tempted on the physical level, He replied in the spiritual, Matthew 4:1-11. If Christ quoted scripture to repel the devil, how much more we need to know God's Word to repel the devil.

God's words are sweet, Jeremiah 15:15-18. But they also are distressing because they carry the responsibility to prophesy (see next verse).

It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

There is GREAT JOY in understanding SALVATION (John 3:36). The converse is also true: REJECTING CHRIST brings JUDGMENT (Mark 16:16).

The first half of the tribulation period for raptured believers apparently will be a time for observation and preparation for service. The second half requires their full participation (symbolically the stomach as the seat of energy).