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. (Revelation 10:9)
. Compare the symbolism in Eze. 3:1 ( cf. Jer. 15:16). To eat up the book may be thought of as a figure of speech for comprehending fully the meaning of the message contained in the little roll. John’s experience in Rev. 10:10 well describes that of the advent believers as they came more fully to understand the meaning of the three angel’s messages (ch. 14:6-12) in relation to the true fulfillment of the 2300-day prophecy.
John is placed here in the position of expressing his desire for the book. He acts the part of those who proclaimed the advent message in the years 1840-1844.
Though mistaken in expecting Christ to return in 1844, they nevertheless were led of God, and found the message of the near advent precious to their souls. Their computation of the time element in the prophecy of Dan. 8:14 was correct (see comment there), but they were mistaken as to the nature of the event to take place at the end of the 2300 days.