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1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. 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.
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[AD 220] Tertullian on Revelation 10:1
The angel also, as he goes forth on a white horse, conquering and to conquer, receives a crown of victory; and another is adorned with an encircling rainbow (as it were in its fair colours)-a celestial meadow.

Source: De Corona
[AD 304] Victorinus of Pettau on Revelation 10:1-2
"I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand an open book: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth." He signifies that that mighty angel who, he says, descended from heaven, clothed with a cloud, is our Lord, as we have above narrated.

"His face was as it were the sun." That is, with respect to the resurrection.

"Upon his head was a rainbow." He points to the judgment which is executed by Him, of shall be.

"An open book." A revelation of works in the future judgment, or the Apocalypse which John received.

"His feet," as we have said above, are the apostles. For that both things in sea and land are trodden under foot by Him, signifies that all things are placed under His feet. Moreover, he calls Him an angel, that is, a messenger, to wit, of the Father; for He is called the Messenger of great counsel. He says also that He cried with a loud voice. The great voice is to tell the words of the Omnipotent God of heaven to men, and to bear witness that after penitence is closed there will be no hope subsequently.

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
[AD 390] Ticonius on Revelation 10:1
In this angel the person of our Savior is indicated. On his body he wears the church as though she were a cloud. For the church was constituted in the body of Christ and is often described in diverse manners. At times we read of her as a cloud, as a robe, as the sun, as the moon and as clothes white as snow. And even the saints are compared with clouds, as we read in the prophet Isaiah, “These are they who will fly as the clouds.” To be sure, the cloud with which he is clothed is his body, which was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The “rainbow over his head” indicates the promise and the perseverance of his church. “His face was like the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.” There is here a great and marvelous plan, so that at the beginning of this book he might show the fire of the last persecution and afterward might indicate the future brightness of the saints as a fire. For at first he spoke of “his feet as refined in a furnace,” and afterward he describes his face “as the shining in full strength.” That he might show how great is the brightness of the church, he now mentions the face before the feet, which are refined, and afterward compares his feet with pillars of fire.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:1
[AD 560] Primasius of Hadrumetum on Revelation 10:1
He sees the Lord Christ coming down from heaven dressed in a cloud, which is the church. Or, he is clothed by the cloud of his flesh, which is elsewhere said to be a new bride who descends from heaven, or as Daniel says, the Son of man has come on the clouds of the heavens. The arc above his head represents the promise of propitiation, which remains among those who are good, but it signifies also those who will be decorated with martyrdom before the advent of the Lord, as Abel and others.… And his face was as the sun, since the Lord Jesus Christ was made manifest through the glory of the resurrection, of which we read, “In the sun he has set his tabernacle,” that is, where he is revealed so that he might no longer be hidden. For by his face is indicated the revelation of the present, which the prophet awaited and said, “Show your face, and we shall be saved.” His feet are the apostles who were enflamed by the words of God and by the Holy Spirit and were sent out to preach. As it says, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road and opened to us the Scriptures?” They are called “pillars” on account of the stability of the church, and of them the prophet said, “I have strengthened its pillars,” and “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet which announce and declare peace.” Finally, the apostle said, “Who [Peter, James, John] were reputed to be pillars of the church.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:1
[AD 614] Andreas of Caesarea on Revelation 10:1
The cloud, the rainbow and the light like the sun show how we are to understand this holy angel. For through these [symbols] the manifold character of its virtues and the brightness of the angelic nature and understanding is revealed.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:1
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:1
And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. The Lord, the angel of great counsel, descended from heaven, clothed with the cloud of flesh. As Isaiah also says: Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and will come to Egypt (Isaiah XIX), and a rainbow was upon his head. Around the good, the promise of propitiation remains.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:1
And his face was like the sun, etc. With the face of the Lord shining, that is, his knowledge manifested through the glory of the resurrection, his feet are prepared to evangelize and proclaim peace on the mountains (Romans X), illuminated by the fire of the Holy Spirit, and established like pillars. For James, Cephas, and John seemed to be pillars of the Church.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 990] Oecumenius on Revelation 10:1-4
So, therefore, all those who are still living and who have heard or even beheld the punishments of sinners, and have not repented but remained in their wickedness, as was said earlier, he says against these, I saw an angel who had come down from heaven, bearing different forms of punishments.

He says that the look of him and his appearance was like this: He was wrapped in a cloud. The cloud symbolizes the incorporeality and invisibility of the holy angels, for the cloud is a type of what cannot be seen. For the prophet, indicating clearly the invisibility of God, says, “Clouds and darkness are round about him.”

And there is a rainbow over his head, just as if he were saying that the sum and excellence of the angels’ good qualities is their brilliance. For they are angels of light.

He says, And his face was like the sun. And this is the proof of their original pure brilliance. But the rainbow has a created brilliance, indicating the brilliance that comes from the angelic virtues. So the brilliance of the rainbow is not of a single form, but is variegated, indicating all the virtues of angels. The sun symbolizes their sparkling nature. Wherefore he was wrapped in the rainbow, for their virtues are wrapped around us. But his face was like the sun, for among us the sun is a wholly natural boon.

And his feet were like pillars of fire. The fire indicates the retribution which he came to bring upon the impious.

He says, He had in his hand a miniature open scroll. Daniel mentioned such little scrolls, saying, “The court sat in judgment before him, and the scrolls were opened.” It was the miniature scroll in which were written both the names and the iniquities of the exceedingly impious who were to be punished. Wherefore he spoke of the miniature scroll, using a diminutive, since a scroll, or little scroll—for both descriptions occur in Holy Scripture—is that in which the names of all human beings have been written, as I have already said—but the miniature scroll is that in which are the names of the exceedingly impious. For those who worshiped images and were guilty of murder and witchcraft and were sick with the other evils that he recounted are unlikely to be numerous enough to fill a whole little scroll.

He says, And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land: this indicates the huge size of the holy ones; but it also shows that he was bringing retribution both to those who had sinned on land and to those on the sea, such as pirates or those who had harmed others at sea.

And he called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring: that the holy angel should roar like lions is a symbol of his wrath against the impious.

He says, And when he called out, the seven thunders made their own voices heard. By the seven thunders he means the seven ministering spirits, which have been mentioned earlier. That is why the definite article is used. He means that the seven thunders are analogous to those seven spirits.

What does the cry of the seven spirits mean? It means that they give their entire support to the punishment of the sinners, offering a thanksgiving hymn to God, because he has done everything justly. At the same time also as they cried out, they disclosed the different forms of punishment.

He says, I was about to write what was said by the seven spirits. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down. For seal means, “Have the recollection engraved in your mind,” but being prevented from committing it to writing implies a purpose the reason for which is known to God. Perhaps the punishments were lighter than those normally considered appropriate and reflect the goodness of the one inflicting the penalty, and so tended to make them contemptible for people.

What do blessed Gregory and all-knowledgeable Evagrius say about these things? The former says, “The retribution” for Adam and his kind “is compassion for humankind; for this is how I believe God punishes.” And in another place he says, “Neither is mercy without judgment, nor is judgment without mercy.” Evagrius says, “The deeper account of judgment may well escape the notice of the youth and the worldly; for they do not know” distress, “since their rational soul has been condemned to ignorance.”

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse
[AD 390] Ticonius on Revelation 10:2
With reason did his face shine “as the sun in full strength,” for he opened the book that had been sealed in mystery. “He placed his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the land,” so that he might confirm the precept of his law by land and by sea. Nor was it without reason that he placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. In the right foot he signifies the stronger members who have been made firm through great dangers. In the left foot he indicates the crowd of candidates who have not yet received the sign of the faith.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:2
[AD 560] Primasius of Hadrumetum on Revelation 10:2
If earlier the deep secrets of the Old Testament were recognized to have been hidden in the sealed book, it is appropriate that the revealed grace of the New Testament is believed to be disclosed here in the opened book. Therefore, the apostle confidently says, “And we, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from glory to glory, as though by the Spirit of the Lord.” Indeed, this is why his face is said to shine like the sun. Moreover, the right foot upon the sea represents those members who are strong so that they might suffer the attacks of persecution.… The left foot upon the land represents those who are not exposed to the greater dangers. For God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with temptation [he] provides also a way, so that we might endure. It is certain, nonetheless, that the proclamation is extended by way of land and sea.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:2
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:2
And he had in his hand a little book open. This is the book previously mentioned, which, long closed by its cover, was finally opened by the grace of the Lord, so that, according to the prophet, even the deaf might hear the words of the book (Isaiah XXIX). And his face deservedly shines like the sun, because he now carries the book open.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:2
And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land. The preaching of the Christian faith is spread by land and sea. But, allegorically, stronger members are set in greater dangers, and others in suitable places. For God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians X).

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 304] Victorinus of Pettau on Revelation 10:3-9
"Seven thunders uttered their voices." The seven thunders uttering their voices signify, the Holy Spirit of sevenfold power, who through the prophets announced all things to come, and by His voice John gave his testimony in the world; but because he says that he was about to write the things which the thunders had uttered, that is, whatever things had been obscure in the announcements of the Old Testament; he is forbidden to write them, but he was charged to leave them sealed, because he is an apostle, nor was it fitting that the grace of the subsequent stage should be given in the first. "The time," says he, "is at hand."45 For the apostles, by powers, by signs, by portents, and by mighty works, have overcome unbelief. After them there is now given to the same completed Churches the comfort of having the prophetic Scriptures subsequently interpreted, for I said that after the apostles there would be interpreting prophets.

For the apostle says: "And he placed in the Church indeed, first, apostles; secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers,"46 and the rest. And in another place he says: "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others judge."47 And he says: "Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoureth her head"48 And when he says, "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others judge," he is not speaking in respect of the Catholic prophecy of things unheard and unknown, but of things both announced and known. But let them judge whether or not the interpretation is consistent with the testimonies of the prophetic utterance.49 It is plain, therefore, that to John, armed as he was with superior virtue, this was not necessary, although the body of Christ, which is the Church, adorned with His members, ought to respond to its position.

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
[AD 560] Primasius of Hadrumetum on Revelation 10:3
[The loud voice] indicates that through his servants he was proclaimed faithfully and with strength. As the prophet says, “And he made firm the glory of his strength.” “When he called out, the seven thunders sounded.” Because of the known use of the number seven, I think that the seven thunders signify the various manners of the church’s preaching. The apostle Paul spoke of this concerning his service to others, “As babes in Christ, I fed you with milk, not solid food,” however to others, “solid food is for the perfect,” yet also to others, “avoid the heretical man after the first and second admonition.” Therefore, the church is said to proclaim rightly through its usual offices of preaching.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:3
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:3
And when he cried out, the seven thunders uttered their voices. When the Lord preaches mightily, the Church, also full of sevenfold grace, raises its voices to preach. For the lion roars, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who will not prophesy (Amos III)? For the seven thunders are the same as the seven trumpets of which he speaks.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 390] Ticonius on Revelation 10:4
It was said to him, “Do not write” that which you have heard, so that what is in mystery and is reserved to the church would not be revealed to those who are unworthy and faithless.… [Elsewhere] he says, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” He shows that there are those to whom the mystery ought to be sealed and those to whom it ought to be opened. As the Lord himself said, “To you”—he is speaking to his disciples—“it has been given to know the secret of the kingdom of God, but for others it is in parables.” It says, “Let him who continues to do evil, do evil still, and him who is filthy, be filthy still, and let him who is righteous still perform more righteous deeds, and likewise the holy more holy deeds.” This is to say, “This is why I speak to them in parables, that they who do not see may see and they who see might become blind.” And again, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” Daniel likewise said, “Seal the book until the time of the consummation.” And [John] explains why he was commanded to seal the book in the following words, “Let the unrighteous transgress so that all the wicked and the sinners might not know, but let those who understand understand.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:4
[AD 614] Andreas of Caesarea on Revelation 10:4
This shows that what is now undisclosed is to be explained through experience and the course of the events themselves. And from the heavenly voice the Evangelist learned that the voices are to be imprinted on the mind but that the final understanding and the clear interpretation of them is reserved for the last times.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:4
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:4
And when the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write. For earlier he heard: What you see, write in a book (Revelation I).

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:4
Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write it down. The mysteries of the Christian faith are neither to be shown to all indiscriminately, lest they become cheap, nor hidden from the worthy, lest they be entirely unknown. Hence, later he heard: Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (Revelation XXII). Both are comprehended in one verse in Daniel, where it is said to him through the angel: Seal the book and shut up the words until the appointed time (Daniel XII).

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 614] Andreas of Caesarea on Revelation 10:5-6
God swears by himself, since there is none greater than he. But the angels, being creatures, swear by the Creator, for due to our untrustworthiness, they are the guarantors of what is said by them. They swear either that in the coming age there will no longer be time which is measured by the sun, since eternal life is transcendent to temporal measure, or they swear that there is not much time after the six voices of the angel before the prophecies are fulfilled.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:5-6
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:5-6
And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore, etc. The angel swears by the one who lives forever, as Christ, coming in the name of the Father, confirms his words with his unchangeable truth: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matthew XXIV).

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 990] Oecumenius on Revelation 10:5-7
This is said in the form of an ellipse; for he means that when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, all the different and varied punishments of the wicked will be completed. But he says that this will not take place now when the trumpet sounds in the vision, since the other events had not yet then occurred,

but only when the trumpet is sounded at the appropriate time. After this, he says, the secret purpose of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants the prophets (Rv 10.7). For up to the time of the judgment and the rewarding and punishment of the good and the bad, the prophets prophesied, but after this they said no more. Therefore, when in that age the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, all God’s secret purpose will be fulfilled, together with every prophetic prediction.

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:6
Who created heaven and the things that are in it, etc. Standing on the sea and land, and reaching up to heaven, he fittingly swears by the Creator of heaven, earth, and sea.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:6
Because time shall be no more. Indeed, as the psalm says, there will be a time for the wicked forever (Psalm LXXX), but the mutable variety of secular times will cease at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and their inheritance will be forever (1 Corinthians XV).

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 390] Ticonius on Revelation 10:7
The seventh trumpet signifies the end of the persecution and the advent of the Lord, our Savior. For this reason the apostle Paul said that the resurrection of the dead would occur “at the last trumpet.” Therefore, he affirms that in the time of the future peace the time of the church would no longer be one of cleansing. For the final persecution will cleanse the church until the seventh trumpet.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:7
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:7
The mystery of God will be finished, etc. The mystery which is now preached will then be completed, when the wicked will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matthew XXV).

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 560] Primasius of Hadrumetum on Revelation 10:8
The voice from heaven is the command of God, who breathes into the heart of the church and orders her to receive from the open book that which the church is to preach before the future peace. For it seems to us that to accept the open book from the hand of the angel is to understand the truth of the law and the prophets, which has been made manifest in Christ. And for that reason it says that [the church] should take the open book, which is no longer, as above, the sealed [book]. “For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness for everyone who believes.” Christ, who is the truth, wished then to be born from the earth, that is, from Mary, when “Righteousness looked down from heaven.” That is why I think that it is said, “I heard a voice from heaven speaking with me,” just as [Christ] himself said, “I am the Beginning who is also speaking to you.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:8
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:8
And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again, etc. As the Lord reveals the mysteries of the future time, saying: For the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew X), the Church is also admonished to take up the same book of preaching. Although these words can also be fittingly applied to John himself, who would return to preach after exile.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 990] Oecumenius on Revelation 10:8-11
And the voice that I heard from heaven, I heard it again, he says, speaking to me. What was it saying? “Take the little scroll from the angel.”

I took it, he says, and ate it, and it was sweet in my mouth, but after eating it was bitter in my stomach. Since the blessed evangelist both saw and heard the punishments imposed on the wicked, in order that it might be instilled by deed and not only by report that the sins of humankind were hated by God, being bitter and abominable, the teaching of the vision is this—for as he was a holy and chaste man he did not know this from experience—that in this way he might know that the wrath of God against the wicked was just. For the little scroll contained both the names and the transgressions of those who had sinned very grievously, as was said earlier.

Therefore, he was commanded to eat it, that as though by tasting and a kind of spiritual experience he might share through the vision in the bitterness of sins. And when he ate it he found that they were sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his stomach after eating; for that is just like every sin. It is sweet while it is being performed, but bitter when accomplished. It thus provides grounds for punishment, and even in repentance it makes bitter those who have performed it. This was also just like the tree forbidden by God in paradise which all expound allegorically as sin, since it introduced the knowledge of good and evil, of good in the taste, but of evil after the experience.

He says, And he said to me, “You must again prophesy over many peoples and nations and kings,” just as if he were saying, “Since in a vision you have seen the consummation of the present age and God’s wrath against the wicked, do not now think that the day of consummation is actually present; there is a long time meanwhile for you to prophesy to many nations and kings.” So up till now blessed John has been prophesying by means of his gospel, his general epistles, and the present Revelation. For all that he has said and prophesied has been in the Spirit.

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Revelation 10:9-10
“Our belly stuck to the ground.” They mean that “our belly” consented to the impious persuasion of that dust [i.e., godless persecutors]; for that is what the expression “stuck to” implies.… To cling to God is to do his will. It makes sense, then, to say of the belly that it clung to the earth, when we mean those people who could not hold out under persecution but yielded to the will of the wicked; for this is how they “stuck to the earth.” But why are they called “the belly”? Because they are carnal. It suggests that the church’s mouth is to be found in the saints, in spiritual people, and the church’s belly in the carnal. This is why the church’s mouth is plainly visible, but its belly is covered up, as befits something weaker and more vulnerable. Scripture supports this interpretation in the passage where someone says he was given a book to eat, “and the book was sweet in my mouth but bitter in my stomach.” What can that mean? Surely that the highest precepts, which spiritual persons accept, are unacceptable to the carnal, and that commands that delight the spiritual only give the carnal indigestion. What is in that book, brothers and sisters? “Go and sell all you possess, and give the money to the poor.” How sweet is that command in the church’s mouth! All the spiritual have obeyed it. But if you tell any sensual person to do that, he or she is more likely to walk sadly away, as the rich man in the Gospel walked away from the Lord, than to fulfill the injunction. Why does a carnal person walk away? Because that book, so sweet to the mouth, is bitter in the belly.

Source: EXPLANATION OF PSALM 43.25
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Revelation 10:9-10
“It will be sweet in your mouth but bitter in your stomach.” By the mouth we are to understand the good and spiritual Christians, while by the stomach we understand the carnal and dissolute. And so it is that when the word of God is preached, it is sweet to the spiritual, but to the carnal, whose “god is the belly” as the apostle says, it seems bitter and harsh.

Source: EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:10, HOMILY 8
[AD 560] Primasius of Hadrumetum on Revelation 10:9-10
[I told the angel to give me the book.] The church is moved by divine inspiration to be thoroughly instructed about this mystery. “And he said, ‘Take and eat it.’ ” This means that he was to store [the book] in his secret inward parts. “And it will be bitter to your stomach but sweet as honey in your mouth.” This means that when you receive it, you will be delighted by the sweetness of the divine speech and by the hope of the promised salvation and by the sweetness of the divine justice; however, you will then sense bitterness when you begin to preach this to the pious and to the impious. For when the preaching of the divine judgment is heard, some are turned by the bitterness of penance and are changed for the better, while others are offended and become yet more hardened and bear a bitter hatred toward the preachers. “Reprove a wise man, and he will love you; refute a foolish man, and he will hate you.” But the preacher takes in bitterness from either of these two persons. For he either sheds tears with the penitents out of a feeling of compassion, or he is tormented by the bitterness that comes from their failure. For this reason the apostle said, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart; for I wished that I myself were accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers.” But I think it more apt that the bitterness mentioned here be attributed to the impious alone and the sweetness to the pious. For the spiritual person can say, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth!”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:9
[AD 614] Andreas of Caesarea on Revelation 10:9-10
He says that although the knowledge of future things will be sweet to you, at the same time it will be bitter to your stomach, that is, to your heart, which is the dwelling place of spiritual foods. For you will have compassion on those who receive punishments given according to God’s judgment.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:9
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:9
And I went to the angel, saying to him that he should give me the book. Let him approach the Lord who wishes to receive the mysteries of teaching.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:9
And he said to me: Take the book and devour it. That is, insert it into your innermost parts and inscribe it in the breadth of your heart.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 304] Victorinus of Pettau on Revelation 10:10
"I took the book from the hand of the angel, and ate it up." To take the book and eat it up, is, when exhibition of a thing is made to one, to commit it to memory.

"And it was in my mouth as sweet as honey." To be sweet in the mouth is the reward of the preaching of the speaker, and is most pleasant to the hearers; but it is most bitter both to those that announce it, and to those that persevere in its commandments through suffering.

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:10
And it will make your belly bitter, etc. When you receive it, you will be delighted by the sweetness of the divine word, but you will feel bitterness when you begin to preach and act upon what you have understood. Or indeed, it should be understood according to Ezekiel, who, when he said he had devoured the book, added, And I went in bitterness in the indignation of my spirit.

Source: Commentary on Revelation
[AD 304] Victorinus of Pettau on Revelation 10:11
"And He says unto me, Thou must again prophesy to the peoples, and to the tongues, and to the nations, and to many kings." He says this, because when John said these things he was in the island of Patmos, condemned to the labour of the mines by Caesar Domitian. There, therefore, he saw the Apocalypse; and when grown old, he thought that he should at length receive his quittance by suffering, Domitian being killed, all his judgments were discharged. And John being dismissed from the mines, thus subsequently delivered the same Apocalypse which he had received from God. This, therefore, is what He says: Thou must again prophesy to all nations, because thou seest the crowds of Antichrist rise up; and against them other crowds shall stand, and they shall fall by the sword on the one side and on the other.

Source: Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
[AD 390] Ticonius on Revelation 10:11
In the one angel he clearly shows the body of the church. Although he speaks of one, he shows many. “He says to me, ‘You must preach again.’ ” When did the church ever cease from its preaching, so that she should preach again what she had preached before? However, in the whole world [the church] is commanded to preach again among the peoples, tribes, tongues and in many regions what she had preached before. For there is one church diffused throughout the whole world, which she has filled with its preaching.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:11
[AD 614] Andreas of Caesarea on Revelation 10:11
This passage indicates either that after the vision of the divine Revelation, that which was seen will not immediately receive its fulfillment, but that the saint must prophesy to those who read his Gospel and his Revelation until the consummation. Or the passage indicates that [John] would not yet taste death, but that at the end he would come to hinder the acceptance of the deceit of the antichrist.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:11
[AD 735] Bede on Revelation 10:11
And he said to me: You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations. He explains what the book eaten and the sweetness mixed with bitterness signify, namely, that, being freed from exile, he would preach the Gospel to the nations, sweet indeed with love, but bitter with the persecutions to be endured.

Source: Commentary on Revelation