- John is commanded to take the little book and eat it; he does so, and receives a commission to prophesy to many peoples, Verses 8-11.
The particular message of the Open Book seems to be the prophecy
about the Temple being Measured and the Two Witnesses, chapter 11; a
prophecy that made John sick at heart, 10:10.
But, in addition to this, may it not be that the "Little Book OPEN",
itself, in its very phraseology, coming, as it does, just before the Seventh
Trumpet, may have been a symbolic hint that there would be an Era
of The OPEN BOOK just preceding the End of the World?
If so, it exactly fits in with the course of History. Strange as it
may seem, the Church, or rather the thing that called itself the Church,
in the Middle Ages, TOOK THE BIBLE FROM THE PEOPLE.
The Popes of Rome, self-appointed Lords of Christendom, usurping to
themselves the place of God on this earth, inserting themselves between
God and man, proclaiming that man could approach God only through
them, pronounced it to be Heresy for a Christian to read the Bible for
himself: and, for Heresy they decreed the Death Sentence. And, by order
of the Popes, through subservient governments, over a period 500 years,
unnumbered multitudes of Christians were tortured and murdered forthe "heresy"
of reading the Bible. Thus, God's Word was Driven out of
Circulation, and became an Unknown Book.
But the Protestant Reformation, under the leadership of Martin Luther,
RESTORED THE BIBLE TO THE PEOPLE. And the Invention of Printing,
about that time, contributed greatly toward making it a Book of the
People. And Modern History, previously of today, has been an Era of the OPEN BOOK, in a sense
never before known. Every Blessing of Modern Civilization is a Direct
Product of the Open Bible:
- Civil and Religious Liberty,
- Popular Education,
- Social Reform,
- Liberty of Conscience,
- and Freedom of Speech.
However, we have a problem, once again. We live in a society in 2008
where these hard fought for freedoms are in a fragile condition. In the
name of "Political-Correctness" we are and will, if nothing is done, loose
all of these. The Bible is under continuous attack and is no longer permitted
to be red in the schools of America. Speech has been essentially squelched
bowing to the so called "Political Correctness." There are no words to emphasize
the extent of our loss of freedoms. The sad thing is that not many seem to even
care. Little fight seems to be left in the Christian heart. Indeed, that seems
to be the bad news. However, we can take comfort in the words of Scripture where
we hear the words, ". . . He will hasten his coming for fear that, if possible, even the very elect
be deceived." Matthew 24:9
- Revelation 10:1