26 December | Teens
«So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.» Revelation 10:9
Have you ever imagined discovering something amazing that gets you super excited, but then you realize it wasn’t quite like that? That happened in the Bible story we’re going to explore today, in chapter 10 of the book of Revelation.
In this chapter, an angel gives John, the writer of the book, a little book to eat. Sounds strange, right? This small book is very important because it is linked to many ancient prophecies of the Bible, especially from the book of Daniel. But it doesn’t stop there... This little book is a symbol of a very important message that God wanted to share with me and you in the last moments of Earth’s history. At first, this message would be sweet as honey to John, but then it made his stomach bitter. This story directly points to what happened with William Miller.
William Miller studied the Bible for years and years and interpreted one of Daniel’s prophecies, that Jesus would return to Earth in 1844. He and many people were super excited about this idea, as if they had found something sweet to eat. But when 1844 came and Jesus didn’t return, everyone felt a bitter sensation, disappointed. This event is known as the Great Disappointment. But you know what? Even when things don’t happen as we expect, God still has a plan for us. This bitter moment helped people to study the Bible more and to better understand God’s promises, and it was from this experience that the Adventist Church emerged!
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Watch the story of how our church began, including the journey of William Miller, in the movie “Tell the World,” available for free on YouTube.