Does Bible prophecy make you sad? I must admit, sometimes it makes me sad. This morning I responded to a question about why prophecy can make a person feel sad. And since others may be experiencing the feeling too, I decided to share my answer. But before I do, let's start by looking at some Scripture. Apostle John wrote:

Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land." So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, "You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings" (Revelation 10: 8-11 New American Standard Bible). 

I don't consider myself a prophet. All I try to do is point to what the Bible says and report news. However, in my study of the prophetic Scripture, I have found that what the angel told John is true. Prophecy can truly be both sweet and bitter. With that said, here is how I responded to this morning's question:

Bible prophecy can be both sweet and bitter. At the beginning it's sweet because it strengthens our faith. But it can turn bitter as we begin to appreciate the implications for the lost world around us. I believe this is the way God wants it. After all, our job is to take the gospel of Jesus to the world. However, sometimes the bitter part of prophecy can overwhelm us and we get sad. That's when we must remember the sweet part. And when we do that, we get happy again.

So, if Bible prophecy has begun making you feel sad, it's probably normal. As we see the prophecies of ancient Scripture being fulfilled, it's hard not to feel sad for the unbelieving world around us. In fact, Jesus is probably feeling sad right now too. That's why we need to put down our minor doctrinal differences and get to work taking His message to others. And if the bitter part begins to overwhelm us, we need to remember the sweet part.

Our Jesus is returning!