Like the Prophet Ezekiel, John is given a book to eat, which will provide him with the words of his prophecy to the world. It is a very powerful symbol of the way the Christian should see the Word of God. It is only when it has been digested that we can experience it as both sweet and bitter - not a bland tasteless thing. The Word can only issue forth as prophetic word from someone who has 'read, marked, learned and inwardly digested it." Have we ever digested the Word to the point where its force and power has actually made our stomachs turn or our hearts burn"

This force and power is seen in the story of the cleansing of the Temple. The Temple is the place where the Gospel begins and ends, it is the centre from which the faithful ones of the old Israel are called to the Gospel. Jesus in a prophetic way restores it for use as a place of prayer but it is not "for all nations!" This radical approach of Jesus is the bursting of God becoming human yet refusing to participate in sin as he cleanses the Temple of evil ways.