3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
This third verse places before us God’s spoken blessing upon the reader[1] (pastor?) of this staggering Revelation, together with those that are hearing the reading (the assembled believers?). God does not often use a benediction such as this associated with the reading and hearing of His Word (words). This fact alone ought to encourage all genuine believers to expect great blessedness from personally receiving this Revelation of Christ in all of its fullness, by faith. Approaching the book in this manner is far superior to being hesitant and expecting to be confused about what is written here.
The second clause in this verse, ‘and keep those things which are written therein,’ does not suggest some new, and more advanced ‘duty’ laid upon believers. It is a present active participle, meaning that is a verb used as a noun: “the Keeping ones.” It is the same verb used in Revelation 3:3 where it is an imperative (a command): ‘Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.’ In that usage it is a command. In our passage it is a part of the benediction: ‘Blessed are the keeping ones.’ It simply identifies that the blessedness is associated with the ‘holding onto,’ in faith, not merely the physical act of listening to or reading.
The Lord closes out this introductory portion with another phrase, similar to one we have previously encountered: ‘for the time is at hand.’ The best way to approach phrases like this, when God uses them in His Word, is to remember that time is not at all the same in the mind of God as it is in the mind of man. These very words were written close to 2,000 years ago. For us, that is a very long time. For God it clearly is not. Anyone that attempts to ‘hang a calendar on’ phrases like this in God’s Word is dabbling in speculation, and trying to establish as certain something that God Himself has deliberately left unclear.
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How does this portion of the Truth given by God in the book of The Revelation help me to better see and understand the Revelation of Jesus Christ?
What have learned about Jesus Christ from these introductory verses?
1. The entire book is intended to reveal Him.
2. This revelation of Jesus Christ passes from God the Father, to His angel, to His servant John, ultimately to His servants (willing bondslaves) through being read in the assemblies.
3. The full testimony of the saints regarding Jesus Christ demands receiving The Revelation of Him in this book.
4. This revelation of Jesus Christ has been available to the servant of God through His assemblies for nearly 2,000 years, though it is said to reveal what ‘must shortly come to pass,’ making it clear that God did not intend for it to be able to be put on any kind of prophetic ‘calendar.’ It is not about WHEN, it is about HIM!
[1] Singular noun, suggests that this refers to the book being read aloud to a group. Clearly denoting the labor in the Word in the assemblies.