Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Revelation 1: 3, NKJV
Dear God, we long to receive all of the blessings that are promised to those who receive wholeheartedly the revelation of Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen
There is a threefold blessing enclosed in our promise for today. It is hard for some people to believe that in the book of Revelation – a book filled with prophecies of doom, and images of terrifying beasts, and destructive plagues, they could come upon a blessing; of all things, a threefold blessing! Perhaps that is because they have not read, for themselves, “the words of this prophecy.” There are many more such promises contained therein.
The NRSV renders this text in the following words: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.” You see, my friends, in the days when the letters to the seven churches were written and delivered, many of the believers were suffering persecution because they would not participate in “emperor worship.” Many of the Caesars, who considered themselves gods, demanded that their subjects worship them. Those who refused, paid the price of refusal with their lives! So many of the Christians would meet in catacombs, by candlelight, and one of them would read these letters aloud, while the others listened; many determined to keep those things which were written therein. They believed that “the time [of the end was] near.”
There was a blessing for all who participated in these worship services. The one who read aloud, received a blessing. Those who heard the words that were read were blessed. And all who kept, or obeyed, the things (instructions) written therein were blessed. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every time we attended our worship services, everyone could leave with a blessing?
It is amazing how our church services seem to take on special significance during times of hardship and oppression. Surely many of you have heard what the Panamanian people lived through during the time of the dictatorship of Manuel Antonio Noriega. That period in our history is known as The Crisis. When the Americans arrived, for the first few weeks, group meetings were prohibited, and people were encouraged to stay indoors. It was dangerous to leave home. Yet for some reason, those were the days when many of us, along with our young children, were willing to run the risk of going to the home of another family in order to enjoy the company, and the fellowship, of other believers.
We would drive through the deserted streets not knowing what dangers awaited us around the corner. A special feeling prevailed over those meetings. As one person spoke, the others listened attentively, clinging to every word. I am sure that at those moments, we were all determined, come what may, to be faithful to the things that were being taught. Everyone left those meetings holding on to the blessing that we had received. Those were times of uncertainty. No one knew what the morrow would bring.
In times of peace or war, the revelation of Jesus Christ the Son of God, our Savior, still brings a blessing; a threefold blessing! If we are willing to read, hear, and practice, the things that are written in this revelation, we are sure to be blessed. And truly, “the time is near.”