DO YOU WANT TO BE BLESSED? FIND OUT HOW!

This morning I was watching and listening to Marquis Laughlin (http://www.actsoftheword.com/index.html) recite from memory the beginning chapters of Revelation. It starts out like this:

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants [1] the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant [2] John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Several things stood out to me. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not John. It is Jesus Christ who is being revealed. Unlike the title in the King James version which says, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, the English Standard gets it right by writing, in one edition, The Revelation to John. The Reformation Study Bible simply repeats the first phrase of verse one, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
                   

It was God who gave Jesus Christ the revelation. At first that may seem strange. You may be asking yourself, I thought Jesus was God? To which I would say you are quite right in your thinking, He most definitely is God, God the Son! That would mean that the God who gave him the revelation is God the Father.

God the Father wants this revelation of his Son, concerning things soon to take place, to be given to his servants. His method of relaying this message to them is quite amazing. He uses his servant John to get the word out, after getting the word from an angel! John a human being is the means by which this important revelation is given out to His servants. If your faith and trust are in Jesus alone for salvation then you are his servant and this message is for you. How awesome is that!

John, of course, was faithful to get this revelation out. He "bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw". We are the beneficiaries of John's faithfulness.


At this point I have to ask, how many of you like to be blessed? Do I really need to hear the answer? So, since we all like to be blessed, try this: "...read aloud the words of this prophecy, and ... hear, and ... keep what is written in it..."

Do not just read the revelation, but READ IT ALOUD. Do not just hear (with your ears) the revelation, but KEEP WHAT IS WRITTEN IN IT (hear with your heart and obey). Remember there is a reason for this, "the time is near".

If you ask what time is near? I will answer by saying now is the time to start obeying and READ IT ALOUD (the answer is found in the revelation). Then KEEP WHAT IS WRITTEN IN IT (the true understanding of the revelation is in the obeying of it).