Blessed is He That Reads

The Seven Beatitudes of Revelation – Part 1 – Blessed is He that Reads the Words of this Prophecy.

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3). This is a blessing upon those who read the word of God, hear it, and obey its message. This beatitude provokes thought about truly listening. Many do not. They hear but do not respond. Jesus spoke about the wisdom of hearing and doing versus the foolishness of hearing without responding in Matthew 7:24-27. He wants His hearers to understand that the foolish person is the one who hears what Jesus says but does not do what He says. The wise person is one who hears the words of Jesus and practices them. Hearing must accompanied by an attitude of obedience. Christians must be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).

This beatitude also considers the public reading and studying of God’s word. The Greek word for “read” is anaginosko. It literally means “to know up.” Reading is knowledge that is put up before others. This word implies a community studying and learning together, the church, the beautiful bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9-10, 22:17). The victorious come together to read and study God’s word, and they are blessed. Paul wrote of the blessedness of correctly handling the word, “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Christians want to give time to the word of God. The victorious are blessed because they read, listen, and obey God’s word.

God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley