A Revelation Invitation

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. (Revelation 1:3 ESV)

At the junior high school where I taught we dedicated a time each week for everyone to stop what they were doing and simply read. The students could read anything they wanted. But they were expected to drop everything else to read. The class that I guided through this activity were my lowest level, academically challenged, seventh grade math students. I knew better than to expect them to bring a book to read, never mind actually reading for any length of time. Instead I read aloud to them from C. S. Lewis’ Christian allegory The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I was amazed how engrossed my students became in the story. They never sat that quietly for that long at any other time during the week. In a small way I was blessed as I read to these 12 year-olds and they were blessed as they listened to Lewis’ tale.

In this first of Revelation’s seven beatitudes (“Blessed is the one …”), John doesn’t command us to read Revelation. He doesn’t threaten us to pay attention. Nor does he shame us into listening. We read and keep what is written because he assures us we will be blessed for doing so. Why would anyone neglect this great book when God promises to enrich our lives by it? Yet that is what so many Christians do—they relegate it to the unnecessary! Yes, it is cryptic. Like the pieces of a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, you know they all link together, but you are overwhelmed by the undertaking. Yes, Revelation can be unsettling, even frightening. However, when we push past our discomforts, John assures us that we will be blessed!

It is human nature to follow the easier road. When we read Revelation’s alarmingly vivid and violent imagery, we wrinkle our brows perplexed by an onslaught of signs and symbols. Too often Christians avoid Revelation because it seems unnecessarily difficult. To the casual reader, this beatitude could be perceived as a cruel hoax and an unfulfilled promise. How can God hold anyone accountable for understanding such an “unintelligible” book? Taking the easier path, we simply check it off as read and go on. However, that road bypasses the promised blessedness.

John doesn’t specify how the reader will be blessed. If you continue reading Revelation, you will by faith be blessed in ways that you haven’t anticipated. Fortunately he also didn’t write, “Blessed is the one who understands the words of this prophesy.” We could think that cruel. Simply trust and read. Be comforted in the promise. Then act on it.

Dear Father, thank you for the blessings that by grace you promise. I don’t know what blessings you have in store as I read Revelation and take it to heart, but I look forward to discovering them. And I’m comforted that your Spirit will be with me on that journey. Amen.