The book of Revelation can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons. So why spend the time trying to understand it? This book of the Bible comes with a clear and specific blessing right up front.

Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 reads, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

If we read aloud the words of Revelation, we are blessed. If we hear the words of the book of Revelation and take it to heart, we are blessed. What does it mean to take it to heart? To believe it and obey what it says. If we believe what Jesus is telling us and we live our lives based on God’s Word, we will be blessed.

Throughout the Bible, there are blessings that are a result of obeying God’s Word. We are blessed by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord because we are saved (Romans 10:9). What are we saved from? If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we will not perish. Instead, we will have everlasting life, (John 3:16). In other words, instead of suffering in hell and through the future described in the book of Revelation, we will instead be in heaven when the unspeakable suffering arrives on earth. Revelation is a very scary book for those who do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God.

Jesus tells us in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 7, “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” But what does it mean to keep the words of this prophecy? Again, we are promised a blessing for believing and obeying the words in the book of Revelation.

Revelation is also important because Jesus is telling us that we are running out of time. For people who do not believe in Jesus, there is only so much time left before it is too late. When Jesus returns or you die, it is too late. Revelation unfolds for us what happens when time runs out. Jesus wants us to know what is going to happen and how to be ready for it. There is a time that is coming on earth that will be horrible and unspeakable. The pain and suffering will be so bad that people will want to die, but even death will be removed as an option, leaving only suffering beyond what you or I can possibly imagine.

Why else should we read Revelation? Certainly for the 2 blessings mentioned above, and there are 5 more we will cover as we make our way through the chapters. We should also read and study Revelation because Jesus wanted us to know this information and to live our lives based on it. Investing time into Revelation blesses us and protects us from the terror that lies ahead for those who do not believe in Jesus. We are told what will happen so that we may tell people about Jesus so that they can avoid the fate that lies ahead.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.