Revelation 22:6–7 (ESV) — 6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and
true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel
to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words
of the prophecy of this book.”
NOTE: At the
beginning of the book there is a blessing for those who read, hear, and keep
the words of this book. If you have come this far, you have read or heard the
words of the book. Now it only remains to keep the words, that is, to be a doer
of the word and not just a hearer. How does one keep (obey) the prophecy of
Revelation? There are a lot of applications. Certainly witnessing by word and
lifestyle are extremely important. I think understanding what Babylon
represents is a central theme of the book. Babylon is a worldview that is
directly opposed to God, his word, his work, and anything that relates to him
as creator or Lord. Babylon is a continuation of the rebellion that started in
the garden. And so consequently, holiness must be an important application of
the book, since the world calls us to an unholy lifestyle. What is the
blessing? In the bible, blessings fall in a few categories, spiritual and
physical, temporal and eternal. They don't have to be one or the other, but can
be in all four categories. I think the spiritual and eternal are the most
obvious blessings, but there could be spiritual and temporal blessings as well.
PRAYER: Father, I
pray for the promised blessing of Revelation to flow into our lives. Help us to
see daily how we can keep the words of the prophecy. Build holiness in our
life. Give us strength and courage to stand up for what is right in a world
that is committed to calling right wrong, and wrong right.
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