Keep or Follow

REVELATION
Keep or Follow

Revelation 1:3 (NASB 2020)
”Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

Reading and hearing certainly sound easy enough, but what are we to make of this idea of keeping the things written in The Revelation?

The word translated “keep” is also translated “heed”, “take to heart”, “hear and obey”, “lay to heart”, “follow.” While there are a number of uses for this relatively common word, given the context here, the idea of paying attention to what The Revelation reveals, taking it to heart and obeying the guidance it provides is clearly the intention of the Spirit. The subject being revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are always to pay attention to Him and as slaves of righteousness, obey Him.

Here again we find evidence supporting the triumphalist interpretation of The Revelation. To paraphrase Jim Fowler, it would be exceedingly difficult to imagine how we are to pay attention to these things, take them to heart, and obey them, if they refer to events occurring in the days of Roman emperors (preterist), references to Turkish invaders (historicist), or things that are unlikely to take place during the lifetime of most readers (futurist).

This blessing echoes that found in Luke 11:28 where Jesus said, “…blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.” (NASB 2020) We know that His view of hearing and following the word of God was that He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life. He instructed people to be born of the Spirit, filling themselves with Him, and receiving never-ending streams of the Water of Life. The New Testament speaks of our being immersed in Him and of His living in us.

As we noticed earlier, the testimony of Jesus is the Word of God, and the Word of God is Jesus. He is the Message and the Messenger. This is the Gospel, and this is what we are to keep, take to heart, pay attention to, and obey.