Gleanings for April 19

You can be BLESSED

Revelation 1:3 Amplified Bible: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the word of this prophesy; and blessed are those who hear it read and keep themselves true to the things which are written in it, for the time for them to be fulfilled is near.”

We should be faithful in reading God’s Word, and also we should make sure we are in a place where we will “hear” God’s Word when it is taught. It is interesting to notice the 1^st and 2^nd Verses of this last book recorded in the Bible:

“This is the revelation of JESUS CHRIST; God granted HIM to show His bond servant what must shortly take place. He sent and communicated it through His angel to His bond servant, John, who bears witness to everything he saw as the message of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The Apostle John wants to make sure we understand that this message is one given by God, through His Messenger, not just something that he, the one who is the writer of the book, is making up from his own imagination.

The Bible contains 66 books, written by various authors, all were inspired by the Holy Spirit as they wrote. John, as he penned Revelation, was on a small island, called Patmos, which is off the coast of Greece. In an introduction to the Book taken from The Amplified Bible, we read: “He (John) was banished to Patmos for the word of God and for showing proof of evidence that Jesus Christ is alive.”

“Blessed” is the way verse 3 began. You will find seven times in this book that the word blessed is expressed; to be happy is implied (when it is used) by “those who hear.”

You may recall the words Jesus used as He taught in His sermon on the mount; it began with the words: “Blessed are they…” and then He went on to teach that there were many things people sometimes thought was a cause for “sorrow” which ultimately would be a reason to rejoice; the things would bring blessing and happiness.

Strong’s Concordance says this about the word BLESSED: “The word is an adjective suggesting happy, supremely blessed, a condition in which congratulations are in order. It is a grace word that expresses the special joys and satisfaction granted the person who experiences salvation.”

You will be “blessed” as you read the first three chapters of the book of Revelation. They contain letters to seven different churches all located in the western part of Asia Minor, now Turkey. As you read you will find that many of the same virtues and faults are present in the church of today,

Psalm 1: 1 & 2: “Blessed (happy) are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join the scoffers, but they delight in doing what the Lord wants; day and night they think about HIM.” (I believe) they KNOW:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS THEIR STRENGTH!!