Revelation: Book of Blessings and Curses

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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 1:1-3

Yesterday, Pastor Jesse Johnson began his exposition through the book of Revelation, or the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the book is to reveal Jesus Christ. A summary of Revelation can be found in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10:

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

While the book obviously deals with future events, most especially the future return of our Lord Jesus Christ, a major aspect of the book is the blessing that obedience brings versus the curse that disobedience brings. This, of course, is a major theme of Scripture that can be traced back to the Garden of Eden.

Thus, Revelation is written for our blessing. It is written to drive us toward obedience, that we would hear the words of Christ, read the words of Christ, heed the words of Christ, and do the words of Christ. Ultimately, the book is about what Christ wants from us now, and not exclusively what He will do in the future. Sinners are blessed, firstly, through their obedience to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; however, sinners are cursed if they disobey His words and will fall into the fiery judgment of the Living God.

If you’d like to study through the Revelation of Jesus Christ, please join us each week as Pastor Jesse teaches through the book verse by verse. If you’re in the DC area, I personally invite you to be our guest at Immanuel Bible Church. Below is the first message of the series: