176. Blessed
Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
The conditional promise of blessing comes to the one who keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book. If you keep the words of the book, then you will be blessed. The book, of course, is the Book of Revelation, but, situated at the end of the Bible, the promise also applies to those who keep the words of the whole Good Book. This truth is abundantly obvious, for everyone, even the atheist, knows that the consequences of keeping the Moral Law of God’s Word is a good thing and brings blessings.
Life will definitely be better for the person who obeys the Ten Commandments, but the promise goes beyond just the temporal blessings and curses of doing or not doing the Law. The promises include especially eternal blessings, like forgiveness, life and salvation, because the sayings of the book also include the words of the Gospel, Keeping, or believing, the Gospel includes thousands of spiritual blessings in addition to some temporal physical and mental blessings. Keep is an important word because it means more than just reading, hearing and knowing the words of Law and Gospel; it also includes actually applying and doing it. “Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” [Luke 11:28}. Keeping here means believing and taking to heart the Gospel: God forgives you, God loves you, God saves you, God gives you eternal life, God delivers you from the judgments of this book, and God brings you into the kingdom of God.
The other side of this coin gives a warning: the plagues will be added and the share in the tree of life will be taken away from anyone who adds to or takes away from the words of the prophecy of this book. This distinction is ever before each of us, as Moses writes: I set before you a blessing and a curse, life and death. Therefore choose life: believe the Gospel.