Keeping Because He is Coming

“Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” (Re 22:7 AV)

We forget that Jesus could return at any minute.  Sure, He said this almost two thousand years ago.  That only means we are two thousand years closer to His coming.  In the scope of the history of mankind, that is pretty close!  Each dispensation lasted two thousand years or so.  Therefore, the clock is running out quickly.  Just like He said.  What should be our response?  He tells us above.  We are to keep the prophecies of the Bible.  Some believe the LORD is limiting this command strictly to the prophesies of Revelation.  That might be so.  Perhaps He is speaking to the tribulation saints here.  However, this could also be understood as the entire word of God.  Keeping it all.  As a whole.  Not merely obeying its commands.  Rather, to cherish, read, study, meditate, and apply the word of God is intended here.  Why?  Because He is returning very shortly.

The Greek word for ‘keepeth’ means, “to attend to carefully, take care of ; to guard; metaph. to keep, one in the state in which he is; to observe; to reserve: to undergo something”.  We get the feeling that keeping the word of God is far more than we might realize.  The word of God is God’s voice to mankind.  It is not only the reflection of His person and nature.  The word of God is Him!  The word of God is not a fourth person of the trinity.  The word of God is His expression of Himself to us.  In my generation, if you wanted to leave an audible message to someone, a tape recorder would be the equipment of choice.  Now we can send voice messages within our messaging app.  WhatsApp is the app of choice for our family.  Much of the time we send a text.  But there are rare occasions that we press that microphone button as say something.  If my wife walks by as I am playing the message, she will inquire as to who that might be.  I will say, “That is so-and-so”.  What I don’t say is, “that is so-and-so’s voice”.  This would be silly and a waste of time.  His voice is him.  He may not be with me physically.  But his voice is him, and he is with me audibly.  Imagine sitting in a room with a black curtain between you and another person.  You have a conversation.  You cannot see one another.  You cannot touch one another.  All you can do he hear one another.  One would not consider the other as less present because they are limited to one sense.  They are heard, and therefore, they are there.

This is why the Bible is supernatural.  The word of God is just like a voice message on a messaging app.  He cannot be seen.  He cannot be felt.  He cannot be touched.  Yet, He is no less here.  As the LORD approaches, one has to wonder how intimate we will be with Him.  The challenge above may seem a bit off.  If I know my wife is coming home very soon, why bother texting or calling?  I am going to see her is a very short while.  Jesus tells us to do the opposite.  The closer it is to His coming, the more active our relationship should be.  Keep the words of the prophesy.  Times are going to get worse before they get better.  Keep the conversation with Jesus going.  Even if He were to return tonight, it would be better to meet a Savior with whom you are intimate than one with whom you are estranged.