Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation | Book Review
Jesus promises that those who are willing to hear and keep the words of His love letter to His church will be blessed! (Revelation 1:3) Nancy Guthrie’s book, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation, has helped me recognize the blessings of Jesus in the words of this prophecy.
As she leads the reader through every line of the book of Revelation, we get to consider how we are blessed by hearing the Revelation of Jesus, seeing the glorified Jesus, being on mission for Jesus, and sharing in the resurrection of Jesus, to name only a few of the 12 blessings in the 12 chapters of her fresh-off-the-presses book.
Some Bible readers may struggle to understand the book of Revelation, perhaps from fear or confusion, but Nancy Guthrie’s book presents a Biblically infused, chapter-by-chapter guide to Revelation. She clearly explains its meaning to the original first-century audience and probes the modern Christ-followers toward a faithful endurance and refusal to compromise as we await the coming of the kingdom of Christ in all its glorious fullness.
In her chapter on Revelation 2-3 called “Blessed by Being Known by Jesus,” Guthrie presents Jesus’ letters to the churches in such a way that the reader sees clearly that Jesus knows us. He knows our work. He knows how we are living our faith. He knows what and who we really love. He knows the environment we live in and what we are willing to suffer for. He knows what we really believe and what we are willing to tolerate.
Since Jesus knows us and loves us, He is committed to blessing us by telling us the truth.
In fact, His words are “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Guthrie challenges the reader to question what it will look like for us to hear and keep what we’ve heard the Spirit saying to us through these letters to the seven churches. After reading about the letters to Ephesus and Smyrna, I came away with some personal convictions in the following questions:
Was there a time in my life when my love for Christ and His gospel was greater than it is now and am I willing to do the things I did then to rekindle my love for Jesus?
How can I move away from expecting Jesus to protect me from suffering toward expecting Him to preserve me through the suffering?
Nancy Guthrie ends this chapter by saying this: “Jesus is holding out a promise of blessing beyond what we could ever think to ask for. He’s offering Himself to us, providing everything we need for patient endurance as we wait for His return.”
I want to receive this gift of blessing from Him. Do you?
Consider joining the women of Orchard Hill Church this summer in Nancy Guthrie’s 5-week Bible study of the book of Revelation. I highly recommend her book which will prepare us to dive deep into the Bible to see how passages throughout the Old and New Testaments inform and interpret the words of the prophecy of Jesus Christ which His disciple, John, penned for the church as the book of Revelation.
