Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy…

Anyone can read the book of revelation, but not everyone can “hear” it.

“He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”

Like the Lord, Himself, the revelation of Jesus Christ has both a temporal (body) and an eternal (Spirit) aspect. Reading the word may give us the temporal surface of its meaning, but only “hearing” the Word (rhema) makes possible the true spiritual understanding hidden between the lines.

Too many of us have been content to work with the surface word, twisting it this way and that to make it say something credible, then building an entire eschatology upon that straw foundation. God has always intended that He should be the lone source of understanding for this book and, indeed, all of the bible. When we come to Him with this heart attitude, He is faithful to be our teacher, encouraging us to “hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches”.

For only when we hear, can we…

…keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
(Rev 1:3)