Revelation 1:3 (ASV)

Passage

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Nearby Context

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, [even] the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John;

Revelation 1:2 who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, [even] of all things that he saw.

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne;

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "blessed", "readeth", "hear", "words", "prophecy", "keep", "things", and "written". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "blessed" and "readeth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "who bare witness of the word of..." into verse 4's "John to the seven churches that are...", so "blessed" and "readeth" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "blessed" and "readeth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.