Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Reading the Bible seems like such an outdated activity. Our grandparents may have done it, but the rest of us seem to have progressed to material that is more current, more popular and more interesting. But there is a blessing associated with reading the Bible and a special blessing is associated with reading the book of Revelation. The psalmist says that reading the Word of God gives light or understanding if we actually think about the words we are reading (Psalm 119:30). Paul says hearing the Word of God will produce saving faith (Romans 10:17).

While reading the Bible is not popular in many settings, criticizing the Bible is very popular. I was privileged recently to be involved in a college level debate dealing with whether science and faith can coexist. And of course what was meant was, “Can faith in the God of the Bible coexist with faith in science?” What was interesting,however, was the willingness of the students to criticize a Bible they had never completely read. I could understand that in other settings, but colleges are supposed to teach students how to learn and how to think critically which means that they are supposed to research their positions and facts. Of course, that wasn’t true of all of those who had dismissed the Bible. One rather vocal young man said that we should all read the Bible because it would make atheists out of us like it did him. I don’t think he had done a statistical sample of those who were atheists to see if that was true but he claimed to be a scientist and a critical thinker.

I have read the Bible for many years and I like what I read. I believe that ultimately we all believe what we want to believe. And I want to believe the Bible. Those who question it have not proven to me that it is wrong nor have they given me anything better to believe. I can give evidence that supports the truth of the Bible, but I can’t prove that it is in all respects true either. I believe that it is true based on inductive reasoning. If I do business with a person that keeps their promises every time i do business with them, then I will likely believe that the next time I do business with them that they will keep their promises. That is inductive reasoning. It is that type of reasoning that gives me confidence in the Bible. When I realize that the Bible describes things about me that I have never told my closest friends, when I look at the prophetic Word and see how precisely it was fulfilled in the Lord’s first coming, when I see how the book of Revelation completes the unfinished seventh day of the book of Genesis that has no evening or morning mentioned, then I have good reason to believe that this Bible is the very Word of God. That is inductive reasoning, and we who are saved call it faith.

I am convinced that reading the Bible with an open mind will bless us. I am convinced that reading the book of Revelation will be especially encouraging since it promises us that Christ is coming again and that He will defeat his enemies. He is not defeated like it appeared He was when He was crucified. I want to believe that I have a place in heaven and that no matter what happens here on earth, I have a better home to look forward to. I want to believe that and so far no one has given me anything better to believe. Until they do, I am going to trust in the Word of God, and I am going to keep reading and rereading it. I believe that trusting in the Creator God who wrote the Bible and sent His Son to pay the penalty that my sin deserved is the wise and intelligent thing to do.

Bruce Collins