Revelation for Beginners

THE BEATITUDES IN REVELATION–1:3

April 11, 2008 on 7:51 pm | In REVELATION FOR BEGINNERS | Comments Off on THE BEATITUDES IN REVELATION–1:3

THE BEATITUDES IN REVELATION

In verse 3 of chapter 1 there is a special blessing mentioned. It is actually one of seven in the book of Revelation. You would expect seven to be typical of Revelation, wouldn’t you? There are a number of sevens in the book, such as 7 churches, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 plagues, etc. These seven blessings are similar to what we call the beatitudes in Matthew 5, only they are scattered throughout the book. We will take a look at them individually as we come to them, but in case you just can’t wait, here is a list of them:

1:3—to those who read, hear, and keep what is written in the book
14:13—to those who die in the Lord
16:15—to those who are awake (spiritually)
19:9—to those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb
21:6—to those in the first resurrection
22:7—to those who keep the words of the book
22:14—to those who do His commandments/wash their robes

The one we are interested in right now is the first one. There is apparently a special blessing in store for those who read the book or hear it (at the time it was written, very few people had the written word, most had to listen to it being read). But not if they only read it, but if they would keep the things written in it. In other words, they would take the words and lessons to heart. It would not be just an intellectual exercise or something to satisfy curiosity, but something applied to the personal life. That is the only way to experience the real blessing of this unique book. So look for ways to take its message to heart and apply its teachings to your own life. Note also that that same blessing is repeated again in the last chapter of the book, so it must be important to God.