Many people, and most Christians, have heard of the Beatitudes. Those powerful opening words to Jesus’s longest sermon – The Sermon on the Mount – from Matthew 5-7.
In Matthew 5:3-12, we encounter Jesus’s Kingdom mindset. His worldview is striking. Clearly, Jesus’s mind is set on things above! What Jesus considers to be a blessing is different than worldly blessings.
Beatitude is defined as supreme blessedness. In other words, real and deep happiness.
The Bible is relevant, and one of the more relevant passages in the Bible is this list from Jesus of what He considers to be a blessing!
But the Beatitudes in Matthew are not the only Beatitudes in the Bible. Revelation has Beatitudes as well.
While they are much less familiar, the 7 beatitudes in Revelation are incredibly rich!
I am shocked at how little attention Revelation’s Beatitudes get! It is incredibly strengthening to the faith of believers to learn these 7 blessings from the final pages of the Bible.
Our church recently concluded a year long study in the book of Revelation. You can watch/listen to the sermon on the Beatitudes here.
The 7 blessings from Revelation are found in the following verses: 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; and 22:14. In the coming days, I will write specifically about each of the 7 blessings.
While all are blessings, the blessings in Matthew seem to have a slightly different focus than these blessings in Revelation. Tom Schreiner writes “Given the significance of the numbers in Revelation, and especially the import of the number 7, it seems significant that there are seven blessings. The sevenfold blessing probably signifies completeness and fullness in the blessing promised. The contents of the blessings all relate to future reward promised to believers, to bliss they will experience after a period of testing.”
Matthew’s blessings speak to our faithful perspective on life; Revelation’s blessings speak to our faithful priorities in life, and the end of life.
In summary, it is a rich blessing to be secure in the salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ! And in the end, all that hope in Jesus are blessed and will experience that blessing forever!