07/07/2025 Aren’t the beatitudes wonderful? I am referring to the passage in Matthew 5 in the Bible, where Jesus is giving a sermon of the good news; to those who are seeking righteousness, to souls needing God’s shelter from the world, and for individuals desiring a place in Heaven. What is amazing about Jesus to me, is that He is Lord to all who come to Him, as in: “All those the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). Our God realizes that we came into this world by this power, and that when we go, our souls will aim for heaven to get a new robe, having taken nothing with us, but our own selves! I hoped to expound on 2 ideas in the beatitudes, where in both places, Jesus said that for those holding the characteristics of being “poor in spirit” and/or being “persecuted for righteousness” – that both of those qualities will gain them the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3)

and again we see whose the kingdom is,

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10)

Pleasures Ahead for the “Poor in Spirit”

For many believers, knowing intense levels of persecution is not as likely happen to masses of people, or for at least the sake of this argument, I propose that; but, all those who call on Jesus’ name can be accepted into heaven, and have heaven belong to them (Romans 10:13). When a soul recognizes that God is higher than them, holier than them, and they make it a goal to hallow His name, He is very pleased. He knows that some people accept Jesus’ good news really late, like the thief on the cross. Others, are brought up in righteousness, or get born-again radically, or become saved more “normally” looking, or are already from youth in a persecuted country, for Christ or otherwise. But if we would “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:2), we would be blessed to have the self-control within our own selves to rightly see God, as having all the riches in His Son, Jesus; and our “poverty of spirit” is understanding of our need for Jesus. If we truly understood that, we could be good material for heaven, because that is where Jesus is now, and where we will spend all eternity with Him. It will be all about Him! Not to mention the other good things we’ve heard people say about heaven, of which there are numerous reports of people having gone there and returned. It would be really rewarding to look some up!

Heaven! It is Jesus’ kingdom! We have the essence of Heaven, now too, because He dwells among the agreement of those who meet in His name, and “dwells” in our praises. We can actually sometimes “feel” a holy feeling, of some presence of peace above ourselves, even without having gotten to literal heaven.

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13).

Pomp for the “Persecuted for Righteousness'” Ones

Have you ever been in awe that a person could die for their faith. I have marveled at it, and even knowing Jesus’ own story and not comparing it to a story of any other saint, is awe-inspiring. Did Jesus always know that He was on the way to the cross, at 8 years old, putting a sandal on, or at around 13, when he started learning carpentry? Wow. He had to get baptized, and then go into the desert, led of God’s spirit, to ultimately be tempted by the devil. When he overcame those 3 tests/temptations, he was ready for ministry. And wow again, what a savior, to have known at any point, that He would fulfill IT ALL if he could just make it to the cross. Some speculate he always knew. You can ask him on that day, if you aim for heaven. He surely felt mixed feelings when He must have known He was promised glory, but all He could see was death and hatred at the end. Even in this, we were still sinners, so we weren’t even worthy of dying for yet. He may have even sadly considered that. He paid our sin debt, and also those who are martyred will be honored and glorified, and given awards, crowns, treasures untold.

“However, as it is written: What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things God has prepared for those love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

The 12 disciples, I think, were mostly martyred, and the chart in the picture is about right. I haven’t studied it that much, but seen something about a few of them before. John was persecuted horribly in body and spirit, but did not die of marytrdom. I think I heard one time, he had really hot oil poured on his body, so that he almost died. The foundations of heaven, on which are 12 (are made up on the disciples, who originally followed Jesus), are also known for being beautiful. “The walls of the city (of New Jerusalem aka Heaven) had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14). Those missionaries we hear of, those who bear the gospel as their legacy, and those who are persecuted for holding on to Jesus and to the gospel, sacrificing things they value “will not fail to receive 100 times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – along with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:30). It’s good Jesus put “persecutions” in that list to keep us grounded, because we’re not supposed to even love our own lives while we’re on earth, much less cater to all our heart’s whims. Although there are good things in store for those who love Him now, too. Our hearts “can above all wicked and deceitful”. If we guard our heart’s desire for Jesus to be the one at the table dining with us, we’ll be in good shape for heaven. My hope is to make it all the way to heaven, and take as many with me as will go.

Because Jesus had said the persecuted will receive heaven, he also held out that there are those who are simply humble all the way to heaven, and still theirs is the kingdom as well. If we are truly humble – and God (help us please!) will bring us through it all – then we’ll understand aright what the passage to heaven means, and that its worth whatever we have to do to get there! 🙂

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31).