Beginning of the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are….

Matthew 5:1-12

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

The Sermon on the Mount begins with Matthew chapter 5 and continues through chapter 7. A map of the location of the Mount of Beatitudes is at the bottom of this post. The Mount of the Beatitudes is the Mount where Jesus Christ gave the sermon.

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We live in a culture today where love has gone cold. Those of this spiritually cold and loveless world prey on the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. As followers of Jesus Christ, we will be afflicted in many forms for living in His righteousness, for holding to His Gospel, and for speaking about our born-again experience. …that is the cross we carry. Persecution comes to us daily, and some of our brothers and sisters in Christ experience imprisonment and death in countries around the world. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to us who suffer for our faith in Jesus Christ.

When we welcome Jesus Christ into our life, the Cross comes with Him. The Cross is the place where our sin is crucified and put to death within us. As we suffer many afflictions in this world for holding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our sins are purged and the Spirit of Christ grows within us. I must decrease and He must increase. The suffering of the Cross causes us to be poor in spirit due to the malice towards the testimony of Jesus and we mourn for the depravity of this world. “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” John 16:20 In a harsh world of arrogance, we are purified into meek and gentle souls that thirst for righteousness. Instead of being cruel, unkind, hateful and oppressive, the Cross crucifies those sins from us as the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ resurrects within us. In a world of spiritual corruption and hostility, at the Cross of Jesus Christ we are able to be purified and be the peacemakers.

Through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are given eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven, we are comforted by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we inherit all things when Jesus Christ returns as the King of kings, we are filled with His righteousness, we are shown mercy through our Lord Jesus who forgive sour sins, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24 We see God and we are called His sons, “But as many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” John 1:12

Today, persecution comes to us through the beast that has power over physiology and is able to give what to think, say, do, and feel. The beast itself persecutes us in our thoughts to fill our mind with many regrettable and sad events and to bring up past sins that God has already forgiven at the Cross. We are persecuted by being made to feel things that we have no desire to feel whatsoever. We are made to say and do things that we regret ever saying and doing. We carry the cross in that way, but we continue to believe in God, continue to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and our Lord, and continue to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit. We take up the cross daily to follow Him.

Also, those who live for the beast use the empowerment they have to afflict us in many, many ways. They are empowered with uncanny knowledge to know what we are thinking and to persecute us by speaking bits of knowledge that are designed to shake us up, even about things far into the past. They are empowered with heightened intuition to intervene in something in a way that becomes an obstruction to our ability to achieve. They are empowered with the ability to feel what we are feeling so that they can mirror, mock, and scrutinize what lives within us. They are empowered with the ability to do things that are unchallengeable. Everything they say, do, feel, and think towards we who live for Christ are designed to be a basket of thorns and briars hurled at us.

Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and roams around seeking someone to devour. That describes the subtlety of the persecution coming at us from a ferocious predator. “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works…be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, 1 Peter 5:8

On the map below, the site of the Sermon on the Mount is seen [Mount of Beatitudes]. During that time, Jesus was living in Capernaum, next to the Mount of Beatitudes. He moved to Capernaum, from Nazareth, which is just below the word “GALILEE”. The blue area is the Sea of Galilee, and the Mount of Beatitudes and Capernaum sit on the shoreline.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.
I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1