Your life as a believer is both now and not yet. You can see what is “now”; you experience that every day. What you can’t see is the “not yet,” what awaits you in eternity. And, in this duality, you live in faith, believing to be true what you cannot see. For, as Scripture says, the Christian life consists of “the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
God gave the Apostle John a glimpse, a peek, into the heavenly realms. He got to see “what no eye has seen, and no ear has heard” (1 Corinthians 2:9). And what John heard was a number: 144,000 (Revelation 7:4).
And yet, although John heard 144,000, he saw “a vast multitude that no one could number” (Revelation 7:9). For 144,000 is symbolic; it’s 12 times 12 times 1,000. It’s the Church gathered for all time with God in eternity. John saw a purified Church, but like us, still living in faith and hope, awaiting the body’s resurrection.
John saw a multitude “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” (Revelation 7:9). They were before Christ, the Lamb, waving palm branches, crying out: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10).
With them were the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures, who represent the whole created order. They fell before God, worshiping Him. With perfected, seven-fold praise, the cried out: “Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and strength be to our God forever and always! Amen” (Revelation 7:12).
The question surrounding this vision is, “Who are they?” Who is this vast, white-robed multitude of worshippers with palm branches? “These are the ones coming out of the great suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).
For John’s hearers, they were fellow believers who had died confessing Jesus to be the Messiah and Savior of the world. Did you notice the present tense? “These are the ones coming out [present tense] of the great suffering.”
John saw the saints entering heaven, leaving “the great suffering” behind. What was true then is true now. We also live in “the great tribulation or suffering.” The entire time we live in this fallen world is one unrelenting affliction. That’s the norm for God’s saints living in a fallen world. Should we expect otherwise?
And so, John’s vision is to comfort the saints in “the great suffering.” The saints suffered on earth but, in eternity, they are fine. They’re safe, for God is sheltering them in His full and glorious presence, shepherded by the Lamb whose blood cleanses them. Sadness and sorrow have ended, for God has wiped away all their tears.
But for us, this time of anguish continues, we, who get to hear John tell us of his heavenly vision. Why? It’s because we live in a fallen world, which includes hardship and persecution. So, don’t think that you are automatically safe just because you live in America. Our life in Christ is all about the cross of Christ, and the suffering that comes when we confess His name. The cross comes before the resurrection.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus stood on a mountain, teaching His disciples. He was preparing them for the reality of living in the time between “the now,” what they were experiencing and “the not yet,” eternity with God. Jesus spoke nine benedictions over His disciples, speaking of life now and speaking of the life of the world to come.
“Blessed are the destitute in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” Jesus says that those who are now poor before God, who have nothing to offer Him, who are but beggars before Him, are blessed. But wait, that’s not all: The kingdom of heaven will be theirs. Now, they are poor. But then, they will inherit God’s kingdom.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Now, the disciples mourn, living under the burden of sin and suffering, dying and death. But wait, that’s not all: They will receive comfort. But not now. Now they must mourn and grieve, looking in faith and hope to the day when God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
“Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.” Now is the time of humility, of turning the other cheek, of blessing the enemy, of enduring hardship. But wait, that’s not all: They will inherit the earth. That happens on the Last Day when God will create a new heaven and earth. But that’s not now; now, the saints must endure.
“Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness.” They hunger and thirst because they don’t have any righteousness of their own. Right now, they’re hungry, parched beggars. But wait, that’s not all. They will be filled. God will fill them with Himself, with the richness of His glory, His perfect righteousness. Then, they will finally shine as the children of light that they are (Eph 5:8, Phil 2:15, 1 Thess 5:5). But not now, now they hunger and thirst for the righteousness that only God can give.
“Blessed are those who are merciful.” Now, those with mercy-filled hearts give without gain, looking on others with Christ’s compassion. But wait, that’s not all: They will receive mercy, more than they could ever give. But not now; that is yet to come.
“Blessed are the pure in heart.” In faith-filled hearts, they seek God and His kingdom, which they do not now see. But Jesus gives them His promise: “they will see God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” They stand in the breach and take the crossfire from both sides, bringing with them the healing and wholeness that only comes from God. And so they will be “sons of God,” just like the Prince of Peace, the Son of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness.” They are “blessed,” now. But that’s not all: “The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” But not yet.
Then comes the ninth benediction. Jesus turns and now says, “You”; this isn’t abstract anymore. “Blessed are you,” not someone else. “Blessed are you whenever people insult you, persecute you, and falsely speak all sorts of evil against you because of [Jesus]. Be full of joy and be glad.”
Be full of joy and be glad when others persecute you because you’re a Christian? Yes! You’re now marked for persecution, claimed by the cross, as one whom Christ has redeemed. As it was with Christ, so will it be for you. Should you expect otherwise?
But remember that you will be blessed! But that blessing comes hidden in, with, and under trouble. Just as Christ looked weak to others, allowing others to crucify Him, that’s also how His Church appears in this world, as pathetic and persecuted. So, don’t expect heaven on earth—yet. Don’t expect miracles to leap out at every corner. Instead, expect to feel your spiritual poverty and expect to mourn. Expect others to persecute you in response to your mercy, peacemaking, and purity of heart.
Know this: Great is your reward in heaven. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. You will inherit the earth. You will also receive God’s righteousness, for which you, right now, hunger and thirst. You will receive mercy from a merciful God. You will be sons of God because of the Son of God. That’s why the kingdom of heaven belongs to you.
Those who have died in the faith, who have gone ahead of us, now have such blessings in a fuller way. And yet, they, too, are still living in the “not yet.” For they also await their salvation’s fulfillment on the Last Day, when “they will inherit the earth.” That’s when they will become, in complete fullness, what God created them to be, in both body and soul. Right now, they are still incomplete, only having a soul.
And so, it’s not weird that, in Christ, God unites us with them in a beautiful and mysterious way. In faith and hope, we both worship the Lamb whose blood washes our sins and makes our robes of righteousness whiter than white.
But that’s not all. To those nine blessings, we hear another one ring out from heaven. It’s in Revelation, chapter 14: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Revelation 14:13). You heard that correctly. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
But how can you die before you die? You can’t; you don’t have that power. But God does. He brings you into death before you die, so you can become part of the blessed “dead who die in the Lord.” God does that in baptism. As St. Paul says: “Do you not know that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, through baptism we were buried with Him into His death” (Romans 6:3-4a).
Baptism is your death certificate. In baptism, the Holy Spirit brings you into Jesus’ death, making you dead to sin, dead to death, and dead to the Law. But that’s not all: You are alive to God the Father in Christ Jesus. Indeed, it’s as Revelation says, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” No wonder Revelation also says, “Do not fear the second death” (Revelation 2:10).
You’re already dead. Your second death is your physical death catching up with your death in baptism. You died with Christ, “so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, [you] too can walk in newness of life. For if [you] have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, [you] will also be united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:4b-5).
Your resurrection is when it all comes together. It’s as sure as Jesus’ resurrection. It’s so sure that it’s already yours—but not yet. Until then, we run the race of faith, sure of what we now cannot yet see. And with the saints of heaven, we also await our resurrection Day. Amen.
