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In the Bible, seven symbolizes completeness and perfection of things that are both physical and spiritual.  The number seven is repeated many times in the Book of Revelation. One of those seven’s is that God promises seven blessings for His people.

The seven beatitudes appear as a progression – from reading and heeding the things written in the Book of Revelation, to a blessing for the Tribulation saints and for all those remaining in the faith, the blessing of being invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb and the bride, and ultimately receiving the blessing of everlasting life with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The First Blessing:

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” – Revelation 1:3

The book of Revelation is unique in that it is the only book of the Bible with a direct blessing promised to those who read, hear and obey the truths it contains.  In a broader sense, God will bless those who spend time reading the Bible and who take to heart and follow what it says.  “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” – James 1:22.

Scripture draws us closer to God by teaching us about His character, transforming our will to fit with His, and guiding us in how to live our lives.  “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Second Blessing:

“And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!” ‘   “Yes,”  says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” ” – Revelation 14:13

Many of those who live during the tribulation will suffer horrific deaths.  God promises that although they will suffer in life, there will be rest and rewards for them in heaven.

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne.” – Revelation 3:21.

“He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” – Revelation 2:26.

See the article: Overcomes for all seven ‘He who overcomes’ statements written within Revelation 2 and 3.

The Third Blessing:

“ ‘Behold, I am coming like a thief!  Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.’ ” – Revelation 16:15

Jesus warns those who are in the tribulation, just prior to the 7th Trumpet, that He will soon come ‘like a thief’.  Believers must be alert and ready for the day of His second coming.  We do not know the day or hour that Christ will come back: “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” – Matthew 25:13.  We need to always be prepared for that day by remaining obedient in our faith and repenting of our sins.  Prayer is vitally important as it gives us the strength to resist temptations and survive difficult situations.  Those who believe in Him will be blessed.

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” – 1 John 2:28

“Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” – Matthew 24:42

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.” – 2 Timothy 3:14

“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light” – Ephesians 5:8

“For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.” – 2 Corinthians 5:2-3

” ‘Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,’ declares the Lord.” – Amos 2:16.  We must stay in the Word.  Otherwise:

“You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.  Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness.  The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will come upon your glory.” – Habakkuk 2:16

“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:2

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:4

The Fourth Blessing:

“Then the angel said to me, ‘Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” ‘   And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’ ” – Revelation 19:9

The Bible refers to Jesus – the Lamb – as the groom, and His bride, the church.  The marriage supper will be for all of God’s people, from all ages.

Jesus gave two parables on the Marriage Feast – Matthew 22:1-14 and Matthew 25:1-13.

Also see article: Wedding Feast of the Lamb for other scripture passages and more detail.

The Fifth Blessing:

“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” – Revelation 20:6

As humans we are mortal and will all die a physical death at some point.  The Bible’s two resurrections are divided into the categories of the righteous (believers) and the unrighteous (unbelievers).

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” – Daniel 12:2

“And you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” – Luke 14:14

“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” – Acts 24:14-15

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Those who believe in Jesus are raised with glorious bodies.  Read Ephesians 1:3-14 for ‘The Blessings of Redemption’.

This is the first resurrection and leads to eternal life with God.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-58 for ‘The Order of Resurrection’.

The first resurrection is after the tribulation.  Jesus Christ will reign on the earth for 1,000 years.  His saints will reign with Him.

The second resurrection is at the Great White Throne Judgment following the Millennium, when the unbelievers come before God:

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.” – Revelation 20:11-15

“The cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:8

The second resurrection leads to the second death.  Those who do not follow God will experience the second death and spend eternity in the lake of fire – they will spend eternity in hell.

The Sixth Blessing:

“ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly.  Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.’ ” – Revelation 22:7

Similar to the first blessing, Jesus promises a blessing to those who keep and obey the teachings of Revelation.  Reading and hearing the Word is not enough – it must be followed with obedience.

As humans we will sin, but because of Jesus’ death on the cross, our sins will be covered with grace: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteous.” – 1 John 1:8-9

However, we must not abuse that grace and continue to sin willingly, but instead draw near to God in order to be transformed by Him – “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:1-2   Read also Romans 6.

Those living in the tribulation times must stand firm in following God’s commands, even when the world persecutes them for doing so.

The Seventh and Final Blessing:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” – Revelation 22:14

Those who put their faith in the work of Jesus on the cross have been made new.  Salvation comes from having one’s robes washed in the blood of the Lamb – “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” – Revelation 7:14

They are washed white as snow from their sins in the eyes of God.

An amazing picture of the purity that comes with salvation and the price Jesus paid for our redemption – “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” – Ephesians 1:7

Only His blood-washed believers will have the right to partake of the tree of life.

Only those with robes of righteousness will have access to the Holy City: “A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness.  The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it.” – Isaiah 35:8

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful.” – Isaiah 26:2

“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.  This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it.  I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.” – Psalm 118:19-21

The Book of Revelation reveals the judgment awaiting our sinful world.  It also reveals the completion of God’s plan to bring salvation to the world.  Believers in Christ can take away two important lessons from this book.

First, God will one day bring an end to the evil in the world and fulfill His wonderful promises of eternal life for those who follow Him.

Second, we are called to tell everyone the good news of Christ so that they also may take part in His promises and be spared from the judgment awaiting the unrepentant.

Click here for: Salvation Call – The Love of God

Rewards According to Works

Be sure to also read the three part series on the Book of Revelation – the actual Scripture text organized into chronological order.

It’s a very easy, quick read and clearly shows how all the events will unfold.  Beatitudes One and Six.

First of Three Part Series: Revelation Scripture

Second of Three Part Series: Revelation Scripture

Third of Three Part Series: Revelation Scripture