These verses, the opening phrases of the Sermon on the Mount, hold some of the Bible’s most beautiful and best-loved poetry. Part of its beauty, though, lies in the fact that the meaning is not quite clear. What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? What does it mean to “inherit the earth” or to be called “the children of God.” The fact that there are many possibilities causes us to linger over the phrases, pondering them.

Understood in the internal sense, these blessings show the spiritual states of the various people who could be receptive of the Lord and the new church he was launching. On a deeper level it shows that states within ourselves that can lead each of us to the Lord and to a deeper understanding of His truth today.

The “poor in spirit” are those who know little about spiritual things, but want to learn. Those that “mourn” are those who want to be good, but see no desire for good in their church. The “meek” are those who love to care for and serve others. To “hunger and thirst after righteousness” shows a desire to rise up, to learn about what’s good and to come to desire it.

The “merciful” are those who love their fellow people. The “pure in heart” are those who love only what is good. “Peacemakers” are those who are in harmony with the Lord, gaining knowledge from Him and wanting what He wants. And to be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” means acting out of love and care for others, even though you are condemned by others for it.

There’s something of a progression there, from those who simply want to learn to those who actively want to be good people to those who actually are good and acting out of love for others. None of it, though, describes those who are learned in the Jewish traditions, or even necessarily observant in terms of ritual; they are, rather, those who sense that it is possible to be a good person and are willing to make the effort.

And they are promised their rewards! The “kingdom of heaven” is the understanding the angels have of the Lord; “comfort” represents ideas that lead to the good of life; “inheriting the earth” is a state of loving others and being loved by them in return. The overall message is simple: If we truly wish to be good people, and are willing to let the Lord teach us how to be good people, we will end up filled with love and wisdom from Him. And that’s what we need to focus on: The desire to be good, and openness to ideas from the Lord. It’s not about ritual and intellectual “correctness”; it’s about ideas that lead us to be good.

But what of being reviled and persecuted? This depicts temptation, when the hells attack our newborn good desires and true understanding. They cause us to doubt our ability to be truly good and question the ideas that are leading us. And they can do it in many ways, reminding us of the fun we’ll be missing or reminding us of all the bad things we’ve ever done to render us hopeless. They will even attack the Bible and the ideas that come to us through it from the Lord; that’s represented by the idea that people also attacked the prophets.

These states, however, are blessed in their own way; only by battling these evils, which are rooted inside us, can we finally fully embrace the good life we have been striving for. That’s why it is pictured last, and that's why it leads to the “great reward” in heaven.

284. "And we shall reign on the earth." This symbolically means, and they will dwell in His kingdom, He in them and they in Him.

To reign on the earth means nothing other than to be in the Lord's kingdom and to be united with Him in it, according to these words of the Lord:

...that all (those who believe in Me) may be one; (and one) as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us... The glory which You gave Me I have given to them, that they may be one as We are one, I in them, and You in Me..., that they also... may be with Me where I am... (John 17:20-24)

So then, since they are thus one with the Lord, and together with the Lord form the kingdom that is called the kingdom of God, it is apparent that nothing else is symbolically meant by reigning.

Reigning is mentioned because of the prior statement, "You have made us kings and priests;" and because kings symbolize people who are governed by wisdom springing from Divine truths from the Lord, and priests symbolize people who are governed by love springing from Divine good from Him (no. 20).

It is because of this that the Lord's kingdom is also called a kingdom of saints (Daniel 7:18, 27); and of the Apostles it is said that with the Lord they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), even though it is the Lord alone who judges and reigns. For He judges and reigns from Divine good by means of Divine truth, which they have in them as well from Him. But anyone who believes that what they have from the Lord is something of their own, is expelled from the kingdom, that is, from heaven.

Reigning has the same symbolic meaning in the following places in the book of Revelation:

...they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6, cf. 20:4)

And of those who will come into the New Jerusalem, it is said:

(The Lamb) gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5 [cf. Revelation 21:23])