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.

327. Saying, Worthy art Thou to open ¹ the book and to loose the seals thereof, signifies that the Lord from the Divine Human has omnipotence and omniscience. This is evident from all that precedes; for the subject treated of up to this point is that the Lord from the Divine Human has omnipotence and omniscience, and that judgment, therefore, belongs to Him. That this is meant by "worthy art Thou to open the book and to loose the seals thereof" is clear from the series of the things explained from the beginning of this chapter to the present verse, which I will here present in their order, as follows: "I saw in the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne," signifies the Lord in respect to omnipotence and omniscience n. 297; "a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals," signifies the states of the life of all in heaven and on earth altogether hidden (n. 299, 300); "I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?" signifies exploration whether there is anyone such that he may know and perceive the state of the life of all (n. 302, 303); "no one was able, in heaven nor upon the earth nor under the earth, to open the book," signifies that no one from himself can do this at all n. 304; "behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof," signifies the Lord [as able to do this] because from His own power He subjugated the hells and reduced all things in the heavens to order, and this by Divine good united to Divine truth in His Human (n. 309, 310); "I saw a Lamb standing, having seven horns and seven eyes," signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, that from it He has omnipotence and omniscience (n. 314, 316, 317); "and He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne," signifies that these things are from His Divine Human (n. 319). From this it is now clear that here "worthy art Thou to take the book and to loose the seals thereof," signifies that the Lord from the Divine Human has omnipotence and omniscience.

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