“Beatitudes of Revelation (Rev 1:3)”
A Summary of Sermon Preached by Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
in True Life BPC on 5th September 2021
Summary by Sister Tammy Ho

Revelation 1:3 is the first beatitude in the book of Revelation. The word
“beatitude” means divine blessing and there are seven such beatitudes in the
book of Revelation. The number ‘seven’ is the number of completion and
perfection and the Lord wants to tell us that all the blessings are perfect and
He is the One who bestows all these blessings. Moreover, if the blessings
come from Him, they are seven times pure.

The second Beatitude is found in Revelation 14:13. This beatitude tells us
that there is a blessing in dying. Death is not something we want to
experience and indeed, death is a curse. However, there is a blessing in death
if you die in the Lord. To die in the Lord means you die as a Christian. And
when you die as a Christian, you do not die, but you live. Therefore, it is a
blessed thing to die in the Lord. Death for Christians is an entrance to life
eternal. It is such a blessing because eternal life is a gift and God has given us
that in His Son, Jesus Christ. But the Lord wants to bless us even more, and
after we are saved, we are given the gift to serve. And our labour is not in
vain because the Lord will come with His rewards. What we do for the Lord,
our labour, our service for Him, will go with us in the life hereafter.

Therefore, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:55-60, that death is no longer a curse
to those who believe, but it is a curse to those who are outside of the Lord.
Service does not need to be active. Service to the Lord can also be very still
and quiet. For example, when you enter the worship hall, and you keep still,
meditating on God’s truth and preparing your heart to worship the Lord, that
is service unto the Lord. When we sing hymns unto the Lord with all our
heart, paying attention to the words, the Lord hears and delights in our
singing and praise of Him and He will bless. When we read the Scriptures
reverently, when we listen to the preaching of His Word humbly and
attentively, that is service. Our worship and labour for the Lord is not in vain,
as the Lord takes notes and He will come back with His rewards. Therefore,
we must worship Him rightly. Our worship must be according to His Word,
or it is in vain.

The next Beatitude is found in Revelation 16:15. Jesus says, behold, He
comes as a thief. He will come most unexpectedly and suddenly, and we
must be ready when the Lord comes. We must not be found naked or
ashamed but to be clothed. We must all be watchful and on guard. We
must make sure that we are not tainted by the world and to live a godly life.
Every believer is clothed and once we are clothed, we have a duty to keep
ourselves clean. This garment is the robe of righteousness which Jesus
gives to all believers. We must also be clothed with the knowledge and
wisdom of the Lord. Christ’s coming should not take us by surprise be-
cause we are not children of darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-10 exhorts us
that we are children of the day and we should be watchful. We must do that
which would count for eternity.

The fourth Beatitude is found in Revelation 19:9. The word ‘they’ refers to
all believers from Genesis to Revelation. All these believers will be called
to the marriage supper of the Lamb, to the wedding feast that will be held
in heaven itself. But first, you must belong to Jesus, you must be His bride.
The wedding gown is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus
made this gown for us with His perfect obedience. He came to fulfill all
righteousness, so that He will earn the righteousness that we need, to be
accepted by God. Jesus who knew no sin, became sin for us. The righteous
garment, is pure, white and clean because of the righteousness of Christ in
His life, death and life again. And we must be dressed in this wedding
gown. In a wedding, the bride reminds us of the picture of the bride of
Christ, and the wedding itself is a testimony of the gospel and of the bless-
ing of God. One day, there will be a great and grand wedding in heaven
where the bride will be joined with her groom, the Lord Jesus. We must
therefore keep our wedding garments clean and that is to live a godly life
for the Lord. In this wedding dinner, there are no guests, if you are invited,
you must be the bride of Christ. You must be part of the church. You must
belong to the Lord. It is given to you freely if you would confess and be-
lieve in the Lord Jesus.

The fifth Beatitude is found in Revelation 20:6 and it tells us that we
should not be part of the second resurrection, as those who will be part of it
will experience the second death. This resurrection is a cursed resurrection
and death. Instead, we must want to be part of the first resurrection. John 5:
29 exhorts that they that have done good are those who have believed on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are those who will experience the
resurrection of life. Those who have done evil will be raised from the dead.
As they have rejected the Lord Jesus, they will go through the resurrection
of damnation which will lead them to the lake of fire. Death, hell, and all
inhabitants of hell will be cast into the lake of fire to be judged and
punished forever, which is the second death. For believers, the Lord has
delivered us from the wrath to come because our redemption has been
paid in full by the Lord Jesus. The first resurrection will happen when
Christ returns in the clouds and when the trumpet is blown, the dead in
Christ will rise and we who are still alive and remain when Christ comes,
will be caught up to meet Him in the air. That is the first resurrection and
rapture. And we shall reign with Him a thousand years. Therefore, we
must not be part of the second death but of this first resurrection.
Revelation 22:7 is the 6th Beatitude which tells us that Jesus will come
speedily, and He is coming soon. It can happen at any time and any
moment. The signs of the times all point to His soon return. If we would
prepare ourselves, we would be blessed. We must keep obeying the Lord
and His Word. We must keep on confessing the Lord and that is true and
persevering faith whereby true believers will have such faith.

The 7th Beatitude in Revelation 22:14 exhorts us to do His command-
ments. Those who have true faith will delight in and obey the command-
ments of God. As such, they will have the right to the tree of life. Those
who believe in the Lord will have the privilege to eat of this fruit. Trust
and believe in the Lord Jesus.