KJV Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundredand forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Gospel
KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
The Word of Faith Towards God
As long, however, as he is faithful in these two particulars, namely, in the Word of Faith towards God, by which the heart becomes pure, and in the word of the knowledge of what he is to do towards his neighbor in his calling, everything is pure to him, even if with his fists and his whole body he is busy with dirt.
"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." The verses - from the Sermon on the Mount and Luther's sermon on the Beatitudes - are enough for study throughout the year. The blessed verses are the "scandal" - the Greek for being the trigger that sets off the trap. That sounds awkward and difficult at first, but it is the goal of Jesus to connect His divine wisdom with our tendency to be tripped up by the truth and the rash claims of fakes.
We enjoy a continuous battle with reason and with faith in God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is no puzzle - children delight in belief in God, adults fall away from the Biblical truths. Children have often explained to me, "Jesus is God. God can do anything." Adults, especially those with seminary degrees - and worse - say, "I am not sure about that" (any number of stumbling blocks). What the child sees and understands the adult trips over and falls down.
The problem of adults is the inability to believe all that the Lord Jesus Christ teaches. Pure in heart means - trust in all that God has to offer us, made clear by the Incarnation, God the Son in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, a great teacher and miracle worker, nevertheless dying to atone for our sins, rising from the dead, and ascending to Heaven.
Adults tend toward their own self-image and not necessarily the faith of Jesus taught throughout the Scriptures. The humanity of Jesus teaches us this Faith Belonging to Jesus because it is there in the original, edited 3 times by the Apostle Paul. What do the hooligans and thieves see? very little. Their big, expensive, calf-leather, gold embossed Biblical versions (paraphrases, expanding, dumbed-down) see faith-in-Jesus only and remain in darkness. If only faith-in-Jesus, then they are lost in darkness because they are measuring their own individual faith (sculpted, changed, edited, omitted) passages.
KJV Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
That has puzzled the great theologians for many decades, because it has to mean that He is both man and God, that forgiveness/absolution passes from God incarnate to us ordinary men and woman. The "new" (corrupted) Bibles teach by erasing words that annoy them and also change clear passages that demand the truth.
Faith in Christ means that everything God can do is also within the boundaries of a human being. For many centuries and especially in these times, the leaders/managers, bishops, DPs, Popes and mini-Popes want to point everyone to them and not to the Good Shepherd. Luther made that very clear. All the power belongs to the Word of God, and the greatest power comes from the clearest part. Nevertheless, anyone can possess these truths and teach them to spouses, children, and clergy (the most obstinate).
The Word of God spreads through hearing and believing (Romans 10). That is a miracle by itself. The next step is realizing what God and His holy angels are already doing, often without any advice or repentance and forgiveness.
KJV Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power [efficacy, dynamite] that worketh [energy] in us,
[ κατα την δυναμιν dynamite την ενεργουμενην energy εν ημιν}
KJV Romans 10
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
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