Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (verse 10)

Links to TWO previous beatitudes:
* FIRST - Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (verse 3)
* FOURTH - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (verse 6)

We’ve come full circle … “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Is this truer than it was for the first beatitude? Does the first speak of potential … and the second of attainment?

“Righteousness” (from June)
Living in accordance with Divine Order - THE LAW OF LOVE

And - looking at the Bible -  we are to do this …
* “without fear or favour” (Leviticus 19:15)
* without being swayed by external concerns and circumstances.
* DESPITE the OPPORTUNITY and perhaps even the JUSTIFICATION of acting otherwise. (David spares Saul - repeatedly [1 Samuel 24 & 26])

“Blessed are those HAVING BEEN persecuted [put to flight] on account of righteousness” (Interlinear)
* When we live a life of LOVING righteousness, then no outside influence or challenge has any lasting effect upon us and our actions, BUT ALSO, …
* PAST TENSE - Speaks of the wisdom of experience. A state which can only be attained by means of the difficulties and challenges we have faced.
* It is only through this path of trial, temptation, spiritual combat, that we have reached this end

If we have done this, it will not have been easy.
We may well have faced opposition from others
But we will most definitely have faced opposition from within.
Change is never easy
Our habit is to justify and excuse ourselves

Persecuted, means “Put to flight”
“The situation with regard to judgement from truth is this: The Lord never judges anyone except from good, for His will is to lift all men, however many these may be, up to heaven, indeed if it were possible, up to Himself. For the Lord is mercy itself and good itself, and mercy itself and good itself cannot possibly condemn anyone. It is man who, in rejecting good, condemns himself. As a person has fled habitually from good during his lifetime, so in the next life he flees from it, and therefore from heaven and the Lord. For the Lord cannot be present except within good.” (AC 2335.3)

You WILL flee from something and toward something else, the ONLY question is WHAT?

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Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted For Righteousness

Our Mission is to promote and facilitate personal and community growth by developing lives of useful service to towards God, the Divine Creator, and others in accordance with biblical teaching as understood through the spiritual writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772).
Our Vision is to be part of a growing community in Victoria of spiritual believers seeking to serve God, the Divine Creator, through a deepening understanding of God’s love and care for everyone and by sharing spiritual principles in an open and non-judgmental way to foster a supportive environment to facilitate the spiritual journey.

Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted For Righteousness

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