Book excerpt: Publisher's description: Beyond Vengeance and Protest takes a fresh look at the Book of Revelation from the point of view of blessing. If John wrote Revelation to tell the Christian communities that he had seen the Lord and to encourage them to persevere, the macarisms underscore his conviction of God's vindication of the righteous who suffer now. With the sevenfold macarisms expressing hope in God's grace, John lays grounds for action by positing the good for which the contrary must be rejected.