The fourth message of Revelation 14 is not given by an angel. This devotional reading looks at the blessing that is given.
Nuggets
- The voice from Heaven gives a blessing to those saints who endure.
- John again heard a voice from Heaven.
- The message was important, so John was instructed to write it down.
- There are some who are faithful until death and gain Heaven.
- Does from now on mean we are not blessed in this life?
- In Heaven, we will no longer labor but still continue to serve God.
There are actually four messages in Revelation 14. The first three are provided by angels. We’ve looked at these in the last two devotions.
Let’s take a look at the fourth message.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Harvest of the Earth series
The Blessing
“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’” (Rev. 14: 12-13 ESV)
The voice from Heaven gives a blessing to those saints who endure.
Call for Endurance of the Saints
Sometime, the word is translated endurance. Sometimes, it is translated patience.
To me, patience is how, and endurance is how long. They are tied together.
God’s Word talks a lot about patience and enduring.
- “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12: 12 ESV).
- “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6: 9 ESV).
- “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Rom. 8: 25 ESV).
What is also included in the mix is the what. We have to be patience for the duration when experiencing trials.
We are neither being patient nor enduring when things are going smoothly. There is nothing to rise above there.
But then, in this life, patience is seen as a weakness, not a virtue.
It is when things are chaotic and challenging that we must truly exhibit the attributes of God.
Every child of God must have patience for that to which God is calling them.
No, I don’t think this is talking about patience in Walmart when there is a screaming baby near. Neither is it talking about being patient in traffic.
This, I think, is talking about being patience for God to work out His plan for our lives. It is being patient for Jesus’ return.
God is more concerned about our heavenly life than our earthly one. No, we shouldn’t sin by being impatient in this life.
But we need to our faith and trust in God and waiting on His timing.
Thomas had a good observation. Patience doesn’t mean stoic or indifferent. That speaks more of tolerance.
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Tolerating sin should not be a part of a disciples’ daily life, especially sexual immorality, which was the second angel’s warning.
Those who are patient and endure are blessed. It is only through patience and endurance that we are blessed.
Ooo, baby. We would say that those who endure the suffering brought on by the Antichrist would really deserve the blessing. Think of all the suffering they had to withstand.
Standing up to the Antichrist, not getting the mark of the beast, enduring all the trials of not being able to buy and sell – in other words provide for ourselves – will receive a blessing if they keep the commandments and their faith.
Patience and endurance must be about keeping our faith in God pure and strong. That is the only way in which we will be blessed.
Oh, yes. It is going to be a struggle with our sinful nature.
It is only through God’s grace that we can enter Heaven. Spurgeon said something interesting. He wrote, “Since death does not change character, we must be made saints here below if we are to be saints above.”
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It is only when we are set apart for God that we can enter Heaven. We have to have the character of God – be in Christ. It is about being faithful until death. We have to be in the Lord.
“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (I Tim. 1: 18-20 ESV).
If we don’t hold onto our faith with a good conscience, we are shipwrecked of our faith. Elaine-speak: We lose our faith when we do not hold on tightly to God’s laws and commandments.
A Voice from Heaven
John again heard a voice from Heaven.
To me, it makes it seem like the voice wasn’t right beside John. It wasn’t coming from something he could see.
It was an overarching voice. It was a voice of authority.
This message is different from those of the three angels. It is a blessing, and not a warning.
We aren’t told if the fourth message comes from an angel or Someone else. We do know, however, that blessings come from God.
Write
The message was important, so John was instructed to write it down.
I wonder why the reminder for John to write down what he saw was given here. I wonder if he was just so awed by everything he’d seen.
Sometimes, we don’t take reminders well. We shouldn’t be upset when God reminds us.
We have to remember that we are doing God’s work. We are serving Him.
That means we need to listen to God whatever He says — and whoever He has say it us.
Besides, isn’t it wonderful to get confirmation that we are still supposed to be doing what we are doing?
What was John doing? Seeing the visions for himself? No.
Sing the visions some he could preach it to first-century Messianic congregations? No.
John was writing it down so you and I — and everyone else throughout the ages — could read it.
God had an important task for John that would have major kingdom implications. He was going to take a hands-on approach in assisting John. He wanted to show the unchangeable truth.
Blessed Are the Dead
There are some who are faithful until death and gain Heaven.
This is the first of six blessings in the latter part of Revelation. These blessings are needed because there are those who can remain faithful until the end.
We may think it a little strange that it is talking about being dead. “… ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on …’” (Rev. 14: 13 ESV).
Death is usually seen to be a curse. Sin brings spiritual death as well as physical death.
However, we are not going to see Christ until the physical death has occurred. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9: 27 ESV).
But this death isn’t death as we know it. We are born again through this death because we have already been born again through Christ.
We are in union with Christ. Why? Because we are in Christ.
When we are “in Christ,” sin no longer has a hold on us. Yes, Jesus is in us. He is in our hearts after we have asked Him to be ourSavior. He is also to be in our lives.
It goes a step further than that. When we are in Christ, we are imitating Him. We are so into Him that we want to be exactly like Him.
Guthrie made an interesting observation. Being in Christ is more of an incorporation.
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It isn’t just that we cooperate and do what God has asked. It is more of a melding that we become as He is.
The easy way to say that is to die with Christ means we have lived for Christ. That means we submit everything to God and do not compromise with the world.
Yes, patient endurance will be rewarded. Alexander explained it this way. He wrote, “This patient waiting upon God is represented not only as acceptable to Him, and as a source of good in general, but of specific benefits, without which spiritual life can never flourish, if it can exist.”
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Endurance only comes through faith. That is the only way in which we are united with Jesus.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1: 12-13 ESV).
Faith is just the start. Faith must be followed by obedience.
Okay. I have to process what Cairns said. In Elaine-speak:
- Good works do not open the door to Heaven.
- Our works – service – follows us.
- Because of this service, we receive blessings.
- Our service also makes Heaven a place of blessedness because we – aiding the Holy Spirit – have brought souls to Jesus for salvation.
- This service has increased our holiness – the only way in which we will see Jesus.
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Think about who John’s audience was. It was the Messianic congregations of Asia in the first century.
The Book of Revelation was written to them to comfort them because of the trials that were coming their way.
They were going to die. Many have died since then. We may die before Jesus returns.
Once this life is over – even if we are recipients of violence and cruelty that end our lives – we enter Heaven — if God is our Father and Jesus our Savior.
From Now On
Does from now on mean we are not blessed in this life?
Pierson didn’t think that was what was being meant here. He wrote,
“It may refer to a new point of departure with regard to the blessed dead. It may refer to a new point of departure with respect to the revelation of that blessedness. It may refer to a new departure with regard to the testimony of the Spirit.”
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I don’t know if I see it as a departure. We are blessed now.
Instead, I see it as more of a blossoming. Our blessings will be sweeter and more in so many ways that we cannot comprehend.
But let’s look at this another way. When was the most important from now on?
It was Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. From then on, God’s children would be blessed.
Rest from Their Labors, for Their Deeds Follow Them
In Heaven, we will no longer labor but still continue to serve God.
Okay. This may be a little confusing.
We get caught up on working out our salvation. We sometimes think it is talking about our works.
We think that means doing the Matthew 25 to-do list. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Mt. 25: 35-36 ESV).
So, it may seem logical to some that we will rest from the Matthew 25 to-do list.
Disciples do have to work – the right way. Spurgeon gave us a good reminder. He wrote, “The idle Christian can have little hope of a reward.”
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But we aren’t working. We are serving. If serving God in this lifetime is a condition of being blessed, won’t it still be required in Heaven?
What is the purpose of this service? It leads to our sanctification. Sanctification leads to perfection — the ultimate goal.
We will only achieve perfection when we reach Heaven — from our death on.
From what will we rest? It isn’t going to be obeying God’s laws and commandments. We are going to be doing that for eternity.
We will no longer have our marching orders.
- “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
- “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Mt. 28: 19-20 ESV).
What comes with our labors? Many times, sacrifices do. Sometimes, they are riddled with persecution.
What follows us? Our character follows us because our character is supposed to be that of God’s.
Every good thing we’ve done on the Sanctification Road will follow us. That is what made our character as God’s.
Most of all, our devotion for our Savior follows us. Our love for Sovereign God will not only continue but grow as we meet Him.
In other words, the verse is correct. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6: 7 ESV).
Lyth, Guthrie, and Manning gave us a great list of things which we will never see again in Heaven.
- Trivial and petty instances
- Indifference
- Lies and deception
- Toils and cares of life
- Grief
- A decaying body
- Weakness or weariness
There was another reminder that Lyth gave us. We won’t see our earthly wealth in Heaven. What we do see is spiritual things.
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What we see about Heaven is God’s authority and peace.
But we can’t think that rest from our labors means we will be inactive. We won’t.
I wonder if we will still be doing a revised Matthew 25 to-do list. No, we won’t be hungry, thirsty, unknown, naked, sick, or in prison.
We will, however — I think — have responsibilities to carry out in Heaven. God would not like to see us exhibit all this work for Him here on earth only to sit around and eat bon bons all “day” in Heaven.
Since this life is a trial run for Heaven, God will find us ways for us to prepare for our service in Heaven.
But won’t we, as a community in Heaven, support each other? We will worship together.
Cairns said that we will rest by keeping an endless Sabbath. We won’t consider that work. Worshiping God will be rejuvenating.
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Spurgeon suggested that we will rest from making mistakes and being discouraged. (Won’t we welcome that!)
Making the Connections
It comes down to the concept that we should flip everything. Instead of putting the focus on this life, we should focus on eternal life.
That puts lesser value on things of this world and more value on spiritual things.
How Do We Apply This?
- Cultivate patience and endurance as a source of spiritual strength.
- Have an attitude of waiting for God.
- Compare this life to eternal life for those who put their faith in Jesus.
- Don’t fear death because it leads to eternal life.
- Mourn for the living instead of the dead.
- Fear life instead of fear death.
Resources
Father God. Lord, we want to endure. Give us patience while we wait for You. Change our attitude to be that of Christ’s. We look forward to our lives with You. Amen.
What do you think?
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