Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
The Blessing--Revelation 14:13
I offer you one single verse of Scripture to think about today. “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” (Rev. 14:13).
This is an important verse. It is important because of where it is found. It comes from the middle of the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Revelation is the last book of the Bible because in many ways it is Heaven’s last word about the world we live in. In particular this verse is in the middle of a discussion about judgement, the battles between good and evil, the end of history, and how the Lord is going to make everything make sense. That’s what Revelation is all about. This particular verse comes right in the middle of that kind of discussion. That makes it important.
This verse is also important because of who says it. “I heard a voice from heaven say.” That’s how it begins. What follows is not just any old statement. This is a word from heaven. If that doesn’t make our ears perk up and get our attention, nothing will.
It is important most of all because of what it says. It talks about the very things that are on our minds today. Moments like this make us, like it or not, think about life and death, the future, our loved ones and our own. We ponder whether life is really worth all of the struggles and hardships that can come our way. This verse is God’s Word about all that. I think that’s important.
At first blush, I am not sure what I think about it. Listen to how it begins. “Blessed are the dead.” Actually that term blessed is a bit too religious sounding. How would you react if it said, “Happy are the dead?” That’s the sense of the word. How can that be? We associate death and dying with sickness, suffering, heartache and tears. We associate happiness with wealth, health, fame, and power not with hospitals, funerals and cemeteries. What’s happy about death? The Bible makes the same association. The one place where the Bible says “Jesus wept” was at a graveside. The Bible calls death an enemy. But here heaven says, “Blessed/happy are the dead.” How can that be?
The next part of the verse helps. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” This is not unqualified happiness that it is talking about. Death is not blessed for everyone. Now is not the place to go into it, but preceding this verse is a powerful description of the unhappy future facing those who had no room for the Lord in this life. But our verse looks at the other alternative. It insists that a person’s relationship with the Lord makes a difference. A genuine trust in Jesus Christ, who he is, what he did for, and what he promises provides a qualitative difference in people.
I have seen that. I am sure you have too. Sometimes the difference is subtle. Sometimes it is very obvious. The Lord makes a difference how a person thinks. Does life have purpose and meaning or is everything just one big accident? The Lord makes a difference in how a person lives. The Bible says that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all grow from the Lord’s presence in a person’s life. I think the Lord makes a difference in how a person dies. I have been at the bedside of many dying people. I know that the Lord makes a difference. He also makes a difference in how a person grieves. Of course, we mourn the loss of a loved one. But their faith and ours makes a qualitative difference.
Why? What makes the dead who die in the Lord blessed, special, or even happy? The verse goes on to explain. It provides two reasons. These are reasons you can bank on because the Spirit of the Lord himself declares them. It is not an angel who speaks or a departed saint or a wise man. The Spirit himself speaks with emphasis. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit.”
The first of the two reasons is negative. They are blessed because of what has ended. “They will rest from their labor.” That’s the promise. The term for labor here is a special term in the language in which the Bible was written. We associate our term labor with work. We think of our jobs or the activities that we do for a living. That’s not the sense of this term. This word means struggles, or wearisome toil. It pictures the kind of activities that wear us down. All of that is over. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord …for they will rest from their labors.”
The future promised in this verse means rest from our struggles. Certainly the labor associated with sickness and pain is over. So are the worries and fears that are all too common in this life. The struggles with sin, temptation, and weakness end. They will rest from their labors.
Another verse speaks of death in similar terms. The Apostle Paul writes near the end of his life, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
(2 Tim. 4:6-8). Those who die in the Lord are blessed because of what will not be.
The next to the last chapter of the Bible speaks of the same blessing. “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:3-4).
Our verse says those who die in the Lord are blessed because of what will not be. But it says something else as well. They are blessed because of what will continue. “Their deeds will follow them.” How so? How do our deeds follow us? I think there are two ways. Both are very real.
First our deeds continue in this world. Lots of things end with death. Memories don’t. The good times, the good deeds, the good words and good works all linger in the hearts and minds of loved ones. Those who die in the Lord leave a legacy that continues to shine bright in the lives of others for years, maybe even generations. Death does not end that. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord …because their deeds follow them.”
But there is another reason for the blessing cited in the verse. This is undoubtedly the main one. The deeds of God’s people follow them into eternity. The Lord knows our lives. He sees our faith. Nothing will go unnoticed or unrewarded. That’s what makes the struggles and difficulties of life worth it all.
Jesus taught us that a reward awaits in eternity. Blessed are those who are persecuted for his name’s sake, “for great is their reward in heaven” (Matt 5:12). He said that anyone who gives a cup of cold water in his name would not lose their reward (Mt 10:42). That is the promise at the end of the Bible, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Rev 22:12). The greatest reward will be the simple words of the Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Blessed are those who die in the Lord for the deeds will follow them.
Eternity also means reunion. The deeds that follow include the relationships of life. Those are the most important treasures anyone has. Everyone in this room has lost loved ones. We have stood by their lifeless bodies in funeral homes and wept at their graves. I have attended the funerals of grandparents, both my parents, and numerous uncles and aunts. So have you. Many of you have said good-by to children, brothers and sisters, and countless friends. The glorious good news is—if our departed loved ones trusted in Jesus’ sacrifice for their forgiveness and you have put your faith in the same Lord, we eagerly look forward to eternity because it means a reunion. We shall be reunited with the Lord and with all of our departed loved ones who also loved his appearing.
You know what else that means? That reunion will not only include my parents and grandparents who trusted in Jesus, but my grandparents before them. It will include loved ones and ancestors I have heard about but never knew. The great saints of the ages will also be there. The family reunion will include the likes of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Daniel, Jeremiah and John the Baptist, Paul and Peter—and every other sinner saved by grace through faith in the blood of Christ alone. It will be a grand reunion. That’s something to look forward to!
That’s our verse. It is packed with power. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” I hope it shed a whole new light on what we are doing here today. You will still mourn the loss of someone you cared about. But knowing their blessing can help lighten our loss.
I also hope this verse also helps you take stock of your life. It shouldn’t make anyone want this life to pass more quickly. The days speed by all too rapidly the way it is. That’s not the point of this verse. These promises should make us want to make sure the Lord is a part of our lives here and now so that the future described here will be ours as well. It can be. It should be.
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
