Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.

This is one of the great doctrinal pronouncements of the whole New Testament. It declares "blessed are those who meet death in spiritual union with Jesus Christ."[58] "Manifestly, all this applies to all who die in the Lord."[59] There is not another verse in the whole New Testament that any more concisely concentrates into so brief a statement the entire theology of redemption than is effected here.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ... The key words here are "in the Lord," a little phrase which, with its equivalents "in him," "in whom," etc., occurs no less than 169 times in Paul's writings alone,[60] besides dozens of other references. This truth alone emphatically stresses the overriding importance of it. To be "in Christ," of course, is to be in spiritual union with Christ; but the word of the New Testament repeatedly states unequivocally that this union is effected, completed, accomplished, and achieved through the believer's being "baptized into Christ" (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26,27), there being not the slightest hint in the whole New Testament of anyone's ever having been "in Christ" who was not baptized "into him."

People are not actually "in Christ" in any other sense than that of being "in" his spiritual body which is the church; and the same manner of being "in the body" is likewise that of being "in Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:13). See fuller discussion of this in my Commentary on Romans, pp. 123-127. Thus the same obedience of faith which unites one with Christ in baptism also unites him with the true spiritual body of Christ.

Who die in the Lord ... None ever died "in the Lord" who was not "in him" before he died; so what is indicated here is fidelity until death, or even fidelity when physical death is a consequence of it. The crown is never won for Christians until their probation is ended; as Paul expressed it, until they are "found in him" (Philippians 3:9).

The consequences of the Christian's being "in Christ" are almost unbelievably profound. The one "in Christ" is eternally saved and justified, not for anything that he either believed or did, but through being a partaker of the perfect faith and perfect obedience of Christ himself, which in the state of his being in union with Christ are actually his. This is the way one is "perfect in Christ" (Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 1:28,29). This is the way one "in Christ" is dead to sin, etc. See in my Commentary on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, pp. 130-133. The development of this great theological principle has been stressed extensively in this set of commentaries.

From henceforth ... Beckwith and others unnecessarily see a time-factor in this,[61] as if those dying "in the Lord" after John wrote were particularly the recipients of this beatitude; but, despite this, Beckwith admitted that "this cannot obscure the universal truth of the passage.[62] Beasley-Murray would appear to have the better understanding of what is here meant by "henceforth."

It is likely that the word translated henceforth should so be punctuated as to produce, the word assuredly, as in the New English Bible (1961) margin.[63]

The oldest manuscripts were not divided into words. If this is two words, it means henceforth, but if one, it means assuredly. The original Greek may be read either way with equal authority. If any time-factor is meant, it would have to refer to the entire Christian dispensation as contrasted with what went previously. We simply cannot believe that the "henceforth" in this passage limits the meaning in any manner to "the martyrs alone."

That they may rest from their labors ... When Christians die, they "rest" from the trials, sorrows, temptations, and tribulations of life. Little beyond this is revealed concerning the state of the righteous dead. It would appear to be quite a different case with the wicked, as may be deduced from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). It will be recalled that Lazarus entered not into any conversation and that he appeared totally inactive throughout the narrative. The wicked man, however, was tormented.

For their works follow with them ... This stresses the importance of good works in the scheme of redemption, a truth downgraded and resented by this generation, but nevertheless true. No! Works do not alone justify; but then, neither does faith alone justify. Rist complained of the plain teaching here:

The doctrine of works is also given a very prominent place. This is a basic inconsistency which does not seem to have disturbed John, if he was aware of it at all.[64]

The reason John was not disturbed is that "works" are in no manner inconsistent with what John and all the apostles taught; but it is not only inconsistent with the "faith only" theory of salvation but absolutely contradictory of it. Such a comment seems to indicate a lack of faith in the holy apostle's inspiration, as well as lack of information about what is, or is not, consistent with the teaching of the whole New Testament. Barclay said, "Works here mean character!"[65] That, of course, is a marvelous way to get rid of a troublesome word. Declare that it means something else.

[58] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 277.

[59] G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 227.

[60] John Mackay, God's Order (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953), p. 59.

[61] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 659.

[62] Ibid.

[63] G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 227.

[64] Martin Rist, op. cit., p. 474.

[65] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 114.