Revelation 14:13 - Homiletics

A voice from heaven: the blessed dead.

However deep the gloom in which the description of the future struggles of the Church may plunge us, the Holy Ghost never suffers it to be indefinitely prolonged. We have stood with wondering awe amid the deep recesses of a glacier, and, as if lest the chill should be too severe and the gloom too intense, many a chink overhead let in a light and a glow that revealed wondrous glory above. Even so, as we stand in the midst of the threatening conflicts of the Church, we see light let in from above—a glory shining in the gloom. Thus it is here. We have witnessed the rise and power of the dragon, of the first beast, and of the second beast. We have looked upward and caught a glimpse of the heavenly state. We have heard the voices of the three angels, proclaiming

A voice is heard—whose, we are not told—but it is a commanding voice, under the direction of the Holy Ghost, and that is enough for us. Moreover, it is from heaven, from the realm of light, from the region whence the shadows have fled away. From that higher region the changing scenes of life and death, of struggle and of victory, are beheld; and from the clearer light in which these earthly incidents are viewed, there is an emphatic testimony given to us which is of priceless value. As so much of the book deals with the struggles of earth, it is restful indeed to be permitted to hear something as to how they fare who have passed beyond them.

I. IN THIS DYING WOULD THERE IS A FEATURE WHICH DISTINCTIVELY MARKS SOME DEATHS . "The dead which die in the Lord." The, dead which are dying. The believers in Christ under the present dispensation, who are, one by one, passing away, are evidently intended. "Dying in the Lord" is no vague expression. It defines. It includes. It limits. Otherwise were there no meaning in the phrase. It indicates, indeed, nothing special as to the physical mode of decease; nor as to age; nor as to the accidents of death. The expression, "from henceforth," is ambiguous. (For various interpretations, see expositors.) We incline to the opinion that the "henceforth" here referred to is the time of weariness, in which the faith and patience of the saints wilt be severely tried by the raging of the powers of evil; that it will be blessed to die in Jesus, and pass away to the realm where the weariness ( cf. ἐκ τῶν κόπων αὐτῶν ) will be known no more. The significance of the expression, "die in the Lord," should be carefully studied. Deaths are not alike any more than lives are. The deaths of Lazarus and Dives were as widely different as their lives. To die " in the Lord" is the natural sequence of living to the Lord. No change of state can affect the relation of believers to their Saviour ( 1 Thessalonians 5:10 ; Revelation 1:18 ). Such a dying as is here referred to must include

—in Christ—all going on in the act of dying, as really as in the act of living. Whether we live or die, we continue to be the Lord's. Once his, we are ever his.

II. THERE ARE MANIFOLD GROUNDS ON WHICH WE KNOW THOSE TO BE BLESSED WHO THUS DIE IN THE LORD . Each phrase in the text is full of meaning.

1 . Their blessedness is declared by the Holy Ghost. "Yea, saith the Spirit."

2 . It is proclaimed to the apostle by a voice from heaven.

3 . There is a command to place it on record for all time.

Each of these three lines of thought is indicated by the words of the verse. Much more is indicated, however, by the doctrine underlying the expression, "in the Lord." This phrase is used to express the unique relation between Christ and the believer. It is constantly recurring. "In Christ." From this the blessedness of those dying in him may be confidently affirmed; e.g.:

1 . Our Lord, in his work for men, contemplated the whole duration of their existence.

2 . He is the Saviour of man's whole nature—body, soul, and spirit.

3 . Our Saviour's work for believers touched every point of their need.

4 . He is himself the Lord of life.

5 . Being in him is enough for time and eternity. We know whom we have believed.

6 . He is guardian of believers as much after death as before it. Hence it must be the case, "Blessed," etc.

III. WE ARE DISTINCTLY TOLD IN WHAT THE BLESSEDNESS CONSISTS . There is no ground in Scripture for asserting the sleep of the soul between death and the resurrection. It is, indeed, only "the body" which "is dead because of sin; the spirit is life because of righteousness." And Jesus expressly declared that whoso keepeth his sayings should never taste of death. "Absent from the body," they are "at home with the Lord." Not, indeed, that the fully glorified state is theirs as yet, nor will be till the resurrection. Not till Christ, our Life, is manifested, shall we be manifested with him in glory. The heavenly life has three stages. The first beginning at regeneration, and closing with the dissolution of the body. The second beginning at death, and ending at the resurrection. The third beginning with the resurrection, and never ending. It is this intermediate stage which is pronounced "blessed." They are blessed in death, and blessed after it. "The having died is gain" ( τὸ ἀποθανεῖν ) . How?

1 . Negatively. "They rest from their labours."

2 . Positively. Their works follow with them. They not only leave behind them blessed impulses which will follow after their earthly works have ceased, but they take with them their works into another life; i.e. the works of faith and patience and holy activity which were the outwork of their devotion and zeal were a part of themselves; they not only expressed what they were, but they played their part in the growth and perfecting of their characters. And not only so, but the Lord, into whose presence they are ushered at death, sees both them and their works too, as one. As Ewald, "Their works are so far from being lost through their death, that they follow them into eternity" (quoted in 'Speaker's Commentary,' in loc. ) . The same law works in the case of the righteous as in the case of the wicked. "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before them to judgment; i.e. a man goes into eternity, plus his works, whether they be good or bad. Blessed, indeed, is it when the works have been those of faith and love, which, though in many cases forgotten by the worker, shall be remembered by the great Saviour Judge.

IV. A COMMAND IS GIVEN TO PUT THIS ON RECORD . The truth contained in this verse is too precious a one to be left to the uncertainty of a merely verbal tradition. We know not to what shreds and patches our glorious gospel might by this time have been reduced, had it been thus left at the mercy of floating reports handed down by word of mouth. It was "safe" to write this. The value of this truth is simply unspeakable.

1 . It shows us that death is not a terminus of life, but an incident in living. It is a change of states under the guardian care of a Divine Redeemer, who loves his own too much to let them perish.

2 . In the light of such a truth, we should dread death less. Nay, more; we ought not to dread it at all. Our Saviour has passed through the gates of the grave himself, that he might deliver them who through fear of death have been all their lifetime subject to bondage.

3 . A right use of this truth will prepare us for enduring with more calmness and bravery the trials and hardships of this life. Persecution. Insult. Martyrdom. What fretfulness under sorrow is often shown by those who abandon the evangelical faith! Life of Carlyle; a man who, though a prodigy of intellectual acquirement, lived a life which was one continuous whine.

4 . Let us not grieve unduly over those who are gone. If they have died in the Lord, and if we are living in the Lord, we shall go to them, but they shall not return to us. We can rejoice in the thought of the increasing wealth of our treasure in the heavenly state, as saint after saint is caught upward into light.

5 . Let us look forward hopefully and cheerfully to our own future. What work the Master may have appointed for us we cannot foresee, nor do we at all know when we shall be called up to join the "men who are made perfect." But we need not wish to know. It is enough for us that they and we are one.

"The saints on earth and all the dead

But one communion make;

All join in Christ, their living Head,

And of his grace partake."

6. Knowing how well we are cared for in life and in death by our blessed Lord, let us concentrate all our energies on glorifying our Lord. This is the conclusion to which the Apostle Paul himself arrived. Knowing that when we are absent from the body we shall be at home with the Lord, we should make it the object of our supreme ambition to be well pleasing to him. This, indeed, is our one concern. To work, and love, and obey, and wait. And in time our Master will come and fetch us home, and we shall be forever with him.