“The Great Unveiling: The Blessed Dead”
Revelation 14:1-20
If Revelation makes one thing clear it’s that we are constantly making a choice between life and death. The message of this great book is often a re-echoing of the messages given to Israel long ago: God has placed before us life and death; choose life.
Yet we come to verse 13 in the 14th chapter of Revelation: “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” My question is, if it’s so blessed to be dead, then why go on living? Let’s hurry up and be dead! And certainly that’s been voiced by many – often much more seriously than my jesting. And the answer is that our living has something to say about our dying; life has a direct relationship to death. To explore this more fully let’s study this 14th chapter.
We begin with the POSTURE OF THE REDEEMED in verses 1-5. The 144,000, the redeemed, are gathered on Mount Zion with the Lamb. THE REDEEMED HAVE A STANDING. Consider Mount Zion. Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote that the most rewarding study he ever made was of the usage of Mount Zion in Scripture. It led him through at least 30 Psalms, all of which gave a new meaning to its use here in Revelation! It is that very special place where God and His people dwell together victoriously. MOUNT ZION REPRESENTS THE HOPE OF GOD’S PEOPLE, THE PLACE OF DIVINE DELIVERANCE.
Standing on Mount Zion is THE LAMB. While Satan tries to appear in charge of this world in which we live, the Lamb Jesus Christ is standing tall and firm on Mount Zion. In fact the tense of the Greek word for ‘stand’ means a standing that is fixed and cannot be broken. No matter what it looks like on earth, the Lamb REIGNS – NOW AND FOREVER.
And it’s the 144,000 who are there. In chapter 7 we said the 144,000 were THE COMPLETE NUMBER OF GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE. God assigned people to Christ for his keeping. In Christ’s High Priestly prayer (John 17), He said that of all whom the Father had given Him, not one had been lost but the son of perdition. Well, here we see them – not one lost or snatched away by the wiles of Satan. They are safe! THEY, WITH THE LAMB, FORM THE CITY OF GOD, in opposition to those worldly systems and sites of the beast in previous chapters! God’s people, in God’s place, standing strong, secure, and victorious!
Also, THE REDEEMED POSSESS SAINTLINESS. This has to do with their character. John here points out 5 character traits for special notice – traits that ought to be a part of our character. FIRST, he mentions their SPIRITUAL MATURITY – they did not defile themselves. The Old Testament used this language to describe Israel’s relationship to God. Defile described her faithfulness and unfaithfulness. She was called a virgin but also a harlot and an adulteress. The women she fell victim to were, in reality, false gods and disobedient living. The saints of God, of which we are a part, do not defile themselves by going after other gods and allegiances. Rather their commitment is so total that there are no other ties or loyalties in comparison. They have lived up to what their marriage vow with Christ implies; having pledged themselves THEY WERE FAITHFUL!
And what about us? Most of us have stood before God and his church and made vows – we have pledged ourselves to him, wed ourselves to him. Have we lived up to those vows? Have we been faithful in our use of the Sacraments, the hearing of the Word, the giving of ourselves and our substance?
The SECOND characteristic of the saints is THEY FOLLOWED THE LAMB. In other words, they didn’t just take Jesus as their personal Savior and then do as they pleased. They did not tell Christ where they would and would not serve; THEY WENT WHERE HE CALLED AND LED. We do not make Christ Lord – He already is the Lord! He does quite well at being Lord without us! It’s a matter of whether or not we will let Him be Lord of our lives. Do you tell Him your conditions for serving? Do you tell Him where you will or won’t go? Or how you’ll serve? Have you repeatedly opened yourself up and said, “Lord, whatever, whenever, and wherever?”
John also sees, THIRD, the saintly idea of FIRST FRUITS. The first fruits were the first fruits harvested. They were special because in offering them to God they were dedicating their whole harvest. They were giving the first of their produce trusting God to deliver an abundant crop. Through offering the first and best of the crop, THEY OFFERED EVERYTHING. So these Christians on Mount Zion were the best that could be offered, and were a foretaste of the time when the whole world will be dedicated to God. How is your dedication? Have you offered the best of your life – or the leftovers? The first share of your blessings – or what’s left after “business” is taken care of?
Then, FOURTH, John sees TRUTHFULNESS. These saints centered their lives on the truth of Jesus Christ. Satan, the dragon, builds his kingdom on lies and deception; Jesus said that He was the Truth. So it is critically important that the saints spend their lives DEFENDING AND PROMOTING HIS NAME. It’s important that people find the truth of Christ for their own lives. That means more than just to know about Him – it means to discover the truth about their lives in relationship to Him. And that can only be done when people continue to encounter the risen Christ in his Word. As God speaks through His Word, we meet the Lord, and what the Lord requires of us! May you come to so use and know that Word!
The FIFTH and final saintly trait is that they were BLAMELESS, or without blemish. This is the adjective used for sacrificial victims and it therefore speaks of sacrifice. The saints had received life as a gift and in turn made it a gift to God. In the Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated – some daily. Then Jesus dies once for all. The New Testament emphasis is the while we no longer sacrifice daily, a onetime act of commitment is not enough; WE MUST DAILY GIVE OURSELVES OVER TO CHRIST to be used by him. For what is heaven but our continual service of the Almighty God? Surely no service here means none there! For life influences death! Therefore, live life! Check out the Posture of the Redeemed and claim it for your own!
The scene then changes in verses 6-13, where we see A PROCLAMATION OF REDEMPTION. This shows us God’s attitude, and it’s seen in three parts. First, HE SENDS FORTH AN INVITATION. Since judgment is coming He says to fear God and give Him the glory. It’s a message that grace is still available. Christ is saying people can face the truth now or face it later. Like the man promoting his oil filter says, “Pay me now or pay me later!”
And realize God sends this message out through us! HE’S CALLED US TO BE HIS AMBASSADORS, to represent Him on earth, to extend the invitation to others, to usher others into the presence of Christ. Think about whom you represent. As a teacher, you represent your school; as an employee you represent your company; as your pastor I represent Hope Church and the Reformed Church in America. But even more importantly we are called by God to represent Him! Is there any greater calling? What else could we ask? We represent the risen, reigning Lord Jesus Christ and have the privilege of sharing His invitation of grace to those who do not claim Him as Lord.
And that’s especially important because God also ISSUES AN ANNOUNCEMENT. Babylon, which stands here for Babel, is dealt with at great length later. But for now we need to know that BABYLON, THE PLACE WHERE PEOPLE FIRST JOINED IN REBELLION AGAINST GOD, HAS FALLEN. It has come to be associated with wickedness, idolatry, immorality, the occult, and unspeakable cruelty. And the reason she falls is that she has had an influence in LEADING OTHERS ASTRAY FROM CHRIST. She has been like the prostitute who has seduced, coaxed, and persuaded men to succumb to her – by getting them drunk. And by dinking of her wine, they are also condemned to taste of God’s wine of wrath! And that only underscores the importance of getting out the invitation, to bring people out from under her influence before she falls – lest they fall with her!
For if they fall with her, God PROMISES EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT. Although the followers of the beast could buy and sell on this earth, in the end they will experience poverty. It will be the total contrast of what appears in chapter 13! Make no mistake about it – THERE IS A HELL! It exists! We’ll see this truth again near the end of Revelation. (19:20) “But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” (20:10) “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (21:8) “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Just imagine being burnt alive, or swallowing some burning chemical – the torture and pain of it all. Hell is that, and more, continually, forever! Remember the rich man who, from hell, pleaded with Lazarus who was in heaven, just to cool the tip of his tongue! And he was denied! Some years ago the Religion Editor of the Grand Rapids Press had a lengthy, interesting, but discouraging article about ministers and their belief – or disbelief – in hell. Even back then there was a large number of ordained ministers who did not believe in the validity of hell – and a large number who did but would not preach or teach about it. I state unequivocally that you cannot read the Bible seriously and doubt or ignore hell. To try to do so is almost as serious as denying that Jesus is the only way to salvation. There is hell to pay. And if you and I really believe in the existence of hell, and its terror, how can we not be busy in evangelism? How can we not be concerned for those who have gone astray?
And as we ask this question, Jesus offers a contrast as He PROCLAIMS A BEATITUDE. (14:13) “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” BLESSED ARE THE DEAD. What a message to the people in John’s day who were in need of steadfastness! They were promised rest from their labors – LABOR IS THE WEARINESS that accompanies this life. Here we labor to the point of weariness and weakness. But in heaven, while the work goes on and our service continues, this weariness and weakness ceases. We rest from the hardships, toils, and sweat, but not from ceaseless activity! As has been said, “There are not really two worlds, one before death and one after death; there is really one world over which the Lord reigns. So past experience is not lost after death. The new life is one into which old deeds follow. This principle of the continuity of life here and there comes to Christians as a truth shining with inspiration. But if life is one continued story and the first chapter there naturally follows the last chapter here we can truly say, as is said in the serial magazines, "to be continued in our next." Everything good in our experience here is to be gathered up in the life of fulfillment beyond.” (1)
See the contrast here? Those who tormented the followers of the Lamb are tormented; those who followed and lived for the glory of the Lamb share His glory. It can be no other way! This life influences death. HEAVEN IS A PREPARED PLACE FOR A PREPARED PEOPLE; HELL IS A PREPARED PLACE FOR AN UNPREPARED PEOPLE! It’s that simple! How we live lets us know whether we die in fear or in anticipation of glory! The blessed must get out the Word! It’s no longer just being faithful unto death – for us it’s being faithful with life; it’s not so much being ready to die but ready to live.
The entire section ends with a PICTURE OF REAPING. The background is Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares (Mt. 13:24ff.). In 14-16 THERE IS A GATHERING. The whole point of the parable was that weeds grow up with the wheat and we must leave the separation up to God. Jesus said, “Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Rev. 14:14 shows us THE BARN GATHERING! It’s just one more re-enforcement that the saved will be gathered safely in!
But, in 17-20 we also see that THERE IS A BURNING. The image comes from Is. 63:3: “I have trodden the winepress alone…I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments.” The wine presses were made up of three parts. There was the upper level where the grapes were placed. People stomped on them to squeeze out the juice. The juice then went down through a chute into the lower level where it was collected. John sees the unrepentant trampled upon and their blood chuting forth – and the destruction is so great that the blood covers 1600 stadia. 1600 is 4X4X100; 4 equals all of creation, while 100 is 10, the symbol of completion, squared. It means THE JUDGMENT WILL REACH THROUGHOUT ALL CREATION! Those who have not been washed in Jesus’ blood will have their own blood spilt out! There will be a blood bath from one end of the earth to the other!
The picture of reaping is too often a sweet one – when in reality it’s tragic. It’s a gruesome picture! And it’s meant to be. God will trample the masses. And it will be forever! It will be a scene worth missing! Millions of people will be dealt with in wrath, when they could have had grace! Life certainly influences death!
So THE BLESSED DEAD ARE BLESSED BECAUSE THEIR LIVES WERE A BLESSING TO GOD AND TO OTHERS. We must tell the story like it is, the sweet and the sour, good and bad, together. We cannot make others respond; only God can. But we must GIVE THE WARNING NOW WHILE IT IS STILL THE DAY OF GRACE! Even here, in the middle of the great battle the note of hope and good news is loud and clear. Here, in the heart of darkness, at the place of brokenness and judgment, is the possibility of new life; there is still time to repent and turn to the Lamb. (2)
In Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’, the cynical Ivan mocks the faith and prayers of his young Christian friend, Alyoska. He doesn’t see how the Christian prayers help Alyoska to get out of prison any faster than anyone else. Alyoska’s response surprises Ivan; in effect he answers, “I don’t pray for that—I pray to do the will of God…” Alyoska recites to Ivan the “Our Father” prayer. There is not a word in that prayer about getting out of a Russian prison camp, but rather it is Alyoska’s prayer to make it here and now in the twenty-four-hour cycle where everyone lives, and to do the will of God in this part of His kingdom. Alyoska is a man who knows the meaning of his life in the midst of a hard pathway. He is blessed. Of course he wants out of prison but he does not need to be out of prison in order to have faith, hope, and love – to have a mission, a deep sense of meaning, the rich sense of who he is as a human being. He is blessed here and now and wherever he is, even in death, because of the companionship of Jesus Christ. It is this unshakable blessing of companionship with God through Jesus Christ, that John discovers in his great vision. (3)
And this companionship with God through Jesus Christ is the unshakable blessing it is our privilege to share while there is still time.
(1) Exposition - The Interpreter's Bible – Volume 12.
(2) http://ref.ly/o/prcm35jnr/417386?length=281 via @Logos
(3) http://ref.ly/o/prcm35jnr/425433?length=1293 via @Logos
