The Living Dead Series

The Living Dead

The 7 Blessings in Revelation Series

Scripture Revelation 14:13

Introduction:

This Thursday we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe. As most of you know this was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, and the decisive operation that led us to victory in World War 2.

I was watching some documentaries talking about the significance of this day and the heroism of the men who landed on those beaches.

On the allied side, over 10,000 casualties and over 4400 people were killed to get that foothold established in trying to take back Europe from the Nazi regime.

For all those who have seen the movie Saving Private Ryan, you got to see see a dramatic depiction of what that was like when those amphibious craft drop the front door and the men waded through the surf into a barrage of machine gunfire.

Although my grandfather did not fight in Europe during World War 2, he did fight in the Pacific theater and rode in those same craft several times to recapture the islands taken by Japan. He told me the only way you could muster up the courage to climb in those things time after time is to accept the fact that you would most likely die.

He told me that it was one of the most valuable things he learned- that the only way to live is to live like you will die tomorrow.

He told me when you have that mindset you don't live a life of fear anymore.

Obstacles don't seem to be as formidable as they once were.

Mountains don't seem as high to climb, holes that you fall into don't seem as deep.

Today, we are going to be talking about fear, and in particular, the fear of death

We will be studying the second blessing found in the book of Revelation.

Rev 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

Prayer

I. The Context of Revelation 14:13

This verse is taking place during the end times. This is in the future.

John is describing the midpoint of the tribulation (brief explanation), getting ready to enter the great tribulation- the final 3 ½ years.

Seals/Trumpets are over.

Antichrist is revealed and ruling the entire world.

Bowl judgements are now pending.

Right after this blessing is pronounced in chapter 14, Christ symbolically swings a sickle, symbolizing HIM bring home any remaining saints on the earth. It should be noted though, these saints are probably coming home through martyrdom because they refuse the Mark of the Beast.

Remember our main verse-

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on

The bible seems to indicate these people will die here on earth because of the intense persecution that will happen, and then be welcomed into heaven by their LORD and Savior.

Martyrdom is not a comfortable subject, because it touches on our ultimate fear- the fear of death.

A few moments ago, I shared a story about how my grandfather got through WWII- learning to accept that he might die soon, and being comfortable with that.

He was telling me about his experiences in war one afternoon after I got back from the Vacation Bible School being held at the Lutheran Church they attended.

That morning in VBS, we were going through the 10 commandments, and it just so happened that we had covered commandment 6- Thou Shall Not Kill.

What I had heard at VBS, is that if you break the 10 commandments you go to hell, so now I’m trying to figure this out as my grandfather is telling me his experiences in the war, which of course included having to kill people.

So, I asked him- “Aren’t you afraid of dying? You killed people and the 10 commandments say you can’t do that”

It’s a memory that is burned hard into my brain about my grandfather- he was a very stoic Norwegian man, and it was one of the few times I saw his eyes water up a little, and he said,

“Johnny, I’m not afraid of dying because Jesus is my savior and has forgiven me for all my sins, so I get to go to heaven when I die.”

This was the clearest expression of the Gospel I had ever heard. My uneducated grandfather was able to express the core of our beliefs better than all of the seminary trained pastors I had ever met.

My grandfather planted two seeds in me in that moment –

The first- Jesus is the way to salvation

The second- Jesus is the answer to every fear we have in life, including that ultimate fear- the fear of dying.