THURSDAY September 5th
Revelation 14:13
‘And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!”’
As we come to our verses today, because we are looking at the seven ‘blessed’ statements in the book of Revelation, it means that we have jumped very quickly from the first in chapter 1:3 through 13 chapters to arrive at chapter 14. And a lot has happened, or when it all takes place will have happened!
Now, I suppose it is important for me to make clear the angle from which I look at the book of Revelation, and to suggest that if you look at it from a different angle, then you agree to disagree with me. I am one who holds to the view of the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church, the moment when Jesus comes to the clouds to call the waiting Church to himself. This involves also the resurrection of the those who have died in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Then, sometime after that, it may be very swift, will be the time of the tribulation upon the earth, where much of what we read in the book of Revelation will take place (chapters 6-18). Then after this period of tribulation, about 7 years, Jesus will return to the earth, his arrival being at Mount Olivet where he will destroy the armies of the world at what we call the battle of Armageddon and then he will establish his kingdom on earth for a period of 1000 years, what we call the Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-9). After that will be the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and the dissolving of the heavens and the earth and the creating from out of them the new heavens and earth wherein shall eternally dwell righteousness (Revelation 21:1). Now that is in a nutshell.
So, in coming to the verses today, they are not specifically speaking about you and me, the believers who are living today, for by the time the prophetic clock reaches this point we will have been delivered from the wrath that is to come, we will be in the presence of our wonderful Saviour (BUT, and I will turn to this again in the next devotion for I also see an application for us today).
So, who are these which it is referring to? Notice it says ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on’ that is from this point of time on. It is those who will refuse to take the mark of the beast, possibly, if it happens in the next dozen years or so, those who we know today who have heard the gospel, and yet have refused to believe it, but when the day of God’s wrath is poured out will begin to realise how true the gospel was and will cry out to God for his mercy and for his help, there will be those who will have heard the two witnesses calling out for the nation of Israel to repent, but even though some, maybe many will turn to the Lord, it will not be easy for them, many will be killed, and therefore in this prophetic vision the call is given for them to endure, and to keep their faith in Jesus. Yes, I do believe that there will be those who will come to faith in Jesus during the time of the great tribulation, but if it is hard come to him now and to live for him now, it will be even harder then! And it is those who do endure, those who do persevere, those who maybe lose their lives will be the ones who are referred here as to being ‘blessed’.
But why write a devotion on a verse that we may feel doesn’t then matter to us. Well, it does, for it should prompt us to make sure that we are right with Christ now, today! To be ready for the moment when he comes to call the waiting church home, for once the awful time of tribulation comes upon this earth, I suggest that if you have failed to believe now, that there will be an even slighter chance of you coming to believe then, when the time of trouble comes on the world, it will be easier to be drawn with the crowd than it is now, than to choose Jesus.