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12 Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 13 I heard the voice from heaven saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them."
I heard the voice from heaven saying
After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, "Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this." (Revelation 4:1)
When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them." (Revelation 10:4 NAS95)
I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them. (Revelation 11:12)
The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)
I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10)
I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps. (Revelation 14:2)
The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came forth out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" (Revelation 16:17)
I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don't receive of her plagues, (Revelation 18:4)
Note this slight exception, another voice, and that this message is a bit different from the rest.
After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: (Revelation 19:1)
A voice came forth from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!" (Revelation 19:5)
I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3)
Let's trace the history of this idea of a voice from heaven.
Yahweh said to Moses, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. (Exodus 20:22)
You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, (Nehemiah 9:13)
While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you," (Daniel 4:31 NAS95)
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17)
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." (Matthew 17:5)
"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:27-28 NAS95)
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4 NAS95)
Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on
This is the second of a series of 7 references to the word blessed in Revelation. For sake of time and space I will simply list where they occur. Revelation 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7,14.
Following are encouraging passages relating to those who die in the Lord.
The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness. (Isaiah 57:1-2)
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. (Mark 8:35)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)
But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him; knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no more has dominion over him! For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore don't let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Neither present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:8-14)
For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's. (Romans 14:8)
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ's, at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:17-23)
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18)
For God didn't appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)
Because Revelation is understood primarily through approaching it as symbolic, we need to read this from that perspective as much or more than presuming this is only about physical death, though it likely applies to that as well. To die in the Lord must include dying to self in order that we may be made alive to live in our true identity implanted in us by Christ who identified with us in order to put to death our old identity so we could be freed from the power of sin and choose to enter into life.
They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death. (Revelation 12:11)
Yes, says the Spirit
Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed. (Psalms 57:1)
Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh. (Psalms 27:14)
Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, have we waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul. With my soul have I desired you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me will I seek you earnestly; for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:8-9)
Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)
Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borne by me from their birth, that have been carried from the womb; and even to old age I am he, and even to gray hairs will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry, and will deliver. (Isaiah 46:3-4)
When I therefore was thus determined, did I show fickleness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the "Yes, yes" and the "No, no?"
But as God is faithful, our word toward you was not "Yes and no." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not "Yes and no," but in him is "Yes." For however many are the promises of God, in him is the "Yes." Therefore also through him is the "Amen," to the glory of God through us. (2 Corinthians 1:17-20)
they may rest from their labors
They cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course. (Revelation 6:10-11)
The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness. (Isaiah 57:1-2)
This is referring primarily to literal rest in death and its release from contention with evil. Yet the kind of rest that is far more important than simply escaping the pressure of evil externally is the rest offered to each of us through the redemption of Jesus that has the power to alter how we perceive God's disposition towards us and to align us with the saving truth that alone can set us free from the underlying causes of unrest.
Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people." He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Exodus 33:13-14)
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
Remember the word which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, saying, Yahweh your God gives you rest, and will give you this land. (Joshua 1:13)
Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant. (1 Kings 8:56)
Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen. (Psalms 37:7)
It will happen in the day that Yahweh will give you rest from your sorrow, from your trouble, and from the hard service in which you were made to serve, that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!" Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, who struck the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, who ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet. They break out song. (Isaiah 14:3-7)
The problem God is up against is the freedom we have to resist all His efforts to bring us into rest.
But he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language; to whom he said, "This is the resting place. Give rest to weary;" and "This is the refreshing;" yet they would not hear. (Isaiah 28:11-12)
For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, "You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence." You refused, but you said, "No, for we will flee on horses;" therefore you will flee; and, "We will ride on the swift;" therefore those who pursue you will be swift. (Isaiah 30:15-16)
Thus says Yahweh, Stand you in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein. I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not listen. (Jeremiah 6:16-17)
At that time, says Yahweh, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says Yahweh, The people who were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you. (Jeremiah 31:1-3)
Let us fear therefore, lest perhaps anyone of you should seem to have come short of a promise of entering into his rest. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, even as they also did, but the word they heard didn't profit them, because it wasn't mixed with faith by those who heard. For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest;" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (Hebrews 4:1-3)
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11)
On the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (Genesis 2:2)
Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings. (Leviticus 23:3)
for their works follow with them
What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled;" and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.
Yes, a man will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? (James 2:14-20)
What must be kept clearly in mind in any discussion about works versus faith, is the distinct difference between condition versus identity. Faith has to do with what we believe is true about our identity. There is only one safe Source from which our true identity originates. This means we need to wean ourselves away from any and all dependence on every other source that steals our peace and deceives us into imagining we are less than what God has declared us to be through His Son that shows us His true hearts towards us. Faith denies self, meaning we must not trust our feelings to inform us about our worth and identity but that only alert us about our emotional condition.
Works correspond to the condition of our character and reflect what we have been believing about ourselves and what we imagine God believes about us. Condition and works are the outcome, the fruit of what we are believing. Our condition and our works, either good or evil, do not define our identity or who we are in God's eyes, but rather our condition that does have enormous importance as it affects our ability to stand in the presence of God who emanates intense power of love and affection that can be dangerous and even lethal if we harbor resistance and unbelief in our heart.
Sanctification is not about becoming good enough for God to accept. Sanctification is the transforming process where our condition is brought into alignment with our true identity in Christ, the preparation necessary for all who desire to live in eternal joy, peace and in harmony with God. When we appreciate the difference between faith and works and how they relate to each other, passages such as this can be removed from the legalistic, fear-driven motives often connected to them.
I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:12)
Works are the fruit by which the nature and condition of the origin of the fruit may be determined.
"Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37)
They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Yahweh, and their offspring with them. It shall happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (Isaiah 65:23-24)
This verse places works of labor in the context of relationship rather than meritorious performance. Our works cannot save or heal us; rather our works reveal the nature of the relationship we have with our Creator, the One from whom we are designed to receive our very life, identity, purpose, fulfillment and in whom we are created to experience unending joy.
Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?'
The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (Matthew 25:34-40)
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God." (John 3:21)
Some men's sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later. In the same way also there are good works that are obvious, and those that are otherwise can't be hidden. (1 Timothy 5:24-25)
Because humans are designed as reflectors, not originators, our works simply reveal whose version of God we reflect. Our sins are symptoms of believing lies about God, while our good works reflect that we are beholding the glory of God as reflected through the mirror of our Savior.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Fruit-bearing is very different from legalism. The fruit of good works is not what earns favor or creates relationship, rather it is the outward revealing of the condition of the heart, exposing how much the heart is being aligned with the heart of selfless love that defines the heart of God.
So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputes, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn't run in vain nor labor in vain. (Philippians 2:12-16)
For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end, (Hebrews 6:10-11)
Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Revelation 22:14-15)
