They may rest from their labors.
“And 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 that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." (Revelation 14:13)
On Thursday morning yesterday, I went to the hospice where one of the presbytery pastors was hospitalized. When I went there, another presbytery pastor was there and there were two women. So I wrote these words while waiting alone in the hallway of the hospital room: ‘At the end of the year, I came to the hospital (hospice) where the presbytery pastor was hospitalized. At the end of the year, I think about the end of my life. When I think of my own death, I cannot help thinking that I will be parting for a while with my beloved family, church members, friends, co-workers, and many brothers and sisters in Christ. But I am not afraid of death. Rather, I am afraid that I will not be praised by the Lord when I stand before the Lord and settle account.’ Then, I saw another presbytery pastor coming out of the hospital room, and after greeting him, I went into the hospital room and saw the pastor who was suffering from cancer. I knew that one of the two women in the hospital room was the pastor's mother, so I greeted both women and talked to the pastor’s mother about the pastor. During the conversation, the pastor's mother told me a lot of stories while the pastor was in the mission field. In fact, I was delighted to hear that the mother went to the mission field of her son several times and told the story of what she had witnessed firsthand. I was happy and grateful to know more that the Lord used the pastor so well that he preached the word of God to many people and brought many graces to them. After the conversation, I approached the pastor, held his hands, prayed, and went straight to the parking lot and returned to the church. However, after a while, I heard the news through my father that one of our relative pastor’s wife passed away from stomach cancer. For me, I can't forget her husband pastor because the Lord used that pastor to listen to the words of John 6:1-15 at our church college retreat, so that I was saved and decided to become a pastor. So when he passed away (year 2002), since I was in Korea at that time, I took my wife and three children from Korea to the United States to attend his funeral. Finally, after hearing the news that his wife was in critical condition, I wanted to visit her. But an elderly person in my family persuaded me not to visit her because when was having a hard time. So I was unable to see her and heard the news of her passing.
I am reminded of Psalms 90:10 – “The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” It is indeed a world full of toil and sorrow. It is the world where people are keep on dying, and it is the world in which we have no choice but to work day and night. But in Revelation 14:13, the Bible says that they will cease toil and rest. Who will cease toil and rest? They are “the dead who die in the Lord” (v. 13). The Bible says that those who die in the Lord are blessed (v. 13). And the Bible says that when they die, they will cease toil and rest. Then, how did those who died in the Lord, who had ceased toil and rested, live on this earth? In other words, who are they? I would like to briefly meditate on in in five ways:
First, they are the pure ones.
Look at Revelation 14:4 – “These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. ….” Here, “those” are the 144,000 saints who have been redeemed (saved) from the earth (v. 3), and refer to those who are pure who have not defiled themselves with the strong temptations of worldism (“women”) (v. 4) (Park). Just as a virgin bride keeps her chastity to welcome the groom, the bride church doesn’t serve the world and sin by waiting to receive Jesus, the bridegroom (Park). Therefore, the church must be pure. The church is to be built holy and without blemish, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing as a glorious church (Eph. 5:27).
Second, they are the ones who follow the Lord wherever He goes.
Look at Revelation 14:4 – “… They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. ….” Here, the phrase “wherever he goes” implies that the direction of the map isn’t known in advance to the non-leaders. Even on this map where the direction seems uncertain, the pure saints who have been saved from the earth obey the Lord who is the “Lamb” (Park). It was Abraham who showed this act of faith. In Hebrews 11:8, the Bible says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Therefore, the pure church must obey the lead of the Lord (“Lamb”) who is the head of the church. When the Lord asks the church to come, the church must follow the Lord wherever He leads and go with Him.
Third, they have been purchased.
Look at Revelation 14:4 – “… They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.” The “144,000 who have been redeemed” (v. 3) are those who don’t follow the Antichrist (“the beast”) but follow the Lord, the Lamb, wherever He leads them. Also, the saints, unlike the followers of the Antichrist, have the name of Jesus and God's name written on their foreheads (v. 1). It is a symbol that they belong to God and are protected by God (Park). That is, they belong to God and the Lord (v. 4). The church is not of the world, but the Lord has chosen it out of the world (Jn. 15:19). Therefore, the church belongs to God and the Lord. The church is the church of God (1 Cor. 10:32; 2 Cor. 1:1, 1 Tim 3:5) and the church of the Lord (Mt. 16:18).
Fourth, they don’t lie and are blameless.
Look at Revelation 14:5 – “No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” Liars are those who deny that Jesus is the Christ and are antichrists who deny God the Father and Jesus the Son (1 Jn. 2:22). They are liars and belong to the devil, the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). However, the saints who have been redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross belong to God and the Lord. Therefore, they don’t lie (Rev. 14:5). Even the apostle Paul, a faithful witness, didn’t lie (Prov. 14:5; 2 Cor. 11:31). The church, the community of faithful witnesses, must not lie either. The believers in the gospel of Christ must be truthful. Also, the believers in Jesus must be without blemish. This doesn’t mean that they commit no sin. But they are those who have been forgiven of their sins through the death of Jesus on the cross and justified through His resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 4:25). In other words, those without blemish refer to those who are considered flawless before God (Park). The church received the forgiveness of sins and justification through the grace of God and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross. The church is blameless in the sight of God. The church without blemishes must be truthful and faithful in the sight of God and people.
Fifth and last, they are the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus.
Look at Revelation 14:12 – “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” Here is the patience endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints (13:10). They lead the whole world astray (12:9), are the accuser of our brothers (v. 10), “ancient serpent called the evil, or Satan” (v. 9). Because he knows that his time is short, the devil has gone down to us (v. 12), prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8), those who obey God’s commandments (12:17; 14:12) and hold to the testimony of Jesus (12:17), those who keep their faith in Jesus (14:12), and those who remain faithful to Jesus (14:12). They overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, but didn’t love their lives so much as to shrink from death (12:11). Therefore, like the Apostle Paul, by fighting the good fight, finishing their course, and keeping the faith, they believe that “from now on there is prepared for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day” (2 Tim.4:7-8).
Blessed are those who die in the Lord. Those who believe in the Lord and die are blessed. They are pure, follow the Lord wherever He leads them, belong to God and the Lord, they don’t lie, are blameless, and keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus to the point of death. When these people die, they will cease their toil and rest forever in their eternal sanctuary.
“Drawing nearer to that city Yet seen by faith alone, Longing for the Father's mansions
And rest before the throne, All unworthy though I be There is welcome there for me,
For the King is our own Jesus, Lord and Savior of His own.”
(Hymn “The Bright, Heavenly Way,” lyric 3)
Wanting to be truthful and faithful in carrying out the missions and duties that are entrusted to me by God's grace until the day that the Lord calls them.
James Kim