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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 5 - ANTI-CHRIST AND THE LAMB OF GOD (REVELATION 13:1 - 16:21)
PART 5.5 - LAST WARNING ABOUT THE WRATH OF GOD (REVELATION 14:6-20)

5. A voice from heaven comforts the doomed (Revelation 14:12-13)


REVELATION 14:12-13
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.”

The Patience of the Saints: What has the threatening death in common with patience? How can the saints be patient, when the Sword of Damocles is suspended above their heads? Who are these saints?

No man is holy in himself. We are all unclean and depraved. There is none who does good, no, not one (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:10-12 and other verses) – except Jesus! Even the demons were terrified and cried out, when they saw Jesus approach them and called him the Holy One of God (Mark 1:23-24; Luke 4:33-34). The bright shining light of the holiness of God does not have anything in common with the darkness of our sinfulness.

Yet the holiness of Christ destroyed our unholiness on the cross. His blood cleanses us from all sin. His grace is new every morning, and his faithfulness is great. He justified us by his atoning death, so that we, out of the legal point of view, are discharged and without blame. Moreover, Jesus sanctifies his followers and gives them his Holy Spirit. This spirit leads us to the sanctification of our life, to love and humbleness so that our uncleanness, our egoism and pride will be overcome not only from the legal point of view but also in reality.

The spirit of the Father and his Son is at the same time the eternal life and the comforting God, who strengthens us in anguish, hardship and death. Because of his justification and his Spirit we are able to remain quiet and patient in extreme stress – not out of our own strength, but because he works it in us by the power of his Spirit and comfort. The spiritual life, which he granted us, has already overcome death. The power of the Holy Spirit made us participate through our baptism in the death, grave and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-4). Therefore we need not fear for our life. We are crucified with Christ; so it is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:19-20).

Do We All Know and Obey the Commandments of God? Christians make an effort even in hardship and persecution to live up to the commandments of God and His Lamb. For he who would willfully break his commandments, would jump in the abyss and end up in hell. But do we really know all his commandments? Moses gave his people 365 Don’ts according to the number of days of a year, and he gave according to the number of the bones of man 248 Do's, so that we know what to do. Jesus has summarized all these commandments in two commandments which trace back to Moses: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself! (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:28-32; Luke 10:25-27) Loving God and men is the sum of all commandments.

But in the four gospels there are also about 500 commandments and recommendations which Jesus himself had put. The Holy Spirit leads us to live up to these commandments, because they are the deepened and intensified commandments of the Old Testament. Jesus summarized his own commandments in two further outstanding commandments. The first commandment is: Love one another even as I have loved you. (John 13:34-35) Jesus' love is the criterion for our love, holiness, and humbleness. Whoever compares himself to the glory of Jesus will become small in his eyesight and solely live on the grace of his Savior! The second commandment of our Lord is: You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) This verse could lead us to desperation, if there were not the word “Father". The hereditary factors of our heavenly Father and the right to be his child granted by Him are the guarantee of our perfection which He wants from us and at the same time grants to us. This perfection is being put into effect in the followers of Jesus, as St Paul testifies: God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

Belief in Jesus: All godly rights, privileges and spiritual gifts we receive solely through our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Lamb of God. The name “Jesus” is the most important word in the New Testament, and this “name above all names” (Philippians 2:9) appears there 975 times. Particularly in the book of Revelation the name “Jesus” can be found ten times (Revelation 1:1.2.9; 12:17; 14:12; 17:6; 19:10; 20:4; 22:16.20). Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, even in the book of Revelation. Fundamentally, this book deals only with the fight of Jesus against the anti-Christ and his followers and with the victory of the Lamb of God over the son of the evil one.

Jesus will implement the salvation program of his name against all resistance and temptations and persecutions and save his people of the Old Testament and of the New Testament from all their sins (Matthew 1:21).

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? To believe in Jesus means to know him, to love him, to get engaged with him, to enter into a covenant with him for time and eternity, to live together with him, to serve him; in doing that he serves us, forgives us, and brings us into eternity. The belief in Jesus means a legal and spiritual, an emotional and deliberate relationship with him. He goes with his followers under the same yoke, where he allows them to plough the world, to sow and to bring in its harvest. Jesus is with his followers up to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). They live with him, in him, and he with them and in them. The relationship of a Christian with his Lord and Savior cannot sounded out logically, as it is subject to a spiritual reality and has a higher and heavenly logic.

The word “belief” means in Greek also “faithfulness” (in Arabic too “belief” and “faithfulness” are connected by their common root). Who joins the covenant with Jesus, should remain faithful, as Jesus is faithful to him. That completely excludes the commitment to another spirit and to another god. In this respect the belief in Jesus is the protection against apostasy and will overcome the temptation of getting into a relationship to the son of the dragon. If the harlot Babylon argues that there is no problem to serve two masters, then she lies. Jesus will not crown a divided heart! Likewise as he had given himself completely for us, so he expects from us an unconditional commitment, and if need be then up to death. Our faithfulness is our gratitude for his faithfulness and will be a fruit of his love in the end.

Who is Blessed? Just after the third angel had spoken of the deep relationship between Jesus and his followers, the patriarch John heard a voice from heaven! He received a new revelation, a special message for martyrs and their bereaved. The voice out of the eternity commanded him at first to write down: blessed! This wonderful word appears in the book of Revelation after the reports of the time of persecution by the son of the dragon six times, and all in all seven times (Revelation 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7.14). “Blessed” means in Arabic to be privileged so as to sit at the table with God, the Father, and the Son and to have fellowship with them as well as with the patriarchs and apostles. In German “blessed” means to rejoice and feel much pleasure after the deliverance from severe suffering, likewise as one being in solitary confinement in a dark room for several years and then suddenly getting released into the liberty under the sun. In Turkish means “blessed” to be proud of having the unique privilege to belong to the family of God, the Father. Blessed or happy is also a little child when it after its pain finds its place on the lab of the mother and can weep itself out.

According to the gospel of Matthew Jesus explained in detail who may have reason to become “blessed” (Matthew 5:3-12). He ended his beatitudes as follows: Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

Our God is a God of good will, and the Holy Spirit is a spirit of joy and comfort. Jesus emphasized that saying: I want that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11; 17:13)

In the book of Revelation the voice coming out of heaven gives details about the reasons for the beatitude of the martyrs: those dead persons are blessed who die in the Lord. In 175 verses of the New Testament it is spoken of this curious wording, namely that Christians not only are wandering about in the world but also are living “in” the Lord. They are integrated in his protection, his love, his care, his power, and his love. They are participating in his sufferings and his glory. They have become united with their Lord. St Paul affirms the church of Jesus Christ that it is his spiritual body (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16) and that his grace is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Belief in Christ does not only work in mind, emotion and intention, but means being in Him! That is a grace beyond our comprehension for which we cannot thank God enough.

"Being” in Christ will be beyond our bodily death. John testifies: He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12) The fact that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make their home in those who love them means that those receive therewith the godly, uncreated eternal live (John 14:23; 17:2.3.14-15.21-23; Acts 1:8 and other verses).

Death has no right on and no power over followers of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55.57). They are living in Christ even though they die (John 11:25-26). They had been buried with Christ and had already been raised (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12-13). God made them sit in the heavenly places together with the Lamb of God (Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 12:22 and other verses.). In the midst of death we have reason for jubilations and great rejoicing. The voice coming out of heaven states that those who for the sake of Jesus refuse to worship anti-Christ and do not get on his mark, will enter into the rest of God, live forever and praise him. The Holy Spirit confirms this fact explicitly with his divine “Yes"! (Revelation 2:7; 22:17 and other verses)

If a follower of Christ sacrifices himself to Christ entirely because Christ has entirely sacrificed himself for him first, then he will be honored with the fullness of grace of eternal live.

Nevertheless nobody will be justified by his own goodness or his deeds, not even by his living sacrifice, not even the martyrs. But they will also become solely justified by the blood of Christ and his righteousness. However, the love of Jesus could ignite such a responding love in them, so that they even did not fear death in order to abide in the fellowship with Jesus, their Savior.

PRAYER: We thank You, heavenly Father, because You sent Your only Son Jesus Christ to our haughty, unclean world, to justify the believing repentant by His atoning death that they may be renewed in the power of Your Holy Spirit and live as Your children forever with You in glory with a peaceful conscious. Strengthen all those that are persecuted because of their faith in the unity of the Holy Trinity that they may experience its power and peace and that they will prefer physical death with the privilege of everlasting life in them. Amen.

QUESTIONS:

  1. What is the power of faith in Christ Jesus and walking in the commandments of His love?
  2. Why does heaven bless those who die while firmly established in Christ?

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