This scripture is a parenthesis between other portions this chapter in Revelation. It’s something we need to stop and consider for a few minutes. What is taking place in the tribulation is around all of this. John wants us to see why we can wait. Let’s talk about the patience of the saints.
Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”
John wrote this through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It’s for the lifetime of saints who have lived for the Lord. It gives us the ability to hold on and hold out. You can count on it. You can put your anchor in it.
We have longings even as children of God. We long to see loved ones, see the good old days, or just for the evil in the world to be righted. The more wicked people are the happier they seem. Focus. Sin never pays off in the long run. Wickedness will always be accounted for. Trusting Jesus as our Savior will bring THE better day. We long for it; we wish for it.
John said “I heard a voice from heaven.” It was the voice of the Lord himself. This is not just our take on it. This voice from heaven means there is a heaven. The only voice coming from there is the voice of the Lord.
John paused here for us to look at the state of those gone on. When we lose a loved one, life changes forever. For those left behind, the change is hard. Here is the way that it is. People die as they have lived. We live here by faith; they have gone on by that faith unto God. Their suffering is over, and they are resting with the Lord. They are not necessarily asleep as we think of it. The body is asleep, but the soul and spirit is with the Lord alert and resting—fully at rest. No more suffering. No more hurting. No more to worry about. The only way to know peace is to have the peace of God. Our peace is challenged every day. No wonder Hebrews says there remains a rest for the child of God.
What we do for the Lord is little. Most of our laboring in life is for self. We’re not saved due to our labor, but we need a rest from the labor of just living in this old world. Sometimes it’s a push to exist. Imagine a life with no worry or fear and only perfect peace and rest. Life continues in the Lord. Memorial Day may not be a happy time for some, but loved ones gone on are blessed when they have died in the Lord.
Here is the patience. We can wait. We can have faith in our Savior and his word. Verse 12 reads “here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” People put faith in just about anything. Some put it in nature. Others say they’ll come back as an animal. Here is something real. Jesus has power over death, hell, and the grave. We can lose faith in the government, the world, or ourselves, but we can always have faith in HIM and his word. If we follow him and trust his word, we’ll meet our loved ones again.
It takes patience to stand and withstand. We have Jesus. We have the Bible. We have heaven, and it’s full of our loved ones who have gone on in the Lord. Praise God they don’t come back, but praise the Lord we can go to them! We’ll then rest from our labors too. Sin can’t touch us then. The devil will have to cross us off his list.
We can’t feel sorry for them. We know the wait was and is worth it.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 