Cancer Blog #85
By Brian Zimmerman
Begun on July 31, 2021
Email: dyingman1@yahoo.com
My Dying Words
Entry #85– The Hope of Revelation
May 25, 2023
[Revelation 14:9-13] 9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 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.”
I have often written about Paul and his letters containing his pronouncements on death as seen from the perspective of his perception of the need of his readers and the answer that his gospel offers them. But, here is another apostle, John, the author of a gospel and a number of letters including this quoted above, though a different sort of letter, written to 7 churches.
There are lots of controversial things in this letter of Revelation, but these two matters are not: first, in the end Jesus wins and Satan does not. The second is that everyone dies, is judged, and sent to their fate. This is an aspect of the gospel that is rarely discussed in the church today. We want unbelievers to hear about the mercy of God, most especially brought by Jesus at His first coming. But, what we don’t want unbelievers to hear about is that when He returns that He will bring final judgment including God’s wrath, as we clearly see in this passage. So, here we learn about both: the love and anger of God.
The wrath of God is something we shy away from so let’s start there. Here we learn that those who follow the enemy of God (Satan) are punished as the enemy is: they drink his cup – the cup of the wrath of God – and consequently will be tormented forever as he will be. There was a time in the church as well as in the western world when all knew that the gospel offered choices that had eternal consequences, accepted or rejected in this age, which determined the fate of those who made them as revealed at the time of the final judgment. It is a fate that comes from drinking from the cup of the full anger of God, then suffering under that wrath for an eternity. The gospel isn’t just preparing us for suffering in this age, but also for the final separation in the age to come. It is hard to read of these things, but they are a pending reality. So the death of the wicked is to be dreaded as in it there is no more hope, no escape from the eternal punishment. That should be a powerful motivation for missions and for proclaiming the gospel whenever we can.
But, what of the fate of believers in Jesus? As we read in vv. 12 and 13: for the saints who persevere, who keep God’s commandments and their faith in Jesus, we find that their death is a blessing. For they (we) die in union with the Lord Jesus. The Spirit says in this passage that we receive not the torment of the wicked and unbelieving, but true rest at last from our labors in this age. We retire not just from the sweat of our brow and the thorns that prick, whether we work digging ditches or suffering in an air-conditioned office. But also from labors and suffering for the Kingdom’s sake. Our rest will come from knowing that King Jesus has fully and completely established His reign and will produce a rest as eternal as the torments of the unbeliever. The Spirit also says we shall rest as our deeds follow with us. Our labor and suffering for King Jesus are a necessary part of our faith and will be rewarded by Him. For the believers’ rest will be a life full of joy, peace, and fruitfulness, of gladness and harmony with others and even with creation, all under the kingship of our Savior, Jesus. What a wonderful hope and vision by John of the age to come. Rejoice!
NEXT: Marriage and Death