A VOICE FROM HEAVEN
Part 2


REVELATION 14:1

A. THE WORDS OF OUR TEXT ARE FULL OF DIVINE SIGNIFICATION, ESPECIALLY ON THIS OCCASION WHEN DEEP SORROW FILLS THE HEARTS OF THE BEREAVED, BUT LET'S NOTE, PLEASE
  1. It is the voice of a friend:
    1. We sing of Him, "What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear."
    2. Of Him it is written, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows" - Isa. 53:4; Heb. 2:14-17
    3. The prophet Isaiah writes of Him, "In all their affliction he was afflicted" - Isa. 63:9
  2. It is the voice of assurance:
    1. "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise" - Isa. 26:19
    2. It is the voice of Him who said to Martha, "Thy brother shall rise again" - John 11:23
    3. He assured her with these words, "I am the resurrection, and the life" - John 11:25
    4. He has full authority to make these wonderful promises - Matt. 28:18
      1. He has the keys to death and the grave - Rev. 1:18
      2. All His promises are Yea and Amen - 2 Cor. 1:20
B. THE MESSAGE OF HOPE AND COMFORT
  1. "Write": This is a most wonderful and enchanting word.
    1. It is for all God's sorrowing people in all ages, even unto the end of time - Rom. 15:4
    2. It shows our Lord's deep concern about our grief, that it may not overcome us.
  2. "Blessed": This word "Blessed" means that the dead in Christ are secure; death and the grave cannot hold them. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord"
    1. They are well cared for; for of them it is written, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." - Ps. 116:15
    2. "Say ye unto the righteous, that it shall be well with them." - Isa. 3:10
C. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE THAT DIE IN THE LORD AND THOSE WHO ARE DYING IN THEIR SIN
  1. The righteous have forgiveness of their sin:
    1. That is what the Psalmist says - Ps. 32:1-6; 85:2
    2. But the wicked shall perish in their sin - Ezek. 18:4; 33:8
  2. Death is a period of rest for God's children, "that they may rest from their labours":
  3. "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut the door about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpassed."- Isa. 26:20
  4. Rest from our labors:
    1. How consoling this message is to all who are weary and worn by their earthly toil, to be called to rest for a while!
    2. Our works shall surely follow us. Works of love, patience, and long-suffering; works for the sick and for the hungry; works wrought by the Holy Spirit - Matt. 25:34-46
  5. "From henceforth":
    1. This indicates that the Lord has a specific time in mind; for we must connect verse 13 with verse 14.
    2. The context shows that the time the Lord speaks of is the time of the end; the time preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ.
    3. It must have reference to a prophetic time.
    4. Personally, I believe that He speaks of the end of the 2300 prophetic days which came in 1844.
    5. It was when the Son of God entered upon the final phase of His ministry in the Most Holy, the time of the end had come.
    6. This present world, including ourselves, lives on borrowed time; when it will end no one knows.
    7. It has reference to the time which precedes the time of great persecution - Dan. 12:1; Rev. 12:12, 17
    8. Loved ones, God knows what His children are able to endure, and if He sees that the time of trouble would be too much for them, He will lay them to rest for a short time.


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