Day 252

Today's Reading: Revelation 14

The Beatitudes are a unique part of Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount that all start the same way: “Blessed are . . .” Jesus said, “Blessed are . . .” nine different times in Matthew 5. The word beatitude actually means supremely blessed. It is a state of utmost bliss and happiness.

Here are some of Jesus’ beatitudes:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (verse 3).

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (verse 4).

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (verse 5).

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (verse 8).

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (verse 9).

But the strangest beatitude has to be in Revelation 14. It starts just like the Matthew 5 Beatitudes, but we would never think the word blessed belongs with the following words. It’s radical, counterintuitive, and sobering:

‘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)

Blessed are the dead.

Sounds morbid.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

The Holy Spirit responds to this beatitude and says, “Yes, so that they may rest from their labors.”

We are part of a culture that is trying to stay alive the longest they can. Our culture says, “Blessed are the living,” yet God says here in Revelation 14, “Blessed are the dead.” The world judges by the wrong standards; they don’t have eternity in their minds and hearts. They are trying to stay alive and extend their life longer when they need it extended forever.

Blessed are the dead . . . with a very important attachment to it: “who die in the Lord.” So that means that not all who die are blessed, happy beyond bliss. Think of all the death that happens every day. And blessedness is for those who die in the Lord.

There are more than 6 billion people on earth. On average, 60 million of them will die this year. That is 175,000 people dying every day, 8,000 people dying every hour, 200 people dying every minute, eight people dying every second. It is unavoidable and undeniable, and one day, you will become one of these statistics. But not all will be blessed. Of the 175,000 who are pouring into eternity every day, there is a company that believes in Jesus and is on the blessed list.

As Robert Murray McCheyne wrote:

‘There is no blessing on the Christless dead; they rush into an undone eternity, unpardoned, unholy. You may put their body in a splendid coffin; you print their name in silver on the lid; you may bring the well-attired company of mourners to the funeral in suits of solemn black; you may lay the coffin slowly in the grave; you may lay the greenest sod above it; you may train the sweetest flowers to grow over it; you may cut a white stone, and grave a gentle epitaph to their memory; still it is but the funeral of a damned soul. You cannot write blessed where God hath written “cursed.”’

Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned.” You cannot write “blessed” where God has written “damned.”

No three words could be more important to the living than in the Lord. That must be our goal, that when we die, we are “in the Lord.” That’s not the strangest beatitude but the ultimate beatitude. We are learning something about heaven and death with this beatitude. If the Holy Spirit agrees with the voice from heaven that “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord,” then the ultimate happiness and bliss are not here but in heaven. Then death is not our enemy but our entrance into that joy.

One of the most amazing books I have ever read on the subject of dying is Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring by Henri Nouwen. It revolutionized my life and helped me overcome any fear of death. Listen to how he starts the book:

“Is death something so terrible and absurd that we are better off not thinking or talking about it? Is death such an undesirable part of our existence that we are better off acting as if it were not real? Is death such an absolute end of all our thoughts and actions that we simply cannot face it? Or is it possible to befriend our dying gradually and live open to it, trusting that we have nothing to fear? Is it possible to prepare for our death with the same attentiveness that our parents had in preparing for our birth? Can we wait for our death as for a friend who wants to welcome us home?”

Nouwen then tells us from the Bible that death is our enemy. First Corinthians 15:26 says that. But here’s what is revolutionary. In Matthew 5:44, the same chapter with the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Love your enemy.” Nouwen says, “death included.”

To befriend death makes death lose its sting. How does this happen? When we understand that death is not the end but the doorway to ultimate happiness into the presence and home of God Himself. C. S. Lewis spoke to it this way: “Our Father refreshes us on our journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” There is a longing for home. There is a call deep in the human spirit for more than life, as we know it can provide. What Lewis was saying to us was, why would we want to stay forever at a hotel when we have a beautiful home waiting for us? Why long to stay here when something inside of us tells us God is preparing a place for us?

That’s why blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. We no longer have to live in a hotel. We get to go home.