| The Christian Life | September 1946 |
“Their Works Do Follow Them”
“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 labors; and their works do follow them.”—Revelation 14:13
THE people of God who are called out from the world during this present age are described by the Apostle Paul as being a people “zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14) Christianity for the followers of Jesus now means more than simply to be saved, important as that is to all who are condemned to death in Adam. We do obtain salvation through Jesus—the “great salvation, which began to be spoken by the Lord”—but in addition to this, we are made partners with Jesus in the outworking of God’s beneficent plan for the salvation of the whole world of mankind.
Paul explains that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,” (II Cor. 5:19) “and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” As such, we are “ambassadors for Christ,” that is, we represent Christ in the earth in the work of reconciliation which God has entrusted to him. (II Cor. 5:18,20) The complete reconciliation of the world to God implies, also, a restoration of health and life; yes, even the resurrection of the dead. Hence, in speaking to his disciples concerning the miracles he performed, Jesus said, “The works that I do shall he [my disciple] do also; and greater works … because I go unto my Father.”—John 14:12
When Jesus returned to heaven following his death and resurrection he “appeared in the presence of God for us,” as foreshadowed by the high priest of Israel entering into the most holy of the tabernacle on the day of atonement and sprinkling the blood of the bullock and the Lord’s goat on the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant. (Heb. 7:25; 9:24) Thus in symbol is represented the satisfaction of the claims of justice against those who, through faith, come into Christ by presenting their bodies as living sacrifices in obedience to the will of God for them.—Rom. 12:1,2
Prior to his death Jesus meted out certain blessings of healing to a limited number of people, but this was done merely to establish faith in the fact of his divine appointment as the Messiah of promise and to foreshadow the universal blessings of healing which would be available to all who would receive them during the thousand years of his future reign. But following his resurrection he began to point to the more important privileges and blessings shortly to be proffered because of his death. So when Mary was about to worship him at the tomb, Jesus said, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”—Matt. 28:1-10; John 20:17,18
The Greek word translated “touch” in this statement is one used throughout the Gospels to denote the act of those who sought a blessing from the Lord. For example, some endeavored to touch merely the garment of Jesus, thinking thus to obtain a blessing. But now Jesus was explaining to Mary that much as she desired him to bestow a blessing upon her, the real blessing of life through reconciliation with God was not available until he ascended to the Father and there presented the merit of his sacrifice.
And this Jesus did. As a result there came the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the waiting disciples at Pentecost. This was a token of their acceptance by God to be co-workers in his plan. By the Holy Spirit they were commissioned to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, and were assured that although their bodies were imperfect and weak and dying, their imperfect works would be acceptable to God because Jesus had appeared in his presence for them.
In the plan of God those destined to be joint-heirs with Jesus in the future blessing of the world with enlightenment, reconciliation, and restoration to health and life, were to be selected from the world of mankind over a period of more than nineteen centuries. And in the economy of God the Gospel message by which these were to be enlightened and called to association with Jesus as his church, his body members, was to be disseminated by the called ones themselves. Jesus personally extended the invitation to the first of these, and then authorized them to carry on the work in his name.
By laying this privilege and responsibility upon the true church, its members have been prepared for their future work with Christ, and by faithfulness to their present privileges they prove themselves worthy of the future honor and glory of rulership with their Master. Thus it is that the work of reconciliation begins now, and those who are faithful in that work will share in the larger opportunities of the future, when the eyes of all the mentally blind will be opened, and the knowledge of God’s glory will be caused to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.—Isa. 35:5; Hab. 2:14
This, then, is the real “work” of the church, and for this work the fully consecrated are “zealous.” We read of Jesus that the zeal of God’s house consumed him; and those who are like him will find that their zeal will cause them to make any sacrifice that may be necessary in order that they might show forth the praises of him who hath called them “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (I Pet. 2:9) For such it will not be a burden to serve the Lord, but a delight. They will be so inspired by the love of God, and so encouraged by the example of Jesus, that they will not say, “Must I serve?” but rather, “May I sacrifice?”
“Who Die in the Lord”
The “work” of the church during this age calls for all that the Christian possesses in order to perform it faithfully, hence the Christian life is portrayed in the Scriptures as one of sacrifice—a sacrifice which is completed only in death. In this as well as in other respects we are to copy Christ, and so wholly is this true that the apostle speaks of the followers of Jesus as being “planted together in the likeness of his death.” (Rom. 6:5) And it is only if we thus be dead with him that we may hope to live with him.
This fact of laying down our lives in sacrifice, of being dead with Christ, is such a reality that the apostle speaks of our being “crucified” with him. (Rom. 5:6; Gal. 2:20; 6:14) The apostle also says, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3) We are, it is true, already risen with Christ by faith, but the reality of sacrifice continues with us, and will continue until our bodies are completely consumed in the divine service, in the “works” of God for which we have been called, and for which the blood of Christ makes us acceptable.
It is this class, then—all of us who are following faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus—who are now reckoned “dead” in God’s sight, and who, in finishing their earthly course, “die in the Lord.” And “blessed” indeed are the particular “dead” ones referred to in our text; for the assurance is that the completion of their sacrifice in actual death will not mean a cessation of their “work,” because of these it is said, “their works do follow them”; that is, they will continue right on in the work to which they were called.
This particular blessing has not come to all the members of the body of Christ. Those of the early church did not expect it, nor were they thus blessed when their earthly course was finished. The Apostle Paul expected to remain asleep in death following the completion of his sacrifice, until the return of Jesus. To Timothy he wrote, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing.” (II Tim. 4:7,8) Yes, Paul knew that it would not be until the return of Jesus, when he would come to establish his kingdom, that his church would be awakened from the sleep of death in the first resurrection, and in glory appear with him as the blessers of the world.
A similar thought is expressed by Paul in Philippians 1:21-24. Here Paul indicates that he was undecided whether it would be better for him to be executed in the Roman prison, and thus “rest from his labors,” or be given his freedom and be in a position to render further service to the brethren of Philippi and elsewhere. He really had no choice between these possible alternatives. But there was something which was “far better” than either of these, which he would choose, if such a choice were open to him, and that was for the “returning” of Christ in order that he might be with him.
The King James version unfortunately uses the word “depart” in this text, and thus gives the thought that Paul hoped to depart and be with Christ, but this is a very poor translation. The Greek word used by Paul means “returning,” and his reference is to the time when Christ would return, and when he would be given that “crown of righteousness” which would be laid up for him to be received at that time—the time of the “returning.”
“Asleep in Christ”
In I Corinthians 15:18 Paul refers to those who are “fallen asleep in Christ,” and reasons that if there is to be no resurrection of the dead then they have perished. In this wonderful chapter the apostle explains concerning the first resurrection and also states that “afterward” will come the blessings of resurrection for the remainder of the world of mankind, when they will have terrestrial glory restored to them. And then, in verse 51 he writes, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”
Here it is pointed out to us that in the divine plan there would be some who “die in the Lord,” that would not remain “asleep” in death, as was the expectation of the apostles and others of the early church, but that their works would follow them. And it is to this exception that our text (Rev. 14:13) refers. The exception is governed by a time feature of the divine plan—“from henceforth.”
Some who have failed to see the beauty of this feature of the divine plan have contended that all the Revelator means is that the example of a devoted Christian life continues after the Christian dies, and that the good works he started here will be continued by others. But this has been true more or less of all godly persons, regardless of the time in which they lived and died. What the Revelator is bringing to our attention is that from a certain time forward in the plan of God those who “die in the Lord” will have a different experience from those who died in the Lord previously.
Paul denotes this change by explaining that they will not sleep, while the Revelator indicates the same thing by saying that “their works do follow them.” However, the great blessing of these is not that they are exempt from the necessity of dying, because there is no exception to the provision of the divine plan that only those who die in Christ will live with him. Yes, it is necessary for every follower of the Master to be “faithful unto death.” (Rev. 2:10) But from a certain time onward—from “henceforth” those who die in the Lord will not need to remain asleep in death. Paul explains the matter, saying that these shall be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”—I Cor. 15:51,52
At the Last Trump
Paul identifies the period when those who “die in the Lord” will not need to remain asleep in death, as the one during which the “last trump” would be sounding. This, of course, does not refer to a literal trumpet, but rather to a general proclamation regarding the near-emancipation of the world from sin and death as well as from all the present economic evils, a proclamation which during the end of the age is trumpeted far and wide throughout all the earth. It was represented in the type by the blowing of the jubilee trumpet which heralded a time of freedom and restitution for the nation of Israel.—Lev. 25:8-16
In I Thessalonians 4:15-17 this same trumpet symbolism is again associated with the end of the age and with the time of Christ’s coming. In this prophecy it is referred to as the “trump of God” because it symbolizes a proclamation of the fact that the time has come when God, through the returned Christ, begins to take a hand in the affairs of men. It is a herald of the “day of the Lord.”—I Thess. 5:1-3
In this prophecy the apostle again points out the different status of the saints who are “alive and remain” after the coming of the Lord from that of those who fell asleep in death previous to this time. He explains that these are “caught up … in the clouds; to meet the Lord in the air.” All of this is symbolic language. Paul says of Satan that he is the “prince of the power of the air,” meaning that he is the invisible spiritual Ruler of this present evil world. (Eph. 2:2) Christ will be the new spiritual Ruler of the earth, and the church shall reign with him, hence their exaltation to this position of glory is symbolically described by the apostle as being “caught up,” or exalted, with Christ in the “clouds” and in the “air.” “Clouds” are sometimes used in the Scriptures to denote divine glory.
“With A Shout”
The apostle clearly shows that this period when the living saints upon the earth who die in the Lord would not need to remain asleep in death, follows the second coming of Christ. And in this connection he calls attention to events which help us to identify that period as being the one in which we are now living. He says that the “Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.”—I Thess. 4:16
The Greek word in this passage translated “shout” is Keleuma, and is defined by Prof. Strong as meaning “a cry of incitement.” This cry of incitement is brought about at Christ’s return by the general increase of knowledge prophesied for this time—the increase of knowledge which is elsewhere referred to as the bright shining of the Master’s presence. (II Thess. 2:8) The prophecy of Jeremiah 25:29-33 foretold this shout and indicated the result to be the general overthrow of Christendom and the present evil world. We quote in part:
The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
The “Voice”
The “voice” and “trumpet” mentioned in Paul’s prophecy of our Lord’s return, as well as the “shout,” all pertain to the impartation of knowledge and its general effects upon the world of mankind, the trumpet symbolizing more particularly the proclamation of the truth of the Scriptures. The “shout” of incitement, as seen from Jeremiah’s prophecy, has the effect of setting class against class, nation against nation, causing all organizations of men to be destroyed preparatory to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom.
The “voice of the archangel” is closely related to this same general picture, but emphasizes more particularly the fact that while the downfall of human institutions may appear to have been brought about by the angry passions of an enlightened public clamoring for their long denied rights, actually it is the work of the Lord, carried out as the result of his commandments. The Psalmist declares, “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.”—Psalm 46:8
The term archangel means “chief messenger,” and the name Michael signifies, according to Prof. Strong, one “who [is] like God.” The fact that Daniel identifies Michael as being responsible for the “great time of trouble” associated with the “time of the end,” and that Paul couples the “voice of the archangel” with the second coming of Christ, furnishes ample evidence that these scriptures refer to the same events.—Daniel 12:1-4
Thus, when Paul says that Jesus was to descend from heaven with the “voice of the archangel,” he meant, symbolically speaking, that this Mighty One would brook no opposition to the carrying out of his Father’s plan. The invincibleness of the returned Lord, enabling him to stand up against all opposition to the establishment of the divine kingdom, is due to the fact that he acts for God, as the Chief Messenger in carrying out God’s plan for the blessing of the people.
Many of the Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the day of vengeance with which the Gospel age ends refer to Jehovah as though he alone, personally, would bring about the downfall of Satan’s empire. However, other prophecies, particularly those of the New Testament, show clearly that Jesus would act for the Father in this as well as in other features of the divine plan.
Thus in Psalm 46:6 we read that God “uttered his voice, the earth melted.” This helps us to understand what the apostle had in mind as one of the results of the Lord’s return when he said that he would come with the “voice of the archangel.” It is the authority and power of this “voice” that brings about the melting or disintegration of this present evil world.
Thus seen, the present crumbling condition of earth’s society furnishes outstanding proof that Christ, as the mighty invincible prince of Jehovah, has already descended from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and this in turn establishes the fact that we are now living in the period when members of the true church, upon finishing their sacrificial course in death, will at once be exalted to glory with their Lord to continue their work unhampered by the frailties of their flesh.
The Everlasting Gospel
It is in keeping with the symbolism of the “shout,” the “voice of the archangel,” and the “trump of God,” as these are associated with the return of our Lord and the time when each faithful follower of the Master does not need to remain in death, that our text (Revelation 14:13) is also seen to be related to the end of the age. Turning back to verses 6 and 7 of this chapter, we read:
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountain of waters.”
The “angel” here referred to as preaching the “everlasting Gospel,” would seem to represent God’s people as a whole who are commissioned by him to proclaim this particular message. The entire church, beginning with its Head, Christ Jesus, have been commissioned to preach the everlasting Gospel. Jesus recognized this, and identified God’s authority in his quotation from Isaiah 61:1-3—“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
This much of the prophecy Jesus applied to himself, and with equal force this same divine commission to preach the everlasting Gospel has applied to all the body members of Jesus throughout the Gospel age. Indeed, it has a more definite application than we sometimes realize. On this point Pastor Russell wrote:
“Knowing that the effort would react favorably upon ourselves, his [God’s] commission to us through our Lord was to try to convert the world, when he said, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the good tidings to every creature.’”—Vol. 2, p. 252
But Jesus did not apply the entire commission of Isaiah 61:1-3 to himself, nor has it all applied to his body members throughout the age. That commission included a declaration concerning the “day of vengeance of our God.” This “day of vengeance” is mentioned throughout the prophecies and is clearly shown to come upon the world as a result of the return of Christ for the establishment of his kingdom. It is the day of God’s judgments upon the wicked and selfish institutions of the earth, in which they will “melt at his presence,” their disintegration being brought about as a result of the authoritative “voice of the archangel.”—I Thess. 4:16
And this additional message—declaring the “day of vengeance of our God”—is associated, in Revelation 14:6,7, with the preaching of the “everlasting Gospel,” being spoken of as a declaration that the “hour of his judgment is come.” The reason Jesus did not assume this task, and did not lay it as an obligation upon the early church, is that it belongs to this end of the age. It is now that God’s judgments are upon the world; this is the “day of vengeance,” and it is for this reason that the thrones of earth are crumbling, and civilization is disintegrating in preparation for the new kingdom. Obviously, then, as members of the body of Christ, followers of the Lamb, it is our privilege now not only to proclaim the everlasting Gospel, but also to incorporate in our message this added feature concerning the “day of vengeance,” the “hour” of God’s judgment.
Following this, the Revelator mentions another “angel”—again God’s consecrated people, but with an added message—which proclaims, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Rev. 14:8) In Revelation 18:1-4 a similar message is referred to, and here it is proclaimed by a mighty “angel” which comes down from heaven, whose “glory” lightened the earth. This apparently is our Lord Jesus at his second advent, and his message, “Babylon is fallen,” is proclaimed through his body members who are “alive and remain.” In this reference is also the call, “Come out of her [Babylon], my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and receive not of her plagues.”—Rev. 18:4
During this “harvest” period many of the Lord’s people have been in “Babylon,” and these ale referred to in the commission of Isaiah 61:1-3 as those that “mourn in Zion”—that is, nominal Zion. In keeping with this “anointing” it is our privilege to comfort these, to give them the “oil of joy”—the precious truth of the “everlasting Gospel” in all its phases, and to invite them to leave that counterfeit system of iniquity and come out into the full liberty of Christ and the truth.
Today there is every evidence that “Babylon,” “Christendom,” the counterfeit “city” or kingdom of God, IS fallen. She is not only fallen from divine favor, but the integral elements of church and state are falling apart, and in God’s due time will completely disappear. Those who still think that this system is a true representation of Christianity are naturally mourning because of what they see taking place. But those who know the truth, who understand the everlasting Gospel, and discern the meaning of the times in which we live, have the blessed privilege of bearing witness to these facts and thus of comforting those who have an ear to hear.
“From Henceforth”
Viewing all the circumstances, there is no room to doubt the fact that we are now living in the time identified in our text as being “from henceforth.” This means that the blessing promised in the text may be our blessing on condition of our faithfulness even “unto death.” Such faithfulness will call for complete separation from Babylon and the world, and from the influence of the symbolic “beast” of this same chapter, keeping free from its “mark,” that is, from every semblance of co-operation with any of the false religious and political systems of the earth.
Faithfulness also means zeal in proclaiming the “everlasting Gospel,” the “hour of his judgment,” and the fact that “Babylon is fallen.” These are the “works” given to the church at this time, the works which will be continued until the day of vengeance is over and all nations are fully enlightened with a knowledge of the glory of God. Jesus proclaimed that part which was due in his day, and his “zeal” in doing so consumed him. He is our pattern. As members of his body we are to be a people “zealous of good works,” and the divine commission outlines clearly what those works are to be.
These works are laborious now. They cost suffering, misunderstanding, sacrifice and toil. But despite the cost, it is our privilege to continue “abounding in the work of the Lord.” (I Cor. 15:58) Today we “stand in jeopardy,” we may have “afflictions,” “necessities,” and “distresses.” (I Cor. 15:30; II Cor. 6:4,5) There may indeed come “imprisonments,” “tumults,” and “labors,” but let us continue faithful in the Lord’s work.
Ah yes, let us be faithful even unto death, comforted with the precious promise that if now we thus “die in the Lord,” there will come “rest from our labors,” but the glorious work of the Lord, the work of reconciling the lost world to himself, will be continued in glory, without labor and without suffering. What a blessed hope indeed is ours who are now living in the days of the presence of the Son of man!