[Originally preached 9 November, 2003]
Revelation 14.13
Our text presents the saints with heaven, the place of rest. Heaven is a key part of the Christian faith. It is the expectation of all Christians. Yet, what heaven is about is not well understood these days. How the hope of heaven makes a difference now isn’t well understood either. So, this morning we are going to take a look at heaven to see what it is that God has waiting for us.
Our text is clear. Being in heaven is a blessing of God. Or is it? If you took a survey of Christians and asked, ‘Is being in heaven a great blessing?’ who is going to say no? But what if there were a second question? ‘Would you like to be there right now, right this minute?’ In my experience, there are many who aren’t sure. They offer different reasons why it would be better if heaven would wait just a bit. Some want to see their kids grow up. Others had their hopes set on some things that they wanted to accomplish. Then others wouldn’t want to be separated from their spouse just yet. There is a reluctance to leave here and be in heaven. Just ask yourself. Would you be happy to be in heaven this afternoon? Is heaven that great a blessing? There are a significant number of Christians who aren’t quite persuaded that it is. At the least, we can say that being on the earth, at least for a while, offers some competition. So, where is the problem? Does our text lie? There are things that we are missing, things that we need to see.
Heaven is described in many different ways in the Scriptures. All of the descriptions are partial. There is much about heaven that we just don’t know. And the reason for this is simple. It’s beyond our comprehension. Heaven is too good to be true. So, we need to be careful not to go beyond what the Scriptures actually teach. However well we understand heaven here, when we get there we will all be surprised. It is much more than we could imagine. But the Scriptures do say something about heaven. It is to our benefit that we work to understand what they do teach.
Our text focuses on one aspect of heaven. It focuses on heaven being a place of rest. Our problem with this is that the notion of rest seems to support the common fear that heaven is a place where we don’t really do anything. It makes heaven sound boring. For too many people heaven is a ghostlike place – which means it isn’t quite real – where nebulous spirits sit around doing nothing very interesting. That’s the notion of ‘rest’ that many have. But it’s all wrong. We need to have a better understanding of what this rest is. If we are going to be able to do that we’ll need to understand another word in our text. We’ll need to understand the word ‘labor’. There are several Greek words for what amounts to work. This word labor is more than just doing things. The word includes the notion of toiling, working hard, even working to the point of exhaustion. It is a word that points to the weariness that results from one’s exertions. Now, what is the ‘labor’ that our text is talking about? The answer is tied to the previous verse.
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Rev. 14:12
The labor of the saints comes from their striving to endure, striving to keep the commandments and their faith in Jesus. What makes this so difficult? It is always done in the context of sin. First, there is our own remaining sin that trips us up so easily and frequently. But added to that is the sin that comes from outside of us, the sins of others, the attacks of Satan and of those who side with him. Faithfulness to Jesus is hard. It’s laborious. It will wear you out. That’s what Revelation is about. Here, think about salmon. There are some salmon that return upstream to where they were hatched in order to spawn. To get there they must swim against the current. They might have to get past rapids. To do this they have to leap out of the water, pushing upstream. Maybe you’ve seen some pictures of this. Once they get past the obstacles and reach their destination they spawn. And then they die. They are completely exhausted by it all. That is what ‘labor’ is all about. We Christians are swimming against the current of this present world. There are obstacles in our path to be overcome. It is difficult, tiring, wearying. What is the desire of someone who is in the midst of this wearying effort? What would he want as he is being pushed and pushed and getting more and more tired, almost ready to quit? He wants rest. And so, Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all who labor [the NIV and NAS have ‘weary’] and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest[!].’ [Matthew 11.28] Jesus knows that it’s hard. The problem with enduring such labor is that you are tempted to quit early. So, the Apostle Paul offers an exhortation.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
Here, all Paul is doing is telling us the same thing that John is in our text. Don’t quit. Yes, it’s hard but rest is coming. Keep going. Endure to the end.
Now, rest still sounds too passive. It still sounds boring. Do we just lay about in heaven after a wearying life on earth? Here, let me mention something from one of Jonathan Edwards’ sermons titled 'Heaven, A World of Love'. It is part of a series of sermons on 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter on love. Edwards makes the point that heaven is a place of perfect love. Other gifts of God, even faith and hope, pass away when heaven arrives. But love continues. Heaven is a world of love. Take two newlyweds. They had eagerly awaited being married. And now they are. Imagine that one night, in the middle of the night, they both wake up. They can’t get back to sleep. And so, they lie there just holding each other. They don’t say anything. They don’t do anything. They just lie there, holding each other. Are they bored? They’re awfully passive. They’re not doing anything. Are they bored? Dumb question, huh? Even if we do absolutely nothing, we won’t be bored in heaven. And the reason is clear. Heaven is a world of love, perfect love. First, there will be the love that we will feel for Jesus. Imagine being able to sit at His feet, or to be able to follow Him around. Not saying anything to Him or having Him say anything to us. Just being able to be with Him. Here is the person who has loved you more than any other person, ever. Here is the person who is the focus of your life. And, finally, you can be right there with Him. Doing more is unnecessary. But secondly, there are all the saints. And, because this is heaven, your only thoughts about them are love, unadulterated love. You’ve tasted this. Have you ever been separated for an extended time from a good friend who, then, comes to visit you? Haven’t you felt the joy of being able to see this precious friend again? And what do you do together? You sit and talk, catch up on what’s happened. That is a taste of heaven, the experience of the love that we’ll enjoy, forever. Even if heaven is passive, it won’t be boring. It will be thrilling!
But heaven isn’t passive. Rest isn’t just lying around. Remember there will be no sin in heaven. None whatsoever. No sin within us. No sin without. One result of that is that you will be freed. You will be freed from sin and death. These will be completely gone. You will be freed from them. But what will you be freed to? What will this freedom allow you to do? You will be freed to be who you really are. Please understand. It will be you who will be in heaven. The ‘you’ that you are now will show up in heaven. There will be dramatic differences. For one thing, you won’t have any remnants of sin. But it will still be you. That ‘you’ will express itself in heaven just as it expresses itself here on earth. But there, you will be able to express yourself without the frustrations and limitations that sin and death have forced upon you here. What might that look like? Here, we can only get vague notions. But ask yourself what you enjoy doing here. How do you express who you are here? Some of you enjoy creating things. In heaven you’ll be able to create in a way that is beyond imagination here and feel the pure joy of seeing an idea in your head take form before your eyes, but perfectly and without any frustration. Some of you enjoy contemplating the beauty of a flower, wanting to capture something of that beauty with a camera. Imagine what heaven will be like for you where beauty abounds. Some of you enjoy watching a magnificent sunset with someone you love. In heaven there will be a complete communion of your soul with the soul of this other person as you enjoy the splendors that will be there. Does that sound boring? Heaven is a place of love, of freedom. It is a place where you will flourish and become what God intended when He created this universe. And you will do all this in the company of Jesus and all the saints. Heaven is rest. But it isn’t a passive, boring, do nothing rest. We rest from our labors so that we can fully enjoy God’s gift of life.
But, there is no rest if there is no labor. This is what is behind John’s words. The danger to the seven churches was that they were tempted to stop swimming upstream. They were tempted to compromise the call to endurance and faith they had received. They were tempted to lay down their arms and no longer fight the good fight of faith. Now, bear in mind that it wasn’t necessary for them to renounce the faith and publicly join the pagans. It would have been enough if they would just conform to the pagans. They could keep on professing to be Christians. They could still go to church, say grace before meals and maintain all the other trappings. Satan is just as happy with compromising Christians as he is with out and out pagans. But what is the message of Revelation? No labor, no rest. There is rest for the saints, but only if they labor on faithfully to the end. If anyone compromises this then his fate is with those who have joined with Satan and his agents.
And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Rev. 14:11
So, the warning of Hebrews 4 is apt.
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. Hebrews 4:1
It is this kind of warning that lies behind John’s words in our text.
Do you see the lie in the old saying, ‘He’s so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good’? It is a lie from Satan himself. It is precisely being heavenly-minded that makes a Christian of some earthly good. Doing earthly good is tied to being a faithful disciple of Jesus. It is as we keep the commandments of God, as we keep the faith and follow Jesus ‘wherever’ that we do any good here. The problem, of course, is that doing that is hard. We have enemies. Remember Satan’s sworn purpose. John told us what it is back in chapter 12. It is to make war against you. He doesn’t need to kill you to accomplish his goal. All he wants to do is to get you to stop being faithful, to stop this ‘enduring to the end’ stuff. So, how does heaven help? Heaven is your hope. It is your encouragement. The promise of Jesus is that if you keep at it, if you continue to follow Him, if you keep swimming upstream, as laborious as that is, He will reward you. He will make it all worth it. Heaven awaits all who are faithful to the end. Rest is coming. And a great picture of this is giving birth. What is it called? Labor and delivery. And it is laborious, tiring, wearying to the point of exhaustion. But what awaits at the end of it all. A baby to love and enjoy. The message of our text is clear. The fight against Satan and those with him is worth it. It is hard, very hard. But at the end there’s heaven. Keep at it! Don’t give up! Your rest awaits.
Now, what should you do with all of this? I am convinced that the more of heaven that you get into your heart the better it will be for you. And so, let me urge you to meditate on heaven. The old Puritan, Richard Baxter, made it his habit to meditate on heaven every day. Meditate on how heaven is a place of perfect love. There will be no sin there – none, if you can believe that. Heaven will be the place where you can be who you really are. And best of all, Jesus is there. Think on this in particular. Heaven is real. In a few weeks you will be gathering as families to enjoy Thanksgiving. It is a clear expectation that you have. Meditate on heaven until it becomes as real an expectation as things like Thanksgiving dinner. It is in fact, more real. You don’t know what may happen between now and November 27. All sorts of calamities might destroy your expectations. But it is beyond a doubt that one day you will arrive in heaven. There is nothing in all of creation that will keep any of God’s saints from realizing that expectation. Meditate on that. Secondly, expect to labor for as long as you are here. Following Jesus ‘wherever’ is hard. The world will not help you. It is not your friend. It doesn’t want you to labor faithfully. You will be confronted with sin and death. Satan will fight you every step of the way. Expect it. Be prepared for it. To that end, thirdly, you must pray. Alone, you are no match for the world, the flesh and the devil. Pray that Jesus would give you grace to be faithful. Pray that He would give you grace to endure. Ask Him to expose those parts of your heart where there is compromise with the world. You know it’s there. Ask Him to point these things out so that you might rid yourself of them. You must pray. If you don’t you will not make it. You might be able to maintain a profession of being a Christian, but what good is that if your heart has given up? Pray for grace so that you might come to enjoy the glorious blessings of heaven.
Revelation 14.13
Our text presents the saints with heaven, the place of rest. Heaven is a key part of the Christian faith. It is the expectation of all Christians. Yet, what heaven is about is not well understood these days. How the hope of heaven makes a difference now isn’t well understood either. So, this morning we are going to take a look at heaven to see what it is that God has waiting for us.
Our text is clear. Being in heaven is a blessing of God. Or is it? If you took a survey of Christians and asked, ‘Is being in heaven a great blessing?’ who is going to say no? But what if there were a second question? ‘Would you like to be there right now, right this minute?’ In my experience, there are many who aren’t sure. They offer different reasons why it would be better if heaven would wait just a bit. Some want to see their kids grow up. Others had their hopes set on some things that they wanted to accomplish. Then others wouldn’t want to be separated from their spouse just yet. There is a reluctance to leave here and be in heaven. Just ask yourself. Would you be happy to be in heaven this afternoon? Is heaven that great a blessing? There are a significant number of Christians who aren’t quite persuaded that it is. At the least, we can say that being on the earth, at least for a while, offers some competition. So, where is the problem? Does our text lie? There are things that we are missing, things that we need to see.
Heaven is described in many different ways in the Scriptures. All of the descriptions are partial. There is much about heaven that we just don’t know. And the reason for this is simple. It’s beyond our comprehension. Heaven is too good to be true. So, we need to be careful not to go beyond what the Scriptures actually teach. However well we understand heaven here, when we get there we will all be surprised. It is much more than we could imagine. But the Scriptures do say something about heaven. It is to our benefit that we work to understand what they do teach.
Our text focuses on one aspect of heaven. It focuses on heaven being a place of rest. Our problem with this is that the notion of rest seems to support the common fear that heaven is a place where we don’t really do anything. It makes heaven sound boring. For too many people heaven is a ghostlike place – which means it isn’t quite real – where nebulous spirits sit around doing nothing very interesting. That’s the notion of ‘rest’ that many have. But it’s all wrong. We need to have a better understanding of what this rest is. If we are going to be able to do that we’ll need to understand another word in our text. We’ll need to understand the word ‘labor’. There are several Greek words for what amounts to work. This word labor is more than just doing things. The word includes the notion of toiling, working hard, even working to the point of exhaustion. It is a word that points to the weariness that results from one’s exertions. Now, what is the ‘labor’ that our text is talking about? The answer is tied to the previous verse.
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Rev. 14:12
The labor of the saints comes from their striving to endure, striving to keep the commandments and their faith in Jesus. What makes this so difficult? It is always done in the context of sin. First, there is our own remaining sin that trips us up so easily and frequently. But added to that is the sin that comes from outside of us, the sins of others, the attacks of Satan and of those who side with him. Faithfulness to Jesus is hard. It’s laborious. It will wear you out. That’s what Revelation is about. Here, think about salmon. There are some salmon that return upstream to where they were hatched in order to spawn. To get there they must swim against the current. They might have to get past rapids. To do this they have to leap out of the water, pushing upstream. Maybe you’ve seen some pictures of this. Once they get past the obstacles and reach their destination they spawn. And then they die. They are completely exhausted by it all. That is what ‘labor’ is all about. We Christians are swimming against the current of this present world. There are obstacles in our path to be overcome. It is difficult, tiring, wearying. What is the desire of someone who is in the midst of this wearying effort? What would he want as he is being pushed and pushed and getting more and more tired, almost ready to quit? He wants rest. And so, Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all who labor [the NIV and NAS have ‘weary’] and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest[!].’ [Matthew 11.28] Jesus knows that it’s hard. The problem with enduring such labor is that you are tempted to quit early. So, the Apostle Paul offers an exhortation.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
Here, all Paul is doing is telling us the same thing that John is in our text. Don’t quit. Yes, it’s hard but rest is coming. Keep going. Endure to the end.
Now, rest still sounds too passive. It still sounds boring. Do we just lay about in heaven after a wearying life on earth? Here, let me mention something from one of Jonathan Edwards’ sermons titled 'Heaven, A World of Love'. It is part of a series of sermons on 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter on love. Edwards makes the point that heaven is a place of perfect love. Other gifts of God, even faith and hope, pass away when heaven arrives. But love continues. Heaven is a world of love. Take two newlyweds. They had eagerly awaited being married. And now they are. Imagine that one night, in the middle of the night, they both wake up. They can’t get back to sleep. And so, they lie there just holding each other. They don’t say anything. They don’t do anything. They just lie there, holding each other. Are they bored? They’re awfully passive. They’re not doing anything. Are they bored? Dumb question, huh? Even if we do absolutely nothing, we won’t be bored in heaven. And the reason is clear. Heaven is a world of love, perfect love. First, there will be the love that we will feel for Jesus. Imagine being able to sit at His feet, or to be able to follow Him around. Not saying anything to Him or having Him say anything to us. Just being able to be with Him. Here is the person who has loved you more than any other person, ever. Here is the person who is the focus of your life. And, finally, you can be right there with Him. Doing more is unnecessary. But secondly, there are all the saints. And, because this is heaven, your only thoughts about them are love, unadulterated love. You’ve tasted this. Have you ever been separated for an extended time from a good friend who, then, comes to visit you? Haven’t you felt the joy of being able to see this precious friend again? And what do you do together? You sit and talk, catch up on what’s happened. That is a taste of heaven, the experience of the love that we’ll enjoy, forever. Even if heaven is passive, it won’t be boring. It will be thrilling!
But heaven isn’t passive. Rest isn’t just lying around. Remember there will be no sin in heaven. None whatsoever. No sin within us. No sin without. One result of that is that you will be freed. You will be freed from sin and death. These will be completely gone. You will be freed from them. But what will you be freed to? What will this freedom allow you to do? You will be freed to be who you really are. Please understand. It will be you who will be in heaven. The ‘you’ that you are now will show up in heaven. There will be dramatic differences. For one thing, you won’t have any remnants of sin. But it will still be you. That ‘you’ will express itself in heaven just as it expresses itself here on earth. But there, you will be able to express yourself without the frustrations and limitations that sin and death have forced upon you here. What might that look like? Here, we can only get vague notions. But ask yourself what you enjoy doing here. How do you express who you are here? Some of you enjoy creating things. In heaven you’ll be able to create in a way that is beyond imagination here and feel the pure joy of seeing an idea in your head take form before your eyes, but perfectly and without any frustration. Some of you enjoy contemplating the beauty of a flower, wanting to capture something of that beauty with a camera. Imagine what heaven will be like for you where beauty abounds. Some of you enjoy watching a magnificent sunset with someone you love. In heaven there will be a complete communion of your soul with the soul of this other person as you enjoy the splendors that will be there. Does that sound boring? Heaven is a place of love, of freedom. It is a place where you will flourish and become what God intended when He created this universe. And you will do all this in the company of Jesus and all the saints. Heaven is rest. But it isn’t a passive, boring, do nothing rest. We rest from our labors so that we can fully enjoy God’s gift of life.
But, there is no rest if there is no labor. This is what is behind John’s words. The danger to the seven churches was that they were tempted to stop swimming upstream. They were tempted to compromise the call to endurance and faith they had received. They were tempted to lay down their arms and no longer fight the good fight of faith. Now, bear in mind that it wasn’t necessary for them to renounce the faith and publicly join the pagans. It would have been enough if they would just conform to the pagans. They could keep on professing to be Christians. They could still go to church, say grace before meals and maintain all the other trappings. Satan is just as happy with compromising Christians as he is with out and out pagans. But what is the message of Revelation? No labor, no rest. There is rest for the saints, but only if they labor on faithfully to the end. If anyone compromises this then his fate is with those who have joined with Satan and his agents.
And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Rev. 14:11
So, the warning of Hebrews 4 is apt.
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. Hebrews 4:1
It is this kind of warning that lies behind John’s words in our text.
Do you see the lie in the old saying, ‘He’s so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good’? It is a lie from Satan himself. It is precisely being heavenly-minded that makes a Christian of some earthly good. Doing earthly good is tied to being a faithful disciple of Jesus. It is as we keep the commandments of God, as we keep the faith and follow Jesus ‘wherever’ that we do any good here. The problem, of course, is that doing that is hard. We have enemies. Remember Satan’s sworn purpose. John told us what it is back in chapter 12. It is to make war against you. He doesn’t need to kill you to accomplish his goal. All he wants to do is to get you to stop being faithful, to stop this ‘enduring to the end’ stuff. So, how does heaven help? Heaven is your hope. It is your encouragement. The promise of Jesus is that if you keep at it, if you continue to follow Him, if you keep swimming upstream, as laborious as that is, He will reward you. He will make it all worth it. Heaven awaits all who are faithful to the end. Rest is coming. And a great picture of this is giving birth. What is it called? Labor and delivery. And it is laborious, tiring, wearying to the point of exhaustion. But what awaits at the end of it all. A baby to love and enjoy. The message of our text is clear. The fight against Satan and those with him is worth it. It is hard, very hard. But at the end there’s heaven. Keep at it! Don’t give up! Your rest awaits.
Now, what should you do with all of this? I am convinced that the more of heaven that you get into your heart the better it will be for you. And so, let me urge you to meditate on heaven. The old Puritan, Richard Baxter, made it his habit to meditate on heaven every day. Meditate on how heaven is a place of perfect love. There will be no sin there – none, if you can believe that. Heaven will be the place where you can be who you really are. And best of all, Jesus is there. Think on this in particular. Heaven is real. In a few weeks you will be gathering as families to enjoy Thanksgiving. It is a clear expectation that you have. Meditate on heaven until it becomes as real an expectation as things like Thanksgiving dinner. It is in fact, more real. You don’t know what may happen between now and November 27. All sorts of calamities might destroy your expectations. But it is beyond a doubt that one day you will arrive in heaven. There is nothing in all of creation that will keep any of God’s saints from realizing that expectation. Meditate on that. Secondly, expect to labor for as long as you are here. Following Jesus ‘wherever’ is hard. The world will not help you. It is not your friend. It doesn’t want you to labor faithfully. You will be confronted with sin and death. Satan will fight you every step of the way. Expect it. Be prepared for it. To that end, thirdly, you must pray. Alone, you are no match for the world, the flesh and the devil. Pray that Jesus would give you grace to be faithful. Pray that He would give you grace to endure. Ask Him to expose those parts of your heart where there is compromise with the world. You know it’s there. Ask Him to point these things out so that you might rid yourself of them. You must pray. If you don’t you will not make it. You might be able to maintain a profession of being a Christian, but what good is that if your heart has given up? Pray for grace so that you might come to enjoy the glorious blessings of heaven.
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