October 17 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Revelation 14:6–13

Devotional

Blessed are the dead because the dead who die in the Lord will be delivered from all their struggles, sins, and tears. They will inherit everlasting glory and be forever with their heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s people long for this future. They do not desire death but they desire heaven; to be in heaven is to live with Him.

The fulfilling of this desire will certainly be granted to those who die in Christ, but it is fulfilled through the gate of death. Death is the final humiliation, and through this humiliation God’s children are magnified. Death is the final degradation and the greatest horror. But the worst brings the best. Father Jacob understood this when he stretched himself out on the bed, ready to die. He laid himself down in the arms of death. He waited for death in all its awfulness, and yet he would be a blessed dead one. Jacob waited for death to bring him to salvation.

Blessed are the dead in Christ, for the Savior is present behind their death. The Savior can do with death as He pleases. He can even make a bitter death to be sweet, because He overcame death. He causes death to become the entrance into the city that has foundations. He uses death to take His people home. That is why the dead are blessed. They are more blessed than the living because they are lifted up above the battle; they have been led to the finish; they are now fully converted and perfectly purified.

The fruit is ripe for the eternal barns. The dead are able to see the friendly face of God in the home prepared for them.

Will you also belong to these blessed dead? The text does not say that all the dead are blessed. There are also dead one who are miserable. The only dead who are blessed are those who die in the Lord. That is what our text says.

Will you die in the Lord? How can you know that? Do you want to know that? The question you must ask yourself is this: Do you live in the Lord? Those who do not live in the Lord will not be able to die in the Lord. So therefore, most miserable are the dead who die outside of the Lord. Therefore, the first question you must ask is not: Do I need grace to die? But the first question is: Do I hunger and thirst after grace to live?

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.