And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."  "Yes indeed," says the Spirit, "so that they might rest from their labors, for their works follow after them."  Rev. 14:13.
 
    Dja-Dja was the only Christian in the village of Tangouroubi.  All the others continued in their ancestral worship of the spirits.  To all outward appearances, her witness was totally fruitless.  As old age took its toll on her body she was no longer able to attend her church, which was some distance away.
 
    One day Dja-Dja collapsed outside her hut.  Her family brought her inside.  Everyone knew that the time of her death was near.  According to the Lobi tradition in Burkina Faso, they cradled her in their arms to assist her passage into the next existence.  They believed that by doing that they could manipulate the spirits to assure her a blessed existence in Paradise.
 
    As Dja-Dja's family held her, she regained consciousness.  Taking in the scene and its animistic implications, she blurted out, "I don't want any of you pagans touching me.  I want to die in the arms of Jesus."
 
    In amazement her family put her down and backed away.  While they had often heard her speak of Jesus, they wondered how she could trust her soul to someone she couldn't even see.  Her dying moments were her supreme witness.  It was the ultimate denial of ancestral animism with its fearfulness and its attempts to appease the spirits.  And it was the greatest testament to her faith in Jesus.
 
    While some of Dja-Dja's family may have felt offended, her simple statement of faith in a God they could not see overshadowed the offense.  They knew she was speaking from her heart in this, her greatest time of need.  Jesus was real to her.  He was there comforting and holding her.  She was at peace, safe and secure in the arms of Jesus--and they could see that it was so.  When she died in the Lord, the blessedness of such a death was evident to all.
 
    Since Dja-Dja's death, four individuals in her village have accepted baptism in the name of Jesus.  More than a dozen now meet every week to worship the God of heaven in a village where Dja-Dja's witness had appeared fruitless for so long.  Her death was blessed, she rests from her labors, and her works most certainly are following after her!
 
Lord, the specter of death haunts every human being.  We hope against hope that an exception might be made in our case, but as the years go by we increasingly realize the limitations that death places upon our lives.  Today, more than ever, I need a foretaste of the blessedness You have promised in Revelation.

Here is the patience of the saints, those whokeep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.  Rev. 14:12.
 
    When people hear about "keeping the commandments of God," they often have a negative impression.  They think that God is an arbitrary taskmaster who loves to tell people what to do and wants to keep them from having fun.  But God's commandments are not designed to make us miserable.  He designed them to help us achieve life at its best.  So don't do what I did.  Don't wait until someone else proves the benefits of obedience before you try God's ways.
 
    You see, based on the Bible and other good counsels that have come my way, I've always been convinced that a consistent program of walking is part of God's plan for my life.  But I was always too busy, or I didn't feel like it, or I just had more important things to do (or so I thought).  Then one day I read an article in a magazine for over-50 types.
 
    John Stark told how, at age 52, he was the fittest person in a workplace that included many in their 20s and 30s who went to fitness clubs, jogged often, and did weekend activities such as skiing and kayaking.  For him it started with a Japanese scientist who found that most people take 3,000-5,000 steps a day.  American researchers built on that work by determining that to stay healthy and fight off disease, the average person needs 10,000 steps a day, a distance of about five miles.
 
    Through the use of pedometers (devices that count steps), Stark discovered that he was averaging 20,000 steps a day and that few of the "weekend athletes" were even close to 10,000 steps a day.  What was Stark's secret?  Walking had become part of his life.  He lives in Boston without a car in a fourth-floor walk-up apartment with no buzzer.  He is, therefore, constantly up and down stairs to answer the door (38 steps each way) and walks to the subway (607 steps), the grocery store (3,000 steps round-trip), and the bank (8,000 steps round-trip).  His two dogs require two or three walks a day (2,000 steps each), and often have to go "out" as well.
 
    The article inspired me to change my life.  I bought a pedometer (I'm fairly competitive and love watching the steps accumulate each day).  While I drive to work, I walk home each day for lunch (5,000 steps).  I scamper to the library, administration building, or the post office for every detail, instead of having my secretary do it for me (hope she's OK with this).  And I dash around the building to drop stuff off, instead of using intercampus mail.  The result?  God knows what He is doing, and His commands are not grievous.  Having lost 10 pounds and 20 years, I have energy I don't remember having since I was in college (don't ask when).  My mind fills with inspirational thoughts as I walk, often with a book.  I can't remember when I felt this happy.  God's ways are the best after all.  Next time I'll take Him at His word.
 
Lord, I want to walk with You today.  Help me to know the joy of obedience.

Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.  Rev. 14:12.
 
    In his book Pure Desire Ted Roberts defines the Greek word for patience as "integrity in the midst of personal pain."  It is one thing to maintain integrity when things are going well, and quite another to do so in the midst of personal pain or opposition.  Integrity is about being who you really are, even when no one's looking or when the consequences are severe.  The opposite of image, integrity is about being consistent and being real no matter the outward circumstances.
 
    Integrity often gets lost in the little things.  A man says, "I love my wife," and then flirts with the girls at work.  A woman acts like a saint at church, but flies into a rage at the kids when she gets home.  A husband's primary goal should not be respect on the job or with his friends, but respect from those who know him best.  It takes a lot of integrity for anyone to retain their family's respect year after year.
 
    As with the saints of Revelation 14:12, integrity happens when we keep ourselves constantly aware of God's kingdom and His presence.  "Who will know if I do this?"  Joseph knew the answer to that.  God will know.  But when we lose that sense of His presence, little impurities creep into our lives and compromise integrity.  And without integrity disaster lurks just around the corner.
 
    In 1912 the Titanic sailed for America from England.  A new method of construction led its builders to declare it unsinkable.  But when it struck an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic, it took only a couple of hours for the ship to sink, carrying more than 1,000 passengers into the depths with it.
 
    For years people wondered, Why did the ship go down so rapidly?  How could the unsinkable ship have sunk so quickly?  Some answers finally came when searchers discovered the wreckage at the bottom of the ocean.  They were able to recover some of the steel plating from the hull, along with the rivets that had held the steel plates together.  Analysis of those objects indicated that the steel contained a high level of impurities.  This weakened the hull and the rivets, and in the icy waters of the Atlantic, the metal became brittle.  The small impurities in the steel helped compromise the integrity of the ship and led to disaster.
 
    When God's saints pass through the icebergs of the end-time, they will have an integrity not shattered by opposition or even personal pain.
 
Lord Jesus, You endured the cross for me because You had Your eye on the big picture (Heb. 12:2).  Keep my eyes on you when I'm tempted to let the little things slip.

 And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast or his image, and receives a mark upon his forehead or upon his hand, he will be tormented with fire and sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb.  The smoke of their torment rises up for ever and ever and no one has any rest, day or night, if they worship the beast or his image or receive the mark of his name.  Rev. 14:9-11.
 
    Many images of violence fill the book of Revelation.  We find violence against Jesus (Rev. 1:5, 7; 5:6; 12:11); violence against His followers (Rev. 2:10, 13; 16:6; 17:16; 18:7, 20, 24).  But what bothers some people the most is the divine violence in the book, of which Revelation 14:9-11 is the most graphic.  How can the Lamb be, on the one hand, the victim of violence and on the other hand the one who torments and destroys?
 
    What people often overlook is that any truly good government must at some point exercise some kind of violence in order to restrain evil.  Governmental force is not always graphic and bloody, of course.  It may simply involve the kind of restraint that occurs when a policeman pulls you over at a speed trap or the IRS sends an agent to audit your taxes.  You don't consider that violence?  Well, let me ask you some questions.  How fast would you drive if the police did not exist?  How much taxes would you pay if they were voluntary?  How eager are most convicts to stay in jail?  Good governments provide a necessary restraint so we can all live together in peace.  Not every citizen stops to consider what is good for others or for the whole when they act.
 
    Most people are used to this level of governmental violence.  When dealing with an Adolf Hitler or a Saddam Hussein, however, just violence becomes necessarily more brutal. Oppression demands justice (Rev. 6:9-11; 16:6; 18:7, 8), but evil never gives way voluntarily.  And the greater the power and brutality of evil, the more force to undo that evil.
 
    The images of Revelation are not pretty, but they assure us that God will do whatever it takes to end violence and oppression.  The fact that destructive power of God occurs in the presence of the Lamb does not mean He enjoys such horrific images.  To me it means that God has placed the One who has suffered much in charge of the process.  While God's use of force is necessary, the Lamb oversees and limits it.  Why the Lamb?  Only He fully understands the cost of suffering and can be trusted to be merciful in the exercise of divine justice.  The Lamb that was slain will undo evil without overkill.  Divine justice will cause suffering, but not one iota more than necessary.
 
Lord, the mysteries of Your wisdom in the governing of this universe are beyond my understanding.  Help me to trust completely in the Lamb that was slain.  

 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has forced all the nations to drink from the wine of the wrath of her fornication."  Rev. 14:8.
 
    The Chinese people, being northern Asian, are highly efficient, businesslike people.  At Chinese airports the planes leave and arrive early and the service is always quick and efficient.  Chinese tend to be quiet in public and do not usually approach or talk to those they do not know.  Once the ice is broken, though, the Chinese people are friendly and eager to talk to foreigners.
 
    In contrast to northern Asians, the southern Asians tend to be more relaxed and always ready with a quick smile and pleasant hello.  They are not so time-conscious but are more relationship-oriented.  Despite living in deprived circumstances most of the time, they almost always posses a sweet spirit.
 
    An exception to this general rule is Singapore, a steamily tropical place with several million transplanted Chinese.  Although most Singaporean Chinese were born and raised in the country, they retain the businesslike efficiency of their northern relatives.
 
    While it may take centuries, it does seem that the latitude that people live in deeply affects their culture.  The cooler latitudes produce a more reserved people, while the warmer latitudes have nurtured the development of a more relaxed culture.  Different circumstances produce different responses.
 
    We discover two sides to the God of the Bible.  In the Old Testament climate we find at times the stern God who dealt with Uzzah and the Gibeonites.  Then in the climate of New Testament times God comes as a gentle lamb.  But the book of Revelation portrays both pictures of God together.  The Lamb is also a Lion (Rev. 5:5, 6).  The gospel of Jesus Christ has two sides to it.  On the one hand is the free offer of full acceptance with God.  And on the other hand is a penetrating analysis of human depravity and its consequences.  While God desires the salvation of all, the climate of the end will require corrective action.
 
    The message of our text goes against the grain.  The whole world worships the beast (Rev. 13:8).  The message of God's angels (Rev. 14:6-12) will counter the voices of Hollywood, CNN, and the major universities.  The good news is that God proclaims judgment before He actually completes it (verse 7).  Each person still has an opportunity to avoid its personal consequences.  The condemnation of Babylon is not so much bad news as a last opportunity to hear and to follow the good news!  God cares enough to give us every opportunity to repent before it is too late.
 
Lord, help me to lay aside everything that keeps me from hearing Your voice today.  I choose to submit to Your will without reservation.

Worship Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.  Rev. 14:7.
 
    Some friends of mine had their first child about 15 years ago.  They were elated at the prospect.  With great excitement they began to think of how best to prepare for the baby's arrival.  At that point they discovered that they had rather different ideas on the subject.
 
    The prospective mother had focused on the kind of bed crib to purchase, the color of the room, and the figurines for the wall.  She knew the child would need a mobile to develop focused eyesight, and she selected the best in linens for the baby's nest.  Spending more time than usual at the mall, she examined soft, subtle clothing and examined blankets and other necessary warm wraps for the cold climate where they were living at the time.  Shoes, socks, undergarments--the list was seemingly endless and grew by the minute.
 
    The dad, on the other hand, knew that babyhood would wear off sooner or later, and when it did, he/she would be headed for high school, the first date, the college years--and then?  He realized that the kind of life he had known before marriage was now truly gone forever-- he was going to be a father!  While he put up a brave front, he was a lot more scared than he was willing to let on!  The wedding day and marriage itself were nothing in comparison to this.
 
    Although they had two different perspectives and two very different roles, both were headed for the same destination: they were preparing for the arrival of a divinely appointed gift!  Then it came, a baby boy.  Nine pounds and some ounces later, the young couple forgot about the mobile, the room color, the blankets and wraps, the undergarments and cuddly clothes, the bassinet, or even the crib.  The reality of the child's birth caused them to forget everything that they had invested in preparation, because they now focused on the event itself.
 
    The Sabbath comes after a day that Scripture identifies as the preparation day (Matt. 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54).  Friday is a day to get ready for worship, a day to prepare the mind, body, and environment for the weekly date that we should never forget, because it is a date with God!  The right kind of preparation enables us to set everything aside so that we can concentrate our attention on Him.
 
    The One who made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters is worthy of our worship.  His day deserves the kind of preparation and anticipation that young couples go through when anticipating their little gift from God!
 
Lord, help me to get the most out of Your weekly gift.  I want to know You more, so I will be ready for the special date You have planned for us this week.

 Worship Him who made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.  Rev. 14:7.
 
    The last phrase of Revelation 14:7 contains language from the fourth commandment.  "For in six day the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Ex. 20:11, NIV).  Careful research indicates an intentional allusion here to the fourth commandment of the Decalogue.  In the last days of earth's history, when everything is on the line, God calls people to give attention to the Sabbath command.  Does this make any sense?  Isn't that kind of arbitrary on His part?  The following is helpful to me in wrestling with this idea.
 
    Imagine a country (let's say some warm recess of Antarctica) in which the people have a culture different from ours.  The women have 60 husbands each.  They communicate with their 60 husbands by building a statue of a man and then addressing their comments to the statue.  Listing all 60 names before this statue, then they build an altar, light candles, and set fruit before the statue.  I come along on a vacation tour of Antarctica.  During it I fall in love with one of its women and offer to marry her.  After she says yes, I explain to her how things are different in my culture.
 
    First of all, I say, I will be her one and only husband.  Second, anytime she wants to talk to me, all she has to do is dial my number on her cell phone.  I will be there for her, no matter what I am doing.  I am available 24 hours a day.  Third, I tell her that where I live I am very famous and powerful.  In fact, I am so famous and powerful that if she goes into any store and simply mentions my name, she will get whatever she wants.
 
    And, finally, I tell her that every week, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, we will have our special time together  For that one 24-hour period I will be with her, she will be with me, and nothing will distract us.
 
    "No problem--sounds great!" she replies.  But soon she wants to see a marriage counselor.
 
    "It's too hard," she says in frustration.  "I'm tired of following your rules.  I want to go back to my statue, have extra husbands, and change the day of our date.  But I'd still like to keep your name, because it comes in handy whenever I need something, or even when I get into trouble."
 
    What would I say to my new wife then?  Would I still give my life for her, even though she has shattered my heart by breaking her vows?  Would I let her go on her own way?  Or would I continue to pursue her, even though she is off with other men, never keeping our date, never calling me on our cell phone?  Is our weekly date with God really such a difficult rule?
 
Lord, help me to put You first, even in my daily and weekly schedule.

 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven....He said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to him, because the hour of His judgment has come, andworship Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water."  Rev. 14:6, 7.
 
    The fascinating story of Revelation is that God established a universe in which it is possible for beings He created to deny that He made it.  In other words, the fact that people are invited to worship the Creator indicates that God does not force anyone to acknowledge His role in Creation.  Human beings are like crickets who question whether a builder constructed the house they are living in, thinking perhaps that it somehow came into existence on its own.  God iS not only powerful, as nature can teach us (Rom. 1:18-20), but He is infinitely patient with the intellectual limitations of His creatures.
 
    Does it make sense in today's world to worship the One who made heaven, earth, sea, and the fountains of waters?  Clifford Goldstein found a number of compelling reasons to believe in The Book of the Cosmos, edited by Dennis Danielson.  The volume contains the account of a scientist who specializes in probability theory.  He estimated that the chance that our universe could arise without a designer at one in 10.  That's one chance in 1 followed by 229 zeros, a number too large for me to imagine!  What makes the number even more awesome is the fact that the estimated number of all protons and neurons in the visible universe is only 10 (1 followed by 80 zeros)!  If your head is spinning as you read this, mine is spinning as I write it!  These numbers suggest that it is virtually impossible that the universe as we know it could have arisen apart from divine design.
 
    An astronomer, Owen Gingrich, adds his own testimony, "I cannot prove that God exists or that God's claims on our lives is what makes life meaningful.  But do the heavens declare the glory of  God?  I think so.  The universe is so full of such wonderful things that I can hardly think otherwise."
 
    Goldstein goes on to paraphrase Cicero, the ancient orator.  If flutes playing a tune were sprouting on an olive tree, you would have no doubt that the olive tree had some knowledge of flute playing.  Isn't it obvious, then, that a world full of intelligent creatures points to an intelligent Person behind the design of our universe?  But whether or not this should be obvious to us, God does not compel anyone's worship.  In the last days He invites all one last time to acknowledge that we live and move and have our being because of Him.
 
Lord, thank You for making me one of Your incredible designs.  Fill my heart today with a sense of Your greatness and a desire to worship and serve You with all my heart.

 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  Rev. 14:6.
 
    Today's text shows God's caring concern for people from every nation, every language group, every ethnic type, and every family lineage.  No matter how much they oppose Him, no matter how perverse their behavior may seem, Jesus died for them (Rev. 5:9; 2 Cor. 5:14).  He values them in terms of the infinite cost of the cross.  God shows a breathtaking lack of prejudice.  Multiculturalism is not just a politically correct fad--it is fundamental in God's attitude toward people in all their infinite variety.  Revealing no partiality, He care for all peoples.
 
    I grew up in New York City and figured that gave me a head start on appreciating God's great variety.  The high school I went to was one-third White, one-third Black, and one-third Hispanic.  All of my closest buddies were Hispanic.  Once I captained an all-Black basketball team and didn't realize that fact until someone mentioned it halfway through the season.  Prejudice, I thought, was a remote problem in my life.
 
    I started college just as the Black Power movement got its start and also witnessed the first Black History Week.  After the murder of Martin Luther King I heard all kinds of anger directed toward me that I didn't think I deserved, given my pristine behavior back in high school.  Why are these people so angry? I wondered.  This is America.  We all have equal rights and equal opportunities.
 
    And then I met Greg.  Forcefully but patiently he introduced me into the world of African-Americans.  Helping me to see the world through his eyes, he told me what it is like to be looked at with suspicion wherever you go.  To be stopped by the police on a regular basis, simply because you are Black and driving a nice car.  To be ignored in a clothing store while others get lots of help.  To face a glass ceiling on the job with certain positions open only to the "right kind of people."  And to be unwanted even in some churches simply because of skin color and other differences.
 
    I realized that the world wasn't as simple as the one I though I knew.  And in the process I also came to understand that I was learning to see not only through Greg's eyes, but also through God's eyes.  He who chose to create human beings in all their variety dwells inside people of every nation, tribe, and language.  It is Jesus who died for everyone.  How they feel and how they live matters to Him.
 
Lord, open my eyes to the pain in the lives of others.  Help me to look past the differences and see a soul for whom Jesus died.  Enable me to stand courageously against injustice whenever I run into it.

And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.  Rev. 14:5.
 
    The 144,000 are noted for their truthfulness (the opposite of Laodicea in its self-deception).  Their mouths pass on no lie.  One of the key characteristics of God's people at the end of time is a thorough commitment to the truth and to telling it in every circumstance of life.
 
    It is one of the ultimate goals of God's plan of salvation.  Understanding and accepting the truth is the secret to freedom and a satisfying life, because whatever you choose to believe will determine what you will do and how you will behave.
 
    A gifted high school student graduated at the top of his class.  When he took the exam for entrance into the university, he received a grade of 98.  The student thought that the 98 referred to his intelligence quotient, and since 98 is a low IQ, he began to think he was not intelligent.  At the end of his first semester at the university, the previously bright and gifted student had failed all his classes.
 
    One of his teachers called him in and said, "I'm just a bit mystified as to why a person with your brilliant high school record could suddenly do so badly at the university."  The young man replied that he had discovered that he was dumb, and so was quite justified in doing badly.
 
    Further discussion revealed the real truth.  The grade of 98 was a percentage mark.  In other words, the student had actually scored 98 percent out of 100.  He was, in fact, one of the highest achieving students in the nation, one of the best that had ever attended that university.  The next semester the student was back at the top of the class.  What made the difference?  The difference was in what he believed--in this case, what he believed about himself.
 
    Wise Solomon once said, "As a man thinks in his inward parts, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).  What we believe directly influences not only our performance but also how we behave.  So if a large variety of conflicting truths fill the world, it is no wonder that unrest, trouble, and strife plague the societies we live in.
 
    God's ultimate goal is to restore the human race to the perfection it originally enjoyed.  The new earth will have no place for error and confusion.  The problems we currently face originated with the "father of lies" (John 8:44, NIV).  The solution is found in the truth as it is in Jesus (John 14:6).  Scripture, therefore, describes God's end-time people as being without lies (Rev. 14:5).  They are united in truth.
 
Lord, I commit myself today to three things: knowing You, knowing the truth, and practicing the truth that I know.