“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 labours; and their works do follow them.”
King James Version (KJV)
14:13 And I heard a voice - This is most seasonably heard when the beast is in his highest power and fury. Out of heaven - Probably from a departed saint. Write - He was at first commanded to write the whole book. Whenever this is repeated it denotes something peculiarly observable. Happy are the dead - From henceforth particularly: 1. Because they escape the approaching calamities: 2. Because they already enjoy so near an approach to glory. Who die in the Lord - In the faith of the Lord Jesus. For they rest - No pain, no purgatory follows; but pure, unmixed happiness. From their labours - And the more laborious their life was, the sweeter is their rest. How different this state from that of those, verse 11, #Rev 14:11 who |have no rest day or night! Reader, which wilt thou choose? Their works - Each one's peculiar works. Follow - or accompany them; that is, the fruit of their works. Their works do not go before to procure them admittance into the mansions of joy; but they follow them when admitted.
Re 14:13 I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write. We are not told whose voice, but it is a voice of authority. The words to be written are next stated. Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord. Not all the dead, but those dead who die in the Lord. Only those die "in" the Lord who are "in" the Lord when they die. The Christian life, begun by faith and baptism "into Christ" (Ro 6:3), is a life in Christ. To be assured of this blessed death one must live a Christian life. From henceforth. Probably from the time of this utterance to John, though some have supposed that the time meant is that of the Lord's coming, which is declared in Re 14:14. Yea, saith the Spirit. The Spirit confirms the blessing pronounced and states the reason. That they may rest from their labours. Yet though they rest their labors are not lost; they follow them to eternity to speak for them.