Sunday School Notes: Revelation 14:12-13

“¹² Here is the steadfastness of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and faith in Jesus.” ¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write! Blessed are the dead who die in [the] Lord from this time.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they might have relief from their hardships [or labors], for their works will follow with them.”

We started this week with a recap and an answer to a question raised last time, namely whether “mark” in 13:18 is the same Greek word used in the LXX (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), in passages such as Ezekiel 9:4, 6. Without spending too much time on that here, the answer is no. The word in Revelation 13:18 is charagma, which, by the way it is used, refers to a stamp, or a mark of ownership. The word in Ezekiel 9:4, 6 is sēmeion, commonly translated elsewhere as “sign.” This same word is used in Genesis 4:15, speaking of the “mark” of Cain. In those contexts, it seems that “mark” is being used in the sense of a symbol pointing to something significant. In Genesis 4, the “mark” of Cain is symbolic of the protection of God.

We also spent a little more time talking about the “rest” promised to believers in verse 11. Hebrews 3:7-4:11 talks of the rest that is for those in Christ as symbolized by Israel entering the Promised Land. The “Sabbath rest” of God is like that, where God takes His people to a place of security. Of course, there is a “now-and-not-yet” aspect to this promised rest. We do indeed have that rest in Jesus right now, even in the midst of our daily trials. However, we have not come fully into that rest. We are constantly assailed by our own sin, the demands of the world, and the temptations of the flesh, which all conspire to draw us away from that rest. The day is coming, however, when we will fully rest in God, free from the sin within us and the snares around us.

Verse 12 has a structure very similar to the opening of 13:18 in the Greek: hōde hē hupomonē tōn hagiōn estin. 13:18 begins: hōde hē sophia estin (“here is wisdom”). It bears an even closer resemblance to 13:10: hōde estin hē hupomonē kai hē pistis tōn hagiōn (“here is the steadfastness and faith of the saints”). This construction with hōde estin is calling our attention to something significant. In 13:10, it was the fact that steadfastness and faith is required of God’s people in the midst of the persecution happening at the hands of the Beast. The use in 13:18 is to alert us to the identity of the Beast, and the fact that, with wisdom, we should be able to identify him. The vision John sees now is one of the saints at rest, so the heavenly voice is reminding us that this is the reward of the faithful. Those who, by the grace of God kept the commandments, and were firm and unwavering in their faithfulness to the gospel. While the Beast-worshipers received unending torment without rest, God’s people will fully enter into that blessed rest.

John then hears a voice from heaven commanding him to write, just as he was commanded to write the seven letters in chapters 2 and 3. This time, it’s a blessing: “Blessed are those who die in the Lord from this time!” And the Spirit responds, “Yes, such that they will rest from their labors.” This begs the question: From what time? From the time of the End, the Last Day? But surely all who die in Christ enter into eternal rest? Maybe it’s from the time of John’s writing (whether during the reign of Nero or Domitian–whichever you subscribe to). But what then of those who died before that time?

I believe there are two ways to understand “from this time” that make sense in the immediate context, and the context of the book. The first has to do with the way we split the sentence in English. The original Greek text, at least in the earliest manuscripts, was written all in uppercase, and with no spaces or punctuation. This sounds like it would be confusing, but if you know Greek well enough, you can decypher what it says easily enough. For example, ifiwritewithoutanypunctuationorspacesallinlowercaseyouknowenoughenglishtofigureoutwhatimsaying. It may take you a moment or two to figure out that last sentence, but I don’t doubt you’ll understand it without too much difficulty. Even placing proper punctuation marks shouldn’t present much of a problem. Though sometimes it can be a challenge knowing when one sentence ends and another starts. Knowledge of grammar, syntax, and common practice helps a lot. But on occasion, even the best minds will differ.

This could be one of those places. If “from this time on” could be the beginning of a new sentence. “From this time on, yes, such that they will rest from their labors.” However, the Greek phrase ap’ arti (“from this time on”) doesn’t usually stand at the beginning of a sentence. And making that a new sentence doesn’t really change the meaning. But, what if it’s not ap’arti, but aparti? The apostrophe after ap is a later convention indicating a dropped vowel (strictly it’s apa arti). Most translators assume it’s ap’arti, because it’s more common than aparti, and it fits the context. However, aparti, which means “certainly” or “exactly,” while less frequent, would equally fit the context. The following “yes” might support this: “Certainly, yes, says the Spirit…” I think that reads better than if the sentence starts with ap’arti.

Another possibility is to understand ap’arti as “from that time on,” that is, from the time of the believer’s death onward. The point of this is to remind and encourage those who die in the Lord during these days of oppression, persecution, and judgment, that death is not the end, and their labors for the Lord are not in vain. This is consistent with the overall theme of Revelation as a letter of hope to the suffering church, both in John’s time, and ours.

I’m torn between “certainly” and “from that time.” Ultimately, however, I think the message is clear: Those who reject the Lord, and are marked for ownership by the Beast, will suffer at the hands of God. They will receive the full measure of His cup of wrath. And even though His people have endured much under the Beast’s reign of oppression and persecution, they will see the reward for their endurance and their faithfulness. Theirs is the rest that is denied the Beast-worshipers.