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Speech Language Pathology
The Master of Science (MS) degree in Speech-Language Pathology is 68 credits and prepares students for professional practice in hospitals, healthcare agencies, general and specialized clinical settings, and private practices. Successful completion of the SLP curriculum prepares students to meet the academic and clinical requirements to apply for American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) professional certification and New York State Licensure.
Program Overview:
Degree Offered: | MS |
Fall Application Deadline: | February 1 |
Spring Application Deadline: | Not Applicable |
Program Director: | Michelle Macroy-Higgins |
Contact Information: | firstname.lastname@example.com |
212-481-4467 |
Admission Requirements:
You must meet the following minimum requirements in order to be considered for admission. Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the program.
Minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.0.
- Official score report of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test
- 15 credits of communication sciences and disorders prerequisite courses (a minimum grade point average of A- is expected) to include the following courses or the equivalents:
- Introduction to Language Science
- Phonetics of American English
- Speech and Its Production (Anatomy & Physiology)
- Introduction to Speech-Language Pathology
- Introduction to Audiology
- ASHA requirements in the basic and applied sciences to include:
- 3 credits in biological sciences
- 3 credits in physical sciences
- 3 credits in statistics
- 6 credits in social sciences
- 3 credits in English/writen expression
Two letters of recommendation from appropriate academic or professional sources.
A statement of purpose of approximately 500 words describing your objectives in undertaking graduate study in the desired specialization. In reviewing applications, considerable importance is placed on the applicant's interest in and commitment to advanced study and professional development.
- Applicants whose native language is not English and who have taken all or part of their undergraduate education in a country where English is not the native language are required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The following minimum scores must be obtained:
- TOEFL:Interned Based Test (iBT): 80/Paper Based Test: 550/ Computer Administered Test: 213
- IELTS: 6.5 Overall Band Score
Additional Information:
For additional program information, visit the Speech and Language Pathology Department's web site.


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The B.C. government has appointed B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen to head an inquiry into the explosive growth of money laundering, estimated by investigators to have reached $7 billion in 2018.
"This inquiry will bring answers about who knew what when, and who is profiting from money laundering in our province," Attorney General David Eby said Wednesday.
Cullen will have powers to compel testimony and issue search warrants to collect records, Eby said, after two investigations into real estate, luxury car reselling and other illegal activities encountered people who refused to cooperate.
The commission of inquiry has been asked to produce an interim report within 18 months and a final report by May 2021, but Premier John Horgan acknowledged that costs and even the duration of the independent inquiry are not yet known.
Horgan explains reasons for changing his mind on #MoneyLaundering inquiry #bcleg #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/rSHWAYOeFe
— Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc) May 15, 2019
Horgan said the purpose of the inquiry is to get control of drug trafficking and criminal investment inflating the price of B.C. real estate by as much as five per cent, not to assign political blame. But the final report is scheduled to emerge less than six months before the next scheduled B.C. election.
"Perhaps other governments were intoxicated by the revenues that kept coming in," Horgan said. "There's certainly evidence of that."
READ MORE: RCMP has 'no' money laundering investigators in B.C.
READ MORE: Hot cars hide dirty money, B.C. investigation shows
The province does not have authority to compel testimony from the RCMP or FINTRAC, the federal agency that monitors suspicious cash transactions, which Eby said has let B.C. down in monitoring activity in casinos and other areas of suspicious money movement.
Horgan said he has informed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Bill Blair, federal minister for border security and organized crime, that the inquiry is going ahead, and is expecting full cooperation from them.
The province does not have authority to compel testimony from the RCMP or FINTRAC, the federal agency that monitors suspicious cash transactions. Eby said FINTRAC has let B.C. down in monitoring activity in casinos and other areas of international money movement, and he was appalled to find that the RCMP had no dedicated investigators looking money laundering in B.C., other than referring cases for civil forfeiture actions.
Horgan and Eby have repeatedly argued against holding an inquiry before individuals are prosecuted for their actions. The RCMP's one major prosecution against a Richmond financial firm with ties to China was abandoned in November 2018, and the province is pursuing a civil forfeiture case to seize assets from the company's owners.
The civil forfeiture case alleges that the married couple laundered money for customers including drug traffickers importing cocaine.
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subset: commoncrawl


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A cart driver at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was arrested after a soldier remotely tracked his stolen cell phone to the worker's apartment, according to a police report.
Hanna Hanna, 34, an employee of airport contractor Air Serv, was arrested and charged with theft. He no longer works for the company.
The investigation started on Feb. 22 when retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Dave Vreeland and his wife were passing through the airport on their way home to Fort Stewart, Ga.
Vreeland, who served in Iraq and now helps manage an Army hospital, said he left his iPhone on a chair in Terminal B.
"Within 10 minutes, I realized I left my phone there and went back and it was gone," Vreeland said.
During a three-hour layover, he used the "Find My iPhone" feature and located it -- still at the airport, he said.
"I thought someone must have it, they'll turn it in," Vreeland said. "And they didn't."
The latest news from around North Texas.
When he returned home to Georgia, he checked again and saw the thief had moved his iPhone to an apartment complex in North Richland Hills.
The GPS even showed exactly what part of the complex it was in, so Vreeland called airport police.
"Within 24 hours, those guys were on it," Vreeland said in an interview Thursday.
Authorities checked surveillance video of the area where he left his phone and saw that Hanna was in the same area at the time the phone disappeared, the report said.
Police checked Hanna's driver's license and his address matched the apartment complex in North Richland Hills where the iPhone's GPS tracked the phone.
In a search of his apartment, authorities seized a total of 11 cell phones, including Vreeland's.
"It's an unbelievable story I've shared with all my army and civilian friends out here," Vreeland said. "I didn't think I'd ever see my iPhone."
Air Serv released a statement, saying, "We have strict policies on these matters. This individual has been removed from his duties and we have been working with the authorities."
Airport police returned Vreeland's phone.
"Really happy ending to this story," Vreeland said. "I tip my hat to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Police. And don't mess with Texas."
Hanna declined to talk about his arrest Thursday.
DFW Airport spokesman David Magana said investigators were looking into whether the other cell phones found in Hanna's apartment were also stolen.


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Web Analysts are blessed with an immense amount of data, and an amazing amount of valuable, even sexy, metrics to understand business performance. Yet our heroic efforts to report the aforementioned sexy metrics lead to little business action. Why?
Sure your organization could be to blame (org structure, bad boss, ineffectual team). Perhaps your client did not provide you with the all important Web Analytics Measurement Model. Maybe something else (surprisingly, excuses are not all that hard to find when you are looking for them :)).
Even with all that, I think the problem is you.
You: The person responsible for "providing data" / "analyzing metrics" / "reporting."
You are the problem because you, mesmerized by the enchantress that is web data, are reporting "crappy" metrics.
Since crappy sounds bad, let's just say you are reporting super lame metrics. (Sounds better right?)
Oh, and I don't mean reporting super, super lame metrics like % of Exits from a Page. I think we've realized that is absolutely useless for unstructured experiences (most web behavior).
I mean the metrics contained in 99% of web analytics reports: Visits, Page Views, or Time on Site. I mean the metrics contained in 99% of digital advertising reports: Impressions, Clicks, or Emails Sent. I mean Social Media campaign metrics like Number of Followers (or Likes), Video Views, or (just kill me now!) # of Press Reports.
Surprised to find the bedrock of your (and my) existence classified as super lame?
They are. And it is time we accept that. How else will we be recognized as the magnificent creators of business value, rather than people who whine about data (or worse, much, much worse, JavaScript tags and s.props and custom variables)?
These metrics are super lame because. . . .
1. They are supremely tactical.
There is nothing hugely business bottom-line impacting we can learn from them. Okay we got 17 million fans on Facebook. That was success? People saw 3.2789 pages last month and it was 3.3592 this month. Okay, now what? What does the number of press reports or views of our video actually tell us?
2. They simply report, usually, "top of the funnel" activity.
Getting people to just show up to our digital existence or just sending them email is not the point of what we do. Our goal as a non-profit is to ensure we get more people to our protest, more donations, more leads for places we can add value to. Our Goal as a B2B business is to connect a high value prospect to an Authorized Dealer / Rep, to try to revolutionize our marketing by going after the search long tail with AdWords, and more. It is not hard to imagine what a B2C site is trying to do.
So why is our reporting dominated by reporting of visits and time on site and impressions and all that? It's work, but what about what happens from that work?
3. They require too much inference.
When you present a large number of Visits or Page Views or Followers, what you are essentially inferring is that more is better. You are inferring something that is not there: success. Or you are hypothesizing, when you report that data, that these large numbers mean that customers are happy and business is successful. I believe it is dangerous to make that inference. Why not seek direct success indicators? Even for our branding campaigns?
4. They are "one night stand" focused.
This is perhaps the thing that makes me hopping mad and scream like a banshee. In the early days of the web it was cute to just get someone to come to the site and most stuff happened within one session / visit.
By 2011 as web experiences have become richer and more frequently and more complex I am so mad that our life is not dominated by pan-session metrics. That our campaigns are not focused on Visitors (not just Visits!), longer term understanding of people and customers (not just entrances and bounces!), customer lifetime value (and not just single visit conversions!), and all that stuff that is mandatory for the long term success of any company.
Frustrating when you think about it, right?
The bottom-line is that while they are all "standard" metrics, they measure tactical top of the funnel activity requiring too much inference and cause us to simply chase one night stands. Let us not make them the center of our web analytics existence.
Let us banish them to the land of "oh yes that was cute when our intern measured that when we first got a web analytics tool, but don't be silly, our dashboards don't contain that anymore."
Let us move to the land of the "OMG that was such high speed from data to business action that I think I might have experienced a datagasm!" I.E. super awesome land.
Super awesome metrics. . . .
~ Force strategic analysis of metrics that contain data material to the business bottom-line!
~ They are infused with direct customer voice so we don't need to infer and look at data with our own biases (just let them tell us!).
~ Make us look at behavior across sessions to encourage a business focus on long term value (customer and business).
~ Due to their inherent nature in most cases they make it very obvious that the performance you are looking at is good or bad. It is hard to get to this, but it is so magical!
Salivating? Can't wait to hop into bed with 'em?
Now here is the amazing thing. You know which metrics I am referring to. I doubt I am going to shock you below. The problem is reaching datagasms requires some hard work (surprise!); it requires some fine caressing of the data; it requires going beyond the standard report in Google Analytics.
Here are some metrics I consider super awesome. . . .
Visitor Loyalty & Visitor Recency.
Notice my immediate focus on Visitors. Cookie issues be dammed (use first party okay?), this is the best we can do for now, use it! I love Loyalty and Recency because they measure what actually matter (repeated frequent visits by an individual. Do not be tempted by the not very useful % Repeat Visits).
For content sites (NY Times) it is focusing on a longer term relationship (and that might even mean not focusing on Page views per visits and reducing the number of ads on a site!).
For non-profits (The Smile Train) it means focusing on creating a connection that causes future donations.
For ecommerce sites (like Amazon) it means focusing on an experience to cause the next 20 purchases, or (like TurboTax) focusing on such a delight this March that I'll be back next March.
I love these metrics. When you focus on their performance it will force you to materially change your website experience, customer relationships and business value.
Why focus on conversion rates from your AdWords or DoubleClick campaigns? What was the quality of that traffic beyond the one night stand? Visitor Loyalty, bam!
[Learn ins and outs and how-to: Visitor Loyalty, Recency, Length & Depth]
Days & Visits to Outcome.
In some sense an enabler of the above. If your business leaders continue to want one night stand data then report these metrics (standard in Google Analytics and WebTrends and every tool).
Two different visits shows the length and depth of an experience leading up to an outcome (typically a ecommerce conversion, but could just as well be a lead, a donation, or any outcome you desire).
It helps force changes in customer experience (why just have a Search Travel Deals now and not a Save Travel Deals You Found So That We Can Email You When The Price Goes Up Or Down button?), it forces you to worry a out multi-channel campaign attribution (or not!), and more such delightful outcomes.
Strictly speaking, it is a pan-session metric (as are the above two), but I still think of it as a single outcome focused. So do this, migrate to above.
[Learn ins and outs and how-to: Analytics Tip #6: Measure Days & Visits to Purchase]
Conversation Rate.
Social Media is all the rage. Tweeting, Facebooking, Blogging, YouTubing. For most brands that, thus far, has simply translated to: "Oh we shout at people via TV, Magazines, Radio etc, what is the best way to shout via these new channels."
Sad. Heartbreaking. Your inner happy child just died.
Fear not. (She has nine lives!)
The true essence of social media, if you want to do it right, is the ability to reach your audience directly (no intermediaries) and have a relationship with them. If you want it. The essence of that relationship, one key facet, is the ability to spark and participate in conversations.
So why measure Followers and Likes and Posts? Why not measure Conversation Rate? For blogs: # of reader comments per post. For Twitter: # of replies sent per day, # of replies received per day. For Facebook: % Feedback.
If you are conversing, find out who you are conversing with. Is it adding any value to your brand; should you be doing it more? The roads to all those interesting questions, and incentivizing the right behavior by your company, starts with this super awesome metric.
[Learn ins and outs and how-to: Social Media Analytics: Quantitative & Qualitative Metrics]
Task Completion Rate.
The sub-title of Web Analytics 2.0 is: The Art of Online Accountability & Science of Customer Centricity.
That second part? That's why I love Task Completion Rate as a metric.
I see Analysts and Marketers and HiPPOs (of all sizes) torture the clickstream data, make leaps of faith, and start their recommendations with: "I think." Sub-optimal on so many fronts.
Don't think. Just ask.
Task Completion Rate is the % of people who come to your website who answer yes to this question: "Were you able to complete the task you came to this website to do?"
Combine that with the Primary Purpose question ("Why are you here?") and you have a gold mine of fantastic data. Why people come, how much you let them down. No guessing. No making stuff up. No inferring things from Time on Page or % Exits!
Use the customer voice, hit people on the head with it, reward those who work hard to improve the customer experience (based on, I can't stress this enough, customer identified pain and Omniture or Yahoo! Analytics guessed), and reassign those who don't. I call that #winning.
[Learn ins and outs and how-to: The Three Greatest Survey Questions Ever]
Economic Value.
What can I tell you about Economic Value that you don't already know? Oh, after Task Completion Rate, it is the single greatest gift a Digital Anybody can give to their boss / company / mom / angels.
It is the total $$$s (or Pesos or Rupees or Kroner) in Economic Value added to your business bottom-line by visitors to your website completing all the possible Macro and Micro Conversions.
Our inability to quantify the value of our digital existence is the single biggest reason for the sad undesirable level of appreciation. We just focus on the 2% conversion rate (orders or leads) value added. The thing we call Revenue. We forget all the other Micro Conversions. Absolutely criminal.
If your web analytics tool does not allow you (in five minutes without touching the JavaScript tag) to set up goals and goal values, then ditch it. You are wasting everyone's time; your mom is not proud of you.
Once you identify the Economic Value of your website you'll be able to clearly articulate: 1. All the jobs your website is doing. 2. True and complete value of those jobs. 3. Identify holistic value of your digital marketing campaigns. 4. Identify where you are falling short and where you are glorious. 5. Make your mom proud.
How is any metric that can help you do that not super awesome?
[Learn ins and outs and how-to: Excellent Analytics Tip #19: Identify Economic Value]
Five simple, effective super awesome metrics.
It is not that Visits and Page Views and Impressions and Fans and Clicks are useless. They are not. They are just not worthy of all the attention you give them. They are not. . . super awesome.
In the small chance that a picture is worth a thousand words, why take chances :), here's a slide from my recent keynote. . .
So you can see there are many more super lame and super awesome metrics than mentioned in this article.
My hope is that the specific examples outlined help you find specific examples you can start your own revolution with.
My wish that you'll look not at the specific examples above, but more why I choose them for my Super Awesome list. The thinking behind the decision, the insights and value I desire. If you get that you'll be prepared regardless of what your company is up to on the web, regardless of what web analytics tool you are using.
. . . . and one more thing
I'll leave you with a practical example of how evolution from super lame to super awesome metrics (with a just regular awesome stage in between) looks like.
This is a real example of trying to measure how advertising done by a company is performing. They start at the normal place everyone else does; Clicks and CPC's. The company impact is just keeping costs low. I call this the Toddler stage (who, let me point out as a father of a small child are super duper awesome and I don't mean to imply anything else), but it is, super lame. How are you winning? How deep are your insights?
Then we mature to the regular awesome stage. The focus is on Conversions (yea!!!) and Revenue. Company impact is maximizing Revenue Per Acquisition. The Rockin' Teen stage. Good. But not great.
[Click on the image above for a higher resolution version. The slide above is from my 60 min. webinar on YouTube: Agile, Outcomes Driven, Digital Marketing]
The super awesome stage is the last one. Ninja's live there. Measuring complete Economic Value to the business as the company impact. Kissably super awesome.
Consider this. Just look at the colored rows. You could have made a decision about which campaign was working better at each stage. But at only one would you have made the right decision and, because of how important that number is, earned a promotion.
That's what I'm talking about!!
Being super awesome.
You can create the above evolution for your company for any metric you desire, for any outcome that is expected by your business. And now you know how.
Good luck!
As always it is your turn now.
Surely you have your personal favorite super lame metrics. . . what are they? Why do you think they are "super lame" (or to be polite, less than useful)? And which metrics, if any, do you consider super awesome? Where have you fully focused your attention in order to identify valuable insights that have actually been actioned? What do you love?
Please share via comments.


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In light of the Cosplay Appreciation Day kerfuffle we covered this morning, now seems like a good time to revisit the "Idiot Nerd Girl" meme. It started last year as a way to insult women who refer to themselves as nerds but aren't nerdy enough or nerdy in the right way or whatever, a reflection of a pervasive stereotype in geek culture which ticks me off. Why would it matter if someone wants to identify as a nerd, and why am I not surprised there isn't a similarly-popular image macro accusing men of exaggerating their nerd cred?
Then something awesome happened. Dark Horse Comics editor Rachel Edidin staged a "cheerful coup" to overrun the Quickmeme page for the Idiot Nerd Girl with image macros written from the perspective of a Genuinely Nerdy Girl who's tired of being automatically labelled a poser just for being female. Now a majority of the newest pictures at Quickmeme are of this type, and I f–king love it.
Our 25 favorite examples of the reappropriated Idiot Nerd Girl meme are collected here. All pictures via Rachel Edidin, The Mary Sue, and Quickmeme.


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In 2005, Ken Tipton made a labor of love; an indie film called Heart of the Beholder, regarding the true story of the initial video release of Last Temptation of Christ and the effects it has on a family who owned a small video chain in St. Louis, Missouri during the 1980s.
The CFD, Citizens for Decency, arrived when the owners of the chain chose to carry Martin Scorsese's controversial film. These God-loving red, white and blue, flag- waving Americans came out in droves to harass, bully and literally threaten their employees, family, business, and life.
These are the same Americans who undoubtedly burned Dixie Chick albums when that group criticized God's ambassador here on earth, little George W, and are the same Americans who still visit the Heart of the Beholder website telling Mr. Tipton and company that they are going to hell while undoubtedly pleasuring themselves at the thought of the filmmakers frying for all eternity. Heart of the Beholder is a damned important, desperately needed film.
Although Heart of the Beholder got good reviews and even won some festival awards, predictably, no distributor would touch it. One would surely think that the making of the film would have brought in some support, perhaps from Temptation's producers, Scorsese, etc. However, even in matters of something this vital, money talks.
Anyone who thinks the religious right is a radical fringe element, not be taken seriously, is naively mistaken. The religious right, consciously or sub-consciously, still instills fear of commercial backlash. During that same decade, an uptight fundamentalist minister from Indiana started a campaign to get Ralph Bakshi's New Adventures of Mighty Mouse taken off the air and, amazingly, succeeded, despite it being one of the most critically acclaimed and imaginative television programs of the last thirty years.
Not so ironically, a few years ago our moral majority made a box office bonanza off Mel Gibson's Lethal Jesus porno flick, The Passion of the Christ, which was easily the most offensive film ever made on the subject. Fundamentalist churches took their congregations, kids included, to local theaters, by the busload, to see Mel's torture Jesus fest. Even family oriented Wal-Mart stocked their shelves full of this titillation for fundies. It's Anti- Semitic tone is frighteningly blatant and, for all those who defended the film against it's well deserved criticism, Mel's arrest and tirade a few years later requires a resounding "I told you so". Christendom's comfortable marriage with Anti-Semitism constitutes one of the great, tragic absurdities and is far reaching: i.e., the series of Jesus cartoons being hawked by Christian television station a few years ago that depicted the most white Anglo-Saxon Jesus ever depicted being persecuted by large, hook-nose adversaries.
The Last Temptation of Christ is a flawed, brilliant film that attempts to probe the meaning and implication of the subject. Only Pasolini's Gospel According to St. Matthew contained a comparable breath of spirit (but, since it was made for about 75 cents, it did not inspire a far-ranging, provocative reaction. The irony there being that it still takes money, stars, and corporate sponsorship for any kind of recognition, even the provocative kind).
Last Temptation is a daring, faithful adaptation of the 1951 Nikos Kazantzakis novel. It's biggest flaw lies in the casting of Willem Dafoe as a bland Nazarine. Many critics of the period singled out Harvey Keitel's Bronx accent Judas, but it's hardly as disconcerting as an unconvincing, uncharismatic prophet.
Two smaller performances stand out: the vastly underrated Barbara Hershey as Magdalene and the hypnotically subdued Pontius Pilate of David Bowie (who is also criminally underrated as an actor).
Peter Gabriel delivers a perfect score for this searing, soul-searching film. The Last Temptation of Christ is a film that, like it's subject, aptly seeks. The hypocritical controversy that surrounded it and persecuted it's supporters, so vividly depicted in Heart of the Beholder, sadly validates that, for the last 1700 years, persecution of Christians has come mostly from within, not from non-Christians. Aggressive fundamentalist Christians are the quintessential example of the much picked upon geeks who got picked on in high school by the football jocks, only to become the bullies themselves in college.
Much more information about Heart of the Beholder, including numerous film clips with director's commentary, can be be found at the film's website: http://www.beholder.com/. Watch it with The Last Temptation of Christ and give a toast to the late Jerry Falwell.


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Thanksgiving is very close to the first night of Hanukkah this year, which means both holidays are simultaneously on my mind! Last week I came up with a fun little dish that combines the two holiday traditions into one tasty treat– Sweet Potato Coconut Chremslach.
Chremslach (singular: chremsel) is the Yiddish word for a fried pancake, and it can appear in many different forms. The most popular chremsel is a pancake made of matzo called bubeleh. Chremslach can also be made from potatoes. Potato chremslach are very similar to latkes, with one major difference. Instead of shredding the potatoes, as we do with latkes, the potatoes are mashed and made into a thick batter before frying. Matzo or breadcrumbs and eggs can be added to bind the batter and keep the pancakes from falling apart. Chremslach often appear on deli menus as "potato pancakes," and can easily be mistaken for latkes. While latkes are thinner and crisper due to the shredded texture of the potatoes, chremslach are more fluffy.
Sweet potatoes (the orange yam variety) are always part of our Thanksgiving menu, while chremslach and latkes are a traditional part of our Hanukkah celebration. Because Hanukkah is on the heels of Thanksgiving this year, it seems fitting to combine the two dishes into one. There are many sweet potato pancake recipes out there, some veering to the sweet side and some to savory. I decided to take it in the direction of sweet with a touch of exotic spice. Garam masala gives it an Indian twist, while coconut adds a subtle nutty depth. The result is a delicious little pancake that is crispy on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside.
These sweet chremslach are fun and different, and will bring a distinctly Jewish touch to your Thanksgiving table. I like them with a sprinkle of sea salt at the end of cooking. The combination of salty sweetness is super yummy (think salted caramel). Or you can dust them with powdered sugar for a more dessert-like finish… I served them that way recently, and a friend who was visiting told me the flavor reminded him of a cinnamon roll. Delish! Make sure you serve them fresh from the pan, they're the best that way. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
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Sweet Potato Coconut Chremslach
- 1 pound orange sweet potatoes (about 2 large potatoes), peeled and cleaned
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
- Peanut or grapeseed oil for frying
- Cut the sweet potatoes into small chunks, then immerse them in water and boil them for about 30 minutes until tender.
- Drain them well and blot them with a paper towel to soak up excess moisture. Mash the potatoes in a large mixing bowl with a whisk.
- Add to the bowl the coconut, beaten eggs, brown sugar, sugar, melted butter or margarine, salt, spices and bread crumbs. Mix ingredients until they are well blended. Allow mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes so that they breadcrumbs can absorb the moisture.
- Heat oil over medium low - medium; you will need about 1/4 inch of oil in your skillet for frying. Heat the oil until it reaches 275 degrees F-- use a candy thermometer to measure heat. If you don't have a thermometer, test the oil temperature with a piece of bread. If the oil sizzles and the bread browns in 60 seconds, it's ready.With an ice cream scoop or greased measuring cup, scoop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture and carefully place it into the hot oil to fry. Repeat until there are 5-6 patties in the frying pan. Do not overcrowd.
- Carefully dip the back of a spoon into the hot oil and gently flatten the tops of each patty, otherwise the batter will stick to your spoon. Alternately you can spray the back of the spoon with a bit of non-stick cooking spray.
- Fry the patties for 4-5 minutes on each side until nicely browned and cooked through. Place on a cooling rack to drain and cool, or on two layers of paper towels. Continue to fry the patties in batches. Serve immediately.
- Note: If you'd prefer not to deep fry your chremslach, they can also be fried in a non-stick skillet lightly coated with oil. They won't turn out quite as pretty and the exterior won't be as crisp, but they'll soak up a lot less oil.


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For rapid progress on your construction site, our screed layers bring far more than the necessary materials with them. We are a team of people with great motivation, years of experience, and ongoing training. This is how we build the foundation for your floor. Contact our friendly customer service team now to make an appointment.
Stuttgart (German: [ˈʃtʊtɡaʁt] (listen); Swabian: Schduagert [ˈʒ̊d̥ua̯ɡ̊ɛʕd̥]; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the Stuttgarter Kessel (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Stuttgart has a population of 635,911, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.8 million people live in the city's administrative region and 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living; innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities in its Innovation Cities Index; and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status global city in their 2020 survey.
Allmendäcker, Botnang, Breitenstein, Burgstall An Der Murr, Degerloch, Eichholz, Erwin-Schoettle-Platz, Eschenried, Fautspach, Feuerbach, Fischlabor, Flugfeld, Fronäcker, Gewerbepark Aldinger Schleuse, Grünäcker


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- Home
- Business
- Development Services
- Residents
The City of Garland serves homeowners with a variety of services including building permits and inspections for many common home improvements. In many cases, the Building Inspection Department serves as the contact for homeowner questions regarding permits, building codes, inspections, and fees. Below are answers to some common questions regarding residential building permits and other important standards of which Garland homeowners should be aware.
Building Permits
Many major home repair or renovation projects will require a Residential Building Permit. Permits are often required for:
- Construction of a new home
- Demolition of an existing structure
- Residential additions and accessory buildings (including carports)
- Major renovations (including foundation repair, roof replacement, and garage conversions)
- Fence installation and new driveways
- Plumbing systems and repairs (including water heater replacement and irrigation systems)
- Electrical systems and repairs
- HVAC (including air-conditioning and heating systems)
Other residential projects may also require permits. Contact the Building Inspection Department if you are unsure if your project requires a permit before you start the work. You can reach us at 972-205-2300 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Board of Adjustment makes decisions on requests for variances to the Zoning Ordinance regarding development standards. Occasionally, homeowners may choose to request a variance by completing a Board of Adjustment Application
Additional Resources
- Home Occupation (or operating a business from your home) - In an effort to protect the safety and quality of life of Garland's neighborhoods, the Zoning Ordinance regulates Home Occupation uses and sets forth certain standards that must be met in order to legally operate a business in a residential district.
- How to Locate Underground Utilities - Before you dig, call 811 for marking of underground utilities.
- Lake Ray Hubbard Subleasing Information - Residents who own property adjacent to Lake Ray Hubbard and want to use the LRH Take Area may execute a sublease agreement through the Engineering Department.
- Single-Family Rental Program - The City of Garland requires all single-family rental properties to be permitted by Code Compliance and to meet minimum standards.
- Citizen Complaints - If you have a complaint about construction in your neighborhood, you may submit it online for a City representative to review.


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This image is the first skeet-shoot image taken during Cassini's very close flyby of Enceladus on Aug. 11, 2008. It captures a region near the Cairo Sulcus on Enceladus' south polar terrain that is littered with blocks of ice. (The image is upside down from the skeet-shoot footprint shown here.) The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 11, 2008, a distance of approximately 1,288 kilometers (800 miles) above the surface of Enceladus. Image scale is approximately 10 meters (33 feet) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.


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We are Reshaping the way Developers find and fix vulnerabilities before they get exploited.
Get actionable insight straight from our threat Intel lab to keep you informed about the ever-changing Threat landscape.
Have queries, feedback or prospects? Get in touch and we shall be with you shortly.
Uncover the fallout of the 23andMe breach affecting 14,000 users. Hackers stole 300 TB, demanding $50 million ransom
Cencora, a leading global provider of pharmaceutical solutions, is reeling from a significant data breach that could have far-reaching consequences. The company's SEC filing reveals that threat actors successfully infiltrated IT systems and exfiltrated data – potentially including highly sensitive patient records. ## Cencora Data Breach Details Here's a breakdown of what we know so far: *Discovery:* Cencora became aware of the breach on February 21, 2024. *Scope:* The exact nature and volume of stolen data remain under investigation. *Response:* The company immediately initiated containment measures and engaged law enforcement, cybersecurity experts, and external counsel. *No Link to Optum Attack:* Cencora denies connections to the recent Optum Change Healthcare ransomware attack, despite the similar timing and the healthcare sector focus. ## Why the Cencora Data Breach is a Big Deal in the Pharmaceutical Domain With $262.2 billion in annual revenue and a workforce of 46,000, Cencora is a behemoth in the healthcare industry. Their services are vital for: *Pharmacies:* Distributing essential pharmaceuticals *Doctor's Offices:* Providing treatment solutions *Animal Healthcare:* Delivering veterinary medications and supplies This data breach holds the potential to disrupt an enormous segment of the global healthcare supply chain. ## Unanswered Questions & Potential Fallout The investigation is in its early stages, leaving many critical concerns: *Culprits:* The identity of the attackers remains a mystery as we speak *Patient Impact:* The full extent of compromised patient data still remains unknown, raising serious privacy and identity theft risks. *Financial Toll:* Cencora could face hefty fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage depending on the investigation's outcome. ## Cencora's Troubling History The Lorenz ransomware gang allegedly breached Cencora (then AmerisourceBergen) in 2023. This previous incident casts an even more concerning emphasis on the company's overall cybersecurity posture and underscores the relentless targeting of healthcare organizations becoming more prone to the evolving tactics of cybercriminals.
A major ransomware attack has severely compromised the data security of LoanDepot, a leading U.S. mortgage lender. Nearly 17 million customers have had their sensitive personal information stolen, including highly sought-after Social Security numbers. ## What Happened to LoanDepot NOW? In early January 2024, LoanDepot suffered a ransomware attack, leading to the encryption of critical company data. The initial estimate of affected customers was 16.6 million. However, an updated data breach notice reveals this number has increased to nearly 17 million. LoanDepot has not disclosed if they paid the ransom demand. Customers of LoanDepot were left unable to use critical services like making payments and accessing their online accounts. ### Type of Data Stolen The stolen data poses a significant risk to the affected LoanDepot customers. It includes: - Names - Dates of birth - Email addresses - Physical addresses - Phone numbers - Financial account details - Social Security numbers ### Why the Stolen Data is a Major Concern Social Security numbers are particularly sensitive as they can be used in various identity theft schemes. This breach could lead to: - Fraudulent financial transactions in a victim's name - Opening of new credit accounts - Tax-related fraud - Medical identity theft ### LoanDepot's Response The company's response to the breach has raised questions and concerns: The delay in disclosing the full scale of the breach. The a lack of transparency around whether a ransom was A major ransomware attack has severely compromised the data security of LoanDepot, a leading U.S. mortgage lender. Nearly 17 million customers have had their sensitive personal information stolen, including highly sought-after Social Security numbers. ## Timeline of the Breach #### Early January 2024: Hackers launch a [ransomware attack](https://www.secureblink.com/cyber-security-news/loan-depot-ransomware-attack-confirms-risks-for-16-6-million-users) against LoanDepot, encrypting and effectively holding the company's data hostage. #### January 4, 2024: LoanDepot publicly discloses the cyberattack and initiates its response, taking critical systems offline in an attempt to limit the damage. #### January 22, 2024: Initial estimates from LoanDepot suggest approximately 16.6 million customers could be impacted by the breach. #### Late February 2024: In an updated data breach notice filed with Maine's attorney general, LoanDepot revises the number of affected individuals to nearly 17 million. ## Details of Compromised Data The attackers successfully exfiltrated a vast amount of sensitive customer information, including: **Full names** **Dates of birth** **Email addresses** **Physical addresses** **Phone numbers** **Financial account numbers** **Social Security numbers** ## Potential Ramifications The theft of Social Security numbers poses the most significant risk. This unique identifier can be misused for various identity theft schemes, including: Opening fraudulent new credit accounts Filing false tax returns Obtaining medical services under the victim's name ## Unanswered Questions Uncertainty surrounds some key aspects of the breach: LoanDepot has declined to confirm whether it paid a ransom to the hackers. Customers experienced substantial disruptions with payment processing and difficulty accessing online accounts in the attack's aftermath. . ### Recent Cyberattacks Targeting Loan and Mortgage Companies It's important to note that LoanDepot is not alone. The loan and mortgage industry is a prime target for hackers. This breach highlights the escalating threat and the need for companies to take cybersecurity much more seriously. ### What Can You Do to Protect Yourself? If you're a LoanDepot customer, taking proactive measures now is vital: **Monitor Financial Accounts:** Closely check your financial accounts for unauthorized transactions. **Credit Freeze:** Consider freezing your credit to restrict new account openings. **Strong Passwords:** Use complex passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Insomniac Games, a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, fell victim to a ransomware attack by the Rhysida gang in November, resulting in the theft and leak of sensitive employee data. This breach raises critical concerns about cybersecurity measures within the gaming industry. #### Background Insomniac Games, renowned for titles like Spider-Man and Spyro the Dragon, faced a daunting challenge when Rhysida demanded a $2 million ransom. Despite Sony's investigation, negotiations failed, leading to the leakage of 1.67 TB of data, including personal information and sensitive contracts. #### Rhysida Gang Rhysida, notorious for attacks on government institutions and healthcare organizations, poses a significant threat with its ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model. Its emergence in 2023 marked a wave of cyberattacks, highlighting vulnerabilities across various sectors. #### Industry Impact Insomniac Games joins a growing list of gaming giants targeted by cybercriminals, including Rockstar, Activision Blizzard, and Ubisoft. These incidents underscore the urgent need for robust cybersecurity protocols within the gaming industry to safeguard sensitive data. #### Response and Mitigation In response to the breach, Insomniac Games and Sony have extended ID Watchdog services and provided two additional years of complimentary credit monitoring. This proactive approach aims to mitigate the impact on affected employees and prevent further exploitation of stolen data.


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Why Western New York Dental?
Because we make it easy to experience quality dental care in a trusted, caring environment, that's why.
Regardless of the treatment needed, new patients are often surprised at the individual attention that comes with a visit to Western New York Dental Group. We elicit this reaction by focusing on a blend of Quality, Convenience and Caring. It would be our privilege to partner with you to help you and your family work toward achieving a lifetime of good oral health and overall well-being!
Quality (We strive for the best)
- A consistent program for examination, diagnosis, treatment and preventative care designed to provide you with the best immediate and long-term results.
- We utilize the latest technologies, combined with proven methodologies, to deliver a comprehensive range of quality services in a safe, comfortable environment.
- Rigorous safety precautions that meet or exceed government recommendations for infection control
- Our patient surveys reflect a 4.6 out of 5 likelihood to recommend rating in 2018.
- A comprehensive mouth-body approach that includes oral cancer screenings and thorough annual exams to detect signs of gum disease that might be indicative of other health issues including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and premature and low birth-weight babies.
Convenience (Great dental care should be EASY and AFFORDABLE)
- Early morning, evening and weekend hours to fit your busy schedule. Requesting an appointment on-line is easy! We're also there for you 24 X 7 in case of an emergency.
- We do not overbook appointments and most locations can usually arrange appointments for additional family members at the same time.
- With specialists on staff and multiple offices (with free, off-street parking), our comprehensive approach to dental care enables you to stay within the Western New York Dental Group, family as opposed to being referred outside. Our electronic health records eliminate the need to re-register.
- We are a preferred provider of most insurance plans. We offer multiple payment options, a financing plan, and a Discount Dental Plan for those without insurance.
Caring (For our patients and our community)
- Patients of all ages are welcome. Western New York Dental Group doctors and staff offer special consideration for the comfort and dental care needs of children and seniors.
- We'll be open and honest with you about the best treatment alternatives available and help you make an informed decision about the care you'll receive based on your own personal needs.
- We've had success and a proud heritage serving local Western New York communities, so we need to return the favor consistently.


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Fresh Cherry + Dark Chocolate Chunk Scones.
Which is totally typical of my stubborn self, you know. It's sort of like how I buy $100 of groceries then stuff as much as I can into 5 plastic bags which inevitably rip once I'm in the parking lot, splattering their contents all over the concrete because I'm too headstrong to use the correct amount of bags that require pushing a shopping cart.
Or like when I go ahead and force myself to use a sixth bag instead of just the typical five, which make it past the parking lot and into my car, but are waaaay to heavy to carry upstairs into my kitchen, which I attempt anyway because um, WHO wants to walk up the steps again? Yeah yeah… groceries all over the basement floor. Sweet.
It's also reminiscent of how my clean yet unfolded laundry remains piled in a laundry basket until used and the clean dishes remain in the dishwasher as long as they possible can, because I "forgot" to unload them. Lies. All lies.
So yeah, I can't stop turning on the oven. It's consistently 90 degrees and up, and I've been roasting chickens and frying donuts and baking cookies and baking scones. I'm a rebel without a cause.
Oh but I did eat an entire cantaloupe last night. That makes up for all the oven use and what not. And… it was SO good. So juicy. So sweet.
It's just like… the fact that it's so hot out and I'm not SUPPOSED to turn on the oven makes me what to turn it on even more. The fact that I SHOULD be craving crisp salads and fresh strawberries makes me adamantly decide to have the kind of creamy mac and cheese that gets so hot and bubbles over the edges onto the oven floor with an encore of hot blueberry crisp. WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL?
It's like I'm such a bratty toddler. Whatever you tell me to do, I'm doing the exact opposite. And whatever you tell me not to do, I'm crawling out of my skin until I can do that exact thing immediately. And this sorta kinda maybe applied to pushing the fire alarm in the parking garage during my sophomore year of college. I mean, I was way too much of a wimp to do it, and I'm definitely not cool enough to try and get in trouble on purpose… but yeah. I may have been involved. Or made my best friend do it.
What I'm trying to say… short story long… is be a rebel and bake some scones in this heat wave. Fresh cherries (you know, the kind that you eagerly grab in the grocery store, that appear to be *on sale* for $6.99, only to find out at the checkout counter that they are $6.99 a POUND and you bought 3.2 pounds… I mean who the heck has time to read the fine print?!) and huge chunks of rich dark chocolate oozing out of dough… it's like it was meant to be. These are seriously addicting and seriously delicious. Especially when it's 90 degrees out.
Fresh Cherry + Dark Chocolate Chunk Scones
[adapted from my favorite scone recipe]
makes about 16 scones
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
6 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, chopped
melted butter for brushing
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. Using your fingers, a fork or a pastry blender, cut in butter until it forms coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla, just somewhat combining, then fold in chocolate and cherries. Stir with a spoon until a dough forms, using your hands to bring it together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently, adding a bit more flour if sticky.
Divide in half and pat into 7 inch round circles. Brush each dough round with melted butter. Cut into 6 or 8 wedges, or use a biscuit cutter to make smaller rounds.
Bake for 12-14 minutes (wedges) or 9-11 minutes (rounds). Top with fresh cherry glaze!
Fresh Cherry Glaze
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
Add cherries and water to the bowl of a food processor, blending until smooth (or almost smooth). Transfer puree to a large bowl, add in vanilla, then stir in powdered sugar. The amount of sugar you need to add is highly dependent on how juicy your cherries are. Ideally, you want a runny glaze. If the glaze seems TOO runny, add more sugar, whisking continuously until smooth. If it seems too thick, add in more water one tiny drop at a time, whisking constantly. Drizzle on top of scones while warm, and grate additional chocolate on top if desired.
Summatime WHAT.


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Well, we have a special privilege tonight in our ongoing study of the book of Revelation, that book which Michelle found so difficult to understand. And we're trying to help you to understand it. We come to chapter 14 and we could take a really a large section, even the second-half of the chapter, but I can't bring myself to do that because what is in verse 12 and 13 is in and of itself so very, very important.
So let's look at Revelation chapter 14 verses 12 and 13. We'll read these words from the Lord to us and then endeavor to understand them. "Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, 'Write, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!" 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.'"
It struck me as I read those two verses that the idea of "blessed are the dead" is a bit unique. It sounds like a sermon Dr. Jack Kevorkian might preach. He has had, I'm sure you know, a longtime morbid fascination with death, that is the death of other people, and wants to medically assist those who believe death is preferable to life. Frankly, even in our jaded culture we find that an abhorrent perspective, and we consider him to be a fanatic, a maniac, a criminal or all of the above.
Our culture wants to avoid death. In fact, our motto might be, "Cursed are the dead." But hardly could we hold up a flag for "blessed are the dead" and expect to start much of a movement. But the text of Scripture says, "Blessed are the dead." Happy are the dead. That reality sounds exactly opposite what people would commonly believe. Blessed are the living sounds more reasonable and more appealing.
Now the word "blessed," very common word in the New Testament, makarios, means happy. It refers to religious joy or spiritual joy, bliss, deep-down fulfillment, satisfaction. It refers to an inner joy that is the fulfillment of every longing, a serene, untouchable, unassailable contentment and peace. And there are many, many times in Scripture when the word blessed is used to describe many different conditions.
For example, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers," Psalm 1:1. Or, Psalm 2:12, "Blessed are all who take refuge in Him," that is in God's Son. Or, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity," Psalm 32. And it's, of course, repeated in Romans chapter 4 verses 7 and 8. Psalm 40 in verse 4 says, "Blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust." Psalm 41:1 says, "Blessed is he who considers the helpless, the Lord will deliver him in the day of trouble." Psalm 65 verse 4 says, "Blessed is the one Thou dost choose and bring near to Thee to dwell in Thy courts."
Psalm 84:4 says, "Blessed are those who dwell in Thy house, they are ever praising Thee." The next verse says, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee." Psalm 106 verse 3 says, "Blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times." The psalmist says in Psalm 112, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord and who greatly delights in His commandments." Psalm 119 in the second verse, the psalmist wrote, "Blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart." The writer of Proverbs says that very familiar statement, Proverbs 8:34, "Blessed is the man who listens to Me." Verse 32 of the same chapter of Proverbs says, "Blessed are they who keep My ways."
And when you come into the New Testament, there are many more blessings, many more of these benedictions, or beatitudes. You remember these in Matthew 5? "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Me."
And there are other beatitudes scattered around Matthew and Luke and John. James writes in chapter 1 verse 12, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial." So there are a number of uses of this word that basically design a life of happiness, deep down abiding contentment, joy, tranquility, peace, satisfaction, fulfillment. There are seven such beatitudes in the book of Revelation. Seven of them.
The first one was in chapter 1. And you remember it, verse 3, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it for the time is near." Then in chapter 14, we come to the second blessing here in the book of Revelation, which we just read, "Blessed are the dead." And there are five more to come, and we'll see them unfolding in chapter 16, 19, 20 and chapter 22. And what they do compositely is define for us a happy life, a contented life, a satisfied and fulfilled and blissful life.
But the most startling one of all, the one that might raise eyebrows above all the rest, is this one here in chapter 14. "Blessed are the dead." And the question immediately comes, "Why is it such a blessing to be dead?" Two reasons are given in this text. First reason, because of how they lived. And second reason, because of how they died. Verse 12 discusses how they live, and verse 13 discusses how they died. They live with perseverance and they die with promise.
Let's look, first of all – and I don't know how far we'll get because there's so much in this discussion just in verse 12 that I want to share with you. Blessed are the dead because of how they lived. Verse 12, "Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." You see that phrase "the perseverance of the saints."
That is a classical theological phrase. That is a phrase that finds its way into the most common expression of reformed theology. The perseverance of the saints is the classic doctrine that provides assurance and hope and joy to every true believer in Jesus Christ. And it brings to an end fear and doubt because the perseverance of the saints is that great doctrinal truth that says the elect and the called and the justified will never lose their faith, they will persevere in faith unto death. That's why their death is blessed, because they lived never abandoning their faith. He says in verse 12, "They keep the commandments of God and they keep their faith in Christ."
The point is, those who have saving faith never lose it. Those who believe will never stop believing. Their faith and their salvation will endure, no matter what assaults may come against it. Some call this eternal what? Security. Have you heard that phrase? Or a more perhaps a mundane definition of it, once saved, always saved. While those are true statements, they do not express this reality as well as this biblical phrase, "the perseverance of the saints." Because what it emphasizes is the reality that regenerated people will continue in their faith to the very end, no matter what may come against them. The character of true faith is enduring. And this undying perseverance is never – listen to this – never ever more clearly and powerfully seen than in the context of this passage.
If you want to know whether true faith perseveres, this is the best place in the Bible to see it. Why? Because the persecution against believers is greater than any other time in human history, right? It is the worst of times because we're looking in the book of Revelation at the future. We're looking at a time called the tribulation, a latter part of that seven-year period called the great tribulation. We're looking at Satan running rampant over the earth, the Antichrist, the false prophet, demons, sin, the judgment of God falling, wickedness on the earth that would exceed the accumulated wickedness of all prior human history, the worst of times.
And so, if you want to prove the perseverance of the saints, then watch the saints who are in the worst of times, right? That becomes the greatest evidence. And so again, I say, the character of saving faith, the undying perseverance is never more clearly and powerfully seen than in the context of this passage. Now, we already know, because we've been going through the book of Revelation, that saints are being massacred, right? Gentile Christians are being slaughtered. Jewish Christians are being killed.
The fury of Satan is unleashed in a level never before known in human experience. Those who name the name of Jesus Christ are living under the worst assaults of Satan in all of human history. The deadly persecution of demons, the deadly persecution of men under the power of Antichrist, and no group of Christians has ever or will ever have their faith assaulted more drastically than this group.
In fact, in Matthew chapter 24, you remember verses 21 and 22? "There will be a great tribulation," – Jesus said – "such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall." It's the worst of times. "And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved but for the sake of the elect, those days shall be cut short." What's that – What that is saying is that the Lord has to shorten those days or even the elect would be devastated. It is so severe that it has to be shortened or the elect would be overwhelmed and defect.
But they won't. Why? Because God is always faithful who will never allow you to be tempted above that you are what? Able, and always with the temptation will make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it, even then. It is the classic evidence of persevering faith in the worst of times. So here we have this beautiful little respite in verse 12 which introduces us to the most tested believers in history, under the most powerful assaults of hell's host during the most troubled and wicked time ever. Satan's last effort to destroy the work of Christ.
And you know what. No matter what he gives them, no matter how strong it is, they persevere. Is that encouraging? That's the nature of saving faith, you can't kill it. Satan couldn't kill it in Job no matter what he did, right? You can't kill it. That's the perseverance of the saints. Now you know what came just before verse 12, remember? It talked about those who worshiped the beast having to drink of the wine of the wrath of God in verse 10. A cup of His anger being tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night. The horrible damning torment of the ungodly.
Down in verse 14, we're going to see some more of it as it runs all the way to the end of the chapter. You see the angel in verse 19 swinging a sickle to the earth. The great winepress of the wrath of God, blood comes out from the winepress up to the horses' bridles for a distance of two hundred miles, as God comes in great judgment and destroys the ungodly and the wicked of the earth. The whole world is going to take the mark of the beast, as we've seen. They're going to identify with this false world ruler called the Antichrist. But the saved in the middle of all this disaster will remain true and loyal to Christ, even to a terrifying martyrdom.
Those who truly belong to Christ will remain loyal. They will not fall prey to the lies and deceptions of Satan's forces. And they will be the blessed dead because of how they lived. Their faith never died, they lived believing to the end. These are the ones, remember, who were saved because they heard the preaching of the two witnesses. In chapter 11 they are described for us. They heard the preaching of a hundred and forty-four thousand evangelists. They heard the preaching of an angel in the sky preaching the eternal gospel. And they believed, both Jew and Gentile.
And it's a massive number of people. Go back to chapter 7 for a moment, verse 9. "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'" Here is this massive group of people who are in heaven.
Who are they? Verse 13, "One of the elders saying to me, 'These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?' And he said 'My lord, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb is – in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.'" They are the blessed dead because of how they lived. Their faith persevered. Their faith endured.
So there you have in chapter 7 depicted in heaven, a huge congregation of martyred Gentile Christians, converts, believers, who are in the presence of God who have come out of the tribulation having been massacred by Satan and the Antichrist. Then over in chapter 12, we -- we see they'll not just be Gentiles but Jews. We see how the Jews will be protected by God. The end of chapter 12, the dragon was enraged with the women, referring to Israel. Went off to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Here you've got faithful Jews who remain obedient and who remain faithful to Jesus Christ. These are the martyrs, by the way, first seen in chapter 6 under the altar, slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony they maintained. These are the saints in this text. These are the saints who persevere.
This is just a tremendous truth. If ever you have true saving faith, you will always have it. Oh there may be times when you're tempted to doubt, times when you struggle with questions, times when Satan assaults you and tries to create doubt. But your true faith will never die, not even in the worst of times. And it's because of that, it's because you can never lose your saving faith that you will die and be blessed. The perseverance of the saints is such a powerful doctrine. Actually there aren't many places in the book of Revelation where you can sort of deal with a doctrine. Most of this apocalyptic vision focuses on the future and the glory of God and Christ and all of that.
Let me just take a few moments and expand your understanding of this great doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Just a few points.
The perseverance of the saints, first of all, is based on the fact that God promises it, God promises it. God promises that the faith that saves lasts. Listen to Psalm 37, starting in verse 23, "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and he delights in His way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong because the Lord is the one who holds his hand. I have been young, and now I'm old, yet I have not seen the righteous" – What? – "forsaken, ever. All day long" – verse 26 says – "He is gracious." Verse 27, "Depart from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever for the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones, they are preserved forever. But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off, the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever." Verse 31, "The law of his God is in his heart, his steps do not slip." Verse 33, "The Lord will not leave him in his hand or let him be condemned when he's judged. Wait for the Lord, keep His way, He will exalt you to inherit the land."
The psalmist is saying God holds on to His own. He sustains their faith all the way to the end, even to death. Listen to Isaiah 43. And here also is this same kind of promise. "But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear," – don't be afraid – "for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
"Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made." All that is simply saying God holds on to His own.
A number of times Isaiah celebrates this great truth. Isaiah 45:17, "Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation and you will not be put to shame or humiliated through all eternity," he says. What a tremendous and wonderful promise. Isaiah 49, "But Zion said, The Lord, has forsaken Me, the Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands." God will never forget His own, always be faithful. Isaiah 51 says the same thing, verse 6, "My salvation shall be forever." That's how it is. That's God's promise that establishes the perseverance of the saints. God's promise establishes it.
Let me give you a second point, God's purpose assures it. And I don't want to get too deeply into this because we've shared it on other occasions. God's purpose assures it. Look at John 6 for just a moment, and I think it's important for us to at least touch this chapter and maybe one other. In John 6:37, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." Why? "For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me, and this is the will of Him who sent Me that of all that He has given Me, I lose none." In other words, there's not only the promise of God that He will sustain His own, but there is the plan of God or the purpose of God to call out a redeemed humanity elected before the world began, and Jesus is saying I will bring that to pass.
Verse 44, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him, and I will raise him up on the last day." Nobody is going to fall through the cracks. "I am the living bread," – says verse 51 – "that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he shall live forever and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." Once you eat, you live how long? Forever.
Romans 8 follows that up, absolutely incredible portion of Scripture and you know it well. It says in verse 28, "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." God has a purpose in electing, a purpose in saving, to bring His own to glory and He will make everything that happens in life work together for that good purpose. "Whoever He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son," and that's what's going to happen. "Whom He predestined, He called. Whom He called, He justified. Whom He justified, He will also" – What? – "glorify. God is for us, who can be against us?" Nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ.
Romans 11:29 says, "The gifts and callings of God," the purposes of God are without repentance. God does not change His mind. Paul said to the Corinthians that the Lord will confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son. The God who called you into fellowship will sustain you there. That's His purpose. God's promised. God's promise establishes perseverance. God's purpose assures it.
Thirdly, and God's power guarantees it. God's power guarantees it. So many Scriptures I could give you on this, but do you remember these familiar words of Jesus in John 10, in John 10:27? "My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of My hand." – Why? "My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all." The power of God will see to it that anyone who believes will always believe. God's power sustains it. When you were saved you became a new creation. The power of God is expressed in that new creation. It is a keeping power, a sustaining power that cannot be broken. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
Paul writing to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says, "The Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." He will do it. He has the power to do it. He will not fail you. What a tremendous and wonderful promise. And then Jude 24, just a last verse along this line. You remember this one? "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy." He has the power to guarantee your continuing salvation, that's part of His purpose and that's His promise.
All of this, of course, is provided by grace, is it not? All of it is provided by grace. We don't earn it. We didn't earn it in the first place so we can't keep it by earning it. It's all of grace. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and 24. "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." How is that going to happen? Verse 24, "Faithful is He who calls you, He also will bring it to pass." He'll keep you. There's no such thing as having saving faith and losing it. That violates God's promise, God's purpose, God's power and God's grace.
But along with all of that which is God's side, there is our side. And that's why it's called the perseverance of the saints. Throughout the Scripture, believers are exhorted to endure, to persevere. And you see that all throughout the New Testament. It's the human side of this. We cooperate in this wonderful work of God. Listen to Matthew 10:22, "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." We have to endure. Matthew 24, Jesus preaching about His Second Coming in verse 13 says the same thing, "The one who endures to the end, he will be saved."
So there is plenty of exhortation throughout the New Testament to us. Look at Colossians 1 for a moment, and we'll skip some verses. There are many of them. Colossians 1:21, he says, "You were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach" – That's – that's talking about salvation, He saved you. Then verse 23 – "if indeed you continue in the faith firmly." Here is one of these wonderful and mysterious apparent paradoxes in Scripture where we are kept by the power of God and yet at the same time we are exhorted over and over and over again to endure. We have a part. Hebrews 3:14, "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance, firm until the end." We have a part to play.
All throughout Revelation 2 and Revelation 3 there is a common designation of a Christian, it's the word "overcomer." Remember that? The true Christian is the one who overcomes. And 1 John 5:4 and 5 says what is it that overcomes. It is our faith. We overcome by faith, by trusting God no matter what's going on. And we overcome even by fear. That's a healthy kind of fear. Jeremiah had that in mind in Jeremiah chapter 32 in verse 40. "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them and I will not turn away from them to do them good, and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so they will not turn away from Me." God gives us the faith and He gives us the fear to hold on.
And then He gives us the love. Love also holds us to the Lord, it holds us to Christ. The apostle Paul talks about the fact that God grants us love that holds on. He says to the Thessalonians, "I didn't need to teach you how to love, you're taught of God to love." The Lord teaches us to obey. John 8:31, "If you continue in My Word you're My real disciple." So by those means of faith and fear and love and obedience, we continue in the faith.
This is the great truth of the perseverance of the saints. They survive to the end because God gives them the faith, he gives them the fear, he gives them the love, he gives them the obedience. And yet at the same time exhorts them to manifest all of that. That's the incredible mystery of how we cooperate in the purposes of God. But, beloved, every true Christian will survive with his faith intact to the end. And the greatest evidence of that is in the book of Revelation, in the worst of times they survived.
The only thing that, in terms of a section of Scripture that can come close to the power of that one verse in Revelation 14, is Hebrews 11. Turn to it for a just a moment. Hebrews chapter 11. This is just a marvelous chapter. And it talks about sustained faith, faith that endures. Verse 13, Hebrews 11, "All these died" – What? – "in faith." Now listen, the reason death is so blessed for believers is they die in faith, right to the end. Their faith never dies. They all die in faith. Go down to verse 31. "By faith" – well, you can see by faith all the way through the chapter. By faith Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and so forth.
And you come down to verse 31. "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient after she had welcomed the spies in peace. What more shall I say? Time would fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets." Their faith never died. "By faith they conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight."
Nothing could kill their faith. They overcame death. They endured torture. They outlasted imprisonment. They defeated lions. They conquered chains. They withstood fierce temptation. They underwent martyrdom and they survived with their faith intact to the very end. Verse 37 – or verse 36 says, "Some of them experienced mockings and scourgings and chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawn in two, were tempted, put to death with the sword, went about in sheepskins, goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated; men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground." Their faith never died. You can't kill it.
That is the message of this great chapter. And chapter 12 verse 1 says, "We have this great cloud of witnesses who show us the character of faith." It can endure anything, absolutely anything. True faith can't be killed. That's the message of Hebrews 11. True faith is relentless. It endures anything and everything.
You say, "Well, you know, if I ever got in a deal where I was threatened with death or somebody is going to burn me at the stake or chop off my hands or run a spear in my side, I don't know what I'd do." I can tell you what you do, you'd endure, you'd endure. In faith, in fear – that is in reverence, in love to Christ you'd endure because you can't kill true faith. The promise of God guarantees it, the purposes of God guarantee it, the power of God guarantees it. That's so wonderfully encouraging. Now listen to this. This doctrine does not say that believers will be eternally saved regardless of their belief or behavior. It doesn't say that. It says believers will be eternally saved because their faith will continue.
You say, "What about those people who once named the name of Christ and don't anymore? What about those people who said they were Christians and bailed out? What about those people who made a confession of Christ – of faith in Christ at some point and now they don't?" Remember the words of Jesus, Mark 4:5? "Some seed fell on the rocky ground where it didn't have much soil, immediately sprang up because it had no depth of soil. After the sun had risen it was scorched and because it had no root it withered away."
You know what that was? Jesus described that. They're just temporary. And when affliction or persecution arises, verse 17, they fall away. And what does that prove? They never were saved, right? First John 2:19, "They went out from us, because they were not of us; if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; they went out from us that it might be made manifest they were not of us." That's the key.
Well, I can tell you that no matter what may come in the world, if you're a true Christian your faith will persevere by God's grace. Go back to Revelation 14 and that is the promise of this verse. And it's such a bright spot in the midst of this darkness in this section. Because, you know, we're – we're getting into this thing of Antichrist and demons all over the place and hell belching out all its powers and the sky collapsing and the earth disintegrating and massacres going on all over the face of the earth and the horrors of this period of time. And the question that's going to come is, "Well what is going to happen to Christians? Are they going to be able to survive this?" And the answer is what? Yes. Because of the perseverance of the saints.
The tribulation saints will take all that the beast can give and they will hupomonē. They will remain under it and endure it with patience, sustained, persistent faithfulness under the most relentless and vicious persecution and martyrdom. And they will die painful deaths, but blessed are the dead because of how they lived. And how did they live? Verse 12, "Who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." That's how they lived. They keep the commandments of God. That's the first evidence of true salvation, isn't it?
John 8:31. "If you continue in My Word then are you My real disciple." John 14, an absolutely crucial verse, verse 21 of John 14, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." You see, it's the obedient who demonstrate true salvation. First John 5:3, "This is the love of God that we keep His commandments." That's characteristic of to – true believers. So you see what he's saying here, the perseverance of the saints is demonstrated in, first of all, obedience, obedience. They keep the commandments.
Secondly, it's demonstrated in trust. Look back at verse 12 again. They not only keep the commandments of God but they keep their faith in Jesus. Trust, loyalty to Christ, loyalty to Jesus even under the deadly reign of Antichrist who demands loyalty to himself and kills those who refuse. The true believer continues to believe, he continues to trust in Jesus through it all. That's the only kind of faith the Lord would give us anyway. What in the world would be the point of God giving us a faith that couldn't endure? After all, whatever faith we have comes from Him, doesn't it? And why would He want to give us a faith that didn't endure? That's absolutely inconsistent with His promise, His eternal purpose in electing, His power which is able to keep us. People in Hebrews 11 never lost their faith. They endured to the end, believing and obeying.
You look at that time in the future and maybe you say, "Boy, I wouldn't want to be alive at that time, I don't know whether I could survive." If your faith is real, you would, you would. Why are these dead blessed? Because they lived life most purely, most nobly, most purposefully, most fully, most richly, most joyously, most happily, most exemplary. Why? Because they lived life the best it can be lived, they lived it in faith in Christ and obedience to God. That's the best of life. If there was no heaven, that's the best of life. The righteous life is the best life if there was no heaven. And blessed are the dead if there's nothing beyond the grave, because of how they lived life in obedience to the commandments of God and trust, and they are the happy and the blessed. But there's more.
They're also blessed not only because of how they live, but look at verse 13, how they died. They lived with perseverance, they died with promise. This is tremendous. Verse 13, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying," – four times earlier in the book of Revelation there is such a heavenly voice. Twice in chapter 10, once in chapter 11 and then back in verse 2 of chapter 14. It could be Christ, as the voice in chapter 1 verses 11 and 19. It could be God. There are two more voices from heaven, one is in chapter 18 verse 4, the other in chapter 21 verse 3, and they are obviously God. So it's very likely a word from the Lord rather than an angel. And you know, there are so many angels mentioned in this chapter, as we pointed out last time, lots of angels.
Starting in verse 6 you have three angels, starting down in verse 15 you have several more angels. The fact that it doesn't say this was an angel indicates it probably wasn't. Very likely a word from the Lord and the word is this, "Write." John is told to write. And then, it sort of may be a way of saying, "John, I know this is very fascinating stuff, but could you concentrate on what you're supposed to be doing?" John is under divine mandate to record the word from God. And here's what I want you to write, "Blessed are the dead." Blessed are the martyrs like Antipas in chapter 2 verse 13, blessed are the martyrs under the altar in chapter 6 verses 9 to 11, blessed is that innumerable congregation in chapter 7 who are in heaven who have come out of the tribulation, not only because they lived life to the fullest in obedience and trust because they die in the Lord.
No wonder Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." No wonder the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 said, "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" Death doesn't frighten the believer at all. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, who die with a relationship to the living God through Jesus Christ. Not only because they lived life to the fullest in obedience and trust, but because they will experience in death the fullest reward and promise. See the little phrase at the end of the statement "write." "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." What does that mean? Through the rest of the great tribulation, to the very end when Jesus Christ returns to destroy the wicked and set up His Kingdom. You don't have to fear. You don't have to worry. You're going to be blessed right on out to the end.
And then, I just love this response. "Yes," says the Spirit. That's almost the vernacular today, isn't it? I mean, when people want to punctuate something they like, they say "Yes!" That's the Holy Spirit saying that. By the way, the Holy Spirit only speaks here and in chapter 22 verse 17. This is affirmation. This is the Holy Spirit saying, "Yes! I want them dead, I want them out of that." You say, "Why?" Well He's got all the work of sustaining them. He loves them. And He wants to see them out of all of that pain. And He adores His own. He has sustained the saints and strengthened the saints who have suffered all the way to martyrdom. He's on their side and He's excited about their pain being over. And He's excited about their tears and sorrows being wiped away. And so He says, "Yes!"
And they are blessed for two reasons. Because of how they die. First one, rest. "Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." The Holy Spirit loves believers perfectly. He longs for them to enter their eternal rest. He longs for them to be delivered from their labors. That word is very interesting. The – the term can mean to tire oneself, to wear oneself out, to make a great effort or a great exertion. It can mean to beat the breast or to lament. The noun form can have the sense of troubles – and often is translated that way – or fatigue. Life for these dear saints during the time of the tribulation will be filled with the worst trouble, the deepest sorrow as those they love are killed, children, parents, spouses. They will have to demonstrate the greatest exertion of strength to survive. They'll have no ability to buy or sell in that economy. They'll be on the brink of starvation. They'll be hunted to death. But when they die, they'll rest.
Like the worn mariner, wearied with his long and painful endurance of the tempest and dangers of the sea enters the calm port or home. Like a wounded soldier mutilated, scarred and sick from the miseries of deadly battle comes back from the fields of blood to lie in the peace and safety of his own house. So ten thousand times more do these rest when they go home to glory and the Spirit says Yes, let them rest. Does that give you the sense that the Spirit of God loves us and longs for us to enjoy the best? The damned never ever forever will rest, that's what it says in verse 11. Their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest. But Christians rest.
There's a second reason why they are blessed by how they die. Not just rest but reward, the end of verse 13. "For their deeds follow with them." Deeds, ergon, work. It means their service to the Lord. Well what do – what do you mean? Well, when you go to heaven, when these believers go to heaven, the things they've done for the Lord are going to follow right to heaven with them. Well, what do you mean by that? Listen to this. Here is another way to say the same thing. Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints."
God's not going to forget your service. When you go to heaven the record of your service is going with you. You'll not only have rest, you'll have reward. You'll have reward. That's the promise. My, what a wonderful, glorious promise it is that the Lord someday will grant to us a crown of life, an incorruptible crown. He will grant to us a crown of rejoicing. The apostle Paul anticipated that, didn't he? In his last letter, the final letter of his wonderful life and ministry, 2 Timothy chapter 4, he said, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown. And the Lord, the righteous judge, will not only give it to me on that day, but to all who love, have loved His appearing." Our works will be tested and rewarded.
You remember what Revelation 20:12 says? I'm sure you remember it. "I saw the dead, the great and the small standing before the throne and books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds." God not only has a book with a record of the sins of unbelievers, but He has a book with the record of the service of saints. And He will reward the righteous.
He will test our works, 1 Corinthians 3 says, to see if they're gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay and stubble. What is wood, hay and stubble will just disappear, and what is left will be the basis of our reward. So, blessed are the dead. Not just any dead. Those who live in obedience and trust, those who die in rest and reward. The rest are damned. How tragic. Certainly my prayer for you is that you're among the blessed and not the cursed.
Lord, again Your Word is so powerful and so direct. We thank You for the tremendous richness of this marvelous little passage. We thank You that You've given us an enduring faith. We thank You that we can say death is a blessing. Death will be satisfying and fulfilling because of how we lived in obedience and trust and because in death we will go on to rest and reward. But, oh God, how our hearts are broken over those who in death will face the reality that they did not obey Your commandments, they did not trust Your Son, for them there is no rest forever and no reward, only punishment.
We thank You, Father, for the encouragement and the confidence that those of us who belong to You will always belong to You. Your purpose, Your promise, Your power guarantee that. And we rejoice that You will keep us from stumbling and bring us faultless before Your throne, that You who have begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. We thank You for an eternal faith that never dies. What a gift. And we pray, Father, that many would receive that gift. To Your glory in Christ's name. Amen
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