Revelation 14:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

NIV: This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

NASB: Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

CSB: This calls for endurance from the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus."

NLT: This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

KJV: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

NKJV: Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Those who refuse to worship the beast will be under intense persecution. Prior verses indicated that those who rejected his mark would be ostracized at best, and martyred at worst (Revelation 13:16–17). This verse encourages them to patiently withstand the persecution. They are saints; that is, believers who are separated unto God. They obey God, not the beast, and their faith is in Jesus.

Genuine faith in Jesus shows up when it is tried. Peter described such faith as "more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire" (1 Peter 1:7). He predicted that genuine faith will "be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

Perhaps those who are called saints in this verse are Jewish believers. It is said they keep God's commandments. This may be a reference to the Ten Commandments that God gave specifically to Israel. When He gave Israel the Ten Commandments, He said, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you [the Israelites] out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2).

Revelation 14:6–13 reports what three angels announce. The first angel declares God's imminent judgment on Babylon, but first he proclaims the eternal gospel throughout the world. It appears that God gives earth's inhabitants one last chance to repent before He executes His judgment. The second and third angels pronounce judgment on the kingdom of the beast and his worshipers. Revelation 15:1—18:24 fills in the details of the predicted judgments. A voice from heaven encourages those who obey God and maintain steadfast in faith in Christ. The voice pronounces blessing upon those who lay down their lives for Christ.

This chapter distinguishes two groups of people: those who believe in Jesus during the tribulation and those who worship the beast. John sees the Lamb, Jesus, and the 144,00 sealed Jewish servants of God standing together on Mount Zion. The scene anticipates the end of the tribulation with the 144,000 celebrating their victory over the beast. Heaven, too, celebrates their triumph. The eternal good news of salvation reaches the ends of the earth, calling upon everyone to turn to God or face His judgment and announcing the collapse of commercial Babylon and the eternal punishment of the beast, whose image so many unbelievers worshiped. This impending judgment is cause for believers to stay loyal to the Lord. Many believers will face martyrdom, but their temporary suffering does not compare with the eternal suffering worshipers of the beast will experience. When Christ returns to earth, the destruction of the wicked will be so complete that blood will flow so high it will reach a horse's bridle.

This chapter continues a segment of Revelation which deviates from the chronological account of the end times. These events occur at the end of the tribulation, when Christ returns to defeat all the remaining wickedness on earth. This event is given more details in chapter 19. In Acts 14:19–22 we learn that Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged the believers by saying believers must endure many tribulations before they enter the kingdom. Revelation 14 and 15 offer similar encouragement to stay loyal to Christ in the face of persecution. Chapter 16 resumes a step-by-step account of the end times.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 12/19/2024 12:58:13 AM