This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God
who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
Revelation 14:12
The verse above appears almost identically in yesterday’s chapter about the beast (13:10b). The context of Revelation 14 includes three angels that will declare three messages (14:6-13). I want to share them with you in their entirety because they’re important.
The first angel spoke in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water”. The second declared, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries”.
The third and final angel warned, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name”.
It is then, after these three important messages, when John stated today’s verse. Let’s dwell on the phrase, “patient endurance,” because it is the key to getting through the End of the Age. If the world is going down the ultimate slippery slope during this final stage of human history, you can imagine the chaos that will abound. Natural and supernatural disasters, human and spiritual warfare, collapsing cities, nations, and continents, famine, persecution, martyrdom, etc. will all take place in a short period of time.
When the world looks hopeless, you can imagine the temptation it will be to lose patience with the Lord and lack the heart to continue and endure. Yet, God calls us to do that very thing – to rise up in the midst of this future chaos, trust and obey Him, and remain faithful.
What I just shared in the previous paragraph can also be applied to our lives today. No matter what believers are facing, God calls us to patient endurance. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). It doesn’t mean He will keep us from suffering or rescue our human bodies, but we can still trust Him.
Don’t wait until life turns sour before being devoted to the Lord. Let’s get on our knees, pray and fast, repent and destroy the idols in our lives, and worship before the holy and righteous God. In doing so, it will bring us comfort, peace, and patient endurance, come what may.
