What does Revelation 14:12 mean by "here is the patience of the saints"?

It is easy to understand that the faith of the saints in this terrible time of the display of Satan's power will be subjected to no ordinary test. It is in view of this that the Spirit of God adds, "Here is the patience [endurance] of the saints: they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (v. 12).* These saints are, in fact, the Jewish remnant, those who cleave to the commandments of God, as given in the old dispensation, and who believe in Jesus, spite of the pretensions of antichrist, as the coming Messiah. Tried to the utmost, their constancy will be seen in their holding fast to the word of God, and to their faith in Jesus all through this period of darkness, and of the frightful energy of evil.

It is easy to understand that the faith of the saints in this terrible time of the display of Satan's power will be subjected to no ordinary test. It is in view of this that the Spirit of God adds, "Here is the patience [endurance] of the saints: they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (v. 12).* These saints are, in fact, the Jewish remnant, those who cleave to the commandments of God, as given in the old dispensation, and who believe in Jesus, spite of the pretensions of antichrist, as the coming Messiah. Tried to the utmost, their constancy will be seen in their holding fast to the word of God, and to their faith in Jesus all through this period of darkness, and of the frightful energy of evil.

Verses 12 and 13 speak of the saints who will not bow to the beast. It will be a supreme test of patience and endurance. When men generally are being forced to comply with the demands and commandments of the beasts, these will keep the commandments of God; and this they will do because they cling to "the faith of Jesus." They may not know Him in that full way, which is the portion of the Christian today, but they will know that Jesus, who once came and was despised and rejected, is the true Christ of God, and the faith of this will possess them in spite of everything, and they will brave the wrath of the devil.

Some of them will escape his power, but many of them will fall as victims before the beasts, and a peculiar blessedness is the portion of such. The beast-worshippers will pass out of this life into eternal damnation of special intensity — out of apparent glory into the torment. Saints with the faith of Jesus may be martyred in circumstances of utmost distress and apparent defeat, but "henceforth", from that very moment, their blessedness begins. Great emphasis is added to this by the way the whole Godhead is introduced here. These saints keep the commandments of God; also the faith of Jesus; they die in the Lord; that is, because owning His authority; the Spirit endorses their blessedness. We have just seen that the damned have no rest, but these "rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" into the eternal world, that they may receive their due reward.

“Here is the endurance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” In this state of things, unequalled in the history of the race, the saints can only hold fast and hold on. They are forbidden to resist with the sword, even if they could (Rev. 13:10). But faith and patience at length, however sorely tried, win the day. Death is before them, but better to be killed by the Beast than to be tormented with the Beast. The afflicted saints cling to the clear commands of God and the faith of Jesus. In the apocalyptic record the martyrs are the martyrs of Jesus (Rev. 17:6). The name of sweetest sound is but rarely introduced in the book, but the connections in which it appears are full of interest ‎(Rev. 14:12; Rev. 17:6; Rev. 22:16).‎

Verse 12. "Here is the patience of the saints." There are times when one can walk quietly. An entire separation from the world, then, is that in which faithfulness would consist; but peace renders this difficult, because, the respective boundaries being easily forgotten, worldliness comes in. In times of persecution faithfulness consists in bearing testimony, and in not denying the Lord, nor His testimony, in order to escape the wrath of man and of the enemy.

There are two principles of evil at work. In the beast there is the principle of association, or despotic power. This we see in France. Babylon is a weaker system - commercial in its character, but also papal idolatry. This we have in spirit in England, everything to quiet the conscience, and anything done for the sake of peace to carry on her commerce; and so there is the setting in of all evil. Commerce destroys principle, but it promotes civilisation; they will not scalp people, but goodness depends on paying bills. Verse 10 is fear, and not the blessed attraction of grace, as we have it. The fear of God is put in contrast with the fear of the beast. The fear of the beast is no doubt great, but the fear of God is to be greater. (See verse 7.) Here (v. 12) is the patience of the saints to be tried, of those who keep the "commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." There is belief in the promises - confidence in Him, which enables them to walk as He walked, looking for deliverance from God.

The Lord pauses after this announcement to notice again the patience of the saints, the remnant who are passing through the fiery tribulation. Their zeal for the observance of God's commandments — the law of Moses — and also their faith in the coming Messiah, are not overlooked by Him.

It is the beast who destroys Babylon, after having for a time supported her: his own pretension tolerates no divided allegiance, and in him the unbelief of a world culminates in self-worship. Here God's mercy can only take the form of loud and emphatic threatening of extreme penalty for those who worship the beast. In proportion to the fearful character of the evil does the Lord give open assurance of the doom upon it, so that none may unknowingly incur it. Here "the patience of the saints" is sustained in a "reign of terror" such as has never yet been.

Third Angel. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night who worship the. beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: [here are they] that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (vv. 9-12.) Offensive as Babylon is to God, there is something even worse. The idolatry and blasphemy of the beast, the direct agent of Satan, is the climax of human apostacy and rebellion; and terrible is the judgment here foretold as awaiting it. Is this, then, a mere fancy picture? Alas! it is not even a picture of far-distant events. We are told to be looking for the Lord's coming to take believers to Himself. Then "the door is shut." This may be at any moment, and what then? Satan's energy for evil redoubled; the Holy Ghost's energy for good withdrawn; man given up to his own will; strong delusion, judicially sent by God to blind the eyes of those who had refused the truth; the followers of the deceiver lost for ever. Well may this gloomy picture sustain the patience of those who keep God's commandments, and hold the faith of Jesus! They may suffer grievously for their refusal to worship the beast and his image; but what are these sufferings compared with the eternal torments of those who, listening to the voice of present ease, become partakers in this blasphemous idolatry?

The fourth is a warning of fatal danger from the Beast. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a great voice, If any one doeth homage to the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the fury of God, that hath been mingled unmixed in the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up unto ages of ages: and they have no rest day and night, who do homage to the beast and his image, and if any one receiveth the mark of his name." So far these divine dealings go in pairs; as the work among the Jews, and then a final testimony to the Gentiles (though here we have angelic intervention, not in the first case); next is sent the warning about Babylon, and another yet more urgent about the Beast. "Here is the endurance of the saints, that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Grace and love could guard them, though they be confessors of a faith by no means up to the measure of the "one faith" of Christians, but suited of God to their day.