“Then I saw what looked like a vast sea of glass blended with fiery flames.  Standing beside the sea were those who continually conquer the wild beast, his image and the number of his name.”   They each held the harps of God and they were singing the song of Moses.  God’s servant, and the song of the Lamb.

The vast sea of glass speaks of God’s Kingdom rule and those who are walking in it with His peace and rest.  They have fiery hearts filled with passion for Jesus.   They were those who, filled with awe and worship of the Lamb of God, continually conquer the wild beast, his image and the number of his name.

In the last days when the wild beast is exercising its authority, the people of God are filled with worship.  They are operating out of a different authority—Kingdom authority with passionate fiery hearts that cling to Jesus and endure, even when they face potential death.  Filled with worship, clinging to Jesus and not loving their lives over loving God is how they continually conquer the beast.

Commentary notes that the beast is our self-life—foolish and ignorant, lacking in wisdom.  

 (Psalm 73:22).  [1]  Ecclesiastes 3:18 says, “I said to myself, ‘As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.’”  And Ecclesiastes 3:19 says, “For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.”

It speaks of following the ways of the flesh and not having knowledge of the Lord.  Psalm 49:20 (NASB) says, “Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,  is like the animals that perish.”   In this way, it is speaking of eternal destiny .   The line here that is being associated with a beast is its fate in ultimately perishing.    Mankind has splendor but it is like the beast that perishes and does not live on for eternity with the Lord, this is their ultimate fate. 

There is also a line of worship.  We were made for worship so we are always worshipping something.   2 Corinthians 9:12 says, “The priestly ministry you are providing through your offering not only supplies what is lacking for God’s people, it inspires an outpouring of praises and thanksgiving to God himself.” 

Over and over throughout the Bible, the people were choosing to worship something.  Either God or the image they created.  And Revelation 13:8 tells us that those who worship the beast will be those whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain. 

Revelation 13:16-18 (TPT) goes on to say, “It [the beast from the earth] also caused everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and bound, to be marked on the right hand or on the forehead.  This meant no one could buy or sell unless they had the mark; that is, the name of the beast or its number.   This will require wisdom to understand:  Let the one with insight interpret the number of the wild beast, for it is humanity’s number—666”

The forehead and hand speak of one’s thoughts or mindset and one’s actions.  Being marked by the beast means that one is not marked by the Lamb.   Revelation 14:1 (TPT) says, “Then I looked, and behold—there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion.  Gathered with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

Revelation 14:9,11-12, (TPT) goes on to say about the beast, “Then a third angel followed them, shouting with a mighty voice, ‘Whoever worships the wild beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, will also drink the wine of God’s wrath…Those who worship the wild beast and its image and receive the mark of its name will have no rest day or night.’  This is a call for the endurance and faithfulness of the holy believers—those who follow God’s commands and cling to the faith of Jesus.’” 

Here there is a clear demarcation between those with faith and those without.   Those that  worship the beast which is humanity will have no rest day or night.  In other words, they are continually striving to survive, live eternally without God and towards that which is like a shiny fishing lure and lacks substance.  They cannot enter God’s rest.   It was on the 7^th day that God rested and this also represents His eternal Kingdom rule.

Those who worship the Lamb are being called to endurance and faithfulness, clinging to Jesus as immense pressure ensues to worship the beast and his image.  As it says in Revelation 12:11, “They triumphed because they did not love and cling to their own lives, even when they faced death.”     

They did not love their lives more than they loved Jesus.   Continually conquering the beast speaks of putting to death the flesh. They were willing to perish to the flesh to live by the Spirit. Paul says in Romans 8:13, “But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste his abundant life.”

In Romans 8, Paul speaks of those with a mindset focused on the flesh [marked on the forehead] that results in pursuing actions which benefits themselves [marked on the hand] and those who are marked by a mindset of the Spirit whose actions pursue spiritual realities.

Besides being associated with perishing and being unsaved, the beast is associated with sin and operating out of the flesh.   This is rooted in arrogance.   The beast spoke boastful and blasphemous words as he was permitted to exercise authority for forty-two months (Revelation 13:5). 

The 42 months of Revelation that the beast had authority is noted to also describe the 3 1/2 years, and 1260 days, during the Great Tribulation—the last half of Daniel’s 70th week.[2] Paul warns about those in the last days when the beast is exercising authority in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 (NET), “But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power.”

Those mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 3 lack power or in other words, the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:4, it says that we are free to live, not according to our flesh life, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. It goes on to say that those who are motivated by flesh, pursue what benefits themselves but those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities.

Romans 8:6-9 goes on to say, “For the mind-set of flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace. In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh flights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot! For no matter how hard they try, God finds no pleasure with those controlled by the flesh. But when the Spirit of Christ empowers your life, you are not dominated by the flesh but by the Spirit. “

All that to say that first of all, we are either being marked with the Holy Spirit or we are marked by operating out of the flesh. In operating out of the flesh, we cannot please God no matter how hard we try (Romans 8:8). We please the Lord when we are filled with His Holy Spirit and it by the Spirit that we continually conquer the beast of the flesh.

Second, clinging to one’s life and avoiding suffering as one’s top priority is also potentially part of this mark that results in worship of the beast when it is focused on self protection and self preservation.     The mark of humanity is to live outside of God in arrogance thinking they do not need God.  This is opposite of the faithful who do not cling to their own lives but endure suffering, knowing they have a heavenly home and cling instead to Jesus.  One puts their hope in living while not suffering and the other puts their hope in Jesus.  Where the full fruit from the Tree of Life is eternal life with God, the full fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil would be not needing God and having a desire to create an eternal life outside of Him.

While it sounds good, people having a deep desire to live long, not suffer and do good is similar to what we see in the time of Noah.  People avoided perishing and their mortality by joining in union with the sons of God.   They became Nephilim who were heroes of old doing good deeds but incredibly wicked because they desired to be like God rather than be dependent upon God.   They were defying God in arrogance.    As a result, the entire race was wiped from the earth as evil and beyond saving as they had thought they had saved themselves.

Genesis 6:1-5 says,

 “When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.’

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”

During the last 3.5 years of tribulation, the beast will have greater authority and people will not be able to buy or sell without his mark.  People will be forced to choose to become part of the beast or perish.   In Revelation, the Lord commends for not clinging to life more than clinging to God.

Physical survival and a long life is not our final goal where where we hang our hope. It says in Hebrews that the true heroes of God clung to their faith and the promises of God because they saw beyond the horizon the fulfilment. They lived their lives on earth as those who belonged to another realm, leaving everything else behind. Hebrews 11:15b (TPT) says that in even facing death, difficulty and persecution, “But they couldn’t turn back for their hearts were fixed on what was far greater, that is, the heavenly realm!”

While we are desire to live a long and healthy life, it is in the human frailty and suffering of life that we find such joy.   It is in difficulties that we find comfort and even victories.   We know our lives are limited and short so we, like flowers in a field, worship God with them as we try to live our lives for Him and with Him.   In perishing, we know we have an eternal home and are going to be wrapped up in love by the Holy Spirit and whisked away like a bride to her waiting Groom. 

Paul says in Romans 14:8, (NASB): “for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”  

He also says in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10,

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,  because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

Wisdom tells us that there is richness in living simply for whatever time we have in dependence upon God, surrounded in holy awe and worship of Him rather than self-sufficiency with all the riches and fame but being far from him and having no rest  (Proverbs 15:16). 

“For out of him, the sustainer of everything, came everything, and now everything finds fulfillment in Him. May all praise and honor be given to Him forever! Amen!” (Romans 11:36, TPT)

Lord, we don’t want to live outside of You.   You bring our heart’s joy.   There is nothing in this world that compares to a relationship with You.  It is ironic that I enjoy life so much now and have a deep desire to live now that I know You because I spent so many years desiring to die before I did.  You make my life complete and give me joy.   It is Your presence that makes life so good, rich and worthwhile.   When it is my time, wrap me up in Your loving Holy Spirit and take me home to be with You for eternity.  And while we are here, teach us to use our time wisely that we may present to You something of value.

1. Fire Bible (MEV).  Modern English Version.  Commentary.  Life Publishers International.  2015. 
2. Kelley, Jack.   The 7 Years of Daniel and the 42 Months of Revelation.  Grace Through Faith.  8/31/2014.  Located at: The 7 Years Of Daniel And The 42 Months Of Revelation – Grace thru faith.   Last Accessed: 9/29/21