Context No. 3207 of 4322 · Revelation
Context · Reflection
Revelation 12:7-12: in context
7There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8They didn’t prevail. No place was found for them any more in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death. 12Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”
There is war in heaven: Michael and his angels fight the dragon, and the dragon and his angels are defeated and thrown down, the ancient serpent, the devil, the accuser who accuses God's people before him day and night. A loud voice in heaven declares the victory of God's kingdom, and how it was won: they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even unto death.
The vision reveals the backdrop of our struggle. The dragon, who accuses God's people day and night, is defeated and cast down. And the means of the saints' victory over him is spelled out plainly: the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Not their own strength, but Christ's sacrifice and their faithful witness, held even at the cost of their lives. The accuser is overcome not by our merit but by the Lamb's blood, and by a testimony that does not cling to life. His rage is real, but his time is short.
When the accuser condemns me, do I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and my testimony to him, rather than by my own record?
Sources
- Revelation 12:11: "They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death."
- Revelation 12:10: "For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night."
- Romans 8:33: "Who could bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who justifies."