Revelation 12:11
11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Who was the book of Revelation written to? The unsaved? Jewish proselytes? Roman soldiers? We all know who the recipients of this final book of the Bible was written to. John makes it clear in the very first verse.
Rev 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
The message was for those who had entered into life, who had trusted in the Messiah, and who were undergoing trials, like all believers. (To be a believer is to undergo trials.)
Although some may consider the following discussion on Rev 12:11 to be based out of a vacuum, I would request your consideration of my thoughts.
The believers in the verse above were described as conquering him – the accuser of the brethren – through the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. This conquering is a common theme in Revelation, and we will see it come up in our studies on conditional security in the Book of Revelation quite often. Nevertheless, for Revelation 12:11, John defines these saints as overcoming the accuser through two actions – the death of Christ (the blood of the lamb) and the word of their testimony. (As a matter of fact, their martyrdom is a third action described in the passage, but the martyrdom is a result of the first two actions and doesn’t relate to the point of todays post.)
This is an amazing claim of John, since he is the apostle who often stated the only requirement for salvation was to believe. (Check the gospel of John and few if any time does he link belief with repentance, works etc.)
The act of faith is not to be ignored or glossed over in this verse, for the object of the saint’s faith is the One who shed His blood, yet John couples that faith with the act of the saint giving testimony, of providing witness of the faith they claimed to own.
Although it may be conjecture on my part, I fear the witness we give in the modern church is somewhat acceptable to the culture we exist in. It is, at the least somewhat palatable for the culture to accept our message of “inviting Jesus into their heart”, of “doing good and going to church”, of being a “nice” Christian that doesn’t rock the boat.
Believe me, I am one who falls into this very thinking far too often, but those in John’s day were speaking of Christ, not as a King, but THE King, a Ruler over the most powerful, jealous and vengeful government the world had ever seen. The message was a dangerous message, and by preaching this message of a loving yet ruling King calling followers out of the nations, the saint would place his life on the line. Out of that commitment to the King, the saint would overcome the accuser. The saint would be strengthened in his security before His God, and confirm his own standing before his Savior.
What thinkest thou? Is the security we so desperately seek a security that is frivolous or costly at times?
What would it mean for a believer to not overcome?
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