Lessons from Revelation 12:10-11
Added on 09-02-2010
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death (Revelation 12:10,11).
There are many vital truths we can learn from these verses, but here I will only draw your attention to a few of them:
- Satan is called "the accuser of our brethren," which means he is constantly making accusations against God's people because of their sins, mistakes, and shortcomings. Based on this, we should be exceedingly careful to avoid partaking of this same evil spirit and becoming constant accusers of others ourselves. Beware of this.
- Satan accuses us (you and me included) "before our God day and night." All too often, his accusations are based on the truth. Our lives have not been faultless. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). In this "hour of His judgment" (Rev. 14:7), Satan lists our sins before God and claims that because of them, we have no right to heaven.
- How can we overcome these accusations? According to Revelation 12:11, there is only one legitimate way to do it. Notice carefully, "And they [us] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb." In other words, the only way we can stand in the judgment is by repenting of all sin and by relying on the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ. "Nothing but the blood of Jesus," says a famous hymn. This will silence the enemy. This alone will result in the devil being "cast down."
We should all ask ourselves these questions:
- Do we have an accusing spirit? (If we do, we are acting like the devil)
- Have we repented of our sins? (If we are cherishing known sin, Satan has more of a case against us)
- Are we trusting completely in the blood of the Lamb? (This is our only hope)
While mercy lingers, May God help each of us to be among that group of whom it is written,
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony, and they did
not love their lives to the death (Revelation 12:10,11).
In Christ alone,
Steve Wohlberg
