The War In Heaven and Its Effect On Earth
7Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 8And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
10Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. 12Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”
13When the dragon realised that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. 15Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. 16But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. 17And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. 18Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.
Revelation 12:7-18
There you have it in a nutshell – The War in Heaven and its Effect on Earth. I have plucked the key verse out of this second block of Revelation Chapter 12 and will seek to give you a breakdown of this passage as clearly as I am able. But I trust that you can see already the clarity of this eleventh verse of the Twelfth Chapter as we view it in the midst of its context. It is a remarkable sparkling Bible Gem! I hope and pray that by the end of this series of Gems (and I don’t know at this stage how many Gems that will be) you will see this verse in all of its glory and sparkle. That is my intention and that is my plan. Let’s begin.
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Revelation 12:11
With what I have emboldened and highlighted with colour in this second segment, I think I can now close in prayer.
To me it is abundantly clear and needs no further explanation. But at the risk of being pedantic I am going to take a number of Bible Gems to explain in graphic detail what is going on behind the scenes. If you have walked with Jesus, taken up His cross and truly followed Him, even just for a number of days, you will be already aware of the nature of the battle. I have warned many new Christians at the time of their baptism to expect an attack soon after the day of your baptism. After your baptism, you will become aware quite quickly of the fact that you are now in a spiritual battle.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Ephesians 6:12-13
There, now I can close in prayer!
Not yet; I still have work to do.
They have defeated him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by their testimony.
[because]they did not love their lives
so much that
they were afraid to die.
This verse makes it clear how we defeat the work of the devil in our lives.
We overcome him by:
- the blood of the lamb
- the word of our testimony
- not being afraid to die as a martyr.
The Blood of the Lamb
How can Christianity be so exclusive and claim there is no other way to be saved other than by the Blood of Christ? In this modern age of enlightenment, understanding and ecumenical tolerance, surely all roads lead to God, Ian? NO! A firm and unchanging No.
“That just shows you are a bigot and are typical of religious people who claim to know the only way to God. Their Way!”
No, on the contrary, I am merely following Jesus Christ and His teaching unreservedly as many have before me. It is Jesus who made this exclusive claim, not me. I choose to align with Him and His teaching because I believe with all my heart that it is the Truth with a capital T. Truth is truth and nothing but the truth. I have shared this TRUTH over and over in the Gems I have written and explained why. Here are some Gems which explain why.
The Word of Our Testimony
The literal words used for this concept are:
διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν
{by through} the word {of the} testimony {of them}
It is your personal testimony which cancels any challenge from the devil or from any mortal person’s challenge to the truth of your story or testimony.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
Your response needs to be: “I so swear” or “Yes, I do!”
Your testimony is what God did in your life to turn you around (the technical biblical word is “repent” meaning to turn around and go the opposite way), to help you to walk or live in the Way He wants you to live. “To do a 180o turn.” When you tell your story without embellishment or any untruth, God’s Spirit backs you up and adds the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to your testimony.
That is why:
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
Being Willing to Die for Our Trust in Christ
I am very aware that a number of you have found these Gems on Revelation “difficult to swallow”; like medicine to overcome your sickness. Or perhaps because you find Revelation a hard book to read through in the way we are; intensively and looking deep into every little nuance related to each and every verse. It is perhaps the fact that there is so much woe, terror and death hidden within the pages of John’s letter. But think again people, John is only telling us what he saw and heard in the context of the Revelation he was given. [There I have done it again; used the present tense to heighten the sense of the dramatic in John’s words.]
I need to tell you or give you one more little gem before I close this big Gem. The word John uses for “defeated” is the word [ἐνίκησαν] enikēsan, a word derived from the Greek root [nikē], yes you guessed right – Nike – the big tick ✔. The Greek word carries the sense of overcoming, gaining the victory, winning the battle, triumph and defeating the enemy. John is spelling out how we do it!
Some of you have been disturbed by the fact that God promised He would protect the two witnesses and ensure that no harm would come to them. Yet He abandoned them to die in Chapter 11:5. How is that comforting Ian? One person sent an email to me querying the protection that God gives.
“The God who tells us He will protect His two witnesses and then immediately in the space of a short time: three and half years, 42 months, 1260 days or even symbolically three and half days allows the beast to kill them. “How is that protecting them Ian?” Name withheld
My precious readers, Don’t make your judgment or draw your final conclusion yet, before you know the full story.
Ian
“It ain’t over until the weight challenged lady sings”, referring to the Diva who brings the final aria or solo at the end of the opera.
Dan Cook
Our God can do both and . . . he can protect so that no harm comes to you while at the same time ushering you into the Life of the Age to Come.
Ian
Whatever you do, don’t miss the following Gems in this series. Facing Death Not Afraid to Die.
Ian