John
the apostle wrote, “
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not;
neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is
cast down, which accused them before our God day and night”,
and in chapter twelve and verse eleven of Revelation John shared how
“they
overcame”
“Satan”
where
we read:
And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and
by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
the death.
The
verse reads, “And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony;”
John
began with the words, “and
the overcame him”
which means “carried off the victory, were victorious and prevailed
against the devil” “by
the blood”
or “through the bloodshed” “of
the Lamb”
which means “of the sacrificial lamb which was Jesus”, “and
by the word”
or “and through the uttering, declaration and proclamation” “of
their testimony”
which means “of their witness, record and report”. John share how
these “believers in Jesus” “prevailed” against “Satan”
because of Jesus' blood being shed for them and because they
“testified” of
Him doing the same.
The
verse goes on to say, “and
they loved not their lives unto the death.”
John
continued with the words, “and
they loved not”
which means “and they did not entertain, were not fond of or were
contented with” “their
lives”
or “their own breath of life, living souls, feelings, desires,
affection and aversions” “unto
the death”
or “until the time of their separation of the soul and body by
which the life on earth is ended either naturally or violently”.
John shared how these “believers in Jesus” were able to “defeat”
the devil because they did not even seek to preserve their own lives
for the cause of Christ.
When
we think through John's words in this verse, we see how the “devil”
and his “wiles” are defeated. First, “the blood of the Lamb”
has been applied. This refers to people who have received God's
Son Jesus and the sacrificial offering for their sins on the cross
where He bled and died for their sins. Second, by the “word of
their testimony” or witness, these are people who bear record
of God's salvation through Jesus, and Third, by not loving themselves
“unto death”, these are people who are willing to give their
lives for the gospel of Jesus Christ. God desires to have a
relationship with people who have these three characteristics within
their lives, and may all who read these words yield to Him and His
way to “overcome”.
Next
time John concludes, “rejoice,
you heavens, and you that dwell in them”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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