Revelation12:11

This verse clearly indicates how the believers overcome the Accuser of the believers mentioned in the previous verse. They do so in two ways: “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Some Christians may say that “By the blood of the Lamb” means to claim the blood of Jesus over any situation and it must cease to be a problem. While there are indeed times when we need to claim the blood of Jesus, I think this phrase places more responsibility in our shoulders than just saying the right words. The phrase “by the blood of the Lamb” has two aspects, what Jesus did to offer us salvation, and what we must do once we have received His gift. Jesus and His followers work together to conquer the Accuser, Satan; Jesus’ part is the forgiveness, atonement and reconciliation made possible by the shedding of his blood (the giving of His life), our part is to live the way redeemed people should live.

“By the word of their testimony” can be paraphrased as because they were willing to always proclaim what God had done for them. One of the ways we speak truth is by simply telling others what God has done in our lives and how He can do something similar for them. This is a picture of people who are willing to seek the glory of God even amid serious danger to their physical bodies – “They did not love their lives so much that they refused to give them up when faced with death.” They overcame Satan by being faithful to God no matter what.

Herein is what seems like a great irony. Satan cannot attack God directly, so he attacks the followers of God. The irony is that God does not protect His followers from these attacks, rather He strengthens them in the midst of those attacks. In reality, Satan’s attacks are not against our bodies, but against our souls. God is willing to take the risk that persecution (or temptations) may cause some to reject Him. Satan is willing to take the risk that persecution is likely to make some believers even stronger.

Any attempt on Satan’s part to take us in a direction that is further from God’s will is an example of Satan “making war” against God. Blatant persecution is one example. He also uses times of ease and comfort to tempt us to complacency and self-centeredness. Thus America and a few other parts of the world have been under attack for some time, but it has not felt like an attack.

It is as if Satan told Jesus, “You can’t do it. You can’t redeem these people. They’re too sinful, too weak, too inclined to yield to my temptations. Without violating your own nature, you can’t keep them from becoming unfaithful to you.”

Jesus answers, “Watch and see that some will remain faithful.”

Satan exults in those he draws away from God, but God is glorified by each one who faithfully follows Him.

We must keep our focus on being faithful, on being on fire for God and on being the kind of example He wants us to be. We cannot afford to shy away from pain, hardship, or opposition.

God will prove that His plan is workable and those who are faithful to Him will be overcomers. But victory has a price. Jesus paid His part of that price; we need to be willing to pay our part. Victory for the believer is not the absence of Satan’s attacks, for Satan is constantly attacking us in a wide variety of ways. Instead, victory is faithfulness in the midst of Satan’s attacks.