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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 4 - THY KINGDOM COME (REVELATION 10:1 - 12:17) – The two witnesses of the last days and the expulsion of Satan from heaven
PART 4.5 - DECISIVE DEVELOPMENTS FOLLOWING THE SOUNDING IF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET (REVELATION 12:1-17)

6. The Declaration of Victory in Heaven and the Overcomers of Satan (Revelation 12:10-11)


REVELATION 12:10-11
10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.

John heard a great voice in heaven triumphantly proclaiming the victory of Michael over the dragon. This shout of victory and salvation at first appears like a repetition of the joyous voices in heaven, which had previously announced the future victory of God following the sounding of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15). In this expanded victory proclamation, however, new aspects in the fulfillment of salvation can be seen.

Salvation has Come: Seen judicially, salvation has been completed through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and through His resurrection. God was in Christ and reconciled the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).

On the basis of this reconciliation, there followed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the prayerful followers of Jesus. This indwelling of the Spirit was the fulfillment of salvation, for it brought justified ones intimate fellowship with God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power of God and eternal life. He grants to believers love, joy, peace and patience. He empowers them to witness, and comforts them with the certain hope of their eternal salvation.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is given consciously to individual Christians, as well as to the entire church. He created the miracle and the mystery of the church. All lovers of Christ together make up the temple of the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ, and the family of God, our Father.

Following His ascension and enthronement, Christ fulfilled His salvation in us. He is our high-priest and advocate. In heaven Satan had previously been able to appear as general accuser against the justified. Only following the sounding of the seventh trumpet was the father of lies driven out. Since then he can no longer call the completeness of salvation into question. Therefore, only following the death of Christ did the great heavenly voice sing praise for salvation completed. The lying accuser has been silenced for ever. The effective salvation wrought in and by Christ is indisputable.

Power and the Kingdom: In the Doxology at the end of the Lord's Prayer we pray: For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:13). The kingdom of God is the goal of our history (Revelation 1:9; 11:15).

Since the ascension of Christ, the Father and the Son rule the worlds in complete unity. Satan, however, as accuser and enemy of God, took it upon himself to question the existence and unity of this kingdom again and again. He was against everything that was good and divine. He hated the outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit into justified sinners. After the evil one had been driven out by Michael, however, the kingdom stood incontestably firm. The indwelling of the power of the Spirit and the love of God in mortal earthly beings was no longer questioned. The kingly rule of God following the seventh trumpet remained unchallenged. The full power of God brought an unhindered outworking to His kingdom – the same power that invites our trust today.

The Authority of the Anointed: Christ had confessed: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth! (Matthew 28:18) The Devil had rebelled against this claim of the Son of God, and brought it into question by pointing to the deplorable state of affairs in the church and in the world. Only by the driving out of Satan had Christ openly showed that He truly possessed all power in heaven and on earth. To be sure, He had possessed this power forever, just as His miracles had proved. But the father of lies had, because of the Son's patience and love, brought His spiritual kingdom and authority into question. He wanted to seduce Him into acting humanly and earthly. Since the seventh trumpet sounded Christ's authority in heaven had remained uncontested. It continues to be implemented through the faith of His followers on earth today.

The Continual Accusation is Over: The victory proclamation by the loud voice in heaven revealed one of the mysteries of Satan. Namely, because of their obvious mistakes, sins and errors, he had day and night brought charges against the believing followers of Christ. Every offence against the law had been observed, meticulously registered, and vehemently brought before the eternal judge.

But now the voice in heaven called out: “The accuser of our brethren has been cast down.” It is reasonable to think that one of the 24 elders from the throne room began singing this victory hymn. He spoke not of the accusation of Satan against unbelievers, but against born-again Christians. Satan wanted to, and still wants to, destroy the family of God, the spiritual body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit, through his justified accusation. But he failed. The cross and grace have overcome the evil one through the sinlessness of Christ and His eternally valid expiatory sacrifice. They silenced the accuser once and for all. He was sent flying out of heaven.

The Church's Participation in the Overcoming of Satan: This mystery is great: The accused would have an active role in the overcoming of Satan. For an assembly in communion with the holy God they could not prove their innocence and worthiness. They were guilty and condemned. They had no honor of their own, no good works, and no right to live with God. But they had dared to believe that the blood of Jesus Christ would cleanse them from all sin. The Lamb's blood of redemption silences every accusation of Satan! Christians are not pure and innocent in themselves, but for the sake of their faith they will be sovereignly and freely justified. The law's accusation comes to an end because of their trust in the expiatory blood of the Lamb of God. The entire second article of our confession of faith is contained in the short sentence: They overcame him (the accuser) by the blood of the Lamb! (Revelation 12:11) Our faith is the victory that has overcome Satan and his world (1 John 5:4-5).

Important for the overcoming of Satan is also the testimony of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. Followers of Christ are again and again susceptible to every possible sin and temptation of Satan. The testimony of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit strengthen us. We know that we are sheltered in the free grace of the triune God. He who bears testimony, lives, and he who lives in the Holy Spirit gives rise to spiritual life. The message of the cross contains great power (1 Corinthians 1:18); 2:1-5). In spite of failure, sin and guilt, Christians consciously hang on to the crucified One. Because of their testimony they keep open access to the Father (Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8). In the cross our entire strength lies concealed; therefore we testify to Christ, the crucified One, and receive great peace in the midst of the battle with the underworld.

Testimony to the Lamb of God, who bore away the sin of the world, leads to resistance, persecution and death. Satan will not even smell the cross! Like in Islam, he can, if necessary, recognize Jesus as a worker of miracles, a wise lawgiver, an exemplary person, a prophet, a wandering spirit from God, or as the one who has gone up to heaven. But never can Satan confess that Jesus is the one that died for sinners on the cross. Multicultural syncretists today attempt to create a uniform world religion and a new world ethos. There is no place in it for a crucified Son of God, who sits on the throne of His Father. Whoever will carry on recognizing the Lamb of God and the Father of Jesus Christ must reckon with the danger of being derided, mocked, tortured and killed.

Every person who offers up his life, and who testifies to Jesus, his Savior, even to the point of martyrdom, has assisted in the overcoming of Satan. The fact that the faith of one justified by Christ is greater than his fear of death makes Satan powerless. Although the blood of a martyr has no redemptive power, it, nevertheless, glorifies the victory of the Lamb before the whole world.

Many Christians believe in the redemptive power of the blood of Christ. Some dare to openly bear witness to the crucified Son of God. But relatively few have given their lives in death for Jesus. The battle between heaven and hell continues on. Where is our contribution in the victory of the Lamb? Michael is not our “guardian saint”. We are victorious alone through the blood of the Lamb! In our worship services faith in the Lamb of God should be spelled out clearly. Testimony to the One crucified brings eternal life.

PRAYER: We thank You, living Lord Jesus, because You granted us deep insight into the developments of Your events in heaven, as You commanded the archangel to drive the devil away from the position of his accusations, and You allowed those who believe in you to participate in this victory by purifying their souls with Your precious blood and their testimonies to Your saving acts. They did not fear the martyrs' death, because they were certain of Your everlasting life offered to them.

QUESTION:

  1. What are the three services where the Lamb of God made the believers partners in defeating Satan?

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